The following manipulations can be done with variables inside a module and gives the macro designer a lot more flexibility.

We can trigger big behavioral changes to a constraint, to an object, or to the entire module if the correct procedures explained here are followed.

Disabling a module

Modules can now be disabled through the variable name PbDisableModule in the module that needs to be disabled

When this variable's value is set to 1, then the entire module will be disabled, which means :

  • All of the flexible entities of the module will be set to construction geometry.
  • Flexible bolts will be set as construction geometry and their holes will be removed.
  • Cuts that are drawn with macro cuts will be removed but the cut constraint itself is preserved so that the cut can still be restored later on.

When the value is set to 0, the disable action will be undone.

The PbDisableModule variable can be a user adjustable or flexible variable.
We can use equations to let a module disable or enable itself based on a certain geometric condition.
Parabuild will watch for the value of the PbDisableModule variable, and will enable or disable the parts in the module at the right time during calculation of the macro.

Note When an object is attached to an assembly and disabled and then enabled again, then this tool will attach it back to that same assembly.
However to make the attach to assembly restore work it is required that the object is attached to a main object that is constrained in the module that contains the disabled object.
One could simply add a dummy distance variable on the main object to add it to the module as a fixed object.


The Get_ method to retrieve values from otherwise unattainable sources

The Get_ method for variables allows us to fill the variable with values coming from a certain source that are otherwise more work or impossible to retrieve.

As soon as a variable starts with Get_ in it's name then the variable gets a completely different approach by the module.
Right before the module is being calculated these variables will already be filled with the value that you specified through the variable name.

The name of the variable will influence the value retrieval. The format for the variable name is as follows :

Get_ModuleName_Prof/Struct/Bolt/Pattern/Cut/Array_VarName

The above 3 methods can all be combined in this order except for Prof/Struct/Bolt/Pattern/Cut/Array only one of them can be used in a variable name.
The module name and Prof/Struct/Bolt/Pattern/Cut/Array are optional.
Each part of the formatting options are explained below :

  • ModuleName (replace this with an actual module name)
    Enter the module name here to retrieve a value from another module
    This method can be combined with the below methods Prof, Struct, Bolt and Varname
    For this to work correctly the specified module needs to be calculated before the current module. The constrainer is responsible for checking this before using this method.
  • Prof
    Adding the prof syntax will allow us to either retrieve a variable from the section table directly by specifying the column name as the VarName, or we can retrieve a profile placement variable. See the Feeding excel values topic to know which variable names are available for profile placements. If a profile placement name is not provided then there is no way to be sure which profile the data is retrieved from if the module contains more than 1 flexible profile.
  • Struct
    Adding the struct syntax will allow us to retrieve a variable from the macro(s) inside the structure that is rigid in the module.
    It is recommended to have just 1 rigid structure in the module when using this method.
  • Bolt
    Adding the bolt syntax will allow us to either retrieve a variable from the bolt module itself such as diameter or hole offset, but also bolt pattern variables.
    When the module contains several bolt patterns then it is recommended to also add the pattern name just before the variable name and also seperated with a _
    All the available bolt and pattern variables can be found in the Feeding excel values topic.
  • Array
    Adding the Array syntax will allow us to either retrieve a variable from the array or an entry of the array.
    A condition is that this variable should be created in a module of an entry macro of the array, or the main macro of an array. The array can then be found through the macro-array relation.
    The main macro is the macro that constrains the common base geometry that all entry macros depend on.
    The array name should not be used in the variable name when get_Array is used within an entry macro.
    It is possible to target individual entry macro settings when you use the syntax like this : Array_Arrayname_0_UserEntrySize. This would change the user distance override of the first macro entry. Targetting entry macro settings that change the entry macro positions should not be done from within an entry macro itself, but rather from within the main macro. It is also possible to use the syntaxes Array_Arrayname_first_UserEntrySize and Array_Arrayname_last_UserEntrySize
    It is possible to retrieve the index of an entry macro from within the entry macro itself using the syntax : get_Array_EntryIndex.
    All the available array variables can be found in the Feeding excel values topic.
  • VarName
    The variable name can be any variable name of the other module or any of the variables that are explained in the Feeding excel values topic.


The variable needs to be assigned as a User adjustable variable either visible or invisible.
If this variable is set to flexible then the entire mechanism will not work.
That is because the method of this tool circumvents the geometry calculation by setting the value right before the module is calculated.
The value is retrieved from either static data such as section tables, or from other modules that have already been calculated prior to this module.

The Sync_ method to change values of otherwise unattainable sources

The sync method follows the exact same logic as the Get_ method but with this method we can change a variable's value.

The procedure for using the Sync_ method is exactly the same as the Get_ method, but the Sync_ variable can be flexible as well.
This means that we can use equations to force a certain value to the variable that we are targeting.