About Frames and Title Blocks

Frame and title block contains information about the representation such as sheet scale, projection angle used, drawing name etc. You can create a frame, title block and a revision table and configure them as per your requirement.

This topic provides the background information about creating a frame and a title block.

This page discusses:

See Also
Creating a Default Frame and Title Block

Configuring Frames and Title Blocks

To configure the default frames and title blocks scripts, you must be familiar with Visual Basic. Then you can edit the default macros and also get the messages in your native language.

For more information, see the 3DEXPERIENCE Developer Assistance Portal: CAA Encyclopedia .

The default sheet dress-up styles for the frame, title block and revision table are available and can be selected in the Page Layout dialog box.

You can also create new script (sheet dress-up style), provided you use the following naming convention: MyCategory_CATAction_MyAction

Where:

  • MyCategory: defines the category in which the action performed by the function is presented. For example, Frame, Title Block and Revision Table represent a category.
  • CATAction: is the keyword that differentiates between script functions and the default functions.
  • MyAction: defines the action to be performed by the function.

For each category, you can request a selection of a template using the Page Layout command by defining a function with the following naming convention:

MyCategory_CATRequestTemplate

Note: If such a function is not declared for a category, no selection of a template is requested.

Additionally, for each category, you can provide a function initializing a template in the current representation by defining a function with the following naming convention:

MyCategory_CATInitializeTemplate

Specifying the Location of Frame and Title Block Macros

To know where the frame and title block macros are located, go to Me > Preferences > App Preferences > 3D Modeling > Mechanical Systems 2D Layout for 3D Design > Administration tab. The Page Setup Directory box indicates the path to the directory containing these macros. You can add new macros in the specified directory, and/or you can change this location by editing the path.

Creating Preview Images

You can create a preview image of the frame and the title block that is displayed in the Page Layout dialog box. When saving this preview image, make sure you do the following:

  • Save the preview image as a bitmap file (.bmp extension) bearing the same name as the script and the category. For example, if your script is called My Script, then the preview image should be named MyScript.MyCategory.bmp.

  • Save the image in the directory that contains the macros. For example, if your macro CustomMacro.CATScript is located in the CustomMacros directory, then the preview image CustomMacro.bmp must also be located in the CustomMacros directory.

Modifying Existing Actions or Adding New Actions

Available actions for a given script are listed below each category's action list in the Page Layout dialog box. You can modify existing actions by modifying the existing sub-procedures.

You can also add new actions by defining new sub-procedures. There are a couple of things you need to remember when doing this:

  • All sub-procedures must be prefixed using CATDrw_: for example, Sub CATDrw_CustomProcedure().

    Or

    Create new action using prefix MyCategory_CATAction

  • MyCategory_CATAction_MyAction can accept two arguments, one for the target sheet and the other for the template drawing (if necessary).

    If no argument is associated to the procedure, for example: Sub MyCategory_CATAction_CustomProcedure (): the sub-procedure is called when you select the corresponding action.

  • If one argument of type CATIABase is associated to the procedure, for example: Sub MyCategory_CATAction_CustomProcedure(CATIABase sheet): the argument is set to the current sheet.

Modifying the Name of a Style/Action

In the Page Layout dialog box, the names displayed in the Sheet Dress-up list can be modified.

By default, the name of a sheet dress-up style is the name of the corresponding CATScript file (without extension). And by default, the names of the related actions are written in the CATScript file (without the CATAction prefix).

Example: in a CATScript file, a function called CATAction_XXXX creates an action called XXXX in the action list.

To configure a name for a style or action, proceed as follows:

  1. Edit the FrameAndTitleBlock.CATNls file located in the resources/msgcatalog folder
  2. Add one of these command lines:

    For a style: 

    Drawing_Titleblock_StyleOfTitleBlock="Customized name"

    For an action: 

    Drawing_Titleblock_StyleOfTitleBlock.CATAction_NameOfAction="Customized 
name"