Dimension Customisation

Supports Customisation Guide

Controls the default representation of support dimensions.

AVEVA E3D™ is supplied with the Aveva.Supports.Presentation.DimensionControl.dll. The dll, along with the configuration file SupportConfiguration.xml, is installed into the AVEVA E3D™ installation directory.

The DimensionControlDesigner.exe tool allows you to customise existing supports and add new supports to the application. The tool is installed into the AVEVA E3D™ installation directory.

The Dimension Control Designer window allows you to apply custom configuration to support dimensions.

To open the SupportsConfiguration.xml file, click File and select Open from the drop-down menu. The left hand part of the Dimension Control Designer window displays the content of the SupportConfiguration.xml which is located in the AVEVA E3D™ installation directory. You can modify the xml text directly.

The bottom part of the Dimension Control Designer window displays errors and warnings for the XML file.

The file location displays in the status bar.

A simplified version of the SupportConfiguration.xml is:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>

The Mappings part of the SupportConfiguration.xml displays all of the configured supports. The example displays one support identified as FT09. The support is configured by a representation of the same name. Multiple supports can use the same representation.

The Representation part of the SupportConfiguration.xml displays the filename of the image file used for the support and each of the specified dimension nodes.

Each representation contains an image, the standard images supplied with AVEVA E3D™ do not require a file extension. To apply a custom png image, the image must be located in the custom support configuration directory, and the file name specified in the Image id attribute.

In the example, the mycustomsupport.png is located in the same directory as the SupportConfiguration.xml.

In the example, the mycustomsupport.png is located in a subdirectory named myPngImages.

The dimension nodes can be configured to have as many dimensions as required. For example:

The dimension nodes are then accessed via the GetDimensionById and SetDimensionById api calls. For example:

GetDimensionById('aSpecialDimension')

The dimension node x and y values indicate the centre point position of the dimension box within the control, defined as a decimal value. For example a position of x="0.5" and y="0.5" positions the centre point of the dimension box directly in the centre of the control. Valid values are from 0.0 to 1.0.

You can also configure the size of the dimension boxes. The default size is 54 pixels. The example positions the dimension1 text box directly in the centre of the control, with a width of 100 pixels.

The dimension type can also be configured. The default dimension type is distance. The example defines the dimension type as an angle.

File

The File part of the Dimension Control Designer window allows you to open and save a SupportConfiguration.xml file and close the DimensionControlDesigner.exe tool. Click File to display a drop-down menu.


Open	Select from the drop-down menu to open an existing SupportConfiguration.xml file.
Save	Select from the drop-down menu to save an existing SupportConfiguration.xml file.
Save As	Select from the drop-down menu to save an existing SupportConfiguration.xml file with a new filename.
Revert to Saved Version	Select from the drop-down menu to revert the current SupportConfiguration.xml file at the point when it was last saved.
Exit	Click to close the DimensionControlDesigner.exe tool.

Navigate

The Navigate part of the Dimension Control Designer window allows you to display a specific part of the SupportConfiguration.xml file. Click Navigate to display a drop-down menu.


Current Representation	Select from the drop-down menu to display the representation for the currently selected support in the left hand part of the window.
Current Dimension Box	Select from the drop-down menu to display the details of the currently selected dimension box in the left hand part of the window.
Current Mapping	Select from the drop-down menu to display the mapping for the currently selected support in the left hand part of the window.

Create a Support

The Create Support part of the Dimension Control Designer window allows you to create a support from new or using an existing Support.


Support Name	Input a name for the support in the field.
Create New Representation	Select the option button to create a new support mapping and representation. By default the representation name is the same as the support name. If a clash occurs, a unique name is used.
Use Existing Representation	Select the option button to create a new support mapping and representation from an existing support. You must select the existing support to use as a basis for the new support from the drop-down list.

Current Support

The Current Support part of the Dimension Control Designer window allows you to select, preview and modify the currently selected support.


Current Support	Select a support from the drop-down list. The currently selected support displays in the preview and the left hand part of the Dimension Control Designer window.
	Click to display the previous support in the preview and the left hand part of the Dimension Control Designer window.
	Click to display the next support in the preview and the left hand part of the Dimension Control Designer window.
	Click to update the support preview.
Preview	Displays a preview of the currently selected support. You can modify the position of a dimension box using the arrow keys on the keyboard. By default, the xml code is updated.
Add Dimension	Input a valid dimension box value and click Add to create a new dimension box. For example: <Dimension id=" x="0.5" y="0.95" />

Default Support Configuration File

You can modify the location of the default SupportConfiguration.xml used when AVEVA E3D™ is opened. You must locate and open the evars.init file. The Environment variable must be modified to locate the new SupportConfiguration.xml file.

For example, if the location of the SupportConfiguration.xml file is C:\MDS, the evars.init must be updated to read:

set MDS_SUPPORT_CONFIG_LOCATION=c:\MDS

Modify the Support File

The support can be modified without the use of the DimensionControlDesigner.exe tool. The example file, examplesupport.pmlfrm, displays the values that can be modified directly.

import 'Aveva.Presentation.Supports.DimensionControl'

handle ANY

q var !!error

endhandle

setup form  !!examplesupport

!this.formTitle     = 'Test Support Form'

!this.iconTitle     = 'TestSF'

!this.callback      = '!this.init()'

!this.formRevision  = ' $Revision: 1.0 $ '

frame .axisControl panel |Picture| at x0 ymax+0.2 width 40 hei 12 container .netAxisFrame PMLNetCONTROL 'NET'  at x1 dock fill vdist 0

    exit

using namespace 'Aveva.Presentation.Supports.DimensionControl'

handle ANY

    q var !!error

endhandle

member .SupportDimensionControl is SUPPORTDIMENSIONCONTROL

exit

define method .init()

using namespace 'Aveva.Presentation.Supports.DimensionControl'

!this.SupportDimensionControl = object SUPPORTDIMENSIONCONTROL()

!this.SupportDimensionControl.Show('BRYN')

!this.netAxisFrame.control = !this.SupportDimensionControl.handle()

!this.SupportDimensionControl.addEventHandler('onDimensionValueChanged', !this, 'templateDimensionChanged')

endmethod

define method .templateDimensionChanged(!a is ARRAY)

  $P Support dimension changed event triggered

  q var !a

endmethod