Editable clipping planes for cad systems

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses, systems, and software for proposing a resolution to a position conflict between a graphic object within a drawing sharing a portion of, up to all of, the one or more locations of other graphic objects, comprising the steps of: identifying a proposed new location of the graphic object within the drawing that will resolve the conflict; creating a reflection of the graphic object depicting the graphic object as it would appear at the proposed new location without moving the graphic object from its location; and determining whether the proposed new location will clear the conflict by not sharing a portion of the one or more locations, including embodiments directed to the use of reflections, alert/conflict bubbles, modeless drawing windows, and clipping planes.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed on a computing device, cause the computing device to at least:
 create a bounded area for visually clipping one or more graphic objects within a computer-aided design drawing;   present, within a display of a computer system, the one or more graphic objects or portions thereof that fall within the bounded area;   disable presentation of a remainder of the one or more graphic objects or portions thereof that fall outside of the bounded area; and   enable a user to edit all or part of the one or more graphic objects or portions thereof presented within the bounded area without editing the remainder.   
     
     
         2 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to:
 enable the user to select a point of interest within the drawing; and   place and center the bounded area on and around the point of interest.   
     
     
         3 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least:
 contract and expand the bounded area around the point of interest in response to a user input until the bounded area contains only one or more desired graphic objects or portions thereof that the user wants to edit.   
     
     
         4 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 3 , wherein the user input to contract and expand includes the user clicking on and dragging a slider. 
     
     
         5 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the instructions for enabling the user to select a point of interest include at least:
 enable the user to select an object from the one or more graphic objects in the drawing; and   determine the point of interest based on the selected graphic object.   
     
     
         6 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the instructions to enable the user to edit include instructions that at least:
 enable the user to move, within the bounded area, all or part of the presented graphic objects or portions thereof independent of the remainder.   
     
     
         7 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the instructions to enable the user to edit include instructions that at least:
 allow the user to change a magnification of all or part of the presented graphic objects or portions thereof independent of the remainder.   
     
     
         8 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the computing device to at least:
 allow the user to move, zoom, or rotate the view of the presented graphic objects or portions thereof without changing or moving the bounded area.   
     
     
         9 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the instructions for presenting the graphic objects do so within a modeless drawing window. 
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the instructions further comprise:
 enable the user to specify at least one clipping plane; and   define the bounded area at least partially based on the clipping plane.   
     
     
         11 . A method for editing a portion of a computer-aided design drawing, the method comprising:
 creating a bounded area for visual clipping one or more graphic objects within the computer-aided design drawing;   presenting, within a display of a computer system, the one or more graphic objects or portions thereof that fall within the bounded area;   disabling presentation of a remainder of the one or more graphic objects or portions thereof that fall outside of the bounded area; and   editing, based on input from a user, all or part of the one or more graphic objects or portions thereof presented within the bounded area without editing the remainder.   
     
     
         12 . The method as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the method further includes:
 receiving, from the user, a selection of a point of interest within the drawing;   placing and center the bounded area on and around the point of interest.   
     
     
         13 . The method as recited in  claim 12 , wherein the method further includes:
 contracting and expanding the bounded area around the point of interest in response to a user input until the bounded area contains only one or more desired graphic objects or portions thereof that the user wants to edit.   
     
     
         14 . The method as recited in  claim 13 , wherein the method further includes:
 receiving slider input indicative of a user clicking on and dragging a slider, where the slider input is the user input for the contracting and expanding.   
     
     
         15 . The method as recited in  claim 12 , wherein the operation for receiving a selection from the user includes at least:
 receiving, from the user, a selection of an object from the one or more graphic objects in the drawing; and   determining the point of interest based on the selection.   
     
     
         16 . The method as recited in  claim 11 , wherein editing operation includes at least:
 moving all or part of the presented graphic objects within the bounded area, where the moving is based on input received from the user, and the moving is independent of the remainder.   
     
     
         17 . The method as recited in  claim 11 , wherein editing operation includes at least:
 changing a magnification of all or part of the presented graphic objects or portions thereof independent of the remainder.   
     
     
         18 . The method as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the method further includes:
 receiving view control input from the user, wherein the view control input indicates at least one of: moving, zooming, or rotating; and   altering the presentation from the presenting step by applying the view control input.   
     
     
         19 . The method as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the operation for presenting includes:
 presenting a modeless drawing window; and   presenting, inside the modeless drawing window, the one or more graphic objects or portions thereof that fall within the bounded area.   
     
     
         20 . The method as recited in  claim 11 , wherein the method further includes:
 receiving input from the user indicative of at least one clipping plane; and   defining the bounded area at least partially based on the clipping plane.