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DriveWorks Pro 22
Drawing Rules General

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Drawing Rules General

This document describes the different kinds of rules that apply to parameters that can be captured from drawings.

File Name Rule

The file name rule is used to determine the name of the driven drawing.

RuleMeaning
Creates a new drawing with the same name as its parent Assembly or Part.
"DELETE"Prevents the drawing from being generated.
DWSpecificationIdCreates a new drawing with its filename set to be its original file name, suffixed with the specification number - for example, "Block.slddrw" would become "Block 1.slddrw" if it was generated by the first specification.
"*" & DWSpecificationIdCreates a new drawing with its filename set to be the specification number - for example, "Block.slddrw" would become "1.slddrw" if it was generated by the first specification.
"*" & DWSpecificationId & "*"Creates a new subassembly or part with its filename set to be its original file name, prefixed with the specification number - for example, "Block.slddrw" would become "1 Block.slddrw" if it was generated by the first specification.

Relative Path Rule

The relative path rule controls the folder that the drawing is created in. The folder is specified relative to the "Results" folder which is in the same folder as the project file.

RuleMeaning
""If the project is located at "C:\DriveWorks Pro\My Cupboard\My Cupboard.driveproj" then the driven drawing will be created in "C:\DriveWorks Pro\My Cupboard\Results\".
DWSpecificationIdIf the project is located at "C:\DriveWorks Pro\My Cupboard\My Cupboard.driveproj" and the specification number is 56 then the driven drawing will be created in "C:\DriveWorks Pro\My Cupboard\Results\56\".
"\\dataserver\models\cupboards"The driven drawing will be created in \\dataserver\models\cupboards

Layer State Rule

Layer state rules are used to control the visibility of a layer.

RuleMeaning
TRUEShows the layer, you could also use "Show" (in quotes).
FALSEHides the layer, you could also use "Hide".

Sheet State Rule

Sheet state rules are used to delete or rename sheets.

RuleMeaning
""Leaves the sheet as it is.
TRUELeaves the sheet as it is.
FALSEDeletes the sheet, you could also use "Delete" (in quotes).
"PDF"Renames the sheet to be "PDF".

Sheet Numerator and Denominator Rules

Sheet numerator and denominator rules are used to control the scale of the sheet.

Numerator RuleDenominator RuleMeaning
12Scales the sheet to a ratio of 1:2
101Scales the sheet to a ratio of 10:1
IF(HeightReturn<1000,2,1)IF(HeightReturn<1000,1,2)When Height is 900 (less than 1000) the sheet will be scaled to a ratio of 2:1, When Height is 1500 (greater than 1000) the sheet will be scaled to a ratio of 1:2

View State Rule

View state rules are used to delete or change the configuration of a view.

RuleMeaning
""Leaves the view as it is.
TRUELeaves the view as it is.
FALSEDeletes the view, you could also use "Delete" (in quotes).
"Red"Changes the view to show the "Red" configuration of the referenced model.

View Numerator and Denominator Rules

View numerator and denominator rules are used to control the scale of the view.

Numerator RuleDenominator RuleMeaning
12Scales the view to a ratio of 1:2
101Scales the view to a ratio of 10:1
IF(HeightReturn<1000,2,1)IF(HeightReturn<1000,1,2)When Height is 900 (less than 1000) the view will be scaled to a ratio of 2:1, When Height is 1500 (greater than 1000) the view will be scaled to a ratio of 1:2
When controlling views in a drawing ensure the scale property for the view, in SOLIDWORKS, is set to "Use custom scale"

View Left and Top Rules

View left and top rules are used to control the position of the view relative to the bottom, left of the sheet.

View Left RuleView Top RuleMeaning
20250Sets the left position 20 units from the left and 250 units from the bottom
DWVariableLeftDWVariableTopSets the left position to the value calculated by DWVariableLeft from the left and the value calculated by DWVariableTop units from the bottom
IF(LengthReturn<2000,20,40)IF(HeightReturn<1000,250,350)Sets the left position 20 units from the left, when the Length is less than 2000 and 250 units from the bottom when the Height is less than 1000
Before building the rule for the Left and Top positions, click on the corresponding view in the sheets and views tree below the model tree. This will show the current values of the master drawing for the positions. This is a good indicator for setting the view positions.

Breakline Rules

Breakline rules are used to control the position of the breaklines relative to the left and right of the view.

The Distance 1 reference is to the first breakline from the left of the view edge.

The Distance 2 reference is to the second breakline from the right of the view edge.

If the breakline is not required forcing the rule to result in "Delete" will remove the breakline from the drawing.

Distance 1 RuleDistance 2 RuleMeaning
1535Sets the first breakline 15 document units from the left of the view, and the second breakline 35 document units from the right of the view.
DWVariableBreakLeftDWVariableBreakRightSets the first breakline to the value calculated by DWVariableBreakLeft from the left of the view, and the second breakline to the value calculated by DWVariableBreakRight from the right of the view.
IF(LengthReturn<2000,15,45)IF(LengthReturn<2000,35,65)Sets the first breakline 15 document units from the left, when the Length is less than 2000 and 45 document units from the left when the Length is greater than 2000. Sets the second breakline 35 document units from the right, when the Length is less than 2000 and 65 document units from the right when the Length is greater than 2000.
IF(LengthReturn<2000, "Delete",45)IF(LengthReturn<2000, "Delete",65)Will delete the first breakline, when the Length is less than 2000 or set it to 45 document units from the left when the Length is greater than 2000. Will delete the second breakline, when the Length is less than 2000 and set it to 65 document units from the right when the Length is greater than 2000.

When either of the breakline values result in "Delete" both will be deleted.

For more accurate control of breakline positions we recommend creating planes in the model from which the breaklines can be dimensioned from. Capture the plane distance and control the breakline position from the plane. Set the distance from the plane to the breakline to a minimum nominal value.

Custom Property Rule

Custom property rules control the text of a custom property. For more information about special custom properties used for driving colors, materials, and textures, see Custom Properties.

RuleMeaning
CustomerReturnResults in the custom property being set to the value the user typed into a text box called Customer.

DriveWorks Quick Tips

DriveWorks Quick Tips: Custom Properties

Custom properties allow you to control the custom properties within a part, assembly, or drawing. We can control anything from text to be displayed, to the colour of the part. Here, we control the colour of a chair, as well as the description and title on the drawing.

DriveWorks Quick Tips are a series of 1 minute videos, available on YouTube, that explain specific functionality. View all Quick Tips

Annotation Rule

Various types of annotations can be controlled by DriveWorks. These include:

  • Note
  • Dimension Text
  • Surface Finish Symbol
  • Weld Symbol
  • Geometric Tolerance
  • Datum Feature Symbol

For more information on these please refer to the See Also links below.

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