[Suggestion for labeling circuits in grid]

I will give that a shot, thank you

[Suggestion for labeling circuits in grid]

I am finishing up a drawing of my black box theatre. We have a standard dead-hung grid with circuits every 4 feet across the entire ceiling (nearly 200 total).

 

I would like to create a class in my grid layer that can show the location of these circuits for my student Master Electricians to do their pre-hang prep (we are not a dimmer-per-circuit space, so there is some hard patch math to figure out for each show).

 

I just need numbers in a circle/box. No need for the data to be used in any reports or anything.

 

Is there a simple way to a) copy/paste rows of these objects and/or b) have them auto-number so that I don't need to hand type 200 numbers one by one?

[Trouble applying a wood look]

3 minutes ago, Tom W. said:

 

If you double-click on the Extrude (or Cmd-[ or right-click > Edit) it will take you back to the original Rectangle which you can edit before exiting + returning to the (resized) Extrude.

 

But remember that an Extrude will only display it's texture in 3D Views, not Top/Plan. So it all depends what your desired final outcome is.

3D view is fine, actually.

 

I also found an Image file that would do the trick, but the scale is off (it's too tiny). Any way to change the scale of an image once it's applied to a shape?

[Trouble applying a wood look]

If I make the rectangle a 0" extrude, will I then be able to edit the size, cut out parts I don't want, etc.? Or do I need to make the shape exactly right first BEFORE applying the texture?

[Trouble applying a wood look]

On 8/1/2023 at 1:20 AM, Tom W. said:

 

If you are working in 2D, you can apply an Image Fill, Tile Fill or Hatch Fill to your Rectangle. You can do this via the Attributes palette. A Texture, like Jeff says, can only be applied to a 3D object but you won't be able to see it in Top/Plan, only 3D views. What type of resource is the 'parquet' you found in the RM?

It looks to be a Renderworks Texture

[Trouble applying a wood look]

33 minutes ago, jeff prince said:

What tool did you use to model the floor, aka, what type of object is it listed as in the OIP?

 

generally, if you select your object and change it’s attributes to “byclass” you can use the class settings to control the graphics and textures.  If it it a complex object, you might have to use component settings.

It's literally just a rectangle at this point

[Trouble applying a wood look]

I want to put a parquet floor onto a floor of a model, but I can't seem to make it work. I found a parquet in the Resource Manager, but no matter what I do, it doesn't show up. I feel like there is something very basic that I'm doing wrong

[Disappearing Pipe Section (when converting to Hanging Position)]

I deleted that segment, re-drew it, and now it's fine. Very odd.

 

As a side note, if I used the Move By Points tool with it, that 2nd segment wouldn't show up when setting the placement, but would reappear after clicking. Very strange

[Disappearing Pipe Section (when converting to Hanging Position)]

I'm drawing out a lighting grid that involves a lot of pipe breaks (girders, HVAC, etc. interrupt the pipes).

 

When drawing my horizontal pipes, I've had zero issues. Draw all the segments, select all of them, convert to hanging position.

 

Now I'm working on the vertical pipes, and my first pipe has four segments. All four are lighting pipe objects, all at the same Z height, all in the same layer/class. When I select them and convert them to a hanging position, the 2nd segment disappears from the drawing. I've rebooted the program and it's still happening. No idea what's happening or how to fix this.

[Putting Hanging Position Labels into a Circle/Square/Hexagon]

20 minutes ago, Pat Stanford said:

Just draw the shape you want in the Data Tag Editor.  If you want the shape to resize based on the text it contains you will need to set the Constraints to keep the shape the distance you want from the text.

 

Take a look at these threads for more info.

 

There is another thread, (that I can't find right now) back in January where I explained how to make a "hex" shape around a variable length text block that would keep the "hex angle" on the ends rather than scaling the angle with the overall shape (TLDR: Use lines and make the end/angled lines fixed and only let the horizontal lines scale with the text). That one might help you also.

 

HTH

 

I tried that, but the line and rectangle tools didn't do anything. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. 

 

I'll take a look at those threads.

 

EDIT: Got it to work. I wasn't zoomed out enough. Definitely takes some trial and error

 

Now my issue continues to be the reversal of data entry (i.e. I need to enter the position name in the tag data to change the hanging position, not the other way around)

[Putting Hanging Position Labels into a Circle/Square/Hexagon]

The video was very helpful. Only thing I am having trouble finding info on now is how to add a shape (hex, diamond, whatever) around the data in the data tag

[Putting Hanging Position Labels into a Circle/Square/Hexagon]

2 minutes ago, markdd said:

Try this video. It's not specifically about hanging positions, but it is about the Create Data Tag command. You should be able to get what you need. Sorry, But I am super busy now so I can't always respond when you need.

 

 

I have no expectations that anyone responds to me within any timeframe! I'm grateful for all the responses. I will check out the video, many thanks

[Putting Hanging Position Labels into a Circle/Square/Hexagon]

11 minutes ago, Tom W. said:

Persevere they are essential. Post a file if you want someone to help set it up

I'd love help, but would like to know how to do it myself. The video I watched was from VW2019, so half of what they showed isn't where the video shows (or doesn't work the same)

[Putting Hanging Position Labels into a Circle/Square/Hexagon]

I'd like to make the data tag work, but may just resort to creating my own labels and calling it a day

[Very Basic Resizing Question]

Probably easiest if I just re-draw the durn thing

[Very Basic Resizing Question]

35 minutes ago, Benson Shaw said:

Here’s a way to handle: Select symbol instance on the drawing,Modify menu> Convert to group, edit the group to adjust pipe length. Exit the edit. Possible downside is that the object is now a group, no longer a symbol.
 

Above process does not affect the symbol definition. The symbol will insert future instances as symbols with pipe too long. 
 

-B

 

Thanks, I will try it. It's a single-instance symbol (it's a unique piece of HVAC ducting) so no worry about future instances

[Very Basic Resizing Question]

31 minutes ago, michaelk said:

I'm not sure how it would know the dimension.  It's very possible that class visibility might have part of the symbol missing from view.

 

If we were using metric it would be so much easier.  Just divide one dimension by the other.  

 

So many things would be easier.

 

That's why I wrote it they way I did.  Let VW do the math.

In my case, it's VERY simple geometry (it's an L-shaped pipe). It's just 7" too long on the X-axis

[Very Basic Resizing Question]

46 minutes ago, michaelk said:

It's a factor.  You could do 114/121 as a factor.

 

(12*9)+6 / (12*10)+1

 

That's frustrating. I wish you could just type in the new dimensions (or free-skew the shapes)

[Very Basic Resizing Question]

1 hour ago, michaelk said:

You have two options:

 

1. In the OIP for the symbol there is a Scaling pulldown.  By default it's None.  Set it to Symmetric and enter a value greater than zero and less than one to make it smaller, greater than one to make it bigger.  Set it to Asymmetric to scale it differently along the X, Y, and Z axes.
2. Double click the symbol in the drawing or right click on it in the resource manager and you can choose to edit the geometry in the 2D part or the 3D part.

Is scaling a factor, though (i.e. 80% of original size) or can I switch the width from 10'1" to 9'6"?

[Very Basic Resizing Question]

It's a single instance of the symbol. It's only a symbol because it has a hatch in 2D

[Very Basic Resizing Question]

I created a 2D/3D Symbol and have discovered that it is the wrong size. I can't figure out how to resize the symbol.

 

What am I missing?

[Putting Hanging Position Labels into a Circle/Square/Hexagon]

The videos aren't helping

[Putting Hanging Position Labels into a Circle/Square/Hexagon]

I messed around with them, but somehow got them working backwards (meaning I needed to change the data tag field to change the name of the hanging position, not the other way around)

[Putting Hanging Position Labels into a Circle/Square/Hexagon]

1 hour ago, markdd said:

You should investigate Data Tags. These are much more flexible and you can style them however you like. To make a Tag for a Hanging Position, then just select the Hanging Position and run the Create Data Tag command. If you select the Position Name as the field to show, then a Tag will be created and saved.

 

After that, you can edit it to style it and then add the Data Tag to any Hanging Position you like, and the correct Position name will be displayed.

 

They are a little bit of a learning curve if you have not used them before, but are definitely worth it.

I will watch some videos on them, thank you!

[Putting Hanging Position Labels into a Circle/Square/Hexagon]

I'm starting to build my lighting grid, and my pipes are labeled 1-14 on one axis, and A-M on the other. I know how to use the OIP to position the hanging position label, but don't know how to insert that label into a shape to make it stand out better.

 

I have read that some people turn off the auto-label on the hanging position and create their own class just for labels. If I went that route, would it be simply drawing those "boxes" as 2D shapes and inserting text?

 

Thank you