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How to Use Fields in BricsCAD

Quick answer: A field is a text entity that displays the status or property of another entity or setting, updating to show the latest value whenever refreshed. Fields work in multiline text, tables, or as block attributes, and are especially useful in title blocks, where drawing, sheet set, subset, and sheet properties can fill themselves in automatically, the same title block workflow covered on this hub’s attribute definition page. When no value is available, a field displays hyphens (----).

Field Display and Update Settings

With FIELDDISPLAY on, fields show against a light grey background that doesn’t print. FIELDEVAL controls when fields update, though date fields are an exception: they only update via UPDATEFIELD, never automatically based on FIELDEVAL.

Creating a Field

  1. Click Insert Field on the Insert toolbar or Annotate/Text ribbon panel, choose Insert Field… from the Insert menu, run FIELD, or click the Field tool on the Text Formatting toolbar while editing Mtext or a table cell. The Field dialog opens.
  2. Expand a group under Field Names and choose a field; its settings appear.
  3. Adjust the settings and click OK. If you’re editing Mtext or a table cell, the field inserts directly there. Otherwise, you’re prompted for a start point, or to set Height (H) or Justify (J) first, then specify where to place it; an Mtext entity containing the field is created.

Field Formula

Field Formula is a separate expression syntax available specifically within the Field dialog, distinct from the Parameters expression system covered elsewhere in this hub, worth knowing since a few functions differ.

  1. Launch FIELD.
  2. Expand the Objects group and select Formula.
  3. Type your formula into the Formula field; the result displays in Field value.

Operators:

Operation Character
Addition +
Subtraction -
Multiplication *
Division /
Exponentiation ^

Functions:

Function Syntax
Cosine / Sine / Tangent cos() / sin() / tang()
Arc cosine / Arc sine / Arc tangent acos() / asin() / atan()
Square / Square root sqr() / sqrt()
Round to nearest integer round()
Truncate decimal trunc()
Absolute value abs()
Degrees to radians / radians to degrees d2r() / r2d()
Logarithm, base e / base 10 ln() / log()
Exponent, base e / base 10 exp() / exp10()
Pi (3.14…) pi

Two syntax differences from the Parameters expression system worth knowing directly from Octave’s own documentation: Tangent is written tang() here, not tan(), and Square, sqr(), is available only in Field Formula, not in Parameters expressions.

Displaying an Entity Property in a Field

  1. Launch FIELD.
  2. Expand Objects and select Object.
  3. Click Select Entity; the dialog closes temporarily, and you’re prompted to select an entity.
  4. Click the entity; the dialog reopens.
  5. Select the property you want from the Property list.
  6. Set the display layout: choose a unit Format, a Precision, and optionally a Convert option to recalculate the field’s value, either choosing a formula like f*# (where f is a factor you type and # is the field value), or typing a factor directly, for example, 0.0001 to express a polyline’s area in square metres within a centimetre-based drawing.
  7. Click OK.
  8. Specify a point to place the field.

Editing a Field

  1. Edit the table cell or Mtext entity containing the field.
  2. Double-click the field; the Field dialog opens (if it’s associated with a parameter that no longer exists, an error message displays instead).
  3. Adjust its properties.
  4. Click OK to apply the changes.

Updating a Field

  1. Click Update Field on the Redraw/Regen toolbar, choose Update Fields… from the Tools menu, or run UPDATEFIELD. You’re prompted to select fields.
  2. Select the field(s), then right-click or press Enter to update them.

If bitcode 16 of FIELDEVAL is set, running REGEN also updates every field in the drawing. Date fields remain the exception, they only update via UPDATEFIELD directly.

Converting a Field to Text

  1. Edit the table cell or Mtext entity containing the field.
  2. Select the field.
  3. Right-click and choose Convert Field to Text.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does REGEN update fields automatically? Only if bitcode 16 of FIELDEVAL is set. Otherwise, use UPDATEFIELD directly, and date fields specifically only ever update that way regardless of FIELDEVAL.

Can I use the same expression syntax for Field Formula as I do for parameter expressions elsewhere? Mostly, but not entirely, Tangent is written tang() in Field Formula rather than tan(), and Square, sqr(), is only available in Field Formula at all.

How do I convert a field’s displayed value into different units? Use the Convert option when displaying an entity property, either selecting a formula like f*# or typing a conversion factor directly.

What happens if a field I’m editing is linked to a parameter that’s been deleted? An error message appears in the Field dialog instead of the usual settings.

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