Move part to desired orientation, change view to invisible hidden lines, then choose extract curve - shadow outline. What this does is basically extract the outermost edges of the part in the given view. The curves are not associative. The next question is: "What is it good for?". I have used this function in injection molded part design to give an esitimation of the part mold footprint (isocline curves also work for this, and in most cases it is the better option). I imagine it would also be useful for a simplified view of an assembly in a given orientation, though I have never used it for that.
Anyone else use this function? What uses have you found for it?