worksheet for area calculation

[previa]

How can I attatch the area of a polygon to a cell in a worksheet?

Is it possible to attatch it also to plain text in the drawing?

Thanks

[Petri]

1) With formula =AREA; for those working in mm and wanting areas in m2, =AREA/10^6.

2) No. There are (i) parametric objects that do it automatically and (ii) add-on programs that create non-dynamic area tags.

[islandmon]

Tool>Engineering Properties... will provide this functionality.

[Petri]

So it seems. It also provides unwanted data and cannot give the area in user-defined units. True to NNA's way of doing things, it thinks that the area unit in millimetres is "sq mm".

Well, it is only 99% of the world that knows that it should be "mm2" - one of these millennia, this knowledge may even reach the shores (if any) of Maryland.

Anyway, thanks for the reminder.

[panthony]

Knowledge came to Massachusetts first?Maryland has been left out except for a small little autonomous area better known a DC where if you look really hard you may find a person or two who can point out how to get to NC whereby you may acquire all knowledge of finer things like coffee, pickles and flax.

But any object placed on a drawing including text can have a record attached with information to collect to a worksheet.

[previa]

thanks, petri, but how do I reffer to one polygon in the drawing, so the worksheet knows which area should use

[dspearman]

Name it?

Using the data tab of the object info pallet (the big empty field at the top).

[Petri]

thanks, petri, but how do I reffer to one polygon in the drawing, so the worksheet knows which area should use

Depends. Could be "selected", ie. "=AREA(SEL=TRUE)", but that does not exclude selected objects on other layers.

Naming is indeed another option: "=AREA(N='My Fancy Poly').

Class: create a class for objects to measure. The formula would be eg. "=AREA(SEL=TRUE & T=Poly & C='The class for to-be-measured -thingies')

[Petri]

But any object placed on a drawing including text can have a record attached with information to collect to a worksheet.

I wonder why simple measurements like area could not be "calculated fields". I have just spent several days in writing a command that calculates the area of any selected object and (i) puts the area tag on the drawing and (ii) puts the measurement to a data record.

The functional core was the easy bit - the user interface & universality were hard.

[dspearman]

I guess the point here is that naming is appropriate if their will be one object, selection if the measurement can be volatile (but then why would you be using a worksheet...), and classing where their are multiple objects to be measured.

If you just need the area and don't need the value in a worksheet, select the poly or multiple polys and take the value off the object info pallet.

Your technique will depend on your workflow and what you need to do with the value.

Petri, space and hardscape objects do what you just described but are not in fundamentals.

[Petri]

Petri, space and hardscape objects do what you just described but are not in fundamentals.

They do indeed. With serious shortcomings in the broader context, but are nevertheless quite nice beginner attempts.

[Petri]

Your technique will depend on your workflow and what you need to do with the value.

Precisely. We all tend to assume that what we have just now in mind is extremely important and generally useful - and that everyone knows exactly what we mean.

By and large, the areas of single objects are irrelevant. They are useful mainly for a single purpose and as such valuable, but the focus of area (or whatever) calculations should be in categories of objects, eg./ie. classes and/or layers. Worksheet databases (reports) are therefore the core of area (etc) calculations.

If only we could pull also volumetric data into a worksheet... I have wish-listed all appropriate VectorScript functions to worksheets. If we can get lengths and areas, why not volumes and surface areas? (Just to name some.)

[previa]

Thanks a lot, I will use naming to start.

That command you made sounds really interesting, petri. Is it avalible anywhere?

[Petri]

That command you made sounds really interesting, petri. Is it avalible anywhere?

Maybe through the Finnish VW-distributor Ultirender and your local national distributor, but there are certain problems regarding licencing. I don't want it to become "warez" that people just give to anyone (few VW users want to pay for anything), so I am quite reluctant to allow "non-controlled" distribution in suspicious territories (which means anywhere outside Finland).

Some of my (semi)commercial add-ons have, I understand, been used by "everyone", but I haven't really seen much activity in my bank account.

[previa]

just asked if you had a website similar to VectorBITS, where you can buy some really cool scripts.

Anyway, I'll ask our local distributor to get in touch with Finlad's

regards

[Benson Shaw]

If only we could pull also volumetric data into a worksheet... I have wish-listed all appropriate VectorScript functions to worksheets. If we can get lengths and areas, why not volumes and surface areas? (Just to name some.)

I did not try this in v12.5 yet, but I have put dynamic V and A data in VW 11 work sheets. It calcs accurately and cells for individual objects can be linked to show sums of V's and A's of all objects in a class or other gouping. For worksheets with lots of associated 3d objects, the biggest problem is/was that the whole worksheet recalcs every time any value in any cell is changed. This includes changing simple text entries in a cell needing no calculations. The recalc time is non trivial, at least on my current equipment. It would be nice if the recalc was only for cells with changes.

-B

[Petri]

I did not try this in v12.5 yet, but I have put dynamic V and A data in VW 11 work sheets.

Right. Obviously an undocumented feature... Thanks, I'll try it immediately!

[Petri]

=CRITERIAVOLUME

=CRITERIASURFACEAREA

How long has this been there!

[Benson Shaw]

Looks like its working for you now, Petri and Previa, but for others reading this thread:

VW 12.5 DOES have capability to show and update, in a worksheet cell, the combined volumes (or areas, etc) of all objects in a class (or color, or shape, etc).

These formulae and functions are discussed in the Worksheet chapter of the print and onscreen manuals as Additional Worksheet Operations. The subsection for Search Criteria discusses how to enter selection criteria into a formula/function for objects (class, color, line style, etc) to tell the worksheet cell which objects need to be evalutated when the funciton is calculated.

If the process or format for V and A data returned by Tools/Engineering Properties is not to your liking:

One could create a small, separate worksheet for Area (or V or perimeter, etc) of each object being considered - just enough rows and columns for values desired. Place each little worksheet on the drawing and add a leaderline to the associated object - like a dimension or text call out. I don't know what happens to recalculation times if there are lots of little worksheets on a layer or in a viewport.

-B