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Can I reference a table/spreadsheet to give me options when filling out properties?
rich_north
Member Posts: 6 ✭
I'm freelance and work in a job where over the course of a few months I will be working on multiple separate 'Rigs' e.g. in the last 9 months on my current contract there have been about 60, all with unique names which are shared around the department. I'm coming over from Solidworks where I am used to creating local excel spreadsheets which my custom property fields reference, giving me options in the dropdown to maintain continuity.
I know there is functionality in Onshape to create a list within a property (I do that for 'vendors'), but this would very quickly become quite unwieldy in my custom 'Rigs' property, and once the contract is over, I'm done with them but they would have to remain in the list, deactivated presumably.
Closest I have got is to use the 'Link Tab' featurescript to host a google sheet in my project folder and refer to that to maintain continuity with naming the 'Rigs' etc. I'm still typing these in manually though.
I'm assuming because of the way Onshape works that this method at best isn't good practice (because of deletion) and at worst isn't possible! But I just thought I'd ask to see if there's a clever way to manage LONG lists of custom properties outside of the actual custom property itself.
Best Answer
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MichaelPascoe
Member Posts: 2,655 PRO
Hm, ok you need it for assemblies to get the data then into drawings. That rules out custom features since they are only for part studios.
I'm not sure of a way to dynamically change a property list per project, but perhaps Onshape can do this + Arena?You could take a look at the 🧰CADSharp Toolbox app.
It has a Property Manager sub app that lets you manage per project properties in bulk. This will not change an enum, but it should get you familiar with what the API is capable of doing when it comes to automation..
Learn more about the Gospel of Christ ( Here )
CADSharp - We make custom features and integrated Onshape apps! Learn How to FeatureScript Here 🔴0
Answers
I'm not sure how you are using the custom properties. But its definitely possible to do easier manageable tagging and lists with Variable studios + custom features.
What are you using the properties for specifically? This will tell us the extent of which workflows we could use in your case.
.
Learn more about the Gospel of Christ ( Here )
CADSharp - We make custom features and integrated Onshape apps! Learn How to FeatureScript Here 🔴
I'm using the vendor property as above as these are persistent across all of my work. I wouldn't ever really want to remove any (inactive) but of course this is possible if one stops trading etc.
I'm basically after a way to manage a list of projects which are available to me in a custom 'Rig' field when i'm filling out part/assembly properties. I'm trying to avoid a huge list in the attribute itself, like in 'Vendors'.
I will be working on a project with multiple sub projects and jumping around a lot. Currently I'm typing it in and just trying to remember what I initially called the 'Rig' I'm working on! It's really just to get info onto drawings I issue that is consistent with the rest of the department.
Ideally I don't want a master list to reference across my entire Onshape company (like vendors), because I could have 100s of entries in a few years… I want a list which is project specific, so when I choose 'Project 10' for example (as a property like vendor), the 'Rigs' field drop down updates accordingly, showing me what 'Rig' names I've assigned to that project.
Hm, ok you need it for assemblies to get the data then into drawings. That rules out custom features since they are only for part studios.
I'm not sure of a way to dynamically change a property list per project, but perhaps Onshape can do this + Arena?
You could take a look at the 🧰CADSharp Toolbox app.
It has a Property Manager sub app that lets you manage per project properties in bulk. This will not change an enum, but it should get you familiar with what the API is capable of doing when it comes to automation.
.
Learn more about the Gospel of Christ ( Here )
CADSharp - We make custom features and integrated Onshape apps! Learn How to FeatureScript Here 🔴
Thanks for the help 😊 I have CADSharp so I'll look into the property manager. Featurescript is on my list of things to dig into over the Christmas holiday!