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Thread: Edit property set data source

  1. #1
    100 Club gregb's Avatar
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    Default Edit property set data source

    I have two 'base' files, floor plan and ceiling plan, into which I would like to insert room tags that will reference the property set data of the spaces found in the floor plan file. Each of these files is a construct in the project, the floor plan is overlaid into the ceiling plan and the tags are being placed directly in the constructs.

    The initial insertion seemed to work fine but after changing room numbers in the floor plan I noticed the tags in the ceiling plan did not update which is, after all, the whole reason for tagging the spaces in the floor plan. All of the correct property set information is in the tag but the tag is not referencing the floor plan file. The tag is instead acting as if there is a space in the ceiling file that is being tagged.

    When first inserting the tags there is an option in the "Edit Property Set Data" dialog box to select the data source which allows me to select the floor plan instead of the ceiling plan. The only problem is that this option is only available when first placing the tag. Unfortunately, I now have a dozen tags that are referencing the wrong drawing. I would prefer not to have to re-insert each tag so my question is, can I access the property set data source for each tag after placing it in the drawing?

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    Time Lord Steve_Bennett's Avatar
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    Default Re: Edit property set data source

    Keep in mind that Property Sets live in their container objects (i.e.: spaces, doors, windows, etc.). So if you were to erase the tags you wouldn't be erasing the PSD's, you would only erase the tag. Try it on one to see what happens. It should read the data back into the tag.

    What I'm unclear on is when you created the space objects & ceiling grids.

    Here is how I handle Space Objects & ceiling grids & tagging the Space Objects.

    Set up a floor plan with walls & spaces. In the same file as the floor construct, switch to RCP display config. Generate your ceiling grids.

    Create 2 view files on the view tab of project navigator. Make one for your floor plan & one for the RCP. Open the floor plan, tag your spaces making sure that you have closed the construct files that contain the spaces prior to tagging the spaces. Open the RCP & activate the RCP display config.

    Generally, I leave the Elements/Constructs to hold the real world objects - walls, doors, windows - things that will be physically built. Views are for any annotation - tags, dims, callouts, etc. Sheets are your final report of what you plan to print.
    Steve Bennett |BIM Manager
    Taylor Design | Adventures in BIM

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    100 Club gregb's Avatar
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    Default Re: Edit property set data source

    My understanding of the relationship of property sets, container objects and tags was the same as what you have stated which is why I thought I could get away with the process I've been experimenting with. Unfortunately the rules don't seem to apply when you put tags in a construct.

    I did erase the tags and re-insert them into the ceiling plan but the new tag references the current drawing (ceiling plan) by default instead of the external reference (floor plan). This can be changed during the insertion process but the tag reverts to the current drawing upon exiting the file. The end result being that it will not update if there are changes made to the floor plan construct.

    I understand the process you've recommended for the separate view files and realize that is the process Autodesk intended us to follow and I've used it successfully in the past but I have a couple of problems with it. First, it requires me to send an additional file to my consultants who are very unlikely to be using ADT and may not even be using the Sheet Set Manager in their particular version of AutoCAD. As a result I am constantly getting calls from consultants asking me to explain exactly what it is that they are looking at.

    The other problem I have with this method is that it requires every single view to be tagged and dimensioned. Given that my office can produce projects with several hundred sheets each potentially with multiple views, having to tag every view file seems to me like a huge waste of time.

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    Super Moderator dkoch's Avatar
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    Default Re: Edit property set data source

    Are you using Project Navigator? If so, tags placed in a View file should be automatically deriving their information from property data placed at the construct level [whether the actual object is live in the construct, or nested within an element. You should not be getting an property data override in the view file.

    If you are tagging through external references outside of the Project Navigator environment, then ADT does not "know" where the construct level is, and a property data override will be placed in the current file. This will interfere with having the tag report changes made to the data in the externally referernced file, and is the reason why my firm, which does not use Project Navigator, places all tags in the same file as the object being tagged.

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    100 Club gregb's Avatar
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    Default Re: Edit property set data source

    Yes, I am working through the project navigator but I'm not using view files. Instead I'm externally referencing the floor plan construct directly into the ceiling construct and it seems like the link from the ceiling construct to the floor plan construct is getting lost resulting in the property data override. I have a feeling it is a result of using the xref overlay instead of attaching so I'm going to experiment with that. Warning pop ups be darned!

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    Super Moderator dkoch's Avatar
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    Default Re: Edit property set data source

    If you overlay xref "A" in file "B", tag items that exist in "A" while in file "B" [through the xref] and then xref file "B" into file "C", file "A" does not come along for the ride and link between the tags in file "B" and the now non-existent file "A" objects are broken.

    If attaching the xrefs works for you, great. The intended workflow is not to attach constructs as xrefs into each other, but to assemble them at the view file level and place tags there.

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    100 Club gregb's Avatar
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    Default Re: Edit property set data source

    Well, it looks like referencing constructs to each other is just not going to work. Rats. I think I may have found a solution though. Since the purpose here is to reduce the number of drawings I send to consultants I've been experimenting with exporting view files instead of sending the constructs. What I want to do is send one file each for the floor plan, reflected ceiling plan and roof plan. My plan is to create view files for each of these representations with all the necessary tags and dimensions for each scale and export these files to AutoCAD. This way I only have to send three files and my consultants should be able to have some control over the layer states (screening and such).

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