These options enable you to define various general loop drawing preferences and some drawing preferences that are specific to the CAD program that you are using.
Plot drawing
Enables you to set the default option for printing CAD loop drawings at the time of generation. After you select this check box, the software automatically prints loop drawings you generate using your CAD application. This preference affects the Send to plotter or printer check box selection on the CAD Options tab of the Generate Loop Drawings dialog box.
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This preference does not affect printing loop drawings generated using the Enhanced Report Utility.
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If you do not want to print CAD loop drawings but save them automatically at the time of generation, clear this check box and then specify the output drawing folder path on the Preferences > Loop Drawings > CAD File Locations page.
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Regardless of this check box setting, when generating a batch of CAD loop drawings, the software only opens the CAD drawing generated last in the batch. It is not possible to set the software to open a print preview of every CAD loop drawing when generating multiple loop drawings.
Generate null macro list
Select this check box to generate a list of macros that are used in the Macro report but which do not return a value when executed.
Generate undefined macro list
Select this check box to generate a list of macros that are used in the Macro report but are not found in the Smart Instrumentation database.
Use macro functions
Select this check box to enable the use of macro functions with macros in CAD drawings. You define macro functions in the Loop Drawings module, in the User-Defined Macro Functions dialog box.
Display references to wiring reports automatically
Select this check box to display references to wiring reports generated in the title block of a specific CAD drawing. After generating a report in the Wiring module, a reference to this report appears automatically in the Document Reference dialog box, where you can add a reference description.
Explode block in AutoCAD
Enables you to edit the loop drawing by separating the drawing block into elements.
Create error.log file
Select this check box to create the error.log file in the location specified on the General preferences page under Temporary folder path. This file is created during the loop generation process.
Use macro symbol (&) to retrieve data
Select this option according to the CAD program you are using:
For SmartSketch users
Always select this check box because in SmartSketch all macros have the ‘&’ prefix. If you clear the check box, only the macro strings will appear in the drawings.
For AutoCAD users
Select this check box if you have manually added the ‘&’ prefix to the macros. Any macros that do not have the ‘&’ prefix do not retrieve data in AutoCAD drawings but are displayed only as macro strings.
MicroStation version
If using MicroStation, select MicroStation SE/J. Otherwise, select the blank value.
AutoCAD macro result type
Select the required macro result from the list. This way you determine the macro result type in AutoCAD while generating a loop drawing. You can set the macro result type as Text or as Attribute.
Revision macro order
Select the relation between the order of revisions and the order of the macros that you have set in the title block. The options are:
Ascending
In ascending order, macro number 1 contains the first added revision, so that the last added revision appears at the bottom of the list in the title block.
Descending
In descending order, macro number 1 contains the last added revision, so that the last added revision appears at the top of the list in the title block.
Generation options
Select your default preferences for generating new loop drawings. You can change these preferences manually when defining loop drawing generation settings on the Generate Loop Drawings dialog box. From the list, select one of the following:
Per loop
Enables you to generate drawings using the loops selected in the Domain Explorer.
Per page
Enables you to type a page number in the Page number box in the Generate Loop Drawings dialog box and generate the specified drawing page only.
Per block
Enables you to select a block from the Block name list in the Generate Loop Drawings dialog box and generate loop drawings only for the loops that use this block.
Default generation method
Allows you to specify the default method for generating loop drawings from the Domain Explorer. The software uses the default generating method if you do not specify any generation method for the loops you select in the Domain Explorer. The following methods are available:
Enhanced Report
Generates enhanced loop drawings using the Enhanced Report Utility. When you select this option, you specify the details of the generation method and other application-specific options on the Enhanced SmartLoop > View (Preferences) and Enhanced Reports - File Locations preferences pages.
SmartSketch
Generates loop drawings using SmartSketch as the CAD program. You must specify the appropriate file locations on the Loop Drawings > CAD File Locations (Preferences) preferences page. You can also specify application-specific options on this page.
AutoCAD
Generates loop drawings using AutoCAD as the CAD program. You must specify the appropriate file locations on the Loop Drawings - CAD File Locations preferences page. You can also specify application-specific options on this page.
MicroStation
Generates loop drawings using MicroStation as the CAD program. You must specify the MicroStation version on this page and the appropriate file locations on the Loop Drawings - CAD File Locations preferences page. You can also specify other application- specific options on this page.
Date format
Type the date format for display in any loop drawing after generation. The valid date formats are the same as the formats you use in Windows, for example, dd/mm/yy, mm/dd/yyyy, and so forth). For details of supported date formats, see Set the Date Format in CAD Loop Drawings.