Custom Properties for Pressure Network Parts

This question came up the other day in Civil Chat, “Is there any way I can add custom properties to a pressure part in the catalog in such a way that I can add that property to a label?”

The short answer is, “YES”.

To do this, you’ll simply need to edit the catalog in the Content Catalog Editor.

Open the Catalog

To open the catalog, you’ll need to use the Content Catalog Editor. This can be found in the same location in the start menu as whatever version of Civil 3D you are using (provided it’s version 2013 or newer).

Content Catalog Editor in Start Menu

I always recommend to leave the default files that come with Civil 3D alone when possible. In other words, make a copy of the catalog and then edit the copy. To do this, simply open the catalog and save it as a new catalog. The default catalogs that come with Civil 3D are found at “C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 2016\enu\Pressure Pipes Catalog\Imperial” (adjust for your version and unit use).

Edit a copy

Now that you have the catalog open and saved, simply choose the part you want to add the custom properties to. On the right hand side, choose a property that you aren’t using and add the data to that. In this example, I chose the 10″x10″ Tee and I added the custom property to the “Model Name” field.

Custom Property Added to the Part

Once you are done modifying the properties in your catalog, simply save the catalog.

Back in Civil 3D, make sure your drawing is referencing the catalog you just edited. To choose the catalog, go to the Home Tab, expand out the Create Design panel and run the “Set Pressure Network Catalog” command.

Set Pressure Network Catalog

Once a part from your catalog is created in the drawing, the custom property you set in the catalog can be added to a label, simply edit the label style and add that field to your label. Don’t forget to hit the stupid, little, unlabeled, white arrow (I hate that stupid, little, unlabeled, white arrow)!

Add Field to Label

Now that property will show up in your drawing when you label your pressure network!

Finished Label

 

Pressure Pipes don’t have inner diamater? WHAAAA??

As many of my posts start out, this one comes from one of my clients. He was using the Pressure Networks in Civil 3D 2015 and noticed that when he added the inner diameter of the pipe to a label, it came up with question marks.

Question Marks for Inner Diameter

To add to the confusion, even though there is a property in the pipe object for inner diameter, it was grayed out and couldn’t be changed.

Inner Diameter Can’t be Edited

So, this got me to thinking, there’s got to be some way to add that information to the pipe! Well, let’s go edit the catalog. If you aren’t familiar with it, you can edit your pressure network catalog using the Content Catalog Editor.

To open your Content Catalog Editor, go to your Windows Start Menu and find the location where you can start Civil 3D, there you will also see the Content Catalog Editor.

Content Catalog Editor Start

In the Content Catalog Editor (CCE), open your pressure network catalog. Civil 3D comes with three of them, choose the one you are using or the one you’ve created for your company. In this example, I’ll use the pushon catalog. By default, they can be found here for the imperial catalogs: C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\C3D 2015\enu\Pressure Pipes Catalog\Imperial. Change the obvious for metric.

Once the catalog is open, go to your pipes, and add the property for your inner diameter.

Edit the Inner Diameter

One thing to note, most 8″ pipe does not have an inner diameter of 8″. One manufacturer of C900 PVC pipe had 8″ PVC that varied from 7.26″ to 8.28″ depending on the pressure classification.

Now that the catalog has been modified, you’ll need to restart your Civil 3D and replace the pipes in your drawing that are missing the inner diameter. Unfortunately, I don’t know of a way to update the pipes that are in the drawing already (with the missing inner diameter) to show the new inner diameter in the catalog.