Expert: Bill DeShawn - 7/11/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hi Bill,

I'm sure you don't remember me, but you used to answer questions from me all the time. Anyway...

I do a lot of Curb Labeling for streets & parking lots. Often the linework is too short to add the text for the length, distance and/or radius, length & delta of angle. So I use the Tag Labels (and generate a Line & Curve chart from there) Often there are duplicate values for the tags. Everyone tells me that AutoCAD cannot replace the original dimension tag w/ an identical tag of the same value. (For instance: All the lines of the same bearing & distance would have the same label)  It seems to me that this is  something ACAD could do very well, but no one thinks ACAD has that ability. Do you know if AutoCAD can do this.

I've been certified in ACAD for over 10 years, but I've only been using LandDesktop for about 3. I use LandDesktop 3 (It sits on ACAD 2002) Recently, we've purchase a copy of AutoDesk's Civil 3D, but I don't see that it has that ability either.

Any suggestions?  

Thanks!

Kevin


ANSWER: Kevin:  No way.  You're NOT using AutoCAD with SDI set to 1 are you?  Set SDI to 0.  Now, put my knowledge back up to 10!  LOL!

Hi, Kevin.  Where've you been?  Tag labels aren't native to AutoCAD or ADT, therefore I can't comment on them.  That would be like me asking you how to make a spiral staircase object in ADT.  
Objects can be labeled a number of ways.  Many people have never thought of creating a text file or WORD document and attaching a hyperlink to the object that will quickly take you to the document, where you can record information like bearings, distances, chord length, arc length, arc angle.  However, in your business, I think it would be better if you could use it to refer to something that showed up in your drawing like in a table.  I would imagine that LDD does that.  So, use INSERTOBJ to insert and link your drawing to the Word Document.  Click on Create from File, Click on Link, and browse to the file.  After inserting scale to you heart's desire.  You can even make it small enough to put in a "table".  The numbers, of course are not associative to the size of the object, but just the object itself.  The good part is that several objects can be hyperlinked to the same document, if desired.  So, your table could be a mix of hyperlinks and "tag labels".  I think, however that the tag label is probably still better, especially if it's associative to bearing and length and other pertinent information on the geometry.
I don't know if I'm on the right track with this, so, don't kill me on the feedback.  

Take care.  Good to have you back
How did the MAXACTVP system variable work?

Bill DeShawn
http://my.sterling.net/~bdeshawn


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: What's SDI ? (I don't have a copy of ACAD in front of me).

I've spent the last hour looking through some of ALLEXPERTS.com CAD Q&A. It's kinda fun. @#$#! I didn't know you knew so much about so many differennt things!

I did add a little bit to that guy's question (in March or so?) about inserting a JPG (he was trying to CUT & PASTE).

There was another one that looked kinda interesting, but the guy never got back to dial you into his problem.

Anyway, if you ever need any help with AutoTurn ((another ACAD add on) for doing vehicle turning radii studies), I might be able to help a bit. I'm no expert, but I seem to get around in it ok. I've also become fairly competent at maniplating IMAGES in ACAD. As an aside, I even got to digitally stitch some photos together w/ Photoshop! It was a good day!! The boredom factor was negligble.

Did you have agood Forth?  

kevin

Answer
SDI = Single Document Interface

SDI System Variable   
    Concepts     Procedures     Commands    


Type:  Integer
Saved in:  Registry
Initial value:  0


Controls whether the program runs in single- or multiple-document interface.

0
Turns on multiple-drawing interface.

1
Turns off multiple-drawing interface.

2
(Read-only) Multiple-drawing interface is disabled because an application that does not support multiple drawings has been loaded. SDI setting 2 is not saved.

3
(Read-only) Multiple-drawing interface is disabled because the user has set SDI to 1 and an application that does not support multiple drawings has been loaded. (SDI was set to 1 before the application was loaded.) SDI setting 3 is not saved.


If SDI is set to 3, it is reset to 1 when the application that doesn’t support multiple drawings is unloaded

So, there was something about this that I didn't know.  And that is that very possibly AEC Civil doesn't support multiple document interface.  If that's the case, then SDI will have to be set to 1, 2 or 3.  It may be that when Civil loads, it changes your SDI system variable, and opening multiple documents is unsupported.  Then you would have to open a 2nd CAD session.  But anyway, that's something you can check out when you get to work tomorrow.

Keep in touch
Bill DeShawn
http://my.sterling.net/~bdeshawn