Ask questions about DataCAD 20, DataCAD LT 20, or previous versions here.
#66142 by Kent A. Wittwer
Mon Mar 23, 2015 4:38 pm
Is there anyway to control "layer" within symbols? That would be a sweet little feature for sure if it isn't possible. Not a big fan of exploding tons of symbols to get entities to be turned on or off.

Thanks.

Kent
#66143 by joshhuggins
Mon Mar 23, 2015 5:40 pm
Unfortunately you can't turn layers off, from outside the symbol but you can open the symbol in the symbol editor and delete the unwanted entities/layers, and then save and close the symbol. But remember that this will update all instances of that symbol throughout the drawing. Layer toggling and Symbol Views on a per symbol basis has been on our wish list for symbols for a bit.
#66144 by Paul Nida
Mon Mar 23, 2015 9:14 pm
I think that is called an xref. The control of layers seems to be the major difference between xrefs and symbols.
#66145 by joshhuggins
Mon Mar 23, 2015 11:14 pm
Xrefs are too slow and are to bulky and must rely on an external file.
#66147 by Roger D
Tue Mar 24, 2015 5:43 am
You can control them to a point based on scales.
You can set for any layer in a symbol the min and max scales it will display at.
#66149 by Kent A. Wittwer
Tue Mar 24, 2015 3:27 pm
What I am trying to do is to have text that displays or not... which is associated to a symbol. I xref plans into a new drawing and then would like the ability to control the text on those symbols on those plans to display or not.
#66150 by Roger D
Tue Mar 24, 2015 3:49 pm
To display or not display that is the question?
What is the reason of when to display? Scale, or Other?
#66153 by Kent A. Wittwer
Wed Mar 25, 2015 6:36 am
I have tables that have sizes shown with text. These tables (many of them and many different sizes) are shown on many different plans (mech, elec, plumb...) and on THOSE plans I would like the text to not appear.

I know the ins and outs but I am just trying to not have to re-invent the wheel everytime. Also trying to keep the entity count down on drawings, hence the use of symbols. It's also easier to have them in symbols to replace them if needed... as opposed to inserting new everytime the client changes their minds.
#66154 by Roger D
Wed Mar 25, 2015 7:38 am
If you can not control it by utilizing scales, and maybe placing them on the drawing sheet using MSP layouts, maybe you could utilaze Attributes linked to a database, and one of the entries in the the database could be a "blank" place holder that then does not have any other entries for that one one setting, so you sizes would not show????
#66156 by jimgoodman
Wed Mar 25, 2015 9:19 am
Roger D wrote:If you can not control it by utilizing scales, and maybe placing them on the drawing sheet using MSP layouts, maybe you could utilaze Attributes linked to a database, and one of the entries in the the database could be a "blank" place holder that then does not have any other entries for that one one setting, so you sizes would not show????


We use a non-plotting color for those sorts of labels. Coupled with setting the display scale to something like 3/8", the text will show up when you need it, but not print or clutter the drawing when working at a larger scale.

James Goodman, AIA

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 30 guests

About DataCAD Forum

The DataCAD Forum is a FREE online community we provide to enhance your experience with DataCAD.

We hope you'll visit often to get answers, share ideas, and interact with other DataCAD users around the world.

DataCAD

Software for Architects Since 1984