Providing a Graphical Preview - Intergraph Smart 3D - Reference Data

Intergraph Smart 3D Reference Data

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English
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Intergraph Smart 3D
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Reference Data
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Reference Data
Smart 3D Version
12.1 (2019)

To make selecting and placing parts from the catalog easier, you can provide a preview graphic of the part. This graphic helps you to visually identify the correct part in the catalog for placement and should include any symbol dimensions that can be edited by you.

In the Catalog task, the Preview command on the View menu displays the preview graphic for the item. You can see preview graphics when you place items in the design tasks by clicking Preview on the Catalog browser from design tasks such as Equipment and Furnishings. In addition, some Properties dialog boxes in the design tasks have a button that allows you to see a preview of the selected item.

To add a preview graphic to the reference data, you must create a graphic file and store it in a shared symbol folder on a networked computer. For example, you can place the graphic file in [Product Folder]\SharedContent\Data, the default location installed during the Smart 3D Server setup.

You can define a preview graphic for a specific part, which overrides any preview graphics assigned to the part class.  Any graphics created for individual parts must be stored in the same location as those defined for part classes.

To link the preview graphic to the part or part class:

  1. Edit the Microsoft Excel workbook that contains the part class information.

  2. In the SymbolIcon cell, type the path and preview graphic name.

  3. Bulk load the workbook into the Catalog Database using the bulkload utility.

Graphic Recommendations

  • The graphic must be a Windows Bitmap (.bmp) or a CompuServe Graphics Interchange (.gif) file. We recommend the .gif format because of the smaller file size.

  • The graphic resolution should be 37 pixels per centimeter (94 pixels per inch).

  • Use the lowest color depth possible without loss of image quality. Generally, this is 256 Colors (8 bit). However, some graphics can be dropped to 16 Colors (4 bit) or 2 Colors (1 bit) without loss of image quality.

  • Use Verdana font with a font point size of 10 or 12 to place text in the graphic. We recommend the Verdana font because 1 (one), I (capital i), and l (lower case L) can be distinguished from one another in that font.

  • Graphic dimensions should be as small as possible to allow you to have the graphic open while working with the software. The maximum graphic dimension that you should create is 974 X 718 (50 pixels less than the default screen resolution of 1024 X 768). The software does not limit the size of the graphic, so larger graphics can be used if your default screen resolution is higher.

See Also

Add a Preview Graphic to Parts using Bulkload