If you have an instance parameter in a family (shared or family parameter type) and, after starting the "add process" by either using a ribbon tool or by dragging a type from the Project Browser, you then change the value of that instance parameter BEFORE placing the instance, you will find that the value you entered becomes the new default value for subsequent placements of that family. (For shared parameters, it will be the default for the subsequent placement of any family of that same category using that same shared parameter.)
That can be handy if you are placing a number of objects where you want the same instance value, but there may be times when you would like to have the initial value reset back to the default value specified in the family. Here is a tip I picked up in a post by CADastrophe in the AUGI Revit Architecture - General Forum.
You can reset the instance parameter back to the default value by starting the add process and, before placing an instance, using the Type Selector at the top of the Properties palette to choose a different type. It is not necessary to actually place an instance - you can escape out of the add process and the value will be reset to the default. If you do want to place an instance, you can change back to the originally selected type (assuming that you started with the desired type).
Changing the value of an instance parameter AFTER placement (and ending the add process) does not change the default value for the next placement. If, however, you select an object and use the Create Similar tool from the Modify|Object Type ribbon tab on the Create panel or from the right-click context menu, that will set the future default value for any instance parameters to the values of the selected object. These can be reset to the defaults using the technique noted above.
April 24, 2013
Origami Alphabet
Here is a guide to the new product logos for the 2014 releases of Autodesk products. I am not 100% certain that I got all of them, and, unfortunately, a few were only available in smaller-sized images. All names are registered trademarks of Autodesk. As always, click on the image to see a larger version.
April 21, 2013
ACA 2014: Additional New Features/Improvements
In addition to the features discussed in the previous four posts, there are several additional additions/improvements to look for in AutoCAD® Architecture 2014.
3D Orbit Performance
The full regeneration that takes place after ending the use of the 3DORBIT command in previous releases of ACA (and AMEP) has been eliminated, allowing you to continue to work on your model without interruption. This does not appear to apply to the 2D Wireframe visual style, during which surface hatching is turned off and after which I still get a regeneration while restoring the surface hatching.
Project Information File Backup
If you are using the Drawing Management of ACA/AMEP, you may have run into a situation where your project information file (.APJ) had become corrupted or accidentally deleted. While not a frequent occurrence, rebuilding this critical file can take a significant amount of time from what is likely an already tight project schedule. In the 2014 release, ACA and AMEP will create a backup APJ file which can be used to replace a corrupt or deleted APJ file. A new backup is created each time a project is opened and the APJ file is different from the current backup file. The backup file is stored in the same folder and with the same name, but with an extension of .AP$. All you need to do to restore the backup is to move the corrupt file to a different folder and then change the extension from .AP$ to .APJ.
Combined Deployment
After setting up deployments for both 32-bit and 64-bit platforms, these can be combined into a single, platform-neutral, deployment by using the CombineDeploy.exe tool. This tool can be found in [AdminImageRootFolder]\Tools.
Adding Extension to a Deployment
Additional software can be included in a deployment, provided that it is an installable component, such as an MSI or a setup.exe. You can include this additional software in the section so labeled on the main Product Selection page.
Autodesk Uninstall Tool
A set of Autodesk products can now be uninstalled with one action, by using the Autodesk Uninstall Tool, rather than uninstalling each product, one at a time, through the Windows Control Panel, Programs, Programs and Features.
Annotation Scaling and Unit Scaling
ACA and AMEP have featured real-world units and a means for varying the display of annotation for different scales since their initial releases. The introduction of annotation scaling in AutoCAD resulted in certain low-level conflicts between the two systems when the drawing units were changed. These conflicts have been eliminated.
IFC
Both Column-Grid and Enhanced-Custom-Grid can now be exported to IfcGrid.
3D Orbit Performance
The full regeneration that takes place after ending the use of the 3DORBIT command in previous releases of ACA (and AMEP) has been eliminated, allowing you to continue to work on your model without interruption. This does not appear to apply to the 2D Wireframe visual style, during which surface hatching is turned off and after which I still get a regeneration while restoring the surface hatching.
Project Information File Backup
If you are using the Drawing Management of ACA/AMEP, you may have run into a situation where your project information file (.APJ) had become corrupted or accidentally deleted. While not a frequent occurrence, rebuilding this critical file can take a significant amount of time from what is likely an already tight project schedule. In the 2014 release, ACA and AMEP will create a backup APJ file which can be used to replace a corrupt or deleted APJ file. A new backup is created each time a project is opened and the APJ file is different from the current backup file. The backup file is stored in the same folder and with the same name, but with an extension of .AP$. All you need to do to restore the backup is to move the corrupt file to a different folder and then change the extension from .AP$ to .APJ.
Combined Deployment
After setting up deployments for both 32-bit and 64-bit platforms, these can be combined into a single, platform-neutral, deployment by using the CombineDeploy.exe tool. This tool can be found in [AdminImageRootFolder]\Tools.
Adding Extension to a Deployment
Additional software can be included in a deployment, provided that it is an installable component, such as an MSI or a setup.exe. You can include this additional software in the section so labeled on the main Product Selection page.
Autodesk Uninstall Tool
A set of Autodesk products can now be uninstalled with one action, by using the Autodesk Uninstall Tool, rather than uninstalling each product, one at a time, through the Windows Control Panel, Programs, Programs and Features.
Annotation Scaling and Unit Scaling
ACA and AMEP have featured real-world units and a means for varying the display of annotation for different scales since their initial releases. The introduction of annotation scaling in AutoCAD resulted in certain low-level conflicts between the two systems when the drawing units were changed. These conflicts have been eliminated.
IFC
Both Column-Grid and Enhanced-Custom-Grid can now be exported to IfcGrid.
April 14, 2013
ACA 2014: Tools from the DACH Extension
Four of the more popular tools that had been available to German, Austrian and Swiss subscribers have been made available to all AutoCAD® Architecture users. The Roombook ribbon tab from ACA 2013 has been renamed Vision Tools, and you will find these new tools there.
Display By Layer
The Display Order panel features one tool, Display By Layer, which runs the AecLayerOrder command.
This tool allows you to rank the layers in a drawing and then have the display order set by the order in which the layers are ranked. This is a one-time deal. Future objects will appear on top of all previous objects; after setting the draw order by layer, that order is not dynamically applied to future objects. You can, of course, re-run the command, and the list is "remembered" with the drawing, so you do not need to recreate the list after saving, closing and then reopening the file. Note also that there is no way to "automatically clear" the draw order and return to what it was prior to applying this command. Two less-than-obvious ways this feature works involve external references. While you can re-order the layers of an external reference in the list and have it affect the display order, there are two limitations:
Escarpment
Use the Escarpment tool (AecEscarpment command) on the Graphics panel to create the linework often used to depict a sloping condition quickly and easily. You only need to pick the upper and lower sides and provide a distance between lines on the upper side. The generated linework is placed as a Block Reference, on the current layer; nested objects are on the current layer with ByBlock color, linetype, plotstyle (for drawings using named plot styles) and lineweight and ByLayer transparency and material.
To Layer 0
The To Layer 0 tool (AecMoveBlockToLayer0 command) on the Block Definition panel moves all nested objects within the Block Definition of a selected Block Reference to Layer 0. Unlike the Set Nested Objects to ByBlock option on the right-click menu when a block reference is selected (SetNestedObjectsByBlock command), this tool only changes the layer of the nested objects and leaves other attributes (color, linetype, plot style, and lineweight) alone. The SetNestedObjectsByBlock command also changes the color, linetype, plot style, and lineweight of the nested objects to ByBlock. The To Layer 0 tool also works on nested blocks, setting the objects within them to layer 0 as well; the SetNestedObjectsByBlock command does not affect objects within nested blocks.
Change Block
This tool runs the AecChangeBlock command, which allows you to select one or more Block References (which can have different Block Definitions) in the drawing and specify another Block Definition in the drawing for them. Insertion point, scale factors, layer, color, etc. remain unchanged. You have to type in the name of the new Block Definition. The command does offer a "?" option, which will list all of the Block Definitions in the drawing on the command line, for your reference.
Display By Layer
The Display Order panel features one tool, Display By Layer, which runs the AecLayerOrder command.
This tool allows you to rank the layers in a drawing and then have the display order set by the order in which the layers are ranked. This is a one-time deal. Future objects will appear on top of all previous objects; after setting the draw order by layer, that order is not dynamically applied to future objects. You can, of course, re-run the command, and the list is "remembered" with the drawing, so you do not need to recreate the list after saving, closing and then reopening the file. Note also that there is no way to "automatically clear" the draw order and return to what it was prior to applying this command. Two less-than-obvious ways this feature works involve external references. While you can re-order the layers of an external reference in the list and have it affect the display order, there are two limitations:
- Even though you can intermingle layers from an external reference with those of the host drawing and those of other external references, the net effect is to re-order the display of objects within the external reference relative to one another. All of the objects within a given external reference then are drawn relative to other objects based on the layer on which the external reference is inserted. For example, in the dialog above, even though the host layer A -Flor-Case appears in the list above the externally referenced layer BaseDwg|A-Wall, because the BaseDwg external reference is inserted on layer A-Anno-Refr (at the top of the list), all objects in the BaseDwg external reference will appear above objects on A-Flor-Case (or any other host drawing layer other than A-Anno-Refr).
- After saving a file with external references to which Display By Layer has been applied and then closing it, when you re-open the file, the display order applied to the layers in the externally referenced files is not automatically applied. The Layer Order list is remembered, however, so you can re-run the command to get the externally referenced layers order back to the way it was prior to saving/closing the file.
Escarpment
Use the Escarpment tool (AecEscarpment command) on the Graphics panel to create the linework often used to depict a sloping condition quickly and easily. You only need to pick the upper and lower sides and provide a distance between lines on the upper side. The generated linework is placed as a Block Reference, on the current layer; nested objects are on the current layer with ByBlock color, linetype, plotstyle (for drawings using named plot styles) and lineweight and ByLayer transparency and material.
To Layer 0
The To Layer 0 tool (AecMoveBlockToLayer0 command) on the Block Definition panel moves all nested objects within the Block Definition of a selected Block Reference to Layer 0. Unlike the Set Nested Objects to ByBlock option on the right-click menu when a block reference is selected (SetNestedObjectsByBlock command), this tool only changes the layer of the nested objects and leaves other attributes (color, linetype, plot style, and lineweight) alone. The SetNestedObjectsByBlock command also changes the color, linetype, plot style, and lineweight of the nested objects to ByBlock. The To Layer 0 tool also works on nested blocks, setting the objects within them to layer 0 as well; the SetNestedObjectsByBlock command does not affect objects within nested blocks.
Change Block
This tool runs the AecChangeBlock command, which allows you to select one or more Block References (which can have different Block Definitions) in the drawing and specify another Block Definition in the drawing for them. Insertion point, scale factors, layer, color, etc. remain unchanged. You have to type in the name of the new Block Definition. The command does offer a "?" option, which will list all of the Block Definitions in the drawing on the command line, for your reference.
April 10, 2013
ACA 2014: Door and Window Placement
Your requests have been heard. Prior to the 2011 release, when placing Doors and Windows, you had a choice between Unconstrained and Offset/Center, where the latter would center the Door or Window on a Wall segment if you click near the midpoint of that Wall segment or would offset the opening a user-set distance from the end of the Wall segment when clicking near that end. The 2011 release introduced a number of additional placement options, but in order to offer these, the Offset/Center option was split into two separate choices, Offset and Center. (Read more about this change in the 2011 release in a four-part series of posts starting here.) Many missed the convenience of having Offset/Center as a single choice and complained about lost efficiency in placing Doors and Windows. The 2014 release brings back the combined Offset/Center option
while keeping the options added in the 2011 release, as seen below on the Wall contextual ribbon tab, on the General panel.
In addition to restoring the combined Offset/Center option, you also now have options prior to placement for the justification of a Door or Window within the width of the Wall: in addition to the previous default initial justification of Center, you can now choose from Left and Right.
Where the Window is placed for Left or Right justification is determined the same way that Left and Right justification are determined for the Wall itself. Looking from the starting point of the Wall toward the end point, Left justification is to the left side of the Wall and Right justification is to the right side of the Wall.
If neither of these features gets your Door or Window placed exactly where you want it, the Reposition Along Wall and Reposition Within Wall tools are still available on the Door or Window contextual ribbon tabs or right-click menus, as well as the grip editing options.
while keeping the options added in the 2011 release, as seen below on the Wall contextual ribbon tab, on the General panel.
In addition to restoring the combined Offset/Center option, you also now have options prior to placement for the justification of a Door or Window within the width of the Wall: in addition to the previous default initial justification of Center, you can now choose from Left and Right.
Where the Window is placed for Left or Right justification is determined the same way that Left and Right justification are determined for the Wall itself. Looking from the starting point of the Wall toward the end point, Left justification is to the left side of the Wall and Right justification is to the right side of the Wall.
If neither of these features gets your Door or Window placed exactly where you want it, the Reposition Along Wall and Reposition Within Wall tools are still available on the Door or Window contextual ribbon tabs or right-click menus, as well as the grip editing options.
April 01, 2013
ACA 2014: Command Line Search
AutoCAD® Architecture 2014 expands upon the new AutoCAD 2014 feature that allows you to type in a few characters of a content item's name to initiate an "add" command for that content type, using that specific content. In ACA, this means you can add an instance of an object of a specific style or definition, just by typing in a few letters of the style/definition name, and then picking the style or definition from a list. This feature works on Curtain Wall Styles, Door Styles, Door/Window Assembly Styles, Railing Styles, Slab Styles, Space Styles, Stair Styles, Structural Member Styles, Wall Styles, Window Styles, AEC Dimension Styles, Schedule Table Styles, Zone Styles, AEC Polygon Styles, Mask Block Definitions and Multi-View Block Definitions. It will not work for Mass Element Styles or 2D Section/Elevation Styles.
To determine if this feature is active, select the Customize tool (wrench icon) on the Command Line and choose Input Search Options from the context menu. In the Input Search Options dialog, verify that the Search content at command line toggle (top of right side) is checked, and, in the Content Type box, that the Architecture toggle is checked. You can control which AutoCAD content types are available through Command Line search using the other toggles in the Content Type area.
With the feature activated, simply type a few letters in the name of the style or definition for which you want to create a new instance, and a list will pop up above the Command Line. Depending on the number of types of object names and the number of names that match the typed string, you may get a list of style names, with or without a scroll bar.
If you have tool tips enabled, you can hover over one of the choices on the list and see the entire command string that would be sent to the Command Line if you select that item.
If you pick an ACA style/definition from the list, the appropriate "add" command is executed, and the style or definition is set to the one chosen. All other defaults are based on the last use of that command. See the Command Line for the next prompt or other options.
Depending upon what is typed and the names of both ACA styles/definitions and the names of AutoCAD content and command names, you may get a single line for the desired style/definition type, with a "+" (plus sign) at the right end.
Select the "+" to expand the list and show all of the styles/definitions of that type, as well as any matching AutoCAD object styles, in this case, Walls Styles and Hatch patterns with "bri" in the name.
This new feature can speed up the process of adding an ACA object whose style/definition is already in the drawing where there is no identifiable instance on the screen to select and choose Add Selected from the contextual ribbom tab or from the right-click menu.
To determine if this feature is active, select the Customize tool (wrench icon) on the Command Line and choose Input Search Options from the context menu. In the Input Search Options dialog, verify that the Search content at command line toggle (top of right side) is checked, and, in the Content Type box, that the Architecture toggle is checked. You can control which AutoCAD content types are available through Command Line search using the other toggles in the Content Type area.
With the feature activated, simply type a few letters in the name of the style or definition for which you want to create a new instance, and a list will pop up above the Command Line. Depending on the number of types of object names and the number of names that match the typed string, you may get a list of style names, with or without a scroll bar.
If you have tool tips enabled, you can hover over one of the choices on the list and see the entire command string that would be sent to the Command Line if you select that item.
If you pick an ACA style/definition from the list, the appropriate "add" command is executed, and the style or definition is set to the one chosen. All other defaults are based on the last use of that command. See the Command Line for the next prompt or other options.
Depending upon what is typed and the names of both ACA styles/definitions and the names of AutoCAD content and command names, you may get a single line for the desired style/definition type, with a "+" (plus sign) at the right end.
Select the "+" to expand the list and show all of the styles/definitions of that type, as well as any matching AutoCAD object styles, in this case, Walls Styles and Hatch patterns with "bri" in the name.
This new feature can speed up the process of adding an ACA object whose style/definition is already in the drawing where there is no identifiable instance on the screen to select and choose Add Selected from the contextual ribbom tab or from the right-click menu.
March 26, 2013
ACA 2014: Property Set Defintion Auto-attach
AutoCAD® Architecture 2014 has a new feature that allows you to enable the automatic attachment of Property Set Definitions [PSDs] to objects. This setting is on a by-drawing basis, so you can have this turned on in some drawings and off in others.
To turn on this feature, open the Options dialog and go to the AEC Object Settings tab. In the lower left corner, in the AEC Property Set Definitions area, clik the Automatically Attach toggle so that it has a checkmark. (Note also the drawing icon next to this item, indicating that this setting is saved in the drawing, and not in your Windows registry, so any change affects only this drawing.)
You can also use the AECPSDAUTOATTACH command at the Command Line to control this setting. ON or 1 enables the auto-attach feature; OFF or 0 disables it.
When Auto-attach is enabled, any existing PSDs in that file will be automatically attached to all objects or styles/definitions to which a specific PSD applies and to which the PSD had not been previously attached. When a new object is created, any applicable object-based PSD will be automatically attached; when a new style or definition is created or imported, any applicable style-based PSD will be attached.
Here are some observations and comments based on working with this feature:
To turn on this feature, open the Options dialog and go to the AEC Object Settings tab. In the lower left corner, in the AEC Property Set Definitions area, clik the Automatically Attach toggle so that it has a checkmark. (Note also the drawing icon next to this item, indicating that this setting is saved in the drawing, and not in your Windows registry, so any change affects only this drawing.)
You can also use the AECPSDAUTOATTACH command at the Command Line to control this setting. ON or 1 enables the auto-attach feature; OFF or 0 disables it.
When Auto-attach is enabled, any existing PSDs in that file will be automatically attached to all objects or styles/definitions to which a specific PSD applies and to which the PSD had not been previously attached. When a new object is created, any applicable object-based PSD will be automatically attached; when a new style or definition is created or imported, any applicable style-based PSD will be attached.
Here are some observations and comments based on working with this feature:
- While working outside of the ACA Drawing Management environment (Project Browser and Project Navigator), if you have a file ["File A"] with objects/styles that do not have certain PSDs that apply to those objects/styles attached, and you externally reference File A into a second file ["File B"] which has those PSDs in it and which also has Auto-attach enabled, the style-based PSDs in File B will be attached to the applicable styles/definitions in File A and the save time and date for File A will be updated. If style-based PSDs of the same name exist in File A (but were not previously attached to one or more styles/definitions), then the version in File A will be attached, even if it differs from the version in File B. If a style-based PSD of the same name does not exist in File A, then the style-based PSD will be copied from File B to File A. If there are no style-based PSDs in File B, or if there are style-based PSDs in File A with the same names and those are already attached to the styles/definitions in File A, then no action will be taken on File A.
- In the same scenario as Item 1 above, if there are style-based PSDs to be attached to objects in File A and if File A is from a previous file format, you will get a warning dialog and be given the choice to either proceed, saving File A in the current file format (2013, for ACA 2014) or to not save File A, discarding the "changes from this session" - in other words, not attaching the style-based PSDs in File A.
- In the same scenario as Item 1 above, the object-based PSDs in File B will be attached to the objects in File A, but only as property data overrides in File B. If those PSDs are later attached in File A, any values added there that are different from those in File B will not show in File B due to the property data override.
- In the same scenario as Item 1 above, if File A is open at the time it is being externally referenced into File B, the file lock on File B will prevent any style-based PSDs from being added to File A when Auto-attach is enabled. Once this fails, neither subsequent saving, closing or re-opening of File B nor moving the external reference instance within File B will trigger adding the style-based PSDs to File A. XATTACHing another instance of File A within File B will trigger another attempt to push the style-based PSDs to the File A.
- In the ACA Drawing Management environment (Project Browser and Project Navigator), the Auto-attach feature works the same way as noted above when working outside of it. I had expected that object-based PSDs being auto-attached to an object in an externally referenced Construct in a View file would have been attached at the Construct level, either directly on an object in the Construct, or as a property data override in the Construct to an object in a nested external reference (Element) within the Construct. That is how PSDs are treated when tagging an item through an externally referenced Construct in a View file.
February 22, 2013
Synchronizing Annotative Content in ACA
In addition to allowing one item of annotation to appear at the proper size for multiple drawing scales, annotative content also offers the ability to have the position of the item to vary between scales. This is often quite handy, as the change in size may require a rearrangement of the annotation to have it read properly at each scale.
There may be times, however, when you want to reset all of the scales to match the position of one of the scales. Set the scale with the desired position current, and then use the ANNORESET command to do that. You can type that command, or use the context menus.
This also works with ACA annotative objects, such as Schedule Tags.
There may be times, however, when you want to reset all of the scales to match the position of one of the scales. Set the scale with the desired position current, and then use the ANNORESET command to do that. You can type that command, or use the context menus.
This also works with ACA annotative objects, such as Schedule Tags.
January 30, 2013
ACA Ceiling Grids: Creating a Mask Block
First post in the series: ACA Ceiling Grids: The Cell Component
Previous post in the series: ACA Ceiling Grids: Mask Blocks
As seen in the previous article, Mask Blocks provide a great way to hide unwanted parts of a Ceiling Grid when an item to be placed in the ceiling is larger than one grid cell. The out-of-the-box content contains several light fixtures as part of a Mask Block, but you may need to create your own, to match your office standard graphics.
Mask Blocks have two parts, one required and one optional. The required part is one or more closed 2D polylines, splines, ellipses, or circles, to define the area to be masked. The closed polylines have to be the "newer," optimized LWPolyline type. A single object will define the area to be masked. If more than one object, or "ring" is selected, they must lie completely within or outside of each other; the rings cannot cross or touch each other. The first object will be define a mask area; you will be prompted to indicate whether subsequent rings are "void areas", or holes in the mask area, or an additional mask area.
The second, optional part is additional graphics. If you use the out-of-the-box display settings, the ring(s) selected in for the first part get placed on a non-plot layer; the additional graphics provide the plotable graphics of the Mask Block. The out-of-the-box luminaires that would span two square tiles (2'-0" or 450 mm square) are Mask Blocks with a Multi-View Block for the additional graphics. For the out-of-the-box General and Reflected Display Representations of Mask Blocks, the additional graphics end up on Layer 0, with ByBlock attributes. As these are nested within the Mask Block object, they end up inheriting the properties of the layer on which the Mask Block is placed.
The first step in creating a Mask Block is to draw the closed 2D polyline(s), spline(s), ellipse(s), and/or circle(s) that will define the mask. As previously noted, these items will define a component that is on a non-plotting layer if you are using the out-of-the-box Display Representations.
The mask created will stop short of masking any AEC object linework that is directly under the defining linework, so to mask a 2'-0" square Ceiling Grid for a 4'-0" x 2'-0" object, you can draw the defining closed polyline rectangle with opposite sides of 4'-0" and 2'-0". When aligned with a Ceiling Grid, the crossing grid will be masked, but the perimeter grids will still display.
The next step is to create the additional graphics. For this example, I created a Multi-View Block with the plan graphics for a 4'-0" x 2'-0" supply diffuser. Place an instance of the additional graphics in the proper location, relative to the mask definition object(s).
If you want the additional graphics to pick up the layer, color, linetype, lineweight and plotstyle of the parent Mask Block, then the object(s) for the additional graphics should be on Layer 0, with color, linetype, lineweight and plotstyle set to ByBlock. If your additional graphics include an AutoCAD block or an ACA Multi-View Block, then the objects in the block definition or view block definition should also be on Layer 0 with ByBlock attributes. To set the attributes of an ACA object (such as a Multi-View Block), select the object, right click and choose Edit Object Display from the context menu, and choose the General Properties tab, since these properties are not exposed for ACA objects on the Design tab of the Properties palette.
Finally, open the Style Manager (on the Manage ribbon tab, on the Style & Display panel, choose the Style Manager tool), expand the Multi-Purpose Objects node and select the Mask Block Definitions node. In the right pane, right click on an empty area and choose New from the context menu. Give the new Mask Block Definition a name and, optionally, a description. Right click on the new name and choose Set From... on the context menu.
The Style Manager will close, and the Command Line will display prompts to guide you through the process. The first prompt asks you to "Select a closed polyline, spline, ellipse or circle". Select one of your "rings" that define a masking area; in the example, the 4'-0" x 2'-0" rectangle. The next prompt asks if you want to "Add another ring?". If you only have one defining object, answer "No". If you have additional rings to add, answer "Yes", select another, indicate if it should be a void area and then indicate if you have another ring to select. Once you say "No" to adding another ring, you will be prompted for the "Insertion base point". Choose a point in the drawing to serve as the insertion point for the Mask Block. In the example, I set the lower left corner (grid node) as the insertion point. In response to the "Select additional graphics" prompt, select the additional graphics (if any) to be included in the Mask Block. Press the Enter key when you are done selecting additional graphics, and the Style Manager will reopen. Select OK to dismiss the Style Manager and your Mask Block Definition is ready to be used. Erase your ring(s) and additional graphics if you have no other use for them.
You can now use the MASKADD command to add an instance of the newly created Mask Block Definition and attach it to a Ceiling Grid.
Previous post in the series: ACA Ceiling Grids: Mask Blocks
As seen in the previous article, Mask Blocks provide a great way to hide unwanted parts of a Ceiling Grid when an item to be placed in the ceiling is larger than one grid cell. The out-of-the-box content contains several light fixtures as part of a Mask Block, but you may need to create your own, to match your office standard graphics.
Mask Blocks have two parts, one required and one optional. The required part is one or more closed 2D polylines, splines, ellipses, or circles, to define the area to be masked. The closed polylines have to be the "newer," optimized LWPolyline type. A single object will define the area to be masked. If more than one object, or "ring" is selected, they must lie completely within or outside of each other; the rings cannot cross or touch each other. The first object will be define a mask area; you will be prompted to indicate whether subsequent rings are "void areas", or holes in the mask area, or an additional mask area.
The second, optional part is additional graphics. If you use the out-of-the-box display settings, the ring(s) selected in for the first part get placed on a non-plot layer; the additional graphics provide the plotable graphics of the Mask Block. The out-of-the-box luminaires that would span two square tiles (2'-0" or 450 mm square) are Mask Blocks with a Multi-View Block for the additional graphics. For the out-of-the-box General and Reflected Display Representations of Mask Blocks, the additional graphics end up on Layer 0, with ByBlock attributes. As these are nested within the Mask Block object, they end up inheriting the properties of the layer on which the Mask Block is placed.
The first step in creating a Mask Block is to draw the closed 2D polyline(s), spline(s), ellipse(s), and/or circle(s) that will define the mask. As previously noted, these items will define a component that is on a non-plotting layer if you are using the out-of-the-box Display Representations.
The next step is to create the additional graphics. For this example, I created a Multi-View Block with the plan graphics for a 4'-0" x 2'-0" supply diffuser. Place an instance of the additional graphics in the proper location, relative to the mask definition object(s).
You can now use the MASKADD command to add an instance of the newly created Mask Block Definition and attach it to a Ceiling Grid.
December 30, 2012
ACA Ceiling Grids: Mask Blocks
First post in the series: ACA Ceiling Grids: The Cell Component
Previous post in the series: ACA Ceiling Grids: Anchors
AutoCAD® Architecture Ceiling Grids provide an easy way to generate a representation of the ceiling grid for an acoustical panel ceiling. And, as we have seen in previous articles in this series, they have feature that make it easy to locate and organize ceiling devices. There are occasions, such as when using 2x4 luminaires in a 2x2 ceiling grid,
where specific segments of the grid need to be removed. While you can certainly use linework to create a custom grid with just the grid segments you need, it can be tedious to update should design changes move things around. A Mask Block is an AEC object designed just for this situation - using one allows you to "hide" unwanted grid segments without the need for a custom grid, at the same time you are placing the the ceiling object that requires the removal of the grid segment.
In this article, we will make use of an out-of-the-box Mask Block to show how one is used. A future article will show how to create one.
The Design Tool Catalog - Imperial includes a 2x4 fluorescent luminaire Mask Block tool in Electrical > Lighting > Fluorescent, 2x4. For those using Metric units, the Design Tool Catalog - Metric has a 450x900 fluorescent luminaire Mask Block tool in Electrical Services > Fluorescent, 450x900. The images here were taken from the Imperial content. Using the tool to place the Mask Block results in what is seen in the image above. Select the Mask Block and, on the Mask Block Reference contextual ribbon tab, on the Modify panel, choose the Attach Objects tool.
At the Select AEC object to be masked prompt, choose the ceiling grid. In the Select Display Representation dialog, select the Display Representation(s) for which the object is to be masked.
The result can be seen in the image below.
You will only be offered the Display Representation(s) that is(are) turned on for the current Display Configuration and View Direction. If you need the mask to be applied to other Display Representations used by a different Display Configuration (for example, in addition to the Reflected Display Representation shown here, you may need to also apply the mask for the Reflected Screened Display Representation), you will need to change to a Display Configuration/View Direction that makes the other Display Representation active and repeat this process. If you routinely need to mask multiple Display Representations, you may want to create a "working" Display Configuration for reflected ceilings that has all of the various Display Representations for Ceiling Grids turned on, so you can mask all of them at once.
Anchors can also be applied to Mask Blocks, so you can use a node anchor to keep your 2x4 luminaire locked to a node of the grid, as discussed in the previous article. Since the insertion point for this Mask Block is at a grid point, no offset is required.
Note also that, unlike copies of anchored AEC objects, copies of the Mask Block will not inherit the mask. You can, however, select multiple Mask Blocks that occur within a single Ceiling Grid and mask them all at once, so it is probably best to place all of your instances and then apply the mask for all at one time. Once masked, you can move the Mask Block around in the same grid and it will continue to mask any part of the grid that falls behind the mask.
Next post in the series: ACA Ceiling Grids: Creating a Mask Block
Previous post in the series: ACA Ceiling Grids: Anchors
AutoCAD® Architecture Ceiling Grids provide an easy way to generate a representation of the ceiling grid for an acoustical panel ceiling. And, as we have seen in previous articles in this series, they have feature that make it easy to locate and organize ceiling devices. There are occasions, such as when using 2x4 luminaires in a 2x2 ceiling grid,
In this article, we will make use of an out-of-the-box Mask Block to show how one is used. A future article will show how to create one.
The Design Tool Catalog - Imperial includes a 2x4 fluorescent luminaire Mask Block tool in Electrical > Lighting > Fluorescent, 2x4. For those using Metric units, the Design Tool Catalog - Metric has a 450x900 fluorescent luminaire Mask Block tool in Electrical Services > Fluorescent, 450x900. The images here were taken from the Imperial content. Using the tool to place the Mask Block results in what is seen in the image above. Select the Mask Block and, on the Mask Block Reference contextual ribbon tab, on the Modify panel, choose the Attach Objects tool.
Anchors can also be applied to Mask Blocks, so you can use a node anchor to keep your 2x4 luminaire locked to a node of the grid, as discussed in the previous article. Since the insertion point for this Mask Block is at a grid point, no offset is required.
Note also that, unlike copies of anchored AEC objects, copies of the Mask Block will not inherit the mask. You can, however, select multiple Mask Blocks that occur within a single Ceiling Grid and mask them all at once, so it is probably best to place all of your instances and then apply the mask for all at one time. Once masked, you can move the Mask Block around in the same grid and it will continue to mask any part of the grid that falls behind the mask.
Next post in the series: ACA Ceiling Grids: Creating a Mask Block
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