Need multiple Parcel Area Styles in the same drawing set....

[Sinc]

OK, we're getting bit by the fact that Parcels are not full-fledged C3D project objects, and cannot be used with Vault or Data Shortcuts.

We need to get a plat with 100 lots done so that one page has an overall view, and then the other pages have more detail at a smaller scale. On the overall view, we want LOT NUMBERS ONLY, and on the other pages, we need LOT NUMBERS + AREA.

For obvious reasons, we don't want to do an XML Export of our parcels, and them import them into another DWG file, because then we'd have to edit multiple files if the parcels change. The best way to handle it sounds like General Note labels with reference text, I presume, along with VPFREEZE, but it sure would be a lot easier if I could control Style by Viewport, or create another DWG with a data shortcut to my parcels...

[BrianHailey]

If you can wait intill 2008, you can have multiple labels for parcels. Two different area labels for the same parcel, one showing the lot number and area, the other showing the lot number only, freeze the appropriate layer in the appropriate viewport.

If you can't wait, you can create a reference within a note lable and reference the parcel, freeze as appropriate.

Brian

[Anonymous]

Sinc:

I know you are a programmer, BUT it would seem quite easy for THIS TIME ONLY
to just use "number only" in paperspace. Maybe 10 minutes? OK 15 then.



Bill

[Anonymous]

Would it help if you could cover up the lot areas?

I was messing with parcel labels the other week and found that I could put a block within the label that would cover up the lot area. The contents of the block was on a different layer than the label which allowed it to be controlled by turning that layer on and off.

[Anonymous]

That's a slick approach. I like it.

--
James Wedding, P.E.
Engineered Efficiency, Inc.
Civil 3D 2007
XP Tablet, SP2, 2GHz, 2G
www.eng-eff.com
www.civil3d.com

[Sinc]

The engineer already had the lots labeled with regular text entities, so I just use those on a different layer, and VPFreeze. That's the 100-scale view. And I use the C3D labels for the 40-scale view.

This is the easiest solution, since at this point I can't see the lot numbers changing. (Famous last words, I know...)

[Sinc]

That sounds like a partial solution.

But it seems that it will suffer from the same problem I am running into repeatedly with C3D - and that is it is frequently necessary to create multiple styles that differ only in the layer they put things on. This is becoming a bigger and bigger problem. The "Style Breeding Problem" is really getting out-of-hand. And with the current TERRIBLE style editing capabilities (the Toolspace is clunky at best), having a ton of styles is extremely painful.

If the Style is going to determine the Layer, then we really need to be able to get away from using VPFEEZE. That means we need the ability to turn individual C3D labels on/off in any viewport, and the ability to change the pin point for any label in any viewport. The ability to change the style of a label in a viewport could be handy, or it could be confusing and unnecessary if we can do the other things I just listed.

This thing they did with the annotations in 2008, creating that "Annotation Scale" thing, seems only partially-useful. It allows us to specify one pin point for every 40-scale viewport, and one pin point for every 100-scale viewport, but that's not a full solution. It doesn't let us have the label in one spot in this 40-scale viewport, and in a different spot for a second 40-scale viewport. If we had a pin point per viewport instead, then we could have the same label in two different locations in two different viewports, even if the viewports have the same scale value. Message was edited by: sinc

[dana.probert]

i'm pretty sure you've already seen this one sinc, but here it is anyway

you can use a general note label or mtext with a field

but i like mmcall's block thing. that is smooth!

http://www.civil3d.com/index.php/2006/09/double-labeling-for-differently-scaled-drawings-with-civil-3d-label-text/

[Sinc]

OK, we're now on 2008, but there's a similar problem...

It is now possible to add multiple labels to a parcel, but how do I add a second label to 200 parcels?

The only way I've found so far of adding a second area label is to right-click on a Parcel and add the second area label on the Composition tab. But that means right-click and select the new label for EVERY PARCEL!!!

Surely there must be a way to add a second label to 200 parcels at once... right? Or is this another example of "two steps forward, three steps back"?

[Anonymous]

Good news for you Sinc, you can edit as many parcels as you would like at the same time:



Select that one, then you can select your parcels just like you would to renumber them (polyline) by site or all.





Message was edited by: mpowelljr Message was edited by: mpowelljr

[Sinc]

Ah! It's the old "inconsistent user interface" again... I never would have thought of looking there.

Thanks! You just saved me an hour of grief. I was about to start editing those things one at a time... (yuck!)

[Sinc]

UGH this is frustrating!!!

Is there any way to select the parcels I want to edit in Toolspace?

I've got 25 parcels, sprinkled through the site, and it's a pain to sort through the site, picking them one at a time. However, it's very easy to sort the parcels in prospector and select the ones I want. But then how do I edit the properties? That command in the menu seems to want me to select individual parcels by drawing lines in the drawing. Since the parcels I want are not next to each other, the ability to draw a polyline through parcels to select them doesn't help me.

[Anonymous]

No, I don't know if there is a way... I had searched it out for awhile but then gave up and just did the polyline trick, if the majority of them are one way maybe look into changing the all and then reselect the few that need to be shown differently.

Mark

[Sinc]

Another weakness - now I want to select 10 different parcels, and turn OFF the option for "Use name template in style". There doesn't seem to be any way to do this.

Oh well, it's only 10 parcels, so I can edit them one at a time. I have to enter a new name for each of them, anyway, so I can do that at the same time I turn off the "Use name template in style" option.

[Anonymous]

Just out of curiosity sinc, what are you trying to get the labels to look like?

Mark

[Sinc]

Ummm... which ones?

I need two labels. At 1"=100', I need an ID only. at 1" = 30', I need ID and area (SF). Most lots are lots, and use the Name Template in the style to prepend the word "LOT" to the lot number.

However, some others are Tracts, and are lettered, not numbered, and should have the word "TRACT" prepended instead. So instead of using the Name template in the style, I changed the Names of my tracts to things like "TRACT A", "TRACT B", etc. A new style won't cut it, because the tracts need to be lettered, not numbered.

[Sinc]

And now I discover that, even though it is possible to have multiple parcel labels in one parcel, they must all be different styles...

So it's still not possible to pop multiple Parcel Area labels on those big, sprawling lots and tracts that may span multiple plan sheets. We still have to use the 2007 workaround of using General Note labels with Reference Text, which is not as convenient.

On the bright side, General Notes don't constantly reset themselves, and will stay where they're put...

[Anonymous]

An identical, yet uniquely named style, might be enough to get more of the same label.

Could you make some child styles (with no changes) from the current style being used and then use those as the second, third, ... labels for those big parcels?

[Sinc]

That thought makes me shudder.

The "Breeding Style Problem" is already way out of hand. That would just contribute to the problem.

In any case, I find the General Note with Parcel Reference Text to be the optimal choice. In fact, it's even better than the Parcel Area Label, because IT WILL STAY WHERE I PUT IT! I can also move General Note labels to other layers without creating yet another style.

This program is so frustrating.... The UI is terrible.

[Sinc]

Yep, General Notes with Reference Text seem to be FAR BETTER than Parcel Area Labels, except for the fact that they're a pain to create when you need 200 of them.

We're now getting this sort of thing (as seen in the attached image) happening all the time. It's impossible for the user to add the same Area Label Style more than once, but Civil-3D has no such compunctions.

We keep ending up with a mess like in the attached image. And this seems to either trigger or be caused by another bug, which causes Parcel Area Labels to "lock down" and refuse to move, similar to what happens with Annotative text.

The number of bugs and workarounds in Parcels is so great that we have reached the decision that Civil-3D is not yet ready for prime time, at least if you need to do much with Parcels. It's great for Surfaces and Corridors, but the Parcels are one huge nightmare. They are definitely not something that can be relied upon in the real world, where meeting deadlines and completing projects in a timely fashion is important.