AlphaNumeric Point Names?

[d_reno]

I need to set a bunch of points that have to have alpha characters in them, and then create a coordinate table. For example, I will create something like the following:

RW567

SEC601

TLE231

for  a R/W Point, a Section corner and Temporary Limited Easement, respectively. The points will appear two places - in the plan view map where I created them, and in the coordinate table.

I know that I can create a point label that has RW, then create all the RW points, move to the SEC points, etc. and have the points show up in plan view with the alpha characters.  But, I want to create this table without having to go edit each point name (there could be hundreds of them). So, I think that to automatically create the point table in C3D I need to have the alpha characters as part of the point name. 

I know that other softwares handle this easily, but I can't find a place to set this in C3D. Maybe I am missing the place where I need to set it?

Does anyone know, or can you suggest a strategy to set these points and have the labels and tables all created by the machine so that I am not editing and typing (I am a klutz and I know I will get something entered in wrong.)

THANKS.

dr

[Jeff_M]

Default Name Format under the Point Creation properties while creating points or under the Settings->Points->Edit Feature Settings. You can set this to SEC<Next Counter>, set the SEC points, then change it to RW, set the RW points, etc. Then setup the table to display the Name instead of the Number

[d_reno]

Perfect! Thanks, Jeff! I am glad I asked before I started setting my hundreds of points. 

dr

[d_reno]

Is there any way to force the default name to use CAPS in the alpha prefix? Seems stuck on lower case. I can probably fool it by using a font like Technic and change the height, but it'd be best, of course, to have the software do it right and not work around it.

[peterfunkautodesk]

In the label style you can set either UPPER CASE, lower case, Title Caps, or pReservE CaSe for the point names in the labels.

Cheers,

Peter Funk

Autodesk, Inc.

[d_reno]

thanks, Peter. I kind of know what I am doing - just too many places to remember settings for me!

[kas147]

Is it possible to label points using this setting in  the regular AutoCAD 2012?  I have been serching and trying for hours now.

[d_reno]

kas,

It should work the way Jeff described above. How are you using the point labels? I can help you on Monday of you are stilll battling it.

dr

[wfberry]

Kas said "regular Autocad 2012".

Bill

[kas147]

I think that is what I am having trouble with. I cannot find a function or command to label the points; maybe it's because I am relatively new to autoCAD, but generally, I can figure things out. I was curious if the point labeling feature is only on certain versions of autCAD. Some instructions on exactly how to do this would be appreciated. 

Thanks,

Ken

[d_reno]

OK Ken,

first thing, let's get staright what you are using. We know you have Autocad 2012, but is it just Autocad, or is it an Autocad based system like Civil 3D. You can go to Help>About and look there if you are unsure.

Autocad is the core CAD engine of several Autodesk products. From that base engine, several specialized platforms have been built to address industry needs - civil & mechanical engineering, architecture, etc. of course each of them has its own functionality andd special things it can do. some, like laebling points, are very simple, some are very complicated and invloved parts and processes of a greater whole than just one piece or point.

Civil 3D can do what  you want 'out of the box.' Civil 3D creates objects using parameters defined in what they call styles. so you create a point object with a style that will label it as you want. you need to create the style first, of course, to your specific needs.

Autocad can create objects that will do what you want, but do not carry data that allows them to be intelligent and useful to the overall design.for example, in the Civil case, that point might have XYZ coordinates and a code that tells you what it represents. the software uses that data to do certain things as part of developing the model of whatever it is you are building in the CAD environment. 

so the distinction should be made between what I call intelligent and plain objects. Civil 3D will give you intelligent point objects with labels that can be manipulated at will, like what this thread originally addressed. Autocad can gove you an object that may look a lot like the intelligent object, but that just sits there on its own, not part of any database or calculations. for this I would develop a block that had attributes that you would type in or have it pull from the Auticad data, like XYZ position (this gets complicated, though).

so hopefully this helps. let us know what you are trying to do. the more information that you can givem the better. we may end up solving your problem, or just sending you over to the plain old AutoCAD group to get your answer. but let's hear more first.

dr

[kas147]

I am using autoCAD 2012, educational version, however I don't think that it limits its abilities other than the watermark when plotting, I could be wrong.  I am using it to draft out a CNC project for school.  I am milling some text and need a table of X and Y coordinates of points that make up the letters.  There are probably multiple ways to do this, but I wanted to find a way to label the points quick and efficiently.  Very similar to the problem stated at the beginning of this thread.  I would like to label these points alpha-numerically for easy creation of the table.  For example, the letter A  has multiple points and I would the points to be labeled A1, A2, A3, etc. Until the next letter B1, B2, B2, and so on.  First, I tried making circles with the centerpoint in the points I needed, having the same diameter as the cutting end mill for reference. This method did not work because it does not allow you to name circles. Second, I tried making the circles into blocks, which then can be named, but the blocks in different locations all have the same name.  I could go through and create many different blocks, but this is very tedious. Upon searching and reading about points and naming, I came across here, and this sounds like exactly what I would want.  However, I could not find how to name the points.  After becoming pretty frustrated, I posted asking for help, which I greatly appreciate.  I could have manually made the table many times by now, but figure for later projects, this would be a nice tool to learn and use.

I have since downloaded the autoCAD Civil 3D version, but have not had time to install, run, and get a feel for the program. I will keep you posted.

Thanks again.

[KirkNoonan]

Ken,

Sounds to  me like you might be better off with a some mechanical design software. CNC for us is GPS-guided grading. If you're really into Autodesk products try this http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=123112&id=16491123. You might also like Solidworks.

In vanilla Autocad, you might look at the express tools import and export block attributes in combination with block attributes to get all of your coordinates out into Excell, change the block names and update the attributes in the blocks.

Good Luck.

Kirk

[d_reno]

Yes, you might be better off using the Mechanical version since that is the direction you are headed in. ivil 3D can do everything you want, but civil is not really mechanical at all, and for the learning curve to get just this functionality out of Civl 3D I don't know if it would be worth it.

I don't for if the Mechanical suite would do this or not - presumably it would if this is a common way to detail how parts will be milled. Solidowrks may be another option, as well as Inventor. Inventor is a very cool product, but I don't know what it can do as far as labeling points. It really depends on what your school program is using, too. You have to stick to what they are teaching you so that you get the grades.

I would post a question to the mechanical group describing just what you want to so. Another option is to look for a 3rd party application - usually a Lisp routine, or possibly a dvb or .NET But Google "point label lisp" to see what I mean.

You have to load a lisp routine in Autocad to get it to run. Type APPLOAD on the command line and it should be clear how to load it. Then there is a command that invokes the lisp routine - open it the code in Notepad and look at the top lines for remarks and/or something that says DEFUN for a clue on what that command is. Sometimes as the routine loads a remark will appear on the command line of Autocad telling what to enter, but it depends on who wrote it and whether they put this in there or not.

Good luck. I bet what you want will come with the Mechanical suite, maybe you can research it online before you install it or Civil 3D. Lisp routines can sometimes do what you want, but not quite always - depends who wrote it. Blocks are another option, and you can then possibly extract the values in the blocks to be  used in a spread sheet. This can all be made to go the other way, too - from spreadsheet into Autocad, but that has the same issues, just reversed. Finally, you can also  link the spreadsheet into Autocad so that if you make changes it will change it in the drawing, too. Fortunately, this last functionality comes right out of the box!

Hope that all of this helped. You will find the software limitless in what it can do. So the question becomes how do you learn all of that? Training is good. The groups are good. The tutorials may be helpful, Help might even be occasionally. You always have to weigh the learning curve with the repeated value you get from it - just like yo uare doing now. Experience and spending hours a day, day after day for years is the best teacher. I have been using the stuff for 20 years and haven't even come close to seeing the end of the tuunnel as far as what all Civil 3D can do. 

keep asking if you have more questions!

[kas147]

Alright all, I ended up creating and editing many blocks to get the point coordinates that I needed.  There are probable easier ways, but this worked for me. Yes it was pretty repetitive, but it worked.  I used the the table function and exported the information.  I tried Civil 3D out for a little while, I was getting close to the point coordinate naming, but it was a bit too advanced for me to figure out in a short amount of time. Thanks for all the help, and I will have to check out some of those other programs to see exactly how helpful and cool they can be.