Land F/X Block Creation from Scratch: Detailed Instructions

• Initial Setup
• Layers
• Drawing the Block
• Coloring the Block
• Block Checklist
• Saving
• Saving Generic Blocks
• Saving Manufacturer Product Blocks
• Block Creation Scenarios
• Scenario 1: Conforming an Existing Block to Land F/X Standards
• Scenario 2: Creating a Block from Scratch Using a Plan View Image, a SketchUp file, or Spec Information
• Plan View Image
• SketchUp File
• Spec Information

The following steps provide detailed instructions for creating blocks to Land F/X standards for use in the software.

Initial Setup

1. Open a new drawing file in CAD.

 

 

 

 

3. Select the Load Layers tool from the F/X Admin ribbon to load the appropriate Layer States.

 

Select the [BLOCKS] category, then select the _GENERIC_ Layer State,

 

 

 

 

 

Layers

Block layer linetype settings.

All standard block layers have names beginning with LK-. This just means Land F/X block.

 

Following LK- is the 4-letter code representing the block type. If you load the _GENERIC_ layer state, this code will be XXXX. Replace these characters with the appropriate 4-letter block type from the table below.

 

 

 

Following the block type is the layer name suffix:

 

 

 

 

Standard _GENERIC_ block layers in the Layer Manager

 

 

Drawing the Block

 

 

 

 

• Draw simple, closed shapes to ease coloring the block.

 

 

• Take care to only include enough detail to convey the necessary elements of the block. Keep in mind that a user's plan render will likely be zoomed out much farther than your up-close view of the block while you're creating. A little goes a long way.

 

Coloring the Block

Once linework is complete and the block is positioned and oriented appropriately, add color to the block with the Site Color tool under the F/X Site tab.

 

 

 

 

Guidelines:

• Set up your color palette. You can make several color wheels, each with 12 colors. Left-click on a color to see 5 shades fly out to the right of the wheel. To edit any of these colors, right-click and select Edit from the menu that opens. Use only True Color.

 

• The Site Color tool will place color fills on a layer named L-SITE-COLR-FILL.

 

• Use as few hatches as possible to keep the block lightweight efficient. If possible, use a single hatch per color.

 

 

 

• Place the initial color hatch with the Site Color tool, then use the Pick Points function in the Hatch Editor to select the other areas that should be filled with the same color.

 

 

 

Block Checklist

Go through the following checklist to ensure you've created the block is correctly:

• No ellipses, splines, text, or dimensions.
• No Xrefs, Proxy Objects (Proxies), DGN linetypes, or Registered Applications (RegApps).
• No groups or blocks.
• Uses only Land F/X standard layers.
• All layer names contain the appropriate 4-letter layer type (not XXXX!)
• All objects' properties set ByLayer (except color fills).
• All objects at 0 elevation.
• Insertion base set to 0,0.
• Insertion point set at the appropriate place on the block.
• Zoom (Z) to Extents (E) to ensure that no extraneous elements are occurring outside the block.
• Model drawn in inches or millimeters at 1:1 scale.
• Layer 0 set to active (once finished).
• -COLR layer visibility turned off (once finished).
• Run the PRG command to ensure that only the layers with content are present.

Saving

Saving Generic Blocks

Once you've completed the block, use the CTRL+A keys to select all objects (including the solid color hatches, which should be on the -COLR layer with visibility turned off), and save using the Save Block tool. This step will generate the necessary DWG, XML, SLD, and/or PNG files. (The SLD or PNG file is the AutoCAD slide – the thumbnail that will appear in the block selection dialog box.)

 

You'll first be prompted to specify an insertion point. Type 0,0 then press Enter.

 

You'll then be prompted to specify a folder location and filename. Navigate to the appropriate one of the following locations:

• (C:)\LandFX\Blocks\plan_graphics\99-user-defined
• (C:)\LandFX\Blocks\elevation_graphics\99-user-defined

 

 

The file name must match the block name on the Master Block List spreadsheet, and should therefore adhere to the following format: LAFX-XXXX-VV-YYY-ZZZD.dwg

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saving Manufacturer Product Blocks

Manufacturer product blocks can be saved normally, without using the Save Block tool. (Manufacturer blocks do not use thumbnail slides, and the XML data is created by the system on the fly when the user downloads the block).

 

The filename should follow the following format: MANU-MODEL_NAME.dwg

 

MANU represents the 3- or 4-letter manufacturer code.

 

MODEL_NAME represents the name of the model as it's entered in the database, in ALL CAPS, with any spaces replaced with underscores (_).

 

Block Creation Scenarios

Scenario 1: Conforming an Existing Block to Land F/X Standards

1. Open a blank new drawing, and complete the Initial Setup steps above.

 

2. Open the existing DWG. Copy the linework to be used in the block, and paste it into the new drawing. Leave out dimensions and text, as those items would carry over unnecessary styles into the new drawing.

 3. Remove ellipses and splines.

• Select all objects, and check the Properties drop-down menu to see which elements are present.
• If ellipses or splines are present, use QUICKSELECT or QS to select them.
• Object type: Ellipse or Spline.
• Operator: Select All.
• OK.
• Move splines and ellipses to a "Temporary" layer.
• Use polylines to trace over splines and ellipses on the correct layer.
• Delete the "Temporary" layer using the LAYDEL command.

 

Alternatively, ellipses can be converted to polylines using the EL2PL.lsp LISP routine.

 

Splines can be converted to polylines using the PEDIT command. However, PEDIT will not delete the splines automatically when it creates the polylines. Take care to delete the splines afterward.

 

4. Clean the rest of the drawing to satisfy the requirements in the Block Checklist.

 

 

Scenario 2: Creating a Block from Scratch Using a Plan View Image, a SketchUp file, or Spec Information

Plan View Image

Some spec sheets will contain a plan-view detail drawing of the product. This is a great option because we can just trace the product in CAD.

1. Use the screenshot tool (Command+Ctrl+Shift+4 on Mac) to capture an image of the detail.

 

2. Use the IMAGEATTACH command to attach the image.

 

3. Resize the image to match the actual product dimensions. You can do so by drawing a line at a known dimension and using the ALIGN command.

 

4. Change the transparency of the image to 50 in the Properties, and trace over it with polylines.

 

 

SketchUp File

If we don't have an image to trace but do have a SketchUp file, we can generate a 2D DWG file from SketchUp. To do so, open the SKP file and set up the model as follows:

• Camera>Standard Views>Top Camera>Parallel Projection File>Export>2D Graphic
• The SketchUp-generated DWG will likely have extraneous linework to remove.

 

 

Spec Information

If we have no image to trace or DWG files, we'll need to create the blocks based on the dimensions/specifications of the spec.