Doing a interactive map

Hi.

I always have been thinking about this but don´t know how to solve it.

Imagine a map of Mexico City (I live here, I am a soil mechanics engineer) in autocad. In my area we do and perform some kind of test named borings... in my work we have a lot (hundred of them), and I would like to organize them in autocad... My idea is...

Locate every boring in its real location in the city (in plan view), and if the person who is watching the autocad-boring-base, can click the mark for the boring (maybe a block of a circle or something like that) and then a windows apears and shows some information about that boring, like name, coordinates, depth, geotechnical zone, and inside that window that would be a bottom that open the boring in autocad... (we have them in dwg)....

Is this possible??

If so, How can I do it....

I was thinking that in a easy way instead of open a window, just to open the drawing....

or is there other programs to do it.. I think arcview can do it... but don´t know it....may be other product of autocad...

Thank you a lot for your time...

I know AutoCAD can work alongside Excel - would that help at all?

Thank you for your answer, but my borings are in autocad, so excel won't work at this time... but the idea is similar.. I would have a kind of bottom to be pressed and then the boring-autocad drawing will apear in another or (better) in the same window......

Tx

I can't try this out right now, I am writing from my memories.

Create your drawing and to each circle attach a hyperlink (CTRL+K in AutoCAD 2006). You may enter just a space instead of an address. There is an other field (comments?) where you can enter additional info. The text you enter here can be seen as tooltip on that circle.

I can't try this out right now, I am writing from my memories.

Create your drawing and to each circle attach a hyperlink (CTRL+K in AutoCAD 2006). You may enter just a space instead of an address. There is an other field (comments?) where you can enter additional info. The text you enter here can be seen as tooltip on that circle.

Hi Fuccaro.. Thank you for your answers... and sorry because I didn´t answer you in my last question when you offer to do a autolisp program.. I really apreciate your help....

Your idea its pretty nice... I knew that command but didn´t think on it...... I will try to start doing my autocad-base and I am sure that I will find some problems... so if someone else knows a more powerful way to do it, please let me know.

And what do you mean when you say: " I am writing from my memories"..... share with us....

thank you again..

And what do you mean when you say: " I am writing from my memories"..... share with us....

As an addition to your previous question: you could write a very short HTML file containing the info to be shown for a specific boring. So you will have as many HTML files as borings there are. Select a boring mark, press CTRL+K and link the mark to the desired HTML file.

Or maybe you could write only one big HTML file and make the link to open it at a specific anchor point? - I never did anything like this. Consider it as a subject for your futurer plays

At that time I had no AutoCAD to try the solution I offerd you.

As an addition to your previous question: you could write a very short HTML file containing the info to be shown for a specific boring. So you will have as many HTML files as borings there are. Select a boring mark, press CTRL+K and link the mark to the desired HTML file.

 

Or maybe you could write only one big HTML file and make the link to open it at a specific anchor point? - I never did anything like this. Consider it as a subject for your futurer plays

Jejeje.... I read wrong, and I though you were writing your memories (of your life).....

Sorry for not know what are you saying about.... I imagine the idea, but not know how to do it.... How can I write the "very short HTL", I mean with which program Do I do it?....... I was talking with some colleges in my office and they like the idea... instead of learning or relearn arcview or a similar program....

Thank you againg..

Reading your first words, you do say you have the bore details in Autocad drawings ?

Then its simple just make a block with atributes say bore no, basic description, plus the file name! If the dwg file is say bore number then its a bit simpler.

You just need a lisp or vba that reads the attribute and then quite simply opens the drawing ! Roughly as below.

Pick block

Attribute value is 3079

file = (setq newdwg (strcat "d:\myborelogs\" attribute))

(command "open" newdwg)

I imagine the idea, but not know how to do it.... How can I write the "very short HTL", I mean with which program Do I do it?....... I was talking with some colleges in my office and they like the idea... instead of learning or relearn arcview or a similar program....

Thank you againg..

Open Notepad and write this:

<html>
any text goes here<br>
any text goes here<br>
any text goes here<br>
</html>

the code BR (in angular brackets) means "break" and the next text is inserted on a new line. The code is far from perfect but it will work. Save the text as say Bore1.html and link in AutoCAD the Bore1 symbol to this file.

Sounds like Xdata could be used effectively here.

Sounds like Xdata could be used effectively here.

I agree. And also a program to handle those data will be needed.

On the other hand, the HTML can contain various info (like images and tables)

Thank you Fuccaro and BIGAL..

1.- Can´t understand why should or would I use a lisp routine for "just" open a file an archive, if I can use an hyperlink.

2.- Fuccaro, I did what you said, about the html, but don´t understand... when I use the hyperlink option... can I link the boring and the html or shoul I do thow blocks.... very near each one and attach to one the boring and in the other the htlm doc.

Finally How can I attach a picture and tables... should i give the location or Can I insert them in directly in the document.. if so.... wouldn´t be better attach a pdf or word document??..

Thank you...

The answer is a little bit longer.

First of all create a simple HTML document as I wrote before and save it in the final location. In the drawing, create your symbol. It can be a block, a circle, anything. Select it and press CTRL+K. In the opened window click the File button and point the HTML document. Click Ok and see if it works.

As next step, you may improve the HTML. The most efficient way is to learn coding the HTML. But there is a walk-around: open a word document, insert images, draw tables, write text… When finished, go to the file menu, Save as, and choose HTML format. This should create the file for you.

I think the best way to do this in simple text is with seperate files for each bore hole. Example, save Files on c: drive called Bore001.txt, Bore002.txt etc and each text file have the relevant information. Then in AutoCAD hyperlin the bores with the relevant text file. Hope that helps.

Yes, that is the simplest way. The HTML file comes in scene when Jcaz15 will try to attach images and tables.

This is what I am doing....

1.- I did an "dynamic block" and change its code for every boring.... and I have had hyperlinked to every boring I have in dwg.... inside this block there is other block which will be refered to the html document or to the folder which has more information about that boring, for example, every boring which has been done in my work is for design the foundations or other related structures, so in this folder there will be the final designs.

So I will use the hyperlink and maybe the html.... from this time when my boos ask more boring i will tell him that ask for photos, to insert them in the html document....

I am sure this can be improved a lot more, but I think the difficult work will be to insert all the borings... so I will finish this and later try or ask to some improvements.

:)Thank you a lot Fuccaro, BIGAL, Andrew1979 and wannabe.