Attach record to symbol?

[Bruce Kieffer]

How can I do this and have the record show for the symbol in the OIP? The best I get is the record is attached to the symbol, but it does not show in the OIP. I have to drill into the symbol.

[Pat Stanford]

The record has to be attached to the symbol and not to an object contained within the symbol.

 

Select the Symbol Definition in the Resource Manager and Right Click on it. Choose Attach Record and pick the record you want attached.

 

This will attach the record with the values you set to every current and future instance of the symbol.  

 

BUT. Once the symbol instance is placed, it has its own record. If you change the default value of the record it will not change the value in records already attached to instances.  Likewise, if you edit the data attached to an instance it will not change the value of any other instance nor will it change the default for future instances.

 

 

If the record is attached to an object inside the symbol it may be possible to use the Data Manager to get it to display in the OIP, but that is an entirely different discussion and not suitable for late on a Sunday night. 😉

[Bruce Kieffer]

Get this:

[Bruce Kieffer]

OK, I got that figured out.

[Tom W.]

47 minutes ago, Pat Stanford said:

Select the Symbol Definition in the Resource Manager and Right Click on it. Choose Attach Record and pick the record you want attached.

 

Another way to attach a Record to a symbol is when you're in any of the 2D/3D edit modes for the symbol going to the Data tab in the OIP + (with no geometry selected) clicking on the 'Attach Record' button. 

[Pat Stanford]

@Tom W.Thanks.  As I have been saying recently, one of VW's greatest benefits (and biggest problems) is its ability to do things multiple ways.

 

 

[KAKI]

On 2/21/2022 at 5:21 AM, Pat Stanford said:

If the record is attached to an object inside the symbol it may be possible to use the Data Manager to get it to display in the OIP, but that is an entirely different discussion and not suitable for late on a Sunday night. 😉

 

Can you explain a bit how can to do this part in the Data Manager?

[halfcoupler]

On 2/21/2022 at 5:21 AM, Pat Stanford said:

it may be possible to use the Data Manager to get it to display in the OIP, but that is an entirely different discussion and not suitable for late on a Sunday night. 😉

Absolutely agree, but let me try to make a really long story short:

 

The best way to get a first understanding of how the data manager works is to consider the hirarchy of object data in VW:

 

- Changing data of a symbol instance will overwrite  the setting of the data the instance may have inherited by the setup in the Recource Manager.

- Changing data setup of the of the symbol in the Resource Manager will overwrite settings this symbol may have inherited by the settings in the Data Manager.

- Changing settings in the data manager will only effect data of a symbol that is newly imported without having any settings already 'hardcoded' in your document.

 

Settings in the Data manager are some kind of 'pre programming' to fill up empty symbols with data a soon as they are imported to the file.

Consider the symbol as a shopping basket that is automatically filled wit noodles as long as there are no noodles inside. But it may also be filled with rice althogh there are already noodles in the basket if the data manager sais to do so.

 

It took me a long time to understand this hirarchy, I always thought it was the outher way round and wondered why changes in the data manager took no effect to may library symbols which already all have recordsets and data attached.

Hope this helps that others do not tap into this trap.

 

Edited May 2, 2023 by halfcoupler

[Bruce Kieffer]

2 hours ago, martinmiles said:

 

To have the record show for the symbol in the OIP, you can modify the OIP settings to enable the display of records. This may be done by accessing the OIP settings, navigating to the “Records” tab and enabling the “Show Records in OIP” toggle. Once enabled, records should display for each symbol within the OIP.

Where are the OIP settings?

[halfcoupler]

7 hours ago, Bruce Kieffer said:

Where are the OIP settings?

 

Hi Bruce,

 

I think I know what happened, since I once stumbled over the same thing:

Maybe Your data tab of the OIP looks lke this? Then you need to expand the middle window. I dont know what makes VW to hide these fiels sometimes (I suppose it's after an update was made), but when you don't know that the settings are hidden there, you are lost...

 

 

 

 

[Tom W.]

10 hours ago, martinmiles said:

navigating to the “Records” tab and enabling the “Show Records in OIP” toggle

 

Do you mean 'Data' tab? I am not aware of a 'Show Records in OIP' toggle. Attached Records are simply displayed in the list.

 

31 minutes ago, halfcoupler said:

I dont know what makes VW to hide these fiels sometimes (I suppose it's after an update was made)

 

If an object has Data Sheets attached + you select to display the data sheet data the divider collapses to hide the record format data... Go back to '<Default Settings>' + it opens up again. But I think you're right, there seem to be other random circumstances it happens as well.

[Bruce Kieffer]

I know about the window shade hiding the records in the Data tab of the OIP. That got me again yesterday! But I still have no idea where the OIP settings are that @martinmiles refers to.

[Pat Stanford]

I think that post was by a spammer and probably not real.