Change plate orientation in drawings

Plates created with the Plate command are automatically oriented in drawings. The longest side of the plate always faces downwards in the drawing. You can affect this orientation.


Example	Description
	Contour plate in the model view. First creation point Second creation point
	Single-part drawing of the contour plate.

Instead of using automatic plate orientation, you can set the plate main axis to follow the line created by the first and second points you pick, regardless of the plate dimensions. This enables you to define the plate orientation in drawings or reports.

To define the contour plate orientation with first and second picked points:

Create the contour plate.

The first and second points you pick also define the plate’s main axis.
Double-click the plate to open the contour plate properties.
Click UDAs, and click the Orientation tab.
Select From 1st to 2nd creation point in the Main axis direction list.
Click Modify, and close the dialog box.
Click Drawings & reports > Perform numbering > Number modified objects to update numbering.
To view the orientation of the plate, create a single-part drawing of the plate.


Example	Description
	Contour plate in the model view. First creation point Second creation point
	Single-part drawing of the plate. The user-defined attribute Main axis direction is set to From 1st to 2nd creation point.

Note:

You can also affect the orientation of the plates using the advanced options XS_POLYGON_SQUARE_CORNER_PREFERENCE_FACTOR and XS_POLYGON_PERPENDICULAR_EDGE_PREFERENCE_FACTOR.