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Use Drawing Number in Ladder Reference

7 REPLIES 7
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Message 1 of 8
Sharpie37
2808 Views, 7 Replies

Use Drawing Number in Ladder Reference

Our customer is insisting that we put the drawing number (%D) as part of the ladder refence number. Is there an automated way to do this? As far as I can tell is only possible to include the sheet number (%S) as part of the line number. Do any gurus out there know of a trick for getting around this?

 

We use %S for the page number (1, 2, 3, 4 ...) and %D for the drawing number (010, 020, 025, 030...). That way if we need to add a page it doesn't mess up all the subsequent wire numbers. I have no problem getting the wire numbers to label correctly (%D%N so they display 025011, 025021...) but can't find a custom field for the line references.

 

We use ACADE 2012.

7 REPLIES 7
Message 2 of 8
electricman1
in reply to: Sharpie37

I don't have a cad machine nearby, but a acade default demo project should be on your machine. Check in your \Documents\Acade 2012\AeData\Proj\Demo folder. This demo project has an example of a ladder reference I believe you are looking for.

Message 3 of 8
s.wile
in reply to: Sharpie37

I have spent a bit of time on this one. I can’t find a way to report the drawing number (%D) on the ladder numbers. Seems strange because its so easy to add to the wire numbers.

I thought I had a nifty work around using a block inside of the MLR and then using the Title Block Update to push %D to an attribute in the block. This works great for all but the first number. That is a different name and the block is embedded inside the MLR. For the others, the block is copied separate and pushed down with the wire numbers.

 

As a work around I propose creating a custom block with only as attribute that snaps right off the rung and fits in right in front of the ladder reference. Then pattern it down and run the Title Block Update to push %D to this new block. If you’re having a hard time following, let me know and I’ll create a blog post with some screen grabs.

 

In short, I don’t see this happening automatically without some code. If anyone knows some slick little trick I would love to see it. Pretty sure Sharpie37 would like to see it as well.

Stan Wile
http://myacade.blogspot.com/
IMAGINiT Technologies
Message 4 of 8
Sharpie37
in reply to: s.wile

Hi Stan,

 

I would like to try your solution, but I don't know enough to run with this on my own. A blog post would be much appreciated.

Message 5 of 8
Sharpie37
in reply to: Sharpie37

I found a work around that I think we can live with. Luckily we only have one client that is extremely particular.

 

I ended up building the line number prefixes into the title block. This works because the ladder always ends up in one of two places. I put both columns line number prefixes on different layers so after creating a new drawing from the template the designer will just have to make one or the other invisible.

 

The one thing I haven't tackled is getting the spacing right. How easy is it to change the font of the existing line numbers?

 

Stan, I'm still interested in your solution.

Message 6 of 8
s.wile
in reply to: Sharpie37

Building it into the title block is a great idea. Its a better/easier way than what I was trying to do. 

 

Change the ladder font by modifying the Master Ladder Reference (MLR) block.

This may help. Understanding and Customizing Electrical's Ladder Reference Numbers (MLR)

 

If you only need to change a single project's font you could use the Project-Wide Utilities. It will update the font for ALL attributes though. Since this change is for a single client it may work. If you want want to change ladder numbers, freeze all other layers before running the utility.

Stan Wile
http://myacade.blogspot.com/
IMAGINiT Technologies
Message 7 of 8
Sharpie37
in reply to: s.wile

Thanks, Stan for the link. My line numbers look a lot nicer now.

 

I'm wondering. One of the first things I did was to modify the hexagonal source and desination arrows by replacing SHEET with DWGNAM. I tried this with the line number blocks and it didn't work at all. Why not?

Message 8 of 8
s.wile
in reply to: Sharpie37

I also tried DWG, DRAWING, and several others. It just doesn't seem to be an option. It looks like ONLY sheet and ref are supported. That was why I defaulted back to using the Title Block Update.

Stan Wile
http://myacade.blogspot.com/
IMAGINiT Technologies

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