What's New In the AutoCAD 2017 APIs and Developer Documentation

Wow, where did the year go!  Looking back, the last article I wrote was for the changes in the AutoCAD 2016 APIs and Developer Documentation... I will try to be more active this year.  I have been trying to blog more, but often find myself spending time working on the developer documentation or preparing for AU sessions.

There have been many small and large changes to the AutoCAD application programming interfaces (APIs) in the latest release along with many improvements to the developer documentation.  While I cannot cover them all in depth here, I will highlight the changes that were introduced.

The developer related documentation can be found at:
http://help.autodesk.com/view/ACD/2017/ENU/?home=homepage_dev

The following outlines the changes that were made to the AutoCAD APIs:

General Updates

  • The CAD Management and Developer Home Page has been reorganized to provide a better flow. General compatibility information for the AutoLISP, ActiveX, Managed .NET, and ObjectARX APIs are not accessible from this page.
  • BMP images used in CUIx files no longer support the color 192,192,192 as a workaround for transparency. If custom images need to support transparency, they must be converted to PNG files and assigned the transparent color. (http://help.autodesk.com/view/ACD/2017/ENU/?guid=GUID-94A0EA14-5165-4D84-A2F1-F44D33F80BCC)

AutoLISP

DCL

  • No new or changed functions/tiles this release.

ActiveX/COM

  • No new classes were added, but the following here changed:
    • AcadAcCmColor
    • AcadApplication
    • AcadLayerStateManager
    • AcadSecurityParams
  • The IAcadShadowDisplay class is now obsolete as a result of Mental Ray support being removed.
  • Four new constants were added to the AcInsertUnits enum.
  • The Transmittal Object Library documentation can be found in the product documentation and includes code samples. Change was made late in the AutoCAD 2016 release, so many people didn't know the change was made. (http://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/2017/ENU/AutoCAD-ActiveX/files/GUID-667D1179-3A76-437E-BBB7-12ADF3E614F7.htm)
  • The CAD Standards Plug-in documentation is now part of the product documentation and includes code samples. Change was made late in the AutoCAD 2016 release, so many people didn't know the change was made. (http://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/2017/ENU/AutoCAD-ActiveX/files/GUID-F126AABA-FE9E-4E26-B51D-88D3E54512B5.htm)
  • Documentation continues to be available online through the product help and offline as CHM files in the %ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\en-US\ directory. The files are named acad_aag.chm and acadauto.chm.

Managed .NET

ObjectARX

  • Updates were made to include the new classes, interfaces, and functions introduced for this release.  The following provides an overview of the main changes to the API
    • Graphics system was modified and existing programs will need to be updated.
    • Class that provides information about the language and country name.
    • String class was expanded to include additional operators and functions.
  • Refer to the ObjectARX Reference Guide and the What's New topic for a list of changes made to the API.
  • API and documentation can be downloaded from the ADN or ObjectARX websites (http://www.objectarx.com/).
  • Reference documentation is accessible via a CHM file in the ObjectARX SDK or as part of a Visual Studio integration installer (http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/objectarx_2017_documentation_vs2015.zip).

JavaScript

In future blog postings, I hope to cover some of the various developer documentation components that can be used to become more efficient with the AutoCAD APIs.

Sincerely,
  Lee

Posted at 11:55 PM in .NET, ActiveX, AutoCAD 2017, AutoLISP/Visual LISP, C++, Customization, ObjectARX, Programming, VB, VB.NET, Visual Basic/VBA | | Comments (17)

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AutoCAD 2016 Developer Documentation Changes

Last month, Autodesk released the AutoCAD 2016 program and many other products in the 2016 family.  Every new release brings with it a variety of features and productivity enhancements, those I covered as a guest author on Ellen Finkelstein's AutoCAD blog.  While I enjoy writing and talking about the features that are introduced with each new release of the AutoCAD program, the stuff that most users never see is what I really enjoy digging into each year.

There have been many small and large changes to the AutoCAD application programming interfaces (APIs) in the latest release.  While I cannot cover them all in depth here, I will highlight the many changes that were introduced.

The developer related documentation can be found at:
http://help.autodesk.com/view/ACD/2016/ENU/

The following outlines the changes that have were made:

General Updates

AutoLISP

  • No new or changed functions this release.
  • The getcfg and setcfg functions have been marked as obsolete.
  • Historical list of changes from AutoCAD 2009 through AutoCAD 2016 can be used to identify potential problems in existing programs.

DCL

 ActiveX

  • No new classes were added, but the following here changed:
    • IAcadDocument
    • IAcadPointCloudEx
    • IAcadSection
    • IAcadSecurityParams
    • IAcadShadowDisplay
  • Password protection of drawing files has been removed; if you need to secure a drawing file you will need to use a third-party library or utility. Digital signatures are still supported.
  • A full list of the changes can be found in the AutoCAD 2016 API History topic.
  • Clickable Object Model has been updated based on all of the classes that are part of the AutoCAD ActiveX/COM library.
  • ActiveX Reference topics continue to be accessible from the VBA IDE via the CHM file format.
  • ActiveX Developer's Guide continues to be available online as part of the AutoCAD Help system and offline as a CHM file (C:\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\acad_aag.chm)

Managed .NET

  • Developer's Guide is accessible from the AutoCAD Help system.
    • New topics were added to support the render presets related to the RapidRT rendering engine.
  • Updates were made to the Reference Guide to include the new classes, interfaces, and functions introduced for this release.
    • Refer to the Managed Class Reference Guide (part of the ObjectARX SDK) and the What's New topic for a list of changes made to the API.
  • API and documentation can be downloaded from the ADN or ObjectARX websites.
    • Documentation is accessible via CHM and a Visual Studio integration installer.

ObjectARX

  • Updates were made to include the new classes, interfaces, and functions introduced for this release.
    • Refer to the ObjectARX Reference Guide and the What's New topic for a list of changes made to the API.
  • API and documentation can be downloaded from the ADN or ObjectARX websites.
    • Documentation is accessible via CHM and a Visual Studio integration installer.

JavaScript

  • Version 3 of the API and the documentation are available. (Online only)

In a future blog posting, I plan to cover how custom programs can be digitally signed and loaded into the AutoCAD program.

Sincerely,
  Lee

Posted at 03:39 PM in .NET, ActiveX, AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2016, AutoCAD based products, AutoLISP/Visual LISP, C++, ObjectARX, Visual Basic/VBA | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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AutoCAD 2015 Developer Documentation Changes

As you might have heard (or maybe not), Autodesk AutoCAD 2015 and many other Autodesk products in the 2015 family were announced last week. With the new release comes many new refinements to the program and a number of productivity enhancements but I am not going to cover those in this blog posting, I will discuss some of these changes in a future posting.

Today, I want to discuss the developer documentation.  Often overlooked by many, the developer documentation received a number of enhancements with this release.  A number of small and large changes have been made to the developer documentation to improve access, discoverability, and readability.

The developer related documentation can be found at:

http://help.autodesk.com/view/ACD/2015/ENU/

The following outlines the changes that have were made:

General Updates

  • A flattened view into the CAD Administration and Customization documentation has been added. It is now easier to locate the most frequently accessed topics and discover those of interest. (Available online and offline) Main AutoCAD Landing page
  • Centralized resource for developer documentation. (Available online and offline)
    Developer Home page
  • Improved classification and documentation filtering.
    • ActiveX filter now shows the ActiveX Reference and Developer related topics.
      Developer Filters
    • Developer documentation topics have been updated to make it easier to identify associated language and technology.

AutoLISP

  • No new or changed functions this release.
  • Listing of functions by Alphabetic Name and Feature. (Available online and offline)
    • Improved related topic links.
    AutoLISP Reference
  • Topics of interest are easier to locate and discover now with a flattened topic list. AutoLISP Developer's
  • Reference topics have been reformatted and updated to include additional information.
    • Data types are now listed for arguments and return values.
    • Supported platforms is listed as part of each topic, giving you a better understand of which functions are available on both Windows and Mac OS for cross platform development.
    • Indication of which topics are related to AutoLISP, ActiveX, and/or DCL via title suffixes.

ActiveX/VBA

  • A number of new classes, methods, and properties were added to AutoCAD 2015 primarily around the Geolocation and Point Cloud features. These changes are listed as part of the AutoCAD 2015 API History topic. 
  • ActiveX/VBA topics are now accessible from the AutoCAD Help system. (Available online and offline)
    • Reference topics are available through an alphabetic listing.
      ActiveX Reference
    • Developer topics can be accessed from a flattened topic of interest page, just like the AutoLISP Developer topics.
    • Clickable Object Model has been implemented for the AutoCAD ActiveX/COM Library.
      AutoCAD Object Model
    • Sheet Set Object and Connectivity Automation Object Reference documentation is easier to find now.
  • ActiveX topics are still accessible from the VBA IDE via the CHM file format.
  • Reference topics have been reformatted and share a common look with the AutoLISP Reference documentation.
  • Reference topics now also include the following information:
    • Class name
    • Object inheritance
    • Example code (no longer a separate topic)
      ActiveX Reference Topic

Managed .NET

  • Developer's Guide is accessible from the AutoCAD Help system and now has a flattened topics of interest view like the AutoLISP and ActiveX documentation.
  • Updates were made to the Reference Guide to include the new classes, interfaces, and functions introduced for this release.
    • Refer to the Managed Class Reference Guide (part of the ObjectARX SDK) and the What's New topic for a list of changes made to the API.
  • Documentation is accessible via CHM and a Visual Studio integration installer.
  • API and reference documentation can be downloaded from the ADN or ObjectARX websites.

ObjectARX

  • Updates were made to include the new classes, interfaces, and functions introduced for this release.
    • Refer to the ObjectARX Reference Guide and the What's New topic for a list of changes made to the API.
  • Documentation is accessible via CHM and a Visual Studio integration installer.
  • API and documentation can be downloaded from the ADN or ObjectARX websites.

JavaScript

  • Version 2 of the API and the documentation are available. (Online only)

Let me know what your opinion is on the changes that have been made and what we can do to further improve the developer documentation.

Sincerely,
  Lee

Posted at 11:09 AM in .NET, ActiveX, AutoCAD, ObjectARX, Programming, VB, Visual Basic/VBA | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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Drawing a Line in AutoCAD - Cross Section of API Samples

For many, AutoCAD is the tool that they use to create their designs and construction plans; whether you are doing 2D drafting or 3D modeling.  However, of the biggest benefits of AutoCAD is that it is a platform that can be extended through a variety of APIs and customization techniques.  If AutoCAD does not perform a task that you want it to, you can simply write the functionality yourself or find someone that can.  The way AutoCAD is designed; really it is limited only by your imagination as to the problems that it can solve and the types of industries it can be used in.

As I finalize my presentations for AU2013, I decided to write some sample code that demonstrates the same concept but with each of the five different APIs that AutoCAD supports.  The sample code shows how to draw a line in model space, of course there are always twists and differences to the way each programmer approaches a given problem.

AutoLISP - Command Function

; Draw a line from 5,0 to 10,5
(defun c:DL_AutoLISP ( / )
  (command "._LINE" "5,0,0" "10,5,0" "")
 (princ)
)

AutoLISP - COM API

; Draw line from 10,0 to 15,5
(defun c:DL_AutoLISPCOM ( / acDoc acModelSpace pt1 pt2)
  ; Load the AutoCAD COM Library
  (vl-load-com)

  ; Get the current drawing
  (setq acDoc (vla-get-activedocument (vlax-get-acad-object)))

  ; Get model space for the current drawing
  (setq acModelSpace (vla-get-modelspace acDoc))

  ; define a start and end point for the line
  (setq pt1 (vlax-3D-point 10 0 0)
        pt2 (vlax-3D-point 15 5 0))

  ; Add the new line to model space
  (vla-addline acModelSpace pt1 pt2)
 (princ)
)

AutoLISP - Entmake Function

; Draw line from 15,0 to 20,5
(defun c:DL_AutoLISPENTMAKE ( / )
  (entmake '((0 . "LINE")          ; Define the type of object to create, a line
             (10 15.0 0.0 0.0)     ; Define start point 15,0,0
             (11 20.0 5.0 0.0)     ; Define end point 20,5,0
            )
  )
 (princ)
)

Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)

' Draw line from 20,0 to 25,5
Public Sub DrawLine()
  Dim pt1(0 To 2) As Double, pt2(0 To 2) As Double
  pt1(0) = 20: pt1(1) = 0: pt1(2) = 0
  pt2(0) = 25: pt2(1) = 5: pt2(2) = 0

  ' Add the line to model space
  ThisDrawing.ModelSpace.AddLine pt1, pt2
End Sub

JavaScript

// Function that executes the LINE command
function drawLine()
{
  try {
    Acad.Editor.executeCommandAsync(
      '_.Line ' +
      '0,0,0 ' +
      '5,5,0 '
    );
  }
  catch(e) {
    write(e.message);
  }
}

// Add a command to access the drawLine function
Acad.Editor.addCommand(
  "DrawLine_JS",
  "DL_JavaScript",
  "DL_JavaScript",
  Acad.CommandFlag.MODAL,
  drawLine );

Managed .NET - VB.NET

<CommandMethod("DL_VBNET")> _
Public Sub DrawLine()
    '' Get the current document and database
    Dim acDoc As Document = Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument
    Dim acCurDb As Database = acDoc.Database

    '' Start a transaction
    Using acTrans As Transaction = acCurDb.TransactionManager.StartTransaction()

        '' Open the Block table for read
        Dim acBlkTbl As BlockTable
        acBlkTbl = acTrans.GetObject(acCurDb.BlockTableId, OpenMode.ForRead)

        '' Open the Block table record Model space for write
        Dim acBlkTblRec As BlockTableRecord
        acBlkTblRec = acTrans.GetObject(acBlkTbl(BlockTableRecord.ModelSpace), _                                         OpenMode.ForWrite)

        '' Create a line that starts at 25,0 and ends at 30,5
        Dim acLine As Line = New Line(New Point3d(25, 0, 0), _
                                      New Point3d(30, 5, 0))

        '' Add the new object to the block table record and the transaction                
        acBlkTblRec.AppendEntity(acLine)
        acTrans.AddNewlyCreatedDBObject(acLine, True)

        '' Save the new object to the database
        acTrans.Commit()
    End Using
End Sub

ObjectARX/C++

static void Drawline();

extern "C" AcRx::AppRetCode acrxEntryPoint(AcRx::AppMsgCode msg, void* pkt)
{
    switch(msg)
    {
        case AcRx::kInitAppMsg:
            acrxDynamicLinker->unlockApplication(pkt);
            acrxDynamicLinker->registerAppMDIAware(pkt);

            // Commands to add
            acedRegCmds->addCommand(_T("DrawLine_ARX"), _T("DL_ObjectARX"),                                     _T("DL_ObjectARX"), ACRX_CMD_MODAL, Drawline);

            break;
        case AcRx::kUnloadAppMsg:

            // Command Groups to remove
            acedRegCmds->removeGroup(_T("DrawLine_ARX"));

            break;
        default:
            break;
    }
    return AcRx::kRetOK;
}

static void Drawline()
{
    // Get the current database
    AcDbDatabase *pDb = acdbHostApplicationServices()->workingDatabase();

    // Open the Block Table for read-only
    AcDbBlockTable *pBlockTable;
    pDb->getSymbolTable(pBlockTable, AcDb::kForRead);

    // Get the Model Space block
    AcDbBlockTableRecord *pBlockTableRecord;
    pBlockTable->getAt(ACDB_MODEL_SPACE, pBlockTableRecord, AcDb::kForWrite);
    pBlockTable->close();

    // Define the points that will be used to define the Line object
    AcGePoint3d startPt(30.0, 0.0, 0.0);
    AcGePoint3d endPt(35.0, 5.0, 0.0);

    // Create the new Line object in memory
    AcDbLine *pLine = new AcDbLine(startPt, endPt);

    // Add the new Line object to Model space
    pBlockTableRecord->appendAcDbEntity(pLine);

    // Close the Model space block
    pBlockTableRecord->close();

    // Close the new line object
    pLine->close();
}

Sincerely,
  Lee

 

 

Posted at 12:10 PM in .NET, ActiveX, AutoCAD, AutoLISP/Visual LISP, C++, ObjectARX, Programming, Visual Basic/VBA | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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What APIs and Developer Documentation are Available for AutoCAD?

There are a wide range of APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that are available for creating custom applications in AutoCAD.  Which API is right for you depends greatly on your experience and the time you can commit to learning, but for many the first API that they are ever exposed to is AutoLISP because of its ease of use and the sheer number of programs that are available for download from the Internet.

AutoLISP allows you to channel your knowledge of AutoCAD commands, and begin to combine them in ways that you might have never thought possible or maybe you have and that is what kick started your interest in programming.  Where you go from there is often different for many.  Many simply learn AutoLISP and that is enough for them to improve the tasks that they perform on a daily basis. For others, AutoLISP is simply a stepping stone towards Managed .NET or even ObjectARX.

The available AutoCAD APIs are:

  • AutoLISP
  • ActiveX/COM
    • AutoCAD
    • Transmittal (eTransmit/Archive)
    • Sheet Set Object (Sheet Set Manager)
    • CAD Standards Plug-in (CAD Standards and Batch Standards Checker)
    • Connectivity Automation Object (dbConnect)
  • JavaScript
  • ObjectARX
  • Managed .NET

The JavaScript API is the newest of all the AutoCAD APIs; it was introduced with AutoCAD 2014.

The documentation for all of the available AutoCAD APIs can be located under the AutoCAD Developer Center. Based on which API you want to work with, you might find that some of the documentation is available through the product's help, installed locally with the product, or available with the ObjectARX SDK.

Sincerely,
  Lee

Posted at 10:18 AM in .NET, ActiveX, AutoCAD, AutoLISP/Visual LISP, C++, ObjectARX, Programming, VB, Visual Basic/VBA | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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AutoCAD 2014 API and Developer Documentation Changes

By now, there has been lots of information circulating about what is new in AutoCAD 2014 from an end user perspective but what about the API side of things. AutoCAD 2014 offers a number of API changes, updates to the documentation, and a new API.

First and foremost, AutoCAD 2014 is binary compatible with AutoCAD 2013; programs developed for AutoCAD 2013 should run in AutoCAD 2014 without needing to be recompiled.

JavaScript API

This new API is used to provide the core functionality of the DesignFeed and Live Maps features. What can be done with this new API at the moment is limited, but does open up many new possibilities though. For additional information see:

Trusted File Paths

Not just an API change but a security change to which files are automatically loaded and from where they can be loaded from. This change impacts all program file types. There are a few API level changes that you should be aware of, but if your programs are not trusted they do not matter much. So the first things you need to be aware of are the SECURELOAD system variable and the Trusted Locations node on the Files tab of the Options dialog box. For additional information see:

VBA 7.1

Microsoft has recently given new life to the once deprecated VBA technology. VBA 6.3 was the last supported release, which was still being used in AutoCAD 2013 as long as you downloaded the separate installer. VBA 6.3 was 32-bit only and is why there was performance issues when using it with AutoCAD 64-bit. VBA 7.1 resolves this issue by supporting both 32-bit and 64-bit platforms. If you have VBA programs from AutoCAD 2013 or earlier, and you are using Windows 64-bit you might encounter issues if you are using third-party libraries or form controls that do not support 64-bit.  Check with the third-party vendor and see if they offer a 64-bit version for you to use, if not you will need to rework your code and/or forms.

The ActiveX/VBA document has also been updated as well and can be found installed on your local drive at:

  • %ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\acad_aag.chm - Developer's Guide
  • %ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\acadauto.chm - Reference Guide

AutoLISP

There were no real notable changes to the API this release or the Visual LISP IDE, with the exception of two new functions.

  • showHTMLModalWindow - Displays a modal window with a HTML document; use in conjunction with the new JavaScript API.
  • findtrustedfile - Searches the AutoCAD trusted file paths for the specified file.

ObjectARX

Changes to the ObjectARX API are limited to new classes and functions.

  • AcDb
    • AcDbExtents2d - New class
    • AcDbGeoDataReactor - New class
    • AcDbModelDocViewStyle - New methods added; existing class
    • AcDbXrecord - New method added; existing class
    • AcDbXrecordIterator - New methods added; existing class
  • AcAp
    • AcApDocument - New method added; existing class
  • Global functions
    • acedAddHTMLPalette - New
    • acedFindTrustedFile - New
    • acedLoadJSScript - New
    • acedShowHTMLModalWindow - New
    • acedShowHTMLModelessWindow - New
  • Miscellaneous class
    • IPointCloudFilter2 - New

Managed .NET

Changes to the Managed .NET API are limited to new classes and functions.

  • Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices
    • Application.ShowModalWindow Method
    • Application.ShowModelessWindow Method
    • Document.IsNamedDrawing Property
  • Autodesk.AutoCAD.DatabaseServices
    • MLeader.Scale Property
    • Region.AreaProperties Method
    • RegionAreaProperties Structure 
    • RegionAreaProperties.Area Property
    • RegionAreaProperties.Centroid Property
    • RegionAreaProperties.Extents Property
    • RegionAreaProperties.MomentsOfInertia Property
    • RegionAreaProperties.Perimeter Property
    • RegionAreaProperties.PrincipalMoments Property
    • RegionAreaProperties.ProductOfInertia Property
    • RegionAreaProperties.RadiiOfGyration Property
    • Xrecord.Append Method
    • XrecordEnumerator.Current Property
    • XrecordEnumerator.InsertAtCurrent Method
    • XrecordEnumerator.RemoveCurrent Method
  • Autodesk.AutoCAD.EditorInput
    • Editor.ApplyCurDwgLayerTableChanges Method
    • Editor.PostCommandPrompt Method
  • Autodesk.AutoCAD.GraphicsInterface
    • TextStyle.FromTextStyleTableRecord Method
    • TextStyle.ToTextStyleTableRecord Method
  • Autodesk.AutoCAD.Windows
    • Window.Focus Method
  • Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices.Core
    • Application.LoadJSScript Method

The Developer's Guide was updated in the following areas were changed:

  • Viewports and layouts
  • Plotting and publishing
  • Document events
  • Disposal of objects
  • Plot styles
  • Visual styles and render presets
  • Raster images and xrefs
  • Clipping blocks, xrefs, and raster images
  • Defining and inserting blocks, and working with attributes

The .NET Developer's Guide is part of the product help.

Hope this helps give you an understanding of the changes that you might or might not need to make with your custom programs.

Sincerely,
  Lee

Posted at 12:00 PM in .NET, ActiveX, AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2014, AutoCAD based products, AutoLISP/Visual LISP, ObjectARX, Programming, VB, Visual Basic/VBA | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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AutoCAD Developer Documentation Survey

Do you create AutoLISP, VBA, .NET, or ObjectARX applications to automate tasks for your company or to solve problems for a client?  If so, chances are you might have used the AutoCAD developer documentation. The Learning Experience team would like some input on the developer documentation via the AutoCAD Developer Documentation Survey. The survey will take 5-10 minutes of your time.

Here is the link to the survey -
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/H72RWJC

Sincerely,
  Lee

Posted at 11:28 AM in ActiveX, AutoCAD, Autodesk, AutoLISP/Visual LISP, C++, ObjectARX, Programming, VB, Visual Basic/VBA | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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Updated AutoCAD 2013 ActiveX Developer Documentation

A new update to the AutoCAD 2013 ActiveX Developer Documentation has recently been made available through the AutoCAD Developer Center. The updated documentation set can be found at the bottom of the page under the Documentation section.

ActiveXDevDocs

The updates that were made to the documentation are:

  • Corrections to the existing VBA samples
  • VBA samples ported to show the use of AutoLISP/Visual LISP
  • Reference documentation updated to include all the latest and previously missing classes/properties/methods
  • Full list of changes to the API from AutoCAD 2000 through AutoCAD 2013
  • Corrections to and the inclusion of the ActiveX Developer's Guide

To utilize the documentation with the VBA IDE or Visual LISP IDE, download and extract the contents of the ZIP file to the following location:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared

Sincerely,
  Lee

Posted at 10:49 AM in ActiveX, AutoCAD 2013, AutoCAD based products, AutoLISP/Visual LISP, Visual Basic/VBA | | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

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Create a Table and Select a Cell to Change with AutoLISP and ActiveX

Tables are one of the most complex objects, after dimensions, to create and edit through the APIs that AutoCAD offers.  The appearance of a table is controlled by its properties and methods, along with the table style that it is assigned.  Tables are made up of individual cells which can contain text, blocks, and formulas along with additional formatting.

In the previous posting, Creating a Table Style with AutoLISP and the ActiveX API, I showed an exmple of how to create a custom table style.

In this article, I show for to create a table and then edit the value of a cell by picking a point within a table cell.

(vl-load-com)

;; Example adds a table to model space that is 5 rows by 3 columns
;; with a row height of 10 units and column width of 30 units
(defun c:AddTable( / acadObj curDoc insPt mSpaceObj tableObj)
    (setq acadObj (vlax-get-acad-object))
    (setq curDoc (vla-get-ActiveDocument acadObj))

    (setq insPt (vlax-3d-point 0 0 0))

    (setq mSpaceObj (vla-get-ModelSpace curDoc))
    (setq tableObj (vla-Addtable mSpaceObj insPt 5 3 10 30))

    (vla-put-StyleName tableObj "MyTableStyle")
)

;; Example shows how to pick a single table cell on screen and change its value.
;; This example demonstrates the ActiveX properties/methods HitTest,
;; GetCellType, GetText and SetText.
(defun c:SelectTableCell ( / pick vHeight vWidth lwrLeft uprRight vector
                                           SS_TABLES cnt eMax tableObj row col cellValueOrg)
 
  ;; Ask the user for a point on screen
  (if (/= (setq pick (vlax-3d-point (getpoint "\nSelect Cell to edit: "))) nil)
    (progn

      ;; Get the corners of the screen display to build our selection set
      (setq vHeight (getvar "viewsize"))
      (setq vWidth (* (/ (nth 0 (getvar "screensize")) (nth 1 (getvar "screensize"))) vHeight))

      (setq lwrLeft (list (- (nth 0 (getvar "viewctr")) (/ vWidth 2)) (- (nth 1 (getvar "viewctr")) (/ vHeight  2)) 0))
      (setq uprRight (list (+ (nth 0 (getvar "viewctr")) (/ vWidth 2)) (+ (nth 1 (getvar "viewctr")) (/ vHeight  2)) 0))

      ;; Get the current display orientation
      (setq vector (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbDouble '(0 . 2)))
      (vlax-safearray-fill vector '(1 1 1))
      (setq vector (vlax-make-variant vector))
     
      ;; Select all the table objects visible on screen
      (if (setq SS_TABLES (ssget "C" lwrleft uprright (list (cons 0 "ACAD_TABLE"))))
        (progn
  
          (setq cnt 0
                eMax (sslength SS_TABLES)
          )

          ;; Step through all the items in the selection set
          (while (> eMax cnt)
            ;; Geta table object from the selection set
            (setq tableObj (vlax-ename->vla-object (ssname SS_TABLES cnt)))
 
            ;; Return values for what cell was picked in
            (setq row 0
                  col 0)

            ;; Below is also a sample to see if a valid cell is picked
            ;; (vla-select table pick vector vector 5 5 :vlax-false 'row 'col)
    
            ;; Check to see if a valid cell was picked
            (if (= (vla-hittest tableObj pick vector 'row 'col) :vlax-true)
              (progn

                ;; Get out of the loop
                (setq cnt (1+ eMax))
  
                ;; Check to see what the Cell Type is (Text or Block)
                (if (= (vla-GetCellType tableObj row col) acTextCell)
                  (progn
                    ;; Let's get the value out
                    (setq cellValueOrg (vla-GetText tableObj row col))

                    ;; Change the current value
                    (vla-SetText tableObj row col "Revised Text")
                    (vla-Update tableObj)
                    (alert "Cell text was changed.")
         
                    ;; Restore the original value
                    (vla-SetText tableObj row col cellValueOrg)
                    (vla-Update tableObj)
                    (alert "Cell text was changed back to the original value.")
                    (setq cnt eMax)
                  )
                )
              )
            )
            (setq cnt (1+ cnt))
          )
        )
      )
    )
  )
 (princ)
)

Sincerely,
  Lee

Posted at 10:03 AM in ActiveX, AutoCAD, AutoCAD based products, AutoLISP/Visual LISP | | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

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Creating a Table Style with AutoLISP and the ActiveX API

Table styles in AutoCAD are primarily created using the Table Style dialog box (TABLESTYLE command) since there is no command line support, which limits the ability of creating a table style using a script or the COMMAND function in AutoLISP.  However, you can leverage the ActiveX API to create or modify table style and cell styles defined in your current drawing.

NOTE: ActiveX API is not available on AutoCAD for Mac.

To create a table style, you must access the ACAD_TABLESTYLE dictionary in the current drawing.  Once a reference to the ACAD_TABLESTYLE dictionary is obtained, you can then check to see if a table style already exists using the VLA-GETOBJECT function or add a table style using the VLA-ADDOBJECT function.

The following sample code demonstrates how to create a new table style, but does not check to see if the table style already exists first.  If the table style does exist, an error will occur.

(vl-load-com)
(defun c:CreateTableStyle()
    ;; Get the AutoCAD application and current document
    (setq acad (vlax-get-acad-object))
    (setq doc (vla-get-ActiveDocument acad))

    ;; Get the Dictionaries collection and the TableStyle dictionary
    (setq dicts (vla-get-Dictionaries doc))
    (setq dictObj (vla-Item dicts "acad_tablestyle"))
   
    ;; Create a custom table style
    (setq key "MyTableStyle"
          class "AcDbTableStyle")
    (setq custObj (vla-AddObject dictObj key class))

    ;; Set the name and description for the style
    (vla-put-Name custObj "MyTableStyle")
    (vla-put-Description custObj "This is my custom table style")

    ;; Sets the bit flag value for the style
    (vla-put-BitFlags custObj 1)

    ;; Sets the direction of the table, top to bottom or bottom to top
    (vla-put-FlowDirection custObj acTableTopToBottom)

    ;; Sets the supression of the table header
    (vla-put-HeaderSuppressed custObj :vlax-false)

    ;; Sets the horizontal margin for the table cells
    (vla-put-HorzCellMargin custObj 0.22)

    ;; Sets the supression of the table title
    (vla-put-TitleSuppressed custObj :vlax-false)

    ;; Sets the vertical margin for the table cells
    (vla-put-VertCellMargin custObj 0.22)

    ;; Set the alignment for the Data, Header, and Title rows
    (vla-SetAlignment custObj (+ acDataRow acTitleRow) acMiddleLeft)
    (vla-SetAlignment custObj acHeaderRow acMiddleCenter)

    ;; Set the background color for the Header and Title rows
    (setq colObj (vlax-create-object (strcat "AutoCAD.AcCmColor." (substr (getvar "ACADVER") 1 2))))
    (vla-SetRGB colObj 98 136 213)
    (vla-SetBackgroundColor custObj (+ acHeaderRow acTitleRow) colObj)

    ;; Clear the background color for the Data rows
    (vla-SetBackgroundColorNone custObj acDataRow :vlax-true)

    ;; Set the bottom grid color for the Title row
    (vla-SetRGB colObj 0 0 255)
    (vla-SetGridColor custObj acHorzBottom acTitleRow colObj)

    ;; Set the bottom grid lineweight for the Title row
    (vla-SetGridLineWeight custObj acHorzBottom acTitleRow acLnWt025)

    ;; Set the inside grid lines visible for the data and header rows
    (vla-SetGridVisibility custObj acHorzInside  (+ acDataRow acHeaderRow) :vlax-true)

    ;; Set the text height for the Title, Header and Data rows
    (vla-SetTextHeight custObj acTitleRow 1.5)
    (vla-SetTextHeight custObj (+ acDataRow acHeaderRow) 1.0)

    ;; Set the text height and style for the Title row
    (vla-SetTextStyle custObj (+ acDataRow acHeaderRow acTitleRow) "Standard")

    ;; Release the color object
    (vlax-release-object colObj)
  (princ)
)

The following image shows what the table style looks like when applied to a table object.

Createtablestyle
Sincerely,
  Lee

 

Posted at 08:57 AM in ActiveX, AutoCAD, AutoCAD based products, AutoLISP/Visual LISP | | Comments (2)

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