Rotate UCS around Z-axis only - functionality gone?

[BLWNHR]

This week I upgraded from 2011 to 2014 and have noticed a major change in rotating the UCS around only the Z-axis.

 

Looking at the image below (the blue box is just to represent the relationship between the pipes):

I want to, as a simple example, rotate the UCS around the Z-axis from the end of one pipe to the end of the other.

In 2011 UCS, Z would allow me to select the end of one pipe and the end of the other and rotate to the angle of the red line shown.

In 2014 UCS, Z rotates the UCS from some unrelated point.

In 2014 UCS then selecting the two ends rotates the UCS X-axis to the direct line between the two.

 

In a working scenario the end of the two pipes would be in vastly different positions. Drawing a line between them, flattening it then using UCS, E on the flattened line give the functionality I want, but is a very slow way of doing it.

 

I have been researching this for about 3 hours and I can't find an actual answer other than "that's just the way it is now". Surely not.

 

TL;DR

In 2011 if I wanted to rotate the UCS around the Z-axis I would type UCS, Z then select 2 points and the UCS would rotate around the Z-axis but the X & Y axis would remain as it was. This is no longer the case in 2014, how do I do this now?

 

Edited December 5, 2013 by BLWNHR

[steven-g]

I cannot see an image, can you try and post it again, typing UCS and picking 2 points will leave XY in the same plane but rotate the UCS around the Z axis putting the UCS on the first point you pick and X on the second point, typing UCS followed by Z will rotate the UCS so that the Z axis is on a line between the current UCS origin and the point you pick, typing UCS followed by ZA will rotate the UCS so that the Z axis is lined up between the 2 points you pick. Also in 2014 there are grips on the UCS so you can drag the UCS to a point you want by using the square grip at the origin and then drag one of the axis end grips to the second point to align it as you want.

[BLWNHR]

I cannot see an image, can you try and post it again

 

Fixed now, sorry about that.

 

typing UCS and picking 2 points will leave XY in the same plane but rotate the UCS around the Z axis putting the UCS on the first point you pick and X on the second point

 

This is how it worked in 2011, but not in 2014

 

typing UCS followed by Z will rotate the UCS so that the Z axis is on a line between the current UCS origin and the point you pick

 

Yes. This was causing me some problems as I had UCSICON set to Noorigin. I've always worked like this as I like the UCS icon to stay in the bottom left. Now I've set UCSICON to ORigin then I can get the functionality I wanted by going UCS, O, selecting the first point I want to rotate my Z-axis from, then UCS, Z and selecting the second point.

 

It seems the command no longer allows you to have an arbitrary point for the Z-axis rotation, this must be the origin. Quite annoying.

 

Also in 2014 there are grips on the UCS so you can drag the UCS to a point you want by using the square grip at the origin and then drag one of the axis end grips to the second point to align it as you want.

 

This is correct, however it self-aligns to faces of solids and does not stay in a flat plan for X-Y. I don't use Dynamic UCS and also have UCSDETECT set to 0 (off) too yet the UCS still changes when I drag it.

[steven-g]

It needs you to run the UCS command twice, first time round pick the origin, UCS O, then again using UCS Z to pick the rotation (X axis), I don't know how it worked previously, but this is the only way I could get it to work as you pointed out

[BLWNHR]

I got it worked out, if you turn off selectable UCS (UCS, S, N) the UCS icon reverts back to how it was pre-2012. The UCS, Z command then works exactly as it did back then.

 

You lose the selectable UCS, but for me the proper functionality of UCS, Z more than makes up for it.