Oriented elevations in model space

Is there a way to create an elevation that acts as one of the saved, standard default 2D views?

IE: I have an object that is in model space according to the overall world model. I want to create a front-on view to it for measurements, etc. My first thought was to create a saved view and Orient Camera to Srf, however this gives me an axo front-on view that I continuously nudge in space accidentally, doesnt do Dim’s as expected, etc.

What I’d like ideally is to create that same front-on view of this object, but have the veiw act the same as the Front, Right, Top standard views. This would allow me to take measurements straight onto it, etc.

Feels like I’m probably just missing something here? Seems like this should be doable?

The most obvious/quickest alternative would be to copy/paste/reorient the object to the origin, facing up, and do all my work there, but that seems like a poor practice standard.

You might want to try Cplanes. You can adapt the Cplane to the “front” view of your model by using the “Object” option in the Cplane command. Also, make sure that Cplanes are set to “Universal construction planes” in the Options > Modeling aids page. Then you’ll get the Top, Front & Right view of your actual model.

Thanks Vanessa - to expand on that, is there a way to set up a working CPlane (ie. one to be changed/updated as needed for specific modeling) vs. a world Cplane (ie. constant 0,0,0 point) ? As I still want to be able to go back to my original world coordinates (they are project-specific/dependant), but be able to work on this cplane for the dimensioning and drawing exports, if that makes sense.

Everything I’m describing sounds like it must be covered somewhere, so if you know of any rhino resources that i can get into more in-depth thats much appreciated.

Hi BeeCee - see if Options > Modeling aids > Construction planes > Universal CPlanes helps at all here. Also, any time you set a custom CPlane (or any CPlane) and you want to look straight on at it in a parallel projection, use the Plan command.
Any of that help?
-Pascal

Also be sure to check out the NamedCPlane command. Once you set your new custom CPlane, you can save it, and then very easily toggle back and forth between your named CPlanes and world CPlanes.

In V5, the world CPlanes are not in the NamedCPlane window to start (they are in V6), so you might find it convenient to make the world top active, save it in NamedCPlanes, then set up and save your custom for ease of double clicking between them.

Sam

Excellent, thank you all! Very helpful stuff.