Label Templates Overview - Intergraph Smart 3D - Reference Data

Intergraph Smart 3D Drawings and Reports Reference Data

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Smart 3D Version
12 (2018)

Quadrants and Granularity

When a label is placed automatically, the software looks for the best place to position the label. In order to rationalize this process, the software breaks a view into four quadrants. If the software looks through quadrant one and is unable to find enough clear space for the label, it will move to quadrant two, and so forth. If the software is unable to find enough clear space based on your specifications, it will place the label at an absolute position, which you also specify. In many cases, this absolute position could be at a specified offset from the object origin or control point.

The amount of granularity also determines the quadrant that a label is placed in. There are three granularity settings that allow you to change the number of positions in each quadrant that the software tries to place the label. A granularity setting of Coarse (2 in the illustration below) steps out at full label height increments. A Medium (3 in the illustration below) setting steps out in increments of one half the label height. A Fine (4 in the illustration below) setting steps out in increments of one-third of the label height.

granularity

  • The Granularity property is in the Positioning Common section in the Label Rule Manager.

  • Click the Granularity property to display the gallery of available settings, as shown below:

    granularity_coarse

    granularity_medium

    granularity_fine

    Coarse

    Medium

    Fine

  • In the label XML templates, a granularity setting of 0 is Coarse, 1 is Medium, and 2 is Fine. The example below shows a medium setting in an XML template:

    <labelSettings>
    <granularity>1</granularity>
    </labelSettings>

Positioning Settings

You can specify the starting position of a label or the leader label (also referred to as the terminator) using the Connect Point and Positioning Point positioning properties in the Label Rule Manager.

These positioning properties are only available for templates that use the Key Point (DefaultLabelPointGenerator) module. For more information on this point generator module, see Key Point (DefaultLabelPointGenerator).

Connect Point

Specifies the point on the model object to which the leader line connects. If model objects block the direct path of the leader line to the Connect Point, then the leader line points toward the connect point. The example below shows the available Connect Point property settings. For more information, see Connect Point.

ConnectPoint

1 - Top Left
2 - Top Middle
3 - Top Right
4 - Middle Left
5 - Middle Middle
6 - Middle Right
7 - Bottom Left
8 - Bottom Middle
9 - Bottom Right

Positioning Point

Allows you to select a point within the range of a model object as the starting point. Starting at this specified point, the software searches for clear space in the quadrants in order to place a label. The example below shows the available Positioning Point property settings. For more information, see Positioning Point.

PositioningPoint

1 - Top Left
2 - Top Middle
3 - Top Right
4 - Middle Left
5 - Middle Middle
6 - Middle Right
7 - Bottom Left
8 - Bottom Middle
9 - Bottom Right
10 - Quadrant 1

The properties available for the Clear Space Radial from Object Center with Clustering (DrawingCentroid) positioning module are listed below.

This positioning module must be used with the Nozzle (DrawingPGNozzleandBrace) point generator module.

From Matchline

Determines the inside or outside placement of a label with respect to the matchline boundary. For more information, see From Matchline. Select True to place the label outside of the matchline boundary as shown in the example below.

FromMatchLineOn

1 - Matchline

Select False to place the label inside of the matchline boundary as shown in the example below.

frommatchlineoff

1 - Matchline

Label Type

Specifies whether the label is a Nozzle, Top of Equipment/Bottom of Equipment, or Angle label. For more information, see Label Type. The example below shows the different label types.

LabelType

1 - Nozzle
2 - Top of Equipment/Bottom of Equipment
3 - Angle

The following options are available for manually editing the .xml file.

  • Type 0 to place a Nozzle label.

  • Type 1 to place a TOP or BTM label.

  • Type 2 to place an Angle label.

Radius Offset

Determines the distance between a nozzle port and the label annotating the port. For more information, see Radius Offset. The example below shows the radial offset when the From Matchline property is set to True.

RadiusOffset1

1 - Radius Offset with From Matchline property set to True

Rotation

Determines the angular orientation of the labels. The labels can be aligned horizontally, irrespective of the orientation of the nozzle orientation angle, or the labels can be rotated to match the nozzle orientation angle. For more information, see Rotation. Select True to rotate all labels to match the respective nozzle orientation angles as shown in the example below:

Rotation_On

Select False to force horizontal labels as shown in the example below:

Rotation_Off

The properties available for the Clear Space Margin with Dimensions (DwgMatchlineWithDim) positioning module are listed below.

Dimension Style

Defines the appearance of dimensions placed by the label rule. For more information, see Dimension Style.

Dimension Text Rotate Clearance

Rotates the text of a dimension line 90 degrees when insufficient space exists for the text between the projection lines.

Specify the minimum clearance between the beginning or end of the dimension line text and the corresponding projection line. If the actual distance between the text and the projection line is less than the specified value, the software rotates the text 90 degrees relative to the dimension line.

The value you type in the Dimension Text Rotate Clearance text box determines the threshold at which the dimension text is aligned perpendicular to the dimension line. For example, if the clear space on either side of the dimension text is less than 1 mm, the dimension text rotates.

In the image below, the clearance between the end of the dimension line text and the projection line is 0.01 m. Because the distance between the end of the dimension line text and the projection line is not at least 0.01 m, the text is rotated.

DimRotate_01

Clearance of 0.01 m

In the image below, the clearance between the end of the dimension line text and the projection line is 0.002 m. Because the distance between the end of the dimension line text and the projection line is not at least 0.002 m, the text is rotated.

DimRotate_02

Clearance of 0.002 m

For more information, see Dimension Text Rotate Clearance.

Display Dimension

Specifies whether to place dimensions as part of the label rule.

Click On to place dimensions as shown in the graphic below.

dimensionpropertytrue

Click Off to suppress dimensions as shown in the graphic below.

dimensionpropertyfalse

Justification

Determines whether to align labels inside or outside the available clear space. Select a position from the Justification list. For more information, see Justification.

The following example demonstrates a label as well as the text positioned inside clear space.

Justification 2

The next example shows the result when the label and text are positioned outside clear space.

Move Dimension Text to Outside

Controls the placement of dimension text values for margin dimensions in the right and bottom margins. For more information, see Move Dimension Text to Outside.

Click True to place the dimension outside of the dimension line relative to the view, as shown in the graphic below.

dimtextoutsidetrue

1 - View border
2 - Dimension text value

Click False to place the dimension inside of the dimension line, as shown in the graphic below.

dimtextoutsidefalse

1 - View border
2 - Dimension text value

Angle

Controls the vertical, horizontal, or absolute angle of a label.

  • To use the Angle property with the Clear Space Margin with Dimensions positioning module:

    1. Select either Top or Bottom from the Orientation list. Otherwise, the Angle property is not available.

    2. Select either Vertical or Horizontal from the Angle list.

  • To use the Angle property with the Absolute XY Offset positioning module, type a value in the Angle text box.

The example below shows a horizontal label.

Angle_Horizontal

1 - Horizontally placed label

The example below shows a vertical label.

Angle_Vertical

1 - Vertically placed label

Inside/Outside Shape and Leader Jogs

Leaders will automatically position inside or outside of the equipment object being labeled. For example, if you select the object origin and place the label outside of the object, the leader will simply point toward the origin from outside the object without crossing the object boundaries. If you place the same label within the object boundaries, the leader will point directly to the object origin.

Below is an example of the label being placed on the outside of an object. Note that the leader stops at the object boundary and points to the origin.

LeaderShiftView1

When the label is moved closer to the terminator, the leader adjusts.

LeaderExample2

The Leader section in the Label Rule Manager allows you to change the behavior of the label leaders.

Click Leader Module to display a gallery of leader modules, and then select a leader module. The Style list allows you to choose a style for the leaders.

Display Breakline

Controls whether or not a breakline appears for the label. The breakline normally connects the leader line to the label.

Select On to display the breakline.

BreaklineOn

Select Off to suppress the breakline so that the leader line connects directly to the label.

BreaklineOff

You cannot place breaklines with acute leader jog angles when automatically generating labels. However, you can manually place breaklines with acute leader jog angles within SmartSketch by updating the view, then selecting a leader and clicking BreakLine Break Line.

Jog Segment Offset

Allows you to specify the offset from the first leader segment connected to the object to the next jog segment in the leader line.

Jog Segment Offset 1

Allows you to specify the offset from the end of the second jog segment to the start of the next jog segment in a leader line.

Jog Segment Offset 2

Allows you to specify the offset from Jog Segment Offset 1 to the remaining portion of the leader line. The jog segment to which this property applies connects to the leader line that connects directly to the label.

LeaderJogs2

1 - Leader Offset
2 - Leader Length
3 - Jog Segment Offset
4 - Jog Segment Offset 1
5 - Jog Segment Offset 2
6 - Perimeter Offset (under Positioning Common)

Breakline Length

Allows you to set the length of the jog segment in a leader line that connects to the label. Type the length in the text box.

BreaklineLength

1 - Breakline Length

Leader Offset

Specifies the distance outside of the matchline at which you want the leader line to terminate. By default, this value is 0.005 m.

The following example shows a Leader Offset of 0.04 m.

leaderoffset0.04

1 - 0.04 m Leader Offset

In the next example, the Leader Offset is set to 0.055 m.

leaderoffset0.005

1 - 0.055 m leaderOffset

Leader Length

Sets the distance from the matchline to the first jog in the leader line of a label when the leader line contains multiple segments. This property can be applied only if the leader line uses a breakline.

The following two examples show the Leader Length property applied according to different specified distances from the matchline to the first jog in the respective leader lines.

leaderlength03

1 - Matchline
2 - 0.03 m Leader Length
3 - Leader line

leaderlength05

1 - Matchline
2 - 0.05 Leader Length
3 - Leader line

To manually edit the .xml file, type the distance that you want the leader to extend from the matchline to the first jog in the leader line.

Leaders as Clear Space

Renders the leader line of a label virtually invisible or invisible to other annotations.

Select True to allow the leader lines and other annotations to intersect.

IgnoreLeaderCrossingsOn

Select False to render the leader line visible to other annotations. The software then attempts to place the leader lines in clear space.

IgnoreLeaderCrossingsOff

To use the Leaders as Clear Space property in an .xml template, add the ignoreLeaderCrossings tag to the leaderSettings section. Type -1 to allow leader lines to intersect. Type 0 to prevent leader line and annotation intersection.

leaderlength03

1 - Matchline
2 - 0.03 m Leader Length
3 - Leader line

leaderlength05

1 - Matchline
2 - 0.05 Leader Length
3 - Leader line

To manually edit the .xml file, type the distance that you want the leader to extend from the matchline to the first jog in the leader line.

Label Settings

You can customize the automatic behavior of the labels in the Positioning Common section of the Label Rule Manager.

Label Offset

Allows you to specify the distance from a point placed on the model object to the farthest location from the point that the label can be placed.

Use the Label Offset property when you want to place the label within quadrants around the point. The point generator calculates the point. The software starts from the point location and looks outward to the limit of the Label Offset distance, and then begins looking for clear space within which to place the label.

LabelOffset

1 - Label Offset

Specify both the horizontal and vertical distances within which to place the label. Both distances must be the same.

Granularity

Specifies a portion of the height of a label as the basis for the increment used to find clear space in which to position the label.

  • Coarse - the software searches an increment of exactly one width and height of the existing label in order to find clear space in which to place the new label.

  • Medium - the software searches an increment of exactly one-half the width and height of the existing label.

  • Fine - the software searches an increment of exactly one-third the width and height of the existing label.

    Granularity2

    1 - Label Offset
    2 - Coarse setting
    3 - Medium setting
    4 - Fine setting

Priority

Determines the order in which the software places an annotation based on available clear space and proximity to other annotations.

priority_two equipment labels set to 1

1 - Equipment labels placed with Priority set to 1
2 - Structure label placed with Priority set to 2

priority_combined examples

1 - Equipment label placed with Priority set to 2
2 - Structure label placed with Priority set to 1

To manually edit the .xml file, specify a positive integer to assign as a priority number for each annotation.

Subpriority

Provides a second priority on labels in order to resolve more specific conflicts among multiple labels searching for clear space. As with the Priority property, the lower the number, the higher the priority. For example, 1 is a higher priority than 3. A value of 0 indicates that the Subpriority property is turned off.

Perimeter Offset

Specifies either the distance from the edge of the view to the dimension line, or the distance from the edge of the view to the edge of the label that is closest to the view.

PerimeterOffset2

1 - Perimeter offset distance
2 - Dimension

Dimension Perimeter Offset

Determines the offset distance from the dimension to the matchline.

DimensionPerimeterOffset

1 - Dimension Perimeter Offset

maxFactor

Determines the maximum scale factor for the text size. The software defines this value in meters.

<maxFactor>1</maxFactor>

minFactor

Determines the minimum scale factor for the text size. The software defines this value in meters.

<minFactor>1</minFactor>

Maximum Offset

Defines the maximum distance from a connection point that you can place a label.

MaxOffset

1 – Maximum Offset
2 – Perimeter Offset

Minimum Offset

Defines the minimum distance from a connection point that you can place a label.

Max_MinOffset3

1 - Maximum Offset in X direction
2 - Maximum Offset in Y direction
3 - Minimum Offset

White Object Layer

Allows you to specify one or more 2D layers in the drawing to serve as white object layers for a label placed in clear space. Graphical objects set on these layers are rendered invisible to this label, allowing placement of the label on top of these objects.

WhiteObjects

1 - Pipe within a White Object Layer
2 - Equipment label overlapping pipes

If this filter is set to "*" during label placement, then the system ignores all objects that are not labels or leaders.

Geometric Analyzer Settings

You can customize the automatic behavior of the geometric analyzer in the Geometric Analysis section of the template.

Place Lines

Controls line placement through the coordinate label points along aligned objects. Use this property to include a single label in the drawing that specifies a common elevation for aligned objects.

Select On to place lines. Select Off to suppress labels.

In the following image, Place Lines is set to On, and the software has placed a line connecting the equipment objects and a single label for the common Northing coordinate.

placelines2

Control Point Label Type

Controls the orientation of the coordinate label.

controlpointlabeltype

1 - Equipment object
2 - Vertical label
3 - Static control point coordinate label symbol
4 - Horizontal text label

  • Symbol - Places a static control point coordinate label.

  • Horizontal - Places a horizontal text label.

  • Vertical - Places a vertical text label.

Honor View Direction

Determines whether or not the software considers the view direction when updating a drawing. This setting is useful when placing an elevation coordinate label on a plan view.

Clear the Honor View Direction check box if you want the software to ignore the view direction.

ignore view direction -1

1 - Equipment object
2 - Elevation label
3 - Static control point

Select Honor View Direction if you want the software to consider the view direction. The software honors the view direction by default.

ignore view direction 0

1 - Equipment object
2 - Elevation label
3 - Static control point

Symbol Settings

The label symbols can be modified in SmartSketch Drawing Editor. For more information on the specific attributes available for modification, see the SmartSketch Drawing Editor User's Guide.

The following attributes can be changed from the Symbols tab in the Properties Dialog Box of SmartSketch Drawing Editor.

  • Text shape

  • Text background

  • Symbol handles

  • Extra graphics

  • Text formatting

  • Type of property

  • Value for the symbol

  • Attributes

Generic Shape Tracing

The software automatically hides the leader when it intersects the boundaries of an object. In the example below, the dotted segment of the leader would be hidden, because it is placed over the equipment object boundaries.

ShapeTrace

Generic Text Shape Leader Shift

The leader will automatically switch sides when being repositioned. By default, the leader origin is in the middle of the label. When being repositioned, the leader will find the shortest distance from the label to the object.

LeaderShiftView

If a label with a jogged leader is placed, the jog will position on the left or right side depending on which side is closest to the point being labeled.

LeaderShift1 LeaderShift2

If an unsymmetrical text shape label is placed with a jogged leader, the direction of the label will change with the jog position.

LeaderShiftTri1 LeaderShiftTri2

Label Rules

Label rules control automatic label placement on drawings. For more information, see Label Rules. You can customize these label rules by editing the XML and/or SYM files. For more information on customizing label rules, see Create a Compound Label Using Label Rules.

You can also create new label rules. Before creating a new label rule, you must first create the label query using the Define Label command in the Catalog task.

See Also

Labels
Label Rules