Infrastructure Modeling DevBlog

Do you want to programmatically convert polyline to Civil 3D Alignment object?

By Partha Sarkar

If you have a requirement to convert polyline to Civil 3D Alignment object programmatically i.e. using Civil 3D API, you are at the right place :) 

This VB.NET code snippet demonstrates how to create (or convert) a Polyline to a Civil 3D Alignment object. 

 

  ' Select the Polyline

  Dim promptEntOp As New PromptEntityOptions(vbCrLf + "Select a Polyline : ")

  Dim promptEntRs As PromptEntityResult

  promptEntRs = ed.GetEntity(promptEntOp)

  If promptEntRs.Status <> PromptStatus.OK Then

      ed.WriteMessage("Exiting! Try Again !")

      Exit Sub

  End If

  Dim idEnt As ObjectId = promptEntRs.ObjectId       

 

  Try

 

      Dim poptions As Autodesk.Civil.DatabaseServices.PolylineOptions

      poptions.AddCurvesBetweenTangents = True

      poptions.EraseExistingEntities = True

      poptions.PlineId = idEnt

 

      ' Check the Alignment Style Name and labelSetName

      ' To use the following default names you can use the "Align-6A.dwg " from Help\Civil Tutorials\Drawings\

      ' and make sure to create a empty Site named "Site 1"(if it is already not there in the DWG file), also draw a polyline to convert it to Alignment.

 

      Dim alignId As ObjectId = Nothing

      alignId = Alignment.Create(civilDoc, poptions, "Test_Alignment", "Site 1", "0", "Design Style", "All Labels")

 

      trans.Commit()

Once you build your application using the above code snippet and run the custom command in Civil 3D 2013, you should see the Alignment created (like below ) :

 

 

Hope this helps!

 

Creating an Alignment Style Object using .NET API

By Partha Sarkar

This sample Demonstrates creating Alignment Style using the new .NET API in AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013

  Dim oAlignmentSTName As String = "Demo_Alignment_Style"

  Dim oAlignmentStyle As Autodesk.Civil.DatabaseServices.Styles.AlignmentStyle = Nothing

  Dim alignmentStyleId As ObjectId

 

  ' Check if a style by this name already exists. 

 

  Try

      alignmentStyleId = civilDoc.Styles.AlignmentStyles.Item(oAlignmentSTName)

      If (alignmentStyleId.IsValid) Then

          MsgBox("Style : " + oAlignmentSTName.ToString + " " + "Already exists in thsi Dwg !")

          Exit Sub

      End If

  Catch

      alignmentStyleId = Autodesk.AutoCAD.DatabaseServices.ObjectId.Null

  End Try

 

  If (alignmentStyleId.IsNull) Then

 

      alignmentStyleId = civilDoc.Styles.AlignmentStyles.Add(oAlignmentSTName)

 

      If (alignmentStyleId = Nothing) Then

          MsgBox("Error setting an Alignment Style: " & Err.Description)

      End If

  End If

 

  oAlignmentStyle = trans.GetObject(alignmentStyleId, OpenMode.ForWrite)

 

  ' Getting and setting style attributes for StyleBase objects

  'requires using a GetDisplayStyle*() method rather than a property.

 

  oAlignmentStyle.GetDisplayStyleModel(AlignmentDisplayStyleType.Arrow).Visible = False

  oAlignmentStyle.GetDisplayStylePlan(AlignmentDisplayStyleType.Arrow).Visible = False

 

  ' Display curves using a green color

  oAlignmentStyle.GetDisplayStyleModel(AlignmentDisplayStyleType.Curve).Color = Autodesk.AutoCAD.Colors.Color.FromRgb(58, 191, 13)

  oAlignmentStyle.GetDisplayStylePlan(AlignmentDisplayStyleType.Curve).Color = Autodesk.AutoCAD.Colors.Color.FromRgb(58, 191, 13)

  oAlignmentStyle.GetDisplayStyleModel(AlignmentDisplayStyleType.Curve).Visible = True

  oAlignmentStyle.GetDisplayStylePlan(AlignmentDisplayStyleType.Curve).Visible = True

 

 

  ' Display straight sections in blue.

  oAlignmentStyle.GetDisplayStyleModel(AlignmentDisplayStyleType.Line).Color = Autodesk.AutoCAD.Colors.Color.FromRgb(0, 0, 255) ' blue

  oAlignmentStyle.GetDisplayStylePlan(AlignmentDisplayStyleType.Line).Color = Autodesk.AutoCAD.Colors.Color.FromRgb(0, 0, 255) ' blue

  oAlignmentStyle.GetDisplayStyleModel(AlignmentDisplayStyleType.Line).Visible = True

  oAlignmentStyle.GetDisplayStylePlan(AlignmentDisplayStyleType.Line).Visible = True

 

  oAlignmentStyle.EnableRadiusSnap = True

  oAlignmentStyle.RadiusSnapValue = 0.05 ' set a Radius Snap Value

 

  trans.Commit()

 

Once you build your application using the above code snippet and run the custom command in Civil 3D 2013, you should see the Alignment Style create (like below ) :

 

Hope this helps!

Using Draw property of ProfileOverride object to control the Draw-ability

By Partha Sarkar

ProfileOverride object represents an individual profile in a profile view. It's Draw property gives us the control whether this entity will be drawn in the graph. Using this Draw property we can hide or show a specific Profile in a Profile view. 

Here is a C# code snippet which demonstrates the same :

//start a transaction

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

{

  //open the profile view

  ProfileView pv = trans.GetObject(per.ObjectId, OpenMode.ForWrite) as ProfileView;

 

  //for each profile

  ed.WriteMessage("\nProfiles of this profile view:");

  foreach (ProfileOverride profOverride in pv.GraphOverrides)

  {

    //print all profiles names and if is set as draw

    Profile prof = trans.GetObject(profOverride.ProfileId, OpenMode.ForRead) as Profile;

    ed.WriteMessage("\n\t{0} - Draw: {1}", prof.Name, profOverride.Draw);

 

    // To hide the Profiles, set Draw Property to False

    if (profOverride.Draw)

    {

      profOverride.Draw = false;

    }

 

  }

 

  // commit the Transaction

  trans.Commit();

 

Here is a Profile View which shows the Profiles in it :

And after running the above code snippet all the Profiles are now hidden in the same Profile View :

Hope this helps !

Want to Add a SuperelevationCriticalStation using Civil 3D .NET API ?

By Partha Sarkar

In AutoCAD Civil 3D, SuperelevationCriticalStation class represents a super-elevation critical station on an Alignment object. And SuperelevationCriticalStationCollection class represents a collection of SuperelevationCriticalStation objects. SuperelevationCriticalStationCollection.Add() method adds a SuperelevationCriticalStation of the specified transition type at the specified station. For the list of SuperelevationCriticalStationType members, take a look into the SuperelevationCriticalStationType Enumeration in Civil 3D .NET API Reference document. 

Here is a C#  code snippet which demonstrates how to add a new critical station at a specified station value (double) with a SuperelevationCriticalStationType of BeginNormalCrown :

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

  {

 

    Alignment align = trans.GetObject(alignmentId, OpenMode.ForWrite) as Alignment;

 

    // get the critical station collection on the aligment.

    SuperelevationCriticalStationCollection criteriaStationColl = align.SuperelevationCriticalStations;

 

    // add a new critical station at the station 1000.00 with a type BeginNormalCrown.

    // values used below can be tested using Civil 3D Tutorial sample DWG file - "Align-Superelevation-1.dwg "

      criteriaStationColl.Add(1000.00, SuperelevationCriticalStationType.BeginNormalCrown);

 

      // get the critical station at the station 1000.00.

      SuperelevationCriticalStation scs1000 = criteriaStationColl.GetCriticalStationAt(1000.00, 0.01);

      scs1000.SetSlope(SuperelevationCrossSegmentType.LeftOutLaneCrossSlope, 0.05);

      //....

 

    trans.Commit();

}

 

And you are expected to see a result similar to this :

Hope this helps !

Cropping a Civil 3D TinSurface using .NET API TinSurface.CreateByCropping()

By Partha Sarkar

Using CreateByCropping( Database destDatabase, string surfaceName, ObjectId srcSurfaceId, Point2dCollection points ) method we can create a new TinSurface by cropping from an existing source TinSurface. One important point to note here - You must specify the cropped area with at least 3 points.

Here is a C#.NET code snippet that demonstrates cropping a TinSurface :

  Editor ed = Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument.Editor;

 

  // select a  TIN surface

  PromptEntityOptions opSelSurface = new PromptEntityOptions("\nSelect a TIN Surface: ");

  opSelSurface.SetRejectMessage("\nOnly TIN Surface is allowed");

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

  opSelSurface.AppendKeywordsToMessage = true;

  PromptEntityResult resSelSurface = ed.GetEntity(opSelSurface);

  ObjectId surfaceId = resSelSurface.ObjectId;

 

  // select a polyline boundary

  PromptEntityOptions opSelPolyline = new PromptEntityOptions("\nSelect a boundary curve: ");

  opSelPolyline.SetRejectMessage("\nOnly polylines allowed");

  opSelPolyline.AddAllowedClass(typeof(Polyline), false);

  opSelPolyline.AppendKeywordsToMessage = true;

  PromptEntityResult resSelPolyline = ed.GetEntity(opSelPolyline);

  ObjectId polylineId = resSelPolyline.ObjectId;

 

  // We will use the area2d to access the cropped surface 2d area

  double area2d = 0.0;

 

  using (Database destDb = new Database(true, true))

  {

    Database db = Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument.Database;

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

    {

      using (Transaction transDest = destDb.TransactionManager.StartTransaction())

      {

        Polyline pline = transSrc.GetObject(polylineId, OpenMode.ForRead) as Polyline;

        Point2dCollection points = new Point2dCollection();

        for (int i = 0, size = pline.NumberOfVertices; i < size; i++)

          points.Add(pline.GetPoint2dAt(i));

 

        HostApplicationServices.WorkingDatabase = destDb;

 

        ObjectId newSurfaceId = TinSurface.CreateByCropping(destDb, "Surface<[Next Counter(CP)]>", surfaceId, points);

        TinSurface newSurface = transDest.GetObject(newSurfaceId, OpenMode.ForRead) as TinSurface;

 

        // Get the area 2d of the cropped surface

        TerrainSurfaceProperties props = newSurface.GetTerrainProperties();

        area2d = props.SurfaceArea2D;

        HostApplicationServices.WorkingDatabase = db;

      }

    }

  }

 

  ed.WriteMessage("\nArea 2D of cropped Surface : " + area2d.ToString());

}

Project does not compile after applying SP1/SP2 for Map 3D 2012

By Daniel Du

You may find your .net project does not compile any more after installing Service Pack 1 or Service pack 2 for Map 3D 2012, the error message is similar like below:

For SP1:
------------------------

Error 1 The project currently contains references to more than one version of OSGeo.MapGuide.PlatformBase, a direct reference to version 2.3.0.5080 and an indirect reference (through 'Autodesk.Gis.Map.Platform.AcMapMap') to version 2.3.0.5084. Change the direct reference to use version 2.3.0.5084 (or higher) of OSGeo.MapGuide.PlatformBase.

 

For SP2:
------------------------

Error 1 The project currently contains references to more than one version of OSGeo.MapGuide.PlatformBase, a direct reference to version 2.3.0.5080 and an indirect reference (through 'Autodesk.Gis.Map.Platform.Interop.AcMapFeatureEntityService') to version 2.3.0.5086. Change the direct reference to use version 2.3.0.5086 (or higher) of OSGeo.MapGuide.PlatformBase.

 

This is a known issue caused by Map 3D 2012 Service Pack, here is the workaround to solved this problem:

1. Uninstall Map 3D 2012 completely if you have already applied SP1;

2. Install Map 3D 2012 RTM version;

3. Rename following dlls in both the locations -

C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Map 3D 2012
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD Map 3D 2012\bin\GisPlatform
OSGeo.MapGuide.Foundation.dll to  OSGeo.MapGuide.Foundation_bak.dll

OSGeo.MapGuide.Geometry.dll  to OSGeo.MapGuide.Geometry_bak.dll

OSGeo.MapGuide.PlatformBase.dll to OSGeo.MapGuide.PlatformBase_bak.dll
4.      Apply Map 3D 2012 SP1

5.      Create VB.net/C# project, add reference and test. It should work fine.

 

If you are using Map 3D SP2, here is a hotfix. Hope this helps.

Set a negative Elevation value using ProfilePVI::Elevation

By Partha Sarkar

AutoCAD Civil 3D .NET API ProfilePVI.Elevation allows us to get or set the elevation value of the PVI. There was some issue around setting a negative elevation value using ProfilePVI.Elevation API in Civil 3D 2012 and the same is addressed now in Civil 3D 2013 .NET API.

Here is a VB.NET code snippet which demonstrates how to set a negative elevation value to a PVI object in AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013:

Using (trans)

    ' Select the Profile

    Dim promptEntOp As New PromptEntityOptions(vbCrLf + "Select a Profile : ")

    Dim promptEntRs As PromptEntityResult

    promptEntRs = ed.GetEntity(promptEntOp)

    If promptEntRs.Status <> PromptStatus.OK Then

        ed.WriteMessage("Exiting! Try Again !")

        Exit Sub

    End If

    Dim idEnt As ObjectId = promptEntRs.ObjectId

 

    '' Get the Profile object

    Dim profile As Profile = trans.GetObject(idEnt, OpenMode.ForRead)

    Dim o_PVI As ProfilePVI = profile.PVIs.Item(1)

 

    ed.WriteMessage(vbCrLf + "PVI Station : " + o_PVI.Station.ToString() + "   " + "PVI Elevation : " + o_PVI.Elevation.ToString())

 

    ' Try chnaging the PVI Elevation value now

    Try               

        o_PVI.Elevation = -3.0 '' This value is specific to a test DWG file

        ed.WriteMessage(vbCrLf + "PVI Elevation after Change  : " + o_PVI.Elevation.ToString())

 

    Catch ex As Exception

        MsgBox(ex.Message, MsgBoxStyle.Critical, )

      Exit Sub

    End Try

End Using

Extract Civil 3D Surface border using .NET API ExtractBorder() - Part II

By Partha Sarkar

In previous post I shared a C# .NET code snippet on usage of ExtractBorder(). Interestingly, the extracted entities from the ExtractBorder() function can be Polyline, Polyline3d, or Face. In this post we will explore various situations which will return Polyline, Polyline3d, or Face.

Here is a situation when ExtractBorder() will return Polyline3d : If Surface “Border Display Mode” is set to “Use Surface Elevation” Or “Exaggerate Elevation” then the Extracted entity using the ExtractBorder() .NET API is of type Polyline3d.  

 

 

Here is a situation when ExtractBorder() will return Polyline :  If Surface “Border Display Mode” is set to “Flatten Elevations” then the Extracted entity using the ExtractBorder() .NET API is of type Polyline.

 

 

Here is a situation when ExtractBorder() will return Face : If Surface “Border Display Mode” is set to “Use Surface Elevation” and ‘Datum’ options are set to “Use Datum’ = True and ‘Project Grid to Datum’ = True,  then the Extracted entities will include 3D Face.

Extract Civil 3D Surface border using .NET API ExtractBorder() - Part I

By Partha Sarkar

In AutoCAD Civil 3D 2013 .NET API, ExtractBorder(SurfaceExtractionSettingsType   settingsType) is a new addition which extracts the surface border from the terrain surface.

You need to specify SurfaceExtractionSettingsType.Plan to extract the border information using the plan visual style settings, or SurfaceExtractionSettingsType.Model to use the model settings.

The extracted entities can be Polyline, Polyline3d, or Face. If the surface has no border information, this method returns an empty ObjectIdCollection.

Here is C# .NET code snippet which demonstrates usage of ExtractBorder() :

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

 

  // Extract Border from the TinSurface

  // The extracted entities can be Polyline, Polyline3d, or Face.

 

  ObjectIdCollection entityIds;               

  entityIds = surface.ExtractBorder(Autodesk.Civil.SurfaceExtractionSettingsType.Plan);

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

  {

      ObjectId entityId = entityIds[i];

      if (entityId.ObjectClass == RXClass.GetClass(typeof(Polyline3d)))

      {

          Polyline3d border = entityId.GetObject(OpenMode.ForWrite) as Polyline3d;

          // Do what you want with the extrated 3d-polyline

      }

 

  }

Changing the format of measure result of fusion viewer

By Daniel Du

If you are using measure widget of Fusion viewer, you will notice that the measure result if in exponential format, like 4.91e+5m. Is it possible to the change the format?

Measure widget of fusion viewer uses following JavaScript code snippet to handle the output result:

C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Autodesk Infrastructure Web Server Extension 2012\www\fusion\widgets\Measure.js , around line 583:

value = value.toPrecision(this.areaPrecision);

You can change this code to show the result as your preferred format. To make your changes take effect, you need to change the template file, for example, it is C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Autodesk Infrastructure Web Server Extension 2012\www\fusion\templates\mapguide\slate\index.html for Slate template:

Change from:

<script type="text/javascript" src="../../../lib/fusionSF-compressed.js"></script>

To:

<script type="text/javascript" src="../../../lib/fusion.js"></script>

You may also want to check out this blog - Debugging Fusion Viewer or Mobile Viewer of AIMS in Firebug