topic Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules? in Modeling

Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Anonymous — Thu, 25 May 2023 15:58:36 GMT

I am creating a schedule that lists several slabs I created that represent countertops. for whatever reason, The zone name will not show up in the schedule.

I've noticed that all slabs are like this.

Is there some reason why slabs are not able to pick up the zone information?

I'm still using version 9.0 by the way.

Thanks

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Laszlo Nagy — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 09:05:02 GMT

I might be wrong, but AFAIK only Library Objects have the ability to "sense" in which Zone they are in. This is possible through GDL.
A Slab does not have such methods of doing the same.

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 15:02:09 GMT

laszlonagy wrote:
I might be wrong, but AFAIK only Library Objects have the ability to "sense" in which Zone they are in. This is possible through GDL.
A Slab does not have such methods of doing the same.

Maybe vincon2 should try one of the following:

1. Save out all slabs as individual counter objects...kinda' a pain if you ever need to edit the shape of the counters...plus you have to maintain all the counter objects.

2. A better idea might be to create the counters using ArchiForma's "Extrude" tool. The nice thing about this tool is that the objects can be edited easily and you can even choose to bevel or round the counter edges.

HTH,
Dan K

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 15:17:32 GMT

Thanks guys, I just needed to be sure that I wasn't doing something wrong.

to confirm, zones CANNOT pick up slabs & slab information?

I have been making individual objects, but its much more tedious, than throwing in a slab.

I assume zones cannot pick up Meshes and their related info either?

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 15:29:58 GMT

vincon2 wrote:
...I have been making individual objects, but its much more tedious, than throwing in a slab...

Vincon2,
you should seriously consider using archiforma to create these counters. Its much less tedious and the Archiforma objects can be editied with graphical hotspots very easily. I assume the would schedule out the same you objects do unless you're using additional "subtype" parameters for storing material/finish info etc.

Dan K

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Laszlo Nagy — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 15:32:25 GMT

The exact GDL command that achieves this is the following:

REQUEST ("Zone_relations", "", category_name, code, name, number [ ,category_name2,
code2, name2, number2])

Returns in the given variables the zone category name and code and the name and number of the zone where the library part containing this request is located. For doors and windows, there can be a maximum of two zones. The return value of the request is the number of successfully retrieved values (0 if the library part is not inside any zone).

So, since it is GDL, it is available only for Windows/Doors/Object maybe Lamps.
Meshes and Slab do not use GDL so this is not availalbe for them.

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Erika Epstein — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 21:40:30 GMT

I routinely make similar schedules for my residential projects. To get around the problem, I add a letter to the item name in the ID box to denote which room or type of room a slab is in
K Counter
K Backsplash
B1 Counter

etc. for Kitchen, Bath 1, L for Laundry etc.

Not ideal, but good enough for my purposes.

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Anonymous — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 14:52:31 GMT

Dan wrote:
vincon2 wrote:
...I have been making individual objects, but its much more tedious, than throwing in a slab...
Vincon2,
you should seriously consider using archiforma to create these counters. Its much less tedious and the Archiforma objects can be editied with graphical hotspots very easily. I assume the would schedule out the same you objects do unless you're using additional "subtype" parameters for storing material/finish info etc.

Dan K

Does Archiforma have the ability to show total perimeter, total SF, user defined fields, etc, etc for scheduling?

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Anonymous — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 14:56:56 GMT

Erika wrote:
I routinely make similar schedules for my residential projects. To get around the problem, I add a letter to the item name in the ID box to denote which room or type of room a slab is in
K Counter
K Backsplash
B1 Counter

etc. for Kitchen, Bath 1, L for Laundry etc.

Not ideal, but good enough for my purposes.

thanks, my drawings model almost every compnent of a home so that I can have accurate sections and the ability to schedule everything.

Due to the complexity of my drawings its critical that I don't do things like you suggest because when I make changes, it makes hunting for these areas that need to be corrected a herculian task. The whole idea is to be able to use the zone tool so that if the room name changes, then the slab will pick this up and in my drawings things change all the time.

I just cant belive the slab doesn't already do this seemingly simple task

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Erika Epstein — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 21:34:54 GMT

vincon2 wrote:

Due to the complexity of my drawings its critical that I don't do things like you suggest because when I make changes, it makes hunting for these areas that need to be corrected a herculian task.

We know the zones won't pick up the slabs. Making use of the"ID" for each slab allows you to quickly locate them using find and select.

You can increase the ease of finding the slabs by use of specific pens and/or fills.

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 21:40:48 GMT

vincon2 wrote:
...Does Archiforma have the ability to show total perimeter, total SF, user defined fields, etc, etc for scheduling?

vincon2,
ArchiForma will basically create the counters as ArchiForma Objects. You can assign object IDs to them for filtering and also assign various Archiforma parameters for listing. Unfortunately, the Archiforma parameters available for assigning are not as specific as the ones avaiable for slabs. Maybe you could customize the ArchiForma objects by creating special additional parameters to the various ArchiForma object types....I'm not sure about this because I've never tried it.

Bottomline,
I suggested the ArchiForma process becacuse the counter objects are easier to create, modify,bevel, etc....and they know/report what zone they are in.

Don't know if this answers your question but hope it helps,
Dan K

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 21:50:33 GMT

Perhaps the solution is to make some decent countertop library parts. As I think about it this should be possible with a few relatively simple parts. Lets see...

1. Straight runs with options for finished ends, backsplashes and mitered, butt or returned ("L" shaped) corners.

2. Islands & Peninsulas with options for curved edges.

Anything else?

We would also need sinks that can do SEOs. Do the current ones work?

Now if only I had the time...

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 23:41:23 GMT

Dan wrote:
vincon2 wrote:
...Does Archiforma have the ability to show total perimeter, total SF, user defined fields, etc, etc for scheduling?
vincon2,
ArchiForma will basically create the counters as ArchiForma Objects. You can assign object IDs to them for filtering and also assign various Archiforma parameters for listing. Unfortunately, the Archiforma parameters available for assigning are not as specific as the ones avaiable for slabs. Maybe you could customize the ArchiForma objects by creating special additional parameters to the various ArchiForma object types....I'm not sure about this because I've never tried it.

Bottomline,
I suggested the ArchiForma process becacuse the counter objects are easier to create, modify,bevel, etc....and they know/report what zone they are in.

Don't know if this answers your question but hope it helps,
Dan K

Thanks

I just realized I already own Archiforma and I find it very difficult to use. The dinky manual that comes with it is hard to understand and I am completely lost as to how to use it.

Is there a better training guide out there somewhere?

How did you learn it?

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 23:44:44 GMT

Erika wrote:
vincon2 wrote:

Due to the complexity of my drawings its critical that I don't do things like you suggest because when I make changes, it makes hunting for these areas that need to be corrected a herculian task.
We know the zones won't pick up the slabs. Making use of the"ID" for each slab allows you to quickly locate them using find and select.

You can increase the ease of finding the slabs by use of specific pens and/or fills.

I don't have a problem finding the slabs, I have a problem getting them to appear on my schdeule like I want them to.

I want a schedule that is segregated by room location that will ist everything in that room. In the case of countertops I want to be able to list the countertops, the room they are in and the total SF.

To my knowledge, there is no way to do that if I use a slab to create the countertop with and I want my zone to define the room name.

If someone knows a creative workaround all ears

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 03:19:02 GMT

vincon2 wrote:
...I just realized I already own Archiforma and I find it very difficult to use. The dinky manual that comes with it is hard to understand and I am completely lost as to how to use it.

Is there a better training guide out there somewhere?

How did you learn it?

vincon2,
It's really not that hard to use when you understand the basics. I've never really looked at the manual...I learned by watching a friend use it a few times. As far a training guide goes, I'm not aware of any...best thing to do is alot of trial and error testing...you'll eventually get the hang of it.

I know I'm kinda' getting off topic but, I'm wondering how you currently model all the detail on your homes?

If you're doing it by saving out graphical GDL objects, you're just creating extra library maintenance work. I'm attaching an image showing some of the detail I model with ArchiForma...all the decocorative detail: wdw surrounds, sills, rustications, cast stone scrolls, etc. are done in ArchiForma. I like to do it this way because I don't need to keep a separate project specific Library folder for all the custom pieces.

Try it, you'll like it,
Dan K

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Chazz — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 19:28:12 GMT

I know I'm coming in late here but I just ran into this myself. Thanks to Laszlo for calling it definitively (and also for your work in the Wiki which has been very helpful lately)

Here's a solution: Use slab accessories.

This way any edditing to the slab will instantly update the shape of the object. Now you have something that schedules by room and is linked to the slab and tracks automatically.

The rub? Slab accessories cannot show a material in plan and 3D in the yummy unified way that slabs and roofs can. Bummer. It seems that GS has sort of abandoned the accessories. You can still get the effect you want, it just means assigning a 2D fill and a material separately.

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Chazz — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 21:48:54 GMT

Following up after actually eating my own dog food (that is to say actually trying my own suggestion).....

The issue seems to be that while you can schedule the slab accessory objects by room and report their material and assembly, there does not appear to be a way to sched the area of the part --a serious drawback. I'm trying to do this using the "Floor Construction" object in the AC 9 Add-On lib. I have not looked for the AC 10 equivalent and don't even know if there is one.

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Laszlo Nagy — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 18:41:58 GMT

Chazz wrote:
I know I'm coming in late here but I just ran into this myself. Thanks to Laszlo for calling it definitively (and also for your work in the Wiki which has been very helpful lately).

You are welcome.
I also got paid by GS while doing it.

Re: Why don't zones pick up slabs in schedules?

Chazz — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 14:34:43 GMT

Chazz wrote:
there does not appear to be a way to sched the area of the part --a serious drawback.

Absurd workaround: Make the slab accessory 1 Unit think (in my case 1 foot). Then schedule the Volume and rename the field Area (sf).

It works but why do we have to go through such pain?