TSL | GenericHanger TSL

Introduction

The GenericHanger TSL is available starting from hsbDesign28 onward.
This guide will explain how to use it within ACA, how it can be displayed in thee hsbMake Clients, and how it can be integrated with other TSLs to improve and streamline the user workflow.

Creating Hangers In ACA

This section describes how to use the GenericHanger TSL in sequential steps.

1. Applying the GenericHanger TSL

This can be accessed through the General Ribbon (V30)

Select the hsbMetal\Generic Hanger\Generic Hanger pull down.

2. Dialogue Box Settings

Product

• ‍ Manufacturer
  User selects the manufacturer of the hanger they want to insert into the model.

• ‍Family
  ‍‍‍User selects the family of the hanger they want to insert into the model.

• ‍Product
  ‍‍‍User can select a specific hanger (based on Manufacturer and Family) they want to insert.
  They can also set it to 'Automatic', this allows an automatic selection of the hangers based on the entities selected by the user.

Tooling

• ‍Stretch Incoming Joists
  This determines if the ‘Male’ beams will be stretched or not.
  This only applied to Beam entities –Truss entities are not supported.

• ‍Gap
  This defines the gap between the connected beams, it will always be the ‘Male’ beam that will be shortened to create the gap.
  Not applicable to Truss entities.

• ‍Base Depth
  This defines the depth of material to be notched from the underside of the “male” beam.
  Once applied, the hanger will be positioned so that it aligns with the bottom of this notch.
  For example, if a value of 10 is entered, the result will appear as shown in the image.
• ‍‍‍Marking
  Marking is only applied on ‘female’ entities which are beams. This does not apply to truss entities.

• ‍Group Assignment
  This setting determines which group the hanger will be assigned to.
  If set to None, the hanger will not be associated with any group.
  
  If both entities already belong to the same group, selecting either Female Genbeam or Male Genbeam will ensure the hanger is added to that group.
  In cases where the two entities belong to different groups, choosing Female Genbeam or Male Genbeam allows the user to control which group the hanger will be assigned to.

Fixture

• Defines the article number of the fixture

Selection

• This allows the user to define the entity type for the female/male connection.
  If set to <by Selection>,the user does not need to specify it manually—the TSL will automatically detect and assign the appropriate type.
  
  However, if an entity type is specified, the user must ensure that the correct beam types are selected when choosing the elements for hanger placement.

Stiffener

• Defines the selection mode for the web stiffener and the backer block

3. TSL Execution

The next steps in the workflow depend on the settings selected in Selection of the previous dialogue box.
If “by Selection” is chosen for both male and female entities, the user can bulk select beams or truss entities in the first selection step.
The second prompt (to select female entities) can be ignored in this case.
If a specific entity type (e.g. beam or truss) is defined for either the male or female, the user must ensure that the correct entity type is select accordingly.
If the selection does not match the defined types, the TSL will not execute.

4. Change Colour

To change the colour of the hanger, first select it, then right-click and choose Properties.

In the Properties panel that appears, locate the TrueColor field and select the desired colour.
After making your selection, the change may not display immediately.
To apply it, right-click the hanger again and select Recalculate — the updated colour will then be visible.

Display Tags In ACA

Tag display depends on how tagging is configured in ACA.
Within this section, there will be two methods discussed that would enable tags to be generated for GenericHanger;

A. Tagging Within GenericHanger TSL
B. Tagging With hsbEntity Tag TSL

A. Tagging With the GenericHanger TSL

This method embeds the tags directly within the GenericHanger TSL.
These are the sequential steps involved to display the tags.

1. Select the Hanger

Right select on the hanger created through the GenericHanger tsl and then go into ‘Custom’ and then ‘Settings’.
A dialogue box will then appear.

2. Dialogue Box Settings

Display

• ‍Colour
  Users can also use this property to change the colour of the hanger.

Tag

• ‍Style
  User can specify the type of tag to display. Currently there are 3 types; Text, Box and Triangle.
• ‍Format
  Users can define the information displayed on the tag by clicking the three dots, which opens the Format Editor dialog box.
  
  Within the Format field, begin typing @( to bring up a list of properties associated with the hanger.
  Selecting a property will display its corresponding value in the Result field, allowing users to preview the information that will appear on the tag.

Tag Display

• ‍Colour
  By selecting the Allow users to control the transparency of the tag.
• Transparency
  Allow users to control the transparency of the tag.
• ‍Dimstyle
  Allows users to choose the style of the tag they want to display.
• ‍Text Height
  Allows users to control the size of the tag.

B. Tagging With the hsbEntityTag TSL

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The steps below outline the process for using the hsbEntityTag TSL.
This can be used alongside GenericHanger, which is particularly useful when multiple tags are required for a single hanger.

1. Accessing hsbEntityTag

You can launch the tool in hsbDesign for AutoCAD Architecture using either of the following methods:

• Ribbon Path: Go to the hsbInOutput tab -> Shop Drawings panel -> click the Tagging drop-down -> select EntityTag.
• Command Line: Type HSBENTITYTAG and press Enter.

2. Dialogue Box Settings

When you open the tool, the hsbEntityTag dialog box will appear with the following configuration options:

General

• ‍Format: Enter the properties you want to display on the tag. Type @( to open a drop-down list of available properties associated with the target entity. Selecting a property previews its output value in the Result field.

Note: The format selector dropdown is not active when opening the dialog for the first time because no target entity has been selected yet. Once a tag is placed, clicking or editing it links it to the entity, enabling the full property list.

Reference Settings

• Filter: Defines a filter for object reference, such as a painter definition (default is the selected object).
• Allow Selection in XRef: Determines whether you can select and tag entities nested inside block references or external references (XRefs).
• Group Assignment: Specifies the layer to assign the tag instance. Setting this to <Default> assigns it by entity alignment.
• Direction: Controls the display direction of the tag.
• Alignment: Defines the grip point (insertion/anchor point) position for the tag.
• Placement: Determines how the tag is positioned relative to the selected object.

Display Settings

• Style: Choose how the tag boundary is drawn. Supported styles include Text (no border), Box, and Triangle.
• Dimstyle: Selects the AutoCAD dimension style to control the text font and standard properties.
• Text Height: Controls the physical size of the tag text.
• Colour: Sets the display color of the tag.
• Fill Transparency: Adjusts the transparency level of the tag background fill.
• Leader Line Type / Leader Style: Controls the line type and visual style of the leader line connecting the tag to the object.

3. Placement Workflow

1. Configure your desired tag properties in the hsbEntityTag dialog box and click OK.
2. When prompted on the command line, select the target entity (such as a hanger or beam) that requires the tag.
3. Click in the drawing space to place the tag.

4. Best Practices & Editing Tags

• Avoid Standalone Properties: Do not use a standalone property like @(PosNum) as the entire format. If the property value is empty or fails to resolve, the entire tag will disappear. Instead, include descriptive static text prefixing the property, such as Nr. @(PosNum). This ensures that even if the property is unresolved, the prefix text remains visible as a placeholder.
• Editing Existing Tags: To modify or explore available formats for a placed tag, simply double-click the tag in the drawing. Since the tag is now linked to a specific entity, typing @( in the format field will display only the properties supported by that specific object type.

Display Generic Hanger and hsbEntityTag In hsbMake Client

Depending on how tags and annotations are configured in AutoCAD Architecture (ACA), the corresponding setup in the hsbMake Client will vary. This section outlines the procedures for displaying both the GenericHanger TSL and the hsbEntityTag TSL within the hsbMake Client interface.

1. Displaying the GenericHanger TSL

Follow these steps to configure the hsbMake Client to display generic hangers and show any associated tags alongside them.

1. Open Client Settings: Open the hsbMake Client in configuration mode (hold down Shift + Ctrl and double-click the client icon). In the top menu bar, select Client Settings to open the Client Application Settings dialog box.
2. Select TSL Instances: In the left-hand navigation pane, select Tsl Instances from the list of object types.
3. Create a New Configuration: Click the Add (plus) icon on the toolbar to create a new TSL instance configuration entry, then assign it a descriptive name (e.g., "GenericHanger").
4. Configure Criteria: Navigate to the Criteria tab on the right side of the dialog box:
   • Locate the TSL Name field.
   • Enter the exact script name of the TSL: GenericHanger.
5. Verify and Save: Click OK to confirm your changes. The hangers will now render in the Element View, and any tags defined in ACA will appear alongside them.

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2. Displaying the hsbEntityTag TSL

To display the newer hsbEntityTag annotations directly in the hsbMake Client, follow a similar setup process:

1. Open Client Settings: Open the Client Application Settings dialog box in the hsbMake Client.
2. Select TSL Instances: In the left-hand navigation pane, select Tsl Instances.
3. Create a New Configuration: Click the Add icon to create a new entry and name it descriptively (e.g., "Entity Tags").
4. Configure Criteria: Go to the Criteria tab and configure the following fields:
   • TSL Name: Enter hsbEntityTag to match the tagging tool.
   • Zone (Optional): Define a zone if you wish to limit the tags to specific areas of your element views.
5. Configure Display (Optional): On the Display tab, you can customize:
   • Show Label: Enable this checkbox to display the tag's text content.
   • Label Format: Set this field to control what information is displayed (e.g., using Model Data Formatting or plain text).
6. Verify and Save: Click OK to apply and save your settings. The hsbEntityTag text will now render dynamically on your elements in the client view.

(Insert placeholder for UI configuration screenshot here)

Verification

Once both TSL configurations are active, open or refresh an element in the ElementView client. You should see the physical hangers and their corresponding tags rendered in the drawing area exactly as configured.

Other Intressesting documents

TSL | GenericHanger TSL

TSL | hsbEntityTag

‍TSL | hsb_Hanger

Hanger BT4 (Video)