Attribute Setup

Creating and editing attributes

Edit Attributes

Accessing this screen:

In the Edit Naming Conventions panel, ensure design data is not loaded and click Edit Attribute Definitions.
In the Manual Attribute Assignment panel, ensure design data is not loaded and click Edit Attribute Definitions.
In the Derived Activities panel, click Edit Attributes.

What are Attributes?

Attributes are extra "fields" which get added to the end of the points table in the project. They are used to give scheduling activities extra information which can be used during the scheduling process, including, for example, level information, rock type, panel numbers etc. Traditionally, attributes were simply placed onto the design item strings by editing them in the 3D window. Experience has shown that it is easy to make mistakes using this method, and hence improved methods were devised to streamline the attribute application process, and reduce the risk of error.

Adding attributes to a design allows filtering of the schedule, and reporting in Studio UG. This improves the usefulness of the information derived from the final schedule. Attributes provide 'pointers' to different areas in the mine, so they can be easily located during the scheduling process. They are used to create the naming convention for each activity (mining activities and derived activities). It is the naming convention which imports the attribute information into your application.

Attributes cannot be defined if design data is unloaded. It must be unloaded before you can access the Attributes panel.

If attribute changes are made in the current project, but the design hasn't changed, the edited/new attributes will be placed on the activity when processing next occurs.

The main drawback of an attribute is that it cannot be seen without interrogating or annotating the string. It is therefore quite a common occurrence for attributes to be assigned incorrectly.

Additional attributes can be created in order to make development or stope identification easier. For example, LEVEL could be an attribute created in order to later filter for LEVEL 335 or LEVEL 1065. ZONE could be an attribute used to distinguish MAIN from VEIN in plan view.

Each attribute can be applied solely within the context of Studio UG, or you can export it to EPS so that it can (potentially) influence the schedule. You can either export an attribute as a Code Field, Text Field or Production Field (consult your EPS documentation for more information on these field types).

Attributes are defined using the Attributes panel.

Examples of Attributes:

Level - mine design level information.
Zone - defines different geological zones within the mine or climate zones indicating areas that require greater ventilation.
Orebody - defining the orebody within which a mining segment is located.
Support - indicating which areas of the mine require what level of support.

Almost anything can be added as an attribute. They should increase your understanding of a design, and make the associated schedule more informative. However, excessive use of attributes may create more confusion than clarity.

System Attributes

As well as user-defined attributes, Studio UG utilizes a collection of reserved attributes, used for system processing.

These can be recognized in the Attributes panel as grey text. These attributes are read-only (as they will be assigned and calculated as a result of other managed task functions. The names of these attributes are reserved, so you can't call a user attribute the same as an existing system attribute.

The following system attributes are currently reserved:

_X/Y/Z_Coord: numeric virtual coordinate fields indicating a 3D location
SEG_NUM: a numeric attribute representing an activity segment, which is a portion of a design string. Also sed to store information retrieved from EPS writeback operations.
GRP_POS: an alphanumeric field describing the position from which a geospatial search will be made when calculating spatial dependencies.
DESIGNDF: an alphanumeric field describing a design definition.
DESIGNID: an alphanumeric field uniquely describing a set of related SEG_NUMs.
DES_TYPE: an alphanumeric field describing the design type (FXS, CXS, OUT, WFM).
COLOUR: reserved system colour field containing a standard Datamine colour number. Note that this attribute is no longer used to uniquely identify a design definition as in legacy products such as Studio 5D Planner and Mine2-4D.
LSTYLE: a numeric value that corresponds to a particular line format (solid, dashed etc). Note that this attribute is no longer used to uniquely identify a design definition as in legacy products such as Studio 5D Planner and Mine2-4D.
SYMBOL: a numeric value representing a symbol within Datamine's standard symbol library. Note that this attribute is no longer used to uniquely identify a design definition as in legacy products such as Studio 5D Planner and Mine2-4D.
TAG: reserved for tag string identification. Tag strings are used to control the surfacing of solid wireframe data. Tag strings will not be used to generate solids for sequencing.
WIDTH: a system width field used to store the width of a profile shape forming part of a design definition. Represents the maximum width for freeform profile shapes. This information will be exported to EPS as a numeric Code Field.
HEIGHT: a system width field used to store the height of a profile shape forming part of a design definition. Represents the maximum height for freeform profile shapes. This information will be exported to EPS as a numeric Code Field.

Importing and Exporting Data

You can import and export data on panels like this one using the following buttons:

Import XML data containing settings information for this task

Export the currently defined data

Data is stored in XML format and can be transferred to other UG projects and systems, for example.

Defining, Importing, Adding or Deleting Attributes

To add or delete an attribute, use the buttons on the top of the grid.

Attributes are either user-defined or system (in which case, they are not editable but can be applied to any convention).

Before you define an attribute, consider how it will be applied. The Application Method is important and is either [Manual], meaning the attribute can only be applied through user interaction to selected data, or one of the automatic options, meaning it may use some other object to place the attribute onto the activity, such as complex solids. In which case, the object must contain a field with the attribute, in order for the attribute to be transferred to the activity.

You can also generate attributes automatically from a selected file. This is done using the Generate function:

Use the File browser to select a file, then the Field Selector to choose which of the attributes in the file you want to use as design attributes.

Applying Attributes to Activities Manually:

This can be achieved by:

Creating New Attributes– attributes can be added to the design by entering the desired attribute, and applying it using one of the available functions in Studio UG.
Using Existing Attributes- carries existing attributes from project design files to activities.Studio UGwill add its own attributes to the design files as you progress through the advanced processes. For this reason,Studio UGwill prevent any unnecessary attributes from being carried across from the design files to the activities which are generated from the design files.

If any attributes are to be carried across from the design to their subsequent activities, they must be listed in the Attributes panel.

Manual attributes are applied using the Manual Attribute Assignment panel. Only attributes defined with an Application Method of [Manual] can be applied in this way.

Applying Attributes to Activities Automatically

Studio UG provides multiple methods for applying attributes. This is done by selecting activities manually, spatially using unrelated 3D solids or grid files, or by selecting activities using filters.

To choose how an attribute is applied, you will need to use the Application Method drop-down list to select one of the following:

Filter: allows you to add attributes to particular activities by filtering the design definitions in the project. If selected, the Automatic Attribute Settings column is enabled, displaying the EditAutomatic Attributes by Filters dialog. This is used to define a filter that will determine the value of an activity point when design files are processed.

The Automatic Attribute Settings column will list the number of filter rules currently defined for the automatic attribute. You can use the corresponding browse button to review and edit these rules.

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Filter-based attributes are applied during processing.

Grid: this application method requires a user-specified object file containing closed strings. These strings are used to find activities whose point lies inside the string when projected to the XY plane. The Z coordinate is effectively ignored. Open strings will be disregarded.

This method of application is set up using the Edit Automatic Attributes by Grid panel.

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Manual: the default setting, this indicates that the attribute will be applied interactively using the Manual Attribute Assignment panel.
Model Identifier: as more than one geological model can be used to provide evaluation statistics, selecting this option will denote that the attribute is used to qualify the model to be used for evaluation purposes.
Solid: specify a closed wireframe volume that will be used to assign a wireframe-sourced attribute to activity points falling within each distinct zone.

Once the [Solid] method is specified click the Automatic Atrribute Settings field to either type in a definition or select the browse button to display the Edit Automatic Attributes by Solid dialog. This dialog is used to select a Wireframe File and a triangle file Column Name containing values for application during activity processing.

For example, if you wanted to label activity points according to the stope volume in which they are located, you could specify your stopes triangle file, and a corresponding stope identification field (e.g. STOPEID). The stope identification attributes will be applied when the design files are processed.

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Field Details

The Attributes table contains the following columns:

Name: the name of the attribute to be applied.

Alpha: the Alpha column specifies the attribute type: alphanumeric or numeric. If this attribute already exists in a design file, this field must be specified exactly how it is in the design files.

Size: refers to the number of characters an attribute can have if the attribute is of the alphanumeric type. Similar to the Alpha field, the Size field must be set exactly how it is in the design file (if it already exists in a design file).

Application Method: see above for information on each Application Method.

Automatic Attribute Settings: available for Solid, Grid and Filter attribute types (otherwise, "N/A" is displayed and the cell is locked), a summary of attribute settings is shown, for example, the number of rules representing a filter, or the attribute and value used to define a grid, for example.

Hover your mouse over an item in the Automatic Attribute Settings cell to see a more detailed view of the settings, e.g.:

Export Type: if you choose to export your attributes, the format in which they are stored is dependent on the selection made in this list.

Not Exported: this selection will ensure that attributes are not exported.
Code Field: export values relating to a range of integers.
Text Field: data will be exported as a free-form field that can be of any format.

Editing Attributes In Use

The attribute editor will 'lock' attributes that have already been assigned and are in use (meaning that the item is being used by a naming, interrogation or sequencing rule). You can edit the name and properties of an attribute providing it hasn't already been committed for processing. Locked attributes are denoted with a small icon in the first column e.g.:

Otherwise, you can edit attribute details and use to Apply to commit these changes and adjust all design data tables that currently use the attribute, and make corresponding changes throughout the file.

Depending on the size/complexity of your design data, this can take a while to complete. The status bar will show "Running script command" throughout the application process.

You will need to wait for the process to complete before applying other changes.

Note: This screen includes table grids that support multiple row selection. Find out more...

	Related Topics
	Manual Attribute Assignment Edit Naming Conventions Edit Filters