Can I make a parameter a symbol?

[MC_10725407]

I'm using creo7 parametric and I'm trying to make the material in the title block be a drawing flag symbol using &sym(FLAG-MUTI-LEVEL). Normally when I type this in a text box, it will give me the symbol dialog to select the options I want such as what number I want in the flag and the size of the flag. When I put &sym(FLAG-MUTI-LEVEL) in the &MATERIAL parameter, it just shows it as text instead of the flag. I don't want to get rid of the &MATERIAL parameter, I want to have it equal to &sym(FLAG-MUTI-LEVEL). Thank you!

[tbraxton]

When creating a symbol with variable text, you can add parameter as variable value for variable text. The syntax for using a parameter is to add the "&" in front of the parameter name i.e., &parameter_name .

[MC_10725407]

When I set &MATERIAL as &sym(FLAG-MUTI-LEVEL), it displays the words "&sym(FLAG-MUTI-LEVEL)" on the drawing sheet. What I want it to do is show a symbol like this:

When I type "&sym(FLAG-MUTI-LEVEL)" in a drawing note normally, it works. When I put it in as a parameter, it does not.

[tbraxton]

Post a sample drawing including all of the symbols you are working with. We have no way of knowing the details of how the symbols you refer to were defined or are being used.

[KenFarley · Accepted solution]

I think the problem is that parameters are YES/NO, integer, real, or text. When you put make a parameter that contains the text you would type in to create the symbol in a note, it is stored as text. When that parameter is referenced in a note, it is only interpreted as a text string. The note does not "process" the text to create a symbol for you, it just sees it as a string of characters. The same as if you set a parameter to the string "2+2", when you referenced it in a note you wouldn't expect it to show as "4".

Too bad, really, because that would be pretty nice to be able to do that.

[MC_10725407]

Gotcha, I had a feeling that was the case. So in that case, does that mean parameters can't be set as dimensions or anything along those lines either? For example, setting a parameter as "add25" which is the dimension ID.

[KenFarley]

You can use dimensions directly in notes by referencing them, i.e. &add25. You can do fancier stuff with parameters such as making the description of a part be based on its dimensions, like "2X4, 24.5 IN LONG" and such. I use some pretty elaborate relations to set the descriptive parameter for cap screws and such.

[MC_10725407]

Gotcha, thank you!