Can anyone get any sort of text to show up in a panel family?

[sven.129574]

Our firm uses a box with the letters "FACP" in it to represent a Fire Alarm Control Panel. I'm trying to make a family for one, and I CAN NOT get any form of text whatsoever to appear when I place an instance of the family in a project. I've tried:
- adding Text in the panel family, both in the plan and the elevations
- putting Text in a Detail Component, then nesting the Detail Component into the plan
and elevation views of the panel family
- placing a Label Annotation as a Symbol in a Detail Component, then nesting the
Detail Component into plan and elevation views of the panel family
- putting Text, Labels, and Label Annotations placed as Symbols into an Annotation
Symbol, and nesting that Annotation Symbol into a plan of the panel family
- putting Text, Labels, and Label Annotations placed as Symbols into an Annotation
Symbol, nesting the Annotation Symbol into a Detail Component, and nesting the
Detail Component into the plan and elevation of the panel family

I can't get anything to work. I don't see a single character in plan or even elevation when I place an instance of the panel in a model. Text and labels in other families (e.g., the counter-height GFI type in the duplex receptacle family I made myself) work fine -- just not stuff in a panel family. It tried playing with a family for an electric panel, and had the same trouble as with the fire alarm panel family.

It's not a View Range issue, it's not a level-of-detail issue, it's not a hidden line issue, and it's not a VG issue. I am out of ideas.

Can anyone else get text or labels to appear in an instance of a panel family?

[mjdanowski]

can you post the family?

[sven.129574]

This is the family. I haven't cleaned it up at all -- every unsuccessful attempt to show text is included in the family.

I just noticed that nothing in the Annotation nested in the Detail Component is showing up when the panel is instanced. Even the box (Lines), which shows up in the Family Editor, is not drawn when the panel is instanced in a project.

But the big question is, "Can anyone get any sort of text to show up in a panel?" Text, Label -- either will suit my needs here, if only it will show up when the panel is instanced in a project.

Thank you in advance for any help you can offer.


--Scott E. Johnson, Ph.D.
CAD/BIM Manager
Richard L. Bowen + Associates

[Andre Carvalho]

I created a new Electrical Equipment family and a new generic annotation family. Added a text to the generic annotation family and loaded (nested) it into the electrical equipment family. Loading it to the project shows both equipment and annotation.

Maybe there's something wrong with your family...

See attached. (Note: By mistake I named the file as mechanical equipment, but it is electrical equipment family...)

Andre Carvalho

[sven.129574]

Thanks, Andre.

Hmm. Interesting. When I put an annotation in an new electrical equipment family myself, I have no problem getting the annotation to show up in a project. When I put the annotation in a panel family from the Imperial Library, however, it does not show.

Maybe I can make do with creating a new electrical equipment family instead of modifying the existing Fire Alarm Control Panel family. Unfortunately, my FACP won't be face-based if I do that.

Does anyone know if there is any other behavior that the panel family has that the Electrical Equipment family template does not have?


Scott E. Johnson, Ph.D.
CAD/BIM Manager
Richard L. Bowen + Associates

[Andre Carvalho]

Unfortunately, my FACP won't be face-based if I do that.


And why don't you create it from a face based family template?

Andre Carvalho

[sven.129574]

Because there is no face-based Electrical Equipment family template. Or am I missing something?

[Andre Carvalho]

No there isn't, but you can start with a generic model face based and then go to Settings > Family Category and Parameters and change it from Generic Model to Electrical equipment.

Andre Carvalho

[sven.129574]

You know, ordinarily, I think it's a bad idea to use a Generic Model template when more specific templates exist. There seems to be a lot of behavior built into the templates, as well as variables that you don't have any other way of getting in the family editor. For instance, I seem unable to get a decent light source using a Generic Model; I need to use a Linear Lighting Fixture template in order to get something that renders the way I want.

However, in this case, I have to confess that Electrical Equipment produced from the Generic Model template seems to look a lot more like the Out-of-the-Box Fire Alarm Control Panel than Electrical Equipment produced from the Electrical Equipment family template.


Thanks,

Scott E. Johnson, Ph.D.
CAD/BIM Manager
Richard L. Bowen + Associates

[luigi]

I thought I was going crazy...now I know the software is causing me to go crazy... :) but no matter what...I am going crazy!

So what did you decide to do? I cannot get any face bace to work for an electrical equipment and show the symbol. It works as a device, but not as an equipment....

so, what would happen if I have the fire alarm control panel be a Fire Alarm Device? but have the correct connection? Other than not being correct in my scheduling....which totally stinks...what other reprocussions?

I don't want to Tag that information....it just isn't productive at all....

Ideas?

[sven.129574]

Hmm. It looks like certain categories of objects have a Family Parameter called "Maintain Annotation." If you check it, the annotation in the family will show up in the project. If you don't check it, it won't. Electrical Devices and Fire Alarm Devices have the parameter; Electrical Equipment and Lighting Fixtures do not.

To answer your question, luigi, what I did was create my Fire Alarm Control Panel as a Face-Based Generic Model, change its category to Fire Alarm Device, and make sure I have Maintain Annotation checked. Hopefully, that will work out OK for us.

Wouldn't it be great if there was a manual that explained this stuff?

Scott E. Johnson, Ph.D.
CAD/BIM Manager
Richard L. Bowen + Associates

[mjdanowski]

Hmm. It looks like certain categories of objects have a Family Parameter called "Maintain Annotation." If you check it, the annotation in the family will show up in the project. If you don't check it, it won't. Electrical Devices and Fire Alarm Devices have the parameter; Electrical Equipment and Lighting Fixtures do not.

To answer your question, luigi, what I did was create my Fire Alarm Control Panel as a Face-Based Generic Model, change its category to Fire Alarm Device, and make sure I have Maintain Annotation checked. Hopefully, that will work out OK for us.

Wouldn't it be great if there was a manual that explained this stuff?

Scott E. Johnson, Ph.D.
CAD/BIM Manager
Richard L. Bowen + Associates

Fun fact that goes along with that:

Electrical equipment cannot have annotation symbols loaded into them.

I can't tell you how much I tried to get the fused switch symbol to work....

[mhartmann]

Why can't all family categories be treated equally? i've bothered our bim coordinator so many times with "why can't i get the same options, settings or parameters with This category as i have in this other family?" he says "you just can't". for example, the keep vertical option for ceiling based light fixtures, i don't have that setting for fire alarm devices, so my face based smoke detector's annotation symbol doesn't show up when placed on a sloped ceiling.

As far as the FACP on my control panel, i use my standard electrical equipment name tag, my facp is built in the electrical equipment category, and i just make the Panel Name parameter "FACP" and the tag shows this. i'm not using any fire alarm circuiting for power supply loads yet, but i added a few devices to the panel and here's what the schedule looks like.

[ahefner]

It's kinna a PITB, but I simply created a tag which called out the panel's name to show their labels (after discovering like y'll that the annotations within the family will not work).