Multiple Section Line Scales in the Same Document

[_James]

It would be good to allow section lines linked to viewports to have different scales. Currently we show section lines on General Arrangement plans, but then often on smaller scale "key plans" on the section sheet.

 

Since the obejcts are both generated by the linked viewport, we either end up with a tiny section line marker on the General Arrangement plan or a massive marker on the key plan. The workaround to this would be to unlink one of them, but then that would defeat the object of having smart linked markers.

 

I've checked the "Plug In Style/Instance Settings" and the marker scale factor is by instance rather than style, but still the scale factor changes all the lines if one is changed.

[Tom W.]

Totally 100% agree with this. In fact made the same point elsewhere recently but no time to find it. Not sure if it was a Wishlist item. 

[_James]

I wondered whether it was worth adding it to this thread (which I found very entertaining in addition to making a lot of good points) as it's one of my sheet layer struggles.

[Tom W.]

I found the other discussion:

 

Not a Wishlist item so good that you made one!

 

Earlier in the thread @Matt Panzer says that Section Lines might be soon getting the Elevation Benchmark treatment...

 

And it reminded me what the other thing I wanted was: for the 'Use gapped line' parameter to be by instance as well as scaling.

[Andy Broomell]

When you say "different scales".... are we talking about the length of the Section Line, or the size of the markers/bubbles/text?

[Tom W.]

1 minute ago, Andy Broomell said:

When you say "different scales".... are we talking about the length of the Section Line, or the size of the markers/bubbles/text?

 

I believe we're talking about being able to change the size of the marker so that it's appropriate to the scale of the VP it's placed inside. But being able to edit the length of the section line is also an issue (discussed in the other thread): being able to do so without having to unlink it from the section VP.

[Andy Broomell]

I didn't realize until I re-read the original post, and tried it for myself in VWX just now, that changing the Marker Scale for one instance also changes the Marker Scale for all other instances generated from the same Section Viewport. That doesn't seem right...

 

Changing the line length per-instance would indeed be new functionality as discussed elsewhere, but I'm surprised we can't change the Marker Scale individually. Seems like a bug IMO.

[Tom W.]

5 minutes ago, Andy Broomell said:

I didn't realize until I re-read the original post, and tried it for myself in VWX just now, that changing the Marker Scale for one instance also changes the Marker Scale for all other instances generated from the same Section Viewport. That doesn't seem right...

 

Changing the line length per-instance would indeed be new functionality as discussed elsewhere, but I'm surprised we can't change the Marker Scale individually. Seems like a bug IMO.

 

Did you look at the other thread?

 

e.g.:

 

[line-weight]

22 hours ago, _James said:

I've checked the "Plug In Style/Instance Settings" and the marker scale factor is by instance rather than style, but still the scale factor changes all the lines if one is changed.

 

I think VW regards all section lines generated by section A-A as the same instance. So section B-B can have the same style but different scale factor... but any section lines on any viewport that are generated by B-B will have the same scale factor.

 

For me the fact that you can't edit the section line length per "instance" (or, in fact, at all, without messing up section viewports) is an even more critical problem.

 

Additionally I'd really want different "instances" (ie on different viewports) to be able to have different styles too; the small keyplan scenario you mention would be a good example because here I'd just want a very simple section line without reference numbers etc.

 

Because of all this I just don't attempt to have any section lines with a "defining" relationship to viewports except on one key viewport that's just for me to keep track of where sections are; it never appears in any issued drawings. I just have section lines "linked" in the sense that they'll auto coordinate drawing numbers, and no more.

 

Workarounds I've considered but not attempted to implement:

 

- Make a kind of "headless" SEL style that just generates a line, no markers, (but in the right location) on the relevant viewports, then place markers on it manually. But the problem of the line length would remain.

 

- Hack a grid-line style to be a SEL. Then you'd have something that appeared on all the viewports you wanted it on, and if you wanted to move its location, you'd just do it once and it would update everywhere, but its location wouldn't actually define any section viewports so there would still be a manual step in placing its location.