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Propertys set data in normal mtext and mleaders?

Buzz0m
Collaborator

Propertys set data in normal mtext and mleaders?

Buzz0m
Collaborator
Collaborator

Hi,

is there any way of using custom property set definitions in standard mtexts and mleaders? Is the annotation functionality limited to civil3d objects and their labels? I'm using C3d2018 if that makes any difference.

 

For instance I have a case where I've added a property set for a normal 2d polyline. The properties are basically:

 - length (automatic)

 - spacing (user set)

 - objects (automatic: Math.roundup(lenght/spacing) or something like that)

 

I haven't found a way of using this data in annotations, eg.

"Wooden fence,

pole spacing, k = [spacing]

L = [length],

number of poles: [objects]"

 

Any pointers? Thanks in advance!

 

- F

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jeff_rivers
Advisor
Advisor

I don't have an answer, but I would really like to see a solution here too.  Part of my work is creating wiring diagrams & wire tables for traffic signals, and being able to add property set data to a line or pline, then extract that data to a table and/or a text note would save me hours of work and vastly reduce errors. 


Jeffrey Rivers
Win 10 Pro 64-bit, Intel i9 3.7GHz, 64 GB
NVIDIA RTX A4000
C3D 2020 V13.2.89.0
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neilyj666
Mentor
Mentor
Would a Civil Note do this? You may be able to select the property data although I'm not in front of civil to check.

neilyj (No connection with Autodesk other than using the products in the real world)
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AEC Collection 2025 UKIE (mainly Civil 3D UKIE and IW)
Win 11 Pro x64, 1Tb Primary SSD, 1Tb Secondary SSD
64Gb RAM Intel(R) Xeon(R) W-11855M CPU @ 3.2GHz
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Buzz0m
Collaborator
Collaborator
I tried to do that by wasn't able to get it to work even with civil objects. The functionality is limited to civil object specific annotations... at least I think so...
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neilyj666
Mentor
Mentor
Yes I think you are correct - which certainly limits the usefulness of property set data.

I use the data for volumes of 3D solids and then export to an mdb file and use a pivot table in Excel; it is much slicker than using MASSPROP for each solid

Can you raise a support request on this?

neilyj (No connection with Autodesk other than using the products in the real world)
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AEC Collection 2025 UKIE (mainly Civil 3D UKIE and IW)
Win 11 Pro x64, 1Tb Primary SSD, 1Tb Secondary SSD
64Gb RAM Intel(R) Xeon(R) W-11855M CPU @ 3.2GHz
NVIDIA RTX A5000 16Gb, Dual 27" Monitor, Dell Inspiron 7760
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Buzz0m
Collaborator
Collaborator
The potential uses of property sets are almost limitless! But using them for solid volumes was also one of the first things I did with property sets 😃

We are also using them for pipes and stuctures combined with Ifcexport. Works like a charm.

I'm not sure how to raise a support case... Atm I'm at the airport lounge getting ready for a three week vacation so I might not be able to do it for a while 😃
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neilyj666
Mentor
Mentor
I'll raise a case on Monday
I suspect that the main reason property sets have been introduced is for "downstream" use eg. Ifc export as you have said and in Navisworks.

Nevertheless they would be very useful in Civil if all objects could use them - perhaps someone has found a way to do this?

neilyj (No connection with Autodesk other than using the products in the real world)
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AEC Collection 2025 UKIE (mainly Civil 3D UKIE and IW)
Win 11 Pro x64, 1Tb Primary SSD, 1Tb Secondary SSD
64Gb RAM Intel(R) Xeon(R) W-11855M CPU @ 3.2GHz
NVIDIA RTX A5000 16Gb, Dual 27" Monitor, Dell Inspiron 7760
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grzegorz.cwiek
Alumni
Alumni
Accepted solution

Hi @Buzz0m

Regrettably, adding property set data to an mleader is not possible.

In your example, some of the object properties for a polyline (e.g. length) can still be inserted into an mleader using the FIELD option:

mleader - property sets.JPG

 




Grzegorz Cwiek
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Buzz0m
Collaborator
Collaborator
What a shame =/

Perhaps autodesk would consider developing this feature in coming releases?
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Buzz0m
Collaborator
Collaborator

Jeff Bartels made this video some time ago. I haven't tried it, but atleast it demonstrates how to use custom properties in C3D-labels. Worth testing atleast. The trick is to "know" the undocumented ways of referencing the propertysets.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBWOV139x_E

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samir_rezk
Advisor
Advisor

Hi @Buzz0m 

 

This is an old Post and you probably moved on to newer projects. Property Set data can be added to Civil 3D Label styles easily for Labelling Civil 3D Objects; but I personally have always struggled to get property sets data to label AutoCAD objects as well, so I wanted to share the below workflow for adding Property Set Tags to AutoCAD Objects!

 

Here are the steps:

  • Create AutoCAD Attribute for each property needed in the desired Label
  • on the Command Line use the DefineTag Command and select all the attributes
  • Map each Attribute with the Property Set Data
  • This will create a Multi-View Block (keep it in the model to select it later!) 
  • on the Command Line use the TagAddSelected Command to create a labels (i.e. Tag) in the drawing
  • Select the original Tag then select the Item to be labeled, (typically will need to be scaled up by a factor of 8 to match the text size defined in the Attribute Text Height)
  • Create a Leader Only MultiLeader Style for the purposes of adding leaders next to the Tags!

 

Hope this helps,

 

 

 


Samir Rezk
Technical Support Specialist

neilyj666
Mentor
Mentor

@samir_rezk are you able to post a screencast?

neilyj (No connection with Autodesk other than using the products in the real world)
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Win 11 Pro x64, 1Tb Primary SSD, 1Tb Secondary SSD
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