Trimble Business Center

Is there a way to set the default settings upon creation of say a surface? I have to change the properties of every new surface I create to my preferred properties. (For some reason all new surfaces are created with 20% transparency set) Also, when creating a template it would be great if I could set the default settings for new features along with the position of sections in the view filter. Because some sections are not there until their objects are created or imported (images, ect.) I cannot set their position in the list for my template. I suppose I could have unused place holders to hold them but... I am I missing something as usual with my TBC problems? lol

Thank you     

In view filters if you place Layers which is always there at the top of the list in advanced view filter settings then all layer Groups will be created below it and then the other categories like George images and scans etc. If you move layers down in list then the layer Groups will be below it in the VFM

If you know what you want in a project (typically projects are similar) you can create Layers and Layer Groups in your template and then you can  control the order in which they list - I number my layer Groups so they always appear in the order I want eg 01 - EXISTING FEATURES etc.  that way your projects all start to work the same way. I typically standardize all imported data into my template structure so that I know what I am working with and so that all my projects work the same way.

Surface properties - some are defined in Project Settings and others are defined when you create the surface. Appreciate that what is defined outside of that may not be what you want - you can group select surfaces and change the properties of many at the same time, but currently you cannot change the default behavior - you can create surfaces in your template that have the settings that you want that are empty (dont add any objects to them) then you can use add / remove surface members to build the surfaces as you want them in each project - same with Takeoff - you can create the layers and categorize them in a template e en without data and set your default surface appearance as you want them and then save as template - that way you get more of what you need

I agree that it would be good to have sisters of defaults for surfaces that were applied on surface creation be cause I also find the same thing at times.

If you need help establishing a standard template for your work - my company can assist you with that if needed - we have done similar work for others using our master libraries as a basis

Alan

Steve

I just checked this out and have the following comments

The default order of info in the VFM is as follows

1. Layers
2. Layer Groups
3. Georeferenced Images
4. Scans
5. Point Cloud Regions
6. Surfaces

If you want to change the order then the Layers Group can be moved up and down the list (right click in the Advanced View Filters control). Layer Groups are always going to be below Layers - they are a sub group of Layers. If you move Layers then all Layer Groups move with them. If you want Layer Groups in a specific order then you need to name them so that Alphabetical ordering gets them as you want them. I use numbering like 00- to 99- to get them in the order that I want. I use Layers as the group for all imported and unsorted data. I use Standardize Layers command to sort the imported layers data into my own layers so that I always work the same way.

If you want to move the other things (Georeferenced Images, Scans, Point Cloud Regions, Surfaces) then you need to move them in a Project after they have been added to the Project. If your Template holds place holder Surfaces, you can move that Group around in the list, but only if you have empty placeholder surfaces in the project.

I use the standard order and never feel that I need to change it around - having Surfaces at the Top of the list vs the base of the list could be a benefit sometimes, but I don't find it a real burden. 

Alan,

Perfect I that's what I needed, so much appreciate your time and really can't thank you enough for all your insight on TBC.