When modeling part that are geometrically reliant on one another, and when editing in-context, Onshape provides some convenient tools you can use for better accessibility to parts that may be hidden by other parts:
- Hide (selection)
- Hide other parts
- Hide all parts
- Isolate (selection)
- Hide part on hover shortcut key y
Use these commands to access the parts required for your tasks, instead of painstakingly finding and moving parts out of the way to access the relevant entities.
Use the shortcut key y to hide a part under the cursor (part will show highlighting on hover). To show the part again, use the context menu Show all or Show all parts commands.
Access these commands from the context menu for selected parts in a Part Studio.
Video example
Video transcript
Onshape provides two convenient tools to hide and isolate parts in a Part Studio or instances in an Assembly: Hide and Isolate.
To hide parts, select the parts in the graphics area and click Hide parts in the context menu. The parts are hidden. Conversely, select the parts you want to visualize and click Hide other parts in the context menu. Alternatively, use the eye icon in the Parts list to show or hide parts.
To isolate parts, right-click on the part and select Isolate from the context menu. The Isolate dialog opens, the selected part is isolated, and all other parts and their corresponding Mate connectors have their visibility muted and are unavailable for selection. In a Part Studio, you can Expand by distance to use the slider to isolate each successive part. In an Assembly, you have the additional option to Expand by connectivity. Use the slider to isolate each successively connected part. Finally, check Hide transparent parts to completely hide the isolated parts.
Click the X on the dialog to exit the dialog and return all parts to their non-isolated state.
Hiding parts
Hide all parts, selected parts, or ‘all other’ parts excluding those selected to aid in visualizing necessary entities. Select parts in the graphics area or from the Parts list; box select also works for selecting. This command is a toggle: hide/show.
Hide example
Select the parts to hide and click Hide in the context menu. The selected parts before Hide:
The model after Hide:
Hide other parts example
Select the parts you want to visualize and click Hide other parts in the context menu:
All other parts are hidden except those selected.
Isolating parts
Shortcut: Shift+i
Isolate works similarly to Hide, with the difference that unselected parts remain visually present for reference, but muted in color and unavailable for selection until you exit Isolate mode. Any Mate connectors of non-selected parts are also muted and unavailable for selection. As with the Hide commands, you are able to select the parts in the Feature list, graphics area, and with the box select functions.
Use Isolate with individual parts, multiple parts, and groups.
Use the Hide transparent parts check box to fully hide the parts that appear faded. This can help improve visualization of visual parts and may improve render time in complicated assemblies.
On iOS platforms, only Expand: distance is available. Select the part, then use a two-finger tap to open the Context menu, select Isolate.
Notice the dialog that appears. Use the Expand distance slider to slowly select parts in order of proximity to the isolated parts:
To exit the Isolate command, you can:
- Click the X on the dialog to close the dialog and exit Isolate.
- Open the context menu and select, Exit Isolate.
- Use the Esc (escape) key.