Tip - Harnessing Properties as Controls

[Josh Verran]

In your architectural projects, you can harness the power of schedules and graphic overrides to manage how elements appear in different views. These tools come with their own unique criteria, and I rely heavily on classifications to define what each element represents.

Schedules: "Participate in Schedules"

I've created a property called "Participate in Schedules," which uses a True/False data type. By default, it's set to True. In my schedules, one of the criteria is whether "Participates in Schedules" is True or False. This property allows me to selectively exclude elements from schedules. During my QA process, I have specific views that flag any elements with this property set to False.

Graphic Overrides: "Participate in Graphic Overrides"

Similarly, for graphic overrides, I've introduced a property named "Participate in Graphic Overrides." It uses the Option Set data type, with options corresponding to our view categories (e.g., 200-Elevations, 300 Plans, etc.). This property supports multiple choices, and by default, all options are selected. For instance, in the case of Elevations, one of the criteria for the Graphic Overrides is whether "Participates in Graphic Overrides" contains "200-Elevations." This enables me to uncheck specific options for elements that I don't want to be overridden in my Elevation views.

By utilizing these properties, I have better control over how elements are presented in schedules and views, ensuring a more tailored and accurate representation of my architectural designs.

[Barry Kelly]

Great tip.

I did something a long time ago before properties where I would add the word "Ignore" to the element ID.

Then in the schedule criteria, I set one for 'Element ID does not contain Ignore' so I could filter out what I didn't want.

Barry.

PS I have nominated this for the September tip of the month.

[Josh Verran]

Thanks for the feedback and consideration @Barry Kelly