Using Placement Defaults
With a typical GIS design, "placement" means assigning a feature (usually a type of facility) to a location in the design. This process involves selecting an item from the Features Catalog and dragging it to a work location displayed in the Design Workspace of the Design Assistant. When you assign the feature to your design, Bentley OpenUtilities Designer places it on the GIS map according to the active placement defaults for this feature type. Bentley OpenUtilities Designer also gives the feature certain attributes and behaviors that derive from the active placement defaults.
Placement defaults are set up and modified using the Placement Defaults dialog box. You can access this dialog box from the Job Default Assistant and from the Design Assistant.
Bentley OpenUtilities Designer supports three categories of placement defaults for each feature in the Features Catalog:
You can make changes to the default values of a feature after assigning it or even disable certain defaults, depending on the way your system is set up.
Attribute Defaults
Attributes for a feature type are displayed on the Attributes page of the Placement Defaults dialog box. The attributes for each feature will depend on your company's data model. Initial values for basic attributes are usually established for each feature type during configuration. Special icons in the Default Values list indicate linked attributes and global attributes. For more information, see Linked Attributes between Features and Global Attributes.
Geometry Defaults
Geometry defaults control a feature's display position-that is, the placement of a feature's graphic symbol on the GIS map. These defaults can involve annotating the feature, placing it upstream or downstream from another feature, and offsetting it from other features by a certain distance and at a certain angle. A feature's geometry will usually depend on the nature and function of the feature type. The Geometries page of the Placement Defaults dialog box lets you view and modify these defaults.
Bentley OpenUtilities Designer supports custom settings for the following geometry properties:
- Offset Distance - the distance (in feet) by which the feature symbol is offset from the path in the GIS. (This setting is applicable only if the feature has been configured for offset or inline placement.)
- Offset Angle - the angle of offset for the feature symbol in relation to the path in the GIS. (This setting is applicable only if the feature has been configured for offset placement.)
- Conflict Offset Distance - the distance (in feet) by which the feature symbol is offset from another feature.
- Auto Annotation - the feature's default annotation can be enabled or disabled if an annotation has been configured for the feature.
- Auto Annotation Offset Distance - the offset distance for the annotation's display location on the map. (This setting is applicable only if the feature has been configured with an annotation.)
- Auto Annotation Offset Angle - the offset angle for the annotation's display location on the map.
- Device Placement - the downstream or upstream position of the feature in relation to the work location to which it is assigned. (This setting is applicable only if the feature has been configured as a device.)
Which geometry defaults are applicable to a particular feature will depend on the way it has been configured, especially the placement method that has been associated with that feature. For example, if poles and other structures are configured for placement at work locations, then changing the Offset Distance value for these features will have no effect. Offset normally affects span features and other features that are appropriate for offset placement. In the case of multiple offsets, offset distance for the first feature is measured in reference to trail points. Any subsequent offsets are measured in reference to the outside line of the offset features. If the feature is an inline device, offset distance is measured in relation to its attachment point and offset angle does not apply because an inline device is oriented to the angle of the span feature to which it is connected.
Business Rules
Business rules are the placement defaults that govern relationships of connectivity and attachment between facilities. Business rules are company-specific and are set up when Bentley OpenUtilities Designer is configured. You can disable the business rules for a particular feature or enable them selectively from the Business Rules page of the Placement Defaults dialog box.
Bentley OpenUtilities Designer supports two general categories of business rules: Structural and Flow. Structural rules consist of standards for attaching facilities together (e.g., an overhead conductor is attached to a pole, a transformer is attached to a pole or a pad, and so on). Flow rules control how facilities connect together to form functional networks (e.g., a transformer is connected to a primary conductor). Flow rules pertain to traditional GIS connectivity. The rules may also place constraints on which features can be placed at a location on the basis of their attribute values. For example, the operating pressures of some gas features must be the same if they are to be connected, and the phase of certain electric features must be compatible.
Business rules can also include relationships between a feature and a default compatible unit. Assigning the feature automatically assigns the unit to the work location (see Assigning Units Automatically).
The Impact of Placement Defaults
Bentley OpenUtilities Designer provides extensive capabilities for setting up placement defaults, which makes your work faster and easier, especially if your layouts are of the same type or involve the same kinds of facilities. It's helpful to understand how Bentley OpenUtilities Designer prioritizes various levels of placement defaults.
- The placement defaults that define feature types in the current version of the Features Catalog take precedence in determining the characteristics and behaviors of assigned features in the current design. These defaults override the active job default where there is a difference in default values.
- If there are no applicable overriding defaults in the Features Catalog, the set of global attribute defaults and feature-specific placement defaults of the active job default determine the characteristics and behavior of the facilities in a design. The exception, of course, is any existing facility that may be part of a design. Existing facilities will retain their original properties and may also dictate the attribute values of new facilities.
- If there are no defaults to be applied from the Features Catalog or the active job default, Bentley OpenUtilities Designer uses system defaults as defined in the data model.