Annotations and selecting the correct item

[Nic_Berry]

Good morning.  I am annotating a drawing using the data tag tool.  Could anyone please let me know if there is a way to force the tag to select the item I want?  As an example I have 2 landscape areas stacked on top of each other, one with plants and another for bulbs - they are the same shape and size, and on the same design layer but I have them on different classes.  I don't appear to be able to choose which item gets tagged - I'm sure there must be a way but I cannot find it.  

 

[rDesign]

If you right-click on the Data Tag it gives you an option to re-associate the Data Tag to another object. Maybe it will work for you. (EDIT: now that I’ve read the help file on how it works, it may have been user error on my behalf).

 

I discovered the same behavior when I was trying to use the Data Tag on three Walls stacked on top of each other, all on different layers and classes. Right-clicking and trying to re-associate the Data Tag wouldn’t allow me to select the Wall I wanted — so the only way I could Data Tag the Wall (before reading the User Help) I wanted was to turn off the other two layers. And then turn the layers back on in the SLVP.
 

If re-associating the Data Tag doesn’t work since your objects are the same shape stacked on top of each other, you may need to temporarily turn off one of the Classes in the SLVP so you can tag the area you want.

Vw2023 Help File: Editing Data Tags

 

Edited February 6, 2023 by rDesign

[Tom W.]

Is another option to use the 'All Eligible Objects' mode of the tool to tag both Landscape Areas at once then delete the tag for the one you didn't want tagged...?

[Pat Stanford]

There is a Contextual Menu option called Select Coincident Objects. It has a 'helper' key of "J" in the stock Designer workspace. If you hold down J when you click on the object you will get a popup window that shows you the coincident objects and you can then click or arrow key and Return to select the object.

 

The Data Tag tool will then preferentially tag the selected object.

 

So you can either go to the Selection tool and then back to the Data Tag tool. Or you could do something like:

 

With the Data Tag tool selected hold down the Space bar to get the activate the Boomerang mode. This will give you the Pan (Hand) tool. With the Space bar still down hit the X key to select the Selection tool. With the Space bar still down hold the J key and left click on the coincident objects to bring up the selection dialog box. Release the Space bar. This will return you to the Data Tag tool. Select the object to select from the dialog box. Click to add a Data Tag and Associate it with the selected object.

 

It seems it should be easier. 😞

[Nic_Berry]

11 minutes ago, Tom W. said:

Is another option to use the 'All Eligible Objects' mode of the tool to tag both Landscape Areas at once then delete the tag for the one you didn't want tagged...?

Yes there is and I had high hopes this would be the answer, but you don't get to choose where the tags are inserted, so when you come to rearrange them, the problem then recurs.  

[Nic_Berry]

37 minutes ago, rDesign said:

If you right-click on the Data Tag it gives you an option to re-associate the Data Tag to another object. Maybe it will work for you. (EDIT: now that I’ve read the help file on how it works, it may have been user error on my behalf).

 

I discovered the same behavior when I was trying to use the Data Tag on three Walls stacked on top of each other, all on different layers and classes. Right-clicking and trying to re-associate the Data Tag wouldn’t allow me to select the Wall I wanted — so the only way I could Data Tag the Wall (before reading the User Help) I wanted was to turn off the other two layers. And then turn the layers back on in the SLVP.
 

If re-associating the Data Tag doesn’t work since your objects are the same shape stacked on top of each other, you may need to temporarily turn off one of the Classes in the SLVP so you can tag the area you want.

Vw2023 Help File: Editing Data Tags

 

Thanks for this - I have them on separate classes, so I've tried turning off the unwanted class but the problem remains (I'm trying to avoid creating a new layer but I might have to).  Apparently this ought to work and Katerina has submitted a bug report for this. 

[Nic_Berry]

16 minutes ago, Pat Stanford said:

There is a Contextual Menu option called Select Coincident Objects. It has a 'helper' key of "J" in the stock Designer workspace. If you hold down J when you click on the object you will get a popup window that shows you the coincident objects and you can then click or arrow key and Return to select the object.

 

The Data Tag tool will then preferentially tag the selected object.

 

So you can either go to the Selection tool and then back to the Data Tag tool. Or you could do something like:

 

With the Data Tag tool selected hold down the Space bar to get the activate the Boomerang mode. This will give you the Pan (Hand) tool. With the Space bar still down hit the X key to select the Selection tool. With the Space bar still down hold the J key and left click on the coincident objects to bring up the selection dialog box. Release the Space bar. This will return you to the Data Tag tool. Select the object to select from the dialog box. Click to add a Data Tag and Associate it with the selected object.

 

It seems it should be easier. 😞

Thank you for this.  The J command isn't working for me in the viewport annotation workspace unfortunately, no menu appears.  

[Pat Stanford]

The only thing I can think of is to edit the Design Layer 

Use Coinident Selection to select the item you need to tag

Go to the Annotations, Tag the object.

Repeat at necessary.

 

I just tried this and it seems to work. I got two coincident objects each with their own data tag in a Viewport Annotations Group.

[Elite Exhibits]

Nic

 

The suggestion from Pat is a good one - I find the "J" key helper needs some finesse (like plucking harmonics on a six string) - see attached

 

Peter

[zoomer]

5 minutes ago, Elite Exhibits said:

I find the "J" key helper needs some finesse

 

Oh, cool.

 

When I used the "J" key a few times,

I already stopped when I saw the List with useless names, Rectangle, Rectangle, Rectangle, ....

and thought that it is useless. Did not come to the idea to click and cycle through them to

get a highlighting 🙂

[Nic_Berry]

15 hours ago, Pat Stanford said:

The only thing I can think of is to edit the Design Layer 

Use Coinident Selection to select the item you need to tag

Go to the Annotations, Tag the object.

Repeat at necessary.

 

I just tried this and it seems to work. I got two coincident objects each with their own data tag in a Viewport Annotations Group.

Thanks Pat, I'll do this 

[Amanda McDermott]

17 hours ago, Nic_Berry said:

Thank you for this.  The J command isn't working for me in the viewport annotation workspace unfortunately, no menu appears.  

I thought I had the same issue but hadn't realised I need to then left-click on something to bring up the menu. If 'j' still not working for you, 'Select Coincident Objects' is in the 'Edit' Menu. I don't seem to be able to use it in the same way as Pat to get the data tag to attach to the thing behind though!

[Nic_Berry]

1 hour ago, Amanda McDermott said:

I thought I had the same issue but hadn't realised I need to then left-click on something to bring up the menu. If 'j' still not working for you, 'Select Coincident Objects' is in the 'Edit' Menu. I don't seem to be able to use it in the same way as Pat to get the data tag to attach to the thing behind though!

Select coincident objects is greyed out for me in the context menu, even if I have it pre-selected.  Perhaps I'm missing a step I'm not sure.

[Tom W.]

14 minutes ago, Nic_Berry said:

Select coincident objects is greyed out for me in the context menu, even if I have it pre-selected.  Perhaps I'm missing a step I'm not sure.

 

It will only be available if your cursor is at that moment picking up coincident objects, as evidenced by the presence of an asterisk next to it.

 

Incidentally I use J key all the time on the design layer but like @Amanda McDermott had zero success using it with Data Tags in VP annotations...

[Nic_Berry]

I have changed workspace and now I am able to select coincident objects - strangely enough it is the Landmark workspace that doesn't work for me.