RPS Paste
Command Licensing and Default Menu Location
- The RPS Paste command is part of the RPS Modeling Toolbox
- The command is located on the Modeling macros menu ribbon
- The command is located in the Drafting menu group
Command Description
The RPS Paste command provides the ability to paste information from the Windows clipboard into the Plan, Profile, Section or Sheet views of TBC. The command currently supports images and text. The command also provides the ability to scale, rotate and set transparency on the images during import. The command also supports the copy and paste of formatted excel table cells as an image or text.
Command Interface Description
The RPS Paste command dialog looks as follows
Refresh:
The preview window at the top of the dialog shows the current content of the Windows clipboard at the time of running the command. You can refresh the preview pane after you have copied new information to the clipboard.
Switch to Text or Switch to Image:
When you copy data from Excel cells, Excel puts an image of the cells as well as the text content of the cells onto the clipboard. When the RPS Paste command sees both Text and Image data on the clipboard it gives you the option as to whether you wish to paste the image or text data into the project view of TBC. Click the Switch to Text or Switch to Image button to change what will be pasted to the project.
Image Settings / Text Settings
The Image / Text Settings area of the dialog control how the clipboard data will be used inside TBC. The settings change dynamically depending on the current content of the Windows clipboard (Image or Text).
Text Settings:
The text settings allow you to select the Text Style to use for the text to be placed in your TBC project. Select the Text Style that you wish to use from the Text Style list pulldown.
The text settings also allows you to select the color that you wish the text to be in the TBC project. Select the color that you require from the color selector pulldown.
Image Settings:
The image settings allow you to select the name of the image that will be stored in the TBC project folder for the image currently on the clipboard. Because TBC does not hold the images in the project, only a reference to the image that resides in the project folder, all placed images will be stored as an image file in the project folder.
The image settings allow you to set the transparency of the image being placed. Enter 0% for no transparency or 100% for full transparency. Typically you will use 0% or up to 50% most commonly depending on the use of the image in the project.
The image being placed can be scaled by entering a Width or Height value. If you enter the width value, the height will be determined and set automatically depending on the pixel size of the image on the clipboard in order to maintain the aspect ratio of the image. If you enter a height value, the width value will be set automatically. You can also elect to scale the image using 2 points, the distance between the origin point and the second point clicked will determine the scale of the image. If you select the 2 point method the width and height fields will be grayed out.
Note: When TBC imports an image normally, the default scaling is that one pixel = 1 unit of measurement i.e. 1 US Foot or 1 meter. So the image scale is determined from that initial value. So if you enter 20 feet as the width and the image is 800 pixels wide then the scale will be 20/800 or 0.025.
If you are placing the image in Sheet View remember that in Sheet view the units are either mm or inches so when you enter the width or height values enter them as 3" or 3 in or 50 mm etc.
Settings:
Layer:
The image or text will be placed on the TBC project layer selected here. Pull down the layer list to select the layer that you wish to use.
Use 2 points checkbox:
You can place the image using 2 points to define the insertion point, scale and orientation, or you can define an image size, orientation angle and origin location. Check this checkbox if you want to use the 2 point method. When checked you will select the origin location and a second point to define the scale and rotation of the image. If you wish the image to be orthogonal to the graphics view / drawing sheet, hold the shift key down while selecting point 2.
Rotation:
Enter the final rotation angle of the image after placement when not using the 2 point mode for insertion. A rotation angle of 0 degrees will place the image square on a drawing. Rotation angle is entered as an anticlockwise rotation.
Origin:
Enter or click the origin location for the image.
Point 2:
When the Use 2 point checkbox is enabled, select a second point to determine the scale and rotation for the image.
When using the 2 point method to place text only the rotation is determined since the Text Style defines the sizing of the text.
Use Case Notes:
When working with Excel Table data, Excel will create an image of the selected cells without the need to put any white bounding area around the cells. Simply select the cells that you want to paste as an image and select copy to copy the data to your windows clipboard.
Typical Output:
Apply
When you tap apply, the image or text will be placed and the command will ready itself for another process execution. If you do not want to make a second selection and repeat the process tap Close to finish the process.
Note you can place the same image many times if required. If you capture a new image on the clipboard simply click Refresh to update the preview pane and place the new image.
Close
Closes the command without further execution.
Video Demonstration
The following video shows how to utilize the RPS Paste command
Use Case Videos
The following videos show the use of the RPS Paste command in a work process context
Feedback and Enhancement Requests
If you would like to provide feedback on the use of the RPS Paste command or to request enhancements or improvements to the command please Reply below