Contents

• A note on customizing blocks
• Editing the block
• Saving the block

A note on customizing blocks

It is highly recommended that when you want to customize a block that you make a copy of the original block and put the copy in the "Custom" folder. Edit the copy in the "Custom" folder leaving the original file intact. We also recommend that you place any new blocks you create in the "Custom" folder as well.

Put all new and customized blocks here so they will go with you when you upgrade.

When any of the APS commands look for a block they look in the custom folder first and then in either the Planblks or Elevblks folders. By doing this you keep a copy of the original file (just in case something should go wrong or you want to go back to the original) and you keep all of your customizations centrally located which makes it easier to take your customizations with you should you move to a new computer. Also, future version upgrades to the APS software will copy any customizations in the "Custom" folder and use them with the new software saving you the hassle of setting it up again.

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Editing the block

First some things to consider when editing these blocks:

There are two blocks that are used for the room name/number symbol. One has a box around the number attribute and the other does not. This is so that when the number attribute is blank the box will "disappear". The block names are "aps-rsm1.dwg" and "aps-rsm2.dwg" and they both reside in the "...\APS\PlanBlks" folder.

Insertion point    It is preferable to have the insertion point (base point) at 0,0,0. For this block the insertion point is normally at the midpoint of the number box as shown by the green dot in the image above. (For the "aps-rsm2

Layer    All of the entities in the block should be on layer 0 (zero). This allows the block to change the layer that it resides on without exploding it.

Color, linetype and lineweight    All of the entities should be "byblock" color, linetype and lineweight. This allows the entities in the block have these properties modified without exploding the block.

Hidden attributes    All of the attribute definitions below the "number" box are hidden attributes. Under normal circumstances they neither need nor want any customization. When this block is inserted they will not be seen. Please do not erase them!

There is no way we could possibly anticipate all of the changes that people will want to make to this block so we will do our best to help you understand the basics of changing this block in some of the most common ways.

Changing the text size

Changing the text style, justification, width factor, oblique angle, color and/or lineweight

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Saving the block

Two blocks are needed for the room name symbol. The "aps-rsm1.dwg" block is for when the box around the number attribute should be shown and the "aps-rsm2.dwg" block is for when the box should not be shown. If you have customized the blocks, the box may or may not still be a box or even used at all, but both blocks will still be used. Both blocks can be identical if you like but the TXTEDT command must have both blocks to work correctly.

Since these blocks have many attribute definitions in them, you need to be aware that the order you select these definitions affects the order that they are edited later. If the attribute definitions are not selected in the proper order the wrong information will be displayed in the block.

The first step is to modify the block to get it the way you would like it to look using the guidelines above in the Editing the Block section. Once this is completed we will create a write block of the file. By creating a write block we can control the order of the attributes in the block.

Type WBLOCK at the command prompt. You will see one of the following:

Release 2000 and later

Release 14

Release 13

Release 13    Enter the block name (aps-rsm1.dwg) and the temporary location (shown as C:\TempStuff above) and press OK. Press <Enter> when prompted for a block name and enter 0,0,0 when prompted for an insertion point.

Release 14    Enter the block name (aps-rsm1.dwg) and the temporary location (shown as C:\TempStuff above) and press "Save". Press <Enter> when prompted for a block name and enter 0,0,0 when prompted for an insertion point.

Release 2000 and later    Enter the block name (aps-rsm1.dwg) and the temporary location (shown as C:\TempStuff above). Verify that the source is "Objects" and the base point is X=0" Y=0" and Z=0". Then press the "Select objects" button.

Now we can select the objects for the block. 

With the room name symbol (aps-rsm1.dwg) the order is as shown above. Select the attributes from top to bottom, left to right. Start w/ ROOM1 and then select ROOM2, NUMBER, FLOOR1, FLOOR2, on down to NOTES, then go up to AWALL01, and down AWALL02 through AWALL10, then back up to BWALL01 down through BWALL10, back up to CWALL01 and down through CWALL10, and finally up to DWALL01 and down through DWALL10. Select each of the attributes individually (resist the temptation to select them with a crossing window). Once all of the attributes have been selected the "box" and any other objects that make up the block should be selected.

When all of the entities that will comprise the block are selected press <Enter>

Release 2000 and later    Press the OK button.

Our block has now been created in our temporary folder. 

Now we can move the new file to the ...\APS \Custom folder.

You may do this using whatever means you are comfortable with. Overwrite any file already in the ...\APS \Custom folder if it exists.

Now in all new drawings when you insert this block you will get this new custom version. Drawings with previous versions of the block will still insert the old version until the block is redefined or all of the old style blocks have been erased and the block reference has been purged from the drawing.

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