Help needed modifying the Freehand LISP

[WolfpactVI]

Hello All,

 

I've been lurking in this forum for years enjoying this great resource, but this is only my second post. As I've discovered on other forums, most questions I have already have been asked and answered, so all I need to do is search and read.

 

Now for my LISP questions. I recently came across a wonderful routine called Freehand (I got it here: http://www.cadcorner.ca/lisp.php). It does almost what I want it to - almost. I would like to add some additional functions to it. Let me also say that I have not done any programming in about 12 years, so I'm going to need lots of help. I'm using plain old (vanilla?) AutoCAD 2009, work for an architect, and want to use this for presentation of drawings in design iteration phase. And before anyone suggests Squiggle, I already use it and hate it with a passion. Thus my quest to modify the Freehand lisp.

 

Here's the laundry list, in order of preference:

 

1) break any selected circles and arcs into line segments. Currently the routine only works on lines and polylines that are composed of lines (gives an error for polylines with arcs in them).

 

2) parameters for item 1). For instance, ignore anything with a radius less than 1", radii between 1" and 4" get broken into 4 segments (or 15deg segments), etc.

 

3) be able to undo everything (breaking arcs, applying of the wiggle and such) in one shot. Some lisps that I've found that do multiple things within them then require multiple undos to undo them.

 

4) the lisp currently asks for several parameters before proceeding. I would prefer it to remember and use whatever settings I used the last time, and just have an option to change them if I want to. For instance, the CIRCLE or AREA commands you can just start using, or you can pick an option if you want.

 

5) random lengths for the wiggle. Currently the routine somehow divides the lines into equal lengths before applying the wiggle. I realize that this may be extremely complicated on all sorts of levels, so that's why it's last on the list. And it's just sort of icing on the cake.

 

 

I've seen bits and pieces of these things in other routines, but nothing that does exactly what I'm looking such that I could copy and paste into the Freehand lisp. Not to mention the fact that it would take me a long time to figure out how to correctly copy and paste the code so that everything worked.

 

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

 

- J

[ReMark]

What program are you actually using this in?

[WolfpactVI]

AutoCAD 2009.

[David Bethel]

I've been lurking in this forum for years enjoying this great resource, but this is only my second post. As I've discovered on other forums, most questions I have already have been asked and answered, so all I need to do is search and read.

 

- J

 

Welcome aboard

 

Do you have a sample. I have an old ( 1998 ) hand draw editing tool that worked good way back when. It would be interesting to how it fared over the years. I can guarantee it knows nothing about SPLINE or ELLIPSE entities. But everything else should work. -David

[ReMark]

It still strikes me as funny that we now look for ways to make our CAD draws appear as though they were drawn by hand.

[David Bethel]

I've always thought until we can make CG images so realistic that it would be difficult to discern real for fantasy, that the human mind accepts conceptual ( hand drawn ) drawings better than low quality drawings and/or renderings. The hand drawn look leaves a lot of blanks for the imagination to fill in ( which the human mind is very good at ). People tend to look for errors in the low quality stuff.

 

That's 1 reason I don't like human decals used in renderings. People tend to focus on their unreal look and not on the main subject matter in a image. ( My $0.02 ) Cartoon-ish is OK. We know is isn't real.

 

DaVinci's stuff still inspire new thinking just by it omissions.

 

I'm getting off my pedestal now. -David

[ReMark]

Feel free to bring out the pedestal anytime you'd like David.

 

Maybe CAD drawings, even those done in perspective and colored up nice, look so realistic that the general public gets it in their head the final product will look exactly like it. The beauty of a freehand sketch is we can say it is an artist's rendition of what the building will look like but we know it won't because it isn't "real" and we're OK with that.

[irneb]

Actually, we tend to do such for presentations. I.e. get the hand-drawn look. And as you say, the more realistic you try to make it, the more "faults" are seen by the client concerning tat around the building instead of the building's shape and look. Having the "cartoonish" look helps emphasize only the aspect(s) you're trying to convey to the client - instead of how well a BMW would look in his driveway instead of a Merc!

 

i actually had a situation of a hotel with a heli-pad on the roof. The rendering took a photo of a helicopter and super-imposed it as if about to land. The client was upset since it didn't look like "his" helicopter ... got absolutely F-all to do with the building. But you've just p-ed off the client!

 

Anyhow, if you've got a subscription, then you can download and install Impression for free. That would give you a lot more than the lisp could ever achieve.

[ReMark]

I think I would substitute the word "conceptual" for "cartoonish".

[irneb]

Yep, probably should've used that word instead. Was trying to carry on the thread from David's post.

[David Bethel]

I know we are hijacking the thread, but what the heck.

 

These are couple of images that I use a gauges of realism. Both are VERY good at getting the main subject matter across and not the fact that they are CG.

 

The dining room was done by Renee Vallieries. I don't remember who did the board room. -David

[WolfpactVI]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Sorry I didnt post again sooner.

 

Regarding the comments about WHY I want to do this, here's the reason. During the design phase (especially on residential projects), there is a back-and-forth period as we help customers flesh out and nail down the design in response to their various desires and needs. We've found that people are more reticent about expressing things they'd like changed if we present them with a hard-lined, computer-drawn plan. It just seems like a lot of work went into creating said plan, and it might be imposing/insulting/difficult/expensive/[insert adjective here] to do any changes. So whenever we can, we like to present design drawings that look like they were quickly sketched (especially on the first iteration), so customers feel more free to express changes they'd like. I'm sure someone, somewhere has done a doctoral dissertation on this interesting psycological phenomenon.

 

So, back to my original help request. Anyone know how to add code to break arcs and circles into line segments?

 

Do you need me to post the code from the freehand lisp, and do you need me to post an AutoCAD file of what I'm aiming for? Remember I'm new to posting here, so tell me what files to post.

 

Thanks!

 

 

- J

[ReMark]

Is that the version from timesaversforcad?

 

Have you tried Roughen.lsp by Mark Middlebury? In case you are interested...http://www.lukewarmcoffee.com/cad/ROUGHEN.LSP

[WolfpactVI]

Yes I tried that. I couldnt seem to get it to do what I wanted. I was in a hurry though. I like what freehand does. Just wish it would work on arcs and circles too.

[WolfpactVI]

Not sure if the freehand file I have is from timesavers or not. I found it at the link I posted in the first message, so I included that link so people would know which file I had. Should I just post the file I have?

[ReMark]

No. I believe it is the exact same one.

 

Not up for trying Impressions then?

[WolfpactVI]

What is (are) Impressions?

[ReMark]

AutoDesk Impression.

 

http://usa.autodesk.com/impression/

[ReMark]

Impression - Effects.

[SLW210]

Have you tried the Sketchy visual style?