Place Leaders

По русски

Plugin AVC_PlaceLeaders for AutoCAD and BricsCAD

Create multileaders with the names of each selected object or for all viewport objects.

The "Place Leaders" command will help you quickly arrange assembly drawings. The command will create a callout (multileader) from each visible part or from each block, extract the name of the part or any other data about it, and arrange the MultiLeader texts in two columns on the sides of the assembly. Thus, all the work on creating all callouts is done in one click. You can use the command in 3D or 2D drawings, in viewport sheets, or directly in the model. Using the program ensures that you do not forget to mark any details.

Advantages of the program

  • Works with any drawing objects: curves, solids, blocks.

  • Works in the model and on sheets (via viewports)

  • The program can find objects in the viewport herself. But you can select only a part of the objects for placing leaders.

  • For each part in the 3D model, the visibility of the center is checked, the midpoints of edges and vertices, and leaders are made only if a visible point is found that is not obstructed by other parts.

  • The program can make a list of invisible parts, so you don't forget to mark them in another view.

  • You can make multileaders from parts inside assembly-blocks and nested blocks. You can also use blocks with exploded views created by the TNT command.

  • You can discard unnecessary details by filtering by layer, technology, etc.

  • The Smart Leader program and the drawing object property substitution system are used to extract any data and fill in the multileader according to the template. For example, you can write part dimensions or materials on multileader.

  • You can call the Numbering program to name the parts as sequential numbers and display those names on multileaders.

  • Different templates are used to fill in data about solids, blocks and other objects.

  • You can use a multileader style with a block at the end, including a "bubble" with a part number.

  • The program can search for and delete old multileaders left over from past calls to the program.

  • You can prevent the program from repeating the multileader from the same parts and the same blocks.

  • The program can replace arrowheads on multileaders with dots if the arrow points to the center of the part where there are no lines.

  • Multileaders will update their data on the LeaderUpdate command, along with other Smart Leaders.

  • You can customize the programs differently for different multileader styles. Create as many multy-leader styles as you want with different settings and simply switch styles. Some of the settings are common with Smart Leaders.

  • The program are fully translated into Italian, German, Russian, Chinese.

The program interacts well with the plugins A>V>C> Properties Palette, Lay and Sawing Table. Once entering the part names in the properties of the solids, you can quickly place them on the leaders of the Assembly drawing and exploded drawings, and Sawing Table. Measurement of the solid follows the same rules as in the Sawing Table, regardless of the rotation of parts in space.


Read about downloading and installing the program here.

To run the plugin, you will have to register account and top up your account balance by making a donation or receiving bonuses.

Then you can activate one of the licenses:

Program limitations

  • The leader placement may not seem ideal to you, the arrows may cross, and the endpoints may not look the best to you. In many cases, after the program has run, you will want to refine the arrangement manually.

  • The program does not work with ModelDoc (_ViewBase) views, only with regular viewports.

  • The program cannot always find visible points on heavily blocked parts. But you can add multileaders yourself - use the Smart Leader program.

  • The program does not know how to place multileaders above and below the view. Only right and left.

  • Multileaders will not update automatically when the model changes. If only the names and descriptions of parts have changed, then you can use the LeaderUpdate command to update leader texts on all assemblies at once. But if the geometry of the model has changed, then you need to call the Place Leaders command again for each assembly.

  • The more complex the details, the more points you need to check for visibility, the longer the program will run. For overly complex assemblies, try disabling vertex or edge visibility checking.

Instructions for use

First, set up multy-leader styles with the usual _MLeaderStyle command. Here the appearance of the multileaders, the size of the text and arrows are set. You may need additional styles specifically for setting up Place Leaders - a separate style for sub-assemblies in a large assembly, a separate style for parts and fasteners in an assembly, and so on.

Then go to the AVC settings palette and on the Place Leaders tab, select the style you need and set up all the placement options. Here you will not be able to create new styles and customize the appearance of multileaders.

If your assembly is a block, then check "Inside Assembly" in the object filtering settings. Then the program will look for solids and other objects inside assembly blocks and nested blocks. Assemblies are considered to be all exploding non-annotative blocks. If you don't need to multileader from the internal objects of some block, then mark it as non-explosive. It is convenient to do this in the A>V>C> Properties Palette.

If you need multileaders from blocks of fittings and fasteners, then mark these blocks as non-explosive, and in the Place Leaders settings, select Blocks-products in terms of filtering objects. Purchased items are considered to be all non-explosive non-annotative blocks.

You can prepare an exploded view of your assembly using the TNT command. Exploded views show more detail.

If the parts are not already numbered, check the Numbering option. However, it is recommended to do this with a separate AvcNum command.

Creating multileaders and other annotations in model space is bad practice. Ideally, the model should contain only the model of the designed product, and all designations and design (annotations) should be on sheets in paper space. However, the Place Leaders program also supports this (obsolete) way of working. You can rotate the model as you like and change the user coordinate system (UCS). For example, select the "view" coordinate system: _ucs _v. The Place Leaders command will create leaders in the XY plane of the current coordinate system.

To place multileaders on a sheet, create a viewport. Do not use the _ViewBase command for this view, since the Place Leaders does not work with such views (ModelDoc views), it only needs viewports. But on the same sheet there can be views created by the ViewBase command. It is recommended that you use ModelDoc orthogonal views for dimensioning, sectioning, and detail views. And to Place Leaders with position numbers, create a viewport with an isometric or exploded view on the same sheet. The same viewport will be useful for you to create Sawing Table or specification of purchased products. Don't forget to leave space on the sheet to the left and right of the viewport.

Select a viewport and call PlaceLeaders. It's okay if foreign objects from paper space get into the selection. The program will work with only one viewport. The program itself will find all visible parts and assemblies in the viewport. But you can enter the model through the viewport and select some objects. Then the program will work only with them. Thus, in one viewport, you can show several assemblies and make multileaders from each assembly separately.

After selecting the objects, the program will filter the appropriate ones according to the filtering settings you have chosen. Next, the program will extract data from each object in order to fill in all the substitutions in templates. If numbering is enabled, then a table is created (the Data Table program is running) in which all objects will be sorted using all substitutions from all 3 templates. There is no way to fine-tune the numbering order in this command. This is one of the reasons why it is better to number the parts in a separate AvcNum command.

Next, the program creates multileaders. If the geometric center of the part is to the left of the center of the assembly, then the leader is made to the left. If to the right - to the right. First of all, the program checks whether the geometric center of the part is visible. If it is blocked by other parts, then the program looks for visible points at the midpoints of all edges and at all corners (vertices) of the part. If the details are too complex, with hundreds of edges, then the program can take a very long time to test the visibility of each point. In this case, it is recommended to disable multy-leaders from edges and vertices. Then the program won't call out the parts with a blocked center and you will have to use the Smart Leader command to make some multy-leaders manually.

As a rule, after the program has run, it is necessary to slightly optimize the placement of multileaders in order to reduce the intersection of the arrows and indicate more understandable points on the details. However, it is still faster than doing all the work manually.

At the end of the work, the program will create a text (MText object) with a list of invisible parts. Use this list to mark the details manually or create another view in which these details are visible and call the Place Leaders again. And then this text can be deleted.

If you renumber parts or want to update multileader texts for some other reason, just call LeaderUpdate once for the entire drawing.

If the assembly geometry has changed, new parts have appeared, then PlaceLeaders must be called again for each view. In this case, old multileaders can be deleted automatically.

This program is affected by all the features, problems and limitations of Smart Leader.

You can read about using the LeaderUpdate command here.

Watch the command line - all program messages are displayed there.

Program settings

The program settings are associated with the name of the multileader style. When you switch the current multileader style, the Placement settings also change. The program saves the settings in the Windows registry and the settings will be the same for all drawings where there are multileader styles of the same name. And to transfer the settings to another computer, it is not enough to transfer the drawing. You want to export and import A>V>C> settings.

Some of the program settings are common with Smart Leader: multileadr text templates and settings for converting numbers to text. This allows you to update all leaders with a single LeaderUpdate command.

Selected objects filter

Allows you to exclude unnecessary parts and blocks from processing, including parts inside block assemblies. You can filter parts by various properties: type, layer, manufacturing technology. The multileader will be made only for objects that pass the filter. If some object is rejected by the filter, you will see a message about it on the command line. By default, multileaders are enabled only from solids and non-explosive blocks (blocks-products), all annotations and objects of auxiliary layers are filtered. If you need multileaders with assembly block names, they must be included in the filter list by object type.

Also in the filter settings there is an option to process objects inside assembly blocks.

Format for

There are three separate text templates for substituting the properties of objects of different types: Solids, Blocks and all others. Use substitutions to select the properties you need. If the program does not find a standard substitution for a block, it will look for a block attribute with the same name or a dynamic block parameter. All substitutions are written only in small letters. And block attributes should be written in the same case as they are written in the block.

There are some peculiarities of using the PlaceLeaders program with block multileaders (with a block instead of text at the end). If there are several attributes in such a block, then the template is configured in the default value of each attribute and does not depend on the type of object. Read the article about Smart Leader for details.

Delete old multileaders

Search for multileaders and texts created the last time the command was run and delete them.

Replace arrow with dot

For multileaders from the center of the part, which do not go from the outline of the part, but from an empty space in the center of the part, replace the arrow with a circle. Just for clarity. It is the dot that sometimes denotes that in this empty space of the drawing there is some kind of surface of some part.

From the center of the part

If the geometric center of the part is visible, then first of all make a multileader from the center.

From part edge

Search for visible points of the part in the middle of each of its edges. Only if the center of the part is invisible.

From part vertex

Search for visible vertices (vertices) and make multileaders from them. Only if the center of the part is invisible.

List of invisible parts

Create a text with a list of parts for which no visible point was found. The text will be placed under the view. After drawing leaders from these parts in other views, it can be deleted.

Place left

Place multileader texts to the left of the view. If disabled, then all multileaders will be placed on the right.

Place right

Place multileader texts to the right of the view.

Repeat on same blocks

Make multileaders from all blocks, even if a block with the same name already has a multileader. If the option is disabled, then only one (first encountered) block will have a leader.

Repeat on identical objects

Make multileaders from all parts, even if the same part already has a multileader. If the option is disabled, then only one (first found) part will have a multileader. All substitutions from all three templates are used to calculate "sameness" and possibly more parts are compared in terms of geometry and appearance.

Numbering

Give all parts names as numbers in order. To sort the numbers and to calculate "sameness" (to give the same number), all substitutions from all three templates are used, and perhaps more parts are compared in geometry and appearance. The call of the AvcNum command is used, on the page of which you will find a description of its settings.

Multiplication request

The option makes sense only if you display the number of parts somewhere on the multileaders. You can multiply the number of parts in an assembly by the lot size. The multiplier is stored in the drawing properties and will be used even if the prompt is disabled.