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MEP 2012 (Duct Layout Preferences)

4 REPLIES 4
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Message 1 of 5
owlcreekok
1768 Views, 4 Replies

MEP 2012 (Duct Layout Preferences)

I am a VERY new user (learner). I have MEP 2012 and the May issue of AUGI in front of me. From the article, the author says, [quote]The number of tabs and orderof preferences varies with the version of AutoCAD MEP you are using. [/quote]

 

I have version F.51.0.0

 

I have ONE tab when I select the duct preferences icon on the ribbon. The image in the AUGI article shows six.

 

I have played around with the thing and it will draw a duct, add an elbow where a turn occurs as I selected points along a path.  Where it gets that elbow is beyond me. It appears that I have no "catalog" data.

 

More background. I loaded MEP 2012 a week or two ago. A day or two ago, I put the CD from Autodesk in my PC to see if there were any tutorial videos on it. It began an installation. After 20 minutes or so of it doing NOTHING, I aborted it with a hard boot.  When I re-launched MEP 2012 (US Imperial) it went through the initial start up sequence as though it was a new install. MOST of my settings I had made were reset. (not all) Also, the drawings I had done were still there, intact.

 

Is this the pains of the ignorant ?  Or is there something awry ?

 

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Jerry

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4 REPLIES 4
Message 2 of 5
Martin__Schmid
in reply to: owlcreekok

The AUGI article you reference is based on the 2011 (and prior versions)

 

The 2012 version had a signficiant overhaul of the Duct functionality to align it with how pipe and conduit function. 

 

Where the elbow comes from is based on the following logic:

1.  When you are routing a duct, the Properties Palette has an option for the 'Routing Preference'

2.  In Style Manager, under HVAC Objects are your 'Duct part Routing Prefeerences'

3.  The Routing Preference specifies which Elbow to use for each duct shape (along with other auto-route fittings).  The Routing Preferences are part of the drawing template.

4.  Each fitting specified in a routing preference is specified from a Catalog.

5.  The Catalogs are found by entering the command OPTIONS at the command line.. then scrolling over to the MEP Catalogs tab.  Assuming you are using the default install options and US Imperial profile, it should indicate 'C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\MEP 2012\enu\MEPContent\USI\Duct\Duct (US Imperial).apc'

 

Note, if you start, say, with a Metric Template and have the Imperial Catalog loaded, it will not be able to find the fittings specified in the routing preference.

 

As for the 6 Duct Preferences tabs in the article, most of these settings have been consolidated into the Properties Palette.  The exception is 'Parts' which is in the Routing Preferences as indicated above.  The 'Flange' settings only show up when your routing preference is with a duct that has Flanged connections. 

 

 

 

As far as losing options/settings due to the aborted re-install... it is hard to say exactly what happened.  Some settings are stored only in drawings, some are per-user, and some are machine wide.  It sounds as though even though it appeared that nothing happened, it had removed the user settings, which were then reverted to defaults on re-launch.

 

 



Martin Schmid
Product Line Manager
Mechanical Detailing and Electrical Design
Architecture, Engineering, and Construction
Autodesk, Inc.

Message 3 of 5
owlcreekok
in reply to: owlcreekok

Thank You Sir !

 

While my skills and understanding are not very advanced, nor even equal to each other, your explanation makes sense.   This will give me much to continue with.

 

Best;

 

Jerry Harper

Message 4 of 5
Kayrondad
in reply to: owlcreekok

the question still remains though, how do you turn off the flanges from showing when you need to use flange routing preference? 

Also, why did they make duct align with the pipe methods rather than align pipe with duct?  Seems to me, the duct works WAY better with the dialog box and preferences than with the stuff being jammed into the properties dialog...with new stuff comes more complications, why can't Autodesk just leave well enough alone and fix known issues with the program rather than re-inventing the wheel with every new release?  I am still pissed about the ribbon crap and regardless what the developers say, it is crap and even in the newer operating systems the ribbon sucks.  What the heck folks?

Message 5 of 5
fprimich
in reply to: Kayrondad

I AGREE!!!!

 

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