Redraw Detail

Used for several purposes. In its simplest form, it redraws all bars in a detail. If you add reinforcement prompts to any bars using Special Data Entry, they are confirmed also. Finally, the option is also used to update details for changes in a Reference File, and to rebuild a drawing if it has been corrupted, or otherwise damaged. These uses are discussed separately in the following sections:

General Detailing
Refreshing Corrupted Drawings

This option redraws many reinforcing bars at a time. Any part of an existing drawing can be selected for updating. You are not limited to just a plan detail, section detail, or elevation. The redraw can include your entire drawing if necessary.

REBAR REDRAWDETAIL

General Detailing

The Redraw Detail option requires you to place a Fence prior to its selection. The Fence should be located inside or outside the detail you require to update, depending on the current Fence Mode (i.e. Inside, Outside, Overlap, Void etc.).

When fencing a detail, it is not necessary to include all reinforcing bars and labels. You need only enclose the relevant concrete faces within the Fence. 2D Rebar selects the reinforcing bars automatically based on the selected concrete faces they reference.

As soon as the Fence is established and Redraw Detail is chosen, all concrete faces selected by the Fence are highlighted. If the selection is OK, confirm it with a data point. Otherwise, select Reset to abort the process. Following confirmation, the program determines which bars relate to the selected faces. Each bar, in turn, is then removed from the DGN file and updated. The bar details appear to flash as the update takes place. If concrete faces adjacent to the bar had been moved prior to the update, the updates bars are relocated at the appropriate adjusted locations.

Note: Because a bar consists of many simpler elements, it is possible (and often necessary) to make minor changes to bar elements that cannot be made during the bar placement process. This manual editing is usually performed using normal modification tools. For example, you may require a slight adjustment on one or two longitudinal bar circles in order to move them away from an imbedded bolt perhaps. The circle elements are selected with the Select tool, then moved using visual adjustments as necessary. Regardless of the type of change, this manual editing goes unnoticed by the program. Consequently when bars are replayed using Redraw Detail, all manual editing is lost. Each bar is recreated using only those procedures established within the Bar Placement and Bar Modification toolboxes. You must remember to redo all manual edits performed prior to a replay.

The Redraw Detail procedure may be interrupted by dialog boxes prompting for confirmation of reinforcement parameters. Using the same process from the Redraw Bar option, all reinforcement prompts are displayed in a list (assuming the Reinforcement Prompts toggle in General Defaults is activated).

General Defaults dialog (opened using the Key In: "REBAR GENERALDEFS")

In this case, however, Prompts are listed for all bars within the current detail. Each Prompt is extracted from the Special Data Entry added at the time the bars were first created (or later modified). As an aid to knowing which prompt is related to which bar, all elements for the bar associated with the selected Prompt are highlighted on-screen. Notice in the example above, there are three separate prompts for main bar diameter. Each relates to a separate bar. However, it is not until these entries are selected that the bar to which the prompt relates is highlighted.

As a prompt is selected, the current value for the related bar variable is displayed at the bottom of the box. If a change is required, simply enter a new value, then select Redraw. The bar is immediately updated. If many variables require adjustment, make the change to each in turn, then select Redraw or close the dialog. The toggle button to the right of the Current Value edit box activates Special Data Entry in the normal manner (described later in this Chapter). When a variable is selected from the list, the toggle button may appear in its checked (selected) state. This indicates values other than the "Prompt" are entered in the Special Data Entry fields. For example, an equation may be used, or an alternate schedule value may be supplied.

You may alter the actual Prompt itself within the Special Data Entry dialog. This is the same prompt that appears in the list. Note, however, the new prompt is only displayed when the bar is next replayed. If the bar diameter prompt for a bar is activated, the Prompt text is always displayed as "Main bar diameter" (as shown in the example above). When this entry is selected, your normal list of bar diameters appears at the bottom of the dialog in place of the edit field. Special Data Entry cannot be edited in this situation.

Refreshing Corrupted Drawings

Occasionally, you may experience problems when attempting to modify existing reinforcing on your drawing. When part of an existing bar is selected (with the Modify Bar or Redraw Bar option perhaps), the program might display a message such as: "Element not part of a bar / hatch"

If you know the selected bar is (or was) part of a valid reinforcing bar, it is likely the DGN and/or the 2D Rebar database is corrupted. This may be the result of a software crash, a software bug or some other unexpected event.

In most cases like this, your DGN file can be rebuilt using the replay facilities provided by the Redraw Detail option. It is more than likely the information for all bars on your drawing is still in the Rebar database and is still valid. It's just that the reinforcing bar elements in the DGN file have lost their association with the database.