Pipe preview during layout

[rkmcswain]

C3D 2015 SP1

When you are using Network Layout Tools and drawing your pipes and structures, what controls the graphics for the preview of the pipe that you see?

For example, when we are creating a regular concrete pipe (size is irrelevant) during the drawing process while dragging the pipe, we get graphics indicating CMP (see image) - but as soon as we place a structure, the pipe is styled as it should be.

The CMP style shown while dragging is not referenced in the settings, and I've specifically checked Settings > Pipe Network > Commands > Create Network > Default Styles > Pipe Default Style  and it's not set as the default.

If we delete this style (which we can do because it's not referenced in the settings anywhere), the preview starts using a different style for the preview, but still not the one in the setting mentioned above.

TIA

[Jason.Ferrelli]

So if I understand this correctly you would like the preview of the pipe while to show the linetype of how the walls will be once it is drawn and the style takes over?

For example I see that you have a reverse compound curve linetype. When drawing the pipe to place it, it is showing as two continous lines and you would prefer to see the curved linetype. Is that correct?

[Civil3DReminders_com]

It would appear the Autodesk programmer got lazy and instead of grabbing the pipe style of the being placed pipe they grabbed the first pipe style in the list. If you sort the pipe styles by creation date, you should find Civil 3D is using that style. Although this rule might not be hard and fast depending on how Civil 3D creates the list of pipe styles in the drawing. 

[rkmcswain]

Jason.Ferrelli wrote:

For example I see that you have a reverse compound curve linetype. When drawing the pipe to place it, it is showing as two continous lines and you would prefer to see the curved linetype. Is that correct?

Incorrect Jason. The image I posted is while the pipe is being dragged into place. In this particular case (and about 85% of the time), the final style of the pipe will be a single line, so for it to preview with this "corrugated metal pipe" style is misleading to the user.

If @Civil3DReminders_com theory is true, maybe we can control it by creating a dummy style at the top of the list.

[rkmcswain]

Civil3DReminders.com wrote:

It would appear the Autodesk programmer got lazy and instead of grabbing the pipe style of the being placed pipe they grabbed the first pipe style in the list. If you sort the pipe styles by creation date, you should find Civil 3D is using that style. Although this rule might not be hard and fast depending on how Civil 3D creates the list of pipe styles in the drawing. 

@Civil3DReminders_com

 - I can't find any rhyme or reason to this. It is *seemingly* just grabbing a random style from the list of styles. I don't find any correlation to dates or any other category. If I delete the style it's using, it grabs another one.  

Here is an animation of it. To recap: the "violet, wavy" pipe you see here, is in no way the current style assigned to the pipe being placed.

Once you pick the next structure, it does place the correct pipe and pipe style, but this is annoying, especially to new users who think they are placing the wrong pipe.

It's doing this in C3D 2013 thru C3D 2015

I do not recall it doing this in earlier versions, although I can't check it.