Suggestions for Solo Object Viewport Creation

[KGreene]

Hello everyone!

 

So, I'm hoping to get some suggestions on improving my viewport workflow. 

 

So, for the majority of my work I'm needing to make plates that explain single pieces of larger assemblies for dimensioning/detailing. IE: a single piece of steel making up the frame of a box. Ideally, I like to draw the entire assembly and then "solo" out the piece I'm wanting to create views of without having to duplicate/copy that object elsewhere in the drawing.

 

Essentially our shop likes each piece they are cutting to have an individual cut list, showing two or more views for dimensions and angles. So I'll draw out the entire assembly piece and then create sheets for each item on the cut list, instead of just dimensioning/detailing the entire assembly.

 

My current workflow involves creating many, many, many individualized classes named for different parts of the assembly (Box 1-Bottom-Right, Box 1-Bottom-Left, etc). I assign a class to each part, and then while creating viewports, set the class assigned to the part I want as the only one visible. That way the viewport is automatically cropped around my part and I can set the 3D views without having to fuss with cropping. 

 

However, this can become a pain when a large drawing has many many parts and that snowballs into an ungodly number of classes. Dealing with classes assigned in things like Auto-Hybrids becomes a pain as well when the auto-hybrid doesn't adopt the class of the object inside it. This can also become an issue when adding new parts or making revisions after a 1st draft, since new classes then have to be managed into different viewports. 

 

Anyways, what I'm getting at...is this the ideal workflow for my given situation? I know things like making classes early, editing class visibility during creation, etc can help mitigate some of my issues. I'm hoping there is a another way to only show specific objects in a viewport that I'm missing. 

 

I've noticed there is a "name" field at the bottom of the OIP, but have never seen an actual use for it. Is it possible to turn objects on and off individually without having to assign a unique class to even individual piece? 

 

I appreciate the help. I'm a long-time user of Spotlight that is transitioning into fabrication drawings, so trying to improve my workflow as I change trades.

 

Thanks!

[Andy Broomell]

There have been many wishes over the years to address this sort of situation, where a viewport could look at a particular object as opposed to dealing with Class/Layer Visibilities to isolate something. Typically the request is to add the ability for a viewport to "look at" a particular Symbol definition instead of at a Design Layer. However, this has not been implemented, so in the mean time there are a few other ways to approach it:

 

The way you're doing it works fine, but another similar approach would be to make a separate Design Layer for each item, instead of separate Classes. That way, Design Layers are used solely for visibilities, and you don't have to worry about Class Attributes, nested classes, how classes relate to Auto-Hybrids, etc. You'd still be able to use Classes if/as necessary, but it wouldn't be tied into the idea of isolating items for drafting. One drawback in this workflow is that stacking order becomes a slight pain (if you care about 2D representations in Top/Plan and have lots of overlapping objects). Stacking order in this scenario can only be addressed by rearranging Design Layers. That being said, for 3D-centric workflows, this Design Layer approach might be slightly friendlier than doing it with Classes.

 

Another approach some folks use is to have one master Design Layer with all items assembled. Each item is a Symbol. That way you can place another instance of each Symbol, each on its own separate Design Layer, for the purpose of isolating that item for drafting. Since they're all symbols, when you update an item in the context of the combined master Design Layer, it ALSO updates on the isolated Design Layer, and vice verse. This workflow is advantageous in workflows where units might be "moving around" in the master Design Layer as the design evolves (such as stage scenery), since problems arise when you move objects after creating viewports. In this workflow, since viewports are looking at separate isolated Symbol instances which don't move, this problem is avoided. This workflow is also useful when each item might have multiple instances duplicated throughout a design, but only needs to be drafted once.

 

I don't believe there's currently a way to isolate objects in a viewport bases on Object Name, but that would be an interesting suggestion to tie into future improvements as mentioned above (for example, perhaps you could create a Viewport from scratch and get a list of Symbol Names and a list of Named Objects, then choose one of these as the basis for the viewport). Some day...

 

Hope this helps. Others might have additional workflow ideas.

[Kevin McAllister]

Sheet layer viewports need to be able to look at symbols. I and others have wishlisted it in the past. @Matt Panzer has acknowledged the need here in the past but I don't think its made it onto the roadmap.....

 

Kevin

 

[Hans-Olav]

If it works for you to have each piece as a symbol, the new grapic legend tool could probably solve this.

 

https://app-help.vectorworks.net/2023/eng/VW2023_Guide/Annotation2/Graphic_legends.htm?rhsearch=grapic legends&rhhlterm=legends legend

[Pat Stanford]

@Hans-OlavGreat out of the box (or is that inside the Graphic Legend box) thinking!!

[Hans-Olav]

(-;

 

we have been experimenting with custom made stairs saved as symbols and the graphic legend works quite well. Can even count instances if you set it up right