Topic: Is it acceptable in your place....

[mjfarrell]

Instrumentation & Electrical

funny .. I never did any instrumentation, but with every electrical schematic I have ever had the pleasure of working on, it was mandatory to use plines .. but then maybe your electrical is different from schematics and wiring plans

same here, be it for liftstation pump wiring, or traffic control, and or the occasional Rack Mount Diagram with patch panel routing...all polylines

[mjfarrell]

I don't see what PLines are soooo much better than regular lines.

because you still use lines when you should use polylines 

[Bob Garner]

If you don't use polylines on your electrical diagrams, the electricity won't flow through them.  Plain and simple.

[craigr]

...... I also like to have items with different start and end z values.

We have one guy here that I swear he would do this if he thought of it! - Just to 'get away with it'.

We do all 2d, so I would never catch that. - Hey, maybe I should check, he may have been doing that for years!!

craigr

[Krushert]

If you don't use polylines on your electrical diagrams, the electricity won't flow through them.  Plain and simple.

[Krushert]

When drawing a line, say horizontal, 100' - Is it acceptable to drawi it in segments rather than ONE line?

We do mostly electrical dwgs. I have been trying to get our guys to stop drawing single lines in segments. When moving the lines, it is very annoying to only grab part of the line.

Sometimes there are even lines that have another one beneath it.

To me, this is just sloopy CAD work.

Is it tolerated in your place?

Would it be that the file or line work was created and used over many projects by many users?  I have hound instances like this where the first user has created a polyline and then the following user who hates polylines explodes them.  Thus creating segmented lines. 

As for lines on top of each other, in our office with using architectural desktop's detail component tools will result with two lines on top of each other.  (I.e. (2) layers of GWB, the interior faces will have lines on top of each other.)  Then my more archaic users will come along behind me and explode them.    :realmad:  Thus getting lines on top of each other. 

If it is for P&ID or I&E drawings then the users need to be shot, the drawn and quartered and then keel hauled and then shot again just to make sure the point is understood.

[mjfarrell]

nice KROSHOS...want to proof that again, and kill the hounds?

[M-dub]

Even when you're using a pline, if it's one continuous line, why not make it so?  There's no need to have multiple segments to make up a single straight line... in my opinion, anyway.

[craigr]

The trouble is that if / when the subject is brought to management / non-CAD users, their response is typically 'it looks fine when printed, so there is no problem'

I know this isn't a HUGE deal, but it's annoying when I get bit by a line that is 'floating' in the middle of the screen, because I moved one and didn't notice there was one beneath it.

Bottom line, apparently it isn't just me that is annoyed with this. Perhaps I will chase it down a little more.

Thanks for all of the responses,
craigr

[mjfarrell]

The trouble is that if / when the subject is brought to management / non-CAD users, their response is typically 'it looks fine when printed, so there is no problem'

I know this isn't a HUGE deal, but it's annoying when I get bit by a line that is 'floating' in the middle of the screen, because I moved one and didn't notice there was one beneath it.

Bottom line, apparently it isn't just me that is annoyed with this. Perhaps I will chase it down a little more.

Thanks for all of the responses,
craigr

OH NO!  You are totally right to be annoyed, as it shows sloppy workmanship.  And you have no idea the total amount of wasted profits it creates.  Using lines alone isn't a bad thing until you consider that in some operations they require 50% more clicks to perform the edit operation, and in other instances as much as 400% more clicks to perform the task.  Factor in the additional edits this sloppy workmanship is adding to the process, and you have every right to be annoyed.  Yeah it plots OK; however it's still costing you profits.
However; when you explain to your users why you want them to start using polylines; I wouldn't tell them it's because the 'lectricity wont flow if'n they don't' as the reason for doing so. 

[deegeecees]

Polylines vs Lines

Take 5293!

If you were to have an outline of something that is made up of lines and needed to grab that outline, you would need to select all the lines that made up that outline. If the same outline were made of a single polyline, then all you would need to do is to pick that polyline once. The difference between the two methods becomes greater as the amount of detail surounding the geometry increases.

I haven't drawn a "Line" in probably 10 years or more.



As far as the original topic, multiple lines to make up one single 100' line would be unacceptable, with the exception being that the line/polyline needed to have increments for placement of other geometry based on it's endpoints.

[M-dub]

That reminds me of another huge pet peeve of mine... When I come across a drawing covered in rev clouds that are made up of individual arcs... and what makes it worse is when they're all on the same layer as most of the other garbage in the drawing... it just takes forever to delete them.

Yeah, plines certainly have their uses.

[Krushert]

nice KROSHOS...want to proof that again, and kill the hounds?

Feel better that you got that out of your system?

Now can we get back to the discussion at hand like adults.

[mjfarrell]

nice KROSHOS...want to proof that again, and kill the hounds?

Feel better that you got that out of your system?

Now can we get back to the discussion at hand like adults.

you invented the term, not me   

decidedly, multiple segments where none should exist is NOT acceptable

[Krushert]

IT comes down to education the user but no matter what you throw at them or threaten them with. if they do not not want to change and management will not back you up, there is nothing you can do to get them to change.