By following these tasks in order, you can create your own cross section symbol quickly and easily.
Open a Template File
The software delivers several templates that you can use to create your custom symbols. For more information, see Open and Set Up the Symbol File.
It is usually easier to start with an existing symbol that is close to the shape needed.
Manage Layers and Display Settings
Create the required layers, and any optional layers, for the symbol. For more information, see Manage Layers.
After you have created the layers, adjust the display settings to meet your needs. For more information, see Set Display Settings.
Sketch and Constrain Profile Geometry
The first step in creating your symbol is to create the profile cross-section geometry. For more information, see Sketch and Constrain Profile Cross-Section Geometry.
Create Profile Geometry Groups
For the software to know how to handle graphics in the symbol file, you create unique groups that define the different geometry contours of the profile, such as simple physical and detailed physical. For more information, see Create Profile Geometry Groups.
Create and Group Profile Key Points
Place and group the key points in the symbol. For more information, see Create and Group Profile Key Points.
Name Profile Edges
In order for the software to assign the geometry in your symbol to the correct parts of the profile cross-section, you must name each geometric element in the symbol. For more information, see Name Profile Edges.
Define Profile Load Points
A load point defines the location where the software displays the profile cross-section on the member. There are 15 load points definable for a cross-section symbol, but only one at a time is used when the profile is placed. For more information, see Define Profile Load Points.
Test Symbol Geometry
To verify that the geometry is properly constrained and behaves correctly, you need to test the symbol. For more information, see Testing Symbol Geometry.
Define Symbol Properties
One of the most important steps of symbol creation is to map the dimensions in your symbol to the corresponding symbol parameter in your catalog workbook. For more information, see Define Profile Symbol Properties.
Define Symbol Representation
Assign profile geometry groups to their appropriate symbol representations, such as Default, Simple Physical, and Symbolic. For more information, see Create Profile Symbol Representations and Create Load Point Symbol Representation.
Adding Symbol Data to the Catalog
Add the part class of the symbol to the appropriate workbook from which it can be loaded into the Catalog database. For more information, see Adding Symbol Data to the Catalog and Load Symbol Definition Data into an Excel Bulkload File.