Smart Client Extension for AutoCAD
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Draw Jacks

Your site can choose to document their jack inventory with a jack plan, in which jacks are represented on CAD floor plan drawings. To create a jack plan, a CAD specialist needs to add jack asset symbols to the existing floor plan drawings.

Typically, someone at your site will have already defined jack standards and other background data about the facility. The CAD specialist should have previously defined jack blocks and developed a CAD room plan.

Although you can represent specific jacks on your floor plan drawing, many sites represent only faceplates in CAD. Although the jacks are not represented in CAD, users do track their telecom connections to the jacks contained in faceplates. Your site should assess the detail to which you need to track faceplates and jacks in CAD drawings.

Jacks are represented on the Jack (JK) asset layer and are registered to the Jacks (JK) table.

Procedure

1. In CAD or in Archibus Smart Client, move to the appropriate process (listed at the top of this topic).
2. If you are working in Smart Client and CAD is not active, select the Draw Jacks task. The task presents the Drawing List so that you can choose a drawing to work on. Choose the drawing, and Archibus loads your CAD tool, displays the selected drawing, and makes CAD the active application.
3. In CAD, open a drawing (if necessary).
4. Prepare the drawing for working with jacks by choosing Set Jacks on the CAD Navigator.
5. Depict the floor's jacks by inserting jack blocks. There are several methods. For your convenience, commands for these methods are listed on the CAD Navigator.
• Insert an instance of a block drawing representing your jacks by choosing Insert Block from the Navigator. Browse to find your block drawing, and then position your block.
• If jack standards have been defined, you can asset insert jacks. Choose Asset Insert from the Navigator and then choose a standard from the resulting list. Choose a position for your block, and the command inserts it and displays its standard as asset text.
• If Jack records already exist in the database and you now want to generate asset symbols for these records, you can populate the drawing with jack blocks. Choose the Populate Jacks to Rooms task on the Navigator. Based on the database information, the system will add the blocks to the appropriate rooms, assign them intelligence, and convert them to asset symbols. If you use this method, you can skip step 6 below. Once the system generates them, you will want to position your jack asset symbols within the room boundary. Users servicing the jacks can then consult the drawing to find them within the room.
• Populating generates asset symbols for all jacks in the room. If you want to create asset symbols for just some items, asset insert the standard, which will add the block to the drawing. Next, from the CAD Navigator, run the "Attach to Record" command, which will prompt you to select the database record to connect to this block to form an asset symbol. You can skip step 6, below.
6. Data edit the blocks to convert them to asset symbols and register them in the database. Complete the following fields:
• Jack Code -- Enter a value to uniquely identify this jack. Many sites number jacks after their room location, with a D or V suffix to indicate if they are voice or data jacks, such as HQ-17-101-D, HQ-17-101-V.
• Building Code/Floor Code -- The program may have already completed these with values from the drawing's default space hierarchy values. If not, you may select from the available values by choosing the ellipses button.
• Room Code -- Enter the room in which the jack is located by typing the room number or choosing the room from the ellipses button.
• Jack Standard -- If you asset inserted your jack item, the block will have a standard. If you used the Insert Block command, you will need to complete the standard.
7. So that your faceplate plan can be viewed using Archibus Web Central, run the Publish Enterprise Graphics command (located on the CAD Navigator for your convenience) to publish your drawing as an Archibus Enterprise Graphic file.
8. You can now view your jack plans in reports by accessing Web Central and running the Asset Portal / View Jack Plan task or working the Telecom Console task in Web Central.

See Also

Representing Telecom Devices in CAD

Define Jack Standards

Adding Blocks to Floor Plan Drawings

Creating Asset Symbols by Asset Inserting

Creating Asset Symbols by Populating