muzicman82 Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Hi all, I work in AV and make a lot of rack elevations. If you aren't familiar, a standard rackspace is 19"W x 1.75"H. I am wondering if it is possible to make a block that starts out as this 19x1.75, but when I stretch it, it only stretches in increments of 1.75" vertically, to make 2U, 3U, etc. To add to this, I would like to have an ATTDEF that is text aligned in the middle. I could do a MTEXT that is two lines, or two separate single lines. Any help would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuns Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 When you select the linear parameter, you can set how much it will stretch by typing in "Value set" then "Increment". Just set the increment at 1.75 with a minimum distance of I guess 0, and a maximum distance of whatever you feel like setting the limit to. Again, you can only do that after you select which parameter you would like to use. As far as the attribute you want goes, in the Attribute Definition window on the left side under "Mode", make sure that you have "Multiple lines" checked. To center it, on the right side where it says "Justification" set it to center. Make it Annotative and you should be good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzicman82 Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 OK, two things. I'm lost on keeping the text vertically centered when I dynamically stretch the block vertically. I imagine I need to tell it that the base point of the attribute definition is always the midpoint between two other points.. but how? Next, weird things happen when I set up two stretch actions to the same parameter. I can set up another parameter that is identical to the first and then another action.. but is there a way I can dynamically change the basepoint of the block? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven-g Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Can you post what you have? or an example showing a couple of different sizes, it sounds like an array might work best. Why would the basepoint move? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzicman82 Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 OK, here you go. The block in the drawing is as far as I've gotten. My goal is to be able to drag the handle in increments of 1.75". When this is done, the text should center itself vertically, no matter the size of the stretch. Now, it would be cool if I could stretch DOWN, with the text staying centered and the basepoint moving itself to the bottom left corner... but that's not a must. rackdevice.dwg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven-g Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Just add another stretch action but set it too only move half the distance in the properties (you need to set the attribute to lock position to get it to work) rackdevice.dwg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikekmx Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 stretch is good. visibilty states might also be a useful way to go imo, and easy to make. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzicman82 Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 Just add another stretch action but set it too only move half the distance in the properties (you need to set the attribute to lock position to get it to work) Yeah, I am lost here. Do I just set the distance multiplier to 0.5? I've tried this every way I can think of but the ATTDEF doesn't move. I tried move and stretch actions. Position is locked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resullins Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 If your position is locked, that's your problem. What they're telling you to do is exactly right... I have this exact block I made for my company... Hold on, before I go further, I'll go test your block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steven-g Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Yeah, I am lost here. Do I just set the distance multiplier to 0.5? I've tried this every way I can think of but the ATTDEF doesn't move. I tried move and stretch actions. Position is locked. Compare the block I posted to your original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzicman82 Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 Compare the block I posted to your original. OK, I figured out the text thing. I think I had to ATTSYNC before it would work. Now, I've tried remaking this from scratch so I understand it and I'm doing the same things I did before, but for some reason, on the stretch with the three lines (sides, top), they will stretch out but when I stretch back, one of the lines stays long. I can't figure out what I am doing wrong. I imagine the mistake is in the stretch frame or selection but I can't seem to get it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resullins Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Your stretch frame may not be encompassing one of the ends of the line. Also, you have some HORIZONTAL parameters in there that aren't needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzicman82 Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 Your stretch frame may not be encompassing one of the ends of the line. Also, you have some HORIZONTAL parameters in there that aren't needed. New version attached. Stretching vertical works fine. Stretching horizontal doesn't work after the first stretch. Text is OK though I think. I believe my stretch frame covers the whole side of the line ends. rackdevice new.dwg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resullins Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Ok, I can't open that file, as I'm working with 2012... But why would you need to stretch horizontally? Rack equipment is all 19". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzicman82 Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 Ok, I can't open that file, as I'm working with 2012... But why would you need to stretch horizontally? Rack equipment is all 19". Oops here. Well, there are some devices that are 1/4 rack space or 1/2 rack space wide, but require a rack kit. So, I show these side by side. There are also times when things that don't rack mount will go on a shelf side by side. Horizontal should cover that. rackdevice new10.dwg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzicman82 Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 Anyone able to take a look and explain why one line doesn't stretch properly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resullins Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I took a quick look, I'm a little swamped at work... but I noticed your stretch frame for your left-right stretch encompassed both ends of the horizontal lines. That could be a problem. Also, you don't need all those horizontal and vertical parameters, your stretch frames will keep your work square. I would try starting from scratch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resullins Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Here... I modified mine to work like yours. Compare it to yours and see what's going wrong. Rack Block Test.dwg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzicman82 Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 Here... I modified mine to work like yours. Compare it to yours and see what's going wrong. [ATTACH]47028[/ATTACH] Thanks for looking. I looked at yours and it pretty much looks the same as mine. The stretch frame you are talking about doesn't actually cover the left endpoints of the horizontal lines. I didn't have it that way but I tried a bigger frame to see if that made a difference. I don't know what you mean about having a lot of horizontal and vertical parameters. All I did is create a H and V parameter and assign actions to them. If I click on the Parameters Manager, I only see what I thought was necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resullins Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 You need SMALLER stretch frames, not larger ones. You only want to cover what's absolutely necessary. Look how small the stretch frame on mine is. Also, the H V parameters are completely unnecessary. They're not doing anything in this case. And they may be causing problems. All mine is, is one rectangle, one attribute, two parameters, and four actions. It's very simple, but it does exactly what you're looking for. I feel like you're over-complicating matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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