We have just released the Iso Config Editor for 2013: http://www.pdoteam.com/2012/04/iso-config-editor-introduction/
It's a specialized editor that allows you to make changes in your isoconfig.xml easily.
Here's a YouTube video showing what it does:
http://youtu.be/ChDacVNvDpg?hd=1
Here's a link to the readme:
http://www.pdoteam.com/downloads/Iso+Config+Editor+Documentation
Sorry, about that...it is available in our online store...
Iso Config Editor is quite helpful
HOWEVER the main problems seems to lie within PLANT 3D
many of the variables have little or no effect on controlling isometric output - except making it take much longer with no improvement in layout options.
The main culprit seems to be Symbols Placeholder="MissingIsoSymbolPlaceholder" Scale="xx"
altering the scale that blocks are represented/inserted should not have such a drastic effect on how the available free space is considered
making the scale smaller should not cram all the objects together (piping supports) into a smaller lump (with massive space free in the drawing)
When the majority of pipe runs are probably horizontal there needs to be simple variables to reduce dominance of the vertical runs
yes altering congestion can help but then all the isometrics that came out good are not so good - to help the one that was dodgey.
I have used manual break points - lets faceit the isometric blocks out of the box look like they were drawn by a beginner (or scaled from imperial)
I like using Plant 3D but our main output is going to be A3 isometrics - I find if difficult to recommend Plant 3D based on the length of time it takes to get consistent output
I am puzzled by the comment about the iso symbols. We have one set of iso symbols. They are used for both metric and imperial drawings. I couldn't tell you if they were drawn in metric or imperial (the guy who made them was in Canada). Technically they are unitless and are usually drawn at one unit so they can be scaled.
Do you mean you don't like the scale they are drawn with? I have to say it's too hard to figure out where to change the scale factors, but that is something we are working on. We are also working on providing better out of the box defaults and could use some good metric examples. Are you interested in giving us some guidance on what looks good to you?
Best Regards,
Pat Andres
Autodesk Expert Elite
Plant 3D Administrator
GHD Manila
Each theme also has a scale factor. Can you start a new thread for this topic?