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Multiple Space Labels


Guest Wes Gardner

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  • 3 months later...

Thank you for the tutorial. Quick question though, is it possible to incorporate mathematical equations into the space label, and is it possible to add additional records into the space record format?

In my jurisdiction I need to create spaces that show the dimensions of the space and calculate the number of people permitted per space. So lets say I have a requirement of 30 SF per person, id like to add an additional record that dynamically adds this to the space label once the dimensions are revised. The inputs for additional miscellaneous notes does not calculate equations, but the equation record does. Then I need to extract this information into a worksheet that access the database record of the space label. I'd like to do this without manually revising result, but rather have the label output it automatically.

Could this be done? Or would I need to do this via marionette tool?

Thank you in advance

Samuel

Edited by Samuel Derenboim
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Samuel

I think something like this will do what you need.

If you only needed it to appear on a worksheet then it would be a simple call with some math: =(Space.Area/30) DIV 1

But to get it to appear in the label, you need to put one of the user defined fields in the label and run a simple script to update the contents of that field.

The attached simple example assumes that each space could have a different square-feet-per-person rating.

Just add a space object, alter the size of an existing space object, or change the values in the Sq Ft per Person column. Then run the script called 'Space Max Occupancy'.

This should give you the idea. Season to taste.

hth

mk

Edited by michaelk
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  • 5 months later...

I love the multiple labels in the space tool - but it does add fire to the ever present battle between annotations in the design layer or in the annotations of viewports.

I have always been a fan of annotating in the design layers, but it seems as if the auto-coordination tag system prefer to be in the annotations.

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  • 4 months later...
On 11/28/2015 at 9:19 PM, michaelk said:

Samuel

I think something like this will do what you need.

If you only needed it to appear on a worksheet then it would be a simple call with some math: =(Space.Area/30) DIV 1

But to get it to appear in the label, you need to put one of the user defined fields in the label and run a simple script to update the contents of that field.

The attached simple example assumes that each space could have a different square-feet-per-person rating.

Just add a space object, alter the size of an existing space object, or change the values in the Sq Ft per Person column. Then run the script called 'Space Max Occupancy'.

This should give you the idea. Season to taste.

hth

mk

Michael, I'm very curious about this. I surprisingly didn't know you made a script for this, and I posted this a year ago, so unfortunately its a bit embarrasing for me to ask - would it be possible to share the script one more time? Or perhaps there's a function i don't see to download that attachment? 

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Samuel

Since the change in the forum last month, it looks like all of the posted files from the old forum are (temporarily ?) missing.

I didn't remember how I did this, but thanks to the magic of Spotlight, a search for "Space Max Occupancy" found it!

Just tried it in 2017 and it still works.  In the worksheet enter a number in the sq ft per person column and then run the script.  A new value will appear in the Max Occupancy column and in the space label.

 

hth

mk

Space Occ per Sq Ft.vwx

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3 hours ago, michaelk said:

Samuel

Since the change in the forum last month, it looks like all of the posted files from the old forum are (temporarily ?) missing.

I didn't remember how I did this, but thanks to the magic of Spotlight, a search for "Space Max Occupancy" found it!

Just tried it in 2017 and it still works.  In the worksheet enter a number in the sq ft per person column and then run the script.  A new value will appear in the Max Occupancy column and in the space label.

 

hth

mk

Space Occ per Sq Ft.vwx

Michael, 

Beautifully written! I'm trying to decipher the script - Setrfield can only be done in a script? or in a worksheet as well?

I can see how you used the variables and recalled the record information to place the calculation into 'Space'.'11_User-Def Info 1', I'm wondering if that's possible in just the worksheet. You basically temporarily change the string value of 'Space'.'11_User-Def Info 1' from text to num which is incredible. Can we just modify it in the parametric record toolbar??? :))))

Thank you!

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Sam

Typing a value into the cell of a column that calls a record format field like ='Space'.'11_User-Def Info 1' is exactly the same thing as SetRField( SpaceHand ,'Space','11_User-Def Info 1',StringOccRating); in the script.

A worksheet is great at taking the value from a record format field or fields and performing arithmetic on those values.  But it can't then move that value from the cell where the calculations were done to the cell connected to ='Space'.'11_User-Def Info 1' without scripting help.

Or just copy / paste.

I often find it faster (because I script at a glacial pace) to have a separate worksheet that has both the calculated values and the calls for the fields into which I want to insert data.  Then you can just copy the values in one column and paste them to the other.

 

hth

mk

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What about space labels for section viewports?

Maybe this has been covered, but is there any way to have space labels appear in section viewports? So long as a ceiling height were incorporated into a space object, the information needed to place the space label would be available.

 

Thanks,
Matt

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Guest Wes Gardner

Yeah, a lot of firms doing project both big and small like to have room names, room numbers or both in section.  It would be cool to have this ability similar to the window where you can show the tag in elevation

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  • 2 months later...
On 9/25/2016 at 10:01 PM, michaelk said:

Sam

Typing a value into the cell of a column that calls a record format field like ='Space'.'11_User-Def Info 1' is exactly the same thing as SetRField( SpaceHand ,'Space','11_User-Def Info 1',StringOccRating); in the script.

A worksheet is great at taking the value from a record format field or fields and performing arithmetic on those values.  But it can't then move that value from the cell where the calculations were done to the cell connected to ='Space'.'11_User-Def Info 1' without scripting help.

Or just copy / paste.

I often find it faster (because I script at a glacial pace) to have a separate worksheet that has both the calculated values and the calls for the fields into which I want to insert data.  Then you can just copy the values in one column and paste them to the other.

 

hth

mk

Michael, 

Quick question, 

is there a string that allows a database header to round a number to the nearest inch? In other words, lets say i have a space thats 6'5.324" x 4'7.643" - when displaying the length and width and areas - is it possible to round these numbers to the nearest inch? like 6'5" x 4'8" ...etc?

 

Also, str2num doesn't work in vw 2017 anymore...am i missing something?

 

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a formula similar to =ROUND(VALUE(A1)*12)/12 with the cell set to a Dimension format should round to the nearest inch. Just replace the A1 with a valid string representation of a dimension.  If you already have it as a number, just skid the value part.

 

What do you mean str2num doesn't work. It was fine in the test I just ran in a script. Do you mean in a worksheet or a script?

 

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2 hours ago, Pat Stanford said:

a formula similar to =ROUND(VALUE(A1)*12)/12 with the cell set to a Dimension format should round to the nearest inch. Just replace the A1 with a valid string representation of a dimension.  If you already have it as a number, just skid the value part.

 

What do you mean str2num doesn't work. It was fine in the test I just ran in a script. Do you mean in a worksheet or a script?

 

i was referring to the worksheet. shouldn't  Str2num work the same way in converting a database string entry into a number format? I believe it worked for me earlier. I will double check at home, since i have done a few experiments with this already, but a while back. 

 

By the way, =Round string worked perfectly!, Thank you Pat!

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On 12/2/2016 at 8:14 PM, Pat Stanford said:

I don't remember ever using str2num in a worksheet. I think the option in worksheets has always been Value(). Very similar operation.

Pat, 

Sorry to bug you again, 

is there a way to show the dimensions of all sides of a space? not just the length or the width? In the New York jurisdiction the plan examiners are very meticulous to zoning floor areas, and as a result ask us not just to show the dimensions but show the areas and calculations of every space adding up to the whole. This requires Architects in New York to subdivide all areas into rectangles, squares, trapezoids and/or triangles. 

When you have a trapezoid in Vectorworks however, the length of width function only shows the dimension of the larger length, not the smaller one, and not even an average between the two - which is something used in calculating the area of a trapezoid. 

so my question is :

1 - any way we can call out/show all the dimensions of a space?

2 - using average(length) or average(width) still wouldn't work to call out the average between the two unequal sides. any workaround?

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Do you really need to dimension everything?  If you create either polygons for each room, or SPACES for each room, you should be able to get the areas very easily.a

 

If you really want/need to show even dimension, convert them to lines in (multiple) classes and then get the Length.

 

The X and Y values in the worksheet are just about useless for anything that is not rectilinear to the screen.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 30/09/2016 at 11:31 PM, Wes Gardner said:

Yeah, a lot of firms doing project both big and small like to have room names, room numbers or both in section.  It would be cool to have this ability similar to the window where you can show the tag in elevation

 

Something like an Image Prop but for text would be very useful in this regards. Not just rooms or windows but wall tags comes to mind.

 

Oh yes another great Tutorial document. Is there a collection of these somewhere?

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  • 3 months later...

Another Space Tool wishlist item would be to allow multiple independent boundary objects per space. Hear me out folks...

For starters, the Gross vs. Net function built into the Space Tool is virtually useless. Area definitions are way more complex than this tool would like you to believe. The building code has 3 definitions alone (Building Area, Gross Area, and Net Area). Each jurisdiction has their own versions of Gross and Net to add to this. Then there's BOMA, etc. for marketing.

 

The bottom line is that Space Tool boundaries need to be defined in many distinct ways, and so the simple Gross/Net algorithm that the tool offers cannot reconcile all this.

 

As a workaround, we end up making multiple spaces for each space, and put them on separate classes (A-AREA-BLDG, A-AREA-GROSS, A-AREA-NET, A-AREA-PLNG, etc.) Then at least, we can create very helpful worksheets to track all of our Area related tabulations. It's a lot of work, but it does pay off for commercial projects, where there's a lot of complex building info. to document. Having so many separate spaces to organize is a big headache of course. If the Space Tool provided multiple boundaries, each independently class-able, it would improve the workflow immensely.

 

Matt 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...
On 3/29/2017 at 5:24 PM, mgries said:

Another Space Tool wishlist item would be to allow multiple independent boundary objects per space. Hear me out folks...

For starters, the Gross vs. Net function built into the Space Tool is virtually useless. Area definitions are way more complex than this tool would like you to believe. The building code has 3 definitions alone (Building Area, Gross Area, and Net Area). Each jurisdiction has their own versions of Gross and Net to add to this. Then there's BOMA, etc. for marketing.

 

The bottom line is that Space Tool boundaries need to be defined in many distinct ways, and so the simple Gross/Net algorithm that the tool offers cannot reconcile all this.

 

As a workaround, we end up making multiple spaces for each space, and put them on separate classes (A-AREA-BLDG, A-AREA-GROSS, A-AREA-NET, A-AREA-PLNG, etc.) Then at least, we can create very helpful worksheets to track all of our Area related tabulations. It's a lot of work, but it does pay off for commercial projects, where there's a lot of complex building info. to document. Having so many separate spaces to organize is a big headache of course. If the Space Tool provided multiple boundaries, each independently class-able, it would improve the workflow immensely.

 

Matt 

 

 

 

I really do not see how having multiple boundaries inside the same object would be any better than having multiple objects.  My gut is that it would be worse.  Correctly classed space objects should do the job just as well.

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On 5/26/2017 at 10:48 AM, Tom Klaber said:

 

I really do not see how having multiple boundaries inside the same object would be any better than having multiple objects.  My gut is that it would be worse.  Correctly classed space objects should do the job just as well.

Tom, there's one major benefit as I see it:

Multiple boundaries would allow adjacent columns in a single worksheet to allow a side-by-side comparison of related area tabulations (each related to a different boundary).  For example, you would be able to show Gross and Net side-by-side in the same worksheet. The tool is supposed to be able to provide for this, but as I previously explained, the algorithm is far too simplistic to be used in practice. So now, we have to make 2 space labels, on 2 different classes. This, in turn, can only be used to create 2 separate worksheets. IMHO, tracking 1 plug-in object and 1 worksheet is far better than tracking 2 plug-in objects and 2 worksheets.

Matt

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Ok I figured out what the problem is.  However I cannot figure out why VW behaves this way.  I discovered that if you move a tag that has a finish or a calculation associated with it, you have to check and uncheck either "On Room Finish Schedule" or "Calculate Room Dimensions" for the tag to reappear.  Ugh. 

 

I also noticed that checking or unchecking Space Label 1 will result in Space Label 2 and 3 from disappearing from your Object Info Palette.  Multiple clicks on Space Label 1 Enables the others again. This functionality seems glitchy at best, and definitely not stable enough to be usable. Has anybody else experienced this?

 

Multiple Space Tag Test.vwx

Edited by cberg
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