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Blocks and polylines

ZZombie

By ZZombie
in AutoCAD Drawing Management & Output

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ZZombie Rookie

ZZombie

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I'm not too sure how to go about this, but I think it'll involve using dynamic blocks...

 

I would like to have a block with 4 attributes: 1) Name 2)# of instances 3) Width 4) Height.

 

Name and number is determined at the time block is inserted.

 

I would like the block to be able to pull the width/height from a polyline (square) it is assigned to in the drawing. So if the polyline width/height ever change, it will automatically update the blocks attributes for width and height.

 

I already have the block and its attributes setup, i just need to figure out the above.

 

Also, would there be a way for #2 to change the actual count on that name of block? So if i insert it once, and put 3 in # of instances, it'll tell me there are 3 of that block.

 

Anyone have some ideas?

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qball Mentor

qball

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I use acad2007....

Start with Fields which can be inserted in Attributes... But I think you might need a Lisp or something to get it to prompt you upon insertion.

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ZZombie Rookie

ZZombie

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Yea, that was my first solution actually. Already made it to prompt width/height upon insertion. Realized the sizes can change and it wouldnt update the block, which I end up extracting to use in excel.

 

Would be cool to see a block of any kind that can update its attributes based off a polyline, could be something to go off of...

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qball Mentor

qball

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once you change the things, make sure you Update Fields and then select everything... not instant, but a small step anyway.

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Lee Mac Grand Master

Lee Mac

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This should get you by, but for automatic updating, you would need to add to the object's xdata and use a reactor - which takes more coding.

 

(defun c:blkUpd (/ ins Wid Hgt bEnt bObj
                  pEnt pObj MiP MaP win num)
 (vl-load-com)

[b][color=Red]  (setq ins "INSTANCES")   ;; << Instances Tag
 (setq Wid "WIDTH")       ;; << Width Tag
 (setq Hgt "HEIGHT")      ;; << Height Tag[/color][/b]
 
 (if
   (and
     (setq bEnt
       (car (entsel "\nSelect Block: ")))
     (eq "AcDbBlockReference"
         (vla-get-ObjectName
           (setq bObj
             (vlax-ename->vla-object bEnt))))
     (eq (vla-get-HasAttributes bObj) :vlax-true)
     (setq pEnt
       (car (entsel "\nSelect Polyline: ")))
     (wcmatch
       (cdr (assoc 0 (entget pEnt))) "*POLYLINE"))
   (progn
     (vla-getBoundingBox
       (setq pObj
         (vlax-ename->vla-object pEnt)) 'MiP 'MaP)
     (setq win (mapcar 'vlax-safearray->list (list MiP MaP))
           num (sslength
                 (ssget "_X"
                   (list
                     (cons 0 "INSERT")
                       (cons 2 (vla-get-Name bObj))
                         (cons 66 1)))))            
     (foreach Att (vlax-safearray->list
                    (vlax-variant-value
                      (vla-getAttributes bObj)))
       (cond
         ((eq ins (vla-get-TagString Att))
          (vla-put-TextString Att
            (rtos num 2 0)))
         ((eq Wid (vla-get-TagString Att))
          (vla-put-TextString Att
            (rtos
              (- (caadr win) (caar win)) 2 2)))
         ((eq Hgt (vla-get-TagString Att))
          (vla-put-TextString Att
            (rtos
              (- (cadadr win) (cadar win)) 2 2))))))
   (princ "\n<< Incorrect Selection >>"))
 (princ))

Make sure that the highlighted parts are the correct tag names for the attributes :)

 

Lee

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Lee Mac Grand Master

Lee Mac

Posted
Posted

ZZombie,

 

If you could provide me with details of the Exact Block Name and Tag Names of its attributes, I could see about trying to create a LISP that uses reactors to update your block for you :)

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ZZombie Rookie

ZZombie

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Oh wow, great job there Lee.

 

The att names im using are "NAME", "X-WIDTH", and "Y-HEIGHT"

 

The block name itself could vary in the drawing, I'd be placing multiple blocks for seperate panels actually, so this could create a bit of a problem :P Unless there is some way of extracting the information through the "Name" attribute.

 

Actually I've just attached a picture to show the info I'd need extracted.

 

Count.jpg

 

Again great job on what you came up with!

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Lee Mac Grand Master

Lee Mac

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Posted

Ok this should hopefully work.

 

A Few notes:

 

  • The code uses a reactor that reacts to grip-modifications, but won't work on normal command calls. I tried Object reactors, but had no luck.
  • The Tags are highlighted, alter these if necessary.
  • Type blkupd to invoke the command, click on the block and polyline to link them.
  • Type blkupdshow and hover over various Polylines to show links between blocks and polylines.

Any queries, just ask:

 

;; Block Attribute Updater  by Lee McDonnell 06.07.2009

(defun c:blkUpd (/ ins wid hgt bEnt bObj
                  pEnt pObj MiP MaP win num )
 (vl-load-com)

 (setq ins "COUNT")         ;; << Instances Tag
 (setq Wid "X-WIDTH")       ;; << Width Tag
 (setq Hgt "Y-HEIGHT")      ;; << Height Tag

 (if
   (and
     (setq bEnt
       (car (entsel "\nSelect Block: ")))
     (eq "AcDbBlockReference"
         (vla-get-ObjectName
           (setq bObj
             (vlax-ename->vla-object bEnt))))
     (eq (vla-get-HasAttributes bObj) :vlax-true)
     (setq pEnt
       (car (entsel "\nSelect Polyline: ")))
     (wcmatch
       (cdr (assoc 0 (entget pEnt))) "*POLYLINE"))
   (progn
     (vla-getBoundingBox
       (setq pObj
         (vlax-ename->vla-object pEnt)) 'MiP 'MaP)
     (mapcar
       (function
         (lambda (Obj)
           (putxdat Obj "LMACUPD"
             (vl-prin1-to-string
               (list
                 (vla-get-Handle pObj)
                   (vla-get-Handle bObj)))))) (list pObj bObj))
     (setq win (mapcar 'vlax-safearray->list (list MiP MaP))
           num (sslength
                 (ssget "_X"
                   (list
                     (cons 0 "INSERT")
                       (cons 2 (vla-get-Name bObj))
                         (cons 66 1)))))            
     (foreach Att (vlax-safearray->list
                    (vlax-variant-value
                      (vla-getAttributes bObj)))
       (cond
         ((eq ins (vla-get-TagString Att))
          (vla-put-TextString Att
            (rtos num 2 0)))
         ((eq Wid (vla-get-TagString Att))
          (vla-put-TextString Att
            (rtos
              (- (caadr win) (caar win)) 2 2)))
         ((eq Hgt (vla-get-TagString Att))
          (vla-put-TextString Att
            (rtos
              (- (cadadr win) (cadar win)) 2 2))))))
   (princ "\n<< Incorrect Selection >>"))
 (princ))

(defun c:BlkUpdshow (/ gr ent xtyp xval Objlst)
 (while
   (and
     (setq gr (grread t 13 2))
     (eq 5 (car gr)))
   (if (setq ent (car (nentselp (cadr gr))))
     (progn
       (vla-getXdata
         (vlax-ename->vla-object ent) "LMACUPD" 'xtyp 'xval)
       (if (and xtyp xval)
         (mapcar
           (function
             (lambda (x)
               (redraw x 3)))
           (setq Objlst
             (mapcar 'handent
               (read
                 (vlax-variant-value
                   (cadr
                     (vlax-safearray->list xval)))))))))
         (if Objlst
           (mapcar
             (function
               (lambda (x)
                 (redraw x 4))) Objlst))))
 (princ))
           

(defun BlkUpdr (Reac Args / ins wid hgt blk ss xtyp xval hand
                           pObj MiP MaP bObj win num)

 (setq ins "COUNT")         ;; << Instances Tag
 (setq Wid "X-WIDTH")       ;; << Width Tag
 (setq Hgt "Y-HEIGHT")      ;; << Height Tag
 
 (if (vl-position
       (car Args)
         '("GRIP_STRETCH"
           "GRIP_MOVE"
           "GRIP_SCALE"
           "GRIP_ROTATE"))
   (if (setq ss (cadr (ssgetfirst)))
     (progn
       (vla-getXdata
         (vlax-ename->vla-object
           (ssname ss 0)) "LMACUPD" 'xtyp 'xval)
       (if (and xtyp xval)
         (progn
           (setq hand
             (mapcar 'handent
               (read
                 (vlax-variant-value
                   (cadr
                     (vlax-safearray->list xval))))))
           (vla-getBoundingBox
             (setq pObj
               (vlax-ename->vla-object (car hand))) 'MiP 'MaP)
           (setq bObj (vlax-ename->vla-object (cadr hand))
                 win (mapcar 'vlax-safearray->list (list MiP MaP))
                 num (sslength
                       (ssget "_X"
                         (list
                           (cons 0 "INSERT")
                             (cons 2 (vla-get-Name bObj))
                               (cons 66 1)))))
           (foreach Att (vlax-safearray->list
                          (vlax-variant-value
                            (vla-getAttributes bObj)))
             (cond
               ((eq ins (vla-get-TagString Att))
                (vla-put-TextString Att
                  (rtos num 2 0)))
               ((eq Wid (vla-get-TagString Att))
                (vla-put-TextString Att
                  (rtos
                    (- (caadr win) (caar win)) 2 2)))
               ((eq Hgt (vla-get-TagString Att))
                (vla-put-TextString Att
                  (rtos
                    (- (cadadr win) (cadar win)) 2 2)))))))))))          

(defun putxdat (Obj App Data / ent type1 valeur)

 (setq xtype
   (vlax-make-variant
     (vlax-safearray-fill
       (vlax-make-safearray
         vlax-vbInteger '(0 . 1)) '(1001 1000))))

 (setq xval
   (vlax-make-variant
     (vlax-safearray-fill
       (vlax-make-safearray
         vlax-vbVariant '(0 . 1)) (list App Data))))

 (vla-setXData Obj xtype xval))

(if *lmac-Block*
 (vlr-remove *lmac-Block*)
 (setq *lmac-Block* nil))
(setq *lmac-Block*
 (vlr-command-Reactor nil
   (list
     (cons :vlr-CommandEnded 'BlkUpdr))))

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ZZombie Rookie

ZZombie

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Posted

It works half the time for me. Some blocks i apply it to, it'll update both of the attributes, and the grip movements update fine. Although other times it wont even give a measurement to one of the attributes.

 

When I load it up though, i received this in the command window.

"Command: ; error: no function definition: VLR-COMMAND-REACTOR"

 

Seems that might be a problem? Although interesting how it works half the time :P

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Lee Mac Grand Master

Lee Mac

Posted
Posted

Many thanks for the feedback :)

 

Hopefully this is more reliable:

 

;; Block Attribute Updater  by Lee McDonnell 06.07.2009

(defun c:blkUpd (/ ins wid hgt bEnt bObj
                  pEnt pObj MiP MaP win num )
 (vl-load-com)

 ;;<<  Tag Names must be Capitalised! >>
 (setq ins "COUNT")         ;; << Instances Tag
 (setq Wid "X-WIDTH")       ;; << Width Tag
 (setq Hgt "Y-HEIGHT")      ;; << Height Tag

 (if
   (and
     (setq bEnt
       (car (entsel "\nSelect Block: ")))
     (eq "AcDbBlockReference"
         (vla-get-ObjectName
           (setq bObj
             (vlax-ename->vla-object bEnt))))
     (eq (vla-get-HasAttributes bObj) :vlax-true)
     (setq pEnt
       (car (entsel "\nSelect Polyline: ")))
     (wcmatch
       (cdr (assoc 0 (entget pEnt))) "*POLYLINE"))
   (progn
     (vla-getBoundingBox
       (setq pObj
         (vlax-ename->vla-object pEnt)) 'MiP 'MaP)
     (mapcar
       (function
         (lambda (Obj)
           (putxdat Obj "LMACUPD"
             (vl-prin1-to-string
               (list
                 (vla-get-Handle pObj)
                   (vla-get-Handle bObj)))))) (list pObj bObj))
     (setq win (mapcar 'vlax-safearray->list (list MiP MaP))
           num (sslength
                 (ssget "_X"
                   (list
                     (cons 0 "INSERT")
                       (cons 2 (vla-get-Name bObj))
                         (cons 66 1)))))            
     (foreach Att (vlax-safearray->list
                    (vlax-variant-value
                      (vla-getAttributes bObj)))
       (cond
         ((eq ins (strcase (vla-get-TagString Att)))
          (vla-put-TextString Att
            (rtos num 2 0)))
         ((eq Wid (strcase (vla-get-TagString Att)))
          (vla-put-TextString Att
            (rtos
              (- (caadr win) (caar win)) 2 2)))
         ((eq Hgt (strcase (vla-get-TagString Att)))
          (vla-put-TextString Att
            (rtos
              (- (cadadr win) (cadar win)) 2 2))))))
   (princ "\n<< Incorrect Selection >>"))
 (princ))

(defun c:BlkUpdshow (/ gr ent xtyp xval Objlst)
 (while
   (and
     (setq gr (grread t 13 2))
     (eq 5 (car gr)))
   (if (setq ent (car (nentselp (cadr gr))))
     (progn
       (vla-getXdata
         (vlax-ename->vla-object ent) "LMACUPD" 'xtyp 'xval)
       (if (and xtyp xval)
         (mapcar
           (function
             (lambda (x)
               (redraw x 3)))
           (setq Objlst
             (mapcar 'handent
               (read
                 (vlax-variant-value
                   (cadr
                     (vlax-safearray->list xval)))))))))
         (if Objlst
           (mapcar
             (function
               (lambda (x)
                 (redraw x 4))) Objlst))))
 (princ))
           

(defun BlkUpdr (Reac Args / ins wid hgt blk ss xtyp xval hand
                           pObj MiP MaP bObj win num)

 ;;<<  Tag Names must be Capitalised! >>
 (setq ins "COUNT")         ;; << Instances Tag
 (setq Wid "X-WIDTH")       ;; << Width Tag
 (setq Hgt "Y-HEIGHT")      ;; << Height Tag
 
 (if (vl-position
       (car Args)
         '("GRIP_STRETCH"
           "GRIP_MOVE"
           "GRIP_SCALE"
           "GRIP_ROTATE"))
   (if (setq ss (cadr (ssgetfirst)))
     (progn
       (vla-getXdata
         (vlax-ename->vla-object
           (ssname ss 0)) "LMACUPD" 'xtyp 'xval)
       (if (and xtyp xval)
         (progn
           (setq hand
             (mapcar 'handent
               (read
                 (vlax-variant-value
                   (cadr
                     (vlax-safearray->list xval))))))
           (vla-getBoundingBox
             (setq pObj
               (vlax-ename->vla-object (car hand))) 'MiP 'MaP)
           (setq bObj (vlax-ename->vla-object (cadr hand))
                 win (mapcar 'vlax-safearray->list (list MiP MaP))
                 num (sslength
                       (ssget "_X"
                         (list
                           (cons 0 "INSERT")
                             (cons 2 (vla-get-Name bObj))
                               (cons 66 1)))))
           (foreach Att (vlax-safearray->list
                          (vlax-variant-value
                            (vla-getAttributes bObj)))
             (cond
               ((eq ins (strcase (vla-get-TagString Att)))
                (vla-put-TextString Att
                  (rtos num 2 0)))
               ((eq Wid (strcase (vla-get-TagString Att)))
                (vla-put-TextString Att
                  (rtos
                    (- (caadr win) (caar win)) 2 2)))
               ((eq Hgt (strcase (vla-get-TagString Att)))
                (vla-put-TextString Att
                  (rtos
                    (- (cadadr win) (cadar win)) 2 2)))))))))))          

(defun putxdat (Obj App Data / ent type1 valeur)

 (setq xtype
   (vlax-make-variant
     (vlax-safearray-fill
       (vlax-make-safearray
         vlax-vbInteger '(0 . 1)) '(1001 1000))))

 (setq xval
   (vlax-make-variant
     (vlax-safearray-fill
       (vlax-make-safearray
         vlax-vbVariant '(0 . 1)) (list App Data))))

 (vla-setXData Obj xtype xval))

(vl-load-com)
(if *lmac-Block*
 (vlr-remove *lmac-Block*)
 (setq *lmac-Block* nil))
(setq *lmac-Block*
 (vlr-command-Reactor nil
   (list
     (cons :vlr-CommandEnded 'BlkUpdr))))

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Lee Mac Grand Master

Lee Mac

Posted
Posted

When I load it up though, i received this in the command window.

"Command: ; error: no function definition: VLR-COMMAND-REACTOR"

 

Seems that might be a problem? Although interesting how it works half the time :P

 

 

This is only a minor problem, as I forgot to load the VL functions on start-up :oops:

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ZZombie Rookie

ZZombie

Posted
  • Author
Posted
It works half the time for me. Some blocks i apply it to, it'll update both of the attributes, and the grip movements update fine. Although other times it wont even give a measurement to one of the attributes.

 

When I load it up though, i received this in the command window.

"Command: ; error: no function definition: VLR-COMMAND-REACTOR"

 

Seems that might be a problem? Although interesting how it works half the time :P

 

User error here... noticed one of my attributes were not named correctly :P

 

Still thanks a ton! Works great now!

 

One last thing, anyway it could be modified to find the measurement up to 4 decimal places? :)

 

 

EDIT:

 

Figured out the the tolerances :)

 

Is there perhaps a way for it to grab the measurement in fractional form, then convert that measurement into decimal form to become the attribute?

 

I only ask because I ran into a bit of a problem where one dimension will be, for example, 7.8118 (7-13/16") instead of 7.8125 (7-13/16") and the decimal form is what i need [Drawings seem to come out inaccurate sometimes when putting in a fractional measurement, so the odd decimal conversion occurs :/]

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Lee Mac Grand Master

Lee Mac

Posted
Posted

Hmmm... I'm not sure about that fractional form... - The code uses the GetBoundingBox method which just uses the coordinate system in place on the drawing - so I am not sure quite what to do at that point ... :oops:

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ZZombie Rookie

ZZombie

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  • Author
Posted

Thats alright, the point I've gotten to with your help has still helped me a ton!

 

I'll have it extract the information as a fraction, and I'll just convert the numbers once in excel. Still takes a ton of the work out of it

 

Thanks for all the work!

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Lee Mac Grand Master

Lee Mac

Posted
Posted
Thats alright, the point I've gotten to with your help has still helped me a ton!

 

I'll have it extract the information as a fraction, and I'll just convert the numbers once in excel. Still takes a ton of the work out of it

 

Thanks for all the work!

 

No problem :)

 

I have also learnt a lot by this example :)

 

Lee

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