Adding Your Custom Irrigation Head Symbols
- Irrigation Symbols Overview
- Adding Your Custom Head Symbols
- Step 1: Get to Know Our Irrigation Symbols & Families
- Step 2: Locate the Symbols in Our Library That You Want to Replace With Your Symbols
- Step 3: Prepare Our Symbol Drawing for Editing
- Step 4: Bring Your Symbol Linework Into Our Symbol Drawing
- Step 5: Test Your Symbol
- Step 6 (Optional): Replace the Corresponding Schedule Symbols
- Editing Our Default Head Symbols
- Re-Creating Your Custom Irrigation Symbols Using Our Default Blocks
- Our Block File Naming Conventions (Updated in 2020)
- Related Webinars
- Troubleshooting
The irrigation symbol blocks included in your Irrigation F/X installation are DWG files that contain attributes, which optimize these symbols for use with our software. We've spent a great deal of time and effort creating this library of irrigation symbols, and myriad offices have incorporated our symbols into their office standards.
If you want to bring in your own symbols, you'll actually be bringing the linework for each symbol into the appropriate DWG file within our symbol library by following the Adding Your Custom Head Symbols steps outlined below. When you do so, your symbols will maintain our attributes and, as a result, also be optimized for use with our software. Spray head symbols make up the bulk of the irrigation symbols that Irrigation F/X users tend to use and customize.
Our irrigation symbols download on demand. If you place a piece of equipment, its symbol should download as necessary.
Irrigation Symbols Overview
Symbols are technically all just blocks and can be customized as desired. However, the symbols shown in the Irrigation Preferences are quite customizable, allowing you to match their appearance to your preferences or office standards. As a result, our software doesn't provide a way for you to update those images.
The Administration subfolder within your LandFX folder contains an AutoCAD drawing named Irrigation Symbols.dwg. Open this drawing AND TURN ON ALL LAYERS to review all the irrigation symbols LandFX uses in the system.
If for some reason you don't have this drawing, or you can't find a particular symbol family, here's a link to download a more recent version of the drawing (right-click the link and select Save Target As or Save Link As from the menu):
Save this file to the folder LandFX/Admin. Overwrite the existing file if one exists.
After reviewing this drawing, you can choose to:
- Use existing symbols from our library
- Customize one or more existing symbols by modifying the DWG files that contain them (our recommended method of using customized irrigation symbols)
The file linked above contains several "symbol families." Each family includes a number of related irrigation symbols.
The image to the right shows a few of the symbols in Spray Family 3, which denote heads that do not rotate.
The image to the left shows more of the symbols in Spray Family 3. If you see a symbol with a similar appearance to one you'd like to see in your drawing, you can open the DWG source file for that symbol (see Symbol Library Organization below).
The blue text below each symbol consists of that symbol's DWG filename.
Note that each symbol has its own corresponding DWG file – even symbols with the same radius but a different spray range.
Our symbol library also includes a family of spray symbols called Family X. We created this symbol family specifically to allow users to customize the symbols.
The symbols in Family X are essentially blank, allowing you to make extensive changes to them. Note that they're organized by radius size.
Symbol Library Organization
You can find the source DWG file for each of our symbols within the folder LandFX/Blocks/Graphics/Irrigation. From here, select the folder for the type of equipment whose symbol you want to modify. For example, the spray symbols are in the spray folder.
Keep in mind that you may not see these source files until you've used the corresponding symbol in one of your drawings.
Note on spray head symbols:
Our library of spray heads includes symbols for the complete range of options from all manufacturers in our system – not just the basic group of symbols you're accustomed to using for one manufacturer. As a result, adding and placing spray head symbols can become complicated. Moreover, our software also allows for the creation of different types of irrigation schedules, with schedule symbol options for all manufacturers. Faced with this level of choices, you'll likely find it easier to simply use our symbols for spray heads rather than adding or creating your own.
Adding Your Custom Head Symbols
When you add your symbols, you'll be overwriting one of our existing symbol families rather than simply adding another family to our list.
We've used spray symbols as an example in these steps, mostly because spray symbols work a bit differently from other head symbols. The bulk of these steps will pertain to adding your custom head symbols in general.
Step 1: Get to Know Our Irrigation Symbols & Families
1A. Download the latest version of our Irrigation Symbols DWG:
1B. Download and print our Irrigation Getting Started Guide:
The appendix of the Guide includes images of all available symbols.
1C. Make a decision on which symbol family you'll be editing. Do your symbols rotate? For spray symbols, you have three – and only three – options for symbol families. In our example, we’ll use the Family X option.
1D. In the Irrigation Preferences, set your preferences for your symbols. For example, if you're editing spray symbols and you want those symbols to rotate, select Family X for Turf Spray, Family 1 for Shrub, and Family 2 for Shrub 2.
These steps show you how to bring your symbol linework into one of our symbol drawings. Keep in mind that you'll need to repeat these steps not only for all symbols in the present family, but for all symbol families you want to replace with your own symbols.
Step 2: Locate the Symbols in Our Library That You Want to Replace With Your Symbols
2A. Create a test project using our Projects tool, and add your typical Turf, Shrub, and Shrub 2 symbols to that project.
When adding the equipment to the test project, take care to assign the symbol family you plan to customize, which will ensure that the system downloads all necessary blocks for that family. Ensure that the correct symbol family is assigned before moving on to the next step.
2B. Generate an Irrigation Schedule with the Entire Palette option checked.
You can use this schedule as a cross-check as you edit symbols.
2C. Open the Irrigation Symbols DWG as a guide. Turn on all layers (if they’re not all on already), and zoom in to a symbol you want to replace with your own.
In this example, we'll zoom in to the 10' symbols within Family X.
Once we zoom in, we can see the various arc patterns available within the 10' symbols within Family X. We'll focus on the Quarter Head for our example. The symbol's filename appears in blue below the symbol. In our example, the 10' Quarter Head's filename is X-10Q.
Note this filename. You'll need it for the next step.
Step 3: Prepare Our Symbol Drawing for Editing
3A. Open the file for the symbol you zoomed into in Step 2. The symbol file will be in the folder named for that symbol's head type.
In our example, we'll navigate to the folder LandFX/Blocks/Graphics/Irrigation/spray and open the file LAFX-X-10Q.dwg.
Note that all symbol block files will have an LAFX- prefix.
3B. Note that block is pointing due east, to AutoCAD’s 0 degrees.
3C. To also keep track of the insertion point, type LINE in the Command line.
When prompted to specify a first point for the line, type 0,0.
Then draw a line originating from that 0,0.
3D. Select our default head linework, and move it off to the side. Don't move the line you just drew.
Step 4: Bring Your Symbol Linework Into Our Symbol Drawing
4A. Open the drawing file for your preferred head. Use the use Copy and Paste commands to move it over to our block drawing.
4B. Verify that your symbol is:
- Centered at the 0,0 origin point, which is also the origin point of your line
- Facing due east
- The correct size in Paper Space inch units
- Composed of only lines, polylines, arcs, circles, hatches, etc. – no blocks. Confirm the layers as well.
4C. Delete the linework from our block, as well as the line you drew to mark the origin point.
4D. Set your symbol to layer 0, then type PRG in the Command line and press Enter.
4E. Close the drawing, and save your changes.
You’ve successfully brought your symbol block into our drawing.
Step 5: Test Your Symbol
5A. To test your symbol block, open your test drawing, and delete the Irrigation Schedule.
5B. Type PRG in the Command line to purge out all blocks. Press Enter.
5C. Insert an Irrigation Schedule again. You should now see your symbol block.
You'll need to repeat this entire process for each of your symbols you want to bring in, and for all symbol families you want to overwrite with your symbols.
Step 6 (Optional): Replace the Corresponding Schedule Symbols
After replacing all symbols for a given family, you may want to replace the schedule symbols for that family (that is, the symbols for components as they will appear in the Irrigation Schedule).
For example, if you're using the same symbol for Quarter and Half heads, you'll want to edit those schedule symbol blocks as necessary.
Locate the Schedule Symbol blocks by following the yellow lines from the family of symbols on the "Irrigation Symbols" drawing to a location off to the side of that family.
The Schedule Symbol blocks represent between two and six possible combinations for that particular radius, each representing different options for different manufacturers.
You can find them in the folder LandFX\Blocks\Graphics\Irrigation\schedule_symbols pictured to the right).
Editing Our Default Head Symbols
If a head symbol is close to, but not exactly, how you want it to look, you can make minor edits to the symbol by opening its drawing within our library.
For more information, see our instructions for Editing Our Default Head Symbols.
Our Block File Naming Conventions (Updated in 2020)
We have some specific file-naming guidelines that apply to our default symbol blocks, which you'll also need to follow when saving your custom block files. The software will only be able to recognize your custom symbols if you follow these guidelines. For more information and instructions, see our irrigation symbol block naming system documentation.
Re-Creating Your Custom Irrigation Symbols Using Our Default Blocks
Has something gone wrong with any of your custom irrigation symbol blocks? We recommend using our default blocks as a basis for your custom blocks, as they're already set up correctly for best performance in CAD. Use them to repair or re-create your custom blocks.
See our Re-Creating Custom Blocks from Default Blocks Power Tip, linked to the right, for more information and instructions.
Related Webinars
- Irrigation Customization: We cover the Irrigation Preferences, including what to consider as you’re setting up your office standards, and what will and won’t change on the fly when you modify these settings, as well as customizing irrigation symbols. (1 hr 2 min)
- Implementing Your Office CAD Standards: Find out how easily you can adapt your own office standards to Land F/X – and how effectively the software will then apply them to your projects. (1 hr 2 min)
- Working with Blocks: We go over the role played by blocks within our software, showing the various types of blocks you have access to and how they all function. We'll also show you how to integrate your personal set of custom blocks into our system. (51 min)
- Customizing Irrigation – What You Should Know: Join us for a discussion on the "need-to-knows" of making the software work with your office standards. We'll show you the different ways you can customize, and you'll pick up some valuable tips for setting up the software to meet your office standards. (1 hr 1 min)
Troubleshooting
Having issues working with your irrigation symbols? See our Irrigation Symbols troubleshooting section.
Contact
- Land F/X
Our software tailors AutoCAD® to the needs of landscape architects, irrigation designers, and other professionals. We automate your most tedious tasks and ensure accuracy, giving you more time to design.