WinDoor Styles - PIO vs Symbol

[MaleXLR]

We have hundreds of WinDoor symbols [Don't even ask!!!] - well, I say "symbols", but they have been saved as PIOs.

 

What I want to do is create a symbol with a WinDoor Style and save it to the Resource Manager... Fine. I can do that, but when I use it it comes in as a symbol and to make any changes (outside of the Style) we have to explode it. Once exploded, it does however still have the correct Style attached.

 

If I change the symbols to PIOs, everything looks great - when I place it, it is nicely exploded and I can change the form, willy nilly. BUT HOLD ON... it has lost the Style that I assigned to it and it has become its own WinDoor Style!

 

Is anyone using WinDoor Styles effectively?

 

Surely placing a symbol doesn't involve having to explode it and if it is a PIO instead, I would have to replace the style of every WinDoor element that I place so that it is linked to a "Parent".

 

Please identify my stupidity! What am I missing???

 

[Jonathan Pickup]

when you create a symbol, you have the option to make it explode into a Plugin object automatically (as we as ensuring that the symbol is assigned to the correct class). If you don't do this when you create the symbols, you can do it later. 

 

[MaleXLR]

Thanks Jonathan. I have been doing that (both before and after options - must be a result of good training!), but in your example: If the WinDoor Style is set to "Style01" and then you create the PIO as "W01", everything is sweet and when you insert the PIO it has a symbol name of "W01" and any new instances have a style of "Style01". All good!

 

Then [as I discovered after manipulating dozens of bloody symbols] after closing the file and re-opening (VW 2018) the PIO forgets that it used to have a style of "Style01" and now calls itself style "W01" for all new instances...

 

As a workaround I wondered whether I could use a worksheet to set the style (or check that the correct style is set) after windows are in place.

 

It will confirm the style, but I can't change it from the worksheet, so it needs a second workaround step, ie: select similar from the design layer, then replace the style.

 

Again, unless I am missing something, the WinDoor styles seem like such a powerful tool, but compromised by workability!?!

 

Edited October 18, 2019 by MaleXLR
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