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ID Label - not working, or do I just not get it?


P Retondo

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I am unable to get my ID labels to automatically acquire the "ID" field value for windows and doors, except manually through the OIP. I think I understand the cryptic VW manual to indicate that this is possible, and since that would link the ID tag to the numbering in the window schedule, it seems like an obviously useful feature. Modifying the label's tag schema does nothing.

Also, incidentally, attempting to change the font does nothing, and attempting to change the size via the "scale" OIP entry does nothing. Any help would be appreciated!

VWA 10.5

WinXP

[ 12-03-2003, 03:17 AM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

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Robert, thanks, I had figured that one out, although it would be good if the manual offered that bit of info!

I find that I can push an ID number to the object being tagged, but that if I have already assigned a number to a window's ID field, the tag won't acquire it. Is this "one way street" the way the tag system is designed, or am I missing something? I also figured out how to resize the tag and change the font by editing the symbol created by the PIO. Again, it would be good if the manual explained these things!

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Regarding documentation:

Page 191 of the VectorWorks ARCHITECT on-line manual states the following steps:

1. Select the ID label tool

2. Click to set the location of the ID label

3. Click on the object to associate with the ID label.

So I don't know which manual you're referring to, but this is not a documentation deficiency that I'm aware of. Also, the creation and modification of ID tag symbols is covered in the "advanced topics" in the VWA appendix.

I can confirm the "push" behavior you describe. We'll look at this to try and determine whether it is a bug and what should be the behavior in the situation you describe.

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Robert, I stand corrected. The manual is clear about the sequence of clicks. However, it does not explain that once you have created a label, it has been inserted into the document as a symbol which can be edited like any other symbol. Specifically, the manual also says that the ID label "can be customized using special symbols," a statement I felt was vague and confusing, in that it refers not to the customization of the label at hand, but of the tool itself. The intro to the tool should provide a basic orientation about how the tool works and how a particular instance can be edited. The appendix does explain how to construct a new ID tag resource by including it as a symbol in a certain file - this is useful and clarifies the earlier tidbit about customization, but on the whole I think the explanation could be better-constructed.

I had thought that the ID label would acquire field info (in particular, the ID #) from the object it labels, but apparently that is not the case and we just have to learn not to number windows/doors etc. before applying labels.

I find it a bit non-intuitive that the ID label would be used as a device to set field values for the object labelled (for example, whether a window is an egress window or not). (What would be really useful is a schedule that could do this kind of thing - edit the schedule, change the objects and the labels!)

While I'm on the subject of schedules, I note that the window/door schedules automatically enter the width and height of the unit, but don't fill in the info for rough opening. Since that could be calculated from the shim space field, it seems possible someone envisioned that filling in the info was to be automatically calculated instead of manually inserted by the user. We don't usually give such detailed information to contractors, but if it were accurate and took no time to do, why not. Carpenters might look at the plans more often!

[ 12-09-2003, 02:12 AM: Message edited by: P Retondo ]

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