Adhoc Attribute Manager
The AdHoc Attribute Manager was developed several years ago. Until the recent development of the Federal Lands .x30 criteria this set of tools was used very little.. if at all. I think you will find it very useful when designing now with the .x30 criteria.
The AdHoc Attribute Manager can be found using the pulldowns Applications > GEOPAK Road > GEOPAK 3PC AdHoc Attribute Manager or from the Project Manager tool box as shown below:
Bentley Civil defines Adhoc Attributes as follows:
"Adhoc Attributes (also referred to as just Adhocs) are pieces of user defined information that can be added to Microstation elements.These pieces of information can be just about anything."
NOTE: See the complete and detailed explanation on how AdHocs work with criteria.
For simplicity, I will attempt to explain how and why adhocs are used in our FLH .x30 criteria. With the development of this technology, it made it possible to replace all the redefinable variables for plan view elements, (previously set by station ranges) with "adhocs". For example, previously (in the .x21 criteria) we had a long list of redefinable variables for things such as Proposed Cut Side Walls.
An example of a portion of the list of .x21 redefinable variables for the cut wall is shown below, as observed from inside of Project Manager:
Each individual redefinable variable was defined with a station range and a value. An example of the cut wall batter slope redefinable variable is shown below, where the criteria is instructed to draw a 50:1 slope from station 0+000 ahead:
One disadvantage of the redefinable variable procedure, was that if a different value was desired in a different area, that new area had to be entered into the dialog as shown below, where the criteria is now instructed to draw a 50:1 slope from station 0+000 to station 9+999.9 and draw a 100:1 slope from station 10+000 ahead:
Although this procedure has worked for many years... using adhocs makes the whole design process much easier. Now all of the redefinable variables for plan view elements are assigned to each plan view element, (using adhocs). For clarification, the station range is now defined by the location of the plan view element.
The following portion of this documentation will attempt to explain how to assign adhocs to plan view elements and also how to manage them... thus the title of this document... AdHoc Attribute Manager.
Assigning AdHocs to a Plan View Element
When drawing Plan View define_dgn elements (for use with the .x30 criteria), it is mandatory that they be drawn using Design and Computation Manager with Place Influence toggled ON. You will notice that directly below the Place Influence toggle is another toggle, Adhoc Attributes as shown below:
When the Adhoc Attributes toggle is ON, and the D&C Manager item is selected, the AdHoc Attribute dialog appears, with the name of the item shown in the blue title bar, as shown below:
As you can see, now all the redefinable variables for each define_dgn element are nicely organized in one place. Prior to placing the plan view define_dgn element, you must review the default values under the Value column and adjust as necessary.
To adjust (change) a value, simply "single click" on the value, type in the new value, and press Enter, as shown below:
Managing Plan View AdHocs
As mentioned earlier, to invoke the the AdHoc Attribute Manager use the pulldowns Applications > GEOPAK Road > GEOPAK 3PC AdHoc Attribute Manager or the Project Manager tool box as shown below:
The AdHoc Attribute Manager will appear, as shown below:
The AdHoc Attribute Manager dialog is composed of 4 sections:
- One pulldown. The File pulldown provides access to the AdHoc Attribute Manager's, file Preferences, (explained later).
- 6 icons, positioned horizontally across the top, (explained later):
- 2 icons positioned vertically to the right of the list box, (explained later):
- The list box with 3 columns (pretty self explanatory):
- Name
- Type
- Value
The Preferences Dialog
Set Mode: This mode allows 2 options. Both options are used for setting the attributes of an element from another element, using the AdHoc Attribute Manager SET tool, (no real practical use for this yet in WFL) :
- Append... This option "adds" adhocs (currently in the list box) to the list of adhocs already attached to the element.
- Replace... This option "replaces" any adhocs currently attached to the element, with adhocs in the list box.
Window: Used when reviewing candidate elements in a selection set, and are used in conjunction with the Navigator arrows at the far right in the AdHoc Attribute Manager dialog. Create a MicroStation selection set of candidate elements with adhocs and click on the Identify Element icon on the AdHoc Attribute Manager dialog. Toggle this on to provide 2 options:
- Pan... When set to Pan, the MicroStation view slowly pans from one candidate element to the next.
- Center... When set to Center, the MicroStation view quickly jumps from one element to the next and centers the candidate element in the view.
Hilite: This option simply hilites the candidate element when using the navigation arrows on the AdHoc Attribute Manager dialog.
The 6 horizontal Icons
Attribute Display Filter:
The Attribute Display Filter is similar to the Display Filter in D&C Manager, (where you can control the display of certain D&C Manager items).
With the Attribute Display Filter, it is possible to display (for instance) only the Type 2 curbs that have a Gutter Width of 0.3 meters. In other words you can control elements by more than just the type of element. You can filter similar items by there adhoc attribute values. This tool takes filtering the display of elements to another level.
To use this tool, Identify the Plan view element with AdHoc Attribute Manager's Identify element tool, as shown below:
Data point the Plan view element and Accept it. The dialog will populate as shown below:
To filter the display this element by a certain adhoc attribute, right click on the adhoc (highlight all three columns as shown), then left click on Copy to Display Filter, as shown below:
The Adhoc Attribute Display Filter dialog will appear with the adhoc(s) for filtering, visible in the collection window, as shown below.
4 typical Display filters are available:
- Normal Display
- Highlight Selection
- Hide Selection
- Display Only Selection
Once the adhoc(s) is(are) collected, additional conditions may be added and inserted for further filtering. Filters can be saved via the File pulldown using Save As... NOTE: for more details on using the additional conditions, please see the GEOPAK Help files.
Once filtered, the elements that match the filter may be used for creating a selection set, as shown below:
Identify Element:
The Identify Element icon is useful in determining adhocs assigned to a MicroStation element. If there are no adhocs assigned to an element, the collection window will simply not populate. The Identify Element icon position is shown below:
Set Attributes:
The Set Attributes icon is useful for modifying (or setting) adhocs that were previously attached to an element. Adhoc attributes can be changed, added or deleted. To modify the adhocs of an element, first use the Identify Element icon to populate the collection window. The Set Attributes icon position is shown below:
- To modify an existing adhoc value: Use the Identify Element icon, data point the element to modify (to populate the collection window), right click on an adhoc value, type in the new value, click on the Set Attributes icon, data point the element and accept it, with another data point.
NOTE: You must have Place Influence toggled OFF in order to modify (set) the adhoc value.
- To add an adhoc: (I wouldn't recommend doing this): Use the Add New Row icon, located on the right of the collection window.
- To delete an adhoc: (I wouldn't recommend doing this either): Highlight the adhoc (row) to be deleted, use the Delete Row icon, located on the right of the collection window.
AdHoc Scooper:
The Adhoc Scooper icon is basically used to create an output file illustrating the MicroStation element ID, the adhoc names , their values and the file name and path of the selection being "scooped". The Adhoc Scooper icon position is shown below:
When pressed the Ad hoc Scooper dialog appears as shown below:
The Adhoc Scooper dialog allows Selection By:
- View
- Design File
- Selection Set
- Fence
There are 2 output Formats supported:
- .csv (Excel)
- .mdb (Access)
The Output files may be Created or Appended to an existing file.
An example of a .csv output file is shown below illustrating a cut side wall plan view element:
Previous Element:
The Previous Element icon position is shown below:
The Previous Element icon is used in conjunction with the Identify Element icon when identifying multiple elements in a selection set. When multiple elements have been selected this tool allows you to move from one to another by either Centering the View on the current element, or by slowly Panning back to the Previous element. Adjust the desired navigation setting by accessing the Preferences dialog, available via the File pulldown on the Adhocs Attribute Manager dialog. The Preferences dialog illustrating the Pan and Center navigation options is shown below:
To use the Previous or Next Element navigation tools:
- Adjust the Preferences settings as explained above.
- Create the Selection Set of MicroStation elements that have adhocs attached to them.
- Click the Identify Element icon on the Adhocs Attribute Manager dialog.
- The Previous and Next element icons will "unghost" and be available for navigation. Press the Previous icon repeatedly to navigate from one element to another.
Next Element:
This is tool is identical to the Previous element tool except for the direction of navigation. For instructions see Previous Element.
The Next Element icon position is shown below:
The 2 vertical Icons
Add New Row:
This icon is used for adding new adhocs to an element. Although it is not recommended for WFLHD users to add new adhocs to an element, this would be done by simply clicking on the Add New Row icon and adjusting the values in the 3 columns, (Name, Type, Value).
The Add New Row icon position is shown below:
Delete Row:
This icon is used for deleting adhocs from an element. Although it is not recommended for WFLHD users to delete adhocs from an element, this would be done by simply clicking on the Delete Row icon.
The Delete Row icon position is shown below:
