Custom User Connection default settings

[matthewobrn]

Hi all,

I have a question for the more advance developers of advance steel.

When placing custom user connections is there an entry in the database files I can edit to automatically enable the tick box for "Allow object modification"?

I have a drawing file and there are 300+ connections that have not been grouped as the elements were copied and not grouped and most of them are slightly different and need modifying independently and it is tedious to have to double click each of these connection frames and tick the box before making the changes.

Alternatively is there a way to edit multiple connection boxes simultaneously? 

Thanks to anyone who can help.

Matt

[johnjmbennett]

hmm, 

not sure there is an easy answer to this one,  just quickly looked in the MT defaults where i would expect to find such a setting to allow the check box to be set,  but could not see anything.

also you cannot multi select the custom connection box's and check, from what i tested.

i know you say you have 300 joints,   if there are any of them that have same settings/conditions,  it maybe easier to identify those in the model, pick one as the master joint and enable the check box to edit joint,  then remove at other locations and reapply,  then they would be at leased linked.

Sort of a judgment call TBH, as to which is best way,   difficult to tell without sign of the model and complexity. 

@Emanuel.Nestor  may have better idea if there is a backdoor way. 

good luck

JB

[matthewobrn]

@johnjmbennett 

Thanks for the reply.

These connections had special parts in them for bolting Unistrut to steel / Unistrut and the finish on the special parts was changed after the modelling complete. I wanted to use the model browser to mass edit the finish on the parts and discovered the problem.

I ended up exploding all of my custom user connections and applying the finish to them.

I have a similar scenario in a 2nd model I'm working on and wanted to know if there was such a setting I could edit? I have been ticking the box as I place the new connections but it is a pain.

Similarly when I place a bolt I want it to automatically select the bolt role but I have to enable it on each launch of AS2020 here:

It is a very obscure menu that I came across in google images. It should be in the defaults menu to assign the bolt role to any bolt placed in the model.

Thank for your help, also your contributions on the forum, I see you name pop up loads and have used your solutions many times.

Matt

[Sebastian_Eiche]

The dropdown for setting which property should be transmitted to the next created one, is very helpful. 
If you want to set these, you could do this in your template.dwt.  So you could open dwt, create the  objects like beam, plate and screws and set these checkboxes. And after you did this for all object, you could delete these object and save the dwt.

For example:
You don't want to transmit the modelrole for screws for all objects? Then open the dwt create a screw uncheck the the modelrole, delete the screw+save the dwt. In the next model you create, this property will not be transmitted.
But if you use joints, the modelrole often is created and blocked by the joints, so you could change it, by deleting the jointbox.

We have a tool for overwriting blocked properties, but this is third party and not standard in AS. 

Another way could be (for the next time) to to use a "joint group", so by changing the role in the master joint, the other will be changed automatic.

[matthewobrn]

@Sebastian_Eiche  Thanks for the reply, the main topic was originally another question I had, but I appreciate the input on the 2nd topic I mentioned.

I tried saving the dwt after making a beam, bolt, plate and setting the default model roles using the right click selection at the top of the window and they seem to revert back to default once I close and reopen Advance steel.

[Sebastian_Eiche]

are you sure, you select the correct dwt? I will try it later on, what version do you use?

[matthewobrn]

Thanks @Sebastian_Eiche 

I am sure I used the correct file. I am running AS2020 but am considering the upgrade to AS2021 as it has a couple of features I am interested in.

[Sebastian_Eiche]

you're right this is not working. I thought it is 🤔

I also tried to use a dwg as template but after restarting AS, this checkboxes are all uncheck. 

I'm doing a few more tests, but I think you will have to do this at every new start.

Maybe there's an automatic way by using the actionrecorder of AutoCAD: "create beam+set the boxes+ delete beam"

[matthewobrn]

@Sebastian_Eiche 

Thanks for the idea. I tried the action recorder and it didn't work.

It opens 3 advance property prompts but the check boxes are not set.

I didnt know it was possible to open more then one advance property window at the same time.

[AleckGiles]

Hi,

A small point regarding your first question. If you add the separate joints ot a group adn then edit hte master they will all change wihtout having to individually set the "Allow Modification" toggle.

[matthewobrn]

This is my ideal scenario, however, when you have the fabrication broken down into Lots/Phases then when you update the master it creates a new plate in all of the slaves and changes the Lot/Phase for them too.

[Sebastian_Eiche]

this is correct and the behavior of Advance Steel (makes sense in a master-slave combination).

If you want to have different lot/phase, a joint group is not useable with Advance Steel standard commands.

Because we have a few customers which also want to change these properties, we add a command for this in an extra tool, but this is a third party tool and is not standard in Advance Steel

[AleckGiles]

Hi,

You can use a separate joint group in each lot / phase.

Of course, if you are trying to do this at the end with many joints to sort out it is a lot of fiddly work but if you did it as you went along it wouldn't be a problem.

[matthewobrn]

@Sebastian_Eiche 

What is the name of the 3rd party tool? It might be useful...

@AleckGiles 

I do like the idea of joint groups but there is still room for improvement on editing groups.

A feature to select all joints in a group would be amazing.

Have an option in the model browser to exclude non editable parts.

[Sebastian_Eiche]

We call the tool 'AS Booster'. It be will publish in Autodesk AppStore in the next time, but this will take a bit time.

Up to now it's german and English.

[jasonEES8F]

Seems that there should be a default in the databases "AstorRules", but I have been looking to no avail.  This would save our company hours per day in all honesty.