This Client Server article is republished in its entirety from 2008 for reference purposes.
By Steve Crabtree, technical product support specialist - product manager RAM CADstudio
27 February 2008 Modified: 15 July 2008
RAM CADstudio is very flexible when it comes to setting up the appearance of the column schedule. Its options let you control both the table layout and the content.
Table layout
In the RAM CADstudio Options dialog are the settings that control the column schedule table layout.
Figure 1- Column Schedule Tab
The options in the Grid box control the layer and lineweight settings of the lines used for the table. There are also settings that control cell size and the margins above and below the columns contained in the schedule.
The Title box lets you set a default title for the schedule. The title can also be changed when you create the schedule. The other settings control the text style. You can select from any text style or font that exists in your drawing template. The text height setting is the plotted height of the text on the final layout sheet. You do not have to calculate what size the text needs to be based on drawing scale. CADstudio adjusts the text height automatically based on the scale. The row height is the table row height where the title text appears.
The Column Splices and Base Mark boxes control the appearance of the column splice and base plate marks in the column schedule. They also control how those marks appear if you are using single-line representation for your structural objects in elevation views.
Options in the Levels box let you control on which side of the column schedule the level labels are drawn. The result of unchecking both boxes is that the levels are not marked at all.
The Column Identifiers can be located at either the top and/or the bottom of the column schedule. In the case of a tall schedule, you might want to have the marks listed at both top and bottom. The type of mark you can use will be covered in more detail later.
The last box on the page controls the number and size of the cells for base plate information. Although base plate information is not available in the data exchanged with the RAM model, you can add as many rows of cells for information as you need. The cells that are created contain text that you can edit. The text stays with the cell if you find that you need to move the table after it has been created.
Creating a column schedule
Follow these steps to create a new column schedule.
1. Create a new layout sheet.
2. From the menu select: RAM CADstudio > Column Schedule > Create.
3. Click OK.
4. Pick a point on the sheet to locate the lower left corner of the schedule.
If your project is too large to fit all of the columns on a single column schedule, you can use "Specify On-screen" or enter coordinates to define the area for separate schedules for different areas of the project.
Column identifier types
There are three main ways to display column identifiers in the RAM CADstudio column schedule. These are by Column Marks, by Grid Location, or by Grid Location grouped by common grid then crossing grid.
The first two types can be set up in the CADstudio Options dialog. The third type requires editing the project default text file or *.sts file (found in the project directory). To select either the Column Mark or Grid Location options, open the CADstudio Options dialog. (RAM CADstudio > Options > Column Schedule tab page; see figure 1.)
Selecting "Use Grid ID" will list the columns by their Grid Location. Selecting "Sort Columns by X then Y" sorts the order in which the columns are listed by the x coordinate and then the y coordinate. It does not reverse the letter and number of the grid location.
Figure 2 - Use Grid ID
Unchecking the "Use Grid ID" option lists the columns by a column mark. The column mark option makes CADstudio number each column in the project. The numbers assigned to the columns can then be used to mark the plans with the Key Plan command. You can control the number a column gets by moving the column's relative position in the Column Schedule Edit dialog box. We will look at this further a little later.
Figure 3 - Column marks
The last option for listing the columns in the column schedule lets you list the columns by their grid location, but the grid location marks are split into two rows. One row lists the columns by the grid lines in common with other columns. The other row lists the intersecting grids on which the columns occur.
Figure 4 - Separated grid IDs
In the figure above you can see that columns that occur on a common grid are listed together in one row. The grid that intersects the common grid is listed in the second row. To use the split-row column identifier, you must edit the default file, which is located in your CADstudio drawing directory (with your *.sts files).The sts file is the default file. A new default file is automatically written for every project you start.
Exit AutoCAD if it is running (or else you will not be able to save the changes).
Open the default file with Microsoft WordPad or Notepad.
Use the Find function to find the following line:
CS_SPLIT_IDENTIFIERS=0
To use the split row identifiers, set the variable to 1.
Save and close the file.
Restart AutoCAD and open the RAM CADstudio options dialog.
On the Columns tab page, uncheck the "Use Grid ID" option. Even though these are grid identification marks, this option should not be selected.
Separated grid IDs also require that the Separate All option be selected in the Column Schedule Edit dialog. (RAM CADstudio > Column > Schedule Edit)
Editing the column schedule
Now we will take a look at the additional options you have to control the appearance and content of the column schedule after it has been created.
From the menu select: RAM CADstudio > Column Schedule > Edit.
Select a column schedule.
To reorder the schedule, select one of the column types (in the box on the right hand side of the dialog), left-click it, and drag it up or down to a new position in the list. This lets you organize the columns by size. If you are using column numbers instead of grid IDs in the schedule, this also lets you change the numbering. The numbers update when you close the dialog.
Figure 5 - Column Order
To combine similar columns, pick one of the columns in the Same As table. The drop-down menu lets you change how the columns are grouped. Auto is the default setting that CADstudio uses. When Auto is used, only columns that are exactly alike are combined.
Figure 6 - Combine Columns
There are two buttons near the bottom of the dialog that let you group or separate all of the columns in the schedule.
The box at the left side of the edit dialog lets you change your original setup for the column schedule and control which columns in a project are included in the schedule.
When you have finished editing the column schedule, clicking the OK button closes the dialog and updates the schedule.
See Also
Structural Product TechNotes And FAQs
Comments or Corrections?
Bentley's Technical Support Group requests that you please confine any comments you have on this Wiki entry to this "Comments or Corrections?" section. THANK YOU!