Dimensions steel beam catalog-items in datagroup-explorer?

How can I display the dimensions of steel colums/beams in the datagroup-explorer?

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  • As Travis wrote, section name is the closest thing available,   Since structural members are not based on cells their dimensional attributes are not DataGroup properties and therefore do not display.

    I suppose in a future version it might be possible to quantify structural members for their dimensions in a similar fashion as we do forms for area and volume.  But that's just a guess on my part.



Children
  • @Travis: yes I can see the sections, but I can think of some situations where lengths and weights could come handy, no?

    @Steve: So we have to reach back to the quantify tool, or is there some Structural Datagroup-alternative? I thought Datagroups were ment to be cross-discipline? This is Bentley Building SUITE, no?!

    Well, hopefully Bentley will resolve this fast and make up their mind concearning Quantify-tool vs. Datagroup-system, or do I have to see this differently?. Do I have to post a ST/CR for this, or is this already on the list?

  • Hi Michael,

    Yes, the DataGroup System is cross-discipline.  The properties included for each discipline certainly do differ, though for reporting purposes I do see your point.    

    However, when you wrote "dimensions" I mistakenly thought you were referring to the physical dimensions of structural members; i.e., height, flange width & thickness, web thickness, etc.   That said, I believe we may be seeing typical quantification values such as length and weight in the near future...



  • Michael,

    The Item Browser can display and export "Member Length", "Unit Weight", "Weight (length * unit weight)", and all the other information the members have on them. The Item details can be exported to Excel or csv format by right-clicking on the box in the upper left hand corner. The Item Browser displays non-graphical buisness data and has to convert the DataGroup info into the business item schema, so it does some processing when you access the items tools.

    Look for member length to be added to the DataGroup Explorer in the upcoming Update 2 release.

    When you publish to i-models, the quantites are published and can be reviewed in the i-models with the same Item Browser. The data can be exported for reporting using the i-model ODBC driver to retrieve the busisness . In a project workflow you can set up design review i-models that any team member can utilize.