14 Replies Latest reply on Oct 23, 2008 5:08 PM by Christopher Bright

    Equation Driven Dimension Displays "?"

    Christopher Bright
    Christopher Bright Oct 20, 2008 3:11 PM
      Added equation to dimension and a RED "?" symbol appears next to it in the sketch. Open equation editor and uncheck Active which removes the Solved check mark and causes the Evaluates To to change from x (value of equation result) to "Suppressed". When OK is clicked, the RED "?" after the dimension disappears. The sketch is listed as Fully Defined when the equation is in either state. Is this normal? Done research using the SW Help feature but found nothing meaningful in this context. What are the implications of these states?
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        • Equation Driven Dimension Displays
          1-YJ1IM Oct 20, 2008 3:41 PM (in response to Christopher Bright)
          Were these equations created in an assembly? "?" normally means a lost or missing reference. If assembly is also open, the "?" should disappear.
            • Equation Driven Dimension Displays "?
              Christopher Bright
              Christopher Bright Oct 20, 2008 3:56 PM (in response to 1-YJ1IM)
              This is simply a sketch in a new Part unto itself and therefore unrelated to any other Part or Assembly. The "?" is in the context of the sketch alone and seems to have no effect on the Part file itself. This adds to the ambiguity of the two equation states, Active checked (Solved) and Active unchecked ("Suppressed"). Perhaps the question should rather be, What does Suppressed in an Equation mean? Although Suppressed, the sketch remains Fully Defined. This is actually the impetus for my inquiry. The implication of the states is the concern. By the way, the RED "?" symbol appears directly in the sketch in the graphics area, not in the FeatureManager design tree. The symbol, along with its' associated dimension and others, are not visible after exiting the sketch. (Of course.)
            • Equation Driven Dimension Displays
              1-YJ1IM Oct 20, 2008 4:40 PM (in response to Christopher Bright)
              Not sure about the red ?. Can you attach n image or the file itself? Suppressing an equation is typically configuration specific, where you do not want the dimension driven by the equation for that specific configuration. Suppressing the equation does not suppress the dimension, so the sketch would still be fully defined.
                • Equation Driven Dimension Displays
                  Christopher Bright
                  Christopher Bright Oct 21, 2008 5:38 PM (in response to 1-YJ1IM)
                  It appears that the the forum message tool supports only gif, jpeg or html for attaching files. Surprisingly no SW file types may be attached. I think perhaps I will learn the secret of the bazaar "?" symbol in due course. Thanks for your attention.
                    • Equation Driven Dimension Displays
                      Anna Wood
                      Anna Wood Oct 21, 2008 6:17 PM (in response to Christopher Bright)
                      You can zip the files into an archive and post a zip file.

                      You can also upload png image files to the forum.

                      Cheers,
                        • Equation Driven Dimension Displays
                          Christopher Bright
                          Christopher Bright Oct 22, 2008 12:11 PM (in response to Anna Wood)
                          Thanks for the uploading advice.

                          Here is a very simple example of the equation-controlled geometry. The equation is "D2@Sketch1" = "D1@Sketch1"/2. To review, double-click Sketch1 in the FeatureManager design tree. Note the "?" associated with 0.7500 (dimension named D1@Sketch2) and that the sketch is fully defined. Right-click Equations in the FeatureManager design tree and select Edit Equation. Note that the check-box under the "Active" heading is indeed checked. Note also that the "Evaluates To" heading lists the Equation as Solved (denoted by the green check mark) and the solution is 0.75in. This is based on half of the sketch circle diameter 1.5000 (dimension name D1@Sketch1), per the syntax of the equation. If the Active box is unchecked the Equation becomes suppressed. It's perplexing that SW allows suppression of an Equation. Why bother adding one? Perhaps it has functionality in configurations. I added a Design Table to add some configurations to explore this, but it merely changes the geometry based upon designated values and subject to the established equation. I fully understand the power of both Equations and Design Tables, which can work in concert as I've just proven. But it's that bazaar "?" symbol attached to dimension D1@Sketch2 (or presumably any dimension subject to an equation) that concerns me. However confusing the "?" is to me, the equation, as simple as it is here, acts as expected. I've resorted to this forum because I could find no reference among SW Help or the Self-Service resources on SolidWorks.com Customer Portal. This is not a critical issue, it's just daunting - Enquiring Minds Want To Know.
                            • Equation Driven Dimension Displays "?
                              1-YJ1IM Oct 22, 2008 12:37 PM (in response to Christopher Bright)
                              The red "?" should actually be the sum symbol to indicate that the dimension is driven by a equation. I only have SolidWorks 2009 here and it shows the sum symbol for me.
                                • Equation Driven Dimension Displays "?
                                  Christopher Bright
                                  Christopher Bright Oct 22, 2008 12:48 PM (in response to 1-YJ1IM)
                                  Thanks. Although this example was created in SW08 (SP4.0) it's surprising that the symbology for sum is replaced by a "?". Perhaps it's a system setting, or simply an OS/font issue. Again, it's not a critical problem. The Equation functions as expected. Thank you again, I'll be sure to return to this forum if I have other concerns that cannot be readily addressed on my own.
                                  • Equation Driven Dimension Displays "?
                                    Joel Bickel
                                    Joel Bickel Oct 22, 2008 12:55 PM (in response to 1-YJ1IM)
                                    Christopher,

                                    I looked at your part and I did not see a "?" by the 1.5 dim, but there is a "?" by the .75 dim.

                                    There also is red "!" in the equation box for "evaluates to". That seems odd because I don't think there's anything wrong with the eq. If look at the eq and hit "ok" without any changes, I get an error that says "the syntax is incorect"

                                    What is wrong with this syntax?

                                    "D1@Sketch1" = "D2@Sketch1"/2

                                    that's strange: the second question mark in the first line was sum symbol (alt 228) and it changed when I uploaded the message.
                                      • Equation Driven Dimension Displays "?
                                        Christopher Bright
                                        Christopher Bright Oct 22, 2008 1:38 PM (in response to Joel Bickel)
                                        My mistake. In my description I transposed the dimension names, but not in the equation itself. The equation syntax appears to be sound. The "?" symbol is actually associated with D2@Sketch2 (resultant value 0.7500 displayed).

                                        I see no errors in the Equation editor, just the green check mark denoting the equation as Solved. The check mark is replaced by "suppressed" if the Active box is unchecked. But still, no errors are reported.

                                        Back in the part, in ConfigurationManager, when a different configuration is activated, the part responds according to it's associated value. Therefore, while the circle diameter is controlled by the configuration, the Equation controls its' center point relative to the sketch origin, all as intended.

                                        It's not clear why various aspects of the file are behaving differently for others. I am again experiencing no errors, just the "?" symbol in place of the Equation symbol.
                            • Equation Driven Dimension Displays
                              1-YJ1IM Oct 23, 2008 1:14 PM (in response to Christopher Bright)
                              I suggest that you get with your VAR to find out what font SolidWorks uses for this. You can then check if this font is installed.