All Planes Off

Overview

The All Planes Off command provides a quick and reliable way to turn off (make invisible) all work planes in the selected Inventor component. This is especially useful for decluttering your workspace, improving performance, and focusing on the geometry of your part or assembly without the distraction of visible planes.

When executed, the command iterates through all work planes in the selected component and sets their visibility to off. If your document includes the parameter ShowPlanes, it will be set to False. This parameter is used throughout Assembly Tools components to trigger additional logic when planes are toggled, allowing for advanced automation and customization.

Most users will not need to manually toggle plane visibility after running this command, as it ensures all work planes are hidden. However, if you have specific planes that should always remain visible, you can add a rule to your component to turn those planes back on as needed. For example, if you have a work plane named “never shut off,” you can set its visibility in your rule:
ThisDoc.Document.ComponentDefinition.WorkPlanes("never shut off").Visible = True

All Planes Off is ideal for individual components or assemblies where manual toggling would be time-consuming. It helps maintain a clean visual environment and supports automated workflows that depend on the ShowPlanes parameter.

How It Works

Iterates through all work planes in the selected component.
Sets the visibility of every work plane to off (invisible).
If the ShowPlanes parameter exists, it is set to False.
Custom rules in components can override the default behavior for specific planes.

Usage Instructions

Select the target component or part.
Click the All Planes Off button in the Configure panel.
All work planes in the selected component will be hidden.
If you want to keep a specific plane visible, add a rule to your component to set its visibility as needed.

Troubleshooting

If some planes remain visible, check for custom rules in your component that may override the default behavior.
Ensure the ShowPlanes parameter exists if you want to use it for additional logic.
Review your component rules for any logic that may affect plane visibility.

Examples

Hide all planes in a component: Run the command to hide all work planes in the selected component.
Override visibility for a specific plane: If you have a work plane named “never shut off,” you can keep it visible by adding a rule such as:
ThisDoc.Document.ComponentDefinition.WorkPlanes("never shut off").Visible = True