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How to change PIO to static symbol?


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Hi all,

I am trying to go down the BIM route as far as is possible. I am finding though that putting in lots of VW 12 Architect's window tool's objects is really bloating my file size and slowing things down.

I know that I can make one window a symbol and then repeat that to cut down file size, but I'm not convinced that it actually improves performance when manipulating the model (eg. 'cut viewport section' etc.).

How would I go about changing the PIO into a static symbol (ie one that is no longer parametric and doesn't contain a lot of boolean geometry) but that maintains the right style attributes for the various parts of the window (ie. glass, muntins etc.) and that appears 2D on the plan?

Also, will this significantly improve the performance of my files? I am finding v12 a little bit slow in this regard.

Thanks in advance,

Nick

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You can convert a PIO into the underlying geometry (2D if you do it in Top/Plan, 3D in other views) by invoking Ungroup. To make a 2D/3D symbol of a window, I would 1) remove it from the wall; 2) Ungroup in Top/Plan to get 2D geometry, Select All, Copy; 3) Undo to return to the PIO; 4) switch to a 3D view and invoke Ungroup again; 5) finally, switch back to Top/Plan and Paste in Place the 2D geometry that was previously copied; 6) marquee all the window components (the 2D should be precisely stacked on top of the 3D) and Create Symbol. The symbol now has the same geometry as the original PIO, but it's no longer dynamic.

I've used symbols a great deal, partly to help control file bloat. I've never tried converting the underlying PIO to see if that helps to reduce file size. I'll be interested to learn from your experience.

Good luck,

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Thanks Travis, that helps me out. Maybe my thinking is flawed though.. I thought I had read that windows were made of boolean geometry, but when I ungroup I just get a few extrusions. And they don't want to be converted to Generic Solids. Also the file size doesn't seem to change much.

Perhaps its unneccessary...

Nick

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A PIO uses methods to create a script to define the parameters of an Object. Then uses APIs to create & display the Object. The most efficient approach is to create a single PIO Instance and convert it to a Symbol Instance and then use the Symbol Instance instead of individual PIO Instances. Each Symbol Instance has a unique ID# which is then repeated as required during placement. Whereas each PIO Instance has a unique ID# and a new ID # is generated for each PIO Instance placed.

Therefore, it is more efficient to minimize the PIO Instances by converting a single PIO Instance into a Symbol Instance for multiple placement. The overhead saved = the size of the scripts muliplied by the number of Instances.

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