Creating Schedule Tags in Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2005

Have you ever been challenged by the creation of ‘Schedule Tags’ in Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2005?  Paul F. Aubin, author and world renowned expert on Architectural Desktop shares his methods with you in this article.

Creating Schedule Tags

This is the tutorial referenced on page 607 of Mastering Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2005.

A Schedule Tag is an ADT Multi-View Block that is anchored to another object. The Anchor used is called a “Tag Anchor.” Unlike other Anchors in ADT, this Anchor links the data in the object’s Property Sets with the Attributes contained within the Tag. Several components are required to make the Tag Anchor relationship function properly.

• A Property Set Definition containing the desired Properties
• An AutoCAD Block containing one or more Attributes
• Attributes (within the Block) must be named in the correct format
• A Multi-View Block must be made containing the Attributed AutoCAD Blocks as View Blocks
• A Tag Anchor attachment

This is an extensive list to be sure. Building a custom Schedule Tag requires a systematic approach and a bit of patience. As with most ADT Content, it will be instructional to dissect some of the provided sample tags. You will find several examples in the AutoCAD DesignCenter (See Figure 1).

You can open the AutoCAD Design Center from the Insert menu or by pressing ctrl+2. Once it is open, you can easily navigate to the other folders in the Documentation tree and use the tags located there. There are actually three sets of Tags provided with ADT: Imperial, Metric and Metric D A CH. You can use which ever set is appropriate to your choice of units.

Tags can also appear on Tool Palettes. The Document Tool Palette group contains a sampling of Tags on the Scheduling Tool Palette tab. You can add other tags from the DesignCenter to any Tool Palette by simply dragging them from the DesignCenter and dropping them onto the desired Tool Palette.

For the rest of the tutorial, please click on the following link: http://www.paulaubin.com/pdf/Creating_Schedule_Tags.pdf
 

About Paul F. Aubin
Paul F. Aubin is the author of Mastering Autodesk^® Architectural Desktop and Autodesk^® Architectural Desktop: An Advanced Implementation Guide, and co-author of Mastering VIZ Render for Autodesk^® ADT Users, published by Autodesk Press.

Paul has a background in the architectural profession spanning over fifteen years. In addition to writing, Paul travels the country speaking and providing implementation, training and support services. He currently serves as the Moderator for Cadalyst magazine's online CAD questions forum, and has been published in their print magazine.

He is a regular speaker at Autodesk University^® and was the recipient of the Autodesk^® Central Region 2001 Architectural Award of Excellence. Paul has been a guest speaker at Chicago area events for The American Institute of Architects Northeast Illinois, Chicago Area Users' Groups and The Association of Licensed Architects. Prior to becoming an independent consultant, Paul was an Associate with a leading Autodesk Systems Center in Chicago where he successfully trained over 1100 professionals in Architectural Desktop, AutoCAD^® and 3D Studio^® VIZ. While in architectural practice, Paul served as CAD Manager with an Interior Design and Architecture firm in downtown Chicago and amassed many years of hands-on project architect level experience. The combination of his experiences in architectural practice, as a CAD Manager and an Instructor give his writing, classroom instruction and consultation a fresh and credible focus. Paul is an associate member of the American Institute of Architects. He received his Bachelor of Science in Architecture and his Bachelor of Architecture from The Catholic University of America.