How do I Remove a Clipping Mask in AutoCAD?

To remove a clipping mask in AutoCAD, you'll essentially undo the clipping action, which can be done in a couple of ways, depending on what you clipped. It's important to understand that in AutoCAD, clipping is often associated with external references (Xrefs) or blocks. Here’s how you can remove them:

Understanding Clipping Masks in AutoCAD

Before delving into the removal process, let's clarify what clipping masks are within AutoCAD:

• Clipping Masks: These are used to hide portions of an object, such as an Xref or a block, displaying only a specific area. This is particularly useful when you don't want to show the entire referenced drawing.

Methods to Remove a Clipping Mask

1. Using the UNDO Command

One straightforward method for removing a clipping mask immediately after creating it is to use the UNDO command.

1. Type U or UNDO in the AutoCAD command line.
2. Press Enter. This will revert the most recent action, which would be the creation of your clipping mask, effectively removing it.

2. Modifying the Clipping Boundary

If you have an existing clipping boundary that you need to remove or modify:

• Removing the Clipping Boundary
  1. Select the clipped Xref or block.
  2. Type XCLIP in the command line and press Enter.
  3. Type OFF and press Enter. This will turn off the clipping boundary.
  4. Alternatively, you can use the Delete command, or remove the polyline shape that you use for your XCLIP if that is the method used.
• Modifying the Clipping Boundary
  1. Select the clipped Xref or block.
  2. Type XCLIP in the command line and press Enter.
  3. Select New Boundary then type P or select the Polygonal option.
  4. Define a new boundary by tracing it in the drawing and hitting Enter.
  5. To remove it completely, you can choose to set the new boundary around the entire Xref or block, essentially showing the whole thing again.

Practical Insights:

• You can modify an existing clipping boundary to show more or less of the clipped object, by creating a new boundary.
• Clipping affects the display of the selected object but does not actually remove any content from the underlying data.
• The XCLIP command is your primary tool for managing clipping masks applied to Xrefs and blocks.
• If the clipping was created using a polyline, you can remove the clipping by removing the polyline.

Example of Removing a Clipping Mask from Xref

Imagine you have an external reference, like a site plan, clipped with a rectangular area to focus on a specific building. To remove this mask, you would select the Xref, use the XCLIP command, choose to Turn off Clipping or Remove Clipping, and the entire site plan would then be visible.

Command	Action	Result
U or UNDO	Reverts last action	Removes immediately created clipping mask.
XCLIP	Manages clipping on Xrefs/Blocks	Turns on, off, modifies the clipping boundary.
OFF	Turns off Clipping	Removes the clipping mask.
NEW	Creates a new clipping boundary	Sets a new clipping boundary.
DELETE	Deletes the XCLIP Polyline	Removes the clipping if created with polyline