Using Expandable Groups, Group annot have the capability to expand automatically, either by Feature Characteristic or by Reference Feature. Expanding Groups may be used with single annotation, AutoReport, or ReportTweak.
Two Group annot without Expanding Groups
Two Group annot with Expanding Groups enabled
Only the original group annot (not the annot created via expansion) may be edited.
Two specific requirements are required in order for the Expand group options to be available in the General tab of the annot properties and for the expansions to work properly.
1. The annot must be a Group object containing any of the following annot types:
· Text
· Chart
· Table
· Shape
· Graph
· Picture
2. Any sub-annot of a group that use expansion must have the same DataSource as the Group object. If data is not appearing in your expanded group annot, check the group annot and all sub-annot to confirm that they are all pointed to the proper DataSource.
The drop down menus next to the Expand options refer to the direction in which the group annot are expanded when Feature Characteristics or Reference Features are added automatically.
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None |
Expansion is not performed. |
Down |
Annot are added below the original group annot. |
|
Up |
Annot are added above the original group annot. |
|
Left |
Annot are added to the left of the original group annot. |
|
Right |
Annot are added to the right of the original group annot. |
|
Vertically Inward |
Annot are added vertically inward from the original group annot in relation to the vertical center line of the Sheet. |
|
Vertically Outward |
Annot are added vertically outward from the original group annot in relation to the vertical center line of the Sheet. |
|
Horizontally Inward |
Annot are added horizontally inward from the original group annot in relation to the horizontal center line of the Sheet. |
|
Horizontally Outward |
Annot are added horizontally outward from the original group annot in relation to the horizontal center line of the Sheet. |
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Divide Vertically |
Divides the original group annot size vertically in equal parts by the number of annot created by the expansion. |
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Divide Horizontally |
Divides the original group annot size horizontally in equal parts by the number of annot created by the expansion. |
|
Overlay |
Overlays all annot created by the expansion directly over the original group annot. |
When creating annotation on a sheet that will be grouped and expanded, you must be careful of the position of each annot that will become a sub-annot of the group object. Take into account the direction chosen for the expansion, as well as all possible options for the number or characteristics and/or Reference Features which may appear in the final result, as CM4D will not adjust any annot layout that is not covered by the options you select in the Expand dropdowns.
When the expanded features or characteristics for a single feature are added to an annot, they are added according to the characteristics selected in the Sift Rules. However, even if the main check box of an SMI Type is off, any characteristics selected within the SMI Type will be used to determine which characteristics or Reference Features will be added to the annot.
Augment Reference Features must be enabled in the DataSet Sift Rules if you want to use the Expanding Reference Features function on a Group annot. If you choose not to use the Augment Reference Features in the Sift Rules, you must manually put all of the reference features into the DataSet that you want to use with Expand Reference Features.
To change which characteristics are used for expanding the annot:
1. Turn on the SMI Type.
2. Select which characteristics within that type you want to show.
3. Turn the main SMI Type check box off.
The Expanding Characteristics function automatically expands (or adds to) the annot to show all characteristics available for the selected feature. Feature Characteristics are expanded in the order in which they appear in the DataSet, so any sorting or sequence numbers applied to the data in the DataSet will be reflected in the order of the expansion.
View and Group annot before Expand Feature Characteristics is enabled
Set the Expand Feature Characteristics to Down on the bottom text box (within a Group)
Expanded Feature Characteristics for a DataSet using Surface XYZ points
The Expanding Reference Features function automatically expands (or adds to) the annot to show all Reference Features used by the selected feature. Reference Features are expanded in the order in which they appear in the DataSet, so any sorting or sequence numbers applied to the data in the DataSet will be reflected in the order of the expansion.
View and Group annot before Expand Reference Features is enabled
Set the Expand Reference Features to Right on both text boxes (within a Group)
Expanded Reference Features for a DataSet using Distance and Reference Features that are Surface X points
Both of the Expand options can be used at the same time for all annot within a Group.
Example from Figure 3 and Figure 6 combined
When using AutoReport with an expanding group, the report will be created differently from the standard AutoReport.
· Group with Expand Feature Characteristics - One annot for each feature in the DataSet, regardless of the number of characteristics each of those features has.
· Group with Expand Reference Features - One annot for each row in the DataSet that is a Constructed Feature. If you have features in the DataSet that are not Constructed Features, or not one of the Reference Features for the Constructed Features, those features will not appear in the AutoReport.
· Group with Both - One annot for each row in the DataSet that is a Constructed feature,with Reference Features and all available characteristics included within the same annot.
AutoReport can only "Use Row" when pulling data from a DataSet. However, if you have an annot that pulls data from a DataSet with "Use Feature", CM4D will automatically convert the annotation to "Use Row" as soon as you run AutoReport with that annotation.
When using ReportTweak with an expanding group, the report will be created differently from the standard ReportTweak.
· Group with Expand Feature Characteristics - One annot for each feature in the DataSet, regardless of the number of characteristics each of those features has.
· Group with Expand Reference Features - One annot for each row in the DataSet that is a Constructed Feature. If you have features in the DataSet that are not Constructed Features, or not one of the Reference Features for the Constructed Features, those features will not appear in the AutoReport.
· Group with Both - One annot for each row in the DataSet that is a Constructed feature,with Reference Features and all available characteristics included within the same annot.
ReportTweak can only "Use Feature" when pulling data from a DataSet. However, if you have an annot that pulls data from a DataSet with "Use Row", CM4D will automatically convert the annotation to "Use Feature" as soon as you create a ReportTweak report using that annotation. If the annotation is a group, the same change will be applied to all sub-annotation that have the share the same DataSource as the group object.