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Conditional Overlays (Dynamic Blocks)


Tom Klaber

Question

I have no idea by what mechanism this is possible - maybe via on/off records - but we need a way for symbols to have different states or geometry that we can turn on and off.

 

Right now we are doing an ADA check - and we need to have a different symbol for each door + approach use case.  We have 6 basic door types and there are 6 approach conditions - so now we need to make 36 symbols.  It would be great if we could make 6 symbols, then embed the different conditions, then on an instance by instance basis, turn on the conditions we want to see.  (I would love if this was built into the door tool - but this would be helpful in general.)  I am thinking it could be done via a record format.  Just like text can be linked to a record, geometry should be able to be linked to an on/off switch.  

Screen Shot 2016-12-15 at 3.15.52 PM.png

Edited by Tom Klaber
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oops, I guess it's up to the local distributor to add this in as each county would have different legislation. Ozcad are pretty good. All the Code options are there, you just turn this on and you ca instantly see which doors have the issue and as you switch the door swing it changes and you can try different options and move walls to suite the outline.

Edited by Alan Woodwell
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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
13 minutes ago, Tom Klaber said:

Ug.  Why is the Aussie version so much cooler than the American version?  Is that part of Windoor? 

@JimWI want what@Alan Woodwell has.  We really do need better Accessibility checks built in.  It is always this secondary check we do after - and it messes us up.  We need better access to that info as we are designing. 

 

Agreed.

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2 hours ago, Alan Woodwell said:

oops, I guess it's up to the local distributor to add this in as each county would have different legislation. Ozcad are pretty good. All the Code options are there, you just turn this on and you ca instantly see which doors have the issue and as you switch the door swing it changes and you can try different options and move walls to suite the outline.

 

The only annoying thing (just to make those missing out feel better) the options for which approach are all the way inside the setting dialogue box on a tab. So you can't group select door and change them all at once. It would be nicer if you could control from object info.

 

Still Dynamic Blocks / Symbols would still be very very useful for many many things.

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I use 3D symbols to gain some of the functionality that ACAD's dynamic blocks bring. I create a 3D symbol and put it on its own layer (I suppose like a WBLOCK page?) and pull viewports off of it for my sheets. Once in place, the same viewport can have the view changed from top, front, sides, orthographic, etc. I think it can also be flipped. You can't stretch it, but that's kind of a 2D thing and drafting in 2D is totally for the birds anyway (that means "crazy" for non-North Americans). That said, I think the door symbol does allow you lots of variation in size, transoms, sidelights, etc. So I'm not sure what the problem is there. Anyway, just my two-cents on how to create the same functionality, but not with a VW symbol as a self-contained entity, but as a contextual one, meaning it gains functionality in where you place it and how you reference it.

Thanks,

Mike

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