topic Iso areas when copying templates in AutoCAD Plant 3D Forum

Iso areas when copying templates

Garrett.Brothers — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 19:55:11 GMT

Iso draw areas, Iso no-draw areas, and Iso table areas -- the things that these buttons make

that look like this

-- all have their configurations saved in the iso style and not in the iso DWT template, meaning if you copy the "iso.dwt" drawing template file (it can be named another name) from style A to style B, the iso areas that were set up in style A's template will be replaced by the last configured areas on style B.

Let me take a second to spell that out better in an example.

I have style A, CARBON STEEL

Screenshot of style A, both in Plant 3D and in windows explorer

and style B, CPVC

Similar screenshots of style B

I replace drawing B's "Drawing Template.dwt" with a copy of style A's

Screenshot of folder explorer -- "do you want to replace this file"

When I open style B's title block in project setup, it has style A's template; however, it uses style B's areas as they were last configured for that style.

Note how the no draw areas changed, especially at the bottom.

Does anyone know where these drawing areas are stored? I don't remember them being in IsoConfig.xml, but it's been a while.

Re: Iso areas when copying templates

jw7018 — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 20:07:46 GMT

After you've saved your .dwt, open up through plant 3d and set your areas, though Plant may not "like" this workflow.

I've had success creating a template and then creating a new style through project manager. I try not to open the dwt outside of project manager... once opened you can paste your templates and adjust your area, etc.

Re: Iso areas when copying templates

Garrett.Brothers — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 20:06:12 GMT

Note that the drawing template file (.dwt) stores drawing areas -- you can see this if you open up the template using vanilla AutoCAD or by using the "Open" button on the quick access toolbar in Plant 3D -- but these areas are overwritten with the iso style's when loading the template through project setup. (I call the ones retained by the dwt file "ghost" areas.)

I haven't tried running an iso with these templates. I am operating under the assumption that it's the areas shown on the template in project setup that dictate how the iso is generated, not the "ghost" ones saved in the standalone dwt file.

Sometimes when copying the template over, I'd end up with two blue areas. One was the "ghost" BoM area and the other was the BoM area from project setup/the iso style. Only one of them had a table, the other was just a blue hatch. Not sure if this would cause problems.

Overall, the iso drawing areas feel a little unstable.

Re: Iso areas when copying templates

Garrett.Brothers — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 20:20:15 GMT

@jw7018, can you please clarify?

@jw7018 wrote:
After you've saved your .dwt, open up through plant 3d and set your areas, though Plant may not "like" this workflow.

Do you mean after I've created an iso .dwt the way I want it, I should open it directly (by using Open from the quick access toolbar) rather than through project setup? If I do that, I won't have the Title Block Setup context ribbon.

@jw7018 wrote:
I've had success creating a template and then creating a new style through project manager.

You create a new style, then copy the template into that style?

Re: Iso areas when copying templates

jw7018 — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 20:33:41 GMT

@jw7018 wrote:
After you've saved your .dwt, open up through plant 3d and set your areas, though Plant may not "like" this workflow.
Do you mean after I've created an iso .dwt the way I want it, I should open it directly (by using Open from the quick access toolbar) rather than through project setup? If I do that, I won't have the Title Block Setup context ribbon. I only open through the project manager.

@jw7018 wrote:
I've had success creating a template and then creating a new style through project manager.
You create a new style, then copy the template into that style? I create a new style then modify the changes I want in project manager, (open through PM) and swap title blocks (keep plant layer names for the title block layer-delete-purge block-if needed), change BOM or weld map areas. Then I close the project manager and make further XML changes as needed.

Unless I heard you wring it sounded like you were copying the dwt file outside of project manager, I would not do that.

Re: Iso areas when copying templates

Garrett.Brothers — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 17:19:31 GMT

@jw7018 wrote:
Unless I heard you wring it sounded like you were copying the dwt file outside of project manager, I would not do that.

I find the DWT file for the iso template using Windows File Explorer, I copy that file, I navigate to the other style folder, and I paste the DWT file. Is there another way to copy the DWT file? [Assume I want to keep other parts of the iso style, like themes and dimension spacing. What if I want to copy everything associated with the title block from one file to another, but keep the second style's other iso settings?]

Re: Iso areas when copying templates

jw7018 — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 01:18:02 GMT

I only recommend copying within the project manager setup....

Manage these within a project template and when you make a new project.xml (copy settings from existing project) the iso styles are added via the process.

Mod within the new project as needed.

Re: Iso areas when copying templates

rajendra.prajapat — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 03:12:20 GMT

@Garrett.Brothers make the iso style using project setup.