OBD Connect Edition: Annotation Tools Refresh?

Mstn CE is rolling out some pretty cool text annotation tools:

Mstn also provides some detailing symbol tools that incorporate geometry and settings stored in .xml, .cel or dgnlibs. Mainly to support the DV Callouts:

  • Place Section Callout
  • Place Detail Callout
  • Place Elevation Callout
  • Place Plan Callout
  • Place Drawing Boundary
  • Place Title Text

Then.... OBD adds:

  • Label Coordinate: TFPLACE LABEL COORDINATE 
  • DG Annotation Cells: BMECH LABEL TOOL
  • Symbols: TFPLACE CODED NOTE,NORTH ARROW, DRAWING TITLE, DOOR ID, WINDOW ID, BREAKLINE, REVISION, SPOT ELEVATION, FINISH TRANSITION etc
  • Keynotes: PLACE KEYNOTE 

In addition to the annotation text/cells etc for:

  • Grids
  • Spaces
  • Stairs
  • ??

It would be good to start to think of updating and consolidating the old Triforma vintage tools like Symbols and Keynotes. These are currently not linked to either Datagroup or Items Types.

Label Coordinate would benefit from some witness line and additional functionality.

Merging DGS with Item Types is more likely long term. So, Symbols like Door and WIndow ID should be deprecated by DG Annotation Cells. They don't seem to work in the Drawing Models anyway. Coded Note is easily duplicated by DG Annotation Cells. Ditto for Spot Elevation, which should look up the z-elevation of TF Slabs, Spaces etc via DGS. Should the North Arrow be linked to the North direction set in the Rendering or geo-referencing settings? Revision could lookup whatever is used for the drawing title block. Probably better to use Items, not Tags.

Keynotes: again, these are not linked to either the DGS or Item Types or even Tags. Better to jump straight to Text Favorites which leverages the new Item Types, Fields, Expressions, Tables, Reports, Edit-in-Excel etc functionality.

Looking at the various annotation tools that OBD has accumulated over the years, it's interesting to see the close relationship between text, cells and now attribute lookups / updating.

  • Place text,
  • Place text + leader,
  • Place text + leader associated to geometry
  • Place text + leader + attribute extraction
  • Place text + leader + attribute extraction + association to geometry

  • Place text & cell,
  • Place text & cell + leader,
  • Place text & cell + leader associated to geometry,
  • Place text & cell + leader + attribute extraction,
  • Place text & cell + leader + attribute extraction + association to geometry,

  • Place text + cell stretchable to accomodate text string length
  • Place text + cell rotatable
  • Place text + cell + leader (witness line aligned with associated geometry or vector)

Maybe, the devs should provide a 'super annotation pattern' that others can add/subtract steps to produce the desired functionality... like the way the Place Cell tool works.

Place text & cell (stretchable/scalable to accomodate text string length, rotatable) + leader (option to restrict leader line segment to vertical/horizontal) + attribute extraction + association to geometry (or to the new Placement Points).