Joe_Carrick

Perry, If the new one doesn't work then I'll post the macro and you can add it directly to a RTB. It seems that sometimes when importing a Library Object that has a macro it might not replace a macro of the same name. IAE, I have determined that it really isn't so much a connection problem as it was the fact that the macro was wrong.

I have replaced the Library Item. It had a problem with the macro. I was calling a Ruby function that I had in an external file. I've now added that function directly into the macro so it will now work with any Framing Member Type. The function is one that converts to Feet/Inches/Fractions. My apologies to those who couldn't get it to work with I-Joists. In reality it wouldn't have worked with anything other than Lumber. Delete the old one and download the new. Everything should work perfectly now.

I uploaded a new version of the CAD Block. It's named Framing Member(s). See if it works for you. Note that it has a slightly different Macro. Oops!!!! That one will definitely not work. This one will!!!! Framing Member(s).calibz

Just in case there was a problem with the first one - here's a new version (note that the name is different and the macro is also a slight bit different). Oops!! Try again - the first one was a bad macro. This one should work in all cases. Framing Member(s).calibz

Scott, I can't explain it. It works on my system consistently even using your Plan. Are both of you on Macs? Have you upgraded to the latest version of X7? Something is different and I just don't know what.

Scott, Move the Arrowhead to the far side of the Framing Member. See what happens then. It doesn't make any difference on my system (I can switch back and forth between Lumber and I-Joists all day and I get the correct text) but who knows - maybe the arrowhead just needs to be in a slightly different location. IAE, I would really like to know if when it fails on your system - can you connect the arrow to the TJI and get it to work right?

Perry, My Grid Snaps are set to 1". That's the same for Scott's Plan. I did find that Scott had "Object Snaps" turned off in the Plan he posted. I turned them on and have no problem keeping a connection.

The only other thing I can think of that would cause this problem is that one of the arrows is pointing to something that's not a Framing Member. Try deleting one of the arrows and just connect the other one.

You might also want to check your "Snap Distance". I have mine set to 12 pixels.

BTW, Switching from Lumber to TJI would of course disconnect. The edge of the Framing Member has moved so the connection is broken - you have to reconnect.

Do you guys have Object Snaps turned on? When you grab the tip of the arrow and drag it onto the TJI it should show a snap indicator. There is nothing different with a TJI vs a piece of Lumber than the width. Object Snaps should over-ride the Grid Snaps.

Here are my snap settings:

Scott, Please post your Object Snap Settings in Preferences. I have no problem snapping to I-Joists even with Grid Snaps On. It's important that you be able to see the Object Snap Indicator when you hit the object.

Mick, Turn of Grid Snaps when trying to connect the Arrow. It seems that the TJI widths don't match the grids normally being used so the snap doesn't work. The Arrow is snapping to a Grid instead of the Object.

Glenn, The problem is that for Imperial Units Chief rounds up to the common name size. IOW, what we call a 2x6 is really 1.5" x 5.5". That's fine for the Label when we're framing with Lumber - but not for I-Joists, LVL, etc. That's why I created my macro - it differentiates according to the type of framing member.

Glenn, You are correct. A much better name would be Framing Member(s) Label since that's what it really does. It works with any Framing Member - Posts, Beams, Joists, Rafters, Outlookers, Fascias .......

I think they just have too many things to do and have not previously understood just how valuable this sort of thing can be. They have a list of what they want to do for X8 and maybe some of the macro attributes and reference (arrow) connection issues are on that list. The thing about this sort of annotation is that different users will want the output to be a little different. CA can not possibly satisfy everyone on that score. Consequently having the ability for the user to customize it using macros and RTB's actually makes a lot of sense. We just need to get them to open the door for us. Not all users are going to be comfortable writing macros - but there are many who are and then there are some who can do it for those who are willing to pay a small fee.

Mick, Check the Layer "Text, Framing" to see if it's displayed.

Try the "Cross Section/Elevation" instead. Note: It also works for Interior Elevations - so you can include finish information, Floor & Ceiling Hts, etc.

Chief doesn't provide Room Labels for Section/Elevation Views. But here's a pretty neat way to get them: 1. Set up the Defaults for Room Finish Schedules to include Room Name and any other data you want. You will also want to suppress the Column Headings and the Title - and set the Default Display attributes such as text style, etc. 2. Select a Room in a Section View and click on the Icon for "Create Schedule For Room" 3. Place the Schedule in the Room. 4. This will result in a single line. If you only have the Room Name then that's probably all you need to do and it will remain "live". 5. Otherwise, Convert the Schedule to Text and then to Rich Text. 6. Now you can edit the Rich Text - adding and subtracting information as well as formatting it. Note: As Text or Rich Text the data is no longer live so if you make changes to the model you would need to redo the above.

I just hope that CA is really seeing this. If they expand the data access as we've been asking we can almost totally eliminate manual annotation and it will make a lot of the competition look silly.

Perry, One possibility available at this time is a Custom Room Schedule (one Room) with just a "Room Name". It can be set up as the Default for Room Schedule and just generate a Room Schedule for each Room in the Section. You can have all the display attributes set in the defaults. It's a little bit of work, but not too much. Since I already have my real Room Finish Schedule in a CAD Detail Window I don't have to worry about the fact that the Default is set to just display a name. In addition, you can convert the Schedule to Text and then convert the Text to Rich Text. So there's a lot of flexibility if you want it. This might even be better than a Room Label since you have access to everything that you can get in the Schedule. It takes a little bit of formatting but there's a lot of data available.

Nope. Even though I can access the data in the Ruby Console from an elevation. I still can't even connect a referenced macro to it. It's something I've asked for - along with a lot of other attribute access for Elevations and Sections. I do have a system that accumulates all the room data. I might be able to create a way to have a macro to put that into a RTB in a Section but it would require that you know the Room Name. IOW, it would have to be a separate Global Variable for each Room. At this time I think it's more trouble than it's worth.

Yes, just rotate the CAD Block before exploding. Then add a 3rd arrow and connect it to a framing member and set the Line Style to "blank" or the Line Color to white. Then turn off the Joists. The macro still works.

Scott, What are your snap properties in Preferences? Maybe you just aren't connecting to the framing member.