Creating New Drawing Titles

[Anonymous]

Help says it's easy to create drawing titles, just whip one up with 2D elements and save as a drawing title, and voila!

Help lies.

Such titles are not editable in any way. Such titles do not even show all bits (graphic scales) drawn in the first place.

I want a very simple drawing title. I know nothing about scripting. I've looked at scripts for existing titles and cannot determine which bit is the line (I don't want a line). Or which bit is the North Arrow. Or whatever.

Help (liar) also says that when editing your (ha!) title, you can view it and edit it graphically in a 2D symbol window. I've tried this with existing titles, and there is nothing in the 2D symbol view.

Why does Help lie?
How the bloody hell do I remove the line, move the text box with the Drawing ID in, add my own special North arrow, and center everything?

Thanks....

[Anonymous]

O-kaaaaay.....


Does anyone know where the ArchiCAD supplied drawing titles live in the library?

I've given up on creating, and thought maybe I could adapt (duplicate, or copy the script of) the Simple Title 11 to add a graphic scale (which is in another title, eh?). I'll add the north arrow manually.

Don't suppose anyone knows if this is simpler in 12, and therefore not worth worrying about for the next week?

[Anonymous]

Well...

To say that help lies may be a little unkind. Maybe it is just very optimistic or assumes you already know how to make library parts or script in GDL or... well maybe it lies just a little 😉

Really though, a basic title is quite simple. You can draw lines, circles, fills, etc, and place text in the 2D Symbol window of the library part. If you use auto-text it can insert the appropriate information such as drawing name and number etc.

The graphic scale is a bit more trouble. If you draw it in the symbol you will need to make different titles for each scale that you plan to use. To make it change automatically according to the drawing scale requires scripting.

The north arrow definitely requires scripting (unless it always points the same direction) and will probably be easier for you to place independently of the title.

If you do decide to try your hand at scripting, DO NOT start with the GS supplied parts. In order to be all things to all people all over the place they are way too complicated (424 lines of code in the "Simple Title 11", 876 in the built-in title) to bother editing just to make your own simple part. The title type parts are actually among the easiest things to write scripts for. The only odd quirks I have found is when you want to constrain the title to a non-standard position or otherwise make it respond automatically to the drawing size and/or rotation on paper.

For the graphic scale there is also the possibility of a hybrid drawing/scripting approach. The 2D symbol uses 16 "fragments" (the equivalent of layers) that you can draw on to create the graphics for the main title and the different scales which can then be called from the 2D script using the "Fragment2' statement. This way you can draw the drawing name & number, rules, circles etc on fragment 1 and have fifteen graphic scales to choose from.

This can be done automatically with repeated IF THEN statements such as:

IF GLOB_SCALE = 48 THEN Fragment2 4, 0  ! 1/4" graphic scale
IF GLOB_SCALE = 96 THEN Fragment2 8, 0  ! 1/8" graphic scale

The GDL Reference has the basic (if somewhat cryptic) instructions.

[Anonymous]

Hrm.

One of the prepackaged drawing titles has a graphic scale. I was hoping to grab that bit of script and jam it into the Simple Title.

Where, precisely, are the prepackaged drawing titles (or, graphic scale symbols) located? I can't open them thru "open [library] object", 'cuz I can't find 'em in the libraries.

I've been trying to build a title (2 lines autotext and the graphic scale tool - There are to be no lines, circles, fills, etc. - saved as a 'title type', and appears in the drawing title options... ), but nothing appears when I apply the title to a drawing on a layout. In the "open object" dialogue, there's no script, just a bunch of parameters that I can't edit in the title tab of the drawing selection settings.

Having an automatically-updating graphic scale is sorta important. I was hoping that using the graphic scale symbol would bring along its own script. Heh.

I'm willing to place the north arrow manually on each drawing (or not) as required.

I'm beginning to think that begging The Man to change our drawing title standard may be simpler.

Thanks for your help.

[Anonymous]

The easiest way to open a title in the library part editor is to select it on the layout and use File > Libraries & Objects > Open Object (or Mac: command+option+O, Windows: ctrl+alt+O).

You can extract (copy/paste) the part of the script that makes the graphic scale but it may get complicated.

Using the "Fragment2" is really not all that difficult though.

[Dwight]

Matthew wrote:
Well...

To say that help lies may be a little unkind. .

The only way to be sure that Help is lying is if it said "I love you" after you "read" it.