Working with Parameters

Parameters can be used as criteria when creating the following:

• Position and orientation of views
• Relations of plates and virtual plates
• Relations of arbitrary holes

To make use of the different types of parameters in their respective input fields, the exclamation point is typed in to have a drop-down list of all valid parameters available for use in the corresponding field. For plates, parameters can be added at fixed boundaries, parallel distances and angle relations.

The following lists the parameter types and their input fields:

Parameter type	Input field type
Length	Minimum Length; Maximum Length
Breadth	Minimum Breadth; Maximum Breadth
Height	Minimum Height; Maximum Height
Distance	Parallel
Angle	Angle to; Angle from

To use a parameter in an input field, you must use the following syntax:

[factor] ! <parameter name> [+/- offset]

Where:

• factor – an optional real-valued number that is multiplied with the parameter's value. When omitted, the factor is assumed to be 1 (unity). To use the inverse value of the parameter, you should use -1 as a factor.
• parameter name – selected from the drop-down list that appears when the '!' is entered.
• offset – an optional real-valued number which is added (+) or subtracted (-) from the product of the factor and parameter. When omitted, the offset is assumed to be 0 (nil).

Example: "4!d2+100" means 4 times parameter 'd2' + offset '100'.