Tagging using copy* in dynamic components

I have been developing dynamic components for some time. This is a link to a window with options for number of mullions and transoms. Dropbox - File Deleted It is rather complex in structure so creates a clunky plan view. It occurred to me I could have a 2 D view with simplified information in it for exporting to Layout. I have drawn this and you can see it under the cill. It works fine. Howver I want to use tags to toggle this 2D drawing on and off. What happens is that the window frames that are drawn in 3D using the copy*length function end up untagged and therefore always visible. I want to have these copies visible using the ‘3d windows’ tag as per the source sub components/groups and therefore off when I click on the off tag eyeball symbol. Is it possible to copy the tag when operating like this so the copies maintain the same functionality or is there a default override I can do nothing about. If you place this drawing as a component in another drawing you will see what I mean. Thank you very much for your input and help.

copy the component that contains a tagged component

the double wrap solution

DC parent components typically lose the tag assigned, but the child/nested components will preserve the tag (which can be good or bad depending on how you feel about using someone else’s tags in your model and the steps needed to change them)
see attached example.example nested-double-wrapped-parent-child component tagged.skp (124.6 KB)

Hi Glen Thanks very much for your reply but tbh I don’t quite understand it. Would you be so kind as to download my window component and toggle between the 2D and 3D tags. The parent component is fine it’s bits /components that are copies that are untagged. You write ‘(which can be good or bad depending on how you feel about using someone else’s tags in your model and the steps needed to change them’ No one else is involved?? So what do I need to actually do with this to get it to work? many thanks

if you tag the inner components, they stay intact when you make copies. the outer component typically loses it’s tag as it is copied - this may be something related to configured-DC uniqueness per instance, or a bug/feature, but the inner component(s) should remain intact as they’re nested in a component. in my example, if you open the parent component, and selected the child component, you’ll see them highlighted in all instances, as you’d expect.

i’ve looked at your component. i guess depending on how you represent it in your drawings, i found parallel project and hidden line or wire frame do an ok job of showing it as 2D. so not sure you need a 2D component embedded, just scene which represent it as 2D for export or LayOut etc.

on the tag naming - it was just a note on using tags - for yourself you can call the tags whatever you like. for sharing components with the world - i suggest using common tag naming like the AIA or AutoCAD layers for easier integration with others.or using tags which are very specific to the layering you want to represent. so things like “3D view” might be good for personal use, but sharing-wise, it might be better “win-mullion-3D” “win-cill-3D” “win-cill-2D” etc thus allowing for scripting options to rename or move… but may not be applicable to your case.

Okay thanks Glenn. I’ll play around with your examples until I can figure out what is happening. I’ve never shared any components but good advice on naming there too. The only thing with generating the plan view off the 3d window is that the mullions are made in two sections so a 2D representation simplifies this. I also have doors where I want to indicate the door swing in 2D but not the door handles. Much to learn!

here’s another example: example TWO nested-double-wrapped-parent-child component tagged.skp (199.0 KB)
if you wrap the component which is tagged, it will carry the tags. (in my example this is the win_glaze_assm wrapper containing the subframe and glaze components tagged respectively in 3d tags) whereas the 2d component is not wrapped and so when copied loses it’s tag.

i find this “bug/feature” to be counter-intuitive and should be corrected because not all tagged components should have to be “wrapped” in order to preserve tags assigned to them, unless they’re “imported” from the components tray or import function. but then once in the model, if assigned a tag, it should be something which is copied with the component - either through copy steps or via the DC copy functions.

Hi Glenn
That’s exactly what I would like to see. That tagged components when copied the copies retain the tag. It makes no sense to de-tag them! I have not heard the expression ‘wrapping’ before and not sure what is meant by that…