Discontinuous 'EQ' dimensions

[studio3p]

Is there any way to create a dimension string that contains a combination of "value" sections as well as "EQ" sections? I'm sure this would/will be useful in many cases, but right now I am dimensioning book shelf elevations and the center section will have a dimension value while the two flanking sections are to be equal.

[Steve_Stafford]

If you select the dimension string and then right click, you'll see EQ Display...This little baby will display any dimension of equal value in a string as EQ instead of the value. Values that are not equal will show the value still.

This is not to be confused with the EQ "button" you see when the dimension string is highlighted, which is a constraint tool, forcing all to be equal.

Like this:
http://www.zoogdesign.com/forums/phpBB2/download.php?id=1253

[studio3p]

Beautiful.

Thanks.

[JamesVan]

Steve,

Are there limitations to using the EQ Display option? It seems fine with things like components, but not with walls. What's your experience with this feature?

[Steve_Stafford]

Can't say it's intentional but it does appear to only work with loaded components. It does not work with walls or windows for example. Bug?

[Scott D Davis]

It should work with any object.....if it doesnt, hopefully it gets fixed!

[aggockel50321]

It seems to work with walls in some instances. In James' instance, If I drop the outer unequal dimensions off the string, it works.

In the attached example on the left, with two sets of eqaul diminsions, it seems to default to the outermost equal dimensions.

I suppose the other issue is to make sure the dimensions are truly equal. If your dimensions show equal values rounded to 1/32" for instance, you might have a diffence between the dimensions that's less than the 1/32 round-off.

[Scott Hopkins]

This is a new one to me. It seems like a good one for the Tips & Tricks category.

[nrenfro]

I had this happen just today with a pair of windows. this would be a nice feature if I had some control over it.

[Steve_Stafford]

It's a Known Issue Now (http://www.zoogdesign.com/forums/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2378&highlight=) folks.

[irwin]

If a dimension's Equality Display property is set to EQ, it is intended to work as follows:
- If all segments of the dimension have the same value, they should all display EQ.
- Otherwise, if the first and last segments have the same value, then these two segments display EQ and all others display the value.
- Otherwise, all segments display the value and none show EQ.

All of the pictures in this thread are consistent with that, so the functionality appears to be working as intended.

Why was it intended to work that way? The answer is complicated. A single dimension string can have several different values that are equal. For example, it can have two segments that are 4.0 and two others that are 5.0. If they all said EQ then the dimension would be misleading, indicating that four things are all equal when they aren't. So, only some equal segments should show EQ. Why not let the user control on a segment by segment basis whether it shows EQ? It would complicate the UI and wouldn't allow the dimension element to have a single Equality Display property. The current solution is a compromise among these competing considerations.

What can be done if you need a dimension string to show EQ for two of the segments that aren't the first and last segment? One way to do it is to create it as three dimension strings, with the first and last segments of the middle dimension string being the two that need to show EQ. The three dimension strings snap to each other so it is easy to line them up.
See the attached jpg for an example.

[beegee]

Thanks Irwin,

It's good to know the thinking behind some of these things, that sometimes don't seem to make sense from a users perspective.

[Steve_Stafford]

Aah, so when support said it was a known issue, it was really meant that you are aware of the "issue" but it works as designed now.

Fundamentally I accept and understand the issue of two equal sets of dimensions in a string that are not equal to each other. Typically that condition is documented as EQ 'A' and EQ 'B'. If Revit were to do this it would be consistent with typical drafting practice, the question is how much trouble is it to codify in Revit?

Thanks for clarifying the situation.

[Alex Page]

I suppose the other issue is to make sure the dimensions are truly equal. If your dimensions show equal values rounded to 1/32" for instance, you might have a diffence between the dimensions that's less than the 1/32 round-off.

This is bad!
Shouldnt the eq-eq work to the round off value? (ie: the one one sees on the screen?)

[Chad Smith]

I would like to tack this thread (http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=10372) on as it is similar in topic.