AutoCAD DevBlog

Mimic Line Number > New feature on Plant 3D

By Augusto Goncalves

This post is actually inspired on create a new line group previous post, but with some changes. This will actually mimic the Line Number >> New >> Assign Tag feature on Plant 3D.

First, remove previous group related to the pipe, in order to avoid belong to more than one line group, which can be a modeling error. Second, just make the code simpler to include on your code. Note this will run for individual pipe making each pipe into a different line group (therefore different ISO production from each of them), you may adjust to a group of pipes.

private static void CreateNewTag(ObjectId partId, string newTagValue)
{
  PlantProject currentProj = PlantApplication.CurrentProject;
  PipingProject pipeProj = (PipingProject)currentProj.ProjectParts["Piping"];
  DataLinksManager dlm = pipeProj.DataLinksManager;
  PnPDatabase db = dlm.GetPnPDatabase();
 
  PnPTable p3dLineGroupTable = db.Tables["P3dLineGroup"];
  PnPRow lgRow = p3dLineGroupTable.NewRow();
  lgRow["Tag"] = newTagValue;
  p3dLineGroupTable.Rows.Add(lgRow);
 
  int prRowId = dlm.FindAcPpRowId(partId);
  PnPRow prRow = db.GetRow(prRowId); // not used yet
 
  // remove all line groups already related 
  // to this pipe, if any, to avoid this pipe
  // belong to multiple line groups
  PnPRowIdArray priorGroupIds = dlm.GetRelatedRowIds(
    "P3dLineGroupPartRelationship", "Part",
    prRowId, "LineGroup");
  if (priorGroupIds.Count != 1)
  {
    foreach (int id in priorGroupIds)
    {
      dlm.Unrelate("P3dLineGroupPartRelationship",
        "LineGroup", id, "Part", prRowId);
    }
  }
 
  // make the relation
  if (lgRow.RowId != -1 && prRowId != -1)
  {
    dlm.Relate("P3dLineGroupPartRelationship",
      "LineGroup", lgRow.RowId, "Part", prRowId);
  }

}

And here is a simple command to invoke this routine

[CommandMethod("customNewTag")]
public static void CmdCustomNewTag()
{
  Editor ed = Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument.Editor;
 
  PromptEntityOptions peo = new PromptEntityOptions("\nSelect pipe: ");
  peo.SetRejectMessage("\nOnly pipes");
  peo.AddAllowedClass(typeof(Pipe), true);
  PromptEntityResult per = ed.GetEntity(peo);
  if (per.Status != PromptStatus.OK) return;
 
  PromptResult pr = ed.GetString("\nEnter new tag: ");
  if (pr.Status != PromptStatus.OK) return;
 
  CreateNewTag(per.ObjectId, pr.StringResult);
}

Aligning MText with picked point on a curve

By Balaji Ramamoorthy

In this discussion forum post, the developer wanted an MText to align automatically with the curve without having to provide additional inputs for specifying the rotation. Kent Cooper's nice reply in that forum post provides all that is necessary to implement that. Since this requirement of aligning an MText along a curve is quite essential in Civil / Survey applications, I am posting a bare-bone implementation of it that you can customize. The key to finding the rotation is to determine the first derivative (slope) of the curve at the point the entity was selected. 

Here is the code snippet :

(vl-load-com)

(setq es    (entsel)
      entpt (osnap (cadr es) "_nea")
      ang   (angle '(0 0 0)
		   (vlax-curve-getFirstDeriv
		     (vlax-ename->vla-object (car es))
		     (vlax-curve-getParamAtPoint
		       (vlax-ename->vla-object (car es))
		       entpt
		     )
		   )
	    )
)
(if (and (> ang (/ pi 2)) (<= ang (* pi 1.5)))
  (setq ang (+ ang pi))
)
(setq hght (getreal "\nText Height : "))
(setq
  mspace (vla-get-modelspace
	   (vla-get-activedocument (vlax-get-acad-object))
	 )
)

(setq mtextobj (vla-addMText
		 mspace
		 (vlax-3d-point entpt)
		 0.0
		 "AUTOCAD"
	       )
)
(vla-put-attachmentPoint
  mtextobj
  acAttachmentPointMiddleCenter
)
(vla-put-insertionPoint mtextobj (vlax-3d-point entpt))
(vla-put-Rotation mtextobj ang)
(vla-put-Height mtextobj hght)
(vla-put-Color mtextobj 7)
(vla-put-backgroundfill mtextobj :vlax-true)

Here is a sample output :

Exporting dynamic block from current drawing as an authoring element

By Balaji Ramamoorthy

Dynamic blocks from a drawing can be wblocked to a new drawing, as an authoring element. This helps archive the dynamic blocks and reuse them when required. The new drawing can be inserted to get the dynamic block into any other drawing. In AutoCAD UI, an authoring element can be created by using the WBLOCK command and selecting a dynamic block from the list of available ones from the current drawing. The same can also be done using code as shown in the following code snippet :

 // Wblock a dynamic block as an AuthoringElement 

 Acad::ErrorStatus es;

 AcApDocument *pActiveDoc 

 	= acDocManager->mdiActiveDocument();

 AcDbDatabase *pCurDb = pActiveDoc->database();

 AcDbBlockTable* pCurentDwgBlockTable;

 es = pCurDb->getBlockTable(

 	pCurentDwgBlockTable, kForRead);

 if  ( es == eOk) 

 {

 	AcDbBlockTableRecord* pRecord;

 	// Assuming "Test" dynamic block 

 	// being present in the current drawing 

 	es = pCurentDwgBlockTable->getAt(

 		ACRX_T("Test" ), 

 		pRecord, 

 		kForRead, false );

 	if  (es != eOk) 

 	{

 		pCurentDwgBlockTable->close();

 		return ;

 	}

 	AcDbObjectId btrId = pRecord->objectId();

 	pRecord->close();

 	pCurentDwgBlockTable->close();

 	// Create the destination database 

 	AcDbDatabase *pNewDb = NULL;

 	es = pCurDb->wblock(pNewDb, btrId);

 	if (es == Acad::eOk)

 	{

 		es = pNewDb->saveAs(

 			_T("D://Temp//TestBlock.dwg" ));

 		delete  pNewDb;

 	}

 }

Finding if PaletteSet is newly created

By Balaji Ramamoorthy

You may want to know if your PaletteSet is being created for the very first time to set its Docking or for any other purpose. To do this, you can save custom data when the PaletteSet gets saved which obviously will not be available at the very first time the PaletteSet is loaded.

Here is a sample code to set the default docking of a PaletteSet to DockSides.Left when it gets created. In subsequent sessions, the docking is not changed and the PaletteSet should retain the position that was set by the user.

 using  Autodesk.AutoCAD.Windows;

 static  bool  _isFirstTime = true ;

 MyUserControl ctrl = null;

 PaletteSet set = null;

 [CommandMethod("Test" )]

 public  void  commandMethodTest()

 {

     if  (set == null)

     {

         set = new  PaletteSet("MyPalette" ,

 		new  Guid("{43FFB063-DF0B-474B-9856-7886305CC3E8}" ));

         set.Load += 

 			new  PalettePersistEventHandler

 			(ps_Load);

         set.Save += 

 			new  PalettePersistEventHandler

 			(ps_Save);

         if  (ctrl == null)

         {

             ctrl = new  MyUserControl();

             set.Add("MyPalette" , ctrl);

             set.Style = PaletteSetStyles.ShowCloseButton;

         }

     }

     set.Visible = true ;

     Document doc 

 		= Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument;

     Editor ed = doc.Editor;

     if  (_isFirstTime)

     {

         ed.WriteMessage("First Time, Set the Dock status" );

         set.Dock = DockSides.Left;

         _isFirstTime = false ;

     }

     else 

     {

         ed.WriteMessage("Not the first time, Do nothing.  

 			Leave it to the previous settings"); 

     }

 }

 private  static  void  ps_Load(object sender, 

 	PalettePersistEventArgs e)

 {

     String sIsFirstTime = 

 		(String)e.ConfigurationSection.ReadProperty

 		("IsFirstTime" , "Yes" );

     if  (sIsFirstTime.Equals("No" ))

     {

         _isFirstTime = false ;

     }

 }

 private  static  void  ps_Save(object sender, 

 	PalettePersistEventArgs e)

 {

     e.ConfigurationSection.WriteProperty(

 		"IsFirstTime" , "No" );

 }

Implementing copy multiple entities with a twist :)

By Balaji Ramamoorthy

In a recent query, a developer mentioned about a behavior of the AutoCAD's COPYcommand which I thought was a little different from how some of the other commands behaved. In the COPY command when multiple entities are selected for copying and after a base point is chosen, AutoCAD places copies of the selected entities as expected. But when the Enter key is hit, we would usually want the command to terminate like most other AutoCAD commands do. But in case of the COPY command, hitting the Enter key is treated as a "use first point as displacement" and a copy is placed before terminating the command. 

If you do not want this behavior, you may need to implement the copy multiple entities command which is simple to do. Here is a sample code that implements it using ObjectARX API and exposes it as Lisp callable. Additionally, while dragging the entities the position is constrained along X axis just as the .yz coordinate filter would do with the native COPY command.

Here is the code snippet :

 // Global, so it can be used in the 

 // DragGen callback function... 

 AcGePoint3d basePt;

 // Here is the callback... 

 static  int  dragGenCallback(ads_point pt,ads_matrix mt)

 {

      //AcGeVector3d vec(pt[0]-basePt[0],  

 	 // pt[1]-basePt[1], pt[2]-basePt[2]); 

 	 // To restrict dragging movement to X axis alone 

 	 AcGeVector3d vec(pt[0]-basePt[0], 0, 0);

      AcGeMatrix3d mat;

      // Set our matrix to translate the mouse  

 	 // movements... 

      mat.setToTranslation(vec);

      // And place the results in mt 

      for (int  c=0;c<4;c++)

      {

           for (int  cd=0;cd<4;cd++)

           mt[c][cd]=mat(c,cd);

      }

      return  RTNORM;

 }

 int  CopyMultipleEntitiesFunc()

 {

 	 ads_name ss;   

      // Get the Selection Set 

      acedSSGet(NULL, NULL, NULL, NULL, ss); 

      // Base Point for copying... 

      acedGetPoint(NULL, 

                   L"Specify base point" , 

                    asDblArray(basePt));

      long  len;

      acedSSLength(ss,&len);

 	 int  ret = 0;

 	 do 

 	 {

 		//Value of the's final location  

 		//after the user finishes 

 		// dragging the selection set  

 		AcGePoint3d final_pt;

 		// Call DragGen with the callback function 

 		ret = acedDragGen(ss, 

 					L"\\nSpecify second point" , 

 					0, 

 					dragGenCallback, 

 					asDblArray(final_pt));

 		if (ret == RTNONE || ret == RTCAN)

 		{// enter key hit or cancelled 

 			break ;

 		}

 		// get the final matirx and do your work  

 		// such as copy with the value of final_pt  

 		AcDbDatabase* pDb 

 			= acdbHostApplicationServices()

 			->workingDatabase();

 		AcDbObjectIdArray idArr;

 		{

 			long  l=0, lNumber=0;

 			ads_sslength(ss, &lNumber);

 			idArr.setPhysicalLength(lNumber);

 			for  (; l<lNumber; ++l)

 			{

 				ads_name ent;

 				ads_ssname(ss, l, ent);

 				AcDbObjectId idEnt;

 				if  (Acad::eOk 

 					== acdbGetObjectId(idEnt,ent))

 				{

 					idArr.append(idEnt);

 				}

 			}

 			AcDbIdMapping idMapping;

 			AcDbObjectId idOwner 

 				=acdbSymUtil()->blockModelSpaceId (pDb);

 			Acad::ErrorStatus es = curDoc()->database()

 				->deepCloneObjects(idArr, 

 				idOwner, idMapping);

 			if (es == Acad::eOk)

 			{

 				AcDbIdMappingIter iter2 (idMapping) ;

 				AcDbIdPair idPair2 ;

 				for  ( iter2.start ();

 					!iter2.done ();

 					iter2.next () ) 

 				{

 					if  ( !iter2.getMap (idPair2) )

 						continue  ;

 					if  ( !idPair2.isCloned () )

 						continue  ;

 					AcDbObjectId keyId = idPair2.key();

 					AcDbObjectId valueId = idPair2.value();

 					// Transform the cloned entity based on the 

 					// chosen target point 

 					//open the entity for write 

 					AcDbEntity *pEnt;

 					acdbOpenAcDbEntity(pEnt, 

 						valueId, AcDb::kForWrite);

 					AcGeMatrix3d dispmat 

 						= AcGeMatrix3d::kIdentity;

 					dispmat.setToTranslation(

 						AcGeVector3d(final_pt[0]-basePt[0], 

 						0, 0));

 					pEnt->transformBy(dispmat);

 					pEnt->close();

 				}

 			}

 		}

 	 }while (TRUE);

 	 ads_ssfree(ss);

 	return  0;

 }

 class  CMyTest1App : public  AcRxArxApp 

 {

 public :

 	CMyTest1App () : AcRxArxApp () 

 	{

 	}

 	virtual  AcRx::AppRetCode On_kInitAppMsg (void  *pkt) 

 	{

 		AcRx::AppRetCode retCode 

 			=AcRxArxApp::On_kInitAppMsg (pkt) ;

 		acedDefun(_T("CopyMultiple" ), 1000);

 		acedRegFunc(CopyMultipleEntitiesFunc, 1000);

 		return  (retCode) ;

 	}

 	virtual  AcRx::AppRetCode On_kUnloadAppMsg (void  *pkt) 

 	{

 		AcRx::AppRetCode retCode 

 			=AcRxArxApp::On_kUnloadAppMsg (pkt) ;

 		acedUndef(_T("CopyMultiple" ),1000);

 		return  (retCode) ;

 	}

 	virtual  void  RegisterServerComponents() 

 	{

 	}

 };

Here is a recording showing the copy behavior :

Manipulate drawing SummaryInfo using ObjectARX

By Balaji Ramamoorthy

You may want to update the "Last saved by" and "Revision number" properties and other custom properties associated with the drawing. The AcDbDatabaseSummaryInfo class of the ObjectARX SDK will help do that. The equivalent of this class in the AutoCAD .Net API is the "DatabaseSummaryInfo" structure. But unlike the C++ API, some of the properties such as "LastSavedBy" and "RevisionNumber" are read-only in .Net. You can also use the COM API to retrieve and set the properties. This is especially useful if you are driving AutoCAD from an external application or using VBA.

After the "Last saved by" property is changed, it is important to save the database using a different name. If not, the AutoCAD's save command will automatically use the system login name and set the "Last saved by" property.

Here is the ObjectARX C++ code snippet to set the "Last saved by" and "Revision number" properties while retrieving the other properties. 

 Acad::ErrorStatus es;    

 AcDbDatabaseSummaryInfo *pInfo;    

 AcDbDatabase *pCurDb = NULL;    

 ACHAR* info;    

 ACHAR* key;    

 ACHAR* value; 

 int  customQty; 

 int  index;  

 pCurDb = acdbHostApplicationServices()->workingDatabase(); 

 // Get a pointer to the workingDatabase() 

 // summary information  

 es = acdbGetSummaryInfo(pCurDb, pInfo);   

 acutPrintf(L"\\nSummary information for this drawing:" ); 

 es = pInfo->getTitle(info);  

 if (info)

 {   

 	acutPrintf(L"\\nTitle = %s" , info);   

 }    

 es = pInfo->getSubject(info);    

 if (info)    

 { 

 	acutPrintf(L"\\nSubject matter = %s" , info);   

 }    

 es = pInfo->getAuthor(info);    

 if (info)

 {        

 	acutPrintf(L"\\nAutor = %s" , info);    

 }    

 es = pInfo->getKeywords(info);    

 if (info)   

 {    

 	acutPrintf(L"\\nKeywords = %s" , info);   

 }   

 es = pInfo->getComments(info);   

 if (info)   

 {       

 	acutPrintf(L"\\nComments = %s" , info);    

 }    

 es = pInfo->setLastSavedBy(L"Captain CAD" );    

 es = pInfo->getLastSavedBy(info); 

 acutPrintf(L"\\nLast saved by = %s" , info);   

 es = pInfo->getHyperlinkBase(info);  

 if (info)   

 {

 acutPrintf(L"\\nLink Location = %s" , info);    

 }

 es = pInfo->setRevisionNumber(L"1" ); 

 es = pInfo->getRevisionNumber(info);    

 acutPrintf(L"\\nRevision number = %s" , info);    

 customQty = pInfo->numCustomInfo();    

 if (customQty > 0)    

 {        

 	acutPrintf(L"\\nCustom Summary Information:\\n" );        

 	acutPrintf(L"\\nKey\\t\\tValue\\n" );        

 	for (index = 0; index < customQty; index++)        

 	{            

 		pInfo->getCustomSummaryInfo(index, key, value);            

 		if (key)            

 		{               

 			acutPrintf(L"\\n%s" , key);            

 		}            

 		if (value)          

 		{ 

 			acutPrintf(L"\\t\\t%s" , value);

 		}

 		acdbFree(key); 

 		acdbFree(value);

 	}    

 }

 else

 {

 	acutPrintf(L"\\n\\nDrawing does not contain

 		any Custom SummaryInformation");   

 } 

 es = acdbPutSummaryInfo(pInfo);    

 acdbFree(info); 

 pCurDb->saveAs(ACRX_T("D:\\\\Temp\\\\MyTestArx.dwg" ));

To set the properties using COM API, here is a code snippet :

 oAcadApp.ActiveDocument.Database.SummaryInfo.LastSavedBy = "Autodesk" 

 MsgBox(oAcadApp.ActiveDocument.Database.SummaryInfo.LastSavedBy)

 oAcadApp.ActiveDocument.SaveAs("D:\\Temp\\MyTest.dwg" )

Calling Lisp commands from Palette

By Balaji Ramamoorthy

If you want to invoke Lisp commands from .Net code, the Application.Invoke should help. This should work ok for Lisp commands that do not use (command-s ...) to invoke other AutoCAD commands. 

As an example, consider this Lisp command to create two circles.

 (defun c:mycircles1()

 	(setq ms (vla-get-ModelSpace 

 	(vla-get-ActiveDocument (vlax-get-acad-object))))

     (setq myCircle1

 		(progn 

 			(setq ctrPt <span'(0.0 0.0 0.0))

 			(setq radius 5.0)

 			(vla-addCircle ms 

 			(vlax-3d-point ctrPt) radius)

 		)

     )

 	(setq myCircle2

 		(progn 

 			(setq ctrPt <span'(10.0 0.0 0.0))

 			(setq radius 5.0)

 			(vla-addCircle ms 

 			(vlax-3d-point ctrPt) radius)

 		)

     )

 	(princ "SUCCESS !" )

 )

This can be invoked from a button click handler in your palette using the following code snippet :

 private  void  DrawCirclesBtn1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)

 {

     DocumentCollection acDocMgr 

 		= Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices

 		.Application.DocumentManager;

     Document acDoc = acDocMgr.MdiActiveDocument;

     using  (DocumentLock dl = acDoc.LockDocument())

     {

         Editor ed = acDoc.Editor;

         using  (ResultBuffer rb = new  ResultBuffer())

         {

             rb.Add(new  TypedValue((int )LispDataType.Text, 

 				"c:mycircles1" ));

             ResultBuffer rbRes = Autodesk.AutoCAD.

 			ApplicationServices.Application.Invoke(rb);

             if  (rbRes != null)

             {

                 TypedValue[] tvalues = rbRes.AsArray();

                 foreach (TypedValue tv in tvalues)

                     ed.WriteMessage("\\n"  + tv.ToString());

                 rbRes.Dispose();

             }

             else 

                 ed.WriteMessage("\\n  

 				Result buffer is null."); 

         }

     }

 }

But, consider this Lisp command that relies on using AutoCAD's native CIRCLE command to create the two circles.

 (defun c:mycircles2()

 	(command-s "CIRCLE"  "0,0,0"  5.0)

 	(command-s "CIRCLE"  "10,0,0"  5.0)

 	(princ "SUCCESS !" )

 )

To invoke this version of the Lisp command from .Net, it becomes important to use the right context. As the .Net code for the button click event handler runs in session context, it is not appropriate for invoking Lisp commands that need to run in document context. Here is a version of the button click event handler to invoke the Lisp command using the command context. In earlier releases prior to 2016, you will need to use SendStringToExecute. In AutoCAD 2016, it is simpler to use the "ExecuteInCommandContextAsync" as shown in the below code snippet.

 private  async void  DrawCirclesBtn2_Click(

 					object sender, 

 					EventArgs e)

 {

     DocumentCollection docManager 

 		= Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices.

 		Application.DocumentManager;

     Document doc = docManager.MdiActiveDocument;

     Editor ed = doc.Editor;

     // Option 1 :  

     //acDoc.SendStringToExecute("(c:mycircles2) ", 

 	//	true, false, false); 

     // Option 2 :  

     // run the command in command context. Works in 2016+ 

     await docManager.ExecuteInCommandContextAsync(

         async (obj) =>

         {

             using  (ResultBuffer rb = new  ResultBuffer())

             {

                 rb.Add(new  TypedValue((int )LispDataType.Text,

 					"c:mycircles2" ));

                 ResultBuffer rbRes = Autodesk.AutoCAD.

 			ApplicationServices.Application.Invoke(rb);

                 if  (rbRes != null)

                 {

                     TypedValue[] tvalues = rbRes.AsArray();

                     foreach (TypedValue tv in tvalues)

                       ed.WriteMessage("\\n"  + tv.ToString());

                     rbRes.Dispose();

                 }

                 else 

                     ed.WriteMessage("\\n  

                     Result buffer is null."); 

             }

         },

         null

     );

 }

Custom file selection obeying FILEDIA sysvar

By Augusto Goncalves

When we create a custom command, we want it to integrate with AutoCAD built-in behavior. One of those expected behaviors is the FILEDIA system variable, that indicates if a dialog will show when selecting files.

Many developer make direct use of Autodesk.AutoCAD.Windows.OpenFileDialog class, but this will call directly a dialog. The alternative is PromptSaveFileOptions, that can used with the Editor and has the FILEDIA behavior implemented.

The following code snippet show how to implement it.

Editor ed = Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument.Editor;
PromptSaveFileOptions pfso = new PromptSaveFileOptions("Select a file: ");
PromptFileNameResult pfnr = ed.GetFileNameForSave(pfso);
if (pfnr.Status != PromptStatus.OK) return;
 
string fileName = pfnr.StringResult;

// do something with the file

Autodesk Answer Days – AutoCAD, May 7, 2015

By Virupaksha Aithal

Do you have any AutoCAD® or AutoCAD LT® questions that you’ve always wanted to ask?

If yes, then join the first in a series of Ask Autodesk Anything events on May 7, 2015. This event is dedicated to answering your questions about AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT. We’ll have some DevTech engineers attending the event to answer your API questions. The event runs from 6 am to 6 pm Pacific Time and will take place in Autodesk Community. Come spend a minute, an hour, or the whole day in the Autodesk Community to interact directly with the folks who bring you your favourite CAD software!

Click here for more information. 

Simple drawable overrule skeleton

By Augusto Goncalves

We have a few samples of our blog showing how create drawable overrule. But what’s the skeleton to set up? This is actually a recurrent question on our support, so I decided to share what is my recommendation.

To make it work you’ll need a class that implements the DrawableOverrule class and the WorldDraw method (and the ViewportDraw is more specific). I prefer have a command to active/deactivate the overrule and make it as startup command (using bundle format). The command will check the variable and Add or Remove the overrule. Finally, remember to call Regen(), otherwise the new geometry will not appear.

The sample below should work for MText (for other types, just replace the class name).

[CommandMethod("simpleOverrule")]
public void CmdSimpleOverrule()
{
  if (_overrule == null)
  {
    _overrule = new TextOverrule();
    Overrule.AddOverrule(
      RXClass.GetClass(typeof(MText)),
      _overrule, false);
  }
  else
  {
    Overrule.RemoveOverrule(
      RXClass.GetClass(typeof(MText)),
      _overrule);
    _overrule = null;
  }
  Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument.Editor.Regen();
}
 
private static TextOverrule _overrule = null;
 
public class TextOverrule : DrawableOverrule
{
  public override bool WorldDraw(Drawable drawable, WorldDraw wd)
  {
    // draw the base class
    bool ret = base.WorldDraw(drawable, wd);
 
    // your custom code here
    //
    //
 
    // return the base
    return ret;
  }
}