Need a bit of help please

I accidentally posted this in the 2004 forum, but meant to post it here, sorry bout the double post, but I figured this was the better place for this.

In Colorado Springs, the bldg dept has decided that we have to conform to some lighting standard that limits our wattage/sq. ft to a set amount depending on the type of room/building. So.... I've been assigned the task of coming up with a way to automate the process of counting the light fixtures. I'm sure this is fairly simple, but I'm drawing a blank. We put a fixture type by each light, i.e. "A", or "AA". Depending on the size of the job the range can be from "A" to "ZZ". I need to be able to limit the selection set based on the ending fixture type, filter out any lower case letters, and somehow get a list of each type and the number of occurances. Am I trying to get too much out of Acad or is this possible? If its possible, where do I start? The qselect command is a wonderful way to search for the fixture types and get counts, but on a large job that becomes very tedious. Thanks in advance for any answers or help!

 

Couple of questions. When the light fixtures are applied, are they 'block inserts', with attributes ? Is the 'type' code just 'text' applied to the drawing ? - or is it an attribute ?

Bob

 

Well, right now the fixtures are blocks, but their associated types are just text strings. So a C2x4 is a 2x4 grid mounted fixture in the ceiling that is 2'X4'. But we could have 10 different types of these in a given job, so for some reason they've always just been text strings. After some recent thought, we've decided to try to convert all the blocks to have an attribute to do the same job. So yes, they are blocks, but no attributes, and the 'type' code is just "text".

 

Ok, I think that it can be done..if due care used in searching for the 'text', and examining them. A 'list' of the 'type' codes can be constructed, with a search - looping through the 'list' - making an output list (text) of say..
Type: AA Count= xx
Type: BB Count = yy
etc.
On the 'lower-case', you can force the 'text' string to be lower or upper cased, then check it accordingly...
If you can .zip and send me a sample .dwg (medium size), I'll
take a look and let you know..via E-Mail
E-Mail sample to:
Bob Shaw

 

I fired off an email with a small example. Thanks! I seem to have good ideas and seem to fall flat on my face trying to figure out how to make them realities sometimes LOL

 

Dave,
I think your in luck. Fixture text is on layer "E-LITE-IDEN",
can be used for filter..I'm working on it.
Bob

 

yep, fixture text is on that layer, althougth there are other things on that layer too. Like descriptions, or switching indicators... Hope that doesn't mess up your thought process.

 

Hi -

Be sure to read your answers in ACAD 2004 also. There are quite a
few.

 

Thanks Anne, I have been keeping up with both, I set my preferences to email me when I get reply's so that its easier to work and stay on top of things here too