How Do You Find Hidden Objects in Autocad?

To find objects that have been hidden in your AutoCAD drawing, you can utilize specific commands or interface elements designed for this purpose. The primary method to reveal objects hidden using the Isolate Objects or Hide Objects commands is by using the SHOWALL command or its corresponding icon.

Methods to Display Hidden Objects

Objects can be hidden temporarily in AutoCAD to make it easier to work on specific parts of a complex drawing. When you need to bring everything back into view, you have two main options directly linked to reversing this temporary hiding (object isolation).

Using the SHOWALL Command

One straightforward way to display all objects that were previously hidden using the HIDE or ISOLATEOBJECTS command is by typing a command into the command line.

• At the command line, type SHOWALL and then press Enter.

This command immediately makes all objects visible again, effectively ending any active object isolation or hiding state.

Using the Show All Objects Icon

AutoCAD provides an icon in the user interface that performs the same function as the SHOWALL command. This icon is typically found on the Status Bar, located at the bottom right of the AutoCAD window.

• Click the Show All Objects Icon.

Look for an icon related to object isolation – often it's a lightbulb or a box with a lightbulb, which changes appearance depending on whether objects are currently isolated or all are visible. Clicking this icon toggles the visibility of hidden objects.

Both the SHOWALL command and clicking the Show All Objects Icon are effective ways to immediately display any objects that were hidden using the temporary object isolation features in AutoCAD.

Other Reasons Objects Might Appear Hidden

While SHOWALL addresses objects hidden by specific isolation commands, objects might seem "hidden" for other reasons in AutoCAD. These scenarios require different troubleshooting steps:

• Layers: Objects might be on layers that are turned Off, Frozen, or Locked (locked layers are visible but cannot be modified). Use the Layer Properties Manager (LAYER command) to manage layer visibility and state.
• Clipping Boundaries: Viewports in layout tabs or active sections might have clipping boundaries that hide portions of the drawing.
• Annotation Scaling: Annotative objects might not display correctly if the wrong annotation scale is active in the model space or viewport.
• View or Zoom Issues: Objects could be outside the current view or you might be zoomed in too far to see the entire drawing extent. Use ZOOM EXTENTS (Z + E + Enter) to see all drawing objects.

Understanding why objects are hidden is key to revealing them. The SHOWALL command and the Show All Objects Icon are specifically for objects hidden via temporary object isolation.