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Updating Truss in old files


JeroenS.

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Hi all!

I'm currently in the process of updating old (v2020) files to use for festivals that finally can take place after the pandamic. Updating to a recent version of our template and libaries is quite a job. The most annoying part is updating all of the truss symbols to our v2022 truss libaries wich includes the new truss magnets.

All trusses wich do not have a hanging angle or "draw 3D only" selected update fine when I import the new symbols. But every truss wich uses the auto generated Truss_3d symbol doesn't update automatically. I have to delete these _3d symbols one by one and replace them with the new one.

Also the records don't get updated by simply importing the new symbols. It seems the truss symbols only read whats in the truss record once it gets converted from symbol to truss symbol. For example, if I corrected the weight of a truss in our libary file and I imported the corrected symbol in a existing drawing, the new weight value is not used.

Is there a more elegant way of updating the truss systems in my drawings?

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

 

 

2 hours ago, JeroenS. said:

Is there a more elegant way of updating the truss systems in my drawings?

There is a menu command that will the magnets to your libraries, 'Update Truss Magnets'.
After using it you will still need to check the allowable rotation parameter of the magnets as it will only set a default of 180°

 

2 hours ago, JeroenS. said:

All trusses wich do not have a hanging angle or "draw 3D only" selected update fine when I import the new symbols. But every truss wich uses the auto generated Truss_3d symbol doesn't update automatically. I have to delete these _3d symbols one by one and replace them with the new one.

I'll have a look into this,

 

2 hours ago, JeroenS. said:

Also the records don't get updated by simply importing the new symbols. It seems the truss symbols only read whats in the truss record once it gets converted from symbol to truss symbol. For example, if I corrected the weight of a truss in our libary file and I imported the corrected symbol in a existing drawing, the new weight value is not used.

Truss objects don't use the truss record attached to the symbol definition, It instead use the concealed BrxTrussItemRecord. this can only be easily accessed using the right click context menu Customize Truss symbol command. This will open the same Truss properties command that the Braceworks menu convert to truss command opens to configure the trusses properties. This is where you will need to update the trusses weight.

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4 hours ago, jcogdell said:
7 hours ago, JeroenS. said:

 

There is a menu command that will the magnets to your libraries, 'Update Truss Magnets'.
After using it you will still need to check the allowable rotation parameter of the magnets as it will only set a default of 180°


Thats what I used to update our custom truss library to the new magnets system. It worked fine. But by updating I mean replacing the existing trusses in a drawing with the newly updated trusses from my custom truss library.

 

 

4 hours ago, jcogdell said:

Truss objects don't use the truss record attached to the symbol definition, It instead use the concealed BrxTrussItemRecord. this can only be easily accessed using the right click context menu Customize Truss symbol command. This will open the same Truss properties command that the Braceworks menu convert to truss command opens to configure the trusses properties. This is where you will need to update the trusses weight.


I understand. What I mean is the following:

I changed the weight of a truss in a custom truss library using the truss properties. I also added a custom record to the truss symbol containing the productcode and other information of our warehousing software. When I replace a truss in an existing drawing with this modified symbol (by deleting/replacing the symbol in the resource manager), the weight does not change and the custom record isn't added to the previously drawn truss. The only way to update the existing truss correctly in a existing drawing is to delete the drawn symbol from the design layer and draw it again with the newly modified symbol. This can be extremely time consuming, especially with large or complex truss systems. 

To update modified lighting devices I can just select all of the same instrument types, and replace them with the modified one. For trusses only the trusses without "draw 3D only" selected and hanging angle update (geometry only, BrxTrussItemRecord and other records do not refresh. They will only use the new information when they are redrawn on the design layer).

Edited by JeroenS.
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14 hours ago, JeroenS. said:

Thats what I used to update our custom truss library to the new magnets system. It worked fine. But by updating I mean replacing the existing trusses in a drawing with the newly updated trusses from my custom truss library.

You should also be able to use the command on the truss symbols in the active file, that may be a better route for updating an ongoing project file.

 

14 hours ago, JeroenS. said:


I changed the weight of a truss in a custom truss library using the truss properties. I also added a custom record to the truss symbol containing the productcode and other information of our warehousing software. When I replace a truss in an existing drawing with this modified symbol (by deleting/replacing the symbol in the resource manager), the weight does not change and the custom record isn't added to the previously drawn truss

I've just done some quick testing, its definitely a bug.
It looks like the main issue is that the existing Truss objects OIP is not updating/refreshing to display both the edited truss properties from the BrxTrussItemRecord and any attached records from the new symbol definition that has been imported.
The truss object is updating the the weight etc.. in the background, if you use the Customize truss symbol data command it will display the correct data from the newly imported symbol definition, but doesn't seem to be pushing the changes anywhere else that should be updated
I've opened a bug report

 

 

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