Contents

• A note on customizing section cut blocks
• Finding the block
  • Getting the name(s) of blocks used
  • Determining the path to the block
• Editing the block
• Saving the block

A note on customizing section cut 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-2008 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-2008 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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Finding the Block(s)

First we must figure out the names of the files to edit then locate those files.

Getting the name(s) of blocks used

Block library system block names can be found by going in to "Customize". We will demonstrate by finding the block names for the building section cut.

First go to the architectural symbols screen and press the button.

This will bring up the following dialog:

Now click on the symbol that you would like to have show it's block names.

You will get the action type screen as shown here:

Just press and the following will appear:

Building section callout symbols have four possible blocks that can be inserted. Each of these block names can be found here (in the area circled in red above).

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Determining the path to the block

Once you have determined the block name you must now find where the block is located (if it is not shown in the box above with the block name). 

If you have modified this block before first look in the ...\APS-2008 \Custom folder to see if your previously modified block is there. Next look in the ...\APS-2008 \Planblks folder. 

Another way to find a block is to let AutoCAD do the searching for you. At the command prompt type in the following:

(findfile_aps "block.dwg")

There is an underscore between findfile and aps.  "block.dwg" is the block name (substitute the name of the block you are looking for). You must include the ".dwg" extension.  Then press <Enter>.

AutoCAD should return the full path to the block name. If this doesn't find your file then the command that uses this block can't find it either. This can mean one of two things: the block doesn't exist (see replacing APS-2008 files from the installation CD) or the paths to the APS-2008 files are not correctly set up (see verifying and fixing problems with APS-2008 paths in AutoCAD).

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Editing the blocks

While there is no limit to the creative styles and looks for section cut symbols there are some minor constraints as to what can be done with these symbols due to the way the section cut symbols are inserted.

First lets look at the way the symbol is inserted. The first things that are done is the callout "bubble" is inserted and the "leg" or cut line is drawn. The callout "bubble" can either be inserted at a fixed rotation of zero or it can be rotated with the direction of the cut line. (See the Arch Symbols section of the APS-CONFIG command.)

Next the cut direction is selected and the arrow, wings and/or foot are inserted. To avoid confusion each of these parts are shown here.

Arrow    Wings    Foot

By default, the building section cut has all three, the wall section cut has just the arrow and foot, and the detail cut just the foot. (This can be changed to whatever is needed - See Customizing Architectural Symbols in the Block Library)

To help you better understand how you may customize section cuts we will look at how each of the default parts was created and is inserted. For this example we will use the building section cut symbol (the others are similar).

Arrow block

The default arrow block was created by taking the outline of the callout "bubble" and drawing 45° lines from the center of the outline to where they intersect the "bubble" outline as shown above. Then mirroring those lines using both points where the lines intersect the circle as the mirror line. To make the arrow solid you may use the "solid" hatch or in older versions of AutoCAD you can use a "line" hatch that is dense enough to make it look solid on your plots. When you create the block, the center point of the callout "bubble" is used as the insertion base point. Note: It is important that the arrow point to the "zero" angle when creating the block so that when it is inserted it will point in the correct direction.

This portion of the section cut symbol is inserted using the center point of the callout "bubble" as the insertion point and is rotated perpendicular to the cut line on the side selected for the direction of cut.

Wings block

First a note on the wings...Why have the wings separate from the arrow block above? The original idea was so that the building section could easily be changed to a wall section if needed by just erasing the wings. If you do not anticipate ever having the need to change a building section to a wall section, you may simply create the arrow file with the wings included and leave the wings block name blank in the building section symbol configuration. See Customizing Architectural Symbols in the Block Library.

The default wings block was also created using the outline of the callout "bubble". Once again we will use two 45° lines that start at the center point and extend till they intersect the circle. Then draw a line vertically from the center point that extends in both directions. The lines that define the angled portion of our "wings" start at the points where the first lines intersect the circle and go at 45° angles until they intersect the vertical line. To make the arrow solid you may once again use the "solid" hatch or in older versions of AutoCAD you can use a "line" hatch that is dense enough to make it look solid on your plots. When you create the block, the center point of the callout "bubble" is used as our insertion base point. Note: It is important that the wings point as shown above so that when it is inserted it will point in the correct direction.

This portion of the section cut symbol is also inserted using the center point of the callout "bubble" as the insertion point and is rotated perpendicular to the cut line on the side selected for the direction of cut.

Foot block

The default foot block is the simplest of the three. It is simply a polyline (lwpolyline in 2000+ AutoCAD). The insertion point is the left end of the polyline. Note: It is important that the foot point to the "zero" angle when creating the block so that when it is inserted it will point in the correct direction.

This portion of the section cut symbol is inserted using the endpoint of the cut line as the insertion point and is rotated perpendicular to the cut line on the side selected for the direction of cut.

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General block considerations

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 by "byblock" color, linetype and lineweight unless there are specific entities that should ALWAYS be a certain color, linetype, and/or lineweight. This allows the entities in the block to have these properties modified without exploding the block.

Style   Here is some playing around with the appearance and what was done in each case:

	Start w/ the default look
	Erase the circle and line from the callout "bubble" block
	Rotate the callout "bubble" attributes 90° around the insertion point and configure to rotate the callout "bubble" with the cut line - See the Arch Symbols section of the APS-CONFIG command.
	Add the line back to the callout "bubble" (this line should have it's midpoint at the insertion point of the block and have a length twice the length of the radius value that you've specified in the Arch Symbols section of the APS-CONFIG command.)
	No longer insert the "wings" block by removing the block name from the wings box in the building section symbol configuration. See Customizing Architectural Symbols in the Block Library.
	Change the look of the arrow block.

 By doing some very minor changes to the default blocks you can make some nice changes to the section cut. Keeping in mind how the command works you can let your creativity take over and get the results that you want.

 

Other things to consider

Design the callout "bubble", arrow and wings so that the arrow & wings may go on either side of the cut line depending on the direction selected. This seems obvious, but you'd be surprised how many times it is forgotten only to have the arrow sit on top of either your location or sheet number attribute when the "other" direction is chosen.

There is a "TYP" or "SIM" attribute in the default callout "bubble" block. Design a place for it (taking in to consideration the arrow going both ways) unless you would like to get rid of it and note your section cut "typ" or "sim" manually. (if you do, make sure you configure for only two attributes in the section cut configuration - See Customizing Architectural Symbols in the Block Library)

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Saving the block

All of the parts of the symbol except the callout "bubble" have no attributes so you can just save and exit them. The PSCLOSE command does a great job of this and even purges any unnecessary junk out of the block before saving it.

For the callout "bubble" you must make a write block so that the attribute definitions are in the correct order. We will outline this below.

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 and the temporary location (shown as C:\TempStuff above) and press OK. Press <Enter> when prompted for a block name and enter or select the insertion point.

Release 14    Enter the block name and the temporary location (shown as C:\TempStuff above) and press "Save". Press <Enter> when prompted for a block name and enter or select the insertion point.

Release 2000 and later    Enter the block name and the temporary location (shown as C:\TempStuff above). Verify that the source is "Objects" and the base point is what you would like. Then press the "Select objects" button.

Now we can select the objects for the block.

We highly recommend that you select the objects in the following order: "drawing location" attribute (A) , "sheet number" attribute (A9.00), "sim" attribute (SIM), and then all other objects in the drawing. By selecting them in this order you will avoid confusion later when editing the attributes.

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 move the new file to the ...\APS-2008 \Custom folder.

You may do this using whatever means you are comfortable with. Overwrite the file already in the ...\APS-2008 \Custom folder if it exists.

Finally you must make sure that your new block names are entered in the appropriate boxes in the section cut customization dialog:

If you kept the same filename as the files that were already being used you should not have to change these, otherwise change the values to your new files. (See Customizing Architectural Symbols in the Block Library)

Now in all new drawings when you insert this symbol you will get this new custom version. Drawings with previous versions of blocks will still insert the old versions 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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