Selectively(?) Annotative Power Pole

[jmartt]

I just posted this over at the Civil 3D forum, but I thought maybe I'd have luck here:

Please see attached drawing. The block works great in that I can plop it on a survey shot for a power pole, pick the visibility state for the number of guys, and drag those suckers out to the survey shots for the anchors. Wonderful. Except when I change the annotation scale the guy wire shortens and lengthens accordingly, moving the anchor to an erroneous position.

I could explode upon inserting, but then I lose the annotative capability of the pole and anchor(s), which I want.

I tried defining the pole and anchor separately as annotative blocks and inserting them into a nonannotative block that has the guy wire, but the anchor doesn't remember that it is supposed to remain at the end of the guy wire.

Someone must either be able to fix this or has something entirely better?

Thanks

[wispoxy]

Give the block and anchor the same id / name with system variables, so It's seen as one object.

[jmartt]

Hey, thanks, but I don't quite understand. Are you saying that I should use system variables in some way to make the block and the anchor within the block look like the same thing to CAD? I don't know how to do that. Also, wouldn't that pin the anchor to where the block was inserted? The anchor needs to be stretched to the anchor point. But if this somehow pins the anchor to the point where I stretch it to, then that's exactly what is needed. How do you do this?

[Libbya]

You had the correct approach.  The anchor and pole should be defined as annotative blocks and then nested in the non-annotative dynamic block.  I'm not sure what issue you had with that approach.  Perhaps you did not add the anchors into the selection sets of the polar/rotate actions?  Here it is working correctly.  The only potential issue I see is that the pole end of the guy wire does not automatically adjust to the size of the pole.  Hopefully the solid hatch hides that fact adequately as there isn't a simple workaround.  

FWIW, I don't think the extra rotate parameters/actions are useful and just complicate the block.  The polar parameters/actions take care of it and the polar stretch doesn't even rotate the rotate grip so the rotate is not exactly functional as is.  

[jmartt]

Thanks. Let me explain what I'm seeing in the (returned) block pp4. I'm not sure it's just me or what.

If I pull an anchor away from the pole and change scale, the anchor arc jumps up or down the guy wire line.

[Libbya]

It is not just you.  I did not do the proper amount of testing and was incorrectly thinking that polar stretch actions acted on all scales.  They do for objects that are stretched (line) but not for objects that are moved (anchor block).  The polar stretch action that moves the anchor block only acts on the block in the current annotative scale.  For the anchor block, the polar stretch has to be accomplished in a more roundabout way using a rotate parameter, independent rotate action and a move action, all of which are activated for all annotative scales.  Here is a screencast that shows the step-by-step to accomplish the desired action in all scales: 

[jmartt]

Wow! Thanks so much for spending the time...

But I'm now just maddingly close. I've spent some time on this, and I'm out of ideas. I'm not sure that it is not down to just a different version. Let me try and tell you the differences I'm seeing by refering to your screencast times:

At 0:33, I don't get an option for Base Type. I get a prompt to select items and then a Rotation action icon appears after I select the anchor. But I can highlight the Rotation action, go into properties and change it to "independent" and then pick the midpoint of the arc for base point. (None of this base point manipulation, or any combination of some of it, seems to make any difference.)

At 1:32, My move action joins with the stretch action. This is probably just the way my version handles this. (2016) I ran it with using the vanilla ACAD that comes with C3D and I got the same result. I've attached a screenshot of what it looks like after I do the chain action on the rotation parameter. I believe this is okay.

At 2:22, I see a big difference. You're able to select the Rotate action to modify the Move Action Selection Set. My Rotation action icon is grayed-out and I can't pick it. I can pick the Rotation parameter, but that does no good, it would seem.

Two other notes: I think that the rotation action with the green square that pops up when you first bedit in your video is just an empty rotation action, probably one that I left laying around. So I disregarded it. Also, the polar stretch set that is existing when you first bedit, I think that has nothing selected for the "rotate only" portion of the action. I tried it both ways, (with nothing selected for "rotate only" and then again with the anchor selected for "rotate only"), and it made no difference.

I've attached a slimmed-down version of the block in hopes cutting-out some of the garbage I left in the original would bring some clarity. This block has everything done to it that I can do, following your video. If I can get the basic functionality down, I'm sure I can add in all the visibility states again.

I'm so close. Seeing it work on your screencast was like seeing the finish line.

If you have time...Thanks.

[jmartt]

Here's the screenshot I referenced that did not get attached

[Libbya · Accepted solution]

Good work sticking with it.  The difference in display and the ability to select the rotate action as part of the selection set of the move action is due to the system variable BACTIONBARMODE.  Yours is set to 2.  Mine is set to 1.  Change yours to 0 and you will be able to add the rotate action to the selection set of the move action.  

Changing the rotation action's base type to independent allows the base of the rotation to be moved with the move action.  Without being able to add the rotate action to the selection set of the move action, it wouldn't make much of a difference.  

I looked at your block.  The only thing necessary to make it work is to add the Rotate1 action to the selection set of the Move action.

[Libbya]

...and your anchor block needs to be made annotative.

[jmartt]

bactionbarmode. That did it. You're a freakin' wizard. Thanks again!

[Libbya]

I'm glad you got it working.