SBarry

I have a CAD drawing (units set to millimeters in Plan sheet type) and when I drag an item from the datamatrix to the work area the items end up really tiny I have to select them and adjust the Scale X & Scale Y to 1 to get the scale correct on the drawing. I can live with that but when I reopen the file after a save (as soon as the datamatrix is loaded) the items are reset to the original tiny size as when I dragged them into the drawing but the Scale X, & Y values are retained. Our SI5 is set to use the Metric values (if that helps). Using Autocad 2007.

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SBarry

Got a call from Vic last night.

He seems to be on the case - apparently I’m the second person to discover this problem...

The problem (more accurately) is that D-Tools re-converts the size of the blocks to inches even though the application is setup to be in mm.

Hopefully Vic will bust out a solution for this one.

Thanks for the call Vic

fryeguy

Does this work in a similar fashion to the Visio scaling feature that automatically adjusts shapes using the ThePage!PageScale & THe Page!DrawingScale values?

If not, what is the purpose of having D-Tools do anything to the blocks when the file is reloaded?

SBarry

Vic was kind enough to create a work around for the resizing problem but it doesnt really solve our problem (details below).

Here is what Vic said:

Confidental - Removed

This solution seemed a little extreme just to get the sizes corrected in the drawing considering, it would have been the same if we converted the drawing to inches to work on it in the first place (steps 1-8 are just as good as scaling the floor plan to inches).
So our choices until there is a real fix: either we convert all our dwgs to inches, or switch to Visio (for Plan Drawings). I'm afraid our engineering department's not going to like this. I hope D-Tools releases an official bug fix for this one soon.

fryeguy:" If not, what is the purpose of having D-Tools do anything to the blocks when the file is reloaded? "

My point exactly - if the PDM plugin would skip its resizing procedure even for the first time the item is dropped in to the dwg, it should just pull whatever the set scale is in d-tools (mm in our case) and render it on the dwg with the dimensions that come with the MMPD.

fryeguy

If I understand this correctly, we are talking about objects being dropped on a plan view. In my experience the purpose of the plan view is really to show general equipment locations and associated wiring.
If more detailed location information is necessary, a detail can be created.
I have created hundreds (or possibly thousands) of plan drawings in AutoCAD (without SI) that represent audio, video, security, CCTV, CATV, and telecommunications equipment of all kinds without any real need to represent each item with proper scale.
However, I understand the desire to show the plan view of a plasma TV or other similar devices to scale.
Hopefully D-Tools simply works out the scale issue.
I would expect this to be a relatively simple piece of code that applies a scale factor depending on the units being used.
My concern all along when considering whether to use AutoCAD or Visio with SI5 has been D-Tools apparent lack of experience with AutoCAD. If anyone was around in the SI4 days and witnessed the original SI4/AutoCAD release you know what I am talking about. The good news is things are heading in the right direction and Vic seems to understand where the product needs to go.

RandyB

For everyone's reference, there are two types of blocks on a plan view page: icon and scaled.

Icon blocks are intended to be a symbolic representation of equipment, and the size of the block can be anything, based on user preference. The important thing here is that it can be seen on the page.

Scaled blocks are intended to be just that - scaled to the width and depth of the object. These shapes are used when size is important, such as for bigger components like displays or cabinets.

In neither case should the blocks resize when the project is reopened. This is a bug and something we will fix in an upcoming release.

Best regards,

Randy Bownds
Program Manager
D-Tools, Inc