How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Ryan Mann — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 16:24:14 GMT

Once the field has been setup and placed into each sheet (which can be done by copy and paste) then you can number all of the sheets with one operation, starting at any number you wish, using the Project Explorer. Ideally you would have that field put in when the sheets were created, but it wouldn't take all that long to copy that field into each sheet. Then you would have it all setup so if the sheet numbers ever need to change it would be easy to manage.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Lucilia — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 16:16:59 GMT

This is a problem when you need to number 200 sheets starting from 450.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Ryan Mann — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 16:13:30 GMT

Are you putting your sheet number for each sheet into this location on the model properties?

Whatever number you put in that spot and then use a field to point to that model property will show that sheet number. It's also best to have the "Update Fields Automatically" option turned on.

That will work for getting the page numbers on the sheets, but I'll couldn't get the Print Organizer to pull those number out to use in file names.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Lucilia — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 16:06:47 GMT

It didn't work for me. All sheets show the same sheet number.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Ryan Mann — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 16:55:32 GMT

I'm not sure what you mean by this. Linking to the sheet number field is getting the number stored in that field for that particular sheet model. You can have sheet models in different files if you wish though. To say it another way, each sheet model you would print stores it's own sheet number regardless of which file it's in. The benefit of doing it this way is you can manage all of numbers in one place by adding all of the sheet models in your set to the Project Explorer.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Lucilia — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 16:21:17 GMT

What I have noticed is order to use Sheet Number field in model properties, the sheets model need to be in the same file, what's is not the case.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Ryan Mann — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 15:54:37 GMT

If you are wanting to put sheet numbers in the drawings I would suggest using a text field linked to the Sheet Number field in model properties. You do have to set each model to be a sheet model to have that field available, but after you have it setup it's easy to set and change page numbers on a whole set with the Project Explorer. I think you'll have much better luck with that than trying to use text substitutions and named expressions.

What I was trying to do here was get the number stored in the Sheet Number field out to use in generating the file names. Sadley for some reason I never could get it to work like that and had to use a print counter method to do it.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Lucilia — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 15:40:09 GMT

Hi,

I'm using print organizer to put sheet numbers in my project. It worked ok using text substitutions if starts on 1. How can I number it starting from 200? I tried some the answers here, it didn't work for me, instead of numbers is showing the replacement text. In my named expressions symbol sets doesn't have the option PrintSet. Any suggestion?

Using SS4 v08.11.09.832.

Thank you.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Ryan Mann — Fri, 13 Oct 2017 15:13:29 GMT

I do verify this as the answer to why it wasn't working for me. However I will say that I don't agree with the designed functionality which requires that boundary to be turned on for a sheet model to retain its "sheet" status. The model has been designated as a sheet model in the model properties and I see no reason why it should be dependent on that shape. The Sheet Name and Number fields exist whether that boundary is turned on or off so why not let the Print Organizer find them when it loads anything from a model designated as a Sheet Model?

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Ed Yepes — Fri, 13 Oct 2017 15:02:44 GMT

With Ryan's help we have found the cause of the problem. The Sheet Model property "Display Sheet Boundary" had been turned off which makes the Sheet Model a Design Model therefore "Sheet Number" or Sheet Name" are not available to retrieve through the named expression.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Ryan Mann — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 19:29:47 GMT

I still can't get the print organizer to pull sheet numbers and a new wrinkle is I would like to to pull the Sheet Names as well and it won't do that either. It pulls the model name instead of the sheet name. In other words PrintDefinition.MasterModelName and PrintDefinition.SheetName both return the same value from the Model Name field even when I know they aren't the same in each field.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Ryan Mann — Tue, 12 Sep 2017 13:44:43 GMT

Back at this again too see if I can figure out why the the PrintDefinition.SheetNumber expression won't work for me. Any ideas what I can try or what I might have wrong? No matter what I have tried it always just shows "0". Even if I simplify it and make the default print definition name expression simply "PrintDefinition.SheetNumber" all I get returned is "0" regardless of what is set in the Sheet Number field of the model properties.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Ryan Mann — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 13:03:03 GMT

This video explains it pretty well.

https://youtu.be/_LaSDZc31yA

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Lorys — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 10:11:45 GMT

[quote user="Ryan Mann"]The problem with that is being able to re-number sheets when they need to change due to added or removed sheets. I'm using the Sheet number field because they can easily and quickly be re-numbered using the Project Explorer.

[/quote]

Can you demonstrate how to do that in project explorer?

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Ryan Mann — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 14:09:12 GMT

The problem with that is being able to re-number sheets when they need to change due to added or removed sheets. I'm using the Sheet number field because they can easily and quickly be re-numbered using the Project Explorer.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Lorys — Sun, 18 Jun 2017 05:45:54 GMT

Wouldn't it just be easier if you renamed the models to the sheet number ands then use model name as part of your pdf name, similar to the way out autocad cousins work, they name the sheet models drg file name/ number - sheet number?

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Andrew Edge — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 19:49:05 GMT

No, the sheet number is cached in the print definition (along with hundreds of other bits of design data) but not made available as a Print Organizer column.

If you're using fixed print definitions and have updated your print definitions (or created new ones) after setting the sheet number in the model properties (and saving the DGN), then I don't have an explanation for why your expression is not working. It did work for me when I tested it.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Ryan Mann — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 18:49:43 GMT

I am not using variable print definitions. I noticed when I turn on "View All Print Definitions" and look at all the columns available that Sheet Number isn't on the list. Seems like it should be in there for this to work?

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Andrew Edge — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 17:24:14 GMT

Are you using variable print definitions? If so, the PrintDefinition.SheetNumber symbol will not evaluate properly in V8i as there is no design state cache in the print definition to draw from. Fixed print definitions are required for that workflow in V8i. In CONNECT Edition, the symbol evaluates as expected using either fixed or variable print definitions.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Ryan Mann — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 15:41:22 GMT

I put the same expression into the the Output File Names, made PDF's and get the same result as what is displayed in the Print Organizer.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Andrew Edge — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 15:17:10 GMT

There is a difference between the print definition names (which are seen in the Print Organizer tree view and you've depicted in your screenshot) and the output file names. They are controlled by different expressions with separate Print Organizer menu items.

Performing an "Update from design" action is all that is required to get the new sheet number from the DGN into the Print Organizer output file name, because the file name is constructed just prior to printing. The print definition name (which is also used as the bookmark name in a multi-page PDF) is not normally recalculated after the print definition is created. However, you can force the print definition name to be rebuilt by first performing an Properties (or print style) "update from design" (to get the current DGN sheet number into the print defintion cached data), followed by "Edit / Rename by Expression" with all the print definitions selected.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Ryan Mann — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 14:49:24 GMT

I must have something set wrong then. It doesn't work for me. All it will show in the print organizer is a "0" no matter what I do. I have done like you said to Update from design file and even tried creating a new pset. These sheets should be 0001,0002 & 0003 based on the numbers in my sheet properties. I can get it to work if I use PrintDefinition.FolderPrintDefNumber, but that relies on having all of the sheets in the folder. That may work most of the time and I will use it for cross sections where all of the sheets are in one model, but I'd rather have it pull the stored sheet number from the other models if I can figure out how to make it work.

RE: How do I get sheet numbers into the files names on my prints using print organizer?

Andrew Edge — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 14:18:03 GMT

Your expression worked as expected for me. By chance are you seeing the zero sheet number in the Named Expression dialog "Test" field? If so, that's expected. For technical reasons, to improve performance and MicroStation startup time, the Named Expression dialog is not linked to the printing system and 'live' data is not accessible. The PrintSet and PrintDefinition symbols evaluate to "[<symbol name>]" for string types and zero for numeric types. The Named Expression dialog Test button can be used to validate the syntax of the expression.

If you are seeing the zero sheet numbers in the Print Organizer Output File Names / Preview window (or in the output file names themselves), then the cause is likely outdated information in the print definition. When using fixed print definitions, when the print definition is created Print Organizer queries everything it needs from the DGN (view geometry, model/sheet info, etc.) and stores it in the print definition embedded in the PSET. That allows operations such as changing the print size and scale, switching views, etc. to be performed without requiring a time-consumating DGN reload in the background process. All of the values in the PrintDefinition symbol set are taken from this cached data. If you have changed the sheet number in the DGN model properties after creating the print definition, then PrintDefinition.SheetNumber will continue to evaluate to the old value. The solution is to run the "Update from design file" command from the Properties / Advanced dialog, or apply a print style where 'Update from design file' is checked.

In MS V8i, that's the only option because the ActiveFile symbols cannot be used in the Print Organizer file name expression for you reason you observed. In MS CONNECT Edition, the construction of the Print Organizer output file name has changed such that the ActiveFile symbols can be used. This renders the PrintDefinition.SheetNumber symbol obsolete for the most part.