Placing Lighting Pipe Ladders

The Lighting Pipe Ladder is a is a three-click rectangular object, and can be inserted in Center-line Placement mode or Edge Placement mode.

The first time you use the tool in a file, a properties dialog box opens. Set the default properties. The properties can be edited from the Object Info palette.

Parameter	Description
Ladder Width/ Height	Specifies the lighting pipe ladder dimensions
Guides	Select how to draw the ladder based on the preview guide rectangle: on the ladder center, inside, or outside
Number of Rungs	Specifies the number of ladder rungs
Evenly Spaced Rungs	Spaces the rungs evenly within the ladder frame; deselect to specify custom rung spacing
Custom Rung Spacing	Opens the Custom Rung Spacing dialog box, to specify the spacing between each ladder rung. Enter the distance between the rungs; the first and final distances are automatically calculated. Click Calculate Even Spacing to automatically space the rungs evenly, as a starting point for spacing or to reset the values.
Position Name	Enter the name to be used for the symbol when converting the ladder to a hanging position
Location	Optionally, specifies the location for use in reports
Pipe
Draw Pipe	Shows or hides the 2D component of the lighting pipe ladder
Line Type	Select either a single or double line for Top/Plan views
Diameter	Sets the pipe diameter for all views
Construction Material	Select the material (aluminum, steel, and so on) of the lighting pipe ladder
Wall Thickness	Specifies the thickness of the pipe wall
Weight	Displays the total weight of the lighting pipe ladder
Tick Mark
Draw Tick Marks	Creates evenly-spaced marks to assist with lighting instrument placement
Draw Loci	Adds a 2D and 3D locus at the tick mark positions for visibility in 3D views
Centers	Specifies the distance between tick mark centers
Origin	Starts the tick mark placement at the center of one side of the ladder or split equally from the center of one of the ladder sides
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
Footprint/3D
Show Footprint	Creates a 2D projection of the 3D component in Top/Plan view; this is useful if the lighting pipe ladder is offset or rotated
Align 3D with Footprint	When selected, aligns the 3D component and the footprint in 3D views. This is the default behavior for the hybrid object to appear correctly in both 2D and 3D views. Deselecting this option and setting offset and rotation values is useful only for workflows where a hybrid appearance is not critical; however, lights placed in one view may not appear positioned correctly in all views.
Origin Offset X/Y	Offsets the 3D component from its origin along the X/Y axes
Rotation	Rotates the 3D component about its origin
I Rotation	Rotates the 3D component along the I axis (parallel to the width)
J Rotation	Rotates the 3D component along the J axis (perpendicular to the lighting pipe ladder); a positive value pivots the ladder up, away from the ground
Classes	Opens the Classes dialog box, to specify class naming for the various portions of the lighting pipe ladder. This allows the pipe, tick mark, and footprint to be set to visible, grayed, or invisible. Use the suggested standard class, select a class from the list of classes present in the drawing, or create a new class. Select <Lighting Pipe Ladder Class> to place the lighting pipe ladder element in the same class as the lighting pipe ladder. ● Class Prefix: Specifies an optional default root class naming standard for all lighting pipe ladder parts; click Use Standard Classes to begin all lighting pipe ladder class names with the prefix, so that they are sorted together. ● Use Standard Classes: Sets the class names for all lighting pipe ladder elements to the default suggested standard names, using the Class Prefix if there is one. ● Lighting pipe ladder elements: For each portion of the lighting pipe ladder, specifies the class name standard; the class names shown here are applied to the elements.
Settings	Opens the Lighting Pipe Ladder Settings dialog box, to set the default class for the lighting pipe ladder. Select the Make default for new documents option to always use the specified class as the default class for lighting pipe ladder objects in new files

Mode	Description
Center-line Placement	Click once, and then again, to define the length through the center of the ladder. Click again to specify the ladder width
Edge Placement	Click once, and then again, to define the length along the edge of the ladder. Click again to specify the ladder width.
Preferences	Sets the default preferences for the lighting pipe ladder