Product(s): | OpenBuildings Designer (and AECOsim Building Designer) | ||
Version(s): | CONNECT Edition and V8i | ||
Area: | Import/Export | ||
Subarea: | Reports |
Currently the DataGroup System does not store coordinates for structural elements, however they are stored as EC data accessible to the Items dialog. Methods to report on coordinates using MicroStation reporting tools are covered below for both CONNECT Edition and V8i versions.
OpenBuildings Designer is able to use the MicroStation Reports tool to include information that is not accessible to the OpenBuildings Schedules tool. Reports can combine DataGroup and EC Schema data into one report. DataGroup objects are listed as Item Types in the Reports dialogs. Note that the Item Types and their Properties listed in Reports dialogs are populated by the elements present in the Active File or its attachments (if the Report Definition is set to include reference attachments, as shown in the video below). More information on Reports can be found in this MicroStation Wiki.
This method can be applied to any other building elements or reportable properties that are amenable to sorting in Excel.
This example will look at extracting the start and end point coordinates of a group of piles from the model into Excel.
The AECOsim Building Designer SS6 Edit In/Update From Excel feature has been used to populate the 'ID | Asset Tag' field in order for them to be exported along with the coordinates:
Open the Item Browser, AECOsim Building Designer elements will be listed by type:
The resulting Excel workbook will contain a raw output of the properties listed in the Details dialog. This can then be manipulated with Excel VBA to produce a neatly formatted schedule containing selected columns.
This ABD Excel Macro Examples is an example that will work with Concrete or Steel Piles with the resulting output:
To use the example file, ABD_MacroExamples.xltm:
This will create a new WorkSheet named PileSchedule as shown above.
Note: This macro will only work for structural piles as the columns output from Catalog Items vary. This macro is a very simple (and thus accessible to non-programmers!) example that uses particular column ranges to rearrange and format the data.