Howdy,
It's been a few years since I've used FP and I recently updated to version 16. I have done a ton of study and reviews of tutorials by Jack Zimmer before I started my new project for a friend. Also spent hours just reading all the Hints and Tips that are posted. What a great forum! All has been going really well so far on my project including some complex roofing and then suddenly I have lost my floor plan. I played with some previously saved versions of my project and managed to lose the floor plan over and over a couple of ways but unfortunately I havent found an answer to how to get it back. Anyway I lost it the first time my using the "zoom to fit" button. I also lost it when I used the scroll buttons on the side or bottom. I move the scroll button just a little to center things up and the plan disappears altogether. I know the model is still there because I can hit my different 3D views and they show up - just no floor plan. I am sure its something simple but my search of this forum hasnt found the answer.
I did see where someone else had lost the picture of the house and camera and target in that 3D dialog box ( just empty - the same as the main drawing screen). The answer was to hit the "Camera Reset" button. Well I also have that same problem but hitting reset does nothing. Any ideas?
Is there a protocol or system I should be using to save the different level plans and or 3D views so that I can always get them back if I get lost in the Twilight Zone again?
Thanks much!
Hi,
Sorry to hear about your delemma - very frustrating and worrying, when it appears that all the work you have done is somehow lost.l
Usually this problem is caused by, either dropping some element in the 'far reaches of space' surrounding your model, or a corruption, usually a wall, that throws a tiny sliver of the wall baseboard or something like that off into 'outer space'. When you 'Zoom to Extents', it tries to display this sliver of baseboard or the stray element and so the model itself becomes a tiny dot somewhere on the screen. The challenge is to find it!
It can be a time consuming process to find the issue but doing the following will.speed it up:
In Plan view do the 'Zoom to Extents' and the use the View Filter and turn off the Walls. Now 'Zoom to Extents' again. If the plan reappears (minus walls of course) you know the problem is a corrupt wall join and the only solution is to turn the walls on again and do a closup examination of all the joins, particularly any that are not right angles, to find the issue. Highlight all the walls at that point (drag the mouse ever them) so you can see any tiny triangular fragments of wall. If it looks suspicious, remake the join and all should be OK. 'Zoom to Extents' again to prove it. It is a process of elimination.
If, when you turned off the walls and did the 'Zoom to Extents' it made no difference, then the walls are OK - you can turn them back on again. The problem is something else - a stray element maybe. Next turn off Interior Accessories (or any of the other View Filter sections) and 'Zoom to Extents' again. If the plan appears as it normally should be, then you have accidentally inserted a element from Interior Accessories in 'outer space' - the challenge then is to find it, which can be very difficult.
You can reduce the search possibilities further by turning off just one location of the model in View Filter, eg Second Floor and turn off Interior Accessories. If then you 'Zoom to Extents' and the Plan appears you may have dropped a bed somewhere. In this case, if you cannot see it, you could create a new Second Floor location, select everything on that original Second Floor, right click, select "Duplicate to Location" and thereby move all the original Second Floor objects to the new Second Floor. Once they are duplicated and you have a new Second Floor with all the elements you want, go to Building Locations and delete the old Second Floor - which will delete to stray bed or whatever it was.
Hopefully you can follow the concept - just a process of elimination to find the corrupt wall or stray element.
If after giving this a go you cannot find it, you could post the model on the forum so I can have a look for you or email it direct to me if you prefer at the following email address: alches AT iinet DOT net DOT au
All the best with your search! ;)
Allan
Thank you, Allen
Your suggestions worked to identify the stray items. Apparently I have two different sources of "flyers" out there. By turning one item off at a time in the View Filter I see that both "Decks and Stairs" and/or "HVAC Elements" cause the problem. When I turn them both off I can zoom extents and I get my floor plan filling the screen. Both of these items are on my Ground Floor level. I have tried turning off everything except those views(items) and then Select/Edit All to delete whatever it is that I cant see (plus whatever I have in my model because its not that much ), but it doesnt seem to work. I guess I am looking for a way to delete all HVAC or Deck and Stairs at one.
I'm not sure how I got those "Flyers" in the first place but I suspect it may be that sometimes when I try to insert items I get the circle with an X in it and nothing works. I close the drawing and reopen and then it seems to work. But maybe I did get something - those flyers out in outer space?
Allen,
Its been a few years since we have conversed. I'm the guy that does the landscape painting of local scenes here in SW Colorado. Are you still painting?
Hi Randy,
Strange as they should delete if you Edit /Select All and delete. I assume that you have checked that they do not have their Selectable option turned off in the View filter?
If you still cannot delete and can't find them by zooming in really close around the outer edge of the screen and moving around horizonatally and vertically (usually they will be piled on top of each other at one spot), then the only option is to create a new location and duplicate the ground floor elements you do want to a new ground floor and delete the old one.
I rarely paint these days, just do not have the time. I will occasionally do a wall mural but they are usually just a one day job so I set the day aside to do it. Small paintings frustrate me as they take so long over many days. Wall murals are somewhere else, so I go there and get it done. No framing issues either! Below is a recent one, done in two tones only, in the plaster panels.already on the wall - A local waterfall scene.
Are you still painting?
Allan
Hi, Allen
I'll give that a try.
I dont paint too often anymore either due to too many hobbys. Besides my full time job as a Professional Land Surveyor I am in two different bands (guitar, Tenor sax, and Blues Harp ) and I also do solo gigs. In fact, I only painted one painting this past year - my obligatory winter scene for personal Christmas cards. One year I didnt do the personal cards and boy did I hear about it! I take a digital photo of my original oil painting and them make have cards made at Office Depot. Here's this past years painting of a local mountain lake. I paint from my own photos.
Regards,
Randy
Hi Randy,
The painting looks excellent from what I can see but for some reason it will not enlarge in my browser when I select it. My own image above will enlarge but not yours. Strange. Maybe it is too big and is objecting for that reason.
Let me know if you get the problem sorted.
Allan
Hi Allen
I have been away from this a few days but Yes, I did get the problem fixed. What I found to work the best:
1. In View Filter - I checked "Display None" "Select None" to shut everything off.
2. In View filter - Uncheck "HVAC" - both the Hide and Selectability
3. Zoomed Extents
4. Select/All
5. Hit the Delete button
Did the same for the "Decks and Stairs" item that gave me the same problem.
Since I only had a couple of items on either of those it was no big deal.
To get my camera view back - (the button did not work) . While in "Walk Around" in 3D view, I right clicked and then clicked reset Camera Properties.
All is good again.
Thanks for your help!