Concept: Placing equipment into racks
Difficulty level: Beginner
You can place equipment items into racks in a variety of ways.
3D drag and drop in any 3D view
In 3D views, when you drag an equipment item or a rack frame over the front or rear opening of an equipment rack, a preview of the equipment or rack frame snaps to the rack U position currently under the cursor, and the floating Data bar displays the location. Snapping is enabled only when the front or rear opening of the rack is angled towards the drawing view. If the current view displays the rear of the rack, the equipment or rack frame is placed on the rear mounting rails, and the object's Mounting parameter is set to Rear. (See Placing equipment and Placing a rack frame.)
2D drag and drop in Top/Plan view
In Top/Plan view, when you drag an equipment item over an equipment rack, a preview of the equipment item rotates to align with the front or rear of the rack and is placed in the first empty space, starting from the top. The floating Data bar shows the location; you can set the equipment's rack U position by entering a value in the Data bar (see Using the Data bar). If the rack is full, the equipment is placed on top of the rack.
2D drag and drop in a viewport
In a viewport, you can move equipment within a rack and between racks in Front view by using the Edit Section In-Place context menu command (see Editing design layers from a section or elevation view). Snapping ensures that the equipment is placed in the correct rack position.
Temporary front or rear view
|
Command |
Path |
|
Edit Front of Rack Edit Rear of Rack |
Context menu |
You can open a floating view pane to move equipment within a rack or between racks. This is especially useful when two racks face each other, and you can't easily access one of the racks. When you open the view pane, the working plane is set to match the front or rear mounting positions of the rack, and its origin is set on the bottom-left side; a temporary clip cube is set around the rack(s) and any equipment placed on top of the rack.
To open a floating view pane and move equipment:
Right-click the front or rear of an equipment rack and select a command.
If you are using the optional ConnectCAD template:
If the Rack 3D Layout design layer is active, either the Front Rack 3D Layout or Back Rack 3D Layout floating view pane opens.
If the Rack Elevation design layer is active, the Custom View Rack Elevation floating view pane opens.
Move equipment within a rack or between racks.
The equipment snaps to rack U positions.
Location entry in the Object Info palette
You can use an equipment item's Location parameters on the Object Info palette to move the equipment into a rack, within a rack, or between racks. If your drawing includes layout rooms, you can also move the equipment into a different room. When you edit the Room, Rack, Rack U, and/or Slot parameters, the equipment is placed in the location you specify.
Location entry by worksheet
You can add equipment items to the equipment rack and change their location by editing a ConnectCAD report that lists the rack and its contents (for example, a ConnectCAD parts report). See Creating ConnectCAD reports and Editing drawing objects from a worksheet.
