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Sheet Layer Batch Renumber


Andy Broomell

Question

There needs to be an easier way of quickly renumbering multiple Sheet Layers.

For example: say I have a drafting package with 20 sheets. I discover I need to add another sheet between sheets 5 and 6. I want this new sheet to become sheet 6 and to renumber my existing sheets accordingly. I create the sheet and it defaults to 21. Then the fun begins because you can't have two sheets with the same number. So I manually renumber 21 as 22, 20 as 21, 19 as 20, 18 as 19, ... 7 as 8, 6 as 7, and 22 as 6. Five minutes later I've finally finished my task.

Barring the use of a worksheet perhaps, every renumber requires me to right-click the sheet layer to go to Edit, then enter the new number and hit OK. This gets tedious quickly.

What I propose is a function that would renumber your sheet layers (or selected sheet layers) to match the order in which they're stacked. So after creating the new sheet layer, you just drag it into the correct spot in the Nav palette list, select the sheets that need renumbering, right click and select 'Renumber'. For the most flexibility, a pop-up would ask what number to start with, then the selected sheets would be renumbered accordingly. It should be smart enough to incorporate non-numerical characters (if you wanted A101, A102, etc).

I know some users probably have things standardized to a point that renumbering is never an issue, but in my workflow I often find myself rearranging and adding plates as I work. A function like this would save a lot of time.

Thanks!

-Andy

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Submitting request now to renumber sheet layers according to their stacking order in the organization dialogue box.

Would it be adequate to have the option to automatically number ascending/descending via the order they were manually stacked, or are there other scenarios anyone reading encounters that would benefit from a different method of automated numbering?

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Do you think the usefulness of an ability like that would be isolated only to VPs?

Or should I put it for some sort of global ability to rename things in that fashion (Add Suffix/Prefix) via the Organization dialogue/Nav palette? So that it could work on Classes, Design Layers, Sheet Layers, Viewports and Saved Views as well?

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Yeah the entire line for each sheet layer should just be grabbable, I am not sure why its a specific column that has to be grabbed and re-arranged. I'll put that request in again if I can't find the last one that was submitted.

As for the prefix/suffix, there are a lot of was that this could be implemented, thoughts on an ideal method?

I think it would be simple for anything in the resource browser, it already allows multiple selection within it, so a command for "Add Prefix/Suffix" as well as "Modify Prefix/Suffix" would do. (Since you don't want ONLY the ability to add, as then changing it later would still be the old manual renaming process, so VW would need to track the prefix/suffix of resource names as separate from their actual names.)

As for layers, classes, viewports, saved views, they could all be renamed via buttons placed in the Org dialogue or in the Navigation palette.

For objects inserted within the document, do you think a "Modify > Manage Prefix/Suffix" would be the best choice, oriented around the current selection? Or would and entirely new "Name Management" dialogue be better, that could list all objects within a document, sort-able and visibility-controllable within this document in the same way the Custom Modification/Custom Selection sorting systems work, where the user could add, remove or modify prefixes and suffixes?

What other kinds of renaming tasks are regularly performed that would seem to belong in such a menu?

(I've had my coffee today if you can't already tell, and this feature has the whiff of greatness about it.)

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What about if it was as simple as grabbing a group of appropriate objects and renaming them, rather than a command. For example, choose a collection of sheet layers in the navigation palette and choose edit. Where it currently shows "Multiple Sheet Layers" under sheet title you type +Prefix where "Prefix" is actually what you want to add as a prefix or -Suffix where "Suffix" is the suffix you want to add.

Same could hold true for renumbering. +X to shift a group of sheets higher, -X to shift a group of sheets lower where X is the shift. Type the first number in a series to completely renumber (you could start with 1, 01, 001 for example and have VW be smart enough to adjust all of the numbering of the selected sheets).

No commands, just direct interaction with an existing dialogs.

Kevin

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Do you think just two new fields for the name would make more sense for prefix/suffix within the same editing window? So that what was the prefix and suffix was always separate and visible right away?

Your system makes sense unless the user has forgotten what was added as a prefix or suffix, them modifying it later may become confusing (unless I misunderstand your example)

I mostly mean that it seems like a visual cue for what portions of the full name are the prefix - body - suffix would be needed. Perhaps just have the different portions of the name appear in colored text?

Or would the user most likely ALWAYS be completely replacing or newly assinging a prefix/suffix each time they did anything to it?

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Hmmm. not sure. I always assumed the prefix / suffix stuff was to add something new, not change something existing (ie. I didn't think VW would know there was a prefix or suffix just know how add something before or after an existing name). You might chat with Kevin Linzey about a program called Lightwrite. It has some great tools for managing fields in this way. One of the most powerful was a simple search/replace where you entered x=y into the edit field while multiple items are selected.

I guess it comes down to whether we're asking for more integrated hierarchy (ie. prefix - body - suffix) or easier ways to manage the body text portion for groups of elements. I vote for the second myself.

Kevin

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Yep, Drawing Co-ordination is sloppy in VW. (maybe improved in VW 2016?)

I have Auto Drawing Coordination on, mainly for viewport numbering. I also use a worksheet to control sheet information. Problem is, the sheet numbering in the Navigation Pallete doesn't sync with the worksheet numbering and the sheet numbering.

What seems to work is to turn off Auto Drawing Coordination and turn back on again and the numbers then seem to sync.

Maybe the request should be "please fix auto drawing coordination" ;)

Edited by Kizza
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Thanks, But auto Drawing Coordination is only available in the designer series..... :)

It seems like what I'm (and others) is asking for should be a basic part of fundamentals - or at least a checkbox option for those who don't want VW to have too much control. This isn't something that comes up now and then - sheet layers is a major part of every project.

Edited by EAlexander
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I agree with the above wish. I think this needs to be a part of a brand new Set Manager tool that combines the features of the Sheet Border, Auto-Drawing Coordination, the Issue Manager, Revision Manger, and Publish tools. This way your whole project set can be centrally managed from a single location.

The manager would allow you to:

Set Up Drawing Series (100s 200s)

Assign sheets to the series.

Automatically number sheets within a series. Dragging sheets around - or adding sheets will renumber everything automatically.

Select sheets you want to issue via a checkbox - and have the issue data, and x of x, automatically updated and added to sheets as well as add the info to an ongoing comprehensive issue drawing worksheet.

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My average show has 100+ sheets because every session gets a floor plan on it's own sheet which I then publish into PDF's either by day, venue or business unit.

 

The sheet name I use is [BUSINESS UNIT, DAY, EVENT, VENUE].  When I go to Publish VWX changes the name to "Sht-1 [BUSINESS UNIT, DAY, EVENT, LOCATION]".  I am constantly moving and adding sheets to fit the changes in my clients' agendas so it isn't realistic to manually renumber the sheets with every change.  Please add the Sheet Number column to the Publish window so we can sort by sheet number or name.  Not just the automatically generated hybrid name.  This would eliminate, at least for my workflow, the need to renumber the sheets.

 

Thanks.

Edited by Industrial Event Services
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1 hour ago, Andy Broomell said:

It's not a matter of being "fixed" since it's not a bug since the functionality never existed. But no, sadly, this has not yet been implemented.

 

In some other thread recently someone posted a script which can help renumber sheets in the meantime. Can't seem to find it at the moment...

Is this the thread?

 

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