multi-view blocks

[jdcho]

So I'm new to the multi-view blocks and should have found this sooner.  My question is in one file my room area tag works, but in another file the tag shows up, but does not update.  Is there a setting that I'm over looking?

The file that it works in, I drew a generic rectangle and it shows the room name and area.  The file that it doesn't work in, I drew a generic rectangle and the tag show up with the default values.  I look at the properties of the rectangle and the new values are in there but not being reflected in the tag.

Any suggestions?

[David_W_Koch]

Unless you can provide a more detailed description of your Room Area Tag and the Property Set(s) and Property(ies) it uses, as well as confirming exactly what type of object your generic rectangles are (AutoCAD Polylines? AutoCAD Architecture Spaces? Something else?), the easiest way to get a usable response is to reply back and include a ZIP file that contains two sample files, one where the tag works, and one where it does not, clearly noting which file is which. There could be many things that are causing the tag not to work as expected in the file that does not work.

[jdcho]

I've attached a zip file with two dwg files and the room / space tag in question. The first file drawing1.dwg is the good file where if you tag a polyline it will give you the area and space name (if the name is setup). The second file problem.dwg is the one that I've stripped all the xref's and made the same polylines but it doesn't update the room / space tag. If you stretch the polyline, it should update the area, but doesn't. One file was given (problem file) , the other was made inhouse (drawing1.dwg) running autocad architecture 2012 on windows 7 64 bit.

[dbroad]

Your attachment seems to be missing.

[David_W_Koch]

As Doug mentioned, your attachment is missing. It is certainly possible to set up a Property Set Definition that appies to Polylines and then add manual properties for room name and number and an automatic property that reports the area of the polyline, as you are aware as your "good" file does this. How are you placing the tags in the "bad" file? Are you using a tag tool from a tool palette, that is referencing a saved source file that has the Property Set Definition and the Multi-View Block Definition in it? (They could be in separate files, but I cannot imagine why you would do that.)

You cannot just copy the Multi-View Block definition into the bad drawing and place an instance of it using MVBLOCKADD. That will not create a tag anchor between the Polyline and the Multi-View Block and it will also not import the Property Set Definition and attach it to the Polyline.

I would have linked to a short blog article I posted some years back, but the old ACA Content Discussion Group is no longer accessible, so you would not be able to use the link to the thread where I had posted a sample file showing that Polylines could be used to hold room data and display the area automatically.

[jdcho]

sorry, had to wait till i got home to attach the zip file.  work filters blocks this ....

i've also added the mvblock that is in question.

[dbroad]

There are a number of problems in all the drawings.

1)KA_SPACE property set applies to all objects and properties.  This is never a good sign and wastes a lot of time to build and to use.

2)The block definition in the problem file is bad.  It has incorrect attribute names.  To get the definition from the file that works follow this process: Use the design center to copy the block definition from the good drawing to the problem drawing.

3)Even the good drawing has a lousy tag design.  When you build tags create non-annotative text objects 1" high and graphics that work with it.  Then use the create tag command.  The property set definition must exist before you start.  Change the text values to their corresponding properties.  Its not hard.  The hard part is getting the property set to accept both areas of polylines and spaces in the same automatic property.  Control Clicking can help.  The reason I say that the good mvblock and block design is bad is that to see the tags you must scale them up by a factor of 54.  You don't need to do this. Build the tag right and the tag will automatically be annotative and be scaled correctly (at least in 2014 and I believe also in 2013 and earlier).

Good luck.

[David_W_Koch · Accepted solution]

I cannot post attachments at work, either.

I took a look at your files.  The block definition for the view block used by your Schedule Tag has the same name in both files, KA_SPACE_TAG_3, but the block definitions are different.  I was not able to get ACA 2011 to run tonight, so I had to look at your files in 2014, so I cannot post 2010-format files for you, but the attached image file shows the attribute definitions in the two files.  All of the attribute definition tags are propertly formatted in the working file (top of image with white attribute definitions); only the Name1 property attribute definition tag is set up correctly in the non-working file (bottom of image with orange attribute definitions).

If you were to WBLOCK the good files KA_SPACE_TAG_3 block definition to its own file, and then use the INSERT command to insert the WBLOCK file and redefine the block definition in the bad file, you could then use the MVBLOCK command, UPDATE option, to force the changes to the attribute definitions onto the existing Schedule Tag instances.

NOTE:  The KA Space Tag 3.dwg file that was included with your attached ZIP file is not the view block that is in the file that works, nor does it contain that block.  It does have an instance of a block inside of it called KA RM TAG, which does have attributes that look like they have the proper attribute tag format (the room number attribute is not set to "fit" inside the oval graphics), but that is not the name of the block used by the Multi-View Block Definition that is the Schedule Tag in the working and non-working files.

[jdcho]

I reinserted the block and that worked.  Thank you