Using property text

• You can specify property text to be extracted while creating or editing annotations, parts lists, tables, blocks, and drawing view captions. You can do this in the Draft environment and when adding product manufacturing information (PMI) in a model.

• All standard QY CAD file properties are available for use as property text. Properties such as Company, Project, Revision Number, Document Status, and Last Printed Date can be extracted directly from the File Properties dialog box into the title block of a drawing border template.

• You can use property text to compute and display the active sheet and number of sheets. For more information, see Sheet scale and drawing view scale.

• You can standardize the content of drawing captions based on drawing view type (section views, auxiliary views, and detail views). You can automate their placement when you place a drawing view of that type. To learn how to do this, see Define caption content using property text

• On a family of parts drawing table, you can use property text to extract graphical model information into user-defined table columns, to supplement the dimensional and positional values derived from the family of parts. Property text links the drawing dimensions to the variables in the family of parts table. This creates associativity between the variable table and the drawing. For more information, see the help topic, Family of parts dimension tables on drawings.

• You can use property text to extract variables and values from the Variable Table, and reference them in a drawing, profile, or sketch. For example, you can:

  • Use property text to retrieve dimensional values for engineering design calculations, such as when using the Goal Seek command.

  • Annotate your 2D or 3D design using callouts that reference dimensional variables in the Variable Table. As your design changes, so do the dimensional values in the design.

  To learn more about using variables in your design work, see the help topic, Using Variables. To learn how to access the Variable Table through property text, see the help topic, Extract Variable Table data using property text.

You can insert property text strings using dialog boxes or by typing the property text directly. Using a dialog box to insert property text strings eliminates having to type any three-character property text codes. It also ensures the syntax is correct.

• Use the Select Property Text dialog box to insert property text strings. This dialog box specifies the type of information to be retrieved and the source file to be referenced. You can open this dialog box using the Property Text button , which is located on many dialog boxes, such as the Callout Properties dialog box, and the Balloon tab of the Parts List Properties dialog box.

• Use the Select Symbols and Values dialog box to insert annotation and dimension symbols directly into an annotation or dimension. You also can insert references that derive their values by property text, to extract bend data, hole data, weld beads, and drawing views. You can open this dialog box using the Select Symbols and Values button , which is located alongside the Property Text button on many dialog boxes.

• If you are typing property text codes, refer to the following help topics:

  • Basic reference and property text rules

  • Property text codes

  • Format codes to modify property text output

The properties that are available for extraction vary with the property text source that you select. You identify the source using the Source list in the Select Property Text dialog box. After selecting a source, you can then choose a specific property from the Properties list.

For more information, see Selecting a property text source.

You can customize the property text output by applying format codes that modify the extracted property value. This includes the resolved output of reference text and of certain attributes extracted by %XX codes, such as %HS (Hole Size). It also applies to /XX codes that extract custom properties and material properties. You can use the Format Values dialog box to select and enter these format codes, or you can type them yourself within the property text string.

You can open the Format Values dialog box using the Format button, which is located alongside the Property Text button on many annotation, dimension, and table properties dialog boxes. In some cases, you can save the property text formatting options using saved settings.