Work Sheets 2008 Is this possible

[J. Miller]

Hello,

Say one has a worksheet / database of a Count of records.

Can an additional columns be added to perform some simple math

The file could contain hundreds of symbols with the record attached

EXAMPLE

Parts Count Columns

QTY | Spares | Total Count | Type

Qty = Count of Records with like types

Spares = USER INPUT to add to the total Count

Total Count = Sum of (Qty + Spares)

Type = Record Field

Spares & Total Count are Not part of the record

I have tried a few ways to do this but none seem to work.

Will this work or am I asking to much of the new worksheets in VW2008. I trying to keep this data inside of VW and Not export to Excel which I can do, but am trying to avoid

Thanks in Advance

Jeff Miller

[ccroft]

I don't think you can do this in the way you wish. The reason is that DataBase worksheets are dynamic and change with the drawing. You could have a situation where you have all your spares entered on the correct lines, and then a new type is added to the drawing. A new line is inserted in the middle and you have to move all the user input to the new locations.

Possible ways to get around this involve the fact that worksheets and cells can be referenced to other worksheets and cells. I have a database sheet running in the background ('Tote') that gathers info dynamically, which is then fed to a simple (non database Excel-like) worksheet for further processing and display.

In your case, Tote would need separate database headers for each type. " List objects whose Record Field 'Type' = A", " List objects whose Record Field 'Type' = B", and so forth plus a count function. Your visible spreadsheet ('Info') would have cells with formulae like =Tote.B1, =Tote.B2 etc. You can arrange Info in any way you like, with any number of columns, sums, formula, user input, etc that you need.

It may sound complicated, but it's quite straight-forward once you start building this type of system, and allows a lot of flexibility. And it remains dynamically connected to the drawing, eliminating the need to export every time the drawing changes. I've been using a template with all this pre-set for about 6 years.

Now...I seem to remember some talk of a new feature that allows referencing the sub-rows of Databases. This would also do the trick, but I don't know if we have that in 2008 or not. Something to look forward to if we don't.

Charles

[J. Miller]

this sounds like this is going to turn into a scripting project. Thanks for your input.

Jeff

[Pat Stanford]

The easiest way to accomplish what you are looking for is to attach an additional "User_Edit" record to each object. You don't have to do any data entry in the Data pane of the OIP. Just put them in the VW2008 worksheet and the 2-way feature will allow you to enter data in each sub-row of the database and set up your calculation exactly as you want.

If you want to get fancy, you could set up a formula for a column that would tell you when your User_Edit record is not attached to the object in that row.

Now if you have lots of objects, you might want to create a script to do the attaching of the record, but if you can set up a simple Custom Selection script, it is only one click in the OIP Data pane to actually attach the record.

Just be careful that you don't delete the User_Edit record or you will lose the data.

Also, I recommend that when you name your record, don't use any spaces in the name. If you use spaces, you will have to wrap the name with quotes in all of your formulas. If there are no spaces, you can type it directly.

Pat

[ccroft]

Hmmm...2 way worksheets. Hadn't thought of using the feature like that, Pat. Opens up a whole host of possibilities. I guess he could also use a "Spare" feild in the existing record in much the same way.

I wonder if I could hi-jack this thread a bit and ask you a couple questions about the new worksheets. I need a bit of ammunition to fight for the upgrade to 2008 and Industry series.

What happens if you have more than one object summed in a sub-row. If you make a change to one worksheet field I guess it changes that field in all the objects records?

And what happens if you use the "force-select" (or whatever it's called) in this situation. My understanding is that if there's one object, it'll take you to the layer the object is on and select it. If you have more than one object what happens? Can you tab or something to each object?

TIA

Charles

[Pat Stanford]

I just did a quick test. You are correct in your assumption that for summed rows, any change in the worksheet is made to all of the summed objects. The cell in the worksheet shows the sum of all the objects, not an individual value. You could create an additional cell with a formula of =User_Edit.Integer/Count which would work OK if all of the objects have the same value.

If you change a value in the Data pane of the OIP for one object, it only effects that object, not other objects that happen to be summed. The cell still shows the sum of all the objects.

If you have a text field it will change in all the objects.

You can not Force Select on a summed row. If you have a row that happens to have a single object, you can force select it.

Pat

[ccroft]

Thanks for taking the time!