How to reference document/global properties?

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naasking
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Joined: Tue Sep 28, 2021 12:28 pm

How to reference document/global properties?

Post by naasking »

I typically use spreadsheets to setup dimensions and some computed values, but I thought I'd give properties a try. I have a number of dimensions that I want shared across a few different parts in a project, so I thought I'd define them as properties on the document root:

Freecad props 2022-09-29 085430.png
Freecad props 2022-09-29 085430.png (27.45 KiB) Viewed 1090 times

But I can't seem to figure out how to reference those properties when working on an actual part in part design, and the autocomplete doesn't seem to produce anything useful here:

FreeCAD props 2022-09-29 085512.png
FreeCAD props 2022-09-29 085512.png (33.77 KiB) Viewed 1090 times

Obviously I can define these properties on the part itself and then reference them as DIMS_WallThickness, etc. but since many of these properties will be shared across multiple parts, I wanted to add them to an object that wasn't connected to any particular part in case that part gets removed as I iterate. What is the right pattern here if I want to do this with properties and not spreadsheets?

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Shalmeneser
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Re: How to reference document/global properties?

Post by Shalmeneser »

*SpreadSheet
* Master Sketch
* DynamicData Workbench
naasking
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Re: How to reference document/global properties?

Post by naasking »

Thanks, but a big reason I'm trying to avoid spreadsheet is that it becomes unbearably slow after I add about 20 entries. I mean it takes 5-10 seconds for every change to complete.
vm4dim
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Re: How to reference document/global properties?

Post by vm4dim »

May use dedicated blank element (for example Group) in root as "Property Keeper"
chrisb
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Re: How to reference document/global properties?

Post by chrisb »

vm4dim wrote: Fri Sep 30, 2022 10:24 pm May use dedicated blank element (for example Group) in root as "Property Keeper"
It may not be relevant, but such models are rather difficult to understand by others. As DynamicData does exactly this, I'd prefer that, because it clearly states what i is.
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drmacro
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Re: How to reference document/global properties?

Post by drmacro »

chrisb wrote: Fri Sep 30, 2022 10:58 pm
vm4dim wrote: Fri Sep 30, 2022 10:24 pm May use dedicated blank element (for example Group) in root as "Property Keeper"
It may not be relevant, but such models are rather difficult to understand by others. As DynamicData does exactly this, I'd prefer that, because it clearly states what i is.
I'll second what chrisb says. DD is way under appreciated and underutilized. It is lightweight compared to spreadsheets.
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kisolre
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Re: How to reference document/global properties?

Post by kisolre »

Still the question remains: You can define properties. How do you access them?
chrisb
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Re: How to reference document/global properties?

Post by chrisb »

kisolre wrote: Sat Oct 01, 2022 10:15 pm can define properties. How do you access them?
You can use them in Expressions.
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kisolre
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Re: How to reference document/global properties?

Post by kisolre »

chrisb wrote: Sat Oct 01, 2022 10:16 pm You can use them in Expressions.
We all know that :) But how? In the wiki page under "Document-wide global variables" there is a mention that there are no such variables. But those are clearly such, they can be created, modified, deleted, ... The problem is how to access them?
You can reference an object by its DataName or by its DataLabel.
What are those for the document itself? What to put between the << >>?
chrisb
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Re: How to reference document/global properties?

Post by chrisb »

kisolre wrote: Sat Oct 01, 2022 10:15 pm You can define properties. How do you access them?
It seems I don't understand the question. The DynamicData documentation shows how to access the dd values.
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