Placing lighting pipe objects

Insert and configure a lighting pipe object with the Lighting Pipe tool. Lighting pipe objects function as rigging objects, so lighting devices and other loads can attach directly to the lighting pipe. Lighting pipes support full 3D rotation, and they can be used to create schematic views.

In addition to individual objects created using the Lighting Pipe tool, it you can access a variety of standard lighting pipe resources and custom styles (see Concept: Plug-in object styles).

● To use an existing lighting pipe style from the resource libraries, click Style from the Tool bar. From the Resource Selector, double-click a resource to activate it. Alternatively, to draw an unstyled lighting pipe, leave the <Unstyled> setting as is.

● To create a custom lighting pipe, click Preferences. From the object properties dialog box, set the default properties. The properties can be edited from the Object Info palette.

● Click Point Insertion mode and the needed insertion point alignment submode. Set the pipe Length.

● Click Line Insertion mode and either click Vertex submode to place the pipe from start to end points, or Center submode to place it from the center to an end.

● Click Polyline Insertion mode and use the polyline creation modes to insert the pipe.

Alternatively, create a polyline and then select the Create Objects from Shapes command (see Creating objects from shapes).

4. Click in the drawing area to draw the lighting pipe according to the modes selected.

5. Optionally, after placement you can create a plug-in object style, which combines style parameters (with a fixed value established by the style) and instance parameters (which can be set independently for each instance of the styled object in the drawing). See Creating plug-in object styles.

Parameter	Description
Roll	Rotates the lighting pipe on its X axis; the pipe rotates around its insertion point
Hanging Angle	Rotates the lighting pipe on its Y axis; the pipe rotates around its insertion point. When this angle is adjusted, attached load objects may appear to overlap in Top/Plan view.
Rotation	Rotates the lighting pipe on its Z axis; the pipe rotates around its insertion point
Style	Replace, remove, or edit the current style, or create a new plug-in object style for this object. Editing a style changes all instances in the file that use the style.
Hide Style Parameters	Hides the parameters that are set by style; these cannot be edited from the dialog box or Object Info palette
General
Shape
Insertion Point	Select the insertion point of the object, without moving the object
Total Pipe Length	Specifies the total length of the lighting pipe; for a single-segment lighting pipe, the length can be edited by changing this value. (Change the segment length or edit multi-segment pipes with the Reshape tool.)
Show Direction	Places a directional indicator on the lighting pipe
Arc Radius	For single-segment curved pipes, specifies the radius of the arc
Data
Position Name	Enter the name to be used for the symbol when converting the pipe to a hanging position, and also for identification and reporting purposes
Index	Specifies a unique identifier for the object, which is combined with the Name for identification and reporting purposes
Location	Optionally, specifies the location for use in reports
Pipe
Draw Pipe	Shows or hides the 2D component of the lighting pipe
Line Type	Select either a single or double line for Top/Plan views
Diameter	Sets the pipe diameter for all views
Render Profile	Select the 3D profile of the pipe; this setting affects rendering speed (shapes other than round may render more quickly)
Construction Material	Select the material (aluminum, steel, and so on) of the pipe
Wall Thickness	Specifies the thickness of the pipe wall
Total Weight	Displays the total weight of the lighting pipe based on its Total Pipe Length and Construction Material
Smooth Corners	Select to draw a pipe with rounded rather than mitered corners
End Marker	Specifies whether to display the end(s) of the pipe with an end marker in Top/Plan view
Show Centerline Guide	Select to display a centerline in 3D view; in Top/Plan view, the centerline displays when the Line Type is set to Double
Tick Mark
Display ticks as	Choose how to display evenly-spaced marks to assist with lighting instrument placement; all options except None also provide master snap points along the lighting pipe when hovering over it.
Centers	Specifies the distance between tick mark centers
Snap intervals between ticks	Specifies the distance between master snap points
Centered on	Spaces the tick marks based on the total length of the pipe, or based on each segment of a pipe that is considered divided into two equal sections
Origin	Starts the tick mark placement at the center of the pipe or split equally from the center of the pipe
Type	Select Line or Dot as the 2D tick mark indicator
Size	Specifies the length of line tick marks or the diameter of dot tick marks
Gap Length	Adds a gap on either side of the tick mark; specify the gap length
Offset	Specify a positive or negative value to shift the tick marks right or left from their centers
Align Tick Marks to Grid	Aligns the center tick mark with the snap grid (see Grid snapping); this does not change the tick mark spacing but it may change the Offset value
Classes
Use Standard Classes	Opens the Use Standard Classes dialog box to set the prefix class used by the pop-up class settings below. Select Existing class to use an existing class from the document as a prefix. Select Other prefix to create a new custom prefix without creating the class.
List of lighting pipe parts	To control appearance and visibility, select a class from the list of classes present in the drawing, or create a new class. Select <Lighting Pipe Class> to place the part attributes in the same class as the lighting pipe object.
Settings	Opens the Lighting Pipe Settings dialog box, to set the default class for the lighting pipe. Select the Make default for new documents option to always use the specified class as the default class for lighting pipe objects in new files.
Select Truss System	Selects the current lighting pipe and any other connected structural elements in the system
Vertex Parameters	Edits the pipe vertices; see Editing vertex-based objects

Mode	Description
Point Insertion	Inserts the pipe with two clicks, to place and set the rotation
Line Insertion	Inserts the pipe as a line to define the length
Polyline Insertion	Inserts the pipe using the polyline creation options
Pipe Length	For Point Insertion mode, sets the length of the pipe
Align Left (Point Insertion mode only)	Inserts the pipe with a left-aligned insertion point
Center (Point Insertion mode only)	Inserts the pipe with a center insertion point
Align Right (Point Insertion mode only)	Inserts the pipe with a right-aligned insertion point
Vertical (Point Insertion mode only)	Inserts a vertical pipe
Vertex (Line Insertion mode only)	Inserts a pipe from its start point to its end point
Center (Line Insertion mode only)	Inserts a line from its center point
Polyline creation options (Polyline Insertion mode only)	For Polyline Insertion mode, selects the method for drawing the polyline upon which the object is based; see Creating polylines.
Preferences	Opens the object properties dialog box to set the default preferences for lighting pipes
Lighting Pipe Style list	Opens the Resource Selector to select a symbol for placement; double-click a resource to activate it