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link between spotlight and connectcad


Ben3B

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Hello,

Is a link between spotlight symbole and connectcad symbol ? 

Example:

I put a sound desk in 3d in spotlight, and the schematic symbol is also in the schematic layer, the same for other 3d symbol as light fixture, screen, camera ...

That way in the schematic layer, i only have to put other stuff (who don't need to be present in 3d view, such as node, spliter, converter...) and make connection to print beautiful synoptique...

Below is my first test in real condition, I now know some tips to optimize my workflow, and presentation ;)

 

hope I'm clear in my questions/request :)

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image.thumb.png.d1db47f8cd52e4aae99382a01970e86b.png

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Hello @Ben59,

 

If you select the "Use Symbol" checkbox in the Equipment Item OIP, then you can use different symbols to be displayed instead of the default Equipment Item graphics. That way, you can have your equipment item look like a spotlight object and still have it connected to the schematic device.

 

Let me know if you need additional information on this one.

 

Best Regards,

Nikolay Zhelyazkov

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Hello thanks for answer ;)

I begin to see a solution ;) but 

  1. there is a connection between device when I update rack layout elevation, but not after ? if I change the name that doesn't after the schematic or the rack elevation ...
  2. I have to first draw my schematic and after update the rack elevation, I can't build my 3d settings in spotlight and after in conneccad do draw the schematic view?
  3. I've to build all the symbole in conneccad and after select a symbole for the equipment, I'll apreciate  if I put a 3d symbol in spotlight , default symbol with connectors will be drawn in connectcad (with the possibility to customiz it as usual)

 

 

Edited by Ben59
change atch file from mkv to mp4
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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
1 hour ago, Ben59 said:

there is a connection between device when I update rack layout elevation, but not after ? if I change the name that doesn't after the schematic or the rack elevation ...

 - The connection is defined by the Device Name and Equipment Item Name parameters. If the device has the same Device Name as the Equipment Item, then they are representing the same object in the layout and in the schematic and share common data. If you change the name of one of these, the connection is lost. So, just keep the names in sync to keep the connection active.

 

1 hour ago, Ben59 said:

I have to first draw my schematic and after update the rack elevation, I can't build my 3d settings in spotlight and after in conneccad do draw the schematic view?

- You cannot create your schematic devices from the equipment items, yes. However, you can first create the equipment items, after that create the schematic devices and then just sync their names so that both objects connect.

 

1 hour ago, Ben59 said:

I've to build all the symbole in conneccad and after select a symbole for the equipment, I'll apreciate  if I put a 3d symbol in spotlight , default symbol with connectors will be drawn in connectcad (with the possibility to customiz it as usual)

- Currently there is no way to set a default symbol for the equipment object and you have to select a symbol after you create the equipment item. Could you fill in a wishlist item if you think that it will be good to have the symbol selected by default?

 

Best Regards,

Nikolay Zhelyazkov

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1 hour ago, Nikolay Zhelyazkov said:

So, just keep the names in sync to keep the connection active.

So if, for some reason,  I need to change the name , I ve to change on both the Device Name and Equipment Item Name parameters?

 

Ok If I understand well, the workflow, I'm looking for, isn't possible in Vectorworks :( 

Vectorworks make a difference between equipment and symbol ...

May I have to look in the direction of cable tool ... But I'm afraid to have to complicated plot ...

 

But I'm looking for simple cable plot for data, power ... And dont want to drawn twice the device (as I did before with my other software) ...

If I understand well , Connectcad is to draw all the schematic inside rack or so and not to draw simple data synoptique of distant devices .

 

I'm still thinking that an option in spotlight to add the associated connectcad symbol when you put a symbol in your drawings, could be very good , and a time saver :) 

 

thanks

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Hi @Ben59

 

Let me chime in here. I think you are jumping to conclusions. ConnectCAD is perfectly suitable for designing systems inside and outside racks. Many people use it every day for these purposes.

 

Equipment items on floor plans and in racks are different from devices on schematics. If they were the same we would use the same object! An equipment item is the physical device. A schematic device is a container for some or all of the connectors available on a particular type of equipment. There may be more than one device on a schematic  associated with the same physical equipment. For example, an audio-follow-video mixer would appear on the audio schematic AND on the video. Patch panels are divided into multiple devices so that you can place them into circuits. That way your schematic will illustrate the signal flow - its primary purpose.

 

What this means in practice is that we cannot easily automate the creation of devices from equipment - because we do not know what is the configuration of those devices. Going from a schematic to physical equipment on the other hand is easy because each unique device name is one piece of equipment. In fact the name is the only thing we absolutely need to know in this case. The size, power and weight can be set later if need be.

 

But let's look at how we could implement what you want for a moment. We have two cases:

1. the type of equipment / device is recorded in the Device Builder database - then we would create a device with all available sockets for that type

2. the type of equipment / device is a standard type e.g. patch panel, term panel, distribution amp etc. - then we create a standard device

3. the type of equipment / device is unknown to our database - then we create a blank device and you add sockets etc.

 

All sounds great until you look at the details. By the time you've sorted out this mess of devices placed around the edges of your drawing, configured the blank devices, removed irrelevant sockets from Device Builder devices, you are probably looking at the same amount of work as creating the schematic from scratch.

 

The bottom line is that there is always some work involved.

 

I don't want to sound negative. We the ConnectCAD team are committed to working to make designers' lives easier. And these discussions are part of the way we move forward. I'm ready to work to support any workflow as soon as I can see a way through.

 

Thank you very much for sharing these thoughts. Vectorworks 2022 will have many features that you will find interesting! I'm looking forward to working with you to make it even better.

 

Kind regards

 

Conrad Preen - Product Planner ConnectCAD

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey thanks for you're answer, and sorry for my late answer (I moved from Lille to Toulouse last week :) )

On 5/25/2021 at 8:07 AM, Conrad Preen said:

Let me chime in here. I think you are jumping to conclusions

Sorry This may be because of my English, I'm not as clear as I am in french :) 

 

On 5/25/2021 at 8:07 AM, Conrad Preen said:

Equipment items on floor plans and in racks are different from devices on schematics. If they were the same we would use the same object! An equipment item is the physical device. A schematic device is a container for some or all of the connectors available on a particular type of equipment. There may be more than one device on a schematic  associated with the same physical equipment. For example, an audio-follow-video mixer would appear on the audio schematic AND on the video. Patch panels are divided into multiple devices so that you can place them into circuits. That way your schematic will illustrate the signal flow - its primary purpose.

Ok cool I understand now :) but is a "link" between connectcad  equipment and spotlight device ?

A case to check in the object info would be nice 
For example I put a laptop on my drawing, and If I check the "appear in schematic / appear in 2d/3d" in schematik view I only have to place the object at the good place and make the connections ...

On 5/25/2021 at 8:07 AM, Conrad Preen said:

I don't want to sound negative. We the ConnectCAD team are committed to working to make designers' lives easier. And these discussions are part of the way we move forward. I'm ready to work to support any workflow as soon as I can see a way through.

 

Thank you very much for sharing these thoughts. Vectorworks 2022 will have many features that you will find interesting! I'm looking forward to working with you to make it even better.

Thank you very much !!! Thank for your work your time !

 

On 5/19/2021 at 12:32 PM, Nikolay Zhelyazkov said:

You cannot create your schematic devices from the equipment items, yes. However, you can first create the equipment items, after that create the schematic devices and then just sync their names so that both objects connect.

Ok :) and Is a way to save equipment items (with associated schematic devices) and use it in other files ? 

Thanks !!!

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
18 hours ago, Ben59 said:

Ok 🙂 and Is a way to save equipment items (with associated schematic devices) and use it in other files ? 

- You can always save equipment items as symbols using the Modify->Create Symbol menu command. As for devices, there is Save Device button in the OIP, which saves the selected device as a symbol. After you have your objects saved as symbols, you can import them in other documents. If you want to keep the associations between the objects just make sure you have them use the same Device Name after you insert them.

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6 hours ago, Nikolay Zhelyazkov said:

As for devices, there is Save Device button in the OIP,

Thanks for answer, sorry but I cant find that button in the OIP for equipment

image.thumb.png.a3766479501bbe0cc30e14a1fdcf2f20.png

 

So I tried to saved the equipment as symbol and as plugin, in both case, the schematic devices aren't imported when I use the recorded equipment in an other file :(

 

thanks

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
2 minutes ago, Ben59 said:

sorry but I cant find that button in the OIP for equipment

 - Yes, I mentioned above that this button is available for devices only and for equipment you have to use Modify->Create Symbol menu command.

 

2 minutes ago, Ben59 said:

So I tried to saved the equipment as symbol and as plugin, in both case, the schematic devices aren't imported when I use the recorded equipment in an other file

 - Yes, as we have described above with Conrad, devices and equipment items are separate objects. You cannot copy the equipment and get the devices to paste with it automatically. You will have to save both the equipment items and devices separately and then import them separately and make sure that they have the same Device Name so that they are associated.

 

Best Regards,

Nikolay Zhelyazkov

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2 hours ago, Nikolay Zhelyazkov said:

 - Yes, I mentioned above that this button is available for devices only and for equipment you have to use Modify->Create Symbol menu command.

Sorry, I read too fast

 

2 hours ago, Nikolay Zhelyazkov said:

- Yes, as we have described above with Conrad, devices and equipment items are separate objects. You cannot copy the equipment and get the devices to paste with it automatically. You will have to save both the equipment items and devices separately and then import them separately and make sure that they have the same Device Name so that they are associated.

Ok so for what I wanna do the best way looks like :

save connected device as group, ... by this way  I can put the both devices with cable in +/- 1 click ...

 

thanks

 

 

Edited by Ben59
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