Truss Manager

The Truss Manager is a centralized location where you can view or edit the default properties of Truss objects from the Library, such as Pipe, Scaffold and Truss, which will affect how the symbols and their dimensions will be displayed in your drawing.

In Truss Manager, the changes applied to the default thickness of truss chord and cross-members will affect the appearance of the selected truss object in your drawing.

In Truss Manager, the changes applied to the default width, depth and height of the truss object will be displayed in your drawing when the Auto Truss Dimension menu is applied.

The Truss Manager can be accessed from the Welcome Screen or from the Managers menu in CAD mode.

The Truss Manager window that opens from the Welcome Screen enables you to set your preferred default properties for any truss objects in the Library that you plan to use in your drawing. The default thickness values you set for the chord and cross-members of the individual truss object will be used for all your new files. The default dimension values you set for the truss objects will be used for all your new files.

The Truss Manager window that opens from within a file in CAD mode displays the list of truss objects that were inserted in your drawing. Any edited values in this window will only be used in the current file, unless you will set those as your new default values.

To access the Truss Manager in the welcome screen

1. From the Options menu in the Welcome Screen, choose Truss Manager.

Result: The Truss Manager window opens from the Welcome Screen.

To add truss objects

1. In the Truss Manager window, click the Add a truss object icon.

The Add a truss object button.

Result: The Add Truss to Manager window appears.

2. In the Add Truss to Manager window, browse and select the truss object you want to add.
3. Click Insert Folder to add the truss object into the Truss Manager.

Result: The truss object will be displayed in the table in the Truss Manager window showing the editable and non-editable properties of truss objects.

4. In the table, click the arrow at the far left column of each truss object to select and highlight the row.

Tip: Use SHIFT and CTRL to select all or multiple truss objects in the table.

5. In the table, you can view or edit the default truss properties of the truss objects on display. See To edit the default properties of the truss objects to view or edit the properties in the table.
6. Click Reset to Defaults to reset the selected items in the table to their corresponding default properties.
7. Click Apply to activate the changes.
8. Click OK.

Result: All changes to the default properties of the truss objects listed in the Truss Manager are applied to all the truss objects in your drawing and all new files.

To access the Truss Manager in CAD

1. From the Managers menu, choose Truss Manager.

Result: The Truss Manager window appears.

Note: In the table, the properties that were changed are displayed in colored text when the edited values are different from the loaded or saved defaults.

To edit the default properties of the truss objects

1. In the Truss Manager window, view or edit the following properties:

• Display Columns: Click this button to display the Truss Manager Options dialog box where you can choose which column and how to display in the Truss Manager window.
• Select: Select this checkbox to choose the truss object and its properties.
• Truss Name: The name of the truss object that is stored in the Library. (Not editable)
• Color Type: Select Object Color or Custom Color from this drop-down list.
• Object Color: By default, Color Type is set to Object Color and truss objects are displayed as defined by their properties.
• Custom Color: Select Custom Color to always display the selected truss object in a different color, ignoring the color of the Layer or the color that was assigned within its Properties dialog box. This does not change the properties of the truss object which will revert back to the color set in Properties when Color Type switches to Object Color.
• Color: Click the Color Box to select the custom color for the selected truss object. Color is enabled when Custom Color is selected from the Color Type drop-down list.
• Truss Alias: Type a user name for the truss object.
• Chord: Type a new value to change the thickness of the chord for the selected truss object.
• Cross-Member: Type a new value to change the thickness of the cross-members for the selected truss object.
• Auto Dim X: Displays the specified length for the listed Truss item that will appear when the Auto Truss Dimension tool is applied. You may type a new value and the edited length will be displayed in blue text.
• Auto Dim Y: Displays the specified width for the listed Truss item that will appear when the Auto Truss Dimension tool is applied. You may type a new value and the edited width will be displayed in blue text.
• Auto Dim Z: Displays the specified height for the listed Truss item that will appear when the Auto Truss Dimension tool is applied. You may type a new value and the edited height will be displayed in blue text.
• Is Selected: Displays Yes if the truss object is selected in the drawing or No if not selected in the drawing. (Not editable)
• Manufacturer: Name of the manufacturer of the truss object that is stored in the Library. (Not editable)
• Weight: Default weight of the truss object that is stored in the Library. (Not editable)
• Load Thickness Values from Defaults: Applies the default thickness values stored in the Library database to all the selected truss objects listed in the table.
• Save Thickness Values as Defaults: Saves the edited values of all the selected truss objects as the new default values for all the selected truss objects listed in the table.
• Show Selected Truss: Select this checkbox to display the table with only the truss objects that are selected in the drawing.
• Show Edited Truss: Select this checkbox to display the table with only the truss objects with properties that were edited.
• Show All Truss in File: Select this checkbox to display all truss objects in the drawing.

Note: Some truss objects from the Library, such as Pipe objects will show no effect in the drawing when certain properties are changed in Truss Manager. For example, a pipe object from the Library will show only the changes to the Chord and X values.

2. Click Apply to activate the changes.
3. Click OK.

Result: All changes to the default properties of the truss objects listed in the Truss Manager are applied to all the truss objects in your drawing.