Infrastructure Modeling DevBlog

API Wishlist survey for AutoCAD® Civil 3D®

By Partha Sarkar

We have been organizing this API wishlist survey for AutoCAD® Civil 3D® regularly in last few years. Thanks for your previous participation! We are back this year again and we wish to hear from you on prioritization of APIs for AutoCAD® Civil 3D®. We share this wishlist with our engineering team and they take this feedback seriously when prioritizing the APIs to expose over the coming releases.

Please do take the time to provide us with your input by responding to the questions and adding appropriate comments at the following survey link :

API Wishlist Survey AutoCAD® Civil 3D®  

The surveys will remain open until June 11th, 2012. Thanks in advance for your feedback!

How to change the tolerance of tooltip in Ajax viewer and Fusion viewer of AIMS or MapGuide

By Daniel Du

Have you ever run into following scenario? When I have tool tips enabled in the point data, I have to be exactly right on the center for the tool tip to show.  There doesn't seem to be any tolerance on the center or symbol.  Is there a way to increase the tolerance or sensitivity for the tool tip in the code?

Yes, There is. If you are using Ajax viewer (basic web layout), it can be done by making changes in: ajaxmappane.templ which is in Viewerfiles.

function RequestHyperLinkData(id, x, y, exec) {

 

    if (lastMapRcv != mapId) return;

 

    if (isPopupOpen(tbMenu) || isPopupOpen(ctxMenu)) return;

 

    req = CreateRequestHandler();

    req.open("POST", webAgent, true);

    req.setRequestHeader("Content-Type",

                                        "application/x-www-form-urlencoded");

 

    // default tolerance is 2 pixies, you can edit this line

    // to change the tolerance

 

    // x1 = x - 2; x2 = x + 2; (original. changed to show tooltip)

    // y1 = y - 2; y2 = y + 2; (original)

 

    //Change the tolerance to 5 pixies

    x1 = x - 5; x2 = x + 5;

    y1 = y - 5; y2 = y + 5;

 

    pt1 = ScreenToMapUnits(x1, y1);

    pt2 = ScreenToMapUnits(x2, y2);

 

    geom = MakeWktPolygon(pt1.X, pt1.Y, pt2.X, pt2.Y);

    reqParams =

    "OPERATION=QUERYMAPFEATURES&VERSION=1.0.0

                &PERSIST=0&MAPNAME="

        +encodeURIComponent(mapName)

        + "&SESSION=" + sessionId + "&SEQ="

        + Math.random() + "&LAYERNAMES="

        + encodeURIComponent(GetVisLayers())

        + "&GEOMETRY=" + geom

        + "&SELECTIONVARIANT=INTERSECTS&MAXFEATURES=1";

 

    obj = new HlRequest(id, x, y, req, exec);

    req.onreadystatechange = obj.OnHl;

    try { req.send(reqParams); } catch (e) { }

}

 

For fusion viewer (flexible web layout), the configuration of map tip tolerance is stored in the application definition (flexible web layout) which is stored in repository.

To solve your problem, you need to edit the ApplicationDefinition resource in repository directly. It can be done by Resource Service API(MgResourceService:GetResourceContent and MgResourceService.SetResource), or by MapAgent, or Maestro, which is an open source tool and not supported by DevTech.

Here is a snippet of application definition resource content, you can increase the value of <Tolerance> tag of MapTip .

<Widget>

   <Name>Maptip</Name>

   <Type>Maptip</Type>

   <Location />

   <Extension>

         <Tolerance>2</Tolerance>

         <Target>MaptipWindow</Target>

        <WinFeatures>

            menubar=no,location=no,resizable=no,status=no

        </WinFeatures>

         <Delay>350</Delay>

         <Layer />

   </Extension>

</Widget>

 

Hope this helps.

Reducing the number of points on a triangulated irregular network (TIN) surface

By Partha Sarkar

If you want to make Civil 3D TIN surface smaller and easier to process faster by reducing the number of points, what you do ?

In Civil 3D UI tools, you can select the Edits -> 'Simplify Surface...' option to bring up the "Simplify Surface - SurfaceName" dialog box and there in the "Reduction Options" you can specify the 'Percentage of points to remove' as shown in the picture below -

The same operation, you can perform by calling your custom command and invoking the TinSurface.SimplifySurface() function. Here is a C# .NET code snippet on the same :

 

using (Transaction trans = db.TransactionManager.StartTransaction())

{

    TinSurface surface = trans.GetObject(surfaceId, OpenMode.ForRead) as TinSurface;

 

    // SurfaceSimplifyOptions

    // This class represents the options for simplifing a TinSurface object.

 

    SurfaceSimplifyOptions ssop = new SurfaceSimplifyOptions(SurfaceSimplifyType.PointRemoval);

    //specify the 'Percentage of points to remove'

    ssop.PercentageToRemove = 0.40;

 

    // Call SimplifySurface() now

    surface.SimplifySurface(ssop);

 

    // Rebuild the Surface

    surface.Rebuild();               

 

    trans.Commit();

}

AIMS 2012 login failed

By Daniel Du

I installed AIMS 2012 in windows with IIS + .net binding, but I cannot login in MapGuide Studio or MapAdmin.

Many reasons may cause the failure of login of MapGuide server. Here is a checklist for your reference:

1. Are your system is qualified according to system requirement of AIMS2012?  
2. Is the MapGuide server services started and running?
   Start --> run --> “services.msc” to open Services console, and make sure “Infrastructure Map Server 2012” is started.
3. Are you using the correct user name and password? Is there anyone(may be others) changed the default user name and password without informing your?  The default user name and password is(case is important):
   username: Administrator
   password: admin
4. Have you ever installed IIS correctly before you install AIMS 2012?
   Start --> Control Panel --> Programs and Features --> Turn Windows features on or off(from left), check *all* items under Internet Information Services\World Wide Web Services\Application Development Features
5. Do you configure php correctly?
   Start --> Run --> "regedit" , open registry to check whether following key exists or not, if not, create one and reboot:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\PHP\5.3.3\IniFilePath  to C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Autodesk Infrastructure Web Server Extension 2012\Php
6. Are you using trail version? Is the trail version expired? Have you ever run ServerActivator.exe to activate you license?
   Run ServerActivator.exe to activate your product.

Using LINQ with Civil 3D ActiveX objects

By Augusto Goncalves

Yes it is possible use .NET LINQ (Language-Integrated Query) features with Civil 3D ActiveX objects, this Microsoft technology consists in a set of extensions to .NET languages and supporting libraries that allow users to formulate queries within the programming language itself.

We can use it for a Civil 3D ActiveX collection like points, the following code sample demonstrate it. It can also be used for .NET collections in a similar way, but the new Point .NET API on Civil 3D 2013 have better features.

private Autodesk.AECC.Interop.UiLand.AeccApplication aeccApp;

private Autodesk.AECC.Interop.UiLand.AeccDocument aeccDoc;

private Autodesk.AECC.Interop.Land.AeccDatabase aeccDb;

 

//Get Civil 3D objects

public void getCivilObjects()

{

  AcadApplication oApp = (AcadApplication)

                          Application.AcadApplication;

  string sAppName = "AeccXUiLand.AeccApplication.9.0";

  aeccApp = (AeccApplication)oApp.GetInterfaceObject(sAppName);

  aeccDoc = (AeccDocument)aeccApp.ActiveDocument;

  aeccDb = (AeccDatabase)aeccDoc.Database;

}

 

//release Civil 3D objects

public void releaseCivilObjects()

{

  Marshal.ReleaseComObject(aeccDb);

  Marshal.ReleaseComObject(aeccDoc);

  Marshal.ReleaseComObject(aeccApp);

}

 

public AeccPoint[] findPoints(double easting, double northing, double tolerance)

{

  var pointLinqSearch = from AeccPoint pto in aeccDb.Points

     where

     //easting with tolerance

     (pto.Easting >= easting - tolerance &&

     pto.Easting <= easting + tolerance) &&

     //northing with tolerance

     (pto.Northing >= northing - tolerance &&

     pto.Northing <= northing + tolerance)

     select pto;

 

  return pointLinqSearch.ToArray();

}

 

[CommandMethod("findpto")]

public void testFindPoint()

{

  getCivilObjects();

 

  Editor ed = Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument.Editor;

  double easting, northing, tolerance;

  easting = northing = tolerance = 0.0;

 

  for (int i = 0; i < 3; i++)

  {

    PromptDoubleResult pdr = null;

    PromptDoubleOptions o;

    switch (i)

    {

      case 0: pdr = ed.GetDouble("Enter easting: "); break;

      case 1: pdr = ed.GetDouble("Enter northing: "); break;

      case 2: pdr = ed.GetDouble("Enter tolerance: "); break;

    }

    if (pdr.Status != PromptStatus.OK) return;

    switch (i)

    {

      case 0: easting = pdr.Value; break;

      case 1: northing = pdr.Value; break;

      case 2: tolerance = pdr.Value; break;

    }

  }

 

  AeccPoint[] ptos = findPoints(easting, northing, tolerance);

 

  foreach (AeccPoint pto in ptos)

  {

    pto.Highlight(true);

  }

 

  releaseCivilObjects();

}

How do I get the geometry of the Watershed area created in AutoCAD Civil 3D?

By Partha Sarkar

In AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013 .NET API, there is a new function included which extracts the surface watershed information from the terrain surface. TinSurface.ExtractWatershed() takes SurfaceExtractionSettingsType as input parameter and it returns ObjectIdCollection for entities that can be Polyline3d or Hatch. Here is a C#.NET code snippet which demonstrates usage of TinSurface.ExtractWatershed() :

 

//select a surface

PromptEntityOptions selSurface = new PromptEntityOptions("\nSelect a Tin Surface: ");

selSurface.SetRejectMessage("\nOnly Tin Surface is allowed");

selSurface.AddAllowedClass(typeof(TinSurface), true);

PromptEntityResult resSurface = ed.GetEntity(selSurface);

if (resSurface.Status != PromptStatus.OK) return;

ObjectId surfaceId = resSurface.ObjectId;

 

Database db = Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument.Database;

using (Transaction trans = db.TransactionManager.StartTransaction())

{

    TinSurface surface = trans.GetObject(surfaceId, OpenMode.ForRead) as TinSurface;

 

    // Extract ExtractWatershed() from the TinSurface

    // The extracted entities can be Polyline3d or Hatch.

 

    ObjectIdCollection wsentityIds;

    wsentityIds = surface.ExtractWatershed(Autodesk.Civil.SurfaceExtractionSettingsType.Plan);

    for (int i = 0; i < wsentityIds.Count; i++)

    {

        ObjectId entityId = wsentityIds[i];                   

        Polyline3d watershedLine = entityId.GetObject(OpenMode.ForRead) as Polyline3d;

            if (watershedLine != null)

            {

                // Access watershedLine Properties                           

            }

 

            Hatch watersheHatch = entityId.GetObject(OpenMode.ForRead) as Hatch;

            if (watersheHatch != null)

            {

                // Access watersheHatch Properties

            }     

 

    }

 

    trans.Commit();

}

How to enumerate specified type of resources in Map 3D?

By Daniel Du

We can use MgResourceService::EnumerateResources to enumerate resources in the repository. The detailed information of this function goes as below:

.NET Syntax

MgByteReader EnumerateResources(MgResourceIdentifier resource, int depth, string type);

Parameters:

resource
(MgResourceIdentifier) Resource identifier specifying the resource to enumerate. This can be a document or a folder.
If it is a folder, you must include the trailing slash in the identifier.

depth
(int) Recursion depth, relative to the specified resource.

• If the resource is a document, depth must be set to 0.
• If the resource is a folder:
  • If the depth is equal to 0, only information about the specified folder is returned.
  • If the depth is greater than 0, information about the folder and its descendants up to the specified depth are returned.
• If the depth is -1, information about the folder and all its descendants is returned.

type
(String/string) Type of the resource to be enumerated. (Case sensitive.) See MgResourceTypefor valid types.
Or, this can be set to null, in which case information about all resource types is returned.

Returns:

Returns an MgByteReader object containing a description of the resources in XML format using the ResourceList schema.

EnumerateResources method returns the MgByteReader object containing a description of resources in XML format; we can resolve this XML and get all the resource Ids.

Please see code below:

public Dictionary<string, string>

            GetResourcesByType(string resourceType)

{

    Dictionary<string, string> resources

                    = new Dictionary<string, string>();

 

    MgResourceIdentifier rootResId

            = new MgResourceIdentifier(@"Library://");

    MgByteReader reader = ResourceService

        .EnumerateResources(rootResId, -1, resourceType.ToString());

 

    //Convert to string

 

    String resStr = reader.ToString();

 

    //Load into XML document so we can parse

    //and get the names of the maps

 

    XmlDocument doc = new XmlDocument();

    doc.LoadXml(resStr);

 

    //let's extract the resource names and list them   

 

    XmlNodeList resIdNodeList;

    XmlElement root = doc.DocumentElement;

    resIdNodeList = root.SelectNodes("//ResourceId");

 

    int resCount = resIdNodeList.Count;

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

    {

        XmlNode resIdNode = resIdNodeList.Item(i);

        String resId = resIdNode.InnerText;

        int index1 = resId.LastIndexOf('/') + 1;

        int index2 = resId.IndexOf(resourceType) - 2;

        int length = index2 - index1 + 1;

        string resName = resId.Substring(index1, length);

        resources.Add(resName, resId);

 

    }

 

    return resources;

}

Avoid freezing or memory leak of AIMS

By Daniel Du

You many run into the issue of memory leak when working with Autodesk Infrastructure Map Server or MapGuide Enterprise. The memory may increase to a very high level and finally brings down the server, or the server just gets frozen and does not response any more.

Here are some suggestions, hope it is helpful for you.

Firstly, if you are running custom applications, please check your code carefully, to make sure to close the feature reader and release resources as early as possible. You can use following code snippet:

MgFeatureReader reader = featureService.SelectFeatures();
try
{
 //your code here ...
}
finally
{
 Reader.close();
}

Or :

MgFeatureService featureService 
            = siteConnection.CreateService(..)

try
{
  using(MgFeatureReader reader 
            = featureService.SelectFeatures(..)) 
  { 
    // your code here …
    Reader.close();
  }

}
finally
{
  featureService.dispose();
}

Autodesk Infrastructure Map Server is designed very carefully to avoid memory leak, there are sometimes memory leaks in web-based applications and application servers, given the complexity and number of dependent processes. What might appear to be a minor memory leak can accumulate over time and affect general server performance.

One workaround is to write a routine to occasionally restart your web server service, thereby freeing up orphaned resources. Setting the Autodesk MapGuide service to restart automatically may also help in the event that the service has shut down. Following script to stop and start the service:

net stop InfrastructureMapServer2012
net start InfrastructureMapServer2012

You might want to look at the service log files to determine the cause for the service to stop and rectify it to prevent it in the future.

For more suggestions of best practice, please refer to the MapGuide Best Practice Wiki.

Creating COGO Point and updating its Elevation

By Partha Sarkar

This AutoLISP code snippet demonstrates how to create a COGO Point in AutoCAD Civil 3D and update it's elevation property.

(defun c:CreateCOGO ()

  (vl-load-com)

  ;; Change ProgID per Traget Civil 3D version

  ;; This code sample is meant for Civil 3D 2013

  (setq aeccApp (vla-getinterfaceobject

          (vlax-get-acad-object)

          "AeccXUiLand.AeccApplication.10.0"

        )

  )

  (setq aeccDoc (vlax-get-property aeccApp "ActiveDocument"))

  (setq aeccDb (vlax-get-property aeccDoc "Database"))

  (setq oPoints (vlax-get-property aeccDoc "Points"))

  (setq pt1 (vlax-3d-point '(10.0 10.0 0.0)))

  (setq oPoint1 (vlax-invoke-method oPoints "Add" pt1))

  (setq elevn1 (vlax-get-property oPoint1 "Elevation"))

  (setq str1 "Initial Elevation = ")

  (prompt str1)

  (princ elevn1)

  ;; Set the COGO Point Elevation to a new Value

  (vlax-put-property oPoint1 "Elevation" 101.0)

  (setq elevn2 (vlax-get-property oPoint1 "Elevation"))

  (setq str2 "Elevation after change= ")

  (print str2)

  (princ elevn2)

)

BTW - COGO Point and its associated functionalities are exposed in .NET API in Civil 3D 2013 release and you might find my colleague Isaac's blog post 21WOJP – Week 5: COGO Point Basics very useful

It is possible to deploy MapGuide Enterprise or AIMS on Amazon Cloud EC2?

By Daniel Du

Unfortunately at this stage, MapGuide Enterprise or AIMS is not supported to deploy on cloud environment.

From a licensing and warranty stand-point, we are not allowing cloud-based deployment of MapGuide Enterprise 2011 (or previous releases for that matter) – one of the primary reasons being that we have not yet dedicated resources to engineer and test the core server for cloud-based deployment. It’s one of the many things we are considering at the moment in our product plan for future releases.

I can also share with you a information, one Japanese customer did install MapGuide Open Source 2.0 in Amazon EC2 successfully.