Do Datatag Functions like #ΔY#, #ΔX# or #ΔZ# exist for worksheets?

[Samuel Derenboim]

Hi everybody,

 

The functions like #ΔY#, #ΔX# or #ΔZ# can be used for polygons to callout rough dimensions of polygons via the data tag tool. I can't seem to be able to find it in the worksheet functions. do they exist? Functions like length width and height cannot be called out if the polygon has punch outs, and only these functions will call out the proper information.

 

Thank you in advance.

Edited May 1, 2020 by Samuel Derenboim

[michaelk]

Do you have an example you could post?

 

I just tried an experiment.  The width and height of a polygon didn't change when I clipped a shape out of the middle, but the area and perimeter did.

[Samuel Derenboim]

Thank you@michaelk . I forgot to mention it was a polygon extracted from a 3d surface. So the polygon was oriented in the xz and / or yz direction. I have attached a file for you to look at. Width returns the length. Length returns perimeter. I cannot extract true height. and Area returns the correct surface area. Do you think it is a bug? I've read on other forums that even on extrusions, height width and length don't exactly work properly because of their orientation in space, i'm guessing it might be a similar issue.

I've also tried subtracting topbound and bottom bound to get the height, but that also doesn't work.

PolyTest.vwx

Edited May 3, 2020 by Samuel Derenboim

[michaelk]

There are a few things going on here.

 

When you first draw a 2D object Width is the left to right measurement and height is the top to bottom measurement.

 

There was a big discussion a couple years ago about what should happen if you rotate that object.  I don't remember where it ended up.

 

In the case of a 2D object like a polygon length and perimeter will be the same thing.  If the polygon isn't closed, the open side doesn't count in perimeter or length.  If you clip a shape out of the middle of it you increase both the length and the perimeter.

 

It's super unfortunate, but Topbound and Botbound are dependent on the current view.  So if you switch to a front view and update, you would get useable information.

 

In top/plan the top and bottom bound are the same.  So subtracting them returns 0.

 

If you extrude the polygon with an extrude value of 0", then the orientation of the current view won't matter.  The width will be correct.  The height will be correct.  The length will be the extrusion value:  0.  I find this confusing, but the Surface Area returns the surface area of the 2D shape, not the total of all the surfaces.

 

It's confusing 🙂

 

 

 

[Samuel Derenboim]

@michaelk  Yep, a lot of it makes sense. A lot of these problems could be simply solved by using the #ΔY#, #ΔX# or #ΔZ# in the worksheets like they do in tags. My question is, why wouldn't the information in the tags match the same information in the worksheets? I mean, one could link the fields to the #ΔY#, #ΔX# or #ΔZ# functions via tag, but it only updates it when the object is tagged. If it didn't have that information before, it has to be re-tagged. If the geometry is updated, the same thing. :/. Its a little frustrating. 🙂

 

Few questions here :

1. Based on your answer, I'm guessing #ΔY#, #ΔX# or #ΔZ# cannot be called out in worksheets? (as these functions would solve all of the above concerns regarding orientation.)

2. If I link the #ΔY#, #ΔX# or #ΔZ# Tag functions to a field, and i need to update the geometry, is there a script that can update the tag references upon updating the worksheet?

3. By the looks of it, #ΔY#, #ΔX# or #ΔZ# functions cannot be transferred via link using an integer/number function, only the text based function. Is there a way to convert them to numbers after they have been converted to text? (something like txt2num?)

[michaelk]

1.  I think the answer is worksheets are very old and data tags are very new.  I haven't tried to use a worksheet to call data tag info yet.  If I have time today I'll take a look.

2.  Not that I know of.

3.  If you have a text field that is a number in a worksheet you can use =VALUE.  But I think it has to be just a number.  No units.