Creating a Selection Pattern

Select the Pattern Input.

The pattern input matching the geometrical input is displayed in the box.

You can choose one of the following pattern input in the list: Axis system, Point, Sketch or feature with points, and Any geometrical element.

Optional: Select the Enable the selection of specifications option.

This option lets you select a specialized axis system. It is specific to the current pattern and modifies the selection results.

Select the mode:

Optional: Filter a pattern input by name.

If you only select a Geometrical Set for example, all the points and planes of this set will be selected.

It is possible to select only points or planes by setting a filter. For example, if the filter by name is Plane, therefore only planes are selected.

Only the elements containing the input string in Filter by Name box will be selected. The string is case-sensitive.

To reorder elements, select the support curve in the Reorder along a curve box.

For example, specify the order of the selected axis systems by selecting a curve as support curve. You can also choose:

The Axis orientation:
- Direction Imposed: Z direction is user-defined (as input), X direction is the projection of the curve tangent in a plane normal to Z direction pointing to the curve direction. Y direction is normal to X and Z directions. Select the Z direction. By default the Z component of the robot determines the direction of the pattern.
- Tangency Imposed: X direction is tangent to the curve that points to the curve direction. Z direction is the projection of a user-selected Z direction in a plane normal to X direction. Y direction is normal to X and Z directions. Select an initial Z direction to determine the Z direction.
- Align to Reference: Select a reference axis system. X, Y and Z directions reflect those of the reference axis system.
- Frenet Trihedron: X direction is tangent to the curve that points to the curve direction. Y direction is normal to X direction and lies in the osculating plane. Z direction is normal to X and Y direction. This option becomes available whenever there is one or more linear segments in the selected curve. For more information, see Using the Frenet Trihedron Axis Orientation.
The pattern Direction.

If the selected elements are not on the curve, they are first projected on the curve with normal projection.

If no curve is selected, the elements are not reordered.

Click

to reverse the order of the selected elements.

Optional: Modify the selection.

Keep All the elements, or the First or Last one.
Select the Remove first option to remove the first element. Then you need to select a new point or axis system as the first element in the Selection Pattern, and the Select start box is filled in with its name.
Select the Remove last option to remove the last element. Then you need to select a new point or axis system as the last element, and the Select end box is filled in with its name.

The selected and filtered elements are listed in the dialog box. They are ordered as specified in the dedicated area.

To import a pattern table to define a selection, click Import Table

in the Table Driven area, and select an Excel file.

Optional: To search already imported tables, enter the "vpmdoc" criteria in the Search box.

To create the pattern into a table-driven table, click

.

It is possible to export a pattern table even if no table has already been imported and if the selection pattern is not defined by a table.

With this command you create a table from selected points. After the selection or creation of the Excel table:

The Selection mode is automatically set to From a table.
The table name is visible in the box and two more commands appear next it: Export Table and Edit Table .
The Import Table command is hidden.

To edit the existing pattern table, click

.

Export a pattern table and choose a format for the exported table.