List of Variables

[mwalls558626]

I'm finally getting around to making my drawing sheets to be a little smarter, and I am wondering if there is a master list of "variables" to go by. For example: $PRPSheet:"IC-Title"

 

It would also be nice to have them listed by Scene / Drawing

 

I have some things set up, and now I am looking to go a bit deeper. One example is being able to have an automatic tracking of how many sheets in the drawing, so I can have a box in the drawing that shows this, for example: 1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3, etc. It's really helpful when you have 5 or more sheets, and you add another. You are forced to go to every sheet and update manually, when I think this could be an easy variable. I know I am a little behind in asking for this, but a list would be nice. Thanks

 

Mike

[Mike Twining]

Mike-

For the "Total Sheets" item: This is what we do:

 

Goto File->Properties

Goto the "IronCAD Custom" tab

Create a new Text entry Titled "Sheets"

Enter the following into the appropriate textbox:

 

OF $PRPDrawing:"IC-Sheets"

 

Done.

 

Note that the Custom file property you created "Sheets" is what is used in the [name] portion of the $PRPDrawing:"IC-[name]" text. You can use the same approach for any variable that you create... so technically to (partially) answer your first question: the list is unlimited. The built-in list can be found from the "Property Name" dropdown list seen in the attached image. Enjoy.

 

 

Edit: We have found it easier to separate the current sheet number from the total count (as you can see in the image). This allows us to lock the automatic text, and unlock the current sheet number for easy editing, without the fear that someone will overwrite the variable information in the text box.

Edited February 11, 2010 by Mike Twining

[mwalls558626]

Thanks Mike, that was helpful. I was familiar with the dropdown list of the standard variables, but was hoping there were more, which I guess there is if you make them yourself. It just seems like IronCad knows every variable in the program, and it would be nice to have an insite, or access to those, instead of having to make our own. That may not be totally clear, but it just seems like things are a bit tougher in IronCad to customize, than other programs I have used. The drawing template in particular, or at least the information as to how to customize it, is, and always has lacked a bit, for directions. You can get the info, but it just seems to be tougher than it should be. I appreciate the help.

 

Mike W.

[mwalls558626]

I'm missing something here Mike. I made the variable, but it does not seem to recognize what I put in for the variable. See attachments. You can see with the Text Properties picture that what comes out is in the red box to the right. It has the output as just the text that was typed in.

 

Mike

[Mike Twining]

Mike-

The part that goes into the File->Properties does not contain the variable info (see image). It appears to be working just fine for you... now you just need to put the VALUE you want "Sheets" to be in the correct place.

 

 

Start there and lets see what happens. I notice that you are using $PRPSheet vs. $PRPDrawing when referencing the "Sheets" variable. I'm not too sure of the consequences of that, but we use $PRPDrawing to reference the variable. Since the total number of sheets does not change from sheet to sheet, I think the $PRPDrawing is probably a more reliable way to do it. It looks like $PRPSheet method will allow you to apply different values to your variable depending on the sheet you are on (although I have never used it), and I am a little afraid that if you do it that way, any continuation sheets you make might not reference the "Sheets" variable correctly.

 

Edit:

Also, here is a copy of the template that we use. That should clear some stuff up for you. You will need to unlock the "Template Text" layer to gain access to the sheet reporting information on the template.

 

12.0_SH1.icd

 

Sure would be nice if IronCAD could AUTOMATICALLY calculate how many sheets there were in a drawing. Unfortunately, for this to work, you need to manually enter that information into the File->Properties->IronCAD Custom->Sheets property. This has been on my ER list for at least 6 years...

Edited February 11, 2010 by Mike Twining

[mwalls558626]

OOOPPPPPsssss, that makes complete sense. I was wondering where it was going to get the actual value. I just thought the variable did more than that..... What, no secret formula!!!! Anyway, that cleared it up. Yes, it's too bad that IronCad can't provide that info. It knows how many pages, it just wants to keep it to itself!

 

Thanks again Mike.

 

 

Mike