Advance Steel custom commands-share your ideas

[acbsdesign]

Hello,

It will be nice to learn more about custom commands / combination of Autocad and Advance Steel commands improving productivity. 

To colleagues willing to share-Thank you.

Here is a tiny example:

"Hide parts with identical numbers"-used when parts are detailed using drawings styles.

^C^C_AstM5equalpartsMarkSame \;AstM4CommSelectMarkedObjects ;_AstM4SwitchReprMode off

And another one:

"Hide Similar Advance Steel Objects":

^C^C_SelectSimilar \;_AstM4SwitchReprMode off

Regards, 

Ilko Dimitrov

ACBS

[Adrian.Mangan]

This is a good one Ilko, thank you, just setting up my custom commands now. I like some of your others too.

[Adrian.Mangan]

These ones are great too, love the extend to column

[Adrian.Mangan]

These are particularly useful when I go back to trim system line sometimes after changing the design, originally I would split the beam but this was no use as the numbering is then lost, then I was manually dragging beam back, now with this it save me a lot of time. Thank you.

[Adrian.Mangan]

Please excuse my ignorance Sebastian, does that mean if I add the weld in the model it will automatically come in without the weld thickness value but if I add it manually in the detail it will have that value?

[Sebastian_Eiche]

This thickness should be not shown in both cases. Egual if it's placed in the model or detail. 

I set a thickness which is never used in reality, to have these option. In Germany (I don't know if other countries use this too) this option was used to have a clean detail. And then in pageheader the most have the statement:

All not defined welds had to be done in 4mm (for example).

[Adrian.Mangan]

Great Tip Alecks

[Adrian.Mangan]

Feel a little guilty I'm just taking and not giving, haha

[Anonymous]

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@Adrian.Mangan wrote:

Feel a little guilty I'm just taking and not giving, haha

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I felt like that, but I don't have any custom commands to contribute 

I did knock up a couple of icons for the commands to ease my guilt though, see if that helps 

[Adrian.Mangan]

This is a great one Ilko, I have tried to adjust it myself it add a remove markings before the command but I cannot find it in the CUI to add it. Any ideas? This would be a great one for me. Thank you for all your input.

[acbsdesign · Accepted solution]

Trim extend to system line

https://youtu.be/ptw__t4sDCw

[Adrian.Mangan]

game changer

[acbsdesign]

@Anonymous @Adrian.Mangan 

I am sure you will contribute down the road. 

I wish more AS users are taking part of this. @bukko for example, or @Drawtech, or @iwafb -I know everyone is busy, but a few minutes spent here would save hundreds of hours. 

It can be a trick, use of dynamic blocks for example, not necessary to be a custom command. 

Anything that will help with speed and accuracy.

And appearance-both for interface and for drawings.

[Masibanda-CE · Accepted solution]

Here are ones that I've added to shortcut menus that save me heaps of effort ... 1 second at a time:

Deafult MenuEdit MenuObject Snap & Grip Points Menus

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

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@Adrian.Mangan wrote:

This is a great one Ilko, I have tried to adjust it myself it add a remove markings before the command but I cannot find it in the CUI to add it. Any ideas? This would be a great one for me. Thank you for all your input.

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Adapted from Sebastian's "Select Main Part"

Isolate Assembly (with a remove all marking command at the start, without that it will isolate the assembly of the selected part, plus any currently marked parts). Also an Escape at the end i pinched from one of Ilko's.

_^C^C_AstM4CommUnmarkObjects;_AstM4SwitchReprMode MAINSTRUCTURE \;AstM4CommSelectMarkedObjects ; _AstM10ViewSelObjects;;_AstM4CommUnmarkObjects;;;graphscr;redraw;

Adapted from Ilko's "Isolate Identical Parts" (with a remove all marking command at the start, without that it will isolate the identical parts, plus any currently marked parts). Also an Escape at the end i pinched from one of Ilko's.

_^C^C_AstM4CommUnmarkObjects;_AstM5equalpartsMarkSame \;AstM4CommSelectMarkedObjects ; _AstM10ViewSelObjects;;_AstM4CommUnmarkObjects;;;graphscr;redraw;

If, like the commands above, a command clears all marking I put a warning in the command name. That's a lesson I learned the hard way!

[Drawtech · Accepted solution]

@acbsdesign 

Ilko,  OK - how about custom drawing labels using vb script...

The tokens %ObjectTopLevel and %ObjectBottomLevel add a "-" if negative but not "+" when positive.

Also, they omit trailing zeros.

...so how about these label definitions:

(just paste into a drawing label dialog)

T.O.S. %%script(Q = (%ObjectTopLevel): If Q>0 then appendstring ("+" & (FormatNumber(Q,3))) else appendstring (FormatNumber(Q,3)))

B.O.S. %%script(Q = (%ObjectBottomLevel): If Q>0 then appendstring ("+" & (FormatNumber(Q,3))) else appendstring (FormatNumber(Q,3)))

[Drawtech · Accepted solution]

More drawing labels:

For foundation and base plate levels on plan drawings:

We generally use 25mm pack & grout in the UK.  Change the red number to suit what you use:

U/S Base Plate %%script(Q1 = (%ObjectBottomLevel): If Q1>0 then appendstring ("+" & (FormatNumber(Q1,3))) else appendstring (FormatNumber(Q1,3)))#NewlineT.O.C. Found'n %%script(Q1 = (%ObjectBottomLevel-0.025😞 If Q1>0 then appendstring ("+" & (FormatNumber(Q1,3))) else appendstring (FormatNumber(Q1,3)))

[acbsdesign]

This is what I was talking about, do not hide opinion due to fear account will be suspended, or knowledge, and experience under the pillow-add something.

I am already using 3 of your icons.

I will test these two commands as modified. I was looking to get the parts unmarked-thank you.

Good thinking, keep posting.

[acbsdesign]

@Drawtech 

Wait wait, slow down, I am completely new to this.

Looking fwd to use it. 

Thank you, David.

[Drawtech · Accepted solution]

More drawing labels:

Some for csk and slotted holes:

%BoltCount - %Diameterø CSK for M%%script(D = %Diameter: if D < 12 then appendstring D-1 else appendstring D-2) %%script(if %BoltCount = 1 then appendstring "Bolt" else appendstring "Bolts")

%BoltCount - %Diameterø x %Length %%script(if %BoltCount = 1 then appendstring "Slot" else appendstring "Slots")

[Drawtech · Accepted solution]

More drawing labels:

'Assembly detail call off - if coating None, leave off:

%Quantity No. Mkd %MainPartPosNum #Height(3.50)%%script(Coat = "%Coating": NoCoat = "None": Compare = StrComp(Coat, NoCoat, 1): If Compare <> 0 then appendstring "("&Coat&")")