Parametric Datagroup cells - Guidance

Is there any guidance on using parametric cells (*.cel) with the datagroup? 

It appears that I am unable to attach parametric cells to the doors/windows catalogs as these are restricted to *.bxc, *.PAZ and *.rfa files. Is this as intended or am I able to edit something to allow parametrics to talk to these catalogs? 

Also looking for guidance on how to map parametric cell variables to Datagroup inputs. 

Thanks in advance

  • Hi Duncan,

    Currently, ABD does not have an option to attach parametric cells (*.cel) for Doors/Windows. If you notice closely, you can see that the Parametric | File Type property for Doors and Windows belong to ArchDoor and ArchWindow definitions respectively and they do not have an option to choose CEL for the file type.

    To map the parametric cell variables to the DataGroup Properties, all you need to do after you have selected the correct cell file is select the parametric cell variable under the Parametric Name column in the Catalog Editor against the correct DataGroup Property for that catalog item:

    Hope this helps.

    Regards,

    Satadal

  • Thanks Satadal, 

    I was aware of the limitation with doors and windows, however, are there any plans for adding support to these? 

    Next up, is there a variable to define where parametric libraries are stored (for all other catalogs) When I attempt to attach a parametric cell all I am able to select from is a drop down of railing components, not my own cell libraries. 

  • Hi Duncan,

    Yes, the plan is to use parametric cells (Functional Components) in place of PAZ, BXF and BXC.  The first phase of that ability exists in U4 as Technology Preview features for Perforators and Named Presentations (drawing symbols).   Obviously there's a lot more work to do in regards to the actual content delivered with AECOsim, spread across quite a few regional datasets...



  • I’m trying to do similar, but struggling a bit getting it all working how I’d like it to.

    I’m testing on a basic parametric cell of a simple cube, with OA_Length, OA_Width and OA_Height as instance variables. Then I’m trying to attach an Item Type to the cell, containing “Tag”, “Description” and “Ref. Information” text properties. It would be nice if I could also preset in the cell which catalog it comes under, and which Family / Part the cell has. I want mods to the OA dim properties to drive the geometry, the Tag to appear as an annotation on outer surfaces of the cube in plan / elevation etc, and for all these properties to appear in the DG schedule and be editable via the schedule or properties dialogue. 

    I’m basically trying to make a super simplified cell library for space-claim type work, where someone can place for example, an “Equipment_Cuboidal” element, adjust each instance’s properties as required (either via the properties dialog or schedule), then see the results on the geometry and in the “Equipment” schedule. E.g. there may also be an “Equipment_Cylindrical” parametric cell too. In theory, less able users can then block out early stage designs over a site reality model, and then more able modellers can substitute those low-detail blocks for more detailed representations as the design progresses. All the while maintaining accurate quantity data in the schedules. 

    Any advice / pointers on this would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

  • Managed to get 90% of this working today, using parametric cells with named variables. One hiccup that did eat up time was ifc exports not working at first for parametric elements. An upgrade from update 3 to update 4 seems to have solved this now though. 

    The only bit I don’t have working yet is an annotation label driven via the properties.