Configuring sheet set property synchronization

As with attribute synchronization, Meridian can synchronize the properties in AutoCAD sheet set files with Meridian document properties. This allows users to import and manage sheet sets in a vault along with the drawings.

Before you begin    Create a document type dedicated to AutoCAD sheet set files. Create the document type, as described in Creating and editing document types with the following options:

• Hybrid document cleared
• Revision number set to None
• Add the appropriate sheet set template files as templates for new documents
• File extension .dst assigned to the document type on import
• A property page with custom properties assigned to display the sheet set properties
• File name calculation that clearly associates the sheet set with its drawings

To configure sheet set property synchronization:

1. In Configurator, expand Environment in the configuration tree and select Application Link Settings. The settings for each link appear in property pages in the right pane.
2. Click the AutoCAD tab. The AutoCAD link’s settings page appears in the right pane.

3. Click the Edit button to modify the settings.

   Tip    To export the settings file to your computer, click the Export button. This can be useful if you would rather edit the file in your favorite text editor. You can then copy your changes to the Clipboard and paste them into Configurator.

4. Locate the [DrawingSheetSetsGeneral] section of the file. If the section does not exist, you can create it. This section specifies Meridian internal properties that are synchronized with the sheet set file, as in the following example:

   Name=CommonPropertySet._DISPLAYNAME,WO

   Note    Although Meridian internal properties can be synchronized to document properties, you should never attempt to update internal properties or else Access denied errors can occur. Flag all attributes linked to Meridian internal properties as write-only (WO). Only write to Meridian properties in the Custom property set.

5. Locate the DrawingSheetSetsCustom section of the file. If the section does not yet exist, you can create it. You can type comments in the file by beginning each line with a semicolon (;). Use the default sections in the file as examples.

6. On consecutive lines in the DrawingSheetSetsCustom section, list the sheet set property names that you want to synchronize, one line per property. For information on adding custom properties to sheet set files, refer to the AutoCAD documentation. For each property, specify the vault property set and property name to which you want it synchronized.

   Tip    You can find the names of property sets and properties on the Properties page of each document type, as described in Creating and editing document types.

   Also specify a flag if the property should be read-only (RO) or write-only (WO). Use the default lines in the file as examples. By default, document properties are read/write. Use the following format for each line:

   <SheetSetPropertyName>=<PropertySet.PropertyName>,<Flag>

7. Click OK to save your changes.
8. Test the link thoroughly by synchronizing each sheet set property. You can do this by changing the Meridian property values for a sheet set in the vault and sheet set property values in Sheet Set Manager and confirming that the synchronization occurs in the way that you expect. You can manually synchronize properties with the Meridian client applications as described in the BlueCielo Meridian Enterprise User’s Guide.

For information on special commands in AutoCAD to synchronize properties with a sheet set, see the BlueCielo Meridian User’s Guide.