Irrigation Schedule

 

F/X Irrigation ribbon, Irrigation Schedule flyout

 

F/X Irrigation menu, Irrigation Schedule option

or type IrrigSchedule in the Command line

The Irrigation Schedule dialog box will open.

1. Destination: Choose how and where to place or send your schedule.

We've replaced the Drawing and Table options with a single Table option and a Gridlines non-plot checkbox. More information

 

2. Entire Palette: Create a schedule that lists all irrigation equipment you've added to your project, whether or not you've placed it in your drawing.

 

3. Include Xrefs: List irrigation equipment within your external references (Xrefs) in the schedule.

 

4. The section for each of the four equipment types includes a checkbox on the left side of the dialog box. Select this option for each equipment category you want to include in your schedule. Deselect this option for each category you want to omit.

5. Sprays / Rotaries / Bubblers: This section offers the options of placing these components in a Group or By Nozzle.

6. Rotors / Impacts: Rotors and impacts are displayed by individual nozzle.

7. Drip: Display of the drip-related equipment.

8. Click this button to open a dialog box where you can choose to calculate and list dripline by area or length. More information

9. Valves / Equipment / Pipe: Display of auxiliary equipment such as controllers, backflow, point of connection (POC), sensors, etc.

10. Click this button to open a dialog box with quantity options for the Valve / Equipment / Pipe category. More information

11. Schematic Areas: This section controls the display of any Schematic Irrigation usages in the drawing. For more information, see our Schematic Irrigation documentation.

After configuring all the options the way you want them, click OK to place the schedule in your drawing (if you selected the Table option in the Destination) section or send it to a spreadsheet (if you selected Spreadsheet). The Command line will prompt: Upper left corner.

Click to place the schedule in your drawing.

Are you facing a deadline, or simply need to keep using the old schedule format for existing projects? We plan to maintain legacy versions of all schedules for several months after the update, so you can simply type IRRIGSCHEDULE_OLD in the Command line and press Enter to run your familiar version of the schedule code and place a schedule the old way.

To establish the font and point size you want in your schedule, follow our steps to customize our default text styles – specifically the Schedule Text and Schedule Title Text Styles.

You can place an Irrigation Schedule in either Model Space or a Paper Space Layout tab. When placed in Model Space, Irrigation Schedules are sized to the scale of the drawing as established when you Set the scale. When placed in a Paper Space Layout tab, Irrigation Schedules are automatically sized at 1:1 scale.

Destination & Schedule Integration

The Destination section of the Irrigation Schedule dialog box includes several options for how and where you want to place or send your schedule.

• Table: Place the schedule in your drawing as a table.
• Gridlines non-plot: Check this option if you want the lines separating the table cells to be non-plot. Uncheck this option if you want the table lines to plot.

We've replaced the Drawing and Table options with this single Table option and the Gridlines non-plot checkbox. If you select Gridlines non-plot, the schedule will place with gray gridlines that will not show up when you plot your drawing (essentially the same as the former Drawing option). Deselecting this option will result in a schedule placing as a table with gridlines set to plot (essentially the same as the original Table option). This updated system allows you to edit your schedules much more easily.

More information

 

• Spreadsheet: Export the schedule to a spreadsheet program such as MS Excel.

You also have the option to send the schedule directly into another service provider – for instance, your firm's estimating and invoicing system.

 

You'll first need to set up an Integration Partner using our Schedule Integration feature. In this example, we've set up a hypothetical firm's invoiving department as the recipient of the Irrigation Schedule.

 

When you select his option, the schedule(s) will go right into your system, where the partner department can do everything from ordering parts to invoicing the client – therefore saving a great deal of time.

When outputting to a spreadsheet file, you'll likely want to expand the sprays by nozzle and include quantities for all items for easy take-offs. Your schedule will be loaded automatically into whichever spreadsheet program you have on your computer.

For an example of an Irrigation Schedule sent to a spreadsheet, see the Sending the Schedule to a Spreadsheet section of our Irrigation Schedule: Examples documentation.

Spray Heads by Group

Select the Group option under the Sprays / Rotaries / Bubblers category to organize the heads in your schedule by general head type regardless of which items of that type were used in the project.

For examples of Irrigation Schedules organized by Group, see the Spray Heads by Group section of our Irrigation Schedule: Examples documentation.

Spray Heads by Nozzle

If you select the By Nozzle option under the Sprays / Rotaries / Bubblers category, each head type you use in your project will be displayed separately within the schedule.

 

This option generally results in a somewhat longer schedule.

For examples of Irrigation Schedules organized By Nozzle, see the Spray Heads by Nozzle section of our Irrigation Schedule: Examples documentation.

Quantity Options for Drip (Dripline) & Valves / Equipment / Pipe

We've collected the quantity options for the Drip and Valve / Equipment / Pipe sections into their own separate dialog boxes.

 

If you want to list the quantities of either or both these equipment categories in your schedule, select the Quantity option in the appropriate equipment section, then click the ... button to the right to see your quantity options for that category.

Note that the quantity options in the Drip section apply specifically to dripline.

Drip (Dripline) Quantity Options

To access the dripline quantity options, click the ... button next to the Quantity checkbox in the Drip section.

 

You can then choose to list dripline in your schedule by either Area or Length. Click OK after making your selection.

You can only select one of these options.

Valves / Equipment / Pipe Quantity Options

To access the quantity options for valves, auxiliary equipment, and pipe, click the ... button next to the Quantity checkbox in the Drip section.

 

You'll then see options to:

• List Equipment/Pipe by Size: Select this option to break the schedule into a complete list of all pipe classes and equipment types per size.

 

• Include Water Meter/POC: Select this option to include the water meter or point of connection (POC) in the schedule.

 

Click OK after making your selection.

You can choose to select one, both, or neither of these options.

Irrigation Schedule Contents

The Irrigation Schedule includes the following information:

• Symbol: The symbol for each component, or each head type in a model series.
• Manufacturer & Model: The manufacturer and model of a series.
• Description: The second line below the model text includes the general description of the component. This text will wrap to additional lines as necessary, or you can omit it entirely.
• Quantity: If sprays are grouped, the quantity is the sum of any nozzles that were used of that group – for instance, all 12' turf sprays used. For pipe, the quantity is expressed in linear feet counted to each connected item's insertion point (thus not losing any length due to the symbol size).
• Arc Pattern: The arc pattern of the head. For spray heads, the arc pattern will only be listed if you've selected By Nozzle.
• Pressure: The design pressure of the head. For spray heads, the pressure will only be listed if you've selected By Nozzle.
• Flow: The flow for the head at the design pressure. For spray heads, the flow will only be listed if you've selected By Nozzle.
• Radius: The radius of the head at optimal pressure. For spray heads, the radius will only be listed if you've selected By Nozzle.
• Detail: If you've associated a detail with an equipment model or series, the location in the drawing set of that placed detail will be listed.

Using the Irrigation Schedule to Create an Initial Inventory **Highly Recommended**

It's always a good idea to run an Irrigation Schedule with the Entire Palette option checked after you've added all your equipment to your project – and before you've placed any equipment in your drawing.

This option will generate a schedule listing all equipment you've added to your project – including exact models and model numbers. Print this schedule, keep it off to the side in your drawing, or otherwise keep it as a reference throughout the life of the project. It will serve as a crucial reference later in the project when you don't necessarily remember each piece of equipment you've added.

Calculating Every Sprinkler Head and Pipe Size Individually

If you need to calculate heads (such as spray heads, rotaries, or bubblers) and pipe sizes individually, you can group the heads By Nozzle and, under Valves/ Equipment, check the box to List Equipment/Pipe by Size.

 

The heads and pipes will be itemized in the schedule.

When you choose the option to itemize equipment and pipe by size, the pipe blocks in the Irrigation Scheduld will be set to the corresponding pipe colors, as pictured below.

 

Calculation of Individual Drip Emitters Within Emitter Areas

The Irrigation Schedule now includes quantities of drip emitters within emitter areas.

When you place an Irrigation Schedule in a drawing that includes areas for drip emitters, you'll see an Emitter Notes subsection at the bottom of each emitter area section in the schedule. This Notes subsection will tally all individual emitters within that type of emitter area throughout the drawing. It will also list the plant container size that will receive each type of emitter. (See image below.)

This listing and tallying of emitters occurs automatically when you place an Irrigation Schedule in a drawing that includes emitter areas. It doesn't require you to do anything beyond simply placing a schedule.

Irrigation Schedules and Slope Areas

Slope Areas work with our Slope Callout tool to apply a specific grade percentage or ratio to a closed polyline area in your drawing. Objects represented by any smart hatches within those closed polylines (Slope Areas) will have their quantity, volume, or area recalculated based on that slope percentage or ratio.

If you run an Irrigation Schedule in a drawing that includes one or more Slope Areas, the schedule will scan all Schematic zones, Areas for Dripline, and Areas for Drip Emitters to determine whether they are inside a Slope Area. If so, the schedule will recalculate the square footage/meters of those areas. For Schematic zones and Areas for Dripline (but not for Areas for Drip Emitters), the schedule will also recalculate equipment quantities and flow rates based on the slope.

Multiple POCs

If you have multiple POCs defined in your drawing, you will be prompted to select one or all of them on which to run the schedule, before being prompted to select the upper left corner of the schedule for outputting.

Regenerating the Schedule

If you've previously placed a schedule in a drawing and wish to regenerate it, open the Irrigation Schedule tool and click OK.

You'll be asked whether you want to regenerate the existing schedule.

Click Yes. The Irrigation Schedule will regenerate with up-to-date information.

If you want a different location or format of the new schedule, you can delete the old schedule and place a new one in the location and formatting of your choice.

Revisions of Equipment

If you need to change or delete a head type at a later date, just run the schedule again. The new schedule will reflect the changed condition.

Advanced Customization of the Irrigation Schedule Width

You can customize the Irrigation Schedule through the USERR2 variable. First type USERR2 in the Command line, and then type 0 to leave it auto-sized (at about 4 inches wide for the description), or enter a value in Paper Space inches.

Applying the Current Schedule Settings as the Default

Once you've configured your Irrigation Schedule the way you want it, you can apply those settings as the defaults under the active Preference Set in the Irrigation Preferences. If you want, you can create different defaults for schedules you place in drawings vs. schedules you export to spreadsheets. You can also create different defaults for different Preference Sets.

For specific instructions, see the Schedule Defaults section of our Irrigation Preferences documentation.

If you opened the Preferences and noticed that the buttons and options are grayed out and you can't make changes, the current Preference Set may be restricted. More information

Limiting the Irrigation Schedule Using Work Areas or Points of Connection (POCs)

You may want to run an Irrigation Schedule for only a specific portion of a drawing, such as an area or phase of your project. In these cases, you can limit the Irrigation Schedule with the help of work areas. For more information, see our Work Areas and Irrigation Schedules documentation. For instructions on creating a work area, see our Work Areas documentation.

For projects that include more than one point of connection (POC), you can also create an Irrigation Schedule that only includes equipment that is connected to a given POC. For more information, see our Limiting the Irrigation Schedule to a Specific POC documentation.

Change Irrigation Schedule Column Widths

You can easily change the widths of your Irrigation Schedule columns using the AutoCAD Block Editor.

Critical Analysis

Critical Analysis is a report placed into your drawing that gives you the same information that was displayed after sizing the mainline. The Critical Analysis will indicate the POC number, the Flow Available, the Pressure Available, and a Design Analysis of the Maximum Station Flow, with the Residual (or leftover) Flow, the pressure loss to provide the Critical Station (most demanding valve), and the Residual (leftover) Pressure.

For more information, see our Critical Analysis documentation.

Rearranging the Column Order in Your Schedule

In the interest of keeping our software easy to use – and limited by some restrictions from the CAD platform – we’ve decided to limit the built-in arrangement options to more widely accepted arrangements. However, you can easily rearrange your schedule columns at will while also keeping the ability to regenerate the schedule.

Schedule Text in Uppercase (or Upper and Lowercase)

You can control whether the text in any of your schedules appears in all uppercase, or in upper and lowercase, from the General Preferences. For instructions, see our Schedule Text in Uppercase article.

Create a Background Fill or Mask for your Schedules

Some designers want to give their schedules a background fill to allow it to pop from the rest of the drawing. You can create a background fill for your schedule using the Table Style Manager. Find out how.

Related Webinars

• Irrigation for Beginners: We'll show how to navigate through the Irrigation ribbon and build a familiarity with our conceptual-level tools. You'll also learn the basics of adding equipment to a project, placing, piping, sizing, and scheduling. (1 hr 45 min)
• Getting Started with Irrigation F/X: Join us for this webinar to get going with the essential capabilities of Irrigation F/X. We'll show how to navigate through the Irrigation ribbon and build a familiarity with our conceptual-level tools. You'll also learn the basics of adding equipment to a project, placing, piping, sizing, and scheduling. (1 hr 8 min)
• Irrigation Tools – What You Need to Know: We'll show you the ins and outs of basic irrigation setup using our software. You'll also learn the essentials of placing equipment such as drip, sprays, and rotors. (1 hr 6 min)
• Excel With The Right Tools: No matter how much you can accomplish in AutoCAD, sometimes MS Excel can do the job better. We’ll give you some examples of how Excel can improve your design process by adding everything from shade analysis reports to MAWA calculations and in-depth watering schedules. (1 hr 5 min)
• Excel With The Right Tools Part 2: Now that we've gone over the basics of what MS Excel can do for you, join us for a more detailed look into the capabilities of this powerful application, including named ranges, templates and reusable macros, and more. (1 hr 5 min)
• Irrigation Tips & Tricks: We'll show you some advanced tools you may or may not know about. You'll also learn techniques and best practices that will help speed up your workflow. (1 hr 3 min)
• Existing Irrigation: Learn the techniques, tools, and tricks you'll need to expand an existing system, including how to use a pipe cap to account for existing flow and add new valves to an existing mainline. (56 min)
• Advanced Irrigation Troubleshooting: Learn to think like a Land F/X irrigation troubleshooter. We'll show you why your symbols don't match, why you would see the message "Error accessing equipment data" (and how to fix these issues, as well as tips on pressure losses and precip rates, pipe caps, system monitors, and flow zones. (1 hr 3 min)

Troubleshooting

Issue: The Irrigation Schedule (Legend) is too wide. Am I having text wrap issues?

Issue: My Irrigation Schedule is too long. How can I break it up?

Issue: Unknown miscellaneous irrigation equipment is appearing on the schedule, and I'm not sure why / where it is in the drawing

Issue: The Irrigation Schedule does not show all my equipment

Issue: Can I have multiple Irrigation Schedules?

Issue: How do I create an estimate or add pricing to materials for irrigation?

Issue: Irrigation symbols are showing off center in the Irrigation Schedule

Issue: The Irrigation Schedule shows an incorrect symbol for an irrigation component in my drawing

Issue: Schedule symbols are incorrect or misplaced

Issue: Schedule title is overlapping the rest of the schedule text (or is too large, too small, or appearing in the wrong location)

Issue: You are unable to send your Irrigation Schedule to an Excel spreadsheet

Issue: Incorrect equipment symbol (block) in the Irrigation Schedule

Issue: Error: Valve Unknown has no Precip Rate. Please size the system to generate a Precip Rate when placing an Irrigation Schedule

Issue: Work Areas are not recognizing or calculating an Area for Drip Emitters or Area for Dripline hatch

Issue: Schedule Text or Schedule Title is appearing in the wrong font, point size, etc.

Issue: You need to change the width the columns, or the height of the rows, in your Irrigation Schedule

Issue: Your Watering Schedule or Runtime Schedule is showing incorrect precipitation rates

Issue: AutoCAD variable settings rejected, see layer ... (when placing an Irrigation Schedule that includes areas for drip emitters or dripline)

Issue: The screen flashes several times when you place an Irrigation Schedule in Paper Space

Issue: The Irrigation Schedule is not grouping equipment correctly, or is listing the same equipment type as separate line items

Issue: Text boxes are displaying in your drawing where your Irrigation Schedule text should be

Issue: Text in the Irrigation Schedule columns is overlapping

Issue: You have multiple water sources (meters or POCs) in your design, and you only want to list one source in the Irrigation Schedule

Issue: Outside Limits error message in the Command line / you are unable to place an Irrigation Schedule / can't see your Irrigation Schedule in Model Space

Issue: The mainline or lateral pipe symbol has the incorrect linetype in your Irrigation Schedule (Solid, Dashed, etc.)

Issue: "Cannot find Work Area title" error message when placing an Irrigation Schedule in a drawing with Work Areas

Issue: You tried to create an Irrigation Schedule for a Work Area in your drawing, but the schedule did not appear when you tried to place it

Issue: The Irrigation Schedule shows a duplicate symbol and quantity for certain equipment

Issue: Your pipe sizes or pressure/flow units are in the wrong measurement system – for example, you might be desgining in Imperial units (feet and inches) but the pipe sizes are in metric

Issue: You're using Work Areas in your irrigation design, and the pipe counts are incorrect in one or more of the Work Areas

Issue: Unable to reconstitute a hatch area, quantity will be inaccurate error message when attempting to run an Irrigation Schedule

Issue: The Irrigation Schedule is listing incorrect incorrect emitter quantity or flow rate for drip emitter areas (Areas for Drip Emitters) in your drawing

Issue: CAD freezes or lags after you place an Irrigation Schedule

Issue: You are having difficulties making manual edits to the Irrigation Schedule after placing it using the updated Table style with the Gridlines non-plot option checked

Issue: You placed a schedule using our updated Table format with the Gridlines non-plot option selected, and the gridlines are showing up in your drawing as gray, or not showing up at all (invisible)

Issue: You saw an "Automation Error. AcRxClassName is not in the system registry message" when attempting to place a schedule

Issue: The Irrigation Schedule is showing the incorrect pipe class for a pipe sleeve

Issue: Your schedule symbols are showing up with transparency when placed in your drawing

Issue: The flow totals for Schematic Areas are appearing incorrectly in the Irrigation Schedule