How does one USE curves on locked layers?

Hello all,

I was taught how to use AutoCAD in high school and I grew to appreciate the ability to SELECT objects on LOCKED layers, not modify them, in order to manipulate objects on unlocked layers. Been using Rhino for a couple months and it’s frustrating that this is not possible, I have to create a line to use or unlock the layer. Nowhere can i find how to fix this, or if there is even this option currently. Maybe I’m missing something. Just to reiterate and make this clearer, how does one make it possible to select objects on locked layers? I would like to be able to use the LOCKED curves and objects I already have without messing with anything, for things like using the extend option in the line command to create a line on a layer that references another which is, once again, LOCKED. I NEED this for commands with which I need to actually select something not just reference it’s snapping points. As you can tell, my frustration has built up over time as the time lost has also.

Any help is appreciated,

Brandon

In Rhino, Locked is Locked, which means unselectable. You can’t do anything with locked objects except see them and snap to them.

I’m afraid you are just going to need to get used to this, as it isn’t likely to change… at least not for V5. (it’s been that way since V 0.xxxx).

–Mitch

Yeah… that is an interesting conundrum - one of the advantages, I think, of the current Rhino way is that you are spared the ‘select one object’ menu if you click near a locked object. If locked objects were allowed to be used somehow you’d get many more of these ambiguous pick cases, potentially, which is a real nuisance. (btw, History locking behaves this way in V5 and it exhibits exactly this problem) . Off hand, I think there needs to be, perhaps, one more level of complexity, where some modified pick (Alt-click for example) can access locked objects. I don’t know how scripting and so on would handle this.

-Pascal

My take on this is that locked is locked. It’s not all that often this topic comes up (not counting but perhaps a handful of times over the last 10 years). If V6 wants to do something about this it could come in the form of a one-shot, in command, toggle. Now you can turn on snapping to locked on during the course of a command. An improvement over this would make it a one-shot deal. Then that behavior could be transposed to a select_locked in-command toggle. It would then be up to the individual user to make it a one key + space bar shortcut. [FWIW]

My preference would be to have another layer available between “regular” and “locked” which would enable picking objects to copy, use as construction aids, splitting/trimming tools, etc but the object could not be modified or moved. That would be extremely useful for me. Currently objects in files attached in a Worksession behave that way.

I guess it should be named “protected” mode:
Much like locking history objects it will allow anything that does not alter the object.