Notation Menus

This section discusses changes and enhancements that have been made to the various overwrite and flyout menus for the NOTATION tools.

TEXT Overwrite Menu		TEXT Main Flyout Menu
TEXT Status Menus





Special Features:

• The TEXT menu layout was revised to allow more placement and editing functions to be included.
  
  
• The overwrite and status menus were enhanced to support the functions provided by the optional ARRISplus module. (See discussion below.)
  
  
• Snap flyout menus were added as right-click options for many more TEXT placement commands.
  
  
• All of the commands contained on the TEXT TOOLS pop-up menu (with the exception of ASSIGN TRUE TYPE FONTS) have now been incorporated directly onto the TEXT menu.
  
  
• The TEXT flyout menu was redesigned and significantly expanded.
  
  
• The following tools were added to the TEXT overwrite menu:
  
  

  New Menu Button	Right-Click Function
  1-POINT TEXT WITH BORDER	Display SNAP Flyout Menu
  2-POINT TEXT WITH BORDER	Display SNAP Flyout Menu
  1-POINT PARA. WITH BORDER & TARGET	Display SNAP Flyout Menu
  2-POINT PARA. WITH BORDER & TARGET	Display SNAP Flyout Menu
  SPELLING CHECK	Display SPELL CHECK CONFIG Menu
  ALIGN TEXT	Display SNAP Flyout Menu
  CHANGE CASE: SINGLE	CHANGE CASE: AREA IN
  GROUP PARAGRAPH	Same
  UNGROUP PARAGRAPH: SINGLE	UNGROUP PARAGRAPH: AREA IN

• The following tools were added to the TEXT status menus:
  
  

  New Menu Button	Right-Click Function
  TOGGLE SPELL CHK MODE	Start A SPELLING CHECK Session





Text Tools Menu:

TEXT TOOLS Menu




This menus is displayed by clicking on the TOOLS button. All of the functions on the standard ARRIS TEXT TOOLS menu were previously migrated to the ARRIS++ TEXT overwrite menu and have therefore been eliminated from this menu. The :ttfonts command, which converts a TrueType font into an ARRIS *.lt font, was introduced in ARRIS 2001 but was not accessible from any menu. It is now included here.

The REPAIR PARA TEXT ON LAYER tools are an ARRISplus feature and are described below under the section titled: Paragraph Text Diagnostic and Repair.





Text Toolbar Assignment:

On the TEXT SELECT menu, selecting the TOOLBAR button produces the following prompt:


 TEXT SELECT TOOLBAR Button Prompt

This new prompt offers a choice of text placement commands to be associated with the specified text style. Each command will automatically load the text status menu so that text parameters may be reviewed and adjusted. The desired option may be selected using the mouse or indicated by entering the associated number from the keyboard. An appropriate button label will be placed on the toolbar to describe the option selected.





ARRISplus Features:

If the optional ARRISplus module is installed, then the following features are available:


• Spelling Check:
  
  The text status menus have been enhanced to include a button that is used to display and set the spelling check mode.
  
  

  Spell Check Active

  Spell Check Inactive

  
  

  If the ARRISplus module is installed on the system and currently loaded, then the spell checking mode (lower box) will be displayed in the normal background color. If ARRISplus is not currently active, then the box will be greyed out to indicate that spell checking cannot currently be performed.

  To check the spelling of some text, first click on the box to toggle the display to the desired mode.
  
  

  Single Mode

  Area Mode

  All Mode

  
  

  Select single to check individual lines of text, area to check all text contained within a specified area, or all to check all text on the drawing.

  Spell Check

  When the desired mode is set, click on the SPELLING CHECK button on the overwrite menu, or right-click on either of the SPELL CHK boxes on the status menu to start a spell checking session.

   SPELLING Menu on the UNIX Platform   (Windows Menu May Differ)

  Right-clicking on either the SPELLING CHECK button on the overwrite menu or on the SETUP button will display the SPELL CHECK CONFIG pop-up menu which provides options to change the language dictionary being used, adjust the spelling options and configure the driver program used to check the spelling.
  
  
   SPELL CHECK CONFIG Menu
  

  Refer to the ARRISplus documentation for additional information on how to fully utilize this tool.
  
  

• Paragraph Text Diagnostic and Repair:
  
  
   Paragraph Text Diagnostic & Repair Tools

  At the bottom of the TEXT TOOLS menu, a set of additional commands have been provided which can diagnose and repair problems with paragraph text on a layer-by-layer basis. For general information regarding the use of these tools see Diagnose and Repair Tools. Briefly, these tools perform the following functions:

  DIAGNOSE: Generate a diagnostic report analyzing the state of the paragraphs on the specified layer. The results are displayed in a pop-up menu where any paragraph defects will be listed. Use the REPAIR tool to make corrections.

  REPAIR: Initiate a repair session for all paragraphs on the specified layer. Once the repairs have been made, the results are displayed and another prompt asks to confirm acceptance of the modifications to the patterns. Answering no at his point will revert the layer's contents back to its original state.

  UNGROUP: This tool will break all paragraphs on the specified layer into individual lines of text. Leader lines and enclosing text boxes will be converted into simple line segments. Once the ungrouping has been completed, the results are displayed and another prompt asks to confirm acceptance of the modifications to the text. Answering no at this point will revert the layer's contents back to its original state.

  Left-clicking on the DIAGNOSE, REPAIR or UNGROUP buttons will operate exclusively on paragraph text, while a right-click on any of these boxes runs a generalized version of the layer repair command that can be applied to either opcodes, patterns, paragraph text, zones or all entities together.

LABELS -- MARKERS Pop-up Menu  LABELS -- MARKERS Main Flyout Menu




Special Features:

• Added the EDIT LABEL TEXT box to the LABELS -- MARKERS pop-up menu. This loads the TEXT overwrite menu and automatically initiates the EDIT SINGLE TEXT command.
  
  
• Added a command to reinitialize the LABELS -- MARKERS pop-up menu by right-clicking on the menu's titlebar.
  
  
• The LABELS -- MARKERS pop-up menu may now be repositioned on the screen by right-clicking on the menu titlebar's X icon.
  
  
• Created a new LABELS -- MARKERS main flyout menu as there is none in standard ARRIS.
  
  
• On the LABELS -- MARKERS main flyout menu, selecting the SECTION MARKER tool will use an unfilled arrowhead and a bubble with upper and lower text sections. Right-clicking on this button will place the same marker using a filled arrowhead.
  
  
• On the LABELS -- MARKERS main flyout menu, selecting the LEVEL MARKER tool will place the level marker to the left of the specified text while right-clicking will place the level marker to the right of the text.

Automatic Notes is a new feature introduced with ARRIS 8.0 that provides a means for creating a catalog of construction notes which can then be selected and placed on the drawing as either standard text or as keynote symbols which reference the actual text residing elsewhere in a keynote legend.

The initial implementation of Automatic Notes was very rough and a number of serious shortcomings have been addressed by the changes noted below. As always, detailed on-line help has been provided for each of the following menus and every menu button has been redesigned to support right-click customization.

NOTES Overwrite Menu		NOTES Main Flyout Menu




Special Features:

• The NOTES overwrite menu layout was revised to provide a cleaner appearance and more consistent operation with the rest of the ARRIS system.
  
  
• The titlebar of the NOTES overwrite menu was fixed so that it will toggle back to the previous overwrite menu, similar to other ARRIS menus. Right-clicking on the titlebar will execute the notes initialization command which can be used to refresh the status menu should it ever become garbled.
  
  
• A NOTE CATALOG box was added to the menu to display the name of the current (active) notes catalog. Clicking on this box toggles the display of the CATALOG NOTE PLACEMENT pop-up menu which allows a different note catalog to be selected. Right-clicking on this box toggles the display of the NOTE CATALOG MANAGER pop-up menu which allows note catalogs to be created, reviewed and/or changed.
  
  
• The PARAMETER SETUP, CATALOG SELECT and CATALOG MANAGER functions were assigned to the standard buttons located at the bottom of the NOTES overwrite menu.
  
  
• A note-specific QUERY button was added to the NOTES overwrite menu.
  
  
• A SPELL CHECKING button was added to the NOTES overwrite menu. If the optional ARRISplus module is installed on the system and currently loaded, then this function will allow text on the drawing to be verified for proper spelling. This is identical to the function found on the TEXT overwrite menu.
  
  
• A new NOTES flyout menu was created as there was none provided in standard ARRIS.
  
  
• When placing a note using CATALOG SELECT, the prompts for note placement now repeats, allowing multiple copies of the selected note to be located on the drawing without having to constantly reselect the note from the catalog.
  
  
• When locating a note on the drawing, the prompts for left and right leader line placement have been revised so that, regardless of the leader settings on the status menu, it is now possible to skip the placement of the left and/or right leader simply by pressing <CR>. This means that you can specify the type of leader line(s) desired on the status menu and then do not have to constantly be changing them between each note's placement.




Previous Note:

There are many situations where an adjustment to ARRIS interrupts note placement, making it necessary to then reselect the note from the catalog. To make it easier to restart, a new PREV NOTE button has been added.



Inactive PREV NOTE Button

Typical PREV NOTE Message




Selecting this button will display the previous keynote number and note text on the message line and immediately initiate note placement. Right-clicking on this button will display the number and text of the previous note without initiating placement mode.

If no note has been previously selected, then this button will be greyed out (as seen above) to indicate that it is inactive. Any attempt to select the button while in an inactive state will cause an error message to be displayed.





Default Notes Parameters:

The DEFAULT NOTE PARAMETERS pop-up menu was revised to provide a better appearance and significantly improved operation. The menu's title was changed to better describe its function.


 DEFAULT NOTE PARAMETERS Pop-up Menu

Special Features:

• Right-clicking on the [X] icon in the upper-right corner allows the NOTE PARAMETERS menu to be repositioned on the screen.
  
  
• The original ambiguous Apply button has been changed to SAVE in order to more clearly indicate its function. This button saves the current note parameters to disk so that they become the default configuration for future note placement. If unsaved changes have been made to the default parameter configuration, the SAVE button will display in yellow to indicate this condition. Left-clicking on this button will display a confirmation prompt while right-clicking will bypass the prompt and immediately save the current parameter configuration to disk.
  
  
• To help avoid the accidental loss of work, if there are unsaved parameter changes and the DEFAULT NOTE PARAMETERS menu is attempted to be exited, a prompt will be displayed allowing an appropriate action (CANCEL, SAVE CHANGES or EXIT (NO SAVE) to be taken.
  
  
• A new EDIT CURRENT CATALOG PARAMETERS button has been added. Selecting the button dismisses this menu and displays the NOTE CATALOG MANAGER PARAMETERS pop-up menu which allows the note parameters for the current catalog to be reviewed. If the user has write permission for note catalogs, the default note parameters can be overridden for any individual catalog.
  
  
• A new RESET button was added to the menu to allow the note parameters to be immediately reset to the default configuration stored on disk. Left-clicking on this button will display a confirmation prompt while right-clicking will bypass the prompt and immediately reset all default parameters.
  
  
• In general, prompting for most parameter input was improved.
  
  
• Previously, it was necessary to guess at the desired color and enter its number from the keyboard. This serious limitation has been eliminated and the SELECT DESIRED COLOR pop-up menu is now always displayed when prompting for a color.
  
  
• Originally, font selection was not properly implemented with at most ten fonts were being offered. This bug has been corrected and now all available fonts are displayed for selection from a scrolling prompt list.
  
  
• Full coordination was provided between this menu and the expanded status menu seen below.




Notes Catalog Manager Parameters:

The NOTE CATALOG MANAGER PARAMETERS menu was completely revised to provide a better appearance and significantly improved operation.


 NOTE CATALOG MANAGER PARAMETERS Pop-up Menu

Special Features:

• The menu was reformatted for improved readability and consistency. Various formatting errors were also corrected.
  
  
• Complete on-line help has been provided.
  
  
• A new EDIT button has been added at the upper-right corner of the DEFAULT NOTE PARAMETERS box. Selecting this button will dismiss this menu and display the DEFAULT NOTE PARAMETERS pop-up menu where the default parameter values can be modified and saved - assuming you have write permission for note catalogs.
  
  
• The original ambiguous Apply button has been changed to SAVE in order to more clearly indicate its function. This button saves the current catalog, including any customized parameters, to disk so that they become the default configuration for future notes selected from that catalog. If unsaved changes have been made to the current catalog, the SAVE button will display in yellow to indicate this condition.
  
  
• All prompts were significantly improved to be more consistent with the remainder of the ARRIS system. Each prompt now displays the current value as a default response which is retained if <CR> is entered.
  
  
• All color prompts now immediately display the color selection menu rather than forcing the user to first select the MENU option.
  
  
• Support was added for the ARRIS++ enhanced color selection menus.
  
  
• The prompt for the text font has been fixed to allow all active fonts to be displayed and selected rather than just the first ten.




Notes Status Menu:

The notes status menu (NOTESTAT) was completely revised to make it much more useful. Previously, there was no indication as to the status of the notes being placed on the drawing since all of the important information was hidden on either the DEFAULT NOTE PARAMETERS or NOTES CATALOG MANAGER PARAMETERS menus. The status menu was redesigned to allow the most important parameters to be displayed and more easily adjusted.


 NOTES Status Menu

Special Features:

• The redundant CAPS mode button was eliminated from the menu. This was not necessary since in ARRIS++ the current CAPS mode is always displayed to the left of the toolbar menu.
  
  
• The status menu has been divided into a number of sections, displaying various note modes and parameter settings. Starting from the left is the parameters mode followed by the note type. The next section to the right controls the keynote symbol and text note frame parameters. This is followed by a section for text parameters and then another section for leader line parameters. Finally, there is spelling check.
  
  
• The PARAMETERS box displays either <DEFAULT> if the current note catalog is using all of the default note parameter settings, or displays <CATALOG> if the current note catalog uses custom parameter settings that override the system defaults. Selecting this box causes the NOTE CATALOG MANAGER PARAMETERS pop-up menu to be displayed where both the default and the catalog's custom settings can be reviewed and managed.
  
  
• The NOTE TYPE button toggles between TEXT and KEYNOTE mode.
  
  
• Frame Parameters Section:
  • The FRAME button toggles between on and off and determines whether a rectangular box (frame) will be drawn around a text-type note.
    
    
  • The MASK button toggles between on and off and determines whether an invisible solid fill pattern will be placed below the keynote symbol or note text in order to mask out any other existing graphic entities.
    
    
  • The KEYNOTE SYMBOL box displays the RI to be used when placing keynotes. This may not be changed from the status menu.
    
    
  • The PEN and COL boxes indicate how the keynote symbol or text frame will be drawn. These may not be changed from the status menu.
    
    
  • The SIZE box indicates the size of the keynote symbol RI. This may not be changed from the status menu.
  
  
  
• Text Parameters Section:
  • The TEXT FONT box indicates the font used to draw the text note or the label within the keynote symbol. This may not be changed from the status menu.
    
    
  • The PEN and COL and SIZE boxes indicate how the note text or keynote label will be drawn. These may not be changed from the status menu.
  
  
  
• Leader Line Parameters Section:
  • The LEFT and RIGHT boxes indicate the type of leader line to be used to the left and right of the note text or keynote symbol. Clicking on either of these these boxes toggles between NONE, a straight arrow, a two-segmented arrow with a bend, a two-segmented arrow with a bend and multiple pointers or a curving arrow. Right-clicking on either box will cycle through the leader styles in the reverse direction.
    
    
  • The PEN and COL boxes indicate how the leader lines will be drawn. These may not be changed from the status menu.
    
    
  • The ARROW box indicates the type of pointer symbol to be used. The size of the pointer symbol is indicated in the lower box. These may not be changed from the status menu.
  
  
  
• The SPELL CHK box indicates the spelling check mode. Clicking on this box toggles between single, area or all. To initiate a spelling check, select the button on the NOTES overwrite menu or right-click on this box. (Note that for spell checking to work, the optional ARRISplus module must be installed. Click on the links for more information about spell checking or ARRISplus.)
  
  
• The status menu has been fully coordinated with the DEFAULT NOTE PARAMETERS and NOTE CATALOG MANAGER PARAMETERS pop-up menus.




Notes Color Support:

The ARRIS NOTES system was enhanced to provide support for the high resolution 256-color colormap introduced in ARRIS 8.1.


 NOTES supporting 256 colors



Notes Options:

If the optional ARRISplus module is installed, then another keynoting option, KEYNOTE SPEC, is available. In addition, some firms utilize their own custom notes application. The ARRIS++ OPTIONS menu offers a means of controlling what notation application is displayed when the NOTES button is selected using either a left or right-click. See that section of the manual for additional information.

REPORTS Overwrite Menu

REPORTS Main Flyout Menu




Special Features:

• The REPORTS overwrite and main flyout menus are totally new creations, providing a comprehensive set of ARRIS report features in a single, convenient location.
  
  
• When the REPORTS overwrite menu is loaded, a new REPORTS status menu is displayed. There are no parameters to display for reports so this menu is intentionally empty.
  
  
• The following tools were added to the REPORTS menu:
  
  

  New Menu Button	Right-Click Function
  INITIALIZE FOR NEW COUNT	Same
  COUNT WALLS, DOORS & WINDOWS	Same
  QUANTITY AND COSTS FOR DOORS	Same
  QUANTITY AND COSTS FOR WINDOWS	Same
  LIST WALLS	Same
  LIST DOORS & WINDOWS	Same
  GENERATE DOOR SCHEDULE	Same
  GENERATE WINDOW SCHEDULE	Same
  COUNT ATTRIBUTES	Same
  COUNT SMART COLUMNS	Same
  REPORT DESIGNER	Same

DIMENSIONS Overwrite Menu

DIMENSIONS Main Flyout Menu




Special Features:

• The DIMENSIONS menu layout was revised to create separate drawing and editing sections and to allow additional tools to be incorporated.
  
  
• Snap flyout menus were added as right-click options for all DIMENSION placement commands.
  
  
• The DIMENSIONS flyout menu was redesigned and significantly expanded.
  
  
• All tools from the pop-up PLACE DIMENSIONS menu were incorporated onto the DIMENSIONS menu where they can be seen and more conveniently used.
  
  
• The following tools were added to the DIMENSIONS menu:
  
  

  New Menu Button	Right-Click Function
  AUTOMATIC WALL DIMENSIONING	Same
  DRAW CIRCLE CENTER LINES	Same
  MARK LINE BETWEEN 2 CIRCLE CENTERS	Same
  CHANGE TEXT STRING: SINGLE	CHANGE TEXT STRING: AREA IN
  CHANGE TEXT LOCATION: SINGLE	CHANGE TEXT LOCATION: AREA IN
  FIX TEXT ROTATION: SINGLE	FIX TEXT ROTATION: AREA IN





Leader Line Dimensioning:

 Leader Line Button

As the button image indicates, the dimension leader line once had the ability to have a dimension or text string associated with it. This feature was removed from ARRIS many years ago, but fortunately, it has now been restored. When this feature is activated, the command will ask for the three points that define the leader line and then will prompt:

Dimension text?   def: NONE    -MEASURE-   OTHER

At this point, any alpha-numeric text string to associate with the leader may be entered, or by simply pressing <CR> the leader line will be placed with no accompanying text. If -MEASURE- is selected, then the command will prompt:

First measure point:
F5:select line,   <CR>:enter distance

Here, any two points on the drawing may be selected and the measured distance between them will be included with the leader. Additionally, if the mouse is positioned near an existing line on the drawing and F5 is pressed, the length of that line will be measured and included. If <CR> is entered, the prompt will change to:

Distance:

and a value will be read from the keyboard and treated as a numeric distance for inclusion with the leader line.

The command then repeats.

This restored functionality is controlled by an option which is set on the ARRIS++ OPTIONS menu. For backwards compatibility, if this option is set to NO, then the leader will continue to function as a simple pointer. Setting the option to YES will activate all of the measurement capabilities described above.





Manual Dimensioning:

• An important enhancement provided by Steve Garman (scgar@harriman.com) significantly improved the prompting options for dimensioning. Steve's idea has been extended to provide a significant customization capability for firms and individual users.

  If the TX MODE button on the text status menu is set to manual, then once a dimension line has been placed, ARRIS++ will prompt as follows:

  
   Manual Dimensioning Prompt

  As can be seen, in addition to the standard assoc: (associative) and manual: modes, many additional options are provided to address specialized notational requirements.

  If <CR> is entered or the default assoc: option is selected, the current dimension string will be made associative. If the manual: option is selected, then the distance shown will be entered as fixed text and the dimension string will not be associative. If any of the subsequent option: choices are selected, the specified value will be used. In addition, any other desired dimension text or string may be entered from the keyboard (and the current CAPS mode will be honored).

  As the message line indicates, If &l (ampersand-ell) appears in the string, it will be replaced by an associative dimension value. Also, a ^ (caret) may be used to indicate that the trailing information is to appear on a second line below the preceding text.

  The assoc: and manual: prompt options are always presented, but the remaining option: strings may be customized as can be seen in the following example:
  
  
   Customized Dimensioning Prompt

  To customize a set of prompts, first copy the default prompt file located at $ARRIS/ap/cjsa.vn/cjmenus.ap/cj_mandim.tx and place it in either STD:config.dir/cj_mandim.tx for office-wide modifications or in USR:config.dir/cj_mandim.tx for individual changes. Next, edit the file and follow the instructions included there. Up to twelve different prompts may be specified (anything over twelve will be ignored). Once the modified file has been saved ARRIS will begin using the new customized prompts.

  Here is the cj_mandim.tx file that produced the customized prompt seen above:

  #--------------------------------------------------------------------------- # ARRIS++ MANUAL DIMENSIONING OPTIONS #--------------------------------------------------------------------------- # FORMAT: upper_dim_string[^lower_dim_string] # # NOTES: * Comment lines begin with '#' and are ignored # * There can be up to 12 option lines specified here # * Use '&l' to indicate location for associative dimension string # * Only one '&l' is allowed per option line # * Use '^' to indicate the start of text below the dimension line # * Don't use '^' or ';' in either the upper or lower strings #--------------------------------------------------------------------------- &l +/- EQ &l^SLAB LENGTH &l^PIECE LENGTH &l^FIELD VERIFY &l^EXACT

  Note that when searching for the cj_mandim.tx file, the user's config.dir is examined first. If the file is not found in that location, then the standards directory is checked. If no customization file is found, then the built-in default prompts will be used.

  PS: Thanks to Steve for his valuable contribution.





Dimension Toolbar Assignment:

On the DIMENSION SELECT menu, selecting the TOOLBAR button produces the following prompt:


 DIMENSION SELECT TOOLBAR Button Prompt

This new prompt offers a choice of dimension placement commands to be associated with the specified dimensioning style. Each command will automatically load the dimension status menu so that dimension parameters may be reviewed and adjusted. The desired option may be selected using the mouse or indicated by entering the appropriate number from the keyboard. An associated describe the option selected.

PATTERNS Overwrite Menu

PATTERNS Main Flyout Menu




Special Features:

• The PATTERNS menu layout was revised to allow more editing functions to be included.
  
  
• Snap flyout menus were added as right-click options for all PATTERNS placement commands.
  
  
• The PATTERNS flyout menu was redesigned and significantly expanded.
  
  
• There was an annoying problem that has been fixed. Previously, if a RI FILL was selected from the PATTERNS menu and then later a different repeated item was used from the REPEATED ITEMS menu, upon returning to the PATTERNS menu one would find that the previously selected RI for the RI FILL had been changed. Of course the same problem also happened in reverse. There is now some autonomy for both the PATTERNS and the REPEATED ITEMS menus as each remembers the RI name and library being used and automatically resets the proper values upon returning to that menu.
  
  
• The UPDATE DISPLAY tool operates on a single pattern. A new right-click command was added to make this function operate on all patterns at once.
  
  
• The CHANGE PATTERN tool operates on a single pattern. A new right-click command was added to make this function operate on all patterns within a specified area.
  
  
• Fixed a bug where the RI status menu was being loaded over the pattern status menu when a new pattern RI was selected from the RI SELECT pop-up menu.
  
  
• The following tools were added to the PATTERN menu:
  
  

  New Menu Button	Right-Click Function
  CHANGE BOUNDARY: SINGLE	CHANGE BOUNDARY: AREA IN
  CHANGE PLANE: SINGLE	CHANGE PLANE: AREA IN
  INSERT POINT IN BOUNDARY	Same
  MOVE POINT ON BOUNDARY	STRETCH PATTERN: AREA IN
  ERASE PATTERN: SINGLE	ERASE PATTERN: AREA IN
  MOVE PATTERN: SINGLE	MOVE PATTERN: AREA IN

  
  
  




Patterns Status Menu:

• The PATTERN status menu has been completely redeigned to take advantage of many new features that have been added ARRIS++. The first thing to note is that when clicking on the PATTERN TYPE button to scroll between LINES, RI FILL and SOLID FILL, the entire status menu now changes to reflect the applicable parameters for the selected type.

  PATTERNS Status Menu: LINES Mode

  PATTERNS Status Menu: RI FILL Mode

  PATTERNS Status Menu: SOLID FILL Mode

  Also observe in the images above that as the PATTERN TYPE changes, the PEN, COLOR, SCALE, ROTATION and BOUNDARY DISPLAY MODE are all updated automatically. This means that three different pattern settings (one of each type) are now remembered and may be used concurrently.
  
  

• When a pattern style is loaded, the STYLE NAME is now displayed on the status menu to make it clear what pattern is currently being used. The name will be displayed in the standard data field color to indicate that all of the style's parameters are properly set. If some of these parameter values are manually changed as PEN and COLOR have been in the following example, then the style name is redisplayed with a shadow background to indicate this state. These new settings will be remembered for that pattern type until changed again.

  
   PATTERNS Status Menu: Style Parameters Changed

  All of the original style parameters may be quickly reset by right-clicking on the lower box containing the style name ("sky" in this case). If certain critical pattern parameters are changed, or if new parameters are set (possibly by matching an existing pattern of the screen), then the style name will be set to NONE and displayed on a shadow background as seen below.

  
   PATTERNS Status Menu: No Style

  Note that if an existing pattern is selected from the screen and Match Entity Parameters is selected, all parameters will be set on the status menu and the style name will always be set to NONE as a result of this operation.
  
  

• The pattern system now remembers the last six pattern styles used and will present these names when prompting for a new style to load. The pattern style may be changed by clicking on either of the STYLE NAME boxes. Selecting the MENU prompt option, or right-clicking on the upper STYLE NAME label box, will display the PATTERN CREATE pop-up menu where additional pattern styles may be selected or created.

  
   PATTERNS Status Menu: Style Name Prompt
  
  

• The pattern scaling command has been enhanced. Now both LINES and RI FILL patterns can be rescaled from the status menu. When a pattern style is loaded, it will display with a native scale of 1.0. Clicking on either of the SCALE boxes prompts for a new absolute scale factor.

  
   PATTERNS Status Menu: Scale Prompt

  Note that the 0.083, 0.333 and 0.667 scales can be useful in many cases when working in imperial units. For example, a tile pattern that was initially created at 1' square can be quickly rescaled to either 1", 4" or 8" square using these values.

  The MULTIPLIER option may be used to adjust the current scale by some multiple. For example, if the current scale was 6.0 and a multiplier of 0.25 was entered, a new scale factor of 1.5 would be set.

  Right-clicking on either of the SCALE boxes will immediately reset the scale back to 1.0.
  
  

• The pattern rotation command has been enhanced. Now both LINES and RI FILL patterns can be rotated from the status menu. When a pattern style is loaded, it will display with a native rotation assigned at the time of the style's creation. Clicking on either of the ROTATION boxes prompts for a new absolute rotation value.

  
   PATTERNS Status Menu: Rotation Prompt

  The INCREMENT option may be used to adjust the current rotation by some relative amount. For example, if the current rotation was 63.65 and an increment of -12.25 was entered, a new rotation value of 51.4 would be set.

  Right-clicking on either of the ROTATION boxes will immediately reset the rotation back to 0.0.
  
  

• When there is no pattern style active, there are no base scale or rotation values to display on the status menu. In this case the labels "(rescale)" and "(increment)" are shown as seen in the following image.

  
   PATTERNS Status Menu: Style NONE

  Selecting the SCALE or ROTATION boxes will always prompt for a scale multiplier or rotation increment value to be applied to the current pattern parameters. The pattern will be adjusted accordingly, but no values will be displayed on the status menu.

  Notes:

  • When using pattern styles, they should all come from the active style catalog as seen on the PATTERN CREATE menu. If the catalog is changed after a style is loaded, ARRIS will no longer be able to locate that style's parameters if requested to reload the style.




Pattern Parameter Matching:

Detailed investigations were conducted into how pattern parameters were to be matched and loaded and a number of changes were made to make this feature more predictable and reliable. However, to fully understand why things work the way they do, let's review how pattern styles are created.

On the PATTERN CREATE menu, when the NEW command is selected, ARRIS prompts for a name and description for the new pattern style and then asks:

Save pen and color?   def: YES    yes    no

If YES is selected, then the current pen and color will be saved with the pattern style and automatically reset when that style is later loaded. On the other hand, if NO is selected, then no color or pen will be remembered and that style will use whatever the current color and pen happen to be.


 Partial Pattern SELECT Menu for ARRIS Styles Catalog

In the image above, the solid fill patterns on the second row are all examples of pattern styles that were saved with their pen and color. Selecting these from the ARRIS Styles Catalog immediately sets the pen to 1 and the color to that shown. The first four patterns on the top row are examples of pattern styles where the pen and color were not saved. Therefore, they display in the menu using whatever the current color is (medium blue in this case) and will use the current pen and color when selected.

This is all fairly straightforward with one exception. There is a special case where a pattern may be created with the pen and/or color set to none. The use of none instructs ARRIS to render that pattern using the layer's default pen and/or color which can be specified on the LAYER menu. The problem is that on the PATTERN SELECT menu, these styles are being displayed using the current color rather than the default color and this can lead to great confusion.

For example, in the image above, the roof1 style did not have the pen/color saved, so when selected it will be placed on the drawing using the current pen/color values. However, the roof3 pattern was actually created with the pen and color both set to none. If this style is selected, the pattern will be created with the layer default pen and color which are probably not the same as the current pen and color. Go ahead and try it yourself! If you are not paying attention, it can be extremely confusing why the first style created a medium blue pattern while the second one did not!

I mention all this to show that this odd behavior is inherent in ARRIS and is not a bug in ARRIS++!





Insert Point:



In ARRIS 8.0, the :sip command was changed so that it no longer would allow a point to be inserted into a pattern boundary. While this problem appears to have been corrected in the 8.0.3 Update #1, this changes provided the catalyst for the creation of a new command that would provide an improved method for inserting points into patterns.

Typically, one or more points are inserted into a pattern boundary so that they can then be moved to a new location to change the profile. This resulted in a three-step process: 1. insert point(s); 2. move point(s); 3. update display so that pattern is shown filling the newly defined region. In addition, for patterns that did not display their boundary lines, it could require a bit of guesswork to determine where the perimeter actually was while inserting the new points and knowing what results were being achieved as the points were moved. All of these problems have been address by the new :cj_xh_sip command, available by clicking on the INSERT POINT button.


 INSERT POINT: Step #1

When the command is selected, it first prompts to select an existing pattern on the drawing.


 INSERT POINT: Step #2

When a pattern is selected, if the boundary is currently not displayed, it will be temporarily turned on for the duration of the command. The selected pattern is highlighted and the boundary lines are displayed in the original pattern color to make them easy to identify.

The second prompt asks for a location on the pattern boundary where a new point is to be inserted. Using the mouse, indicate the desired location.


 INSERT POINT: Step #3

The third prompt asks for the new location where this point is to be positioned. To skip this step and leave the point where it is, simply hit the <CR> key.

NOTE: It is possible to move an existing point rather than insert a new point by first selecting the existing point in step #2 using the F3 key and then moving it to a new location in this step.


 INSERT POINT: Step #4

The display of the pattern is immediately updated to reflect the new perimeter layout. The command now repeats, allowing additional points to be inserted into the selected pattern. When <CR> is entered at this prompt, a new pattern may be selected for modification.


 INSERT POINT: Step #5

When all work is completed on the current pattern, the original boundary condition is restored and the pattern is properly redisplayed. Special care has been taken to insure that the original pattern boundary condition is always properly reset, even if the command is interrupted, so that unintended corruption to the drawing are prevented.





Pattern Toolbar Assignment:

On the PATTERN SELECT menu, selecting the TOOLBAR button produces the following prompt:


 PATTERN SELECT TOOLBAR Button Prompt

This new prompt offers a choice of pattern placement commands to be associated with the specified pattern style. Each command will automatically load the pattern status menu so that pattern parameters may be reviewed and adjusted. The desired option may be selected using the mouse or indicated by entering the associated number from the keyboard. An appropriate button label will be placed on the toolbar to describe the option selected.





ARRISplus Features:

If the optional ARRISplus module is installed, then the following features are available:


• Pattern Geometry Editor:
  
  

  PATTERN GEOMETRY EDITOR Menu

  
  

  Clicking on the TOOLS button will display the PATTERN GEOMETRY EDITOR pop-up menu which provides a suite of enhanced editing tools for patterns. Refer to the ARRISplus documentation for additional information on how to fully utilize this tool.

• Pattern Diagnostic and Repair:
  
  
   Pattern Diagnosis & Repair Tools

  At the bottom of the PATTERN GEOMETRY EDITOR menu, a set of additional tools have been provided which can diagnose and repair problems with patterns on a layer-by-layer basis. For general information regarding the use of these tools see Diagnose and Repair Tools. Briefly, these tools perform the following functions:

  DIAGNOSE: Generate a diagnostic report analyzing the state of the patterns on the specified layer. The results are displayed in a pop-up menu where any pattern defects will be listed. Use the REPAIR tool to make corrections.

  REPAIR: Initiate a repair session for all patterns on the specified layer. Once the repairs have been made, the results are displayed and another prompt asks to confirm acceptance of the modifications to the patterns. Answering no at his point will revert the layer's contents back to its original state.

  UNGROUP: This tool will erase all patterns on the specified layer and the original pattern boundaries will be replaced by simple lines. These lines may later be used to manually reconstruct the patterns if desired.

  Left-clicking on the DIAGNOSE, REPAIR or UNGROUP buttons will operate exclusively on patterns, while a right-click on any of these boxes runs a generalized version of the layer repair command that can be applied to either opcodes, patterns, paragraph text, zones or all entities together.

ZONES Overwrite Menu		ZONES Main Flyout Menu
		Partial Zone Status Menu




Special Features:

• The ZONES menu layout was significantly revised to create separate drawing, editing and attribute sections and to allow many additional tools to be incorporated.
  
  
• Separate RUNNING LINE and CHASE BOUNDARY zone placement buttons were added in place of the original PLACE button.
  
  
• A snap flyout menu was added as right-click options for the RUNNING LINE placement command.
  
  
• Created a new ZONES flyout menu as there is none in standard ARRIS.
  
  
• As a reminder, the zone and attribute status menus were enhanced to display "<not set>" in bright red in the NAME, VALUE and TYPE boxes when no value has yet been entered.
  
  
• The following tools were added to the ZONES menu:
  
  

  New Menu Button	Right-Click Function
  MOVE TEXT	Same
  MOVE BOUNDARY POINT	Same
  ERASE ZONE: SINGLE	ERASE ZONE: AREA IN
  ADD/SUBTRACT EXISTING ZONE	Same
  CHANGE DISPLAY: SINGLE	CHANGE DISPLAY: AREA IN
  UPDATE ZONE	Same
  CHANGE TYPE: SINGLE	CHANGE TYPE: AREA IN
  CHANGE NAME: SINGLE	CHANGE NAME: AREA IN





ARRISplus Features:

If the optional ARRISplus module is installed, then the following features are available:


• Zone Geometry Editor:
  
  

  ZONE GEOMETRY EDITOR Menu

  
  

  Clicking on the TOOLS button will display the ZONE GEOMETRY EDITOR pop-up menu which provides a suite of enhanced editing tools for patterns. Refer to the ARRISplus documentation for additional information on how to fully utilize this tool.

• Zone Diagnostic and Repair:
  
  
   Zone Diagnosis & Repair Tools

  At the bottom of the ZONE GEOMETRY EDITOR menu, a set of additional tools have been provided which can diagnose and repair problems with zones on a layer-by-layer basis. For general information regarding the use of these tools see Diagnose and Repair Tools. Briefly, these tools perform the following functions:

  DIAGNOSE: Generate a diagnostic report analyzing the state of the zones on the specified layer. The results are displayed in a pop-up menu where any zone defects will be listed. Use the REPAIR tool to make corrections.

  REPAIR: Initiate a repair session for all zones on the specified layer. Once the repairs have been made, the results are displayed and another prompt asks to confirm acceptance of the modifications to the zones. Answering no at his point will revert the layer's contents back to its original state.

  UNGROUP: This tool will erase all zones on the specified layer and the original zone boundaries will be replaced by simple lines. These lines may later be used to manually reconstruct the zones if desired.

  Left-clicking on the DIAGNOSE, REPAIR or UNGROUP buttons will operate exclusively on zones, while a right-click on any of these boxes runs a generalized version of the layer repair command that can be applied to either opcodes, patterns, paragraph text, zones or all entities together.

RASTER Overwrite Menu		RASTER Main Flyout Menu
RASTER Status Menu




Special Features:

• The original RASTER menu was a pop-up, which was inconsistent with the menu design philosophy. ARRIS++ introduced a new RASTER overwrite menu which was later adopted by Sigma Design.
  
  
• The RASTER overwrite menu was completely redesigned for improved readability and use.
  
  
• The RASTER main flyout menu is a totally new addition.
  
  
• A new CREATE PDF CURRENT button was added which displays the EXPORT TO PDF pop-up menu, allowing the currently loaded sheet or drawing to be exported as a PDF file. This menu also allows existing PDF files to be displayed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Note that the EXPORT TO PDF menu is also available through the PLOT menu.
  
  
• A new CREATE PDF BATCH button was added which launches the RenderPlus PDF application module and displays the Create PDF File pop-up menu, allowing batch conversion of ARRIS drawings to the PDF format. Note that this function is currently only available on the Windows platform.
  
  
• Snap flyout menus were added as right-click options for the two raster entity placement commands.
  
  
• The raster status menu was modified to display "<no file set>" on a bright red background as a reminder that no raster image file has yet been selected for placement.

Notes:

• In ARRIS 8.1 a new RASTER BACKGROUND button was added to the MAIN menu. This has not been provided in ARRIS++ since it is fully redundant with the button on the RASTER menu.

ARRIS++ adds a new POINTS toolkit which provides a set of utilities used to manage and manipulate points (also known as symbols) within ARRIS. A new button under the NOTATION section of each of the application Main Menus provides access to the POINTS overwrite menu. As usual, right-clicking on the button displays the POINTS main flyout menu.

If the ARRIS++ Optional Sigmac Library is loaded, the mnemonic command :pt may also be used to load the POINTS overwrite menu.



POINTS Overwrite Menu		POINTS Main Flyout Menu
POINTS Status Menus





Standard Point Symbols:

All entities within ARRIS have points associated with their standard graphical display. Typically, these points are invisible (i.e., are symbol number 0) and there is no need for the user to be concerned with them. However, ARRIS occasionally gets into an improper state where these points begin to be displayed as visible symbols as can be seen in the image of the rectangle to the left. Should the need arise, a section of the POINTS status menu is devoted to managing these standard point symbols.




To avoid being distracted by unnecessary information, the left side of the POINTS status menu usually appear as follows:


 STANDARD POINT SYMBOL Partial Status Menu (Hidden)

However, clicking on the SHOW PARAMETERS button causes that section of the menu to display the point symbol parameters.


 STANDARD POINT SYMBOL Partial Status Menu (Displayed)

The default parameters for typical invisible points are shown here. If a non-standard parameter value is set, it will be displayed on a bright red background to warn of this condition, as seen for the rotation parameter in the following image.

If you really know what you are doing, it is possible to change any of these standard point symbol parameters by clicking on the appropriate box. For example, selecting the SYMBOL box results in the following prompt:


 Changing Standard Point Symbol

Note the warning message accompanying the prompt. This is a reminder that this is an unusual operation and should be performed with care.

The typical use for this menu is to check and reset the point symbol parameters back to their default setting should they somehow be changed. Each parameter can be reset to its default value by right-clicking on the desired box while all of the parameters can be immediately reset in one step by selecting the RESET button.

The point symbol parameters will continue to be displayed until the HIDE button is selected, returning this portion of the status menu back to its original display mode.




Reference Points:


 REFERENCE POINTS Partial Overwrite Menu

This section of the overwrite menu contains functions for managing reference points as follows:

BUTTON	SELECT	DESCRIPTION	MNEMONIC CMD *
NEW REF:	STD	Selecting this button allows the reference point to be set to a new location. Mnemonic: Think "n" for "New" Reference.	:nn
	RC	Right-clicking on this button causes the current reference point to momentarily flash if it is currently located within the graphic drawing area. If the reference point is not currently on the screen, a message will be displayed indicating this fact and the point's database coordinates will be displayed. Mnemonic: Think "n" for "New" Reference Display.	:nnn
DBL REF:	STD	Selecting this button allows the double-reference point to be set to the specified location. Mnemonic: Think "d" for "Double" Reference.	:dd
	RC	Right-clicking on this button causes the current double-reference point to momentarily flash if it is set and is currently located within the graphic drawing area. If the double-reference point is not set or is not currently on the screen, a message will be displayed indicating this fact and the point's database coordinates (if any) will be displayed. Mnemonic: Think "d" for "Double" Reference Display.	:ddd
IND REF:	STD	Indirect Reference is a new ARRIS++ command. Selecting this button allows a new reference point to be set using the current reference point and an intermediate double-reference point. The command will prompt: Enter double-reference point (<CR>:exit) XY-forcing will be temporarily turned off so that this intermediate point can be located where desired. The command will then prompt: Enter new reference point (<CR>:exit) If XY-forcing was in effect, then the current reference point and the intermediate double-reference point may be used to set the new reference point location. This command can be very useful for location new reference points somewhere in open space that are related to other graphical entities. (See the example below.) Mnemonic: :kk is not very intuitive, but it is easy to type and other more obvious letters were already assigned to other commands. Mnemonic: :kkk can be used to momentarily flash both the current reference and, if set, the double-reference points.	:kk
	RC	Right-clicking on this box executes the ARRIS :trp sigmac which is used to set an offset double-reference point. The command will prompt: Preliminary double reference point: Once the intermediate point is selected the command then prompts: Double reference point: At this point a numeric distance is typically entered to specify the offset from the previous point where the final double-reference point is to be located. Of course, this only works if the REL mode is set to on. Mnemonic: Think Triple Reference Point.	:trp
NEW ORIG:	STD	Selecting this button allows the database origin to be set to a new location. Mnemonic: Think "o" for "Origin". The mnemonic :oox was chosen rather than the simpler :oo to keep users from accidentally executing this command.	:oox
	RC	Right-clicking on this button causes the current database origin to momentarily flash if it is currently located within the graphic drawing area. If the origin point is not currently on the screen, a message will be displayed indicating this fact. Mnemonic: Think "o" for "Origin".	:ooo


* The ARRIS++ Optional Sigmac Library must be loaded to be able to use these mnemonic commands.

Example: Using the ARRIS++ INDIRECT REFERENCE command

In this simple example, we are placing walls for a new room and want to draw the next wall segment so that the right end of the wall will be exactly 1'-3" left of the door jamb. The new IND REF command allows us to find this point without having to interrupt our wall placement command. XYF must be set to on for this example. Select the IND REF command from the POINTS menu or enter the command :kk.
At the first prompt: Enter double-reference point (<CR>:exit) move to the left door jamb and select it using F3. A double-reference point is set at this location.
At the second prompt: Enter new reference point (<CR>:exit) move to the approximate location that is orthogonal to the original reference point and the new double-reference point and click. A new reference point will be set that aligns with the door jamb above.
The wall placement command prompts: Next point of line (F10:restart) Since the reference point is now aligned with the door jamb, we enter the desired location for the end of the wall by typing: -1'-3" The wall is drawn as expected.
We can now complete the room by placing the vertical wall, which will be 1'-3" to the left of the door. This type of situation occurs often while drawing and the indirect reference command can be extremely helpful while improving drawing productivity.




Database Points:


 DATABASE POINTS Partial Overwrite Menu

This section of the overwrite menu contains functions for managing database points. This includes visible points as well as the standard invisible points associated with entities.

BUTTON	SELECT	DESCRIPTION	MNEMONIC CMD *
ERASE PT:	STD	Selecting this button allows individual points of any type (both visible and invisible) to be erased. Entities that are defined by these points will also be erased. The command repeats. Mnemonic: Think "Erase Point"	:ep
	RC	Right-clicking on this button allows all points within a fenced area to be deleted. The command repeats. Mnemonic: Think "Erase Point Area"	:epa
MOVE PT:	STD	Selecting this button allows individual points of any type (both visible and invisible) to be moved. Entities associated with these points will be stretched. The command repeats. Mnemonic: Think "Move Point"	:mp
	RC	Right-clicking on this button allows all points within a fenced area to be moved. Command repeats. Mnemonic: Think "Move Point Area"	:mpa
	STD	Selecting this button allows individual points to be inserted into a line or wall at the specified location, breaking it into two segments. The command repeats.	None
	RC	Right-clicking on this button allows a point to be inserted at the location where two lines and/or walls intersect, breaking each line or wall into two segments. The command repeats.	None


* The ARRIS++ Optional Sigmac Library must be loaded to be able to use these mnemonic commands.






Temporary Points:


 TEMPORARY POINTS Partial Overwrite Menu

This section of the overwrite menu contains functions for managing temporary points as follows:

BUTTON	SELECT	DESCRIPTION	MNEMONIC CMD *
WALL PTS:	STD	Selecting this button causes a small red square to be placed at each wall point located on the graphic screen. A thin red line is then draw between these points to indicate the location of the actual wall line. These squares and lines are temporary and will be erased upon the next redraw. Mnemonic: Think "Show Points Walls".	:spw
	RC	Right-clicking on this button redraws the graphic screen, clearing away the temporary red wall point squares and lines. Mnemonic: Think "Display Everything".	:dpe
DATA PTS:	STD	Selecting this button causes a small, temporary 'X' to be displayed at the location of every database point located on the graphic screen. These points will be automatically erased upon the next redraw. If it is desired to display database points in a more permanent fashion, refer to the SHOW PTS command. Mnemonic: Think "Show Points Data".	:dp  or  :spd
	RC	Right-clicking on this button redraws the graphic screen, clearing away the temporary 'X's. Mnemonic: Think "Display Everything".	:dpe
SHOW PTS:	STD	Selecting this button toggles the SHOW POINTS function on/off. When on, the SHOW POINTS box will be highlighted and all normally invisible database points will be marked on the screen with visible 'X's. This differs from the DATA PTS function in that these 'X's will continue to be displayed until the button is reselected and the marking of database points is canceled. Note that this is a display function only and the actual database is not affected. Mnemonic: Think "Show Points".	:sp
	RC	Right-clicking on this button forces the display if the 'X' markers to be turned off, regardless of the current state of the command.	none


* The ARRIS++ Optional Sigmac Library must be loaded to be able to use these mnemonic commands.






Work Points:


 WORK POINTS Partial Overwrite Menu

This section of the overwrite menu contains functions for managing Work Points. These are special ARRIS++ non-plotting points that can be used for a variety of purposes. For example, they can be used as construction aids, reference markets or place-holders for other work. They are often used to mark a permanent reference or double-reference point during a complex drawing construction.

Since they are non-plotting, they may be left on the drawing if desired or erased at a later time.

BUTTON	SELECT	DESCRIPTION	MNEMONIC CMD *
	STD	Selecting this button allows individual Work Points to be placed on the drawing. The command repeats. Mnemonic: Think "Work Point".	:wp
	RC	None	None
ERASE:	STD	Selecting this button allows individual Work Points to be deleted from the drawing. The command repeats. Note that this command will only delete Work Points. All other points, both visible and invisible, will be unaffected. Mnemonic: Think "Work Point Delete".	:wpd
	RC	Right-clicking on this button allows all Work Points within a fenced area to be deleted. The command repeats. Mnemonic: Think "Work Point Delete Area".	:wpda


* The ARRIS++ Optional Sigmac Library must be loaded to be able to use these mnemonic commands.

Work Points always have the following characteristics:

Symbol No:		26
Scale:		3/32" (0.094")
Rotation:		180-degrees
Color:		1
Pen:		0

If any of these parameters is changed after placement, the point will no longer be recognized as a Work Point.






Visible Points:


 VISIBLE POINTS Partial Overwrite Menu

This section of the overwrite menu contains functions for managing visible points.



VISIBLE POINT SET-UP Menu

Clicking on the SET-UP button displays the VISIBLE POINT SET-UP menu which allows the visible point parameters to be selected. Choose a symbol, a size and a rotation value. If the desired size and/or rotation is not displayed, select the OTHER button and enter the desired value. The selected parameters values will be displayed on the right side of the status menu.


 VISIBLE POINT Partial Status Menu

Individual parameters may also be changed by clicking on the appropriate box on the status menu. Clicking on the symbol icon or the VP SYMBOL box displays the VISIBLE POINT SYMBOL pop-up menu which allows a new symbol to be selected. Right-clicking on either box will immediately reset to the default symbol number 11.


 VISIBLE POINT SYMBOL Menu



Clicking on the VP SIZE box prompts for a new visible point size. Right-clicking on this box immediately resets the symbol size to the default value of 0.125" (3mm metric).


 Visible Point Size Prompt

Clicking on the VP ROTATION box prompts for a new visible point rotation. The angle entered will automatically be adjusted to an equivalent value between 0 and 360 degrees. Right-clicking on this box immediately resets the symbol rotation to the default value of 0-degrees.


 Visible Point Rotation Prompt

The commands on the overwrite menu perform the following functions:

BUTTON	SELECT	DESCRIPTION	MNEMONIC CMD *
	STD	Selecting this button allows a visible point to be placed on the drawing based upon the current parameters displayed on the status menu. The command repeats. Mnemonic: Think "Insert Point".	:ip
	RC	None	None
	STD	Selecting this button allows a visible point to be queried with the results displayed in the POINT QUERY/EDIT pop-up menu. the command repeats. Mnemonic: Think "Query Point".	:qp
	RC	None	None
ERASE:	STD	Selecting this button allows an existing visible point to be deleted from the drawing. Invisible points will not be affected by this operation. The command repeats. Mnemonic: Think "Erase Point Visible".	:epv
	RC	Right-clicking on this button allows all visible points within a fenced area to be deleted in one operation. The command repeats. Mnemonic: Think "Erase Point Visible Area".	:epva
MOVE:	STD	Selecting this button allows an existing visible point to be moved within the drawing. Invisible points will not be affected by this operation. The command repeats. Mnemonic: Think "Move Point Visible".	:mpv
	RC	Right-clicking on this button allows all visible points within a fenced area to be moved in one operation. The command repeats. Mnemonic: Think "Move Point Visible Area".	:mpva
COPY:	STD	Selecting this button allows an existing visible point to be copied within the drawing. Invisible points will not be affected by this operation. The command repeats. Mnemonic: Think "Copy Point Visible".	:cpv
	RC	Right-clicking on this button allows all visible points within a fenced area to be copied in one operation. The command repeats. Mnemonic: Think "Copy Point Visible Area".	:cpva
CHG LAY:	STD	Selecting this button allows an existing visible point to be changed to a new layer. Invisible points will not be affected by this operation. The command repeats.	None
	RC	Right-clicking on this button allows all visible points within a fenced area to be changed to a new layer in one operation. The command repeats.	None
RE MAKE:	STD	Selecting this button allows an existing visible point to be remade using all of the current visible point parameters displayed on the status menu. Invisible points will not be affected by this operation. The command repeats.	None
	RC	Right-clicking on this button allows all visible points within a fenced area to be remade in one operation. The command repeats.	None
MAKE INVIS:	STD	Selecting this button allows an existing visible point to be made invisible. The point will be changed to symbol number 0 with a size of 0.062" and a rotation of 0-degrees. The command repeats. This can be very useful for "fixing" errant entity points that may have accidentally become visible. (See Standard Point Symbols above.)	None
	RC	Right-clicking on this button allows all visible points within a fenced area to be made invisible in one operation. The command repeats.	None


* The ARRIS++ Optional Sigmac Library must be loaded to be able to use these mnemonic commands.

ARRIS++ TOOLS Overwrite Menu		ARRIS++ TOOLS Main Flyout Menu
ARRIS++ TOOLS Status Menu




A new ARRIS++ TOOLS menu has been provided with its accompanying main flyout menu. The empty TOOLS status menu is displayed whenever a tool or utility does not have a specialized status menu of its own. These menus are a repository for new utilities which are to be added to ARRIS in the future. The following tools are currently provided and discussed in detail below.

List of Tools:

		Draw Revision Clouds
		Break-Lines




List of Utilities:

		Layer Display
		Pen Display




---

Revision Clouds:




 Revision Cloud Status Menu

Back in 1999, Tim Eickman wrote a sigmac to place revision clouds on the drawing and published it on the ARRIS mailing list. This code was subsequently revised by Jeff Rath, Steven Stromgren, Salleh Diab and others and widely distributed as :sd_cloud. That code has now been enhanced in many ways to turn it into a production quality tool.

Improvements include: Adding a status menu where an expanded set of revision cloud parameters can be examined and easily adjusted. Adding a facility to save a user's parameter settings, automatically making them the defaults when this command is first executed. Adding capability to adjust both the small and large arc factors and well as allowing the cloud to be drawn in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. Adding the capability of automatically placing a triangular revision marker when the cloud is drawn. When prompting for revision marker text, the current CAPS mode is honored. Adding an exit trap to the code to insure that the user's original environment is restored regardless of how the command is terminated. As soon as the revision cloud button is selected, the cursor changes to a pencil and the cloud may be drawn using the current parameters displayed on the status menu. Drag the cursor in a circular motion to enclose the portion of the drawing that has been revised. As the cloud is nearing completion, move the cursor towards the starting point. When it gets close enough, the cloud will automatically close and be terminated. If the PLACE MARKER parameter is set to YES, then you will be prompted for the revision marker text. Enter the desired string and then place the marker where desired. To place an empty marker select <NONE>. If no revision marker is desired for this cloud, select <SKIP PLACEMENT>. The command repeats allowing multiple revision clouds to be located on the drawing.

Revision Cloud Example  Revision Cloud Marker Prompt




Status Menu:

SAVE CLOUD PARAMETERS	When any of the revision cloud parameters are changed from the defaults, this button text will display in yellow to indicate that there are unsaved modifications. Clicking on this button will cause the current parameter values to be written to disk and they will then be used as the defaults in the future. Once saved, the button will return to its normal appearance. If the default parameter file already exists, then a confirmation prompt will be displayed to help insure that the file is not accidentally overwritten. Right-clicking on this button automatically restores all of the current default values regardless of what changes may have been made.
PEN	This displays the pen used for the revision cloud and marker. Selecting this box prompts for a new pen number. If <CURRENT> is selected, then the cloud and marker will match the current ARRIS pen. If <NONE> is selected, then the cloud and marker will match the current layer default pen.
COL	This displays the color used for the revision cloud and marker. Selecting this box displays the pop-up color selection menu and prompts for a new color number. If <CURRENT> is selected, then the cloud and marker will match the current ARRIS color. If <NONE> is selected, then the cloud and marker will match the current layer default color.
BULGE	The bulge value determines how flat or round the arcs are that are used to draw the cloud. The initial default value is 0.7. Allowable values range from 0.05 to 1.0. Specifying a smaller value will create flatter arcs while a maximum value of 1.0 will generate semicircles.
SMALL ARC	The small arc factor determines the relative size of the alternating smaller arcs. The initial default is 3 and allowable integer values range from 1 to 10.
LARGE ARC	The large arc factor determines the relative size of the alternating larger arcs. The initial default is 3 and allowable integer values range from 1 to 10.
PLACE MARKER	Selecting this box toggles the setting between YES and NO. If set to YES, once a revision cloud has been drawn, there will be an option to place a triangular revision marker. As seen in the image above, there is an option to skip marker placement if desired. Setting this parameter to NO suppresses marker placement altogether.
MARKER SIZE	This parameter determines the size of the triangular revision marker in inches (imperial databases) or millimeters (metric databases). Select this box to enter a new value.
DIRECTION	This setting determines the direction of construction for the revision cloud. Selecting this box toggles the value between cw (clockwise) and ccw (counter-clockwise). Any attempt to draw the revision cloud in the opposite direction from this setting will cause the arcs to be inverted. Most individuals will probably find drawing revision clouds in the clockwise direction to be most natural, but this option provides a choice.




Bugs:

• There is a serious problem in the ARRIS undo system that can cause the database to become corrupted, leading to the error:
  Cannot select to database position

  This error is easily triggered when undo is used during the active placement of attributal repeated items such as the revision marker used with this routine. To avoid any problems, do not perform an undo while this revision cloud command is running. If you wish to remove a cloud, exit this command normally and then perform the undo.

---

Break-Lines:




 Break-Line Status Menu

Break-Line:

The old :cj_brkln command has been significantly revised and renamed as :cj_bl_brkln. The break-line command is now found as a button on the ARRIS++ TOOLS menu and offers a set of parameters which may be reviewed and adjusted from the status menu. When the button is selected with a left-click, it prompts for two points and then a break-line is constructed between these points using the current parameters. The command repeats allowing multiple break-lines to be drawn.

Sample Break-Line

Status Menu:

SAVE BREAK-LINE PARAMETERS	When any of the break-line parameters are changed from the defaults, this button text will display in yellow to indicate that there are unsaved modifications. Clicking on this button will cause the current parameter values to be written to disk and they will then be used as the defaults in the future. Once saved, the button will return to its normal appearance. If the default parameter file already exists, then a confirmation prompt will be displayed to help insure that the file is not accidentally overwritten. Right-clicking on this button automatically restores all of the current default values regardless of what changes may have been made. Break-line parameters are saved to the file:   ${GRUSR}/config.dir/cj_brkln.tx
PEN	This displays the pen used for the break-line. Selecting this box prompts for a new pen number. If <Current> is selected, then the break-line will match the current ARRIS pen. If <None> is selected, then the break-line will match the current layer default pen.
COL	This displays the color used for the break-line. Selecting this box displays the pop-up color selection menu and prompts for a new color number. If <Current> is selected, then the break-line will match the current ARRIS color. If <None> is selected, then the break-line will match the current layer default color.
BREAK MARKER SIZE	This displays the size of the "Z"-shaped marker used to draw the break-line. The size is expressed in inches (for imperial databases) or millimeters (for metric databases). Selecting this box prompts for a new marker size. Note that the BREAK MARKER SPACING factor must always be at least twice as large as the marker size. Because of this, the marker spacing value will be automatically adjusted if required, as the marker size is increased. If an adjustment is made, a message will be displayed noting this.
BREAK MARKER SPACING	This displays the minimum center-to-center distance between adjacent break-line "Z" markers. For example, if 1.5" is specified, then the markers will be spaced at least 1.5" apart. The actual center-to-center spacing will vary depending upon the overall length between the two break-line endpoints. Note that the break-line marker spacing must be at least twice as large as the marker size. Attempts to enter smaller values will not be allowed.



If the ARRIS++ Optional Sigmac Library is loaded, the mnemonic command :bl can also be used to draw a break-line. For additional information, click here for the break-line manual page.




Break Mark

Right-clicking on the break-line button executes the break command from the DETAILS module. This routine prompts for two points and then, as seen at the right, draws a single break symbol between these points using the current pen and color. This break symbol will be scaled up or down to fit the specified distance.

Sample Detail Break

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Layer Display:

Layer Display Prompt




The layer display utility is used to sequence through one or more layers in the current drawing, clearing the screen and then displaying each subsequent layer when <CR> is pressed. As the layer is being displayed, its layer number, name and description are shown on the message line.

Only layers having some content are displayed while empty layers are silently skipped. When the last layer in a running sequence has been displayed, there is an option to repeat the sequence. When the command terminates, the drawing is automatically refreshed.

The following table discusses the various display options. These options may be entered from the keyboard and abbreviated to the single letter [a, b, c, d, g, n or w].

OPTION	DESCRIPTION
all layers	Sequentially display all layers in the current drawing regardless of the layer display mode setting. This means that even layers set to OFF will be displayed. When the last layer is displayed there is an option to repeat the sequence or terminate the command. (Option may be abbreviated as a)
by number	Display the layer whose number is entered. The prompt repeats allowing multiple layers to be examined. (Option may be abbreviated as either b or n)
current work layer	Display the current layer set for work (WK). The command terminates when <CR> is pressed. (Option may be abbreviated as c)
display layers only	Sequentially display each layer in the current drawing with its layer mode set for display (D). When the last layer is displayed there is an option to repeat the sequence or terminate the command. (Option may be abbreviated as d)
work group layers	Sequentially display each layer in the current work group. A work group is a set of up to ten consecutive layers sharing all but the last digit in their layer numbers. For example, the ten layers from 10230 through 10239 would form a work group and if the current layer was any layer within this range, then this set of layers would be displayed. When the last layer is displayed there is an option to repeat the sequence or terminate the command. (Option may be abbreviated as either w or g)




Right-clicking on the layer display button skips the prompt and immediately begins displaying layers using the all layers method.

For additional information including a description of a set of optional mnemonic aliases, the layer display manual page can be found here.

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Pen Display:

Pen Display Prompt




The pen display utility is used to display entities drawn in one or more pens. When prompted, select one of the following options:

OPTION	DESCRIPTION
color	The screen is cleared and entities drawn in pens 1 through 15 are redisplayed simultaneously using the current colors #1 through #15 to represent the pens. (Option may be abbreviated as c)
pen number	Enter the desired pen number from 0 through 15. The screen will be cleared and all entities drawn with the specified pen will be displayed. (Option may be abbreviated as p)
range	At the prompts enter the minimum and maximum pen numbers. The screen will be cleared and all entities drawn in pens "min" through "max" will be displayed sequentially, waiting for to be pressed between each pen's display. (Option may be abbreviated as r)




In all cases, when the command terminates, there is an option to either redraw the screen or leave it in its current state.

Right-clicking on the pen display button skips the prompt and immediately displays all entities using the color method.

For additional information including a description of a set of optional mnemonic aliases, the pen display manual page can be found here.

A new USR APP button has been provided to allow individuals or firms to link in their own custom applications menus to the ARRIS system. This is easily accomplished by making appropriate assignments on the ARRIS++ OPTIONS menu. For a full discussion of how to utilize this button, refer to the options documentation section.

See Also:

• Main Menus
• Geometry Menus (Part 1)
• Geometry Menus (Part 2)