Parameters

Design Templates User Guide

Modify : Parameters

Design Template rules define how the geometry of the Design Template instance is to be parameterised in terms of Design Template properties.

To define the Design Template rules, make sure the correct Design Template is highlighted in the Template Browser.

On the Design Templates tab, in the Modify group, click Parameters to display the Define Template Member Parameters window.

The name of the currently selected Design Template displays at the top of the Template Member Parameters window.

The Template Members part of the Template Member Parameters window displays all of the elements in the currently selected Design Template and the number of defined rules associated with each element.


Navigate To	Right-click the selected element to navigate to the Design element in the Model Explorer.
Copy Rules	Click to copy the rules of the selected element to the rules paste buffer.
Set Local Name	Click to display the Local Name window, refer to Assign Local Name to Template Element for further information.
Define Repeat Rule	Click to display the Repeats window, refer to Repeat Rules for further information.
Copy Rules From	Allows the user to copy rules to the rules paste buffer using a cursor pick in the 3D view. The user is prompted to Pick item to copy rules :
Refresh	Click to refresh the Template Member Parameters window to include all updates.
Show Axes	Select the check box to display the axes in the 3D view.
Paste Rules	Click to paste the copied rules to the selected element from the rules paste buffer.

The Rules part of the Template Member Parameters window allows the user to define rules for the currently selected element.

Select a rule from the list of available rules to display the Attribute Rule window.

The Rule Type and Rule Attribute displays at the top of the Attribute Rule window.

The name of the currently selected Design Template and a list of defined properties displays at the bottom of the Attribute Rule window.


Clear Rule	Click to remove data from the Expression field.
Test Expression	Click to test the data in the Expression field. If an invalid command is input into the Expression field, the user receives an error message summarising the problem. Parameter expressions allow the result of an expression to be based on a conditional test (If, Then, Else). The expression function takes the form: IFTRUE(<Boolean Expression>, <True Expression>, <False Expression>) If the Boolean Expression returns true then the IFTRUE function returns the result of the True Expression, and if the Boolean Expression returns false then the result of the False Expression is returned. The True Expression and the False Expression must return results of the same data type. An example of use of this expression is as follows: IFTRUE(LDPR LENG OF TMPL lt 2400, (ID/BS-SPEC/45x45x4.0), (ID/BS-SPEC/50x50x5.0) ) where the specification reference of a steel profile depends on the LENG property of a template. Since IFTRUE is an AVEVA E3D™ expression function, it can be used within an AVEVA E3D™ expression according to the normal rules for use of functions inside AVEVA E3D™ expressions. Therefore the <True Expression> and <False Expression> can contain IFTRUE function calls, which allows simple nested conditional statements to be constructed.
Expression	Input a value into the field, for example, CDPR LENG sets the value of the current attribute to the property that contains a Key value of LENG.
Template	Select the radio button to display the properties for the Design Template in the list of defined properties.
Element	Select the radio button to display the properties for the element in the list of defined properties.
Element Owner	Select the radio button to display the properties for the element owner in the list of defined properties.

Assign Local Name to Template Element

When a Design Template is copied into the design instance, confusion can arise in the identification of elements within the design instance. For example, the Design Template may include two negative boxes named NBOX1.

If the elements are named in the Design Template, the names are not copied to the design instance because an element name cannot be used more than once in a design database

If the design instance is modified, either or both of the original NBOX elements may no longer be identified as NBOX 1 and any reference to it in a rule can lead to an incorrect result.

To avoid such ambiguities in identifying members of a Design Template, an element can be assigned a local name. A local name is stored in the Design Template definition and is copied into every design instance, allowing for local name references to remain valid within rules.

A local name can comprise up to 20 characters, and each Design Template can store up to 500 local names. Duplicate local names are not allowed within a Design Template, the same local name may be used in different Design Templates within a single design database.

To assign a local name to a Design Template element, make sure the correct element is highlighted in the Template Members part of the Template Member Parameters window.

Click Set Local Name, to display the Local Name window.

Input a name into the Local Name field.

Click OK to create the local name or Cancel to discard any inputs and close the Local Name window. The user is returned to the Template Member Parameters window.

Repeat Rules

The Repeats window allows the user to create and define repeat rules for an element.

To define a repeat rule for the currently selected element, on the Template Member Parameters window, select Repeat Rules to display the Repeats window.

The Number of repeats is provided as an expression. The expression must result in a positive whole number which defines the number of repeats to be produced.

Cartesian Repeat

Each repeat element is displaced from the previous repeat element by an X, Y, Z offset.

Linear Repeat

Each repeat element is displaced from the previous repeat element by distance in a given direction.

Radial Repeat

Repeats are generated at an angular displacement around a given axis of rotation. In addition to the angular displacement, each repeat element can be displaced from the previous repeat element by a given distance along the axis of rotation.

The Rotate Element check box specifies whether the orientation of each repeat element is fixed and identical to the master element, or whether each repeat is rotated.