AutoCAD DevBlog

Setting layer color override for a viewport using AccoreConsole

By Balaji Ramamoorthy

Here is a code snippet to set the layer color override for the viewports in all the layouts in a drawing. AccoreConsole can be used to automate setting this override, if you need to repeat this for several drawings in a folder. Here is the AutoCAD script and the custom command to set the override for a layer named "Layer 1" :

 ;<--- Script starts here

 (command "_.Netload"  "D:\\\\Temp\\\\CustomPlugin.dll" )

 SetLayerColorOverride

 SAVEAS

 2013

 D:\\Temp\\Test_1.dwg

 ;<--- Script ends here

 using  Autodesk.AutoCAD.Runtime; 

 using  Autodesk.AutoCAD.EditorInput; 

 using  Autodesk.AutoCAD.DatabaseServices; 

 using  Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices; 

 using  Autodesk.AutoCAD.Colors;

 [CommandMethod("SetLayerColorOverride" )]

 public  void  SetLayerColorOverride()

 {

     DocumentCollection docs 

     = Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices

         .Core.Application.DocumentManager;

     Document doc = docs.MdiActiveDocument;

     Editor ed = doc.Editor;

     Database db = doc.Database;

     db.TileMode = false ;

     LayoutManager lm = LayoutManager.Current;

     using  (Transaction tr 

         = db.TransactionManager.StartTransaction())

     {

         LayerTable lt = tr.GetObject(

             db.LayerTableId, 

             OpenMode.ForWrite, false ) as  LayerTable;

         String layerName = "Layer1" ;

         if  (!lt.Has(layerName))

             return ;

         LayerTableRecord ltr = tr.GetObject(

             lt[layerName], 

             OpenMode.ForWrite) as  LayerTableRecord;

         using  (DBDictionary layoutDict = tr.GetObject(

             db.LayoutDictionaryId, 

             OpenMode.ForRead) as  DBDictionary)

         {

             foreach  (DBDictionaryEntry entry in  layoutDict)

             {

                 ObjectId layoutId = entry.Value;

                 Layout layout = tr.GetObject(

                     layoutId, 

                     OpenMode.ForRead) as  Layout;

                 lm.CurrentLayout = layout.LayoutName;

                 BlockTableRecord btr = tr.GetObject(

                     layout.BlockTableRecordId, 

                     OpenMode.ForRead) as  BlockTableRecord;

                 foreach  (ObjectId id in  btr)

                 {

                     if  (id.ObjectClass 

                         == RXClass.GetClass(typeof (Viewport)))

                     {

                         Viewport vp = tr.GetObject(

                             id, OpenMode.ForRead) as  Viewport;

                         if  (vp != null  && vp.Number > 1)

                         {

                             LayerViewportProperties lvp 

                                 = ltr.GetViewportOverrides(id);

                             lvp.Color 

                                 = Color.FromColorIndex(

                                 ColorMethod.ByAci, (short )vp.Number);

                             vp.UpdateDisplay();

                         }

                     }

                 }

             }

         }

         tr.Commit();

     }

 }

Accessing Support Files and Project Files Search Paths

By Madhukar Moogala

I have received a recent query on how to programmatically accessing support and project files which are available in Options\Files tab.

We can leverage ActiveX API  AcadPreferences.Files to get access on support and project files.

To get information on Support Files Search Path either we can using Acad system variable “ACADPREFIX” or following code:

void TestProj()

{

HRESULT hr;

try

{

 

AutoCAD::IAcadApplication *pAcad =NULL;

hr = NOERROR;

LPUNKNOWN pUnk = NULL;

LPDISPATCH pAcadDisp = acedGetIDispatch(TRUE);

if(pAcadDisp==NULL)

return ;

 

hr = pAcadDisp->QueryInterface(AutoCAD::IID_IAcadApplication,

                               (void**)&pAcad);

pAcadDisp->Release();

if (FAILED(hr))

return;

 

if (pAcad)

{

AutoCAD::IAcadPreferences* pPreferences  = NULL;

hr = pAcad->get_Preferences(&pPreferences);

if(FAILED(hr))  return;

pAcad->Release();

AutoCAD::IAcadPreferencesFiles* pPreferencesFiles = NULL;

hr = pPreferences->get_Files(&pPreferencesFiles);

if(FAILED(hr)) return;

 

if(pPreferencesFiles)

{

/*To access Project file path*/

BSTR projectFilePath,supportPath;

/*Created a Testproject interactively and added path to "C:/Temp*/

pPreferencesFiles->GetProjectFilePath(_bstr_t("TESTPROJECT"),

                                      &projectFilePath);

std::wstring ps(projectFilePath,SysStringLen(projectFilePath));

acutPrintf(_T("\nProject Search Path File : %s"),ps.c_str());

 

/*To get list of paths in Support Search*/

pPreferencesFiles->get_SupportPath(&supportPath);

std::wstring ws(supportPath,SysStringLen(supportPath));

acutPrintf(_T("\nSupport Search Path : %s"),ws.c_str());

 

 

}

 

}

}

catch(...)

{

return;

}

}

Above code only helps to get file path of mentioned Projects created in Applications, there is no API to get list of Projects created in the Application, following is way to read “Project Settings” key from Registry.

The mechanism to read registries is borrowed from here

/*Enumerating List of Projects available*/

#define MAX_KEY_LENGTH 255

#define MAX_VALUE_NAME 16383

void QueryKey(HKEY hKey)

{

TCHAR    achKey[MAX_KEY_LENGTH];   // buffer for subkey name

DWORD    cbName;                   // size of name string

TCHAR    achClass[MAX_PATH] = TEXT("");  // buffer for class name

DWORD    cchClassName = MAX_PATH;  // size of class string

DWORD    cSubKeys = 0;               // number of subkeys

DWORD    cbMaxSubKey;              // longest subkey size

DWORD    cchMaxClass;              // longest class string

DWORD    cValues;              // number of values for key

DWORD    cchMaxValue;          // longest value name

DWORD    cbMaxValueData;       // longest value data

DWORD    cbSecurityDescriptor; // size of security descriptor

FILETIME ftLastWriteTime;      // last write time

 

DWORD i, retCode;

 

TCHAR  achValue[MAX_VALUE_NAME];

DWORD cchValue = MAX_VALUE_NAME;

 

// Get the class name and the value count.

retCode = RegQueryInfoKey(

hKey,                    // key handle

achClass,                // buffer for class name

&cchClassName,           // size of class string

NULL,                    // reserved

&cSubKeys,               // number of subkeys

&cbMaxSubKey,            // longest subkey size

&cchMaxClass,            // longest class string

&cValues,                // number of values for this key

&cchMaxValue,            // longest value name

&cbMaxValueData,         // longest value data

&cbSecurityDescriptor,   // security descriptor

&ftLastWriteTime);       // last write time

 

// Enumerate the subkeys, until RegEnumKeyEx fails.

 

if (cSubKeys)

{

printf("\nNumber of subkeys: %d\n", cSubKeys);

 

for (i = 0; i<cSubKeys; i++)

{

    cbName = MAX_KEY_LENGTH;

    retCode = RegEnumKeyEx(hKey, i,

        achKey,

        &cbName,

        NULL,

        NULL,

        NULL,

        &ftLastWriteTime);

    if (retCode == ERROR_SUCCESS)

    {

        acutPrintf(TEXT("(%d) %s\n"), i + 1, achKey);

    }

}

}

 

// Enumerate the key values.

 

if (cValues)

{

printf("\nNumber of values: %d\n", cValues);

 

for (i = 0, retCode = ERROR_SUCCESS; i<cValues; i++)

{

    cchValue = MAX_VALUE_NAME;

    achValue[0] = '\0';

    retCode = RegEnumValue(hKey, i,

        achValue,

        &cchValue,

        NULL,

        NULL,

        NULL,

        NULL);

 

    if (retCode == ERROR_SUCCESS)

    {

        acutPrintf(TEXT("(%d) %s\n"), i + 1, achValue);

    }

}

}

}

void TestList()

{

HKEY hTestKey;

/*Hardcoded path, r20.1 is release numberfor ACAD 2016 version

ACAD-F001:409 : Product code for Acad vanilla

*/

/*Full product information, plz refer :

http://adndevblog.typepad.com/autocad/2013/08/registry-values-for-productid-and-localeid-for-autocad.html */

 

 

if (RegOpenKeyEx(HKEY_CURRENT_USER,

TEXT("Software\\Autodesk\\AutoCAD\\R20.1\\ACAD-F001:409\\Profiles\\acad\\Project Settings"),

0,

KEY_READ,

&hTestKey) == ERROR_SUCCESS

)

{

QueryKey(hTestKey);

}

RegCloseKey(hTestKey);

}

Output running following programs:

You may also refer to change path of Project file :

http://adndevblog.typepad.com/autocad/2012/12/setting-the-project-file-search-path.html

Same mechanism is applied to change path of Support file, use

virtual HRESULT __stdcall put_SupportPath (

    /*[in]*/ BSTR orient ) = 0;

How to Update the Status of External Process to AutoCAD CommandLine

By Madhukar Moogala

Let us assume you have a .Net command that runs an external process that takes a long time to complete. While you are waiting for it to complete you can output a progress indicator to the command line :

Note: Following procedure works only .NET 4.5, as I’m incorporating await and aysnc methods.

[CommandMethod("TestCommand")]

static public void TestCommand()

{

Method1();

}

static public async void Method1()

{

try

{

var doc = Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument;

var ed = doc.Editor;

for (int i = 0; i < 20; i++)

{

ed.WriteMessage("Processing {0}...", i);

string result = await WaitASynchronously();

ed.WriteMessage("Done.\n");

}

}

catch (System.Exception ex)

{

Application.ShowAlertDialog("Error: " + ex.Message);

}

}

static public async Task<string> WaitASynchronously()

{

await Task.Delay(500);

return "Finished";

}

Fusion 360 Hackathon

By Virupaksha Aithal

Want to get in on the ground floor on the future of design? 
Looking for a user base that embraces new ways of doing things? 
Have you taken a look at Fusion 360 yet – one of the first Cloud based mechanical design tools? 

This is a once in a decade opportunity to stake out your position in a new market – where you can be the market leader, an opportunity to leapfrog your competition. 
A small investment made early can lay a foundation for building a large new business long term . You can get a “quick start” building your first Fusion 360 app (using JavaScript, Python or C++) by participating in the upcoming Fusion 360 Hackathon. 

Build and publish a Fusion 360 app in the Autodesk App Store during the Hackathon and get yourself a $500 reward too! 

Looking for a simple app to get started with, get some ideas from the Fusion 360 IdeaStation and the Fusion 360 App Store.  Also be sure to check out Autodesk planned enhancements for Fusion 360 for the coming year (yes we publish our Fusion 360 development roadmap in public for all to see and comment).

Interested and want to learn more? Go to the Fusion 360 Hackathon website:
http://fusion360hackathon.com

You can find further information there about the event and can also register for it to attend the various webcasts and Q&A sessions that will be part of it.

See you at the event! :) 

#Fusion360Hackathon

Create four split modelspace viewports and set different orthographic views

By Balaji Ramamoorthy

Recently, a developer wanted to modify the sample code from here to create split model space viewports and set different orthographic view in each of them. Here is a sample code to do that. The below code creates four split modelspace viewports. When creating the new ViewportTableRecords that represent the newly created split viewports, its view parameters are set from the active ViewportTableRecord. This ensures that the ViewportTableRecord is correctly setup for us to set the orthographic view. Finally, each modelspace viewport is zoomed to extents. Here is a screenshot of the resulting viewport arrangement.

 // Create 4 split modelspace viewports, 

 // set different orthographic view direction in each  

 // and zoom to extents. 

 [CommandMethod("SplitMVP" )]

 public  static  void  SplitAndSetViewModelViewports()

 {

     Document doc 

         = Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument;

     Database db = doc.Database;

     db.UpdateExt(true );

     Extents3d dbExtent 

         = new  Extents3d(db.Extmin, db.Extmax);

     using  (Transaction tr 

         = db.TransactionManager.StartTransaction())

     {

         ViewportTable vt = tr.GetObject(

             db.ViewportTableId, OpenMode.ForWrite) 

             as  ViewportTable;

         ViewportTableRecord vtr1 = tr.GetObject(

             doc.Editor.ActiveViewportId, 

             OpenMode.ForWrite) as  ViewportTableRecord;

         Point2d ll = vtr1.LowerLeftCorner;

         Point2d ur = vtr1.UpperRightCorner;

         vtr1.LowerLeftCorner = ll;

         vtr1.UpperRightCorner = new  Point2d(

             ll.X + (ur.X - ll.X) * 0.5, 

             ll.Y + (ur.Y - ll.Y) * 0.5);

         vtr1.SetViewDirection(OrthographicView.LeftView);

         ZoomExtents(vtr1, dbExtent);

         ViewportTableRecord vtr2 = 

             CreateVTR(vt, vtr1, 

             new  Point2d(ll.X + (ur.X - ll.X) * 0.5, ll.Y), 

             new  Point2d(ur.X, ll.Y + (ur.Y - ll.Y) * 0.5), 

             dbExtent, OrthographicView.RightView);

         vt.Add(vtr2);

         tr.AddNewlyCreatedDBObject(vtr2, true );

         ViewportTableRecord vtr3 = 

             CreateVTR(vt, vtr1, 

             vtr1.UpperRightCorner, ur, 

             dbExtent, OrthographicView.BottomView);

         vt.Add(vtr3);

         tr.AddNewlyCreatedDBObject(vtr3, true );

         ViewportTableRecord vtr4 = 

             CreateVTR(vt, vtr1, 

             new  Point2d(ll.X, ll.Y + (ur.Y - ll.Y) * 0.5), 

             new  Point2d(ll.X + (ur.X - ll.X) * 0.5, ur.Y), 

             dbExtent, OrthographicView.TopView);

         vt.Add(vtr4);

         tr.AddNewlyCreatedDBObject(vtr4, true );

         // Update the display with new tiled viewports 

         doc.Editor.UpdateTiledViewportsFromDatabase();

         // Commit the changes  

         tr.Commit();

     }

 }

 // Create a model space viewport and uses the  

 // view parameters from a reference viewport 

 // before setting the orthographic view and zooming to extents 

 public  static  ViewportTableRecord CreateVTR(

     ViewportTable vt, ViewportTableRecord refVTR, 

     Point2d ll, Point2d ur, Extents3d dbExtent, 

     OrthographicView ov)

 {

     ViewportTableRecord newVTR = new  ViewportTableRecord();

     newVTR.LowerLeftCorner = ll;

     newVTR.UpperRightCorner = ur;

     newVTR.Name = "*Active" ;

     newVTR.ViewDirection = refVTR.ViewDirection;

     newVTR.ViewTwist = refVTR.ViewTwist;

     newVTR.Target = refVTR.Target;

     newVTR.BackClipEnabled = refVTR.BackClipEnabled;

     newVTR.BackClipDistance = refVTR.BackClipDistance;

     newVTR.FrontClipEnabled = refVTR.FrontClipEnabled;

     newVTR.FrontClipDistance = refVTR.FrontClipDistance;

     newVTR.Elevation = refVTR.Elevation;

     newVTR.SetViewDirection(ov);

     ZoomExtents(newVTR, dbExtent);

     return  newVTR;

 }

 public  static  void  ZoomExtents

     (ViewportTableRecord vtr, Extents3d dbExtent)

 {

     //get the screen aspect ratio to  

     // calculate the height and width 

     double  scrRatio = (vtr.Width / vtr.Height);

 	//prepare Matrix for DCS to WCS transformation 

     Matrix3d matWCS2DCS 

         = Matrix3d.PlaneToWorld(vtr.ViewDirection);

 	//for DCS target point is the origin 

     matWCS2DCS = Matrix3d.Displacement

         (vtr.Target - Point3d.Origin) * matWCS2DCS;

 	//WCS Xaxis is twisted by twist angle 

     matWCS2DCS = Matrix3d.Rotation(-vtr.ViewTwist,

                                     vtr.ViewDirection,

                                     vtr.Target

                                 ) * matWCS2DCS;

 	matWCS2DCS = matWCS2DCS.Inverse();

 	//tranform the extents to the DCS  

     // defined by the viewdir 

 	dbExtent.TransformBy(matWCS2DCS);

 	//width of the extents in current view 

 	double  width 

         = (dbExtent.MaxPoint.X - dbExtent.MinPoint.X);

 	//height of the extents in current view 

 	double  height 

         = (dbExtent.MaxPoint.Y - dbExtent.MinPoint.Y);

 	//get the view center point 

 	Point2d center = new  Point2d(

         (dbExtent.MaxPoint.X + dbExtent.MinPoint.X) * 0.5,

 		(dbExtent.MaxPoint.Y + dbExtent.MinPoint.Y) * 0.5);

 	//check if the width' in current window 

 	//if not then get the new height as per the  

     // viewports aspect ratio 

 	if  (width > (height * scrRatio))

 		height = width / scrRatio;

     vtr.Height = height;

     vtr.Width = height * scrRatio;

     vtr.CenterPoint = center;

 }

Double click on .dwg files launches new instance of AutoCAD OEM product

By Balaji Ramamoorthy

When a drawing file is opened via the explorer by double clicking on it, the application associated with that file type is launched automatically. If you notice that separate instances of the AutoCAD or AutoCAD OEM product gets launched on double clicking two separate drawings, here are two likely reasons and ways to set it right.

1. In the explorer, right click on a .dwg file and choose "Properties". In the "General" tab, the application that the .dwg file will open is displayed as shown in the below screenshot. If an application such as your AutoCAD OEM product or a specific version of AutoCAD is chosen, then a new instance will be launched on double click. Instead, try choosing the "AutoCAD DWG Launcher" as the application by clicking on the "Change" button.

2. In some systems, it is also possible that despite choosing the "AutoCAD DWG Launcher", separate instances get launched on double clicking two different drawings. This is likely because of the improper association of the .dwg file type and the application. To set it right, you may need to tweak the registry values but please ensure that you have a backup of the registry keys that you modify in this process.

- Delete the "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.dwg". This will ensure that there are no applications associated with the .dwg file type.

- Under "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\DwgCommon\shellex\apps", delete the AutoCAD OEM product entry in case it is already listed. The entries under apps are the ones that launcher application will use to open a .dwg file. The default application that the launcher will use is listed under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\DwgCommon\shellex\apps -> Default key.

For example, here is the value that was removed for an OEM product

- Launch the AutoCAD / AutoCAD OEM product and at startup, the DWG association dialog should get displayed. Choose the recommended option which is "Always reassociate DWG files with <Product name>".

- Close AutoCAD / AutoCAD OEM product. The double clicking on two separate .dwg files should not get opened in the same instance of the application. You can also verify that DWG file association is right under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\DwgCommon\shellex\apps -> Default key.