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Can i make a configurable 2d symbol ?


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Ive got an symbol like this : https://imgur.com/a/hnZl8lM, which represents a double directional downlight, the arrows indicate the direction each downlight is directed.  

 

The item it represents is like this : https://www.orlight.com/en/cat/downlights/ORL1019SQ-2.html


My symbol shows the downlight as well as the direction each of the individual downlights is to be pointed. 

 

There are currently lots of variants of the symbol, subject to the way each individual downlight is directioned : eg. 

 

Left Downlight  |      Right Downlight

=============================

Up                       |      Up

Right                   |      Right

Down                  |     Down

Left                     |      Left

Middle                |      Middle

 

Is it possible to make a configurable symbol so that i only need to have one symbol for the double directional downlight, but i can for each instance of the symbol can be edited via the object info to set the "direction" marker triangles. 

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Basically no. Vectorworks symbols do not have that kind of functionality the way that dynamic blocks do in AutoCad which is often a source of annoyance. You could make a marionette scripted object though which I think would work. For that, I would suggest you post on the Marionette forums page. I'm afraid you are going to have to make 5 symbol instances and get very familiar with the Replace Symbol Command.

 

Edited by markdd
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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

@Sam Lee you could probably get away with just one symbol by using design layer Viewports and class visibilities, though the workflow is a bit unusual:

 

-Create one symbol that includes all the different variations for the downlight, and place the variations in their own classes within the symbol

-Place the symbol on its own design layer

-Create a design layer Viewport that shows only that layer

-Use the viewport's Class visibilities to control which of the downlight variations you want that instance to show

-Duplicate the viewport and change the visibilities as needed for other configurations

 

This seems to work pretty well in my testing, though it might not be for everyone. Other than that, the only way to really do this is with lots of different symbols (as Mark said).

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

The best solution for this would be a custom plug-in or a marionette object. The object could contain two instances of a directional light symbol and have separate rotation angle parameters for each. It should be fairly easy to create for someone experienced in creating these objects. You might find some help with this in the Vectorscript, Python, or Marionette forums.

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