aligning parts of a family -- help!

[Alexy.]

I have a break line family and ultimately, I'm trying to make it easy to center the break between the ends. I can make an invisible line show up that is halfway between the ends. And I can make a grip show up that drags the break. But I can't snap to the invisible line. And if I try to align the break to the invisible line, it adjusts the ends of the family so that the break is centered, but it doesn't shift the break over. I would have to add the extra step of moving the whole thing once I aligned it.

The break line family is attached.

Can anyone help? I know I could just get it close enough, but I'm trying to make it more user-friendly. TIA!

[barthbradley]

You need to set the Reference Planes' "Is Reference" parameter to something other than "Not a Reference".   At minimum: "Weak Reference".  

[Alexy.]

Thanks for the reply! I tried what you suggested for all of the reference planes that were "Not a Reference." But it didn't do anything.

I have a reference plane at the center of the break symbol that is "Center (Left/Right)." If I change this to Weak Reference, then the entire break line shifts when I try to align it rather than just the break itself.

I'm trying to find a way for the end user to be able to just insert the component, drag each end to the extents of what they're cutting, and then easily center the break symbol between the ends. I'd like to leave the break symbol adjustable for any special conditions where you might want it offset.

Any other suggestions?

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

I would suggest creating the actual break line portion as a separate detail component with scaling parameters, nest it in and use the masking region in the host family. That way you can control positioning much easier. Just dont forget to nest the parameters from the breakline symbol. Ultimately you are trying to accomplish too much in one workspace. 

[ToanDN]

Didn't have time to look at yours but attached is mine for reference.  The symbol is a nested generic annotation family so it works for any scales.  The masking extents can be entered via properties or stretched using grips.

[Alexy. · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the suggestions! You're right -- I WAS trying to do too much in one workspace. And I kept over-constraining myself. I ended up separating out the "Center" reference plane from the center of the break symbol. Then I created a checkbox that ultimately would center the break symbol so that those that want the symbol centered could just leave that instance parameter checked. For those that don't, they can adjust it using the grip and just eyeball it to wherever they want it.

I know it's not the most elegant solution, but it does what I need it to do. If only I had more time to make things more fancy...

I uploaded the final version for anyone that's interested. Thanks again to everyone who posted!