Customizing

Provided by archidigmIf you look at the Extended Data tab of your Properties Palette whenever you work with Objects, you should find that some fields can be changed while others appear to be locked. That is because there are two types of Property Data: Object Based and Style Based. When you create your own custom Property Data, you will have to consider when and how to use these two types. In addition, if you have a need to create fields that designers can modify, you may want to consider using List Definitions which can be used within Object Based or Style Based Property Set Definitions. In this article we will discuss how you can create a custom list of values to be set inside a Property Set Definition Style.To create a list of property values you will need to access the List Definitions category in the Style Manager. You can do this by activating the Style Manager and picking on List Definitions under the Multi-Purpose Objects category or you can simply type "ListDefinitions". In the illustration to the right I show that I have created a new List Definition that I have named "Appliance_Finishes-ARCHIdigm". On the Applies To tab of this new List Definition, I have checked the "Manual Property Definition" box so this list will be available for use in my custom Property Set Definition Style. Under the Items tab I have used the Add button to create a list of Names and Descriptions that will appear on a drop-down list later on. Notice that I have also checked the "Allow individual property values to vary from this list" box so users can type in an option that may not appear on this list. For some things you may want to allow individual value but for other things you probably want to use the list to prevent erroneous data entry. The sort order is, unfortunately, limited to alphabetical If you try to be clever by using numbers, you may pull your hair out trying to filter those number out in your Schedule. Adding the List to your Property Definition Style When you modify an existing or custom Property Set Definition Style, type "PropertySetDefine", be sure to check the "Applies To" tab to see if this Style is Style Based or Object Based. If you want your List to be available as a unique item for individual Objects, even identical ones, you will need to use a Property Set Definition Style that has been set to Object Based. In the illustration to the right, I show that I have added a Manual Property Definition row to my Property Set Definition and that I named it "Finish". Under the Type column, I used the drop-down list to set this definition to "List" and that allowed me to use another drop-down list under the Source column to select my custom Property List.In the illustration to the right I show that I have selected an example Appliance Multi-view Block whose Style uses a Property Set Definition with a List option for the Finish category. The list is not available for direct use on the Extended Data tab of the Properties Palette but can be accessed through the "Edit Style Property Set data" button. If the List Definition Style had been set inside a Property Set Definition that was Object Based, then the list would be available for direct use on the Extended Data tab.

Ever wish you had a method for copying Layer Keys between ABS 2006 and ABS 2007 styles? Grab a copy of this routine and you'll be able to copy keys from one drawing to another or among styles within the same drawing. To run this routine:

1. using VBARun at the command line, click on the VBAManager button to load the script. Once loaded into your 2007 building systems, click on the Macros button to send yourself back to the VBA Macros and choose to run the "showformnew" macro.
2. Once the Main dialog is shown select the source layer key style drawing by clicking the "Browse" option from within the "Source" combo dropdown identified by the number 1 in the graphic shown above. Once you browse to a file and choose it, you will be asked whether to open the drawing read only.
3. Once you have chosen a drawing, click in the Source Layer key Style dropdown identified by the number 2 in the graphic shown above and choose your Source layer Key Style from those provided in the list. (See Graphic for example)
4. You will now see a popup dialog confirming your selection and directing you to begin selecting your target file and keystyle. This dialog box will dismiss itself after 3 seconds. Repeat the process begun in steps 2 and 3 by choosing from the right side of the main dialog box. Choose your target drawing file by clicking the target drawing file dropdown indicated by the red number four in the first graphic.
5. Proceed to the last dropdown box and select your target key style from those listed in the key style drop down box indicated by the red number 4 in the first graphic.
6. Once you have completed the target file and keystyle selection you should see the form stretch to display the missing keys found in the source but not found in the target.
7. All that remains is for you to choose whether to allow overrides, select the keys to be copied, and click the button in the lower right hand corner to complete the task.

You created a network deployment for Autodesk® Building Systems 2007.1 (ABS) and placed shared content for your ABS catalogs in a shared network location. However, when you tried to add a part, you received an error message stating that the part could not be found.When you create a deployment for Autodesk® Building Systems that includes shared ABS content, you need to include the profile. Otherwise, you will not be able to load the content from a shared location onto other computers. To resolve this error, you need to edit the registry keys on each of the computers where this error occurs. Follow these steps:

1. Click Start menu (Windows) > Run.
2. In the Run dialog box, enter regedit
3. In the Registry Editor, browse to the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R17.0\ACAD-5106:409\Profiles\Building Engineering - US Imperial\Preferences\AecbCatalog50
4. Edit the ConfigPath registry subkey so that it points to the location of your shared content.
5. In the Registry Editor, browse to the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R17.0\ACAD-5106:409\Profiles\Building Engineering – US Imperial\Preferences\AecbEnumMap50
6. Edit the ConfigPath registry subkey so that it points to the location of your shared content.

Warning! Problems caused by improperly editing the Windows registry could render your computer operating system unusable. Microsoft provides a wealth of critical information that you need to know about the registry in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. Use the Microsoft® Registry Editor only at your own risk and only after backing up the registry as well as the system.dat and user.dat files as outlined for your operating system in the Microsoft Knowledge Base and in the related Autodesk solution, TS66513. Additional information about the registry is also contained in the Help topics in the Microsoft Registry Editor.