jcogdell

@Oliviaewing656 You will need to contact the UK Vectorworks office directly for this, Phone: 01635 580318

Use the distributed weight field in the Curved truss object properties,

I had a quick look on their website and couldn't find any CAD files that could be converted, so the only thing I can suggest is to use the Curved Truss Tool in the rigging toolset to create the truss.

Hi Jon The ColorSource Spot Jr is in the premium libraries. As long as you are a service select customer you should have access.

What our content team have done is create a template file with 4 circles to represent the truss chords, linked using the dimension tool to make it easier to adjust them for different truss dimensions/configurations and then they used several NURBS curve objects to make the path of the sling or steelflex, one for each chord that the sling has to wrap around and 1 for each straight section needed to link the wrapped sections and the final section going up to the shackle. once the NURBS are correctly lined up they get combined into a single NURBS curve which is then used for an extrude along path to create the sling geometry. The advantage of using NURBS curves is that they display their length in the OIP, allowing you to make sure the resulting sling or steelflex is of the correct length

@Russ no problem, It helped me better understand the problem that needs to be addressed. A loom list is relatively easy to create, Loom List but as you pointed out in our discussion it is not possible to extract the info you need from it to create the cable stickers which include the length data (or other part specific data) on them. I will put an enhancement request in to have this addressed.

I'm on PC which may be why I can't replicate the issue. I'll open a bug report in for it.

@mkue I just tried to replicate this issue using your test file and the text is displaying correctly for me. I tested it using 2021 sp3.1 build 588748. What exact service pack and build did you test this with and have the issue? Gruße Jesse

Currently the hoist object only documents the connector type that it uses and not its tail length in its properties. The field is designed to be used with the new cable tools suite, you would document the cables by drawing them in with the cable tools. Once drawn you can create cable reports and lists documenting the cabling needed for the hoist. otherwise you could use the notes field in the hoist object to document the cables the hoist needs @LSWHEELDON to add a new field to a data tag you need to edit its layout insert the tag you want into your file right click on it, select edit and in the dialogue choose tag layout once your are in the edit tag layout interface you need to add a new text box, it doesn't matter what the text says in the texts properties tick the 'use dynamic text' box and then hit the define tag criteria This is where you define what the tag field will display. if you want to use an exiting parameter of the hoist use the calculated field pane to set the data source, object name and parameter, making sure once you have set them to use the add to definition button to enter the new definition in the Current tag field definition pane. if you want a custom field, use the bottom pane, the 'User entered field' section to setup the field, including the default value once you are happy hit ok to confirm and exit the edit tag layout.

can you PM me the file so I can take a look?

@Russ sorry for the slow reply, I was out of the office last week. The new cable tools suite uses a different workflow form the old tools and as far as I know there is no direct way to separate the parts into individual worksheet columns like the old tools did. The intention is that worksheets are used to create the build lists for cable runs/looms and the new Create cable report command is used to create cable pack lists and inventory lists. The Create Cable Report is in the Spotlight preview features menu. It will create a spreadsheet style list of the cables based on the filter and group settings when you run the command. Filters include All objects, which will give you every cable (part) used in your file Selected objects, gives you a list based on what you have currently selected. For example all the cables on the front truss Visible objects, which will filter based on your class and layer visibility Group by options (Class and Layer), will break the list down into sections based on how you have assigned the cable objects to classes and layers. One important thing to be aware of regarding the Create Cable Report command is that the lists it creates are static and will not automatically update if you have to revise your design. When creating a cable worksheet the 'Used Parts Ordered' criteria displays the cables in the build order that you have defined in the cable object using the cable configuration dialogue (accessed in the cable properties). To change the order in the cable configuration dialogue, make sure the selected parts pane is set to list all parts mode, then you can change the parts order by dragging the parts up or down in the list. The 'Used Parts Sum' displays the total number of each cable needed to build the cable object Here's an example of how I would create a cable run build list and the parts list using both

You can use this method to convert a big rig system that is based on imported DWG block, however it will likely not be an easy process, due to the way blocks get prepared. the main challenges are, the internal origin of the DWG block is most commonly at the center point of its 3D geometry, often the 3D geometry will be rotated (vertical) compared to our truss symbols being laid on the ground, which can mean once you have you ave foolowed the above workflow that al the trusses end up moving DWG block trusses tend to have very complex geometry, which can have a huge performance impact when converted into a truss object. For the best performance results in Spotlight the 3D part of the truss symbol should be a single generic solid not a large number of individual objects (NURBS, extrudes, 3Dpolylines, etc...) Because of this I would recommend importing the DWG file as a referenced layer and redrawing the rig in a separate layer using normal Spotlight truss symbols as this will likely be quicker than trying to manually convert the blocks to Spotlight trusses and then having to go back through the model to correct all the errors the process can potentially cause. Have you contacted Design Express Poland? they have a very good Spotlight Specialist on staff who can probably help you with this.

Yes you can convert a 2D/3D symbol into a truss object, there are a couple of things you need to be aware of if you want it to work correctly in Spotlight though. you will need to make sure that the symbols geometry is correctly orientated to its internal origin (both the 2D and 3D parts), the centre line of the truss should be lined up with the symbols internal origin like in the above image, as if the truss is lying on the ground (bottom of ht geometry at 0 height on the Z axis), to the right of the symbols internal origin. The bottom centre line of the truss should be in line with the internal origin. Once the 2D/3D geometry of the symbol is prepared you have 2 methods to convert the symbol into a truss object If you have Braceworks you can use the convert to truss command from the Braceworks menu, which will open the truss properties dialogue so you can configure the truss object. or if you don't have Braceworks you will need to locate the symbol in the resource manager right click on it and use the attach record command to attach the truss record. Once the record is attached insert the symbol and this will activate the truss properties dialogue so that you can configure the truss. for auto connect to work the type and connectable with fields have to have the same contents ie if it a HD44 truss type and connectable with would both have HD44 in them.

@Dawid can you pm me the file so i can have a look?

Have you checked your class and layer visibilities in the navigation palette? You may have accidentally turned the associated class or layer for the objects invisible, another possibility is the class and layer options in the navigation palette, check that they are not set to active only,