Using Property Sets in Civil 3D for Annotation

In a previous post, we looked at attaching property set data to objects, but can we produce annotation based on property set values?

There is some limited ability to produce AutoCAD Civil 3D label styles that will annotate property set data. If property set data exists for an object, the Text Component Editor for that object’s label styles will contain a Property Sets tab. In the image below, the properties available for labeling display on the Properties pulldown.

If you compare the properties on the Property Sets tab in the Text Component Editor to those that we set up in the previous post, you should recognize that some are not being displayed, notably the list properties. As disappointing as this may be, if label styles are what is needed, instead of using list data, we could stick with text data requiring us to type in all properties.

Utilizing property sets and AutoCAD Civil 3D tables together is a no-go because Property Set data is not available in AutoCAD Civil 3D tables. However, we can generate schedules based on property sets with the Schedule command. Type Schedule followed by enter at the command line and some options will display.

Click the ST option for Style and the Style Manager dialog opens revealing a branch under Documentation Objects called Schedule Table Styles.

 

To create a Schedule Table Style, right click on the branch and choose New, then type a name for the table.

When you click-on the new schedule style on the left, it will display configuration tabs on the right:

• General – Type a name and an optional description for the table. There is a Notes button that opens a dialog allowing you to attach references or paste further information in if needed.
  
• Default Format – Configure AutoCAD properties for text and cells here.
  
• Applies to – Here you would fill in the checkbox for the entity type possessing the property data.
  
• Columns – On this tab you would set up the columns based on the property set.
  

1. Click Add Column.
2. In the Add Column dialog, under Data Format, choose a property set field to pull into the table, configure a heading and any necessary overrides to the properties of this column. There are checkboxes to either add a total, hide, or create a matrix with the column data. There is an option to create a formula column where you can setup mathematical or VB expressions.

• Sorting/Grouping: Add the columns you need to sort by. You may also group based on column contents.
  
• Layout: Allows more overrides on table display.
  
• Classifications: A classification contains a name and description such as a spec number. This enables you to populate the schedule with objects based on classifications.
  
• Display Properties: Clicking the icon, opens the Display Properties dialog allowing you to configure the table linework.
  

Once configuration of a schedule table style is complete, click OK. The command line options will still be available.

Click on the Add option and you will be prompted to select your drawing objects with the property sets to be used in the table. Once selected, press Enter. You may also preselect the objects before executing the schedule command to place the table. After pressing enter, select the location for the upper left corner of the table, then press Enter. The table will be placed and sized based on the annotation scale.

If there are updates to the schedule table style, they are applied instantly. Otherwise, in the case where property set data is updated, the table can be updated by right-clicking and selecting Update Schedule Table.

Property Sets give us an additional option to manage and annotate a collection of extended properties for Civil 3D objects.

 – Cyndy Davenport