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Visual Lisp Tutorial (Afra)

This section contains a few applications that i've written using Visual Basic. Most of them have been written to assist in a better understanding of VBA and AutoCAD. You will need to have Visual Basic 4, or above, installed on your system to view and / or modify the source coding.

Uploaded by

Claudio Jose Castillo

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100% found this document useful (1 vote)

2K views

Visual Lisp Tutorial (Afra)

Uploaded by

Claudio Jose Castillo

Available Formats

Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA

Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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Visual Basic and AutoCAD
In this section you will find a few applications that I've written using Visual Basic.
Most of them have been written to assist in a better understanding of VBA and AutoCAD.
I have supplied the source coding with all projects but you will need to have Visual
Basic 4, or above, installed on your system to view and/or modify the source coding
of the stand alone applications.
VB and VBA Tutorials
VBA Quick Tips G
AutoCAD API's G
An Introduction to VBA. G
VBA Primer. G
Userforms. G
Lisp To VBA. G
AutoCAD and Customizable Support Files G
VBA and Menu's G
VBA and Sequencial Text Files G
Hiding Dialogs and Other Things G
PolyLines and Arcs by Scott McGlynn G
Accessing AutoCAD by Scott McGlynn G
File Functions In Visual Basic G
Error Trapping G

VBA Applications
VBA Batch Purge. G
Change Text. G
VBA and Outlook. G
VBA and Powerpoint. G
Command Line Project. G
VBA Fax Project. G
Visual Basic Tutorials
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Timesheet Project. G
Loading VBA Projects. G
VBA and Excel. G
VBA and DataBases. G
VBA Steel Project. G
Drawing Setup Project. G
AutoLisp/VBA Drawing Setup G
The Utils Project. G
Drawing Layer Manager G
Save Manager G
Attributes and VBA G
VBA Steel by Cyril Horsey [email protected] G
Multiple Inserts by Robert Endres [email protected] G
Block Attribute Modifier by Robert Endres [email protected] G
AutoCAD and HTML - VBA G
Publishing Code G
Batch Convert to AutoCAD R14 by Scott McGlynn G
VB Standalone Applications
Create a Toolbar DLL. G
Create a Toobar DLL Re-Visited G
DLL Resource Tool G
AfraLisp Screensaver. G
Batch Purge 2002. G
Batch Purge 2004. G
RC-Batcher. G
Randall Raaths Lisp Manager. G
VBA Partial Menu. G
The Acad Export Drawings Project. G
Batch Purge Project. G
AfraLisp Drawing Backup G
How to write unmaintainable code G
Shadow Controls G
AfraLisp Coffee Holder G
AutoCAD and HTML - VB G
Custom Application Setup G
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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Visual Basic Tutorials
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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Welcome to AfraLisp
any moons ago whilst in a fit of madness or drunk - I
cannot remember which - I decided to write and publish a
simple web page containing a few AutoCAD Links and maybe a
couple of AutoLisp routines. Within a couple of days I began to
receive a few queries in regards to AutoLisp so decided to post
one or two Tutorials. That was the real beginning. Now, after
more than four years, AfraLisp has grown out of all proportion
in relation to my original intention.
AfraLisp now publishes over 100 AutoLisp Tutorials and nearly 50 VB/VBA Tutorials all open source and
complete with working examples. AfraLisp also publishes a download section containing many custom
AutoLisp applications written by AfraLisp as well as others.
AfraLisp also collaborates greatly with some other brilliant AutoLisp/VB/VBA sites, namely :
The Cad Vault is focused on helping you to improve your work environment
with tutorials and working code examples written in, and for, the most
popular customizing languages for the major CAD software programs and Microsoft Office products - Visual Basic
for Applications, Visual Basic, Visual C++, AutoLisp, Visual Lisp, and DCL.
And last but by no means least, CORBIMITE.COM is the host of AfraLisp and my thanks go to Frank
Zander for his generosity and support.
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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
AfraLisp-The AutoLisp/VBA Resource Website
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Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
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AfraLisp-The AutoLisp/VBA Resource Website
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The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
AutoLisp and Visual Lisp Tutorials
Basic AutoLisp Tutorials
AutoLisp Quick Start G
The Basics in a Nutshell. G
Loading Autolisp Files G
Autolisp Quick Reference Table. G
System Variables - Download G
System Variables 2002 - Alphabetical & Topical - Download G
System Variables 2004 - Alphabetical & Topical - Download G
AutoCAD 2004 System Variables G
AutoCAD and Customizable Support Files G
Environment Variables Listing G
Migrating Express Tools G
Enhanced Express Tools 2002 Menu G
Enhanced Express Tools 2004 Menu G
DXF Group Codes - Download G
AutoCAD Command History - Download G
The AfraLisp AutoLisp Tutorials G
Default Drawing Folder G
AutoLisp Basics - Download G
AutoCAD API's G
AutoLisp and Menu's
Partial Menu's G
Partial Menu's - Visual Lisp G
Custom Hatch Patterns and Menu Access G
Creating Hatch Patterns G
Creating Linetypes G
Controlling Complex Linetypes G
Automating Menu Loading G
Preserving Custom Toolbars G
Menu Customisation G
Dealing with Tool Palettes G
AutoLisp and Visual Lisp Tutorials
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Advanced AutoLisp Tutorials
Define Function (defun) G
Set and Setq G
Programme Looping G
Conditionals. G
Cond vs If G
Error Trapping G
Calculating Points (Polar) G
Locating Files. G
File Handling. G
External Data G
List Manipulation. G
Into the DataBase. G
DXF Group Codes. G
Selection Sets. G
Selection Set Filters G
Working With Layers & Styles. G
Polylines and Blocks. G
Extended Entity Data. G
(mapcar) and (lambda) G
The 'Eval' Function. G
Redefining Commands. G
Efficient Variables. G
The "DIR" Command. G
Colours and Linetypes ByLayer G
Debugging G
Dictionaries and XRecords. G
Basic Tool System Primer G
Dialogue Box Tutorials
Getting Started G
DCL Primer - Download G
Dialog Box Layout G
Dialogue Boxes Step by Step G
Dialogue Boxe in Action G
Nesting and Hiding Dialogues. G
Hiding Dialogues Revisited. G
AutoLisp Message Box. G
AutoLisp Input Box. G
Referencing DCL Files. G
AutoLISP Functions for Dialog Control Language (DCL) G
AutoLisp and Visual Lisp Tutorials
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Functional Synopsis of DCL Files. G
DCL Attributes. G
Dialogue Box Default Data. G
DCL Model. G
DCL Progress Bar. G
Attributes and Dialogue Boxes G
DCL without the DCL File G
The AfraLisp DCL Tutorials G
Entering Edit Boxes G
AutoLisp Application Tutorials
Drawing Setup G
AutoLisp/VBA Drawing Setup G
Application Data. G
Time and Date Stamping. G
AutoLisp Macro Recorder. G
Auto-Breaking Blocks. G
List Variables/Functions. G
Lisp Help. G
DOSLib - Batch Slides. G
AfraLisp Slide Manager G
Working with Areas G
Lisp to HTML G
AutoCAD and HTML - AutoLisp G
AutoCAD and HTML - Revisited G
Environmental Issues G
Quick Plot G
AutoCAD Command Line Switches G
David Steins's DSXTools G
Dave Corrals DC-Tools G
AutoCAD Setup G
Express Tools Utilities G
Publishing Code G
Rtext and Drawing Setup G
AutoCAD & Binaries G
PolyLine Bulges G
A Look at Plan G
Custom Application Setup G
Standing Alone with Acad Install G
Visual Lisp Tutorials
The Visual Lisp Editor - The Beginning G
The Visual Lisp Editor G
AutoLisp and Visual Lisp Tutorials
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The Beginning G
Viewing Objects G
Properties & Methods G
Methods Reference G
Arrays G
Selecting Objects G
Collections G
Reactors G
Menu's G
Error Trapping G
Layers G
Profiles G
Sample Profile Utilities G
Attributes G
Attributes Re-visited G
Loading VBA Files G
Directories and Files G
Compiling AutoLisp Files G
VLAX Enumeration Constants G
Polylines G
The Utilities Object G
Visual Lisp and VBA G
AutoCAD and HTML - Visual Lisp G
The AfraLisp Visual Lisp Tutorials G
David Steins's Visual LISP Developers Bible G
Visual Lisp Sample Files G
Scripting Objects G
"Talking" to External Applications G
How to make Tripe and Onion's G
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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Memo from Bin Laden

To: All Al Qaeda Fighters
From: Bin Laden, Osama
Subject: The Cave
Hi Guys
We have been putting in long hours recently but weve really come together as a
group and I love that. However, while we are fighting a jihad, we cant forget to
take care of the cave, and frankly I have a few concerns:
Fist of all, while it is good to be concerned about cruise missiles, we should be
even more concerned about the dust in our cave. We want to avoid excessive
dust inhalation, (a health and safety issue) so we need to sweep the cave daily.
I have done my bit on the cleaning rosterhave you??
I have posted a sign-up sheet near the cave reception area. Next to the halaal toaster.
Second: It is not often I make a video address but when I do, Im trying to scare the
living shit out of most of the worlds population, okay? That means that while were
taping; please do not ride your scooter in the background or keep doing the
Wassup thing. Thanks.
Third: Food. I bought a box of Dairylea recently. Clearly wrote Ossy on the front,
and put it on the top shelf. Today, two of my Daillea slices were gone.
Consideration. Thats all Im saying.
Fourth: Im not against team spirit and all that, but we must distance ourselves
from the Infidels bat and ball games. Please do not chant Ossy, Ossy Ossy, Oy Oy Oy
when I ride past on my donkey. Thanks.
Five: Graffiti. To whoever wrote OSAMA SHAGS DONKEYS on the group toilet wall,
its a lie. The donkey backed into me whilst I was relieving myself at the edge of the
mountain.
Six: The use of chickens is strictly for food. Assam, the old excuse that the chicken
backed into me, whilst I was relieving myself at the edge of a mountain will not
be accepted in the future. (With donkeys, there is a grey area)
Finally: Weve heard that there may be Western soldiers in disguise trying to infiltrate
Utter Rubbish
http://www.afralisp.com/utterrubbish.htm (1 of 18) [23/03/2005 05:43:19 p.m.]
our ranks. I want to set up patrols to look for them. First patrol will be Omar, Muhammad,
Abdul, Akbar and Dave.
Love you lots, Group hug.
Os
More Dinosaurs Are The Solution To The Oil Crisis
From somewhere off the web
IF YOU'VE been to a gas station lately, you have no doubt been shocked by the prices: $1.67, $1.78,
even $1.92. And that's just for Hostess Twinkies. Gas prices are even worse. Americans are ticked off
about this, and with good reason: Our rights are being violated! The First Amendment clearly states: "In
addition to freedom of speech, Americans shall always have low gasoline prices, so they can drive
around in 'sport utility' vehicles the size of minor planets."
And don't let any so-called "economists" try to tell you that foreigners pay more for gas than we do.
Foreigners use metric gasoline, which is sold in foreign units called "kilometers," plus they are paying
for it with foreign currencies such as the "franc," the "lira" and the "doubloon." So in fact there is no
mathematical way to tell WHAT they are paying.
But here in the United States we are definitely getting messed over, and the question is: What are we
going to do about it?
Step 1, of course, is to file a class-action lawsuit against the cigarette companies. They have nothing to
do with gasoline, but juries really hate them, so we'd probably win several hundred billion dollars. But
that is a short-term answer. To truly solve this problem, we must understand how the oil business
works. Like most Americans, you probably think that gasoline comes from the pump at the gas station.
Ha ha! What an idiot. In fact, the gasoline comes from tanks UNDER the gas station. These tanks are
connected to underground pipelines, which carry large oil tankers filled with oil from the Middle East.
But how did the oil get in the Middle East in the first place? To answer that question, we must go back
millions of years, to an era that geologists call the Voracious Period, when giant dinosaurs roamed the
Earth, eating everything that stood in their path,
except for broccoli, which they hated. And then, one fateful day (Oct. 8), a runaway asteroid, believed by
scientists to be nearly twice the diameter of the late Orson Welles, slammed into the Earth and killed the
dinosaurs, who by sheer bad luck all happened to be standing right where it landed. The massive
impact turned the dinosaurs, via a process called photosynthesis, into oil; this oil was then gradually
covered with a layer of sand, which in turn was gradually covered by a layer of people who hate each
other, and thus the Middle East was formed. For many years, the Middle East was content to supply the
United States with as much oil as we wanted at fair constitutional prices. But then the major
oil-producing nations-Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Texas-got all snotty and formed an
organization called OPEC, which stands for "North Atlantic Treaty Organization." In the 1970s, OPEC
decided to raise prices, and soon the United States was caught up in a serious crisis: The Disco Era. It
was horrible. You couldn't go to a bar or wedding reception without being ordered onto the dance floor
to learn "The Hustle."
AT THE SAME time, we also had an oil crisis, which was caused by the fact that every motorist in the
United States was determined to keep his or her automobile gas tank completely filled at all times. As
soon as your gas gauge dropped from "Full" to "Fifteen-sixteenths," you'd rush to a gas station and get
in a huge line with hundreds of other motorists who also had nearly full tanks. Also a lot of people,
including me, saved on heating oil by buying kerosene space heaters, which enabled us to transform a
cold, dank room into a cold, dank room filled with kerosene fumes. Buying gas and dancing "The
Hustle" with people who smelled like kerosene: That was the '70s.
So anyway, the oil crisis finally ended, and over time we got rid of our Volkswagen Rabbits and replaced
them with Chevrolet Suburbans boasting the same fuel economy as the World Trade Center. Now, once
again, we find ourselves facing rising gas prices, and the question is: This time, are we going to learn
from the past? Are we finally going to get serious about energy conservation? Of course not! We have
the brains of mealworms! So we need to get more oil somehow. As far as I can figure, there's only one
practical way to do this. That's right: We need to clone more dinosaurs.
We have the technology, as was shown in two blockbuster scientific movies, "Jurassic Park" and
"Jurassic Park Returns with Exactly the Same Plot." Once we have the dinosaurs, all we need is an
asteroid. Or, if he is available, Marlon Brando.
If this plan makes sense to you, double your medication dosage, then write to your congressperson.
Do it now! That way you'll be busy when I siphon your tank.
Aussie Humour
From down under.
The AfraLisp Fortune Teller
Utter Rubbish
http://www.afralisp.com/utterrubbish.htm (2 of 18) [23/03/2005 05:43:19 p.m.]
Pop in here to have your fortune told.
All You Needed To Know About Life
Author Unknown
If you take an Oriental person and spin him around several times, does he become disoriented?
- Only if he has to much to much saki before hand.
If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland called Holes?
- Dutchmen were called 'Holes' before the Pope in the Vatican kicked up a fuss when they were refered to as
'Holey-men'.
Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?
- I know I did.
Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?
- The word 'broker' has Spanish origins, alboroque, meaning 'ceremonial gift at conclusion of business deal'.
e.g., while they are making you money, they get a 'little gift' along the way.
Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist, but a person who drives a race car not called a
racist?
What is the difference between a slim chance and a fat chance?
- From Old England when milk demand was high, so getting your milk was a problem. The chance of getting
slim milk and the chance of getting normal [fat] milk was known as slim chance and fat chance.
Why are a wise man and a wise guy opposites?
- Wise men were from biblical times and prefered to freely give away gifts to any new-born they saw at
Christmas time, whereas Wise guys were from America and prefered to sit on their ass all day and watch
repeats of 'The 3 Stooges' and so called named by the famous line 'Wise guys ,eh ?'. The Differences are quite
obvious.
Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things?
- The two words overlook and oversee did have the same meaning [supervise] until the 1870's when many
construction site supervisors were turning blind eyes to malpractice on the site which risked their job. These
fore-men were then known as 'over-lookers' while the remaining men were known as the 'over-seers' where
from today's meanings evolved.
If horrific means horrible, does terrific mean terrible?
- Erm, yes it does. Both words terrific and terrible come from the same latin word, terrere, which means frighten.
Why isn't 11 pronounced onety-one?
- Onety-one became redundant when the wristwatch became widely popular. The word 'eleven' was introduced
to help the confusion when asked the time by another person, 11 o'clock or 'onety-one' was always
misunderstood as 'one to one'.
Do Roman paramedics refer to IVs as 4s?
- Quite by coincidence, the IVs [intravenous drip] used then were very similar this modern day and the length of
delivery tube to the vein was four feet.
If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted,
musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked and dry cleaners
depressed?
- And I dare say porn stars are denuded, wine makers are deported, portrait artists are defaced and hens are
delayed.
Why do croutons come in airtight packages? It's just stale bread to begin with.
- And why does sour cream have a use-by date ?
When cheese gets its picture taken, what does it say?
- "Humans!"
If you mixed vodka & orange juice with milk of magnesia, would you get a Philip's Screw Driver?
- I dunno, but if you had too many, you'd vomit half back up and the other half out the rear end!!!
If a pig loses his voice, is it disgruntled?
- If a pig has lost its voice, it would have therefore been slaughtered. I think being disgruntled would be the last
thing on its mind.
'I am' is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that 'I do' is the longest
Utter Rubbish
http://www.afralisp.com/utterrubbish.htm (3 of 18) [23/03/2005 05:43:19 p.m.]
sentence?
- Although the average marriage length has fallen over the last century, it is still a lot longer than just saying 'I
am".
If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?
- Because men may be blind when it comes to love, but they know what's underneath it.
Why do women wear evening gowns to nightclubs? Shouldn't they be wearing nightgowns?
- A nightgown is a loose undergarment which women wear to bed. I should hope no female wishes to go out in
her nightgown [or maybe I should be hoping]
Why do they say something is out of whack? What is a whack?
- Term usually only used by junkies, where, they are in a coma are said to be 'out of whack'. A second term
coined by the junkies has a more literal meaning where 'whack', which of course means - hit. 'Out of whack' was
also out of drugs.
When someone asks you, A penny for your thoughts, and you put your two cents in, what happens to
the other penny?
- This was all part of the government's harsh "50% Two Cent Thought Tax" where after you have given your two
cents, the recipient must then remit 50% [one cent] to the tax department before the end of the month.
If you throw a cat out of the car window, does it become kitty litter?
- Only say, if another cat came up to it in the street, did it's business on its head, covered it with some gravel,
and then some-one chased you down to tell you to change it more often because it still stinks.
If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn?
- Erm... blue.
Is it OK to use the AM radio after noon?
- Although the radio station owners find it cheaper not to, seeing people know its after midday, some stations
still can be found and listened to safely.
What do people in China call their good plates?
- Roughly, it translates to "a luxury"
What do you call a male ladybird?
- Mr. Ladybird.
What hair color do they put on the driver's license of a bald man?
- Most say 'none', but the modest ones say 'transparent'.
When dog food is new and improved tasting, who tests it?
- Erm... dogs.
Why do they sterilise the needle for lethal injections?
- So the dead person's lawyer cannot sue for negligence.
Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
- Erm... it does.
Why is it called tourist season if we can't shoot at them?
- The liberationists and greenies would be up in arms over the culling of poor, defenceless tourists.
Have you ever imagined a world without hypothetical situations?
- I would imagine that I wouldn't have to see a psychiatrist.
How does the guy who drives the snowplough get to work?
- Special underground cave networks that only classified people are allowed to know about.
If the 7 11 is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, why does it have locks on the door?
- For when it closes every 4 years on Feb. 29, the 366 day in a leap year.
If a fire-fighter fights fire and a crime fighter fights crime, what does a freedom fighter fight?
- Erm... freedom.
If they squeeze olives to get olive oil, how do they get baby oil?
- Of course, they only very gently squeeze them.
Why don't sheep shrink when it rains?
- The sheep themselves do not shrink, but the wool fibres on them shrink up to 10%.
What do chickens think we taste like?
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- Firstly, they wonder how to get us in the oven.
Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes?
- Swatters were not invented until post-biblical times.
Why do you need a driver's license to buy liquor when you can't drink and drive?
- Back in the days of alcohol prohibition, some retailers found a loop-hole in the law. The found it was not illegal
to sell liquor if it was to only be drunk in the vehicle whilst stationery, where they needed proof that the buyer did
own a car by having them show their licence. The tradition remains today.
Why are there flotation devices in the seats of planes instead of parachutes?
- We all know dead bodies in orange floaties are easier to see than dead bodies under parachutes.
Why are cigarettes sold at gas stations where smoking is prohibited?
- They used to sell guns, but they were considered dangerous. Go figure.
Why is a bra singular and panties plural?
- Both words have evolved over their years of use. Bra, of course, short for 'brassiere' is actually plural [from
Latin 'clothing hard to get off in dark by male']. Whereas, panties is a more feminine word for 'pant' which is
singular [from Latin 'male breathing heavy, as she hasn't got them off yet']
You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why don't they make the whole plane
out of that stuff?
- Would you want to fly in a big, black, rectangular box which taped each conversation you had during your flight
and could only be opened by special secret-service agents ?
If you are driving at the speed of light and you turn your headlights on, what happens?
- The particles of light, or 'photons' they are called, are so abrasive at that as they slow down and you continue
your speed, it wears away at your car until of course, you crash and die.
Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of a drive-up ATM?
- Erm... in case the blind person is behind in the back seat.
Why is it that when you transport something by car it is called shipment, but when you transport
something by ship it's called cargo?
- 'Shipment' by car was coined when people carting goods by car on a ferry was still called by ship, even when it
reached land, to tell where it came from. Ship's 'cargo' is from the French when the primary use of boats in
France was to ship snails for consumption [or as its called 'escargot'].
What would Geronimo say if he jumped out of an airplane?
- "What the fuck am I doing out of the plane ???"
Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?
- 'Apartments' were first built in the 1700's by the Scots, where they were apart from each other in the rural
country areas, some up to 3 miles apart. But fashionable Scots found moving them into cities required them to
be built next to each other.
If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?
- If you are the minority in the Congress, it certainly would.
If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?
- Terminal is Latin for 'boundary', which is only a reference to the perimeter fence around to airport to stop
way-ward car-drivers getting on the runway.
If nothing sticks to teflon, how does it stick to the pan?
- Only the top surface of the 'Teflon' is non-stick, which is why the workers in the factory have to be very careful
putting the Teflon on the pan.
If you tickled a cow, would milk come out of its' nose?
- No. Only snot out its nose and a kick in your groin is all you will get.
Woman: Is there a problem, Officer?
Officer: Ma'am, you were speeding.
Woman: Oh, I see.
Officer: Can I see your license please?
Woman: I'd give it to you but I don't have one.
Officer: Don't have one?
Woman: Lost it 4 times for drunk driving.
Officer: I see...Can I see your vehicle registration papers please.
Woman: I can't do that.
Officer: Why not?
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Woman: I stole this car.
Officer: Stole it?
Woman: Yes, and I killed and hacked up the owner.
Officer: You what?
Woman: His body parts are in plastic bags in the trunk if you want to see.
The Officer looks at the woman and slowly backs away to his car and calls for back up. Within minutes 5
police cars circle the woman and a senior officer slowly approaches the car, clasping his half drawn
gun.
Officer 2: Ma'am, could you step out of your vehicle please!
Woman: Is there a problem sir?
Officer 2: The officer told me that you stole this car and murdered the owner.
Woman: Murdered the owner?
Officer 2: Yes, could you open the trunk of your car, please.
The woman opens the trunk, revealing nothing but an empty trunk.
Officer 2: Is this your car, ma'am?
Woman: Yes, here are the registration papers.
The officer is quite stunned.
Officer 2: The officer claims that you do not have a driver's license.
The woman digs into her handbag and pulls out a clutch purse and hands it to the officer. The officer
snaps open the clutch purse and examines the license. He looks quite puzzled.
Officer 2: I must admit, ma'am, that I'm confused; the officer told me you didn't have a license, that you
stole this car, and that you murdered the owner.
Woman: I suppose the lying bastard told you I was speeding, too.
I heard today that Iraq had developed a special weapon for use against the Canadian Navy. It was called
a rust-seeking missile.
===========
In Iraq, I believe that they're replacing 100,000 Desert Marines with 1,000 women with PMS.
They're meaner, and they can retain water for 7 days
===========
What was Saddam Hussein's wife telling neighbors who asked why she's leaving the country?
a) "We're having some remodeling done."
b) "The exterminators are coming."
c) "We're getting the carpets bombed."
d) All of the above.
===========
Adviser: "Well, Mr. President, the deadline's expired. What shall we do?"
Bush: "Send in Colin Powell!"
Adviser: "Isn't that rather a limited strike, sir?"
Bush: "No, I mean send him in to my office!"
Powell: "Sir!"
Bush: "What would be the result of an air strike on Wednesday night?"
Powell: "Millions of innocent civilians killed and the city razed to the ground, Sir!"
Bush: "You know I don't understand that military jargon! Give it to me in words I can understand."
Powell: "Personnel density adjustment and strategic collateral upheaval, Sir!"
Bush: "That bad?!"
===========
Q. What is common between Saddam and Dukakis?
A. They both couldn't believe they lost to Bush.
===========
I can't quite call anything that drops off a plane traveling several hundred miles an hour and few
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thousand feet in the air to dive nose first into a concrete wall just to explode "smart."
===========
How do you play Iraqi bingo?
B-52...F-16...B-52
===========
What is the Iraqi air force motto?
I came, I saw, Iran.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you heard about the new Iraqi Air Force exercise program?
Each morning you raise your hands above your head and leave them there.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What's the five-day forecast for Baghdad?
Two days.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What do Miss Muffet and Saddam Hussein have in common?
They both have Kurds in their way.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is the best Iraqi job?
Foreign ambassador.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did you hear that it is twice as easy to train Iraqi fighter pilots?
You only have to teach them to take off.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What is Iraq's national bird?
Duck.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What do Saddam Hussein and General Custer have in common?
They both want to know where the hell those Tomahawks are coming from!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why does the Iraqi Navy have glass bottom boats?
So they can see their air force.
Stanley stops by to visit his friend who is paralyzed from the waist down.
They talk for a while and then the friend asks, "My feet are cold.
Would you be so kind as to go get me my house slippers please?"
Stanley obliges and goes upstairs.
There he sees his friend's daughters, both very good looking.
Being the adventurous and quick thinking kind, he says.....
"Hi, ladies! Your daddy sent me here to have sex with you!"
They stare at him and say, "That can't be!"
He replies, "OK, let's check!"
He shouts at his friend down the stairs, "Both of them?"
......"Yes, both of them!"
New Technology
An American, a Japanese and an Irishman were sitting naked in a sauna. Suddenly, there was a beeping
sound. The American pressed his forearm and the beep stopped. The others looked at him
questioningly. "That was my pager," he said, "I have a microchip under the skin of my arm." A few
minutes later a phone rang. The Japanese fellow lifted his palm to his ear. When he finished he
explained "That was my mobile phone, I have a microchip in my hand." The Irishman felt decidedly low
tech, but not to be outdone he decided he had to do something just as impressive. He stepped out of
the sauna and went to the toilet. He returned with a piece of toilet paper hanging from hisbehind. The
others raised their eyebrows and stared at him.
The Irishman finally said Well, will you look at that, I'm getting a fax.
Top 10 Historical uses of the 'F' word...
1 - "Scattered f___ing showers, my ass!" - Noah, 4314 BC
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2 - "How the f___ did you work that out?" - Pythagoras, 126 BC
3 - "You want THAT on the f___ing ceiling?" - Michelangelo, 1566
4 - "Where did all those f___ing Indians come from?" - Custer,1877
5 - "It does so f___ing look like her!" - Picasso, 1926
6 - "Where the f___ are we?" - Amelia Earhart, 1937
7 - "Any f___ing idiot could understand that." - Einstein, 1938
8 - "What the f___ was that?" - Mayor Of Hiroshima, 1945
9 - "I need this parade like I need a f___ing hole in the head!" -
JFK,1963
10 - "Aw c'mon. Who the f___ is going to find out?" - Bill Clinton,1997
SOMETHING TO OFFEND EVERYONE PART I
What do you call two Mexicans playing basketball?
Juan on Juan.
What is a Yankee?
The same as a quickie, but a guy can do it alone.
What is the difference between a Harley and a Hoover?
The position of the dirt bag.
Why is divorce so expensive?
Because it's worth it.
What do you see when the Pillsbury Dough Boy bends over?
Doughnuts.
Why is air a lot like sex?
Because it's no big deal unless you're not getting any.
SOMETHING TO OFFEND EVERYONE PART II (JUST WARMING UP!)
What do you call a smart blonde?
A golden retriever.
What do attorneys use for birth control?
Their personalities.
What's the difference between a girlfriend and wife?
45 lbs.
What's the difference between a boyfriend and husband?
45 minutes.
What's the fastest way to a man's heart?
Through his chest with a sharp knife.
Why do men want to marry virgins?
They can't stand criticism.
Why is it so hard for women to find men that are sensitive, caring, and good-looking?
Because those men already have boyfriends.
What's the difference between a new husband and a new dog?
After a year, the dog is still excited to see you.
What makes men chase women they have no intention of marrying?
The same urge that makes dogs chase cars they have no intention of driving.
Why don't bunnies make noise when they have sex?
Because they have cotton balls.
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What's the difference between a porcupine and BMW?
A porcupine has the pricks on the outside.
What did the blonde say when she found out she was pregnant?
"Are you sure it's mine?"
Why does Mike Tyson cry during sex?
Mace will do that to you.
Why did OJ Simpson want to move to West Virginia?
Everyone has the same DNA.
Why do men find it difficult to make eye contact?
Breasts don't have eyes.
Did you hear about the dyslexic Rabbi?
He walks around saying "Yo."
Why do drivers' education classes in Redneck schools use the car only on Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays?
Because on Tuesday and Thursday, the Sex Ed class uses it.
SOMETHING TO OFFEND EVERYONE, PART III (Just Great Stuff)
Where does an Irish family go on vacation?
A different bar.
Did you hear about the Chinese couple that had a retarded baby?
They named him "Sum Ting Wong"
What would you call it when an Italian has one arm shorter than the other?
A speech impediment.
What does it mean when the flag at the Post Office is flying at half-mast?
They're hiring.
What's the difference between a southern zoo and a northern zoo?
A southern zoo has a description of the animal on the front of the cage along with... "a recipe".
How do you get a sweet little 80-year-old lady to say the F word?
Get another sweet little 80-year-old lady to yell *BINGO*!
What's the difference between a northern fairytale and a southern fairytale?
A northern fairytale begins "Once upon a time..."
A southern fairytale begins "Y'all ain't gonna believe this shit..."
Why is there no Disneyland in China?
No one's tall enough to go on the good rides.
What did the guitarist do when his teacher told him to turn his amplifier on?
He caressed it softly and told it that he loved it.
Why do bagpipe players walk while they play?
To get away from the noise.
How many country & western singers does it take to change a light bulb?
Three. One to change the bulb and two to sing about the old one.
What does it say on a blues singer's tombstone?
"I didn't wake up this morning..."
What's the difference between a bull and an orchestra?
The bull has the horns in the front and the asshole in the back.
What would a musician do if he won a million dollars?
Continue to play gigs until the money ran out.
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A man was walking down the street when he was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking
homeless man who asked him for a couple of dollars for dinner. The man took out his wallet, extracted
two dollars and asked, "If I gave you this money, will you buy some beers with it instead?"
"No, I stopped drinking years ago," the homeless man said.
"Will you use it to gamble instead of buying food?" the man asked.
"No, I don't gamble," the homeless man said. "I need everything I can get just to stay alive."
"Will you spend the money on greens fees at a golf course instead of food?" the man asked.
"Are you NUTS!" replied the homeless man. "I haven't played golf in 20+ years!"
"Well," said the man, "I'm not going to give you two dollars. Instead, I'm going to take you home for a
terrific dinner cooked by my wife."
The homeless man was astounded. "Won't your wife be furious with you for doing that? I know I'm dirty,
and I probably smell pretty bad."
The man replied, "Hey, man, that's okay! I just want her to see what a man looks like who's given up
beer, gambling, and golf!
Five men were bragging about how smart their dogs were. One was an
engineer, the second man was an accountant, the third man was a chemist,
the fourth was a computer tech, and the fifth was a government worker.
To show off, the engineer called his dog."T-square, do your stuff."
T-square trotted over to a desk, took out some paper and a pen and
promptly drew a circle, a square and a triangle. Everyone agreed that was
pretty incredible.
But the accountant said his dog could do better. He called to his dog
and commanded "Spreadsheet, do your stuff."
Spreadsheet went out into the kitchen and returned with a dozen
cookies. He divided them into 4 equal piles of 3 cookies each. Everyone
agreed that was good.
But the chemist said his dog could do better. He called to his dog
and said,"Measure, do your stuff. " Measure got up, walked over to
the fridge, took out a quart of milk, got a 10 ounce glass from the
cupboard and poured exactly 8 ounces without spilling a drop. Everyone
agreed that was
more than a little impressive.
The computer tech knew he could top them all."Hard Drive' have at
it." Hard Drive crossed the room and booted the computer, checked for
viruses, upgraded the operating system, sent an email, and installed a cool
new game.
Everyone knew that was a tough act to follow.
Then the four men turned to the government worker and said, "What can
your dog do?"
The government worker called to his dog and said, "Coffee Break, do
your stuff, Boy."
Coffee Break jumped to his feet, ate the cookies, drank the milk,
erased all the files on the computer, screwed the other four dogs, claimed
he injured his back while doing so, filed a grievance report for
unsafe working conditions, put in for workers compensation and went
home for six-month sick leave.
A man walks into a pharmacy and wanders up and down the aisles.
The salesgirl notices him and asks him if she can help him.
He answers that he is looking for a box of tampons for his wife.
She directs him down the correct aisle.
A few minutes later, he deposits a huge bag of cotton balls and a ball of string on the counter.
She says, confused, "Sir, I thought you were looking for some tampons for your wife?"
He answers, "You see, it's like this. Yesterday, I sent my wife to the store to get me a carton of
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cigarettes, and she came back with a tin of tobacco and some rolling papers.... 'cause it's
sooooooooooo much cheaper. So....I figure if I have to roll my own... so does she...."
Things I Hate, by Billy Connolly..
1. People who point at their wrist while asking for the time....I know where my watch is pal, where the
f*ck is yours? Do I point at my crotch when I ask where the toilet is?
2. People who are willing to get off their arse to search the entire room for the TV remote because they
refuse to walk _to the TV and change the channel manually.
3. When people say "Oh you just want to have your cake and eat it too"
F*cking right! What good is a cake if you can't eat it?
4. When people say "it's always the last place you look". Of course itis. Why the f*ck would you keep
looking _after you've found it? Do people do this? Who and where are they?
5. When people say while watching a film "did you see that?". No tosser,
I paid 10 quid to come to the cinema _and stare at the f*cking floor.
6. People who ask "Can I ask you a question?". Didn't really give me a choice there, did you sunshine?
7. When something is 'new and improved!'. Which is it? If it's new, then there has never been anything
_before it. If it's an improvement, then there must have been something before it.
8. When people say "life is short". What the f*ck?? Life is the longest damn thing anyone ever f*cking
does!! What can you do that's longer?
9. When you are waiting for the bus and someone asks, "Has the bus come yet?".
If the bus came would I be standing here, Knobhead?
10. People who say things like 'My eyes aren't what they used to be'.
So what did they used to be? ears, _Wellington boots?
11. When you're eating something and someone asks 'Is that nice? 'No it's really revolting - I always eat
stuff I hate.
12. People who announce they are going to the toilet. Thanks that's an image I really didn't need.
13. McDonalds staff who pretend they don't understand you unless you insert the 'Mc' before the item
you are ordering.....It's has to be a McChicken Burger, just a Chicken Burger get blank looks. _Well I'll
have a McStraw and jam it in your McEyes you _f*cking McTosser.
14. When you involved in a accident and someone asks 'are you alright?'Yes fine thanks, I'll just pick up
my _limbs and be off - See Ya.
The Drinkers Prayer
(Author Unknown)
Starkle, starkle, little twink,
Who the hell are you I think.
I'm not under what you call
The alcofluence of incohol.
I'm just a little slort of sheep,
I'm not drunk like thinkle peep.
I don't know who is me yet,
But the drunker I stand here the longer I get.
So just give me one more fink to drill my cup,
'Cause I got all day sober to Sunday up.
Age
(Authors Unknown)
Three old men are walking on the sidewalk.
First one says, "Windy, isn't it?"
Second one says, "No, its Thursday!"
Third one says, "So am I. Let's go get a beer."
------------------------------------
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A man was telling his neighbor, "I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but
it's state of the art. It's perfect."
"Really," answered the neighbor. "What kind is it?"
"Twelve thirty."
------------------------------------
Morris, an 82 year-old man, went to the doctor to get a physical.
A few days later the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young lady on his arm.
A couple of days later the doctor spoke to Morris and said, "You're really doing great, aren't you?"
Morris replied, "Just doing what you said, Doc: 'Get a hot mamma and be cheerful.' "
The doctor said, "I didn't say that. I said, 'You got a heart murmur. Be careful.'"
------------------------------------
As a senior citizen was driving down the freeway, his car phone rang.
Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently warning him, "Herman, I just heard on the news that
there's a car going the wrong way on Interstate 280. Please be careful!"
"It's not just one car," said Herman. "It's hundreds of them!"
----------------------------------------
An elderly gent was invited to his old friends' home for dinner one evening.
He was impressed by the way his buddy preceded every request to his wife with endearing terms -
Honey, My Love, Darling, Sweetheart, Pumpkin, etc...
The couple had been married almost 70 years, and clearly they were still very much in love.
While the wife was in the kitchen, the man leaned over and said to his host,
"I think it's wonderful that, after all these years, you still call your wife those loving pet names."
The old man hung his head. "I have to tell you the truth," he said, "I forgot her name
about 10 years ago."
So, you think you are clever do you?
(Kenny Ramage - March 2003)
So, you think you are clever do you?
Well, let me burst your bubble!!!!
There are some of you that know that I am a "Rock Super Star".
There are maybe still a few that still need to learn that!!
If so, you are one of the uninformed. Pay a visit here:
BedRock -The Band In The Sand
Okay, feel better now?
===================
Aside from my "musical" pastime, I've been heavily involved with coding and websites for many a year.
My main claim to fame though, is that I am a professional drawing office manager. I spent over 15 post
apprenticeship years on "the board" before moving into the realms of management. I know all the buzz
words. In fact, I wrote most of them, purely to piss the upper management off - I failed - they liked them.
Next time they ask you for a "balanced score card", blame me. I started it all by claiming that our pilots
should be the perfect example of one. Same number of landings as take-offs!
Anyway, what I was getting around to was this.
Do you want to be a professional coder?
Do you want to be a professional draughtsman/designer/whateveryoucallitinyourcountry?
Then you more than likely need to put in a bit of work and money.
Example from me in regards to my musical pastime:
Personal cost to me to produce the new CD, $3000 US (remember, there's 4 in the band). We've now
moved into the realms of Video/DVD - my share so far, $500 US - and we've just started on this project.
This does not include personal time, leave from work, personal equipment costs such as guitar strings,
amp blowing up, etc. Oh, and my beer bill is horrendous and my wife often doesn't speak to me.
We will recover most of it within a month - maybe two, but the point I'm trying to make is this! To
succeed - or should I get to basics here - to make a living out of something you do, takes a great deal of
investment in yourself.
I read nearly every post on VB Expresso, and I must say one thing - there are some really talented
people within this forum. BUT................ a lot of you have not got a clue of how to market yourself or
your talents. How can you say that Kenny? We are the elite of the CAD coding world. We can answer
any question that is thrown at us. We are the best!
Humbug. I say!!
First lesson:
You must learn how to sell yourself.
Don't do or give anything for free unless you receive some sort of payment, no matter how indirectly, in
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return.
Example: I run AfraLisp and have spent many hours and "given" away lot's of ideas. True, but in my part
of the world, my marketability is way above my peers. And so is my salary and other perks.
Second Lesson:
You must learn how to communicate.
Example: Why do you have a strange handle such as "butlicker" or "womanizer"? Use your name. If
you're afraid of being recognized and your words don't carry the courage of your convictions, then don't
bother posting. You cannot use your participation on the web in your CV if you use a strange name.
Remember, this is business. It is not a teenage chat room. Check your spelling and your grammar. Hey,
your next boss could be reading your last post.
Third lesson: Make friends.
It's easy to criticise someone else's coding. It's even easier to do it in a nasty way. Don't!! Be a
gentleman or a lady at all times.
Example: I get all sorts of correspondence in regards to AfraLisp and Cad Encoding. The majority is
good, some downright rude. Each and every one receives a reply varying from friendly to polite, polite
being the key word here. Yes, you do have to put up with shit. Hey, it's a tough world. Don't dish it back,
learn how to deal with it. The web makes it very easy to hide behind an electronic screen. Don't do it!
Handle it like the professional that you profess to be. I work day to day with people that I don't
particularly like. So what? Must I slag them off because they do things I don't like. No I don't, I work with
them. The same goes when communicating on the web.
Fourth lesson: Spend money. Yes, YOUR money.
Not on a new car or house - at least not yet. Spend it on such things as professionally designed and
printed business cards. Or a professionally produced CV. Did you notice how the word "professional"
kept on rearing it's ugly head? Okay fine, you can produce the "same" thing at home on your computer.
YOU CANNOT!! And for one simple reason. You are not a professional graphics designer or printer
that's why. Spend some money and pay the experts. The same goes for software. Buy the software.
Stop copying the bloody stuff from your friends and then searching the web for a crack. You cannot run
a business using unlicensed, illegal software. And remember, the business is you. So if your software is
dodgy then maybe you are. Another thing. Keep books. Yes, every cent should be accounted for. How
else can you get yourself a line of credit if you don't keep account of the money? If your business does
take off you will need to first employ other people and then, more than likely, borrow money. Strangely
enough, when you employ someone they expect to be paid - on time. If you do not know exactly where
your money is going, how will you know if you have enough to pay them come pay day. In regards to
borrowing money, all bank managers will require a business plan before letting go of one cent. Your
books are your business plan.
Example: My wife is an ex-trainee accountant. She is now a librarian. Heather looks after all the money.
We don't have much, but every cent is accounted for. ALL my software is licensed. Some of it I paid for -
some I was given 'cos I'm nice.
Fifth lesson: Honesty and integrity.
You can makes lots of money, but in my eyes, if you lose these two then you lose life.
What Were You Doing 10 Years Ago?
(Kenny Ramage February 2003)
Me, well I was in exactly the same place as I am now - Oranjemund, Namibia. In those long lost days
though, I was a lowly design draughtsman with a year to go before I hit the big time and got the
promotion I so richly deserved. My oldest son was 12, my second 10, and my daughter still a wee mite
of 8 years. At this time of the year, we were getting all prepared to send off my oldest to boarding school
in Cape Town. He wanted to take a puppy. I said no!!
Programming - If memory serves me correctly, this was just about the time that we received our
upgrades from R12 to R13. We were still working in DOS, and I had no idea about such things as dialog
boxes, especially designing your own. Until that point, I'd been modifying the AutoCAD pull down
menus to run macros and AutoLisp routines. When R13 hit me, partial menus had come into play and
the buggers at AutoDesk had changed the whole format of the menu system. Just like that, everything
I'd written became null and void. Not that my programs were wrong and didn't work anymore. No, they
were more devious than that! I now couldn't trigger the bloody things.
This was my slow painful entry into the world of DCL. You may laugh now, but remember, in those days
we had no choice. VBA didn't exist. AutoLisp or nothing!!
To make matters worse, email and the Internet didn't exist, and being stuck in the middle of the desert I
had no access to any of the few AutoCAD magazines that were published in those days. I was stuck
with the AutoCAD reference manuals. Never, ever, ever do I want to repeat that exercise again and I
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wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy. How did I work it all out? Pure bloody trial and error that's how.
(Randall claims I still work the same way).
Bur, persist I did and maybe it did me a lot of good. It helped a lot in that I was in a working drawing
office and sort of "HAD" to make things work. (I made it work and a year later was promoted.)
Political - In Namibia, we'd gone through our independence a couple of years previously so things had
pretty well settled down. Our neighbour South Africa though - whom we rely on to a large degree - was
busy going through the birth pains of a change of government and the end of apartheid. Mandela was
about to be released, and there was a lot of concern over civil war breaking out. Thank the Lord it didn't.
People were hoarding food and fuel, rumours were flying around and everyone - white, black, pink and
green - were worried. Turmoilous times.
Music - I was "retired" from music at that time and to keep myself busy had got heavily involved with
the local amateur theatre on the directing and production side. Good fun. Pantomimes, Variety Shows,
even one or two "serious" productions. Some times I miss it. Mostly I don't. Why? Well in a band you've
got maybe 4 or 5 egos to contend with. In the theatre there's bloody hundreds - including the person
who takes the tickets. Never again - well, maybe once.
Other Hobbies - well I build two wooden ships from scratch with just the plans, and a few bits of
wood. (Honest). In fact my son Daniel said to his Mum today that when Dad dies he would like my ships.
Mmm - is that good or bad.
I also started playing Lawn Bowls - go on laugh. Great game and better than bloody golf 'cos at least
you don't lose your balls - or your temper.
(By the way - I ended up being Namibian Open Singles Champion and I've got the medals and photo's to
prove it. So there).
So, what were you doing 10 years ago? Care to share??
Insulting Humour
(Just replace the names with those of your enemies.)
(Authors Unknown)
If I offend anybody here, hey life's tough -----------------------
Kenny died in a fire and was burnt pretty badly and the morgue needed someone to identify the body. Of
course, his two best friends, Cornbread and Kinat, were sent for.
Cornbread went in and the mortician pulled back the sheet.
He said "Yup, he's burnt pretty bad. Roll him over". So the mortician rolled him over and Cornbread
looked and said "No, that ain't Kenny."
The mortician thought that was rather strange and then he brought Kinat in to identify the body. He took
a look at him and said, "Yup, he's burnt real bad, roll him over" The mortician rolled him over and Kinat
looked down and said, "No, that ain't Kenny"
The mortician asked, "How can you tell?"
Cornbread said, "Well, Kenny had two arseholes."
"What? He had two arseholes?" said the mortician.
"Yup, everyone knew he had two arseholes. Every time we went into town, folks would say........
"Here comes Kenny with them two arseholes...."
-------------
Randall walks into a bar, orders three pints of Guinness and sits in the back of the room, drinking a sip
out of each one in turn. When he finishes them, he comes back to the bar and orders three more.
The bartender asks him, "You know, a pint goes flat after I draw it; it would taste better if you bought
one at a time."
Randall replies, "Well, you see, I have two brothers. One is in Africa, and the other in Australia, and I'm
here in the US of A. When we all left home, we promised that we'd drink this way to remember the days
when we drank together."
The bartender admits that this is a nice custom, and leaves it there.
Randall becomes a regular in the bar, and always drinks the same way: He orders three pints and drinks
them in turn.
One day, he comes in and orders two pints. All the other regulars notice and fall silent.
When he comes back to the bar for the second round, the bartender says, "I don't want to intrude on
your grief, but I wanted to offer my condolences on your great loss."
Randall looks confused for a moment, then a light dawns in his eye and he laughs, "Oh, no" he says,
"everyone's fine. I've just quit drinking."
---------------
Dear Marie:
I have been engaged for almost a year. I am to be married next month.
My fiancee's mother is not only very attractive but really great and understanding. She is putting the
entire wedding together and invited me to her place to go over the invitation list because it had grown a
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bit beyond what we had expected it to be.
When I got to her place we reviewed the list and trimmed it down to just under a hundred...then she
floored me. She said that in a month I would be a married man and that before that happened, she
wanted to have sex with me.
Then she just stood up and walked to her bedroom and on her way said that I knew where the front door
was if I wanted to leave. I stood there for about five minutes and finally decided that I knew exactly how
to deal with this situation. I headed straight out the front door...
There, leaning against my car was her husband, my father-in-law to be.
He was smiling. He explained that they just wanted to be sure I was a good kid and would be true to
their little girl. I shook his hand and he congratulated me on passing their little test. Marie, should I tell
my fiance what her parents did, and that I thought their "little test" was asinine and insulting to my
character?
Or should I keep the whole thing to myself including the fact that the reason I was walking out to my car
was to get a condom?
Dirty Howi
------------
Stig Madesen feeling very depressed walked into a bar and ordered a triple scotch. As the bartender
poured him the drink he remarked, "That's quite a heavy drink. Is something wrong?" After quickly
downing his drink Stig replied, "I got home and found my wife in bed with my best friend."
"Wow", exclaimed the bartender as he poured the man a second triple scotch, "No wonder you needed a
stiff drink. This one's on the house."
As Stig finished the second scotch, the bartender asked him, "So what did you do?"
"I walked over to my wife", Stig replied, "looked her straight in the eye and told her that we were
through. I told her to pack her bags and get the hell out."
"That makes sense", said the bartender, "but what about your best friend?"
"I walked over to him, looked him right in the eye and said 'Bad dog!'"
----------
Sherko walks into a bar and says "Gimme twenty shots of your best bourbon." The bartender pours the
shots, and Sherko immediately pounds them all down like a madman.
The bartender says "Man, I've never seen anybody drink like that before."
Sherko says "You'd drink like that too if you had what I have."
"What do you have?" asks the bartender.
Sherko says "Fifty cents."
Engineers Rules For When Dealing With The Drawing Office
Kindly donated by Andy Canfield (Cornbread)
Never give me work in the morning. Always wait until 4:00 and then bring it to me. The challenge
of a deadline is refreshing.
G
If it's really a rush job, run in and interrupt me every 10 minutes to inquire how it's going. That
helps. Or even better, hover behind me, advising me at every keystroke.
G
Always leave without telling anyone where you're going. It gives me a chance to be creative when
someone asks where you are.
G
If my arms are full of papers, boxes, books, or supplies, don't open the door for me. I need to
learn how to function as a paraplegic and opening doors with no arms is good training in case I
should ever be injured and lose all use of my limbs.
G
If you give me more than one job to do, don't tell me which is priority. I am psychic. G
Do your best to keep me late. I adore this office and really have nowhere to go or anything to do. I
have no life beyond work.
G
If a job I do pleases you, keep it a secret. If that gets out, it could mean a promotion. G
If you don't like my work, tell everyone. I like my name to be popular in conversations. I was born
to be whipped.
G
If you have special instructions for a job, don't write them down. In fact, save them until the job is
almost done. No use confusing me with useful information.
G
Never introduce me to the people you're with. I have no right to know anything. In the corporate
food chain, I am plankton. When you refer to them later, my shrewd deductions will identify them.
G
Be nice to me only when the job I'm doing for you could really change your life and send you
straight to Engineers' hell.
G
Tell me all your little problems. No one else has any and it's nice to know someone is less
fortunate. I especially like the story about having to pay so much taxes on the bonus check you
received for being such a good Engineer.
G
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Wait until my yearly review and THEN tell me what my goals SHOULD have been. Give me a
mediocre performance rating with a cost of living increase. I'm not here for the money anyway.
G
Tell me to hurry up and finish so you can tell me about the changes you decided on at a meeting
yesterday.
G
Benchmark Test
(Kenny Ramage - November 2002)
AutoCAD VV-Lite
Recently, I received an unusual request from AutoDesk :
"Hi Kenny," it said, "Knowing that you are a man of high intellect, have a good understanding of the
AutoDesk range of products, and have never been found guilty of anything as charges were always
dropped, we would like you to benchmark and test our latest product namely - "AutoCAD VV-Lite" or, to
reveal it's true name, "AutoCAD Very, Very Lite."
Being a strong upstanding citizen (whilst standing,) I decide to give it a go.
AutoCAD VV-Lite is a brand new product aimed primarily at the person who has difficulty in
producing/reading a drawing. The major selling point of this package is that it is a state of the art,
seventh generation, ONE DIMENSIONAL Cad package. AutoDesk, after major research, identified the
need that a lot of draughtspersons/engineerpersons have in producing and or reading 2D drawings -
never mind 3D solid models or wire frames.
This was the niche that AutoDesk had been looking for!
Following are a couple of major features I picked up on whilst testing this truly unique software package
:
The first step is to select your mode of drawing. AutoCAD VV-Lite provides 3 modes - Horizontal
Mode, Vertical Mode and Angular Mode. Only one Mode at a time can be active. This exciting and
revolutionary feature removes all confusion and difficulty from having to remember what type and
orientation of entity you are drawing. A simple 3-way toggle switch, as used on the Space Shuttle,
allows you to cycle between modes.
An added bonus is that only one of the "Mode" types is displayed. This drastically reduces regen
time. e.g. If you are in "Horizontal Mode," only Horizontal entities are displayed.
G
Pull Down, Screen and Toolbar Menu's have been totally eliminated. In their place, a "stick on"
screen menu has been provided. This new menu type comes in all screen sizes and resolutions to
suit your VDU. (TV screens, drive-in screens and ice creams are not yet supported.)
G
All text is entered as normal, but appear on your screen in Lower Case Pittman's Shorthand. In
addition, all numeric characters are converted to binary code (1 and 0.)
Both these enhancements greatly help in reducing the pressure on system resources.
G
Blocks and Xref's are not inserted. Hieroglyphics are used instead. They are fully customisable. G
Every entity automatically snaps to all other entities within the drawing to avoid confusion of
which snap to use.
G
No scaling is necessary as "Not To Scale" is automatically applied to the drawing in the way of a
water mark.
G
When you draw an entity or insert a block, and if the system doesn't like what you are doing, or if
you take to long, the entity is deleted and your immediate supervisor is informed via e-mail.
G
AutoLisp is present in the form of a stripped version known as "AutoLisp VV-Lite."
The need for brackets has been eliminated.
G
These are just a few of the more powerful features present in this new, vastly improved package of
goodies from the AutoDesk stable. Keep your eye out for AutoCAD VV-Lite. It should hit the shelves
around about the last quarter of this year.
Tested on : Commodore 64 with 12 inch portable TV screen. G
Program Size (installed) : 53Kb G
Suggested retail price : $57- 36c US G
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Platforms Supported : Windows, Doors and Ceiling. G
Rating : 4 peanuts and a keg. G
AutoCAD Training
(Kenny Ramage - November 2002)
I don't hate training, I detest it. How I ever ended up with the responsibility of training people on
AutoCAD I don't know. Well I do really. It's 'cos of my big mouth and having a tendency to "volunteer"
for what I think will be an interesting experience. Silly me! I'll never learn. I don't mind workshops, in fact
I quite enjoy that aspect of training. A workshop is different. At most workshops you're dealing with
people that want to be there and want to learn. Straight forward training is a totally different matter.
There you're dealing with people who have all sorts of reasons and agendas for having to attend the
course. Here's a couple of my pet hates :
The Absolute Total Executive Beginner.
They often arrive in a suit and tie and have normally been newly promoted. Many of them are on a "fast
track" career path and have decided (and there boss) that a half day "Introduction to the PC" followed
by a one day AutoCAD course is all that will be necessary to run a 20 seat CAD office. Of course, these
are the people who hold the purse strings and decide on new software. They normally leave just after
lunch to attend an important meeting.
The Quiet as a Mouse Invisible Man.
This person never says a word. He hides behind his computer screen ducking his head every time you
look at him. He never asks a questions and when asked if he understands gives a meek smile and
cleans his glasses. Half way through the session you normally discover that he got lost within the first
quarter of an hour and has just been pretending to go along with the lessons. You normally spend the
first tea break sitting with him to allow him to catch up with the rest of the class. At the end of the day
he's never finished and you end up pulling out the PC plug and pretending that there's been a major
power failure to get rid of him. He phones your every day for the next 6 months with questions
regarding the first lesson.
The Know it all Expert
This guy has normally finished the whole days syllabus before morning tea time. He doesn't listen to
word you say and does his own thing. When you do ask him a question he can't answer but shrugs it off
by telling his neighbour that he doesn't do it that way anyway. His way is quicker. He spends most of
the day rearranging his toolbars and doesn't need to learn AutoLisp or VBA because he doesn't have
time for coding. He has an extensive library of macros which he claims does the same as any program.
He normally wears a Bon Jovi World Tour 96 t-shirt and drives a VW Beetle. He claims he built his own
PC.
So, have you done any training? Have you got student types that you hate? Let me know and we'll add
them to the list.
The Atoms Family
(Kenny Ramage - October 2002)
A Never Ending Story
The rest of the Atoms Family were already having breakfast by the time Mr Atom, the Global Variable,
made his way down to the kitchen. As he was a long, he had to duck his head to get through the kitchen
door.
"Morning everyone," he setq'd.
"Morning Dad," the rest of the family chorused.
He defined himself on his chair and proceeded to tablesearch.
"I can't findfile my newspaper. Who set_tiled the table?" he setq'd.
"I did Dad," setq'd his son, "I must have errored and left it on the tblnext in the xroom. I'll getfiled it for
you now."
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Mrs Atom, another Global Long, was busy entmaking breakfast.
"How should I defun your tiles dear?" she setq'd.
I'd like them well set," he menucmded, "Without a trace of lsh."
His son returned with his newspaper and xunloaded to his father who put on his vports, opened the
newspaper and proceeded to readline.
"Dad," his daughter prompted, trying to entmake conversation. "Could I go to the function tonight?"
Father was immediately alert. Slowly he turned the textpage of his newspaper.
Where is it being held?" he setq'd.
"In Paper Space," she replied.
"Well you are a double," he evaled. "How will you get there as it's quite a distance and the weather is so
bad that it's almost polar."
"We'll be transported by car," she setq'd.
"In that old Ascii your boyfriend constructed?" Dad said. "It's a wonder that it hasn't been picked up
during garbage collection. Okay, you can go, but on one condition. Do not mix with any of the local
variables. If they cause any arguments, do not stay, exit immediately."
"Can I go as well Dad?" setq'd his son.
"Getreal," his Dad replied, "You're still an integer. Anyway, I've got a list of commands and sub routines
for you."
"Oh Dad," his son wailed.
Now, now, foreach task you complete I will pay you one dollar.
First I want you to feed the strcat.
Then you can help me reverse the car out the garage, and while I'm out you can chop a log and then
progn the VCR."
To be continued, hopefully by a VBA version.
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Entity Length
This will display the length of most entities :
;Coding starts here
(defun c:lg ( / x_object x_length)
(vl-load-com)
(setq x_object (entsel))
(setq x_object (vlax-Ename->Vla-Object (car x_object)))
(setq x_length (vlax-curve-getdistatparam x_object
(vlax-curve-getendparam x_object )))
(alert (strcat "Length = " (rtos x_length)))
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;Coding ends here
Rtext
Have you had a good look at the Express Tools yet? Under the Text sub-menu there is a little gem of a routine called
"Rtext." Using this application you can insert Diesel expressions anywhere in your drawing. This is great for Plot
Stamps and much easier to setup and maintain than other Plot Stamp applications. Just insert it into your template
drawings and away you go.
Here's the one that I use :
Date Plotted : $(edtime, 0, Mon DD"," YYYY - H:MMam/pm)
Plotted By : $(upper, $(getvar, "loginname"))
This "stamps" the Plotted Date and Time as well as the users Login name.
Check out the "Rtext" help for more details and more uses.
AutoLisp Comments
Do you know that you can write block comments in your AutoLisp files like this :
;| This is the start of the comments.
You can carry your comments to multiple lines.
This will end your comments |;
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Lwpolyline
This AutoLISP function returns the vertex of a lwpolyline (print in this case). You can use this function
in AutoLISP routines to treat lwpolylines as AutoCAD Release 13 2D polylines.
;Coding starts here
(defun c:POINTS ()
(setq a (entget (car (entsel))) b a)
(while (/= (assoc 10 b) nil)
(print)
(princ (assoc 10 b))
(princ "\n")
(setq b (subst (cons 0 "SUBSTITUTE" (assoc 10 b) b))
)
(setq b nil)
(princ)
)
;Coding ends here
Model Tab
Have you ever wanted to want to view information about the Model tab or a Layout tab; for example,
such as the current output device and paper size.
The information for layout settings is now stored in the drawing dictionary.
Following is an example of how you would access the entity information for the Model tab in AutoLISP.
;;Begining of Sample code
(setq layList (dictsearch (namedobjdict) "ACAD_LAYOUT"))
(setq Index 0)
(while (and (/= (cdr (nth Index layList)) "Model")
(/= (nth Index layList) nil))
(setq Index (+ Index 1))
(if (nth (+ Index 1) layList)
(setq modelList (entget (cdr (nth (+ Index 1) layList))))
;;End of Sample Code
This code sets the "modelList" value equal to the entity information for the Model tab as they are stored
in the drawing dictionary. After running this routine, type !modelList on the command line and press
ENTER. The contents of modelList will be displayed on the command line.
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ARX Applications
When using certain AutoCAD commands in AutoLISP that are called from ARX applications (for
example, ROTATE3D and MIRROR3D), the following error message is displayed:
UNKNOWN Command
This error occurs because the ARX application was not already loaded into memory. To work around
this you must first determine what ARX application the command is from.
The following example AutoLISP routine uses the ROTATE3D command and determines if the
associated ARX application is loaded, and loads the application if it is not already loaded.
;;Start AutoLISP code
(defun c:drawsyl ( / acadObject Arxlist strArx)
(vl-load-com)
(setq acadObject (vlax-get-acad-object))
(setq Arxlist (vla-listarx acadObject))
(setq strArx (vlax-safearray->list (vlax-variant-value arxlist)))
(if (= (member '"geom3d.arx" strArx) nil)
(arxload "geom3d.arx")
);if
(command "cylinder" "0,0,0" "5" "20")
(command "rotate3d" "last" "" "x" "0,0,0" "19")
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;;End AutoLISP code
Vertex Coordinates
You try to obtain the vertex coordinates of a 3D polyline using the following AutoLISP expression.
(entget (car (entsel)))
However, this expression only returns basic information about the 3D polyline; it does not return the
vertex coordinates, which are stored as a sub-entity of the 3D polyline.
Copy and paste the following coding into Notepad and save it as "ListVertex.lsp."
To run the routine, type ListVertex on the command line and press ENTER.
;Start of AutoLisp Coding
(defun c:ListVertex ( / ename n elist )
(setq ename (entsel))
(setq n 0)
(setq elist (entget (car ename)))
(setq ename (cdr (assoc -1 elist)))
(while (/= (cdr (assoc 0 elist)) "SEQEND")
(progn
(setq elist (entget (setq ename
(entnext ename))))
(if (assoc 10 elist)
(progn
(princ "\n ****** Vertex number ")
(princ n)
(princ "\n X = ")
(princ (cadr (assoc 10 elist)))
(princ " Y = ")
(princ (caddr (assoc 10 elist)))
(princ " Z = ")
(princ (cadddr (assoc 10 elist)))
(setq n (+ 1 n))
);progn
);if
);progn
);while
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(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;End AutoLisp Coding
A list of all loaded ARX applications will be created. If the geom3d.arx file is not listed, it will be loaded,
and a 3D cylinder will be created and rotated.
Drawing Path
To get the full path, you append the DWGPREFIX system variable (which stores the path) to the
DWGNAME system variable (which stores the file name).
Use code such as the following example to retrieve and assign the values of DWGNAME and
DWGPREFIX to variables in AutoLISP :
(setq DN (getvar "DWGNAME"))
(setq DP (getvar "DWGPREFIX"))
Use the AutoLISP function (strcat), to concatenate the results and assign them to a variable, for
example :
(setq TM (strcat DP DN))
In this example, the variable TM contains the full path including the file name.
Acad.lsp
Can anybody remember the Acad.lsp file? Now that there are MNL files and Acaddoc.Lsp, Acad.Lsp
would seem to be redundant. Well not really. The Acad.Lsp file is great for ensuring that partial menu's
are loaded.
So, want to ensure your custom menu/menu's, including pulldowns, are loaded
everytime AutoCAD is opened? Copy and paste this into your Acad.Lsp file
substituting your menu name where applicable :
;;;Start Coding Here
(defun MYSTARTUP ( );;;replace this line with the following if you are using R2000
;;;(defun-q MYSTARTUP ( )
;first set the flag
(setq flag1 T)
;check for the existence of the menu
(setq loaded (menugroup "MYMENU"))
;if it's not loaded
(if (= loaded nil)
;do the following
(progn
;find the menu
(setq temp (findfile "MYMENU.MNU"))
;if you find it
(if temp
;do the following
(progn
;suppress dialogues
(setvar "FILEDIA" 0)
;load the menu
(command "menuload" "MYMENU")
Tips 'n Tricks Page I
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;un-suppress dialogues
(setvar "FILEDIA" 1)
;load the first pulldown
(menucmd "P11=+MYMENU.POP1")
;load the second
(menucmd "P12=+MYMENU.POP2")
;tell them what you are doing
(prompt "\nLoading MyMenu Custom Utilities....\n")
);progn
;if you cannot find the menu, do this
(progn
;tell the it's missing
(alert "Cannot Locate MyMenu Menu. \n
Blame Randall Raath.")
;clear the flag
(setq flag1 nil)
);progn
);if
);progn
);if
;if the flag is set
(if flag1
;inform the user
(prompt "\nMyMenu Custom Utilities Loaded....\n")
);if
;finish clean
(princ)
);defun
;append your startup function to any other startup function
(setq S::STARTUP (append S::STARTUP MYSTARTUP))
;;;End Coding Here
Please ensure that all "MYMENU" menu files are in your AutoCAD search path.
Listing Symbols
The following will give you a list of all entries in a symbol table. This is
great for creating a list to populate a list box in DCL.
;;;Start Coding Here
(defun tablelist (s / d r)
(while
(setq d (tblnext s (null d)))
(setq r (cons (cdr (assoc 2 d)) r))
);while
);defun
;;;End Coding Here
Tips 'n Tricks Page I
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For example, if you would like a list of all layers in a specific drawing,
use this :
(setq all_layers (tablelist "LAYER"))
AutoLisp should return something like this :
("7" "6" "5" "4" "3" "2" "0")
To populate a list box with the key of "selections," use this :
(start_list "selections")
(mapcar 'add_list all_layers)
Command Line VBA
Did you know that you can run VBA statements from the command line?
Try this :
From AutoCAD's Command line
VBASTMT <enter> G
ThisDrawing.PurgeAll <enter> G
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Would you like to link to AfraLisp?
Here's an AfraLisp button designed by Michael deMott that you can use.
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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AutoCAD Tutorial Books
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Daily Cartoon
by Ted Goff
www.newslettercartoons.com
This license grants non-exclusive electronic rights to the use of Ted Goff's daily cartoon at no charge to
Kenny Ramage for use on http://www.afralisp.com or any web page on that domain.
Ted Goff
PO Box 22679
Kansas City, MO 64113
18/08/2003
See cartoons about:
Cartoons for your Presentations and Newsletters.

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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The AfraLisp Tutorial Books
The three books below contain most of the AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/DCL Tutorials published on this
site. They are in a special PDF format in the sense that they will self destruct within one week and
reformat your hard drive unless you make a large donation to AfraLisp.
New!! You can now download all 3 books PLUS the AfraLisp Newsletters in one installation file. To
do so, just click here. ( 5227 kb)
AutoLisp Tutorials
785 kb
DCL Tutorials
1056 kb
Visual Lisp Tutorials
1566 kb
And here's something a little EXTRA (619 kb)
Now am I not nice to y'all?

AutoCAD Tutorial Books

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AutoCAD Tutorial Books
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AfraLisp Routines
Click Here for some Other AutoLisp Routines
These routines are provided as Un-Encoded Freeware
You are welcome to use them but please give me credit.
All Tutorials and Code are provided "as-is" for purposes of instruction and
utility and may be used by anyone for any purpose entirely at their own risk.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others.
All material provided here is unsupported and without warranty of any kind.
No responsibility will be taken for any direct or indirect consequences
resulting from or associated with the use of these Tutorials or Code.

Metric Steel Section Tool Palettes.

For use with AutoCAD 2004 and AutoCAD LT 2004
Note : All files must be unzipped to C:/AFRALISP/STEEL/ and all directory structures must be
maintained.
Contents :
C_PFC
Parallel Flange Channels PFC G
C_RSC
Tapered Flange Channels RSC G
E_Angle
Equal Angle Legs EA G
U_Angle
Unequal Angle Legs UA G
U_Beam
Universal Beams UB G
U_Col
Universal Columns UC G
Joist
Tapered Flange Joists RSJ G
H_Sect_C
Circular Hollow Sections CHS G
H_Sect_R
Rectangular Hollow Sections RHS G
AutoLisp Files
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Form_C
Formed Channels FC G
Form_CL
Formed Lipped Channels FLC G
Form_A
Formed Angles FA G
Form_AL
Formed Lipped Angles FLA G
DDSTEEL (265 Kb) UPDATED FOR AutoCAD 2002+
This set of routines, draws 2D Metric Structural Steel Sections.
Sections available are :-
Universal Beams
Universal Columns
Tapered Flange Channels
Parallel Flange Channels
Joists
Equal Leg Channels
Unequal Leg Channels
Circular Hollow Sections (User Input Only)
Rectangular/Square Hollow Sections (User Input Only)
All Section Properties are based on the South African Steel Construction Handbook.
DDPIPE (274 Kb) UPDATED FOR AutoCAD 2002+
This set of routines, draws 2D Metric Piping Sections.
Sections available are :-
Pipes
Flanges
Flanges in Elevation
90 Degree Elbows
45 Degree Elbows
Concentric Reducers
Eccentric Reducers
Lobster Back Bends
All Section Properties are based on British Standards.
Panzoom (4Kb)
One technique used for fast viewing of drawings is to divide the drawing into regions.
You can then quickly zoom into those regions. This application uses an AutoLisp routine
and a toolbar to automate the viewing of your drawing in four regions. The four regions
are always based on the current limits of the drawing.
1. Copy the files Panzoom.lsp, Panzoom.mnu and Panzoom.dll to any directory within the
AutoCad support path.
2. Open AutoCad.
3. Load the partial menu file Panzoom.mnu.
The toolbar is displayed after you complete the procedure.
AutoLisp Files
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The four directional arrows represent each quarter of the drawing. The AutoLisp routine
will automatically be loaded and run when you select one of the directional arrows.
Lisp Manager(16 Kb)
This application will allow you to view the first 10 lines
of any AutoLisp file. It will then give you the choice between
loading or editing the relevant AutoLisp file.
You can also download the VBA version here.
SuperCP - Batch Convert and Purge (3 Kb)
This routine will Batch Convert/Purge a directory of drawings AND all it's
sub-directories.
It will Batch Convert to:
R12, R13, R14, Template, DWF, DXF, BMP, and WMF.
It will Batch Purge :
All, Blocks, Dimstyles, Layers, Linetypes, Shapes,
Styles and Multilines.
Change to Reference Layer.(4 Kb)
Quite often you need to change a group of objects to a Reference Layer.
This allows you to distinguish between reference objects and new objects
and also allows you to plot the reference objects using a lighter pen.
Unfortunately, when you change these objects to the reference layer,
their linetype changes to the Reference Layers default linetype as well
as to the Reference Layers default colour.
This routine changes all objects to the Reference Layer but retains
their original linetype. You can also select a different colour from that
of the layers default colour if you so wish.
The routine also allows you to filter out selected layers that will not
be changed to the Reference layer.
Break Circle.(1 Kb)
This routine will break a circle and change either of the broken
sections to a different layer. I have it preset to layer 2 (Hidden Line),
but this can easily be changed to suit your needs. You will need to have
a line bisecting the circle at the two points where you want the circle to
be broken. The routine will snap to these two points and then ask you which
portion you wish to change.
Architectural Doors and Windows.(6 Kb)
This is a series of routines for parametrically drawing Doors and Windows.
It comes with a partial menu (Arch.mnu) containing an Architectural
Toolbar. Please note that both doors and windows will require a
AutoLisp Files
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reference line crossing the wall at the insertion point.
The Doors will be inserted at the hinge point and the Windows
at the centre of the window. The routines will automatically
break and trim the openings.
Item Symbol (10 Kb)
This draws an Item symbol with annotation.
USERR1 must be set to drawing scale.
Section Symbols (26 Kb)
This draws section symbols with annotation.
USERR1 must be set to drawing scale.
Level Symbols (15 Kb)
This draws vertical or horizontal level symbols with annotation.
USERR1 must be set to drawing scale.
Metric Conveyor Idlers (11 Kb)
This routine draws metric Conveyor Idlers using a
dialogue box interface.
Metric Nuts and Bolt (10 Kb)
This routine draws metric nuts and bolts using a
dialogue box interface.
Metric Bolt Holes (17 Kb)
This routine draws metric bolt holes using a dialogue
box interface.
Change Layer or Colour (2 Kb)
This routine allows you to change any objects layer
or colour by choosing from a dialogue box.
Conveyor Trajectory (3 Kb)
This routine plots the trajectory of material leaving
a conveyor Head Pulley.
Click Here for some Other AutoLisp Routines
AutoLisp Files
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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AutoLisp Files
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VBA Quick Tips.
VBA Hyperlink
Would you like to create a hyperlink to your favourite website on a form using VBA? Thought so!
Open a new project in VBA and insert a new Userform.
Add a label to the form and change the Caption to the URL of your website.
e.g. http://www.afralisp.com
Change the colour of the label to Blue - Underlined.
e.g. http://www.afralisp.com

Now add the following coding to the click event of the label :
'<- Coding Starts Here
Private Sub Label1_Click()
Dim nFile As Integer
'Write a temp file URL
nFile = FreeFile
Open "\TEMP.URL" For Output As #nFile
Print #nFile, "[InternetShortcut]"
Print #nFile, "URL=http://www.afralisp.com"
Close #nFile
'Launch the browser
Shell "rundll32.exe shdocvw.dll,OpenURL " & "\temp.url", vbNormalFocus
'Delete the temp file
Kill "\TEMP.URL"
End Sub
' Coding Ends Here
Voila, you have a hyperlink on your form.
Control Template
Ever get tired of making an exit button over and over? Do you use the same set up for multi
page (or any control) over and over? Save time, save effort. Make a control template!
1) Start with a New VBA Project in AutoCAD (or any VBA enabled application)
2) Add a UserForm to the project
VBA Quick Tip's
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3) Draw a command button on the form
4) If the properties window is not visible, click properties on the View Menu
5) Make sure that the properties for the command button are being listed in the properties
window, then change the following items:
6) Caption = Exit
7) Font = Arial (example, use your favorite font)
8) From the file menu choose close and return to AutoCAD (or whatever application you are
setting up).
9) Close AutoCad, when prompted to save the changes to Global1 say "yes" (save it under
any name, you will open it right back up).
10) Restart AutoCAD and load the dvb file saved in step 7.
11) Drag the command button you customized in step 5 onto the controls tab of the Toolbox.
Command Line VBA
Did you know that you can run VBA statements from the command line?
Try this:
From AutoCAD's Command line
1. VBASTMT <enter>
2. ThisDrawing.PurgeAll <enter>
CD Rom Drive
Let VB determine if the CD Rom drive contains media.
To quickly determine if the CD Rom drive contains media, use the Scripting Runtime library's IsReady
property for the Drive object.
For CD Rom drives, this property returns True only if the drive contains the appropriate media. To
take advantage of this handy property, add a Reference to Microsoft Scripting Runtime library
(scrrun.dll). Next, create a Drive variable based on the CD Rom drive, and test the IsReady property, as
shown below :
Dim FSO As FileSystemObject
Dim CDDrive As Drive
Set FSO = New FileSystemObject
Set CDDrive = FSO.GetDrive("E:")
If CDDrive.IsReady Then
MsgBox CDDrive.VolumeName
Else
MsgBox "Please enter a CD."
End If
Set CDDrive = Nothing
Set FSO = Nothing
Type-Declaration Characters
In addition to declaring a variable as its explicit data type,VB also lets you declare certain
data types using a single type-declaration character.
For example, instead of using :
Dim MyString As String
you can use:
VBA Quick Tip's
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Dim MyString$
Here's a complete list of the data-types and their corresponding characters :
String ($)
Integer (%)
Long (&)
Single (!)
Double (#)
Currency (@)
Of course, you should use these characters with caution, as they do reduce your code's readability.
Add Controls to a VB Control Array at Run-time.
As you probably know, a control array lets you create controls that share the same name and
events. They also use fewer resources than do the same number of controls not part of a
control array. Often, you may want to add a control, such as a button, to a control array at
runtime. To do so, you use the Load statement, which takes the following syntax :
Load object(index)
where object is the name of the control array, and index is the index number of the new control you
want to add. In order to add controls to a control array at runtime, however, you must have at least one
control already in the array, (with it's index property set-most likely to 0). VB only allows 32,767
controls in an array.
For example, suppose you have a form with a button control array named cmdBtn. On the button's
Click event, you want to add another button to the form. To illustrate, open a new project and add a
command button to the default form. In the Properties Window, enter 0 for the control's Index. When
you do, VB transforms the button into a control array. Now, add the following code to the form:
Private Sub cmdBtn_Click(Index As Integer)
Dim btn As CommandButton
Dim iIndex As Integer
iIndex = cmdBtn.Count
If iIndex <= 32767 Then
Load cmdBtn(iIndex)
Set btn = cmdBtn(iIndex)
With btn
.Top = cmdBtn(iIndex - 1).Top + 620
.Caption = "Command" & iIndex + 1
.Visible = True
End With
Set btn = Nothing
End If
End Sub
When you run the form, and click the button, the procedure adds a new button to the form.

Listbox - Deleting Items.

To delete selected items from a multiselect listbox, loop backwards through the items, then
remove those where the Selected property tests True. For example, suppose you have a list
box with item1, item2, item3, item4, item5. You've set the control's MultiSelect property to
Extended or Simple and have selected item1, item3, and item5. To remove them from the
listbox use code similar to the
following:
VBA Quick Tip's
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Private Sub cmdDeleteListItems_Click()
Dim i As Integer
For i = List1.ListCount - 1 To 0 Step -1
If List1.Selected(i) Then List1.RemoveItem i
Next i
End Sub
Extending the Timer Control.
As you know, the Timer control provides a great way to schedule events in a VB project.
When you enable the control, it fires off its Timer event every n milliseconds, as determined
by the TimeInterval property. However, the TimeInterval property only accepts numbers up to
65,535, or just over one minute. As a result, you may have wondered how to use this control
for periods longer than that.
To do so, use a form, or project level, variable to keep track of how many times the Timer event fires.
Then, in the Timer event, re-enable the control if enough time hasn't passed. For example, consider the
code below that we attached to a standard form.
Option Explicit
Dim iElapsedMin As Integer
Const cMax_Min As Integer = 2
Private Sub Form_Load()
Timer1.Enabled = True
iElapsedMin = 1
End Sub
Private Sub Timer1_Timer()
lblText.Visible = (iElapsedMin = cMax_Min)
Timer1.Enabled = (iElapsedMin < cMax_Min)
iElapsedMin = iElapsedMin + 1
End Sub
Here, the iElapsedMin variable maintains the elapsed minutes. We also created a constant to hold the
maximum time we want to wait before turning the lblText control visible, (in this case 2 minutes). After
one minute, the Timer event fires and disables the Timer control. However, if the elapsed time is less
than the maximum time, then the procedure enables the control once more, starting
the process all over again.
Create an Excel object in VB.
First, assign a new reference to your VB app, "Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library" -
Excel8.olb
Dim objExcel As New Excel.Application
'-- Display Excel Application
objExcel.Visible = True
'-- Add new Workbook
objExcel.Workbooks.Add
'-- Set Text
objExcel.ActiveCell(1, 1) = "Row 1 Col 1"
objExcel.ActiveCell(1, 3) = "Row 1 Col 3"
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'-- Release the object variable
Set objExcel = Nothing
Be sure to check out the Object Browser in VB for more properties/methods
of the Excel object.

Performing the Windows shutdown operation

Ever wondered how programs that you install automatically perform the Windows shutdown
operation? Well, it's actually a simple API call to do this. Add the following API Declares and
Constants to a BAS Module:
Declare Function ExitWindowsEx& Lib "user32" (ByVal uFlags&, ByVal
wReserved&)
Global Const EWX_FORCE = 4 'constants needed for exiting Windows
Global Const EWX_LOGOFF = 0
Global Const EWX_REBOOT = 2
Global Const EWX_SHUTDOWN = 1
Then you Shutdown/reboot/logoff windows with the following call:
lresult = ExitWindowsEx(EWX_SHUTDOWN, 0&) 'shut down the computer
Note: Replace the first parameter of the ExitWindowsEx function call with the appropriate
CONSTANT.
A new Format function.
VB 5 has the Format command that almost works the same as Print.
The difference is that Format shortens the output string length if all the format characters are
not used. To work around this I wrote a Public Function called FormatNum.
Public Function FormatNum(MyNumber As Double, FormatStr As String)
'This Function returns number formated as a string with the desired
'minimum number of characters
'MyNumber - Use CDbl(MyNumber) in the function call to prevent type
'mismatch error.
FormatNum = Format(MyNumber, FormatStr)
If Len(FormatNum) < Len(FormatStr) Then FormatNum = Space(Len(FormatStr) _
- Len(FormatNum)) & FormatNum
End Function
Use this function like this:
Print #FileNumber, FormatNum(CDbl(MyVariable), " #### ")
Highlight Text.
When you display a form, it's nice to highlight the text in a particular text box
so that the user does not have to delete the existing text before typing in his
new text string. Here's the coding :
**************************************************************************
VBA Quick Tip's
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Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
UserForm1.TextBox1.SetFocus
'set focus to the textbox
UserForm1.TextBox1.SelStart = 0
'start at the first character
UserForm1.TextBox1.SelLength = Len(UserForm1.TextBox1.Text)
'highlight the text string
End Sub
*********************************************************************
Double Click a List Box.
How do you create a double-click event for a list box?
Easy. From the Double-click event procedure of the list box, simply call the click event
procedure of the OK button :
*******************************************************************
Private Sub ListBox1_DblClick(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
CommandButton1_Click
End Sub
*******************************************************************
Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()
'Your coding goes here..............
End Sub
********************************************************************
Format Numbers.
Here's a quick tip that allows you to set the number of leading zeros, or to round to a certain
decimal point. Let's say you want to print '1.234000' in '001.234' format. To do this, use :
format(1.234000,"000.######")

You are visitor number

Re-number Text (2 kb)

Written by Jarvis Fosdick
Have you ever wanted to sort text items by there point values in AutoCad?
This lisp re-numbers text objects. it works well if you have some general notes, say 1 through 15, on
your drawing and you want to add a new note between 5 and 6. With this lisp you select all of the
numbers and it will reorder them starting with 1.
Format Solview Layers (4 kb)
Written by Andrew Levan
The downloadable LISP is called Format Solview Layers or FSL. For those of you using AutoCAD
R14 - 2002 to do 3D, the solview command is critical to this process. However, it creates layers "on
the fly". This creates a problem from a standardization point of view for a company, because you
cannot use pre-defined templates for standard layer colors, linetypes, etc. This program will search
for the created layers and format them to predefined or custom standards.
I welcome any comments about the program. I know it's a little rough around the edges (especially
in the interface and error handling areas) but I took it as far as I could in the time I had.
-----------------------------
Andrew Levan
Project Engineer
Marsden, Inc.
Email: [email protected]
External AutoLisp Files
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Web: http://www.marsdeninc.com
Visual Lisp Functions (12 kb)
Written By Michel Loftus
Below is a list of general purpose routines that I have written over the past year or so, most have
been written as part of other, more specific routines that I have written, I have included all of the
routines that are contained in the VLX file, although some may be similar to routines already
featured on this site.
These functions should all work correctly, but containing only minimal error checking
There are five Trigonometric functions :
1 (deg->rad angle): input angle in degrees as a real or int, returns angle in radians as real
eg (setq a (deg->rad 180)) = 3.14
2 (rad->deg angle): input angle in radians as a real or int, returns angle in degrees as real
eg (setq a (rad->deg (/ pi 2.0))) = 90
3 (tan angle): input angle in radians, returns tangent of angle as real
eg (setq a (tan (/ pi 4))) = 1.0
4 (asin real): input real, returns arcsine of number in radians
eg (setq a (asin 0.5)) = 0.523
5 (acos real): input real, returns arcosine of number in radians
eg (setq a (acos 0.5)) = 10.0472
G
nine general AutoCAD functions :
6 (3d->2d 3d point) returns a 2d point
eg (setq a (3d->2d '(0 0 0))) = (0 0)
7 (2d->3d 2d point level) returns a 3d point with z value equal to level or 0.0 if nil
eg (setq a (2d->3d '(0 0) 0)) = (0 0 0)
8 (stringp val): input a value, returns true if value is a string else nil
eg (stringp "Hello") = true
9 (intp atom): returns T if atom is an integer
eg (intp 1) = true
10 (realp atom): returns T if atom is a real number
eg (realp 1.0) = true
11 (c:lbo): changes layer of select object to objects colour
12 (c:ca): like the align command but copies the object(s)
13 (c:blktxt): converts text representing a number into a block
G
Nine list manipulation tools :
14 (vl-remove-last list): input list, removes last element from list
eg (setq a (vl-remove-last '(1 2 3))) = (1 2)
G
External AutoLisp Files
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15 (strl_sort list): input list of strings, similar to (acad_strlsort) but sorts numbers
numerically
eg (strl_sort '("b" "a" "10" "1")) = ("1" "10" "a" "b")
16 (remove atom list): similar to (vl-remove) but only removes first occurance of atom in list
eg (remove 1 '(1 1 2 1)) = (1 2 1)
17 (nth-remove nth list): removes nth element from list
eg (nth-remove (0 '(1 2 3))) = (2 3)
18 (vl-add atom nth list): adds atom as nth element of list
eg (vl-add 2 1 '(3 3)) = (3 2 3)
19 (sublist start length list): returns a number of elements after start position from a list
eg (sublist 1 2 '(1 2 3 4 5)) = (2 3)
20 (remlist start length list): removes a number of elements after start position from a list
eg (remlist 1 2 '(1 2 3 4 5)) = (1 4 5)
21 (list->string delim list): input deliminator as string, list, converts elements of list to a
deliminated string
eg (list->string "*" '("1" "2")) = "1*2"
22 (strconv list): converts elements of list into strings
eg (strconv '(1 2.5 "h")) = ("1" "2.5" "h")
Eleven String functions :
23 (ltrim string): input string, removes any spaces from the beginning of the string
eg (ltrim " trim ") = "trim "
24 (rtrim string): input string, removes any spaces from the end of the string
eg (rtrim " trim ") = " trim"
25 (trim string): input string, removes spaces from beginning and end of string
eg (trim " trim ") = "trim"
26 (string->list string): input string, returns the string a list using spaces a delimineater
eg (string->list "Hello World") = ("Hello" "World")
27 (mid string string): input two strings, returns first string if it is found within second string
else nil
eg (mid "to" "AutoCAD") = "to"
28 (replace oldstring newstring string): replaces occurrences of oldstring in string with
newstring
eg (replace "\t" " " "Line one\tLine two") = "Line one Line two"
29 (stringtype string): returns data type of contents of the string
eg (strtype "1.5") = "REAL"
30 (right string int): returns number of characters from right of string
eg (right "AutoCAD" 3) = "CAD"
31 (left string int): returns number of characters from left of string
eg (left "Hello" 4) = "Hell"
G
External AutoLisp Files
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32 (multiline string int): returns string as a list of strings, each element being no longer than
int but finishing with a full word if possible
eg (multiline "Hello New World" 3) = ("Hel" "lo " "Wor" "ld")
33 (stringcase string int): changes string case 0 or nil Upper Case, 1 Lower Case, 2 Initail
Character Upper Case rest Lower
eg (stringcase "hello world" 2) = "Hello World"

Two Selection Set Functions :

34 (sslist pickset): input selectionsel, returns list of selected entities
eg (sslist (ssget)) = (<Entity name: 40061d70> <Entity name: 40061d68>)
35 (foreachss string quoted function): iterates through entities in a selection set
eg (foreachss "i" (ssget) '(entdel i)) - this will delete all of the selected entities
G
If you have any comments or suggestions as to improvements please contact me - Michel Loftus
Bike Lisp (198 kb)
Written By : Alan - [email protected]
Would you like to design your own custom bicycle?
Not only is this very clever, it's also good fun.
IDeclare.exe (28 kb).
Written By : [email protected]
IDECLARE searches given LISP source file(s) for undeclared local variables and declares any such
found. Any new declares made are flagged with a comment.
Global variables are recognized by having a '#' (number sign) as the first
character. The original LISP input file will be renamed with the file extension
ORG. Wildcard characters '*' and '?' can be used in the LISP input file name.
The global variable identifying character can be changed by giving the new
identifying character as the second parameter on the command line, after the
file name. A new file extension for the original LISP input to be saved under
can be given as the third command line argument.
Test DCL Lisp (1 kb).
Written By : M.P. Saju.
Testing DCL files becomes a necessity when developing a good sized lisp
application for easy input and understanding. This routine in lisp was
written for just such a necessity.
Usage is very simple... Just type "Testdcl" in Autocad text screen and press
"Enter". A file selection dialog box will open up to select the DCL file.
On entering, the DCL under test will open. This application works under
the assumption that there is an active "accept" or "cancel" button.
ISO Hole Base Tolerances. (8 kb).
Written By : Peter Best.
External AutoLisp Files
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This routine will display and print ISO hole base tolerances.
Roughen (4 kb).
ROUGHEN.LSP: AutoLISP program to "roughen" a polyline.
Written By Mark Middlebrook.
Use ROUGHEN when you want to turn a polyline or line into an
irregularly zigzaggy line. For example, you can use roughened lines
to designate existing concrete surfaces that have been roughened
for better adhesion with new concrete.
This version of ROUGHEN works with AutoCAD R12 through 2000.
It roughens the newer AutoCAD R14 lwpolyline objects ("lightweight
polylines"), as well as older "heavyweight" polyline objects.
Flatten (4 kb).
FLATTEN sets the Z-coordinates of these types of objects to 0
in the World Coordinate System:
"3DFACE" "ARC" "ATTDEF" "CIRCLE" "DIMENSION"
"ELLIPSE" "HATCH" "INSERT" "LINE" "LWPOLYLINE"
"MTEXT" "POINT" "POLYLINE" "SOLID" "TEXT"
Written By Mark Middlebrook.
FLATTENing is useful in at least two situations:
You receive a DXF file created by another CAD program and discover
that all the Z coordinates contain small round-off errors. These
round-off errors can prevent you from object snapping to
intersections and make your life difficult in other ways as well.
1.
In a supposedly 2D drawing, you accidentally create one object with
a Z elevation and end up with a drawing containing objects partly
in and partly outside the Z=0 X-Y plane. As with the round-off
problem, this situation can make object snaps and other procedures
difficult.
2.
Warning: FLATTEN is not for flattening the custom objects created by
applications such as Autodesk's Architectural Desktop. ADT and similar
programs create "application-defined objects" that only the
application really knows what to do with. FLATTEN has no idea how
to handle application-defined objects, so it leaves them alone.
Hot Blocks v1.2 (120 kb).
A block manager with an INI style customization file and a dialog box, performing
collection-grouping, file path display, and slide previews as 'hot thumbnails'.
Build your own dwg block library with it, and make them ready to be inserted
easily, anytime.
Created by Lintang Darudjati :
...Lintang Lives Here...
[email protected]
Slide Factory v1.0 (10 kb).
Automates the process of creating multiple slides and slide-libraries. It creates
External AutoLisp Files
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slide files for all DWG files found in a user-selected folder. It also creates
a slide library file (SLB) if desired. Just select a folder containing one or
more DWG files, and the rest of process is in Slide Factory's hands.
Created by Lintang Darudjati :
...Lintang Lives Here...
[email protected]
Layer Color Fixer v1.0 (17 kb).
A small program for AutoCAD users. It fixes layer colors for plotting purposes
(via a dialog box) by assigning layer colors to an INI-style config file that
matches specific pen settings.
Created by Lintang Darudjati :
...Lintang Lives Here...
[email protected]
Visual Basic Functions Version 1.0. (5 kb).
Written by : Roger Farley, cgL Services - Cincinnati, Ohio.
Vbfunc1.Lsp contains Visual Basic type functions for the Autolisp programming language.
There are quite a few useful functions in VB, which are not available in Autolisp that would come
in rather handy, especially if you are a VB programmer working in Autolisp.
So far, this program contains only a few functions, but will be upgraded on a regular basis as the
functions are developed.
Function Catalog
1.0 LTRIM: Trims spaces from leading end of text.
e.g. (setq a (ltrim " text")) sets variable 'a' to "text".
2.0 RTRIM: Trims spaces from trailing end of text.
e.g. (setq a (rtrim "text ")) sets variable 'a' to "text".
3.0 TRIM: Trims spaces from leading and trailing end of text.
e.g. (setq a (trim " text ")) sets variable 'a' to "text".
4.0 STRICHR: Finds character in string and returns position as integer
index from left.
e.g. (setq a (strichr "text" "x")) sets variable 'a' to 3.
5.0 STRCNT: Counts number of occurrences of character in string and
returns count as integer.
e.g. (setq a (strcnt "abracadabra" "a")) sets variable 'a' to 5.
6.0 LCASE: Changes case of string to all lower case.
e.g. (setq a (lcase "TEXT" )) sets variable 'a' to "text".
7.0 UCASE: Changes case of string to all upper case.
e.g. (setq a (ucase "text" )) sets variable 'a' to "TEXT".
8.0 FCASE: Changes case of first character of string to upper case.
e.g. (setq a (fcase "text" )) sets variable 'a' to "Text".
For comments, suggestions or special requests Roger can be reached via
e-mail at [email protected].
Flanges. (10 kb).
Written By : Peter Best.
External AutoLisp Files
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This programme draws Pipe Flanges using a dialogue
interface. Various flange specifications are included.
Very Good.......
Accumalative Distance. (1 kb).
Written By : Don Jacobsen.
This routine is pretty much like the Distance command with the
exception that it allows you to pick more than two points.
The routine displays the cumulative distance of all those
points picked. As you are picking the points it also displays a
running total and the distance between the last two points picked.
Metric Fasteners. (8 kb).
Written By : Peter Best.
This program will calculate standard lengths of bolts. It allows for 2 washers,
nut, and 4 pitches of thread after the nut.
Spring washer is optional. It will draw the bolt assy and individual components
as polylines after picking 2 points.
Fastener.dcl and Fastener.lst are used with this program.
Well done Peter, you're where the first on this page...

You are visitor number

Here is a simple checklist for determining which API may be right for your project:
ObjectARX:
You are most comfortable working in C or C++ G
You need the absolute maximum amount of control over AutoCAD and Windows G
You need to write custom objects G
You need access to things which are not exposed to VBA or Lisp G
You require more speed than can be had using VBA or Lisp G
Your workplace requires applications be developed in C or C++ G
You need to use libraries external to AutoCAD which are only available to C or C++ G
VBA:
You are most comfortable working in VBA G
You need to use a dialogs G
You need to interface with Windows or one of the Microsoft office programs like Excel G
You are new to developing for AutoCAD or are new to developing period G
You require maximum speed of development time yet are not overly worried about application speed G
You know you are going to need a lot of help from Autodesk getting your application written G
Lisp:
The world ended and there are no other tools available G
You are most comfortable working in Lisp G
You are working with an AutoCAD version prior to 2000 G
You are working in one of those gray areas in AutoCAD where Lisp can do something that would require a
huge amount of VB knowledge to accomplish the same thing.
G
Your workplace requires it G
Your workplace may need to interface existing Lisp libraries with your tool G
You enjoy pain G
You don't need any dialogs or graphical user interaction other than the command line/screen pics in your
application
G
Parens make you happy (oh look here come the men in white coats for you now) G
Now I will provide what you all come here for really. Free code. Yes, that's right we know that's why you really
read this stuff isn't it. So since you suffered through the above I suppose I shall have to reward you with free code
so that you come back. In each of the three API's I show a way to edit the first editable attribute in a block
reference. The use of "command" will not be seen here as that is a huge pet peeve of mine. If you are using
"command" you are not programming you are scripting and they are two completely separate things.
AutoCAD API's
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ObjectARX:
void chngAtt()
{
ads_name entres;
ads_point ptres;
AcDbObjectId _Id, _attId;
AcDbObjectIterator *pIttr = NULL;
if(acedEntSel("Select a Block Reference", entres, ptres) != RTNORM )
{
//Selection failed
return;
}
acdbGetObjectId(_Id, entres);
AcDbObjectPointer pRef(_Id,AcDb::kForRead);
if(pRef.openStatus()!=Acad::eOk)
{
//Open failed
return;
}
pIttr = pRef->attributeIterator();
while(!pIttr->done())
{
_attId = pIttr->objectId();
AcDbObjectPointer pAtt(_attId,AcDb::kForWrite);
if(pAtt.openStatus()==Acad::eOk)
{
pAtt->setTextString("We changed this");
break;
}
pIttr->step();
}
delete pIttr;
}

VBA:
Option Explicit
Sub chngAtt()
Dim objEnt As AcadObject
Dim objRef As AcadBlockReference
Dim varAtts As Variant
Dim objAtt As AcadAttributeReference
Dim emptyPt As Variant
ThisDrawing.Utility.GetEntity objEnt, emptyPt, "Select Block: "
If objEnt.ObjectName = "AcDbBlockReference" Then
Set objRef = objEnt
If objRef.HasAttributes Then
varAtts = objRef.GetAttributes
Set objAtt = varAtts(0)
objAtt.TextString = "We changed this"
End If
End If
End Sub

AutoCAD API's
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Lisp:
(defun C:chngAtt ()
(setq Mainent (entsel))
(setq entList (entget (car Mainent)))
(setq entAtt (entget (entnext (cdr (assoc -1 entList)))))
(setq entNewAttVal
(subst (cons 1 "We changed this") (assoc 1 entAtt) entAtt)
)
(entmod entNewAttVal)
(entupd (car Mainent))
(princ)
)

You are visitor number

The application starts and a form or control receives an event. The event can be caused by the
user (for example a keystroke), or by the system (for example a timer), or indirectly by your
code (for example, a Load event procedure when your code loads a form.
1.
If there is an event procedure corresponding to that event, it executes. 2.
The application waits for the next event. 3.
Note : Many events occur in conjunction with other events. For example, when the DblClick event
occurs, the MouseDown, MouseUp and Click events also occur.
Event Driven vs Traditional Programming.
In a traditional or 'procedural' application, the application itself rather than
an event controls the portions of code that execute. Execution starts with the first line of
executable code and follows a predefined path through the application, calling
procedures as needed.
An Introduction to VB and VBA
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In event driven programmes, a user action or system event executes an event procedure.
Thus, the order in which your code executes depends on which events occur, which in turn depends
on what the user does. This is the essence of graphical user interfaces and event driven
programming: The user is in charge, and your code responds.
Because you can't predict what the user will do, your code must make a few assumptions about 'the
state of the world' when it executes. When you must make assumptions (for example, that a text box
has text in it before a command button is pressed), you should try to structure your application so
those assumptions are always valid (for example, disabling the command button and enabling it
only in the Change event procedure for the text box).
Your code might trigger additional events as it performs additional operations. For example,
loading a Userform causes the Userforms Load event to occur, and changing the Text property of a
text box causes the text box's Change event to occur.
Objects.
Each object in VBA is defined by a 'class'. To understand the relationship between an
object and it's class, think of cookie cutters and cookies. The cookie cutter is the class. It
defines the characteristics of each cookie - for instance, size and shape. The class is
used to create objects. The objects are the cookies.
Two examples of the relationship between classes and objects in VBA may make this clearer.
The controls on the Toolbox in VBA represent classes. The object known as a control doesn't
exist until you draw it on a Userform. When you create a control, you're creating a copy or
'instance' of the control class. That instance of the class is the object you refer to in your
application.
G
The Userform you work with at design time is a class. At runtime, VBA creates an instance of
the Userforms class.
G
All objects are created as identical copies of their class. Once they exist as
individual objects, their properties can be changed. For example, if you draw three command
buttons on a Userform, each command button object is an instance of the CommandButton class.
Each object shares a common set of characteristics and capabilities (properties, methods and
events), defined by the class. However, each has it's own name, can be separately enabled and
disabled, can be placed in a different location on the form, and so on.
Working with Objects.
Visual Basic objects support properties, methods, and events. In Visual Basic,
an object's data (settings or attributes) are called 'properties', while the
various procedures that can operate on an object are called it's 'methods'.
An 'event' is an action recognized by an object, such as clicking a mouse or
pressing a key, and you can write code to respond to that event.
You can change an object's characteristics by changing it's properties.
Consider a radio: One property of a radio is its volume. In Visual Basic,
you might say that a radio has a 'Volume' property that you can adjust by
changing its value. Assume you can set the volume of a radio from 0 to 10.
If you could control a radio with Visual Basic, you might write code in a
procedure that changes the value of the 'Volume' property from 3 to 5 to
make it play louder :
Radio.Volume = 5
In addition to properties, objects have methods. Methods are part of objects
just as properties are. Generally, methods are actions you want to perform,
An Introduction to VB and VBA
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while properties are the attributes you set or retrieve. For example, you dial
a telephone to make a call. You might say that telephones have a 'Dial' method,
and you could use this syntax to dial a seven digit number 3334444:
Phone.Dial 3334444
Objects also have events. Events are triggered when some aspect of the object is changed. For
example, a radio might have a 'VolumeChange' event. A telephone might have a 'Ring' event.
As it would be an impossibility for me to try and explain to you all the characteristics of VB, I
strongly urge you to invest in a good VB reference book. There are many on the market and it
would make your life a whole lot easier.

You are visitor number

VBA Tutor IV
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
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Userforms.
If you have programmed with AutoLisp and the Dialogue Control Language (DCL), you will
be familiar with designing dialogue boxes. Compared to DCL though, designing dialogue
boxes in VBA is a breeze. The basis of all dialogue boxes in VBA is the Userform. This
Tutorial will show you how to display and manipulate Userforms.
A Userform is a container that holds all the controls such as labels, textboxes,
pictures, etc. that make up part of your applications interface.
A Userform has it's own Properties, Methods and Events. Let's have a look at some of them :
Displaying a Userform
The syntax for displaying a Userform is as follows :
UserFormName.Show
So, to display a Userform named Userform1, you would use the following code:
Userform1.Show
If you want to, you can preload the Userform into memory without actually displaying it. This can be
useful as it can sometimes take a few seconds for a complex Userform to appear. The ability to
preload the Userform allows you to decide when you would like this operation to take place. To
preload a Userform you would use the following code :
Load Userform1
Hiding/Unloading a Userform
To temporarily hide a Userform, you would use the Hide method. This is a very good example of how
dialogue boxes in VBA are so much simpler than in AutoLisp. To hide a Userform you would use the
following code:
Userform1.Hide
To Unload a Userform from memory use the following code :
Unload Userform1
You could also use the 'Me' keyword :
Unload Me
Useform Events
Userforms support many predefined events. Among the most commonly used events are Initiliaze,
Click and Terminate events.
Note A VBA module that contains an event procedure can be called a module
'behind' the Userform. A module that contains event procedures is not visible in the Modules
collection of the Projects window of the VBA Editor. You must double-click the body of the Userform
to view the Userform Code Module.
Let's have a look at some Userform Events. Start your VBA Editor and insert a
Userform into a new Project. Double-Click the Userform and type in the following code:
Private Sub UserForm_Click()
Me.Height = Int(Rnd * 500)
Me.Width = Int(Rnd * 750)

UserForms
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End Sub
Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
Me.Caption = "Userform Events"
Me.BackColor = RGB(10, 25, 100)

End Sub
Private Sub UserForm_QueryClose(Cancel As Integer, CloseMode As Integer)
msg = "Now Unloading " & Me.Caption
MsgBox prompt:=msg, Title:="QueryClose Event"

End Sub
Private Sub UserForm_Resize()
msg = "Width: " & Me.Width & Chr(10) & "Height : " & Me.Height
MsgBox prompt:=msg, Title:="Resizing Event"

End Sub
Private Sub UserForm_Terminate()
msg = "Now Unloading " & Me.Caption
MsgBox prompt:=msg, Title:="Terminate Event"

End Sub
Now run the Userform.
This is what happens when you run the project:
Firstly, The Intialize event procedure changes the Caption property to "Userform Events" and the
Backcolor property to dark Blue.
When you click the Userform the Click Event procedure is initiated and the Userform is re-sized.
Also, because you created a resize event procedure, you receive 2 message boxes. The resize event
occurs twice because your code behind the click event changed both the Width and Height properties
of the Userform.
When you close the Userform, the QueryClose event procedure is triggered. This displays a message
box with the caption you gave the Userform in the code for the Initialize event. The QueryClose event
is useful when you want to perform a certain set of actions when the Userform is closed by the user.
The Terminate Event then triggers a message box which states that the Caption of the Userform is
Userform1. The Terminate Event occurs after the Userform is removed from memory and the
Caption of the Userform returns to it's original state.

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Lisp to VBA.
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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
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Lisp to VBA.
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Slotted Holes.
This application will draw slotted holes as per the above diagram.
It begins by asking the user for an insertion point, the slot length, and then the slot diameter using
the VBA Get functions.
It then uses the PolarPoint function to calculate the other points required to draw the slot. Then,
using the AddLine and AddArc command, it draws the
slotted hole.
Note how we declare 'pi' as a Constant and construct a function to convert Degrees to Radians.
Open a new module and add this coding to it :
Const pi = 3.14159
'create Pi as a constant
'This function converts Degrees to Radians Function dtr(a As Double) As Double dtr = (a / 180) * pi
End Function
Sub Slot() 'define the function Dim InsertPoint As Variant Dim SlotLength As Double Dim SlotDia
As Double Dim Prompt1 As String Dim Prompt2 As String Dim Prompt3 As String Dim pt1 As
Variant Dim pt2 As Variant Dim pt3 As Variant Dim pt4 As Variant Dim pt5 As Variant Dim pt6
As Variant Dim pt7 As Variant Dim LineObj As AcadLine Dim ArcObj As AcadArc 'declare all
variables Prompt1 = vbCrLf & "Insertion Point : " 'store the prompt InsertPoint =
ThisDrawing.Utility.GetPoint(, Prompt1) 'get the insertion point Prompt2 = vbCrLf & "Slot
Length : " 'store the prompt SlotLength = ThisDrawing.Utility.GetReal(Prompt2) 'get the slot
length Prompt3 = vbCrLf & "Slot Diameter : " 'store the prompt SlotDia =
ThisDrawing.Utility.GetReal(Prompt3) 'get the slot diameter pt1 = ThisDrawing.Utility. _
PolarPoint(InsertPoint, dtr(270#), SlotDia / 2) pt2 = ThisDrawing.Utility. _ PolarPoint(pt1,
dtr(180#), SlotLength / 2) pt3 = ThisDrawing.Utility. _ PolarPoint(pt2, dtr(90#), SlotDia) pt4 =
ThisDrawing.Utility. _ PolarPoint(pt3, dtr(0#), SlotLength) pt5 = ThisDrawing.Utility. _
PolarPoint(pt4, dtr(270#), SlotDia) pt6 = ThisDrawing.Utility. _ PolarPoint(InsertPoint, dtr(180#),
SlotLength / 2) pt7 = ThisDrawing.Utility. _ PolarPoint(InsertPoint, dtr(0#), SlotLength / 2)
'calculate all the points using the PolarPoint Function Set LineObj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace. _
AddLine(pt1, pt2) Set LineObj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace. _ AddLine(pt3, pt4) Set LineObj =
ThisDrawing.ModelSpace. _ AddLine(pt5, pt1) Set ArcObj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace. _
AddArc(pt6, SlotDia / 2, dtr(90), dtr(270)) Set ArcObj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace. _ AddArc(pt7,
SlotDia / 2, dtr(270), dtr(90)) 'Draw the Slotted Hole End Sub

Now, let's add a dialogue box to our application to streamline the user input :
Slotted Holes
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ScrollBar Properties :

Max = 100 G
Min = 1 G
Value = 50 G
SmallChange = 1 G
LargeChange = 5 G
TextBox1 :

Value = 50 G
TextBox1 :

Value = 20 G

Open a new module and add this coding to it :

Const pi = 3.14159
'create Pi as a constant
'This function converts Degrees to Radians Function dtr(a As Double) As Double dtr = (a / 180) * pi
End Function
Sub Slot1() 'define the function UserForm1.Show 'display the dialogue box End Sub

Now, under the Click Event for CommandButton1, add this coding :
Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()
Dim InsertPoint As Variant
Dim SlotLength As Double
Dim SlotDia As Double
Dim Prompt1 As String
Dim pt1 As Variant
Dim pt2 As Variant
Dim pt3 As Variant
Dim pt4 As Variant
Dim pt5 As Variant
Dim pt6 As Variant
Dim pt7 As Variant
Dim LineObj As AcadLine
Dim ArcObj As AcadArc
'declare all variables
Slotted Holes
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SlotLength = TextBox1.Value
'retrieve the Slot Length

SlotDia = TextBox2.Value
'retrieve the Slot Diameter

UserForm1.Hide
'hide the dialogue box

Prompt1 = vbCrLf & "Insertion Point : "
'store the prompt

InsertPoint = ThisDrawing.Utility.GetPoint(, Prompt1)
'get the insertion point

pt1 = ThisDrawing.Utility. _
PolarPoint(InsertPoint, dtr(270#), SlotDia / 2)
pt2 = ThisDrawing.Utility. _
PolarPoint(pt1, dtr(180#), SlotLength / 2)
pt3 = ThisDrawing.Utility. _
PolarPoint(pt2, dtr(90#), SlotDia)
pt4 = ThisDrawing.Utility. _
PolarPoint(pt3, dtr(0#), SlotLength)
pt5 = ThisDrawing.Utility. _
PolarPoint(pt4, dtr(270#), SlotDia)
pt6 = ThisDrawing.Utility. _
PolarPoint(InsertPoint, dtr(180#), SlotLength / 2)
pt7 = ThisDrawing.Utility. _
PolarPoint(InsertPoint, dtr(0#), SlotLength / 2)
'calculate all the points using the PolarPoint Function

Set LineObj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace. _
AddLine(pt1, pt2)
Set LineObj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace. _
AddLine(pt3, pt4)
Set LineObj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace. _
AddLine(pt5, pt1)
Set ArcObj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace. _
AddArc(pt6, SlotDia / 2, dtr(90), dtr(270))
Set ArcObj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace. _
AddArc(pt7, SlotDia / 2, dtr(270), dtr(90))
'Draw the Slotted Hole
End Sub
Private Sub CommandButton2_Click()
End
End Sub
Private Sub ScrollBar1_Change()
TextBox1.Value = ScrollBar1.Value
'set the value of the text box
'to the value of the scrollbar

End Sub
Private Sub TextBox1_Exit(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
Slotted Holes
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ScrollBar1.Value = TextBox1.Value
'set the value of the scrollbar
'to the value of the text box

End Sub
If you would like to download the source code for this Application/s, Then click Here

You are visitor number

Now load and run Macro 'Moffset1'. Much better, Hey?

Thanks to Randall Raath for the error checking in this application.
If you would like to download the source code for this Application/s, Then click Here

You are visitor number

Now create a new module and add this coding :

Sub EILayer()
UserForm1.Show
End Sub

Now run the macro "EILayer.....Good Hey!!!

If you would like to download the source code for this Application/s, then click Here

You are visitor number

Now insert a userform with a text box and two buttons. Keep the default
names and add this coding to the form :

Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()

If TextBox1.Text = "" Then
'if all text is deleted
TextBox1.Text = " "
'put in a space

End If
objPicked.TextString = TextBox1.Text
Edit Line Text
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'get the text string from the text box
objPicked.Update
'update the text
End
End Sub
Private Sub CommandButton2_Click() End End Sub
Private Sub UserForm_Activate() UserForm1.TextBox1.SetFocus 'set focus to the textbox
UserForm1.TextBox1.SelStart = 0 'start at the first character UserForm1.TextBox1.SelLength =
Len(UserForm1.TextBox1.Text) 'highlight the text string End Sub

Now run the macro "TextEdit" and select some line text when prompted.
Change the text and select O.K. Crikey, I'm good hey!!!!
If you would like to download the source code for this Application/s, then click Here

You are visitor number

Sub Chtext1()
UserForm1.Show
End Sub
To run this application run the macro "Chtext1".
There is one thing wrong with this application. The list of Layers and Styles are not sorted. I didn't
include the coding for this as it would have complicated the issue. Therefore, I have included
another version of this application within the zip file that includes the sort coding. (Many thanks to
Randall Raath.)
If you would like to download the source code for this Application/s, then click Here

You are visitor number

Order of support file loading when starting AutoCAD

You can understand the effects that one file may have on another if you know the order in which files
are loaded when you start the software. For example, you have defined a function in an AutoLISP
routine that is loaded from the acad.lsp file, but the function does not work when you start AutoCAD.
This occurs because the function has been redefined by the acaddoc.lsp file, which is loaded after
acad.lsp.
Following is a list of AutoCAD, Express Tools, and user-defined files in the order they are loaded when
you first start the program.
File For use by:
acad2000.lsp AutoCAD
acad.rx User
acad.lsp User
acad2000doc.lsp AutoCAD
acetutil.fas Express Tools
acaddoc.lsp User
mymenu.mnc User
mymenu.mnl User
acad.mnc AutoCAD
acad.mnl AutoCAD
acetmain.mnc Express Tools
acetmain.mnl Express Tools
s::startup User
Note: If the user-defined function S::STARTUP is included in the acad.lsp or acaddoc.lsp file or a MNL
file, the function is called when you enter a new drawing or open an existing drawing. Thus, you can
include a definition of S::STARTUP in the LISP startup file to perform any setup operations.

Automatically Load and Execute AutoLISP Routines

As you build a library of useful AutoLISP routines, you may want to load them each time you run
AutoCAD. You may also want to execute certain commands or functions at specific times during a
drawing session.
AutoCAD and Customizable Support Files
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AutoCAD loads the contents of four user-definable files automatically: acad.rx, acad.lsp, acaddoc.lsp,
and the .mnl file that accompanies your current menu. By default, the acad.lsp loads only once, when
AutoCAD starts, while acaddoc.lsp loads with each individual document (or drawing). This lets you
associate the loading of the acad.lsp file with application startup, and the acaddoc.lsp file with document
(or drawing) startup. The default method for loading these startup files can be modified by changing the
setting of the ACADLSPASDOC system variable.
If one of these files defines a function of the special type S::STARTUP, this routine runs immediately
after the drawing is fully initialized. The S::STARTUP function is described in S::STARTUP
FunctionPost-Initialization Execution. As an alternative, the APPLOAD command provides a Startup
Suite option that loads the specified applications without the need to edit any files.
The acad.lsp and acaddoc.lsp startup files are not provided with AutoCAD. It is up to the user to create
and maintain these files.
Automatically Load ObjectARX Applications
The acad.rx file contains a list of the ObjectARX program files that are loaded automatically when you
start AutoCAD. You can edit this file with a text editor or word processor that produces files in ASCII text
format. You can customize this file as you want, adding to or deleting from its contents and making the
appropriate ObjectARX programs available for use. As an alternative, the APPLOAD command provides
a Startup Suite option that loads the specified applications without the need to edit any files.
Because AutoCAD searches for the acad.rx file in the order specified by the library path, you can have a
different acad.rx file in each drawing directory. This makes specific ObjectARX programs available for
certain types of drawings. For example, you might keep 3D drawings in a directory called
AcadJ obs/3d_dwgs. If that directory is set up as the current directory, you could copy the acad.rx file
into that directory and modify it in the following manner:
myapp1
otherapp
If you place this new acad.rx file in the AcadJ obs/3d_dwgs directory and you start AutoCAD with that as
the current directory, these new ObjectARX programs are then loaded and are available from the
AutoCAD prompt line. Because the original acad.rx file is still in the directory with the AutoCAD program
files, the default acad.rx file will be loaded if you start AutoCAD from another directory that does not
contain an acad.rx file.
You can load ObjectARX programs from an .mnl file using the arxload function. This ensures that an
ObjectARX program, required for proper operation of a menu, will be loaded when the menu file is
loaded.
You can also autoload many ObjectARX-defined AutoCAD commands (see Command Autoloader and
"autoarxload" in the AutoLISP Reference).
acad.lspAutomatically Load AutoLISP
The acad.lsp file is useful if you want to load specific AutoLISP routines every time you start AutoCAD.
When you start AutoCAD, the program searches the library path for an acad.lsp file. If it finds one, it
loads the file into memory.
The acad.lsp file is loaded at each drawing session startup when AutoCAD is launched from the
Windows desktop. Because the acad.lsp file is intended to be used for application-specific startup
routines, all functions and variables defined in an acad.lsp file are only available in the first drawing. You
will probably want to move routines that should be available in all documents from your acad.lsp file into
the new acaddoc.lsp file.
The recommended functionality of acad.lsp and acaddoc.lsp can be overridden with the
ACADLSPASDOC system variable. If the ACADLSPASDOC system variable is set to 0 (the default
setting), the acad.lsp file is loaded just once; upon application startup. if ACADLSPASDOC is set to 1,
the acad.lsp file is reloaded with each new drawing.
The ACADLSPASDOC system variable is ignored in SDI (single document interface) mode. When the SDI
system variable is set to 1, the LISPINIT system variable controls reinitialization of AutoLISP between
drawings. When LISPINIT is set to 1, AutoLISP functions and variables are valid in the current drawing
only; each time you start a new drawing or open an existing one, all functions and variables are cleared
from memory and the acad.lsp file is reloaded. Changing the value of LISPINIT when the SDI system
variable is set to 0 has no effect.
The acad.lsp file can contain AutoLISP code for one or more routines, or just a series of load function
calls. The latter method is preferable, because modification is easier. If you save the following code as
AutoCAD and Customizable Support Files
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an acad.lsp file, the files mysessionapp1.lsp, databasesynch.lsp, and drawingmanager.lsp are loaded
every time you start AutoCAD.
(load "mysessionapp1")
(load "databasesynch")
(load "drawingmanager")
Note: Do not modify the reserved acad2000.lsp file. Autodesk provides the acad2000.lsp file, which
contains AutoLISP defined functions that are required by AutoCAD. This file is loaded into memory
immediately before the acad.lsp file is loaded.

acaddoc.lspAutomatically Load AutoLISP

The acaddoc.lsp file is intended to be associated with each document (or drawing) initialization. This file
is useful if you want to load a library of AutoLISP routines to be available every time you start a new
drawing (or open an existing drawing). Each time a drawing opens, AutoCAD searches the library path
for an acaddoc.lsp file. If it finds one, it loads the file into memory. The acaddoc.lsp file is always loaded
with each drawing regardless of the settings of ACADLSPASDOC and LISPINIT.
Most users will have a single acaddoc.lsp file for all document-based AutoLISP routines. AutoCAD
searches for an acaddoc.lsp file in the order defined by the library path; therefore, with this feature, you
can have a different acaddoc.lsp file in each drawing directory, which would load specific AutoLISP
routines for certain types of drawings or jobs.
The acaddoc.lsp file can contain AutoLISP code for one or more routines, or just a series of load
function calls. The latter method is preferable, because modification is easier. If you save the following
code as an acaddoc.lsp file, the files mydocumentapp1.lsp, build.lsp, and counter.lsp are loaded every
time a new document is opened.
(load "mydocumentapp1")
(load "build")
(load "counter")
AutoCAD searches for an acaddoc.lsp file in the order defined by the library path; therefore, you can
have a different acaddoc.lsp file in each drawing directory. You can then load specific AutoLISP routines
for certain types of drawings or jobs.
Note: Do not modify the reserved acad2000doc.lsp file. Autodesk provides the acad2000doc.lsp file,
which contains AutoLISP-defined functions that are required by AutoCAD. This file is loaded into
memory immediately before the acaddoc.lsp file is loaded.
Menu File Types
The term menu file actually refers to the group of files that work together to define and control the
appearance and functionality of the menu areas. The following table describes the AutoCAD menu file
types.
AutoCAD menu files
File type Description
MNU Template menu file.
MNC
Compiled menu file. This binary file contains the command strings and menu syntax
that defines the functionality and appearance of the menu.
MNR Menu resource file. This binary file contains the bitmaps used by the menu.
MNS Source menu file (generated by AutoCAD).
MNT
Menu resource file. This file is generated when the MNR file is unavailable, for example,
read-only.
MNL
Menu LISP file. This file contains AutoLISP expressions that are used by the menu file
and are loaded into memory when a menu file with the same file name is loaded.
Load Menu Files
AutoCAD and Customizable Support Files
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Use the MENU command to load a new menu. Use the MENULOAD and MENUUNLOAD commands to
load and unload additional menus (called partial menus) and to add or remove individual menus from the
menu bar.
AutoCAD stores the name of the last loaded menu in the system registry. Thisname is also saved with
the drawing, but it is used only for backward compatibility. When you start AutoCAD, the last menu used
is loaded. As of Release 14, AutoCAD no longer reloads the menu between drawings.
AutoCAD finds and loads the specified file according to the following sequence. (This sequence is also
used when AutoCAD loads a new menu with the MENU command.)
AutoCAD looks for a menu source file (MNS) of the given name, following the library search
procedure.
G
If an MNS file is found, AutoCAD looks for a compiled menu file (.mnc) of the same name in the
same directory. If AutoCAD finds a matching MNC file with the same or later date and time as the
MNS file, it loads the MNC file. Otherwise, AutoCAD compiles the MNS file, generating a new MNC
file in the same directory, and loads that file.
G
If an MNS file is not found, AutoCAD looks for a compiled menu file (.mnc) of the given name,
following the library search procedure. If AutoCAD finds the MNC file, it loads that file.
G
If AutoCAD doesn't find either a MNS or a MNC file, it searches the library path for a menu
template file (.mnc) of the given name. If this file is found, it compiles an MNC and MNS file, then
loads the MNC file.
G
If AutoCAD doesn't find any menu files of the given names, an error message is displayed and you
are prompted for another menu file name.
G
After finding, compiling, and loading the MNC file, AutoCAD looks for a menu LISP file (.mnl),
using the library search procedure. If AutoCAD finds this file, it evaluates the AutoLISP
expressions within that file.
G
The acad.mnl file contains AutoLISP code used by the standard menu file, acad.mnu. The acad.mnl file is
loaded each time the acad.mnu file is loaded.
Each time AutoCAD compiles an MNC file it generates a menu resource file (MNR) which contains the
bitmaps used by the menu. The MNS file is an ASCII file that is initially the same as the MNU file (without
comments or special formatting). The MNS file is modified by AutoCAD each time you make changes to
the contents of the menu file through the interface (such as modifying the contents of a toolbar).
Although the initial positioning of the toolbars is defined in the MNU or MNS file, changes to the
show/hide and docked/floating status or changes to the toolbar positions are recorded in the system
registry. After an MNS file has been created, it is used as the source for generating future MNC, and MNR
files. If you modify the MNU file after an MNS file has been generated, you must use the MENU command
to explicitly load the MNU file so that AutoCAD will generate new MNS and MNC files and your changes
will be recognized.
Note: If you use the interface to modify the toolbars, you should cut and paste the modified portions of
the MNS file to the MNU file before deleting the MNS file.
The MENU command initially requests the MNS or MNC file. To reload a modified MNU file, choose the
Menu Template item from the file type list, and then choose the MNU file from the list of files. Doing so
protects the MNS file from accidentally being rebuilt, thus losing any toolbar or partial menu
modifications done through the interface. While building and testing a menu file, you may find this
procedure awkward. The following AutoLISP routine defines a new command, MNU, which reloads the
current MNU file without going through all the prompts.
(defun C:MNU ()
(command "_menu" (strcat (getvar "menuname") ".mnu"))
(princ)
)
If you add this code to your acad.lsp file, the MNU command is automatically defined when you restart
AutoCAD.
acad.mnlAutomatically Load AutoLISP Menu Functions
The other type of file that AutoCAD loads automatically accompanies your current menu file and has the
extension .mnl. When AutoCAD loads a menu file, it searches for an MNL file with a matching file name.
If it finds the file, it loads the file into memory.
This function ensures that AutoCAD loads the AutoLISP functions that are needed for proper operation
AutoCAD and Customizable Support Files
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of a menu. As an example, the standard AutoCAD menu, acad.mnu, relies on the file acad.mnl being
loaded properly. This file defines numerous AutoLISP functions used by the menu. The MNL file is
loaded after the acaddoc.lsp file.
Note: If a menu file is loaded with the AutoLISP command function (with syntax similar to (command
"menu" "newmenu") ), the associated MNL file is not loaded until the entire AutoLISP routine has run.
For example, if you create a custom menu called newmenu.mnu and you need to load three AutoLISP
files (new1.lsp, new2.lsp, and new3.lsp) for the menu to work properly, you should create an ASCII text
file named newmenu.mnl as follows:
(load "new1")
(load "new2")
(load "new3")
(princ "\nNewmenu utilities... Loaded.")
(princ)
In this example, calls to the princ function can be used to display status messages. The first use of princ
displays the following on the command line:
Newmenu utilities... Loaded.
The second call to princ exits the AutoLISP function. Without this second call to princ, the message
would be displayed twice. As mentioned previously, you can include the onfailure argument with calls to
the load function as an extra precaution.
S::STARTUP FunctionPost-Initialization Execution
The startup LISP files (acad.lsp, acaddoc.lsp, and .mnl) all load into memory before the drawing is
completely initialized. Typically, this does not pose a problem, unless you want to use the command
function, which is not guaranteed to work until after a drawing is initialized.
If the user-defined function S::STARTUP is included in an acad.lsp, acaddoc.lsp or a .mnl file, it is called
when you enter a new drawing or open an existing drawing. Thus, you can include a definition of
S::STARTUP in the LISP startup file to perform any setup operations.
For example, if you want to override the standard HATCH command by adding a message and then
switching to the BHATCH command, use an acaddoc.lsp file that contains the following:
(defun C:HATCH ( )
(alert "Using the BHATCH command!")
(princ "\nEnter OLDHATCH to get to real HATCH command.\n")
(command "BHATCH")
(princ)
)
(defun C:OLDHATCH ( )
(command ".HATCH")
(princ)
)
(defun-q S::STARTUP ( )
(command "undefine" "hatch")
(princ "\nRedefined HATCH to BHATCH!\n")
)
Before the drawing is initialized, new definitions for HATCH and OLDHATCH are defined with the defun
function. After the drawing is initialized, the S::STARTUP function is called and the standard definition of
HATCH is undefined.
Note: To be appended, the S::STARTUP function must have been defined with the defun-q function
rather than defun.
Because an S::STARTUP function can be defined in many places (an acad.lsp, acaddoc.lsp, .mnl file, or
any other AutoLISP file loaded from any of these), it's possible to overwrite a previously defined
S::STARTUP function. The following example shows one method of ensuring that your start-up function
works with other functions.
(defun-q MYSTARTUP ( )
... your start-up function ...
AutoCAD and Customizable Support Files
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)
(setq S::STARTUP (append S::STARTUP MYSTARTUP))
The previous code appends your start-up function to that of an existing S::STARTUP function, and then
redefines the S::STARTUP function to include your start-up code. This works properly regardless of the
prior existence of an S::STARTUP function.
Tips for Coding AutoLISP Startup Files
If an AutoLISP error occurs while you are loading a startup file, the remainder of the file is ignored and is
not loaded. Files specified in a startup file that do not exist or that are not in the AutoCAD library path
generally cause errors. Therefore, you may want to use the onfailure argument with the load function.
The following example uses the onfailure argument:
(princ (load "mydocapp1" "\nMYDOCAPP1.LSP file not loaded."))
(princ (load "build" "\nBUILD.LSP file not loaded."))
(princ (load "counter" "\nCOUNTER.LSP file not loaded."))
(princ)
If a call to the load function is successful, it returns the value of the last expression in the file (usually
the name of the last defined function or a message regarding the use of the function). If the call fails, it
returns the value of the onfailure argument. In the preceding example, the value returned by the load
function is passed to the princ function, causing that value to be displayed on the command line. For
example, if an error occurs while AutoCAD loads the mydocapp1.lsp file, the princ function displays the
following message and AutoCAD continues to load the two remaining files:
MYDOCAPP1.LSP file not loaded.
If you use the command function in an acad.lsp, acaddoc.lsp or MNL file, it should be called only from
within a defun statement. Use the S::STARTUP function to define commands that need to be issued
immediately when you begin a drawing session. The S::STARTUP function is described in S::STARTUP
FunctionPost-Initialization Execution.
Command Autoloader
When you automatically load a command using the load or command functions, the command's
definition takes up memory whether or not you actually use the command. The AutoLISP autoload
function makes a command available without loading the entire routine into memory. Adding the
following code to your acaddoc.lsp file automatically loads the commands CMD1, CMD2, and CMD3 from
the cmds.lsp file and the NEWCMD command from the newcmd.lsp file.
(autoload "CMDS" '("CMD1" "CMD2" "CMD3"))
(autoload "NEWCMD" '("NEWCMD"))
The first time you enter an automatically loaded command at the Command prompt, AutoLISP loads the
entire command definition from the associated file. AutoLISP also provides the autoarxload function for
ObjectARX applications. See "autoload" and "autoarxload" in the AutoLISP Reference.
acadvba.arxAutomatically Load VBA
You cannot load VBA until an AutoCAD VBA command is issued. If you want to load VBA automatically
every time you start AutoCAD include the following line in the acad.rx file:
acadvba.arx
You can automatically run a macro in the acad.dvb file by naming the macro AcadStartup. Any macro in
your acad.dvb file called AcadStartup automatically executes when VBA loads.
acad.dvbAutomatically Load a VBA Project
The acad.dvb file is useful if you want to load a specific VBA project that contains macros you want each
time you start AutoCAD. Each time you start a new AutoCAD drawing session, AutoCAD searches for the
acad.dvb file and loads it.
If you want a macro in your acad.dvb file to run each time you start a new drawing or open an existing
one, add the following code to your acaddoc.lsp file:
(defun S::STARTUP()
(command "_-vbarun" "updatetitleblock")
AutoCAD and Customizable Support Files
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)
Automatically Loading a VBA Project
There are two different ways to load a VBA project automatically:
When VBA is loaded it will look in the AutoCAD directory for a project named acad.dvb. This file
will automatically load as the default project
G
Any project other than the default, acad.dvb, can be used by explicitly loading that project at
startup using the VBALOAD command. The following code sample uses the AutoLISP startup file
to load VBA and a VBA project named myproj.dvb when AutoCAD is started. Start notepad.exe
and create (or append to) acad.lsp the following lines:
G
(defun S::STARTUP()
(command "_VBALOAD" "myproj.dvb")
)
Automatically Running a VBA Macro
You can automatically run any macro in the acad.dvb file by calling it with the command line version of
VBARUN from an AutoCAD startup facility like acad.lsp. For example, to automatically run the macro
named drawline, first save the drawline macro in the acad.dvb file. Next, invoke notepad.exe and create
(or append to) acad.lsp the following lines:
(defun S::STARTUP()
(command "_-vbarun" "drawline")
)
You can cause a macro to run automatically when VBA loads by naming the macro AcadStartup. Any
macro in your acad.dvb file called AcadStartup will automatically get executed when VBA loads.

You are visitor number

Right, enough of pull-downs for the meantime. Let's now have a look at Image Menu's.
Firstly, we need to create a couple of slides to display in our image menu.
Let's create some slides named D1 to D8, DDOOR and HDDOOR.
You can create these slides yourself using any object that you wish, as long as they are named as stated. (I
need the server space and drawing files are rather big.) Now we need to create a file library as a container
for these slides.
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Locate the Slidelib.exe function. It is normally in your Acad Support directory. Copy it to the same
directory as your slides.
Now create a text file named Slidelist.LST and in it, make a list of all the slide names. (Remember to check
spelling and case.)
D1
D2
D3
D4
D5
D6
D7
D8
DDOOR
HDDOOR
Make sure that this file is also in the same directory as the slides.
Now go to DOS. (Remember that 'black' place?)
At the DOS prompt find your way to the directory where your slides, Slidelib.exe and Slidelist.LST are
located.
Type :
slidelib DOORS < Slidelist.LST then ENTER.
If you have done everything correct, DOORS.SLB should be created.
Next, we need to add an Image section to our menu file :
***MENUGROUP=TEST4
***POP1
P1_1[&Test Menu 4]
P1_2[&Layer 2 On]^C^CLayer;M;2;;
P1_3[--]
P1_4[&Ortho On/Off]^C^C^O
P1_5[--]
P1_6[->&Change]
P1_7[->C&hange Layer]
P1_8[Change to Layer 1]^C^CChange;\;P;LA;1;;
P1_9[Change to Layer 2]^C^CChange;\;P;LA;2;;
P1_10[Change to Layer 3]^C^CChange;\;P;LA;3;;
P1_11[<-Change to Layer 4]^C^CChange;\;P;LA;4;;
P1_12[->Ch&ange Colour]
P1_13[Change to Colour 3]^C^CChange;\;P;C;1;;
P1_14[Change to Colour 3]^C^CChange;\;P;C;2;;
P1_15[Change to Colour 3]^C^CChange;\;P;C;3;;
P1_16[<-<-Change to Colour 4]^C^CChange;\;P;C;4;;
P1_17[--]
P1_18[&Kenny](alert "Kenny is Handsome")
P1_19[--]
P1_20[Image Menu]^C^C$I=TEST4.DOORS $I=* //calls Image Menu
***IMAGE
**DOORS
[DOORS Created by Kenny Ramage ]
[DOORS(D1,DOOR1)]INSERT;*D1;\;;
[DOORS(D2,DOOR2)]INSERT;*D2;\;;
[DOORS(D3,DOOR3)]INSERT;*D3;\;;
[DOORS(D4,DOOR4)]INSERT;*D4;\;;
[DOORS(D5,DOOR5)]INSERT;*D5;\;;
[DOORS(D6,DOOR6)]INSERT;*D6;\;;
[DOORS(D7,DOOR7)]INSERT;*D7;\;;
[DOORS(D8,DOOR8)]INSERT;*D8;\;;
[DOORS(DDOOR,DOUBLE DOOR)]INSERT;*DDOOR;\;;
[DOORS(HDDOOR,DOOR & HALF)]INSERT;*HDDOOR;\;;
[ FITTINGS]$I=KENNY.FITTINGS $I=*
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The first line, ***IMAGE, defines the Image section of the menu.
The second line, **DOORS, is the name of the Image section submenu.
The third line is the title of the label that appears at the top.
The following lines get a bit more complicated so, let's dissect them.
[DOORS(D1,DOOR)]INSERT;*D1;\;;
[DOORS is the name of the slide library.
(D1, is the name of the specific slide.
,DOOR1)] is the label that is displayed in the list box.
INSERT;*D1;\;; is the menu macro.
Your Pull Down menu should now look like this :
And your Image menu like this (with different images of course) :
Did you notice the method of calling the image menu?
P1_20[Image Menu]^C^C$I=TEST4.DOORS $I=*
Good, at least some one is awake ;-)
Phew...(Wipe's sweat off brow)....Time for a break.
Next we'll move on to Custom Toolbars.
See you on the next page......
Page I. Page II. Home. Page IV.

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Page I. Page II Page III. Home.
Creating Menu's - Page IV.
Custom Toolbars
The easiest way of creating a custom toolbar is to use the AutoCAD interface.
First, copy and rename Test4.MNU to Test5.MNU. Edit the menu file so that it looks like this :
***MENUGROUP=TEST5
***POP1
P1_1[&Test Menu 5]
P1_2[&Layer 2 On]^C^CLayer;M;2;;
P1_3[--]
P1_4[&Ortho On/Off]^C^C^O
P1_5[--]
P1_6[->&Change]
P1_7[->C&hange Layer]
P1_8[Change to Layer 1]^C^CChange;\;P;LA;1;;
P1_9[Change to Layer 2]^C^CChange;\;P;LA;2;;
P1_10[Change to Layer 3]^C^CChange;\;P;LA;3;;
P1_11[<-Change to Layer 4]^C^CChange;\;P;LA;4;;
P1_12[->Ch&ange Colour]
P1_13[Change to Colour 3]^C^CChange;\;P;C;1;;
P1_14[Change to Colour 3]^C^CChange;\;P;C;2;;
P1_15[Change to Colour 3]^C^CChange;\;P;C;3;;
P1_16[<-<-Change to Colour 4]^C^CChange;\;P;C;4;;
P1_17[--]
P1_18[&Kenny](alert "Kenny is Handsome")
P1_19[--]
P1_20[Image Menu]^C^C$I=TEST4.DOORS $I=*
***IMAGE
**DOORS
[DOORS Created by Kenny Ramage ]
[DOORS(D1,DOOR1)]INSERT;*D1;\;;
[DOORS(D2,DOOR2)]INSERT;*D2;\;;
[DOORS(D3,DOOR3)]INSERT;*D3;\;;
[DOORS(D4,DOOR4)]INSERT;*D4;\;;
[DOORS(D5,DOOR5)]INSERT;*D5;\;;
[DOORS(D6,DOOR6)]INSERT;*D6;\;;
[DOORS(D7,DOOR7)]INSERT;*D7;\;;
[DOORS(D8,DOOR8)]INSERT;*D8;\;;
[DOORS(DDOOR,DOUBLE DOOR)]INSERT;*DDOOR;\;;
[DOORS(HDDOOR,DOOR & HALF)]INSERT;*HDDOOR;\;;
[ FITTINGS]$I=KENNY.FITTINGS $I=*
Open AutoCAD and load this new menu file.
Now, to create a new toolbar, follow these steps :
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Right Click on any toolbar.
The Toolbars Dialogue will open.
Select "New".
The New Toolbar dialogue will open
In the "Toolbar Name" edit box enter "Testbar" and from the "Menu Group" drop down list
select Test5.mnu
Select O.K.
A small empty toolbar will appear on your screen.
Select "Customize" from the "Toolbars" dialogue.
The "Customize Toolbars" dialogue will open.
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In the "Catagories" list box select "Custom".
Select the blank tile then drag and drop it onto your empty toolbar.
Repeat this so that you have 3 blank tiles on your toolbar.
Your toolbar should look like this :
Select "Close"
You now have a toolbar with 3 buttons that do exactly nothing!!
Right Click on the first blank tile.
The "Button Properties" dialogue will open.
In the "Name" edit box type "Test Tool 1".
This will appear as a tooltip.
In the "Help" edit box type "This is Test Button 1".
This will appear in the status bar.
In the "Macro Edit" edit box enter :
^C^C(Alert "Test Tool 1")
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This is the action assigned to this button.
Now, from the "Button Icon" list, select the first blank tile, then "Edit".
The "Button Editor" will open.
Select "Grid" to place a grid over your button.
Using the edit tools and the colour palette, draw the image that you would like to appear on your
button.
When you are happy select "Save" then "Close".
In the "Buttons Properties" dialogue select "Apply".
You will notice your completed button appear in your toolbar.
Right Click on the second button and repeat the process, naming the button "Test Tool 2".
Then again for the third button naming it "Test Tool 3".
When you have finished and have closed all dialogue boxes, your toolbar should look something like
this :
Select any of the buttons on the toolbar and you should get an alert message.
Now Exit AutoCAD.
Open Test5.mnu
Do you notice that nothing has changed and there is no Toolbar section in the MNU file?
The reason for this is because when you Add, Move or Edit any toolbars using the AutoCAD
interface, the results are written to the MNS file and not to the MNU file. To update the MNU file
and make our changes permanent, we need to copy and paste the toolbars section from the MNS
file into the MNU file.
Right, let's do that. Your MNU file should now look like this :
***MENUGROUP=TEST5
***POP1
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P1_1[&Test Menu 5]
P1_2[&Layer 2 On]^C^CLayer;M;2;;
P1_3[--]
P1_4[&Ortho On/Off]^C^C^O
P1_5[--]
P1_6[->&Change]
P1_7[->C&hange Layer]
P1_8[Change to Layer 1]^C^CChange;\;P;LA;1;;
P1_9[Change to Layer 2]^C^CChange;\;P;LA;2;;
P1_10[Change to Layer 3]^C^CChange;\;P;LA;3;;
P1_11[<-Change to Layer 4]^C^CChange;\;P;LA;4;;
P1_12[->Ch&ange Colour]
P1_13[Change to Colour 3]^C^CChange;\;P;C;1;;
P1_14[Change to Colour 3]^C^CChange;\;P;C;2;;
P1_15[Change to Colour 3]^C^CChange;\;P;C;3;;
P1_16[<-<-Change to Colour 4]^C^CChange;\;P;C;4;;
P1_17[--]
P1_18[&Kenny](alert "Kenny is Handsome")
P1_19[--]
P1_20[Image Menu]^C^C$I=TEST4.DOORS $I=*
***IMAGE
**DOORS
[DOORS Created by Kenny Ramage ]
[DOORS(D1,DOOR1)]INSERT;*D1;\;;
[DOORS(D2,DOOR2)]INSERT;*D2;\;;
[DOORS(D3,DOOR3)]INSERT;*D3;\;;
[DOORS(D4,DOOR4)]INSERT;*D4;\;;
[DOORS(D5,DOOR5)]INSERT;*D5;\;;
[DOORS(D6,DOOR6)]INSERT;*D6;\;;
[DOORS(D7,DOOR7)]INSERT;*D7;\;;
[DOORS(D8,DOOR8)]INSERT;*D8;\;;
[DOORS(DDOOR,DOUBLE DOOR)]INSERT;*DDOOR;\;;
[DOORS(HDDOOR,DOOR & HALF)]INSERT;*HDDOOR;\;;
[ FITTINGS]$I=KENNY.FITTINGS $I=*
***TOOLBARS
**TESTBAR
ID_1 [_Toolbar("Testbar", _Floating, _Show, 202, 163, 1)]
ID_2 [_Button("Test Tool 1", "ICON.bmp", "ICON_24_BLANK")]
^C^C(Alert "Test Tool 1")
ID_3 [_Button("Test Tool 2", "ICON0041.bmp", "ICON_24_BLANK")]
^C^C(Alert "Test Tool 2")
ID_4 [_Button("Test Tool 3", "ICON8467.bmp", "ICON_24_BLANK")]
^C^C(Alert "Test Tool 3")
Let's take a closer look at the toolbars section :
***TOOLBARS is, of course, the label for the start of the toolbars section. **TESTBAR is the label
for the Toolbar Subsection.
The first Toolbar definition line (ID_1) defines the characteristics of
the toolbar itself. This is made up of 6 parts :
tbarname The string that names the toolbar. ("Testbar")
orient The orientation of the toolbar. (Floating)
Acceptable values are Floating, Top, Bottom,
Left and Right.
visible The visibility of the toolbar. (Show)
Acceptable values are Show and Hide.
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xval The x co-ordinate of the toolbar (202)
Measured from the left edge of the screen to the
right side of the toolbar. (in pixels)
yval The y co-ordinate of the toolbar. (163)
Measured from the top edge of the screen to the
top of the toolbar. (in pixels)
rows Number of rows in the toolbar (1)
The second and remaining Toolbar definition lines (ID_2 to ID_4) define the characteristics of the
buttons. They are each made up of 3 parts :
btnname The string that names the button. ("Test Tool 1")
id_small The name of the small image bitmap (ICON.bmp)
(16 x 16 bitmap)
id_big The name of the large image bitmap (ICON_24_BLANK)
(24 x 24 bitmap)
macro Action/Command assigned to the button.
Did you notice that a blank tile is in place of the large 24 x 24 bitmap.
The reason for this, of course, is because we never defined a large bitmap.
If I require large bitmaps I use an imaging editing package to increase the size of my existing 16 x
16 bitmap to 24 x 24 and save it as a large bitmap, adding "24" to the end of the name.
Anyway, that's about it. I hope that you managed to muddle your way through this lot and that you
will soon be writing your own partial menu's.
I don't know about you, but this is thirsty work, so I'm off for an extremely large, cold beer. (or 10).
Cheers for now.......
To download this complete Tutorial including, all Menu's and Support files,
be brave and Click Here.

Page I. Page II. Page III. Home.

You are visitor number

Select "Tools" "Customise Menu's" from pulldown. G

Select "Browse" G
Change file type to "Menu Template (*.MNU)" G
Open Directory where TEST.MNU resides. G
Select "TEST.MNU" then press "OK" G
Select "Load". G
Answer "Yes" when prompted. G
Click on "Menu Bar" tab. G
From "Menu Group" pulldown select "TEST". G
In the "Menu's" section, select "Test Menu". G
Press "Insert" to add it to the Menu Bar. G
Select "Close" G
Un-Loading Partial Menu's
To Un-Load Partial Menu's do the following :

Select "Tools" "Customise Menu's" from pulldown. G

In the Menu Groups list, highlight the menu that you wish to remove. G
Select "Unload". G
Select "Close". G
The menu will be removed.
Menu files can also be loaded and un-loaded programmatically.
The methods of doing this will be covered later in the tutorial.
Just a couple of comments on Loading and Un-Loading menu's.
When loading a menu file, AutoCAD compiles the .MNU file into .MNC and .MNR files. The .MNC
file is a compiled version of the .MNU file and the .MNR file contains the bitmaps used by the
menu.
AutoCAD also generates a .MNS file. This is an ASCII file that is initially the same as the .MNU file
but is modified by AutoCAD each time you make changes to the menu file through the interface.
(such as modifying the contents of a toolbar.
HINT : If you have modified a menu file and it does not display correctly, or gives you other
hassles, then delete the .MNC, .MNR and .MNS files. This forces the menu to re-compile.
Back to Tutorial.

Loading Partial Menu's

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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Home. Page II.
VBA and Sequential Text Files
Sometimes you may need to store and retrieve information but do no need the power of a
spreadsheet or database. (not to mention the extra coding, configuration and support files that go
along with it.) In these cases a text file may be just the thing you need. The process of storing and
retrieving information is simple, and the file can be edited by anyone - even if that person doesn't
have a spreadsheet/database tool.
Let's have a look first at reading from a sequential text file.
Let's say we have a text file containing a list of standard layers that we would like to import into
AutoCAD.
Here's what we would need to do :
1. Open the file for input.
2. Read a line from the file and store it in a variable.
3. Add the contents of the variable to a list box.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each line in the file.
5. Close the file.
O.K. first let's create our text file. Open Notepad and enter these layer names :
Annotations
Architectural
Beers
Border
Civil
Dimensions
Electrical
Existing
Instrumentation
Mechanical
Piping
Steel
Text
Now save this file as Layer.txt, ensuring that it is within your support path.
Now open a new Project and Userform. Place a Listbox on the form keeping the default name.
In the Userform Initialize event procedure, place the following code :
'CODING STARTS HERE
Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
Dim sTemp As String
'clear listbox
ListBox1.Clear
'open the text file
Open "Layer.txt" For Input As #1
'until the end of file
While Not EOF(1)
'read the line and store it in a variable
VBA ans Sequential Text Files
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Line Input #1, sTemp
'display in the list box
ListBox1.AddItem sTemp
'loop
Wend
'close the file
Close #1
End Sub
'CODING ENDS HERE

Run the Project. You Listbox should look like this :

In the preceding example, 1 is the file number. However, if you open and close multiple files
throughout your program, using this number might not be a good idea. In that case, you should use
the "FreeFile" function. I've re-written the coding below to include this function as well as some
basic error trapping :
'CODING STARTS HERE
Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
Dim sTemp As String
Dim nFile As Integer
On Error GoTo err_handler
'get the next free file number
nFile = FreeFile
'clear listbox
ListBox1.Clear
'open the text file
Open "Layer.txt" For Input As #nFile
'until the end of file
While Not EOF(nFile)
'read the line and store it in a variable
Line Input #nFile, sTemp
'display in the list box
VBA ans Sequential Text Files
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ListBox1.AddItem sTemp
'loop
Wend
'close the file
Close #nFile
Exit Sub
err_handler:
MsgBox Err.Number & " " & Err.Description
Err.Clear
Exit Sub
End Sub
'CODING ENDS HERE
To write data, you open the file for sequential output or append. Have a look at the following two
lines of code, each of which opens a file for output :
'output mode - always creates a new file, erases any existing information
Open "DwgLog.txt" for Output as #nFile
'append mode - adds to an existing file or creates one
Open "DwgLog.txt" for Append as #nFile
Append mode means data written to a file is added to the end of existing data. Opening a file for
Output means that any existing data will be erased. In either case the Open statement automatically
creates the file if it does not exist.
Have a look at the following coding that when you run it, will write a Log file containing the date,
time and Drawing Number :
'CODING ENDS HERE
Sub DrgLog ()
Dim nFile1 As Integer
Dim Dname As String
On Error GoTo err_handler
'retrieve the drawing name
Dname = ThisDrawing.GetVariable("DWGNAME")
'get the next free file number
nFile1 = FreeFile
'open the file to append to
Open "DrgLog.txt" For Append As #nFile1
'write to the file
Print #nFile1, Format$(Now, "mm-dd-yy hh:mm:ss") & " - " & Dname
'close the file
Close #nFile1
Exit Sub
err_handler:
MsgBox Err.Number & " " & Err.Description
Err.Clear
Exit Sub
End Sub
'CODING ENDS HERE
VBA ans Sequential Text Files
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DrgLog.txt should have been created in your working directory. Open it and have a look. It should
look something like this :
11-02-01 09:57:20 - X3481.dwg
11-02-01 19:57:21 - X3482.dwg
11-02-01 14:40:20 - K2341.dwg
11-02-01 15:21:40 - K3418.dwg
Every time the routine is run, the date, time and Drawing Number is added to the file. (Hey, we
could make a good drawing log file out of this?)
On the next page we'll have a look at opening and searching a text file for multiple instances of
information required for a program to run.
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VBA - Hiding Dialogs and Other Things.

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Hiding Dialog Boxes in DCL
Ladies and Gentlemen "WASSUP"
Hee, hee - I've always wanted to do that.
Probably the most vexing (on my part) query I get, is in regards to hiding dialog boxes.
It seems to take ages and numerous emails before the poor soul trying to grasp the concept finally
understands the principle, or (and this is more likely) gives up and joins a monastery/nunnery.
So, without further due, and absolutely no regard for my own safety, I'm going to have another shot at
explaining how to go about hiding such a wee delicate thing as a dialog box.
Okay, are you ready? Are you sat nice and comfy on your cuddly, wuddly little bottom?
The let's do it!!!
("Randall, could you please keep the noise down 'cos I'm trying to explain something here. What?
You're eating!! Try and use a knife and and fork - I know it's chicken and you're allowed to use your
fingers, but you're supposed to cook the thing and remove the feathers first.")
On to the more serious bit............
Often you need to make a selection on the screen whilst a dialog box is active. But to do this, you need
to be able to hide the dialog box to allow the user to make a selection from the screen. You must then
restore the dialog box, along with the values that the user has selected. To accomplish this lets first
have a look at two of the most critical DCL functions :
(done_dialog [status])
status : A positive integer that (start_dialog) will return instead of returning 1 for OK or 0 for
Cancel. The meaning of any status value greater than 1 is determined by your application.
G
Usage Notes : An explicit AutoLisp action for the "accept" button must specify a status of 1 (or an
application-defined value); otherwise, (start_dialog) returns the default value, 0, which makes it
appear as if the dialog box was canceled.
G
(start_dialog)
Return Values : The (start_dialog) function returns the optional status passed to (done_dialog).
The default value is 1 if the user presses OK, 0 if the user presses Cancel, or -1 if all dialog boxes
are terminated with (term_dialog). If (done_dialog) is passed an integer status greater than 1,
(start_dialog) returns this value, whose meaning is determined by the application.
G
What the heck does all this mean????
When you want to close a dialog, you call the (done_dialog) function.
But did you know that when you call the (done_dialog) function a status argument is returned? Well it's
true!!!
Now think about this. When (done_dialog) is called from a tile who's key is 'cancel' (the Cancel button),
it returns a status of 0.
If a tile who's key is 'accept' is chosen (the OK button), it will return a status value of 1.
Note carefully, YOU must define a status of 1.
Now here's the important bit, if you use the (done_dialog) function along with a status value of say 4,
you know that the dialog box has been hidden and not ended or cancelled.
But how do I retrieve that status value?
Easy, when you call (start_dialog), it returns the (done_dialog) status value.
(setq flag (start_dialogue))
By testing this value in a (while) loop we can determine whether the dialog was simply hidden or
accepted or cancelled. Below is a sample routine that should, hopefully, I hope and pray, explain it to
you a lot better.
This routine simply displays a dialog box with three buttons
If you select "OK" or "Cancel", an alert box is displayed and the dialog is simply closed.
But, if you click the "Select Object" button, the dialog is hidden and an alert box is displayed informing
you of the fact. After selecting OK, the dialog is re-displayed or, to use the words of a great magician
that I once knew, un-hidden.
CAD Encoding - Hiding Dialog Boxes in DCL - Page I
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First the DCL Coding :

hidedialog1 : dialog {
label = "Hide Dialogue";
: button {
label = "Hide Dialog >>";
key = "hide";
width = 8;
fixed_width = true;
mnemonic = "H";
alignment = centered;
is_default = true;
}
: spacer { width = 1;}
ok_cancel;
}
Save this as "HideDialog1.DCL
And now the AutoLisp coding. Save this as "HideDialog1.LSP :

(defun c:hidedialog1 ( / dcl_id flag)

;set flag to 4
(setq flag 4)
;load the DCL file
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "hidedialog1.dcl"))

;check the flag status and carry on looping
;if it is greater than 2
(while (> flag 2)

;load the dialog box
(if (not (new_dialog "hidedialog1" dcl_id))

;if not loaded exit
(exit))
;Note: I have explicitly defined the status
;return value for the "cancel" "accept" and "hide"
;tiles. I recommend you do the same.
;if Cancel button selected, close
;the dialog. This action sets the
;flag to 0.
CAD Encoding - Hiding Dialog Boxes in DCL - Page I
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(action_tile "cancel" "(done_dialog 0)")
;if OK button was selected, close
; the dialog. This action
;sets the flag to 1.
(action_tile "accept" "(done_dialog 1)")

;if pick button selected, hide the dialog
;and set the flag to 4
(action_tile "hide" "(done_dialog 4)")
;start the dialog and set flag
;to value of start dialog
(setq flag (start_dialog))
;if the OK button was selected
(if (= flag 1) (alert "You chose the OK button"))
;if the Cancel button was selected
(if (= flag 0) (alert "You chose the Cancel button"))
;if the pick button was selected
(if (= flag 4) (alert "You chose the Hide Dialog button"))
);while
;unload the dialog
(unload_dialog dcl_id)
(princ)
);defun
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
(princ);load clean
Let's now get really brave and have a look at a wee practical example.......................
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hidedialog : dialog {
label = "Hide Dialogue";
: list_box {
label = "&Properties :";
key = "selections";
height = 7;
width = 25;
}
: button {
label = "Select Object >>";
key = "hide";
width = 8;
fixed_width = true;
mnemonic = "S";
alignment = centered;
is_default = true;
}
: spacer { width = 1;}
ok_cancel;
}
Save this as "HideDialog.DCL
CAD Encoding - Hiding Dialog Boxes in DCL - Page II
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And now the AutoLisp coding. Save this as "HideDialog.LSP :

(defun c:hidedialog ( / dcl_id thelist lay col ltp lwt flag)

(vl-load-com)
;set up default list box values
(setq thelist '("Layer = NULL" "Color = NULL"
"Linetype = NULL" "Lineweight = NULL"))
;set flag to 4
(setq flag 4)
;load the DCL file
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "hidedialog.dcl"))

;check the flag status and carry on looping
;if it is greater than 2
(while (> flag 2)

;load the dialog box
(if (not (new_dialog "hidedialog" dcl_id))

;if not loaded exit
(exit))
;populate the list box with the values
;in thelist
(start_list "selections")
(mapcar 'add_list thelist)
(end_list)
;if Cancel button selected, close
;the dialog. This action sets the
;flag to 0.
(action_tile "cancel" "(done_dialog 0)")
;if OK button was selected, close
; the dialog. This action
;sets the flag to 1.
(action_tile "accept" "(done_dialog 1)")

;if pick button selected, hide the dialog
;and set the flag to 4
(action_tile "hide" "(done_dialog 4)")
;start the dialog and set flag
;to value of start dialog
(setq flag (start_dialog))
;if the OK button was selected
(if (= flag 1) (alert "You chose the OK button"))
;if the Cancel button was selected
(if (= flag 0) (alert "You chose the Cancel button"))
;if the pick button was selected
CAD Encoding - Hiding Dialog Boxes in DCL - Page II
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(if (= flag 4)
;do the following
(progn
;select the object
(setq ent (entsel))
;convert to vl object
(setq ent (vlax-Ename->Vla-Object (car ent)))
;get the properties and place them in a list
;the layer first
(setq lay (strcat "Layer = "
(vla-get-layer ent))
;then the color
col (strcat "Color = "
(itoa (vla-get-color ent)))
;next the linetype
ltp (strcat "Linetype = "
(vla-get-linetype ent))
;finally the lineweight
lwt (strcat "Lineweight = "
(itoa (vla-get-lineweight ent)))
;create the list
thelist (list lay col ltp lwt)
);setq
);progn
);if
);while
;unload the dialog
(unload_dialog dcl_id)
(princ)
);defun
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
(princ);load clean
Hey just think! You can now design your own properties dialog.
Well that's about it regarding hiding dialog boxes.
I hope you had a good time, enjoyed the snacks (especially the chicken) and didn't drink too much beer.
Remember, don't drink and drive because you might spill some.
Did I forget? No I didn't. If you would like to download the source coding, just click here.
Home Page I
CAD Encoding - Hiding Dialog Boxes in DCL - Page II
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PolyLines and Arcs

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Polyline Bulges
By Stig Madsen, 2003
Bulges are something that women have (mostly to please the opposite sex it seems) and something that guys try to get by
placing socks in strategic places. At least until they get older. Which is the time they tend to develop bulges in not so strategic
places. In other words: bulges are all about curvature.
In AutoCAD, bulges are used in shapes and in arc segments of polylines. This article only deals with polyline bulges, and
because polyline bulges are describing circular arcs, let's first look at the geometry of a circular arc.
Because a circular arc describes a portion of the circumference of a circle, it has all the attributes of a circle:
Radius (r) is the same as in the circle the arc is a portion of. G
Center point (P) is also the same as in the circle. G
Included angle (θ). In a circle, this angle is 360 degrees. G
Arc length (le). The arc length is equal to the perimeter in a full circle. G
Adding to these attributes are some that are specific for an arc:
Start point and end point (P1 and P2) a.k.a. vertices (although sometimes it is practical to talk about specific points that a
circle passes through, there are no distinct vertices on the circumference of a circle).
G
Chord length (c). An infinite amount of chords can be described by both circles and arcs, but for an arc there is only one
distinct chord that passes through its vertices (for a circle, there is only one distinct chord that passes through the
center, the diameter, but it doesn't describe any specific vertices).
G
Given two fixed vertices, there is also a specific midpoint (P3) of an arc. G
Polyline Bulges Page I
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The apothem (a). This line starts at the center and is perpendicular to the chord. G
The sagitta (s) a.k.a. height of the arc. This line is drawn from the midpoint of an arc and perpendicular to its chord. G
Except for the arc itself, an arc can describe two distinct geometric forms: Circular segment and circular sector. Both figures
includes all of the attributes above, but for doing calculations with bulges, we'll mostly use the piece of pie that the arc cuts out
of a circle, the circular sector.
So, what is a bulge for a circular arc and how is it defined? In AutoCAD's online help reference, it says about bulges for
polylines:
The bulge is the tangent of 1/4 of the included angle for the arc between the selected vertex and the next vertex in the polyline's
vertex list. A negative bulge value indicates that the arc goes clockwise from the selected vertex to the next vertex. A bulge of 0
indicates a straight segment, and a bulge of 1 is a semicircle.
What does this mean and how can an arc be defined without even knowing the radius - or at least a chord length? It says that
the only information given for arc segments in polylines are two vertices and a bulge.
Well, it also says that the bulge has something to do with the tangent of a quarter of the included angle of an arc. That must be
a clue of how to obtain the angle. In fact, once you have a bulge value, you can very quickly retrieve the included angle by
inverting the above statement. Simply use the built-in function ATAN to get an angle and multiply it by 4 in order to get the
included angle:
(* 4.0 (atan 0.57735))
2.09439
So, a bulge of 0.57735 is describing an included angle of 2.09439 radians (which is 120.0 degrees, by the way). Try it out for yourself. Start
drawing a lightweight polyline, type "A" for arc, then "A" again for Angle and "120.0" for the included angle. Drop the endpoint somewhere,
leave the polyline command and type this at the command line:
Command: (setq ent (entget (entlast)))
((-1 . < Entity name: 7ef844f8>) (0 . "LWPOLYLINE") (330 . < Entity name:
7ef5ccf8>) (5 . "31F") (100 . "AcDbEntity") (67 . 0) (410 . "Model") (8 . "0")
(100 . "AcDbPolyline") (90 . 2) (70 . 0) (43 . 0.0) (38 . 0.0) (39 . 0.0) (10
-566.044 916.408) (40 . 0.0) (41 . 0.0) (42 . 0.57735) (10 -485.424 1075.7) (40
. 0.0) (41 . 0.0) (42 . -7.40144) (210 0.0 0.0 1.0))
Command: (setq bulge (cdr (assoc 42 ent)))
0.57735
Now you have a bulge value for the arc segment in the polyline, and you can try out the formula above.
Ok, fine. But why is the bulge 1/4 of the included angle and where does the tangent fit in? There are many ways to explain this. One is shown
below. The figures show a circle with a central angle describing an arc and we'll try to show that the yellow angles ε and σ are
exactly one quarter of the cyan central angle θ.
Polyline Bulges Page I
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If the full angle is cut in half - as shown with the blue angle η at figure 2 - we get an isosceles triangle (green) where the angles φ and
τ are equal. Because the sum of angles in a triangle is always 180 degrees, we now know that the angles φ and τ are
= = (180 - /2)/2 => = 90 - /4
Now look at the chord from P1 to P2 in figure 3. Together with the red legs of angle θ it also forms an isosceles triangle, and therefore
γ is equal to ξ. The top angle is the full angle of θ, so γ and ξ become equal to
= = (180 - )/2 => = 90 - /2
Thus, the yellow angle ε must be the magenta angle φ minus the orange angle γ. In other words, ε is a quarter of
the included angle θ:
= (90 - /4) - (90 - /2) => = /2 - /4 = /4
The bulge is describing how much the arc "bulges out" from the vertices, i.e. the height of the arc (the sagitta (s), or the distance P3 to P4 in
figure 4). The height forms a leg of a right-angled triangle that has an exact angle of 1/4 of the included angle (see the yellow triangle P-P2-P3
in figure 4) and because tangent is describing the ratio between the legs in a right-angled triangle, it's easy to describe the geometry with this
one angle:
sin /cos = tan
Polyline Bulges Page I
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We could also find tangent of angle ε by simply dividing the opposite leg with the adjacant leg - which means the sagitta, s, divided by
half the distance of the chord, c, - but not knowing s and having the tangent of ε already, we would rather want to find s:
s = c/2 * tan()
Given that bulge = tan(ε), we get
s = c/2 * bulge
Radius of the arc can now be found with this formula:
r = ((c/2)
2
+s
2
)/2*s
The sign of a particular bulge is important for the way it's defined in relation to the vertices. If a bulge is positive it means that the arc is
measured counterclockwise from the starting vertex to the end vertex. If a bulge is negative it means that the arc runs the other way round, -
it's measured clockwise. The system variable ANGDIR has no influence on this.
Therefore all the formulas above has to be concerned about the absolute value of the bulge instead of the actual value - or you might end up
with a negative radius. In the code below we will find the center point. There are many ways to do this, but the method that is chosen here
relies on the angles that were defined previously. Subsequently, we will need it to test whether the bulge is postive or negative and act
accordingly.
Remember that the orange angle γ in fig. 3 was found to be 90 degrees minus half of the included angle? What happens if we add (or
subtract, depending on the arc direction) this angle to the angle between the two known vertices P1 and P2? We get the angle towards the
center. Knowing the angle, the radius and the start point of the arc we can find the center point with POLAR.
(setq gamma (/ (- pi theta) 2.0)
phi (if (>= bulge 0)
(+ (angle p1 p2) gamma)
(- (angle p1 p2) gamma)
)
p (polar p1 phi r)
)
Another way to find the direction towards the center is to use good old Pythagorus. We already know radius and the chord length, so by using
radius as the hypothenuse and half the chord length as a leg in a right-angled triangle, where the apothem is the second leg, it's possible to
draw the apothem and find the center point.
Polyline Bulges Page I
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(setq c|2 (/ c 2.0))
(setq a (sqrt (- (expt r 2.0) (expt c|2 2.0)))
midp (polar p1 (angle p1 p2) c|2)
p2 (if (>= bulge 0)
(polar midp (+ (angle p1 p2) (/ pi 2.0)) a)
(polar midp (- (angle p1 p2) (/ pi 2.0)) a)
)
)
By now, enough angles and distances are known to also use other trigonometric functions in order to find the center point without using
POLAR, but that has to remain a home assignment for now. Let's get some code up'n'running, utilizing the formulas and methods we just
went over. Later we will repeat some of the formulas to use with bulges.
First function will be an ordinary pick-a-polyline function. It contains no magic. The user is merely asked to pick a lightweight polyline and, if
successful, it returns a list of all segments on the form (vertex1 bulge vertex2). These segments will later be used to analyze each arc segment in
the polyline. Although it only accepts lightweight polylines, there's nothing to prevent you from adjusting it to also accept old-style polylines.
(defun getPolySegs (/ ent entl p1 pt bulge seg ptlst)
(setvar "ERRNO" 0)
;; repeat request for polyline until user either picks
;; a polyline or exits without picking
(while (and (not ent) (/= (getvar "ERRNO") 52))
(if (and (setq ent (car (entsel "\nSelect polyline: ")))
(/= (cdr (assoc 0 (setq entl (entget ent)))) "LWPOLYLINE")
)
(setq ent nil)
)
)
(cond (ent
;; save start point if polyline is closed
(if (= (logand (cdr (assoc 70 entl)) 1) 1)
(setq p1 (cdr (assoc 10 entl)))
)
;; run thru entity list to collect list of segments
(while (setq entl (member (assoc 10 entl) entl))
;; if segment then add to list
(if (and pt bulge)
(setq seg (list pt bulge))
)
;; save next point and bulge
(setq pt (cdr (assoc 10 entl))
bulge (cdr (assoc 42 entl))
)
;; if segment is build then add last point to segment
;; and add segment to list
(if seg
(setq seg (append seg (list pt))
ptlst (cons seg ptlst))
)
;; reduce list and clear temporary segment
(setq entl (cdr entl)
seg nil
)
)
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)
)
;; if polyline is closed then add closing segment to list
(if p1 (setq ptlst (cons (list pt bulge p1) ptlst)))
;; reverse and return list of segments
(reverse ptlst)
)
Next function will be our workhorse. It will use everything we now know about retrieving included angle, height of arc, chord length, radius
and center point.
The function accepts a list of arguments on the form that corresponds to the segment sublists from the previous function - (vertex1 bulge
vertex2). If the argument is acceptable, it will print out information about the arc segment. We'll let the comments in the code take over any
further explanation.
(defun getArcInfo (segment / a p1 bulge p2 c c|2 gamma midp p phi r r2 s theta)
;; assign variables to values in argument
(mapcar 'set '(p1 bulge p2) segment)
;; find included angle
;; remember that bulge is negative if drawn clockwise
(setq theta (* 4.0 (atan (abs bulge))))
;; output included angle
(princ (strcat "\n Included angle: "
(rtos theta)
" rad ("
(angtos theta 0)
" degrees)"
)
)
;; find height of the arc
(setq c (distance p1 p2)
s (* (/ c 2.0) (abs bulge))
)
;; output height of arc
(princ (strcat "\n Height of arc: " (rtos s)))
;; output chord length
(princ (strcat "\n Chord length: " (rtos c)))
;; If this function is used without making sure that the segment
;; is not simply a line segment (bulge = 0.0), it will produce
;; a division-by-zero error in the following. Therefore we want
;; to be sure that it doesn't process line segments.
(cond ((not (equal bulge 0.0 1E-6))
;; find radius of arc
;; first find half the chord length
(setq c|2 (/ c 2.0)
;; find radius with Pythagoras (used as output)
r (/ (+ (expt c|2 2.0) (expt s 2.0)) (* s 2.0))
;; find radius with trigonometry
r2 (/ c|2 (sin (/ theta 2.0)))
)
(princ (strcat "\n Radius of arc: " (rtos r)))
;; find center point of arc with angle arithmetic
;; (used as output)
(setq gamma (/ (- pi theta) 2.0)
phi (if (>= bulge 0)
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(+ (angle p1 p2) gamma)
(- (angle p1 p2) gamma)
)
p (polar p1 phi r)
)
;; find center point of arc with Pythagoras
(setq a (sqrt (- (expt r 2.0) (expt c|2 2.0)))
midp (polar p1 (angle p1 p2) c|2)
p2 (if (>= bulge 0)
(polar midp (+ (angle p1 p2) (/ pi 2.0)) a)
(polar midp (- (angle p1 p2) (/ pi 2.0)) a)
)
)
;; output coordinates of center point
(princ (strcat "\n Center of arc: "
(rtos (car p))
","
(rtos (cadr p))
)
)
)
(T (princ "\n Segment has no arc info"))
)
(princ)
)
To try out these two functions, first draw a lightweight polyline with a couple of arc segments. At the command line, call getPolysegs and assign
a variable to the returned list:
Command: (setq myPoly (getPolySegs))
Select polyline: [select a polyline]
If a lightweight polyline was selected, it will return a list of segments. If, for example, the second segment contains a bulge value different from
0.0 then you can call the latter function like this:
Command: (getArcInfo (nth 1 myPoly))
Included angle: 1.9265 rad (110.3830 degrees)
Height of arc: 855.2904
Chord length: 3272.6317
Radius of arc: 1992.9203
Center of arc: 34915.2223,21409.8733
The last function in this article will bind the two functions together and explore each arc segment in the selected polyline. It will appear in part
two - along with some useful formulas for dealing with bulges.
Page II

Polyline Bulges Page I

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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PolyLines and Blocks.
PolyLines and Blocks!!! Come back... Don't run away....
Honestly, they are a lot easier to deal with than you think.
I know that they are called "complex entities", but the only difference between them and other
entities is that we just have to dig a bit deeper to get to what we want. In fact, once we get there I'll
show you a couple of things that you swear is magic. So bear with me, take your time, and hang on
for a ride on the magic carpet.......
PolyLines.
The lwpolyline entity, or "optimized polyline," is new to Release 14.
A lwpolyline is defined in the drawing database as a single graphic entity.
This is different than a standard polyline, which is defined as a group of subentities. Lwpolylines
display faster and consume less disk space and RAM.
In Release 14, 3D polylines are always created as standard polyline entities.
2D polylines are created as lwpolyline entities unless they have been curved or fitted with the PEDIT
command. When a drawing from a previous release is opened in Release 14, all 2D polylines convert
to lwpolylines automatically unless they have been curved or fitted or contain xdata.
We will have a look at the R13 and below Polyline first.
First of all draw 3 joined polylines. (3DPoly if you are using R14).
Then type this :
Command: (setq e (entget (car (entsel))))
AutoLisp should return something like this :
Select object: ((-1 . ) (0 . "POLYLINE") (5 . "27B") (100
. "AcDbEntity") (67 . 0) (8 . "0") (100 . "AcDb3dPolyline") (66 . 1) (10 0.0
0.0 0.0) (70 . 8) (40 . 0.0) (41 . 0.0) (210 0.0 0.0 1.0) (71 . 0) (72 . 0) (73
. 0) (74 . 0) (75 . 0))
Hey, wait a minute!!!......AutoLisp has returned the entity list, and I can see that it's a Polyline, but there are no
co-ordinates, and where does AutoLisp get the co-ordinates for all the vertices?
As I said earlier, we need to dig a little bit deeper to get the information we require. This is where the (entnext)
function comes into play.
Now type the following 5 code segments :
Command: (setq e1 (entget (entnext (cdr (car e)))))
((-1 . ) (0 . "VERTEX") (5 . "27C") (100 . "AcDbEntity")
(67 . 0) (8 . "0") (100 . "AcDbVertex") (100 . "AcDb3dPolylineVertex") (10
391.774 521.633 0.0) (40 . 0.0) (41 . 0.0) (42 . 0.0) (70 . 32) (50 . 0.0) (71
. 0) (72 . 0) (73 . 0) (74 . 0))
Command: (setq e2 (entget (entnext (cdr (car e1)))))
((-1 . ) (0 . "VERTEX") (5 . "27D") (100 . "AcDbEntity")
(67 . 0) (8 . "0") (100 . "AcDbVertex") (100 . "AcDb3dPolylineVertex") (10
758.971 383.418 0.0) (40 . 0.0) (41 . 0.0) (42 . 0.0) (70 . 32) (50 . 0.0) (71
. 0) (72 . 0) (73 . 0) (74 . 0))
Command: (setq e3 (entget (entnext (cdr (car e2)))))
((-1 . ) (0 . "VERTEX") (5 . "27E") (100 . "AcDbEntity")
(67 . 0) (8 . "0") (100 . "AcDbVertex") (100 . "AcDb3dPolylineVertex") (10
257.549 377.344 0.0) (40 . 0.0) (41 . 0.0) (42 . 0.0) (70 . 32) (50 . 0.0) (71
. 0) (72 . 0) (73 . 0) (74 . 0))
Command: (setq e4 (entget (entnext (cdr (car e3)))))
((-1 . ) (0 . "VERTEX") (5 . "27F") (100 . "AcDbEntity")
(67 . 0) (8 . "0") (100 . "AcDbVertex") (100 . "AcDb3dPolylineVertex") (10
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391.774 521.633 0.0) (40 . 0.0) (41 . 0.0) (42 . 0.0) (70 . 32) (50 . 0.0) (71
. 0) (72 . 0) (73 . 0) (74 . 0))
Command: (setq e5 (entget (entnext (cdr (car e4)))))
((-1 . ) (0 . "SEQEND") (5 . "280") (100 . "AcDbEntity")
(67 . 0) (8 . "0") (-2 . ))
The (cdr (car e)) returns the entity name of entity list e. Each code segment then uses the (entnext entity name)
of the entity that precedes it.
Take note of the entity type of each variable :
e (0 . "POLYLINE")
e1 (0 . "VERTEX")
e2 (0 . "VERTEX")
e3 (0 . "VERTEX")
e4 (0 . "VERTEX")
e5 (0 . "SEQEND")
Do you see that a 3 line Polyline consists of a master or, parent list, 4 vertex and an end-of sequence
("SEQEND") list.
To extract the entitity list for each vertex is therefore, quite easy. We just need to loop through the sequence of
vertices until we reach the SEQEND list.
Here's an example of a function that will print the coordinates for each vertex of a Polyline :
(defun c:coord ( / e r)
(setq e (entget (car (entsel))))
;get the parent entity list
(setq r 1)
;set loop control number to 1
(while r
;while loop control is not nil, carry on looping
(setq e (entget (entnext (cdr (car e)))))
;get the vertex entity list
(if (/= (cdr (assoc 0 e)) "SEQEND")
;if it is not "end-of-sequence
(progn
;do the following
(terpri)
;new line
(princ (cdr (assoc 10 e)))
;print the co-ordinates

);progn
(setq r nil)
;if end of sequence, stop looping
);if
);while
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
There is a quicker way of retrieving the entity list of a Polyline vertex.
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(nentsel) let's you select an entity and returns the name of the entity even if it belongs to a polyline. Try this.
Type this, then select any vertex of a polyline.
(setq e (entget (car (nentsel))))
AutoLisp should return something like this :
Select object: ((-1 . ) (0 . "POLYLINE") (5 . "270") (100
. "AcDbEntity") (67 . 0) (8 . "0") (100 . "AcDb3dPolyline") (66 . 1) (10 0.0
0.0 0.0) (70 . 9) (40 . 0.0) (41 . 0.0) (210 0.0 0.0 1.0) (71 . 0) (72 . 0) (73
. 0) (74 . 0) (75 . 0))
How's that? Straight to the entity list!!
Now, while we're here, let's have a quick look at blocks.....
Blocks.
Create a block consisting of a couple of lines and a circle with a radius of 20.
Now type this :
(setq e (entget (car (nentsel))))
Now pick the circle. AutoLisp should return something like this:
Select object: ((-1 . ) (0 . "CIRCLE") (5 . "282") (100 .
"AcDbEntity") (67 . 0) (8 . "0") (100 . "AcDbCircle") (10 0.0 -1.51849 0.0) (40
. 20.0) (210 0.0 0.0 1.0))
Hey, Hang about. It's returned the entity list of the circle even though it's part of a block!! Now type the
following:
(setq d (assoc 40 e))
(setq e1 (subst '(40 . 50.0) d e))
(entmod e1)
Now REGEN the drawing.
Did you noticed what happened? The radius of the circle has change even though it's part of a block. Not only
that, it has also redefined the block definition.
In other words, every block in the drawing with the same name would have changed.
I told you it was magic......
Let's change the layer of the circle:
(setq d (assoc 8 e1))
(setq e2 (subst '(8 . "STEEL") d e1))
(entmod e2)
Again, REGEN the drawing. The circle has changed to Layer "STEEL".
Now do you see what I mean by magic. I bet you never thought you would be able to modify a block without
exploding it. Well you can now.....
LwPolylines.
As we mentioned earlier, LwPolylines are a new feature in AutoCad Release 14.
They differ in that they are defined as a single entity. Let's have a look at a LwPolylines entity list.
Draw a LwPolyline and enter this:
(setq e (entget (car (entsel))))
AutoLisp should return something like this:
Select object: ((-1 . ) (0 . "LWPOLYLINE") (5 . "287")
(100 . "AcDbEntity") (67 . 0) (8 . "0") (100 . "AcDbPolyline") (90 . 3) (70 .
1) (43 . 0.0) (38 . 0.0) (39 . 0.0) (10 597.908 661.3) (40 . 0.0) (41 . 0.0)
(42 . 0.0) (10 1179.86 476.045) (40 . 0.0) (41 . 0.0) (42 . 0.0) (10 479.39
397.084) (40 . 0.0) (41 . 0.0) (42 . 0.0) (210 0.0 0.0 1.0))
As you can see, there is no need to use (entnext) to step through the vertex entities as the group 10 entity code is
already part of the parent list.
But, we do have another problem!! There are numerous group 10 entity codes.
(As well as Group 40 - Start Width; Group 41 - End Width and Group 42 - Bulge)
To extract these, we need to first, find the length of the list. Then we must loop through each code entity in the
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list searching for a group 10. Once found, we can easily extract the vertex co-ordinates. The following function
does just that:
(defun c:lwcoord (/ e len n e1)
(setq e (entget (car (entsel))))
;get the entity list
(setq len (length e))
;get the length of the list
(setq n 0)
;set counter to zero
(repeat len
;repeat for the length of the entity list
(setq e1 (car (nth n e)))
;get each item in the entity list
;and strip the entity code number
(if (= e1 10)
;check for code 10 (vertex)
(progn
;if it's group 10 do the following
(terpri)
;new line
(princ (cdr (nth n e)))
;print the co-ordinates

);progn
);if
(setq n (1+ n))
;increment the counter
);repeat
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
Well, that's it concerning Polylines and Blocks. I told you it was easy!!!
Remember, I've only scratched the surface with the things that you can do once you dig into entity lists,
especially with complex entities.
One last thing. Want to create your own entity?
Normally, in AutoLisp you would draw a line like this:
(command "Line" pt1 pt2 "")
Now, create you own line by doing this:
(setq e '((0 . "LINE")(8 . "0")(10 50.0 50.0 0.0)(11 100.0 100.0 0.0)))
(entmake e)
Makes you think, doesn't it??
Cheers for now................

PolyLines and Blocks Page I

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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Polyline Bulges - Part II
Given the two functions getPolySegs and getArcInfo we can now put together a command that inspects
all bulges in a polyline.
(defun C:POLYARCS (/ a polysegs seg)
;; make a list of polyline segments of a
;; selected polyline
(cond ((setq polysegs (getPolySegs))
;; a is just an informative counter
(setq a 0)
;; run thru each segment
(foreach seg polysegs
(setq a (1+ a))
;; only process the segment if it's an arc
;; i.e. bulge /= 0.0
(cond ((not (zerop (cadr seg)))
(princ (strcat "\nSegment " (itoa a) ": "))
;;
(getArcInfo seg)
)
)
)
)
)
)
Example:
Command: polyarcs
Select polyline:
Segment 2:
Included angle: 2.9932 rad (171.4974 degrees)
Height of arc: 1.1422
Chord length: 2.4605
Radius of arc: 1.2336
Center of arc: -9.4965,14.9290
Segment 4:
Included angle: 0.9844 rad (56.3997 degrees)
Height of arc: 0.4201
Chord length: 3.3447
Radius of arc: 3.5390
Center of arc: -5.8690,19.3390
Segment 5:
Included angle: 1.6177 rad (92.6872 degrees)
Height of arc: 0.5787
Chord length: 2.7043
Radius of arc: 1.8689
Center of arc: -2.1545,17.4054
This concludes the code for now. Below are some useful formulas for dealing with bulges. The picture
recaps some geometric details of the circular arc.
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= (* 4.0 (atan bulge))
= (/ 2.0)
= (+ )
= (- (/ pi 2.0)(/ 4.0))
= (/ (- (* pi 2.0) ) 4.0)
= (- (/ pi 2.0)(atan bulge))
= (/ (- pi ) 2.0)
= (- (/ pi 2.0)(* 2.0 (atan bulge)))
= (atan (/ a c))
= (/ 4.0)
= (atan bulge)
= (atan (/ s c))
c = (distance p1 p2)
= (* 2.0 r (cos ))
= (* 2.0 r (sin (/ 2.0)))
s = (* (/ c 2.0) bulge)
a = (sqrt (- (expt r 2.0) (expt (/ c 2.0) 2.0)))
(* r (cos ))
r = (/ (+ (expt (/ c 2.0) 2.0)(expt s 2.0))(* 2.0 s))
= (/ s (* 2.0 (sin )(cos )))
= (/ a (cos ))
The center point is found in the code by calculating angles and distances in order to use POLAR. In
function getArcInfo are given two methods. One is calculating the apothem as a leg in the triangle
P-P2-P4 and setting out the center point from P4. The other is using the angle γ and the radius
to set out the point from P1. Both methods have to read the sign of the bulge to know in which direction
the center point has to be set out.
Another method could be to view the arc as a part of the circumcircle to triangle P1-P2-P3. The medians
to the lines P1-P3 and P2-P3 intersect in the center point. We know the gradients for these medians
because both angles are known. E.g. any perpendicular to the line P1-P3 has the gradient (- (/ 1.0 gr)),
where gr is the gradient of P1-P3. Once having a point of the median (midpoint of P1-P3) and the grade,
it's possible to find the Y-interception and thereby the equation for the median. Doing this for both
medians we can use the following formulas for finding the intersection point - which is the center point
for the arc:
xi = - (m1 - m2)/(n1 - n2)
yi = m1 + n1*xi
where
m1 = gradient for median to P1-P3
n1 = Y-interception for median to P1-P3
m2 = gradient for median to P2-P3
n2 = Y-interception for median to P2-P3
There are many other solutions for finding the center point - among those some shorter trigonometric
methods - but this will have to do for now.
Because the geometry described by the 2 vertices and the bulge is relatively simple, there are many
other formulas than those depicted here. The important part is to understand how the bulge is defined
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and how it relates to the only other two pieces of data given - the vertices. Hopefully this was able to
shed a light on some of the definitions.
For more information, refer to :
Unit Circle Definition of Sine and Cosine Functions
Page I

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Using the sin/cos, tan/sec, and cot/csc Triangles to Establish Basic Trigonometric
Identites
The three similar triangles sin/cos, tan/sec, and cot/csc are extracted from the figure. A fourth similar
triangle is shown with the adjacent, opposite, and hypotenuse sides labelled.
The definition of the six trigonometric functions and other useful identities follow from using the fact
that the ratio of corresponding sides of similar triangles must be the equal. The results are:
Unit Circle Definition of Sine and Cosine Functions
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Using the sin/cos, tan/sec, and cot/csc Triangles to Determine the Pythagorean Idenities
The Pythagorean Theorem states: in any right-angled triangle, the sum of the squares of the lengths of
the sides containing the right angle is equal to the square of the hypothenuse. In short c
2
= a
2
+ b
2
.
Applying the Pythagorean Theorem to the sin/cos, tan/sec, and cot/csc triangles gives:

You are visitor number

Finding Files
One use of the Dir$ function is to determine whether a file exists. If you try to open a database or
access a file that does not exist, an error occurs. However, you can use Dir$ first to check for a files
existence before opening it, as in the following example :
If Dir$("C:/MYFILE.DWG" = " " Then
Msgbox "The file was not found. Please try again!"
End If
The Dir$ function returns the filename without the full path if the specified file is found, or it
returns an empty string if no files were found. The preceding line of code displays a message box if
MYFILE.DWG does not exist in the root directory of drive C. If the file does exist, the string
"myfile.dwg" is returned. To make things even simpler, you can create a generic function that
returns a Boolean value "True" if the given file exists.
Public Function bFileExists (Sfile As String) As Boolean
If Dir$(sFile) <> " " Then
bFileExists = True
Else
bFileExists = False
End Function
This function could then be used to check any filename passed to the program by the user, as in the
following example :
Dim sUserFile As String
sUserFile = InputBox$("Enter the File Name : ")
If Not bFileExists(sUserFile) Then
MsgBox "The file does not exist. Please try again."
End
End If
File Functions in Visual Basic
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Notice that the code sample ends the program if the file does not exist, to prevent any errors that
might occur later. Another way to handle this situation would be to keep asking the user for a
filename until a valid filename is entered.
Listing Files and Folders
Another use of the Dir$ function is to return a list of files in the specified path. If you use the Dir
command at an MS DOS prompt, each matching file is listed
on the screen. However, because the Dir$ function is designed to return only a single string
variable, you have to use a loop and retrieve one filename at a time. (You can also display a list of
files with a file list box, which is one of Visual Basic's default controls.
Suppose that your C:/DRAWINGS directory contains several drawings with a DWG extension. The
path used to retrieve these files with the Dir$ function would be C:/DRAWINGS/*.DWG. You can
use the following lines of code to retrieve the filenames and add them to a list box :
sNextFile As String
sNextFile = Dir$("C:/DRAWINGS/*.DWG")
While sNextFile <> " "
lstDwgList.AddItem sNextFile
sNextFile = Dir$
Wend
In the preceding example, notice that only the file path to Dir$ is supplied on the first call. Each
subsequent call to Dir$ has no arguments, indicating that you want to use the previous file path and
move to the next filename in the list. When no more files match, Dir$ returns an empty string and
the "While" loop terminates.
Caution : When you use Dir$ in a loop, always exit the loop after an empty string is returned. If you
try to make another call to Dir$ with no arguments, a runtime error occurs.
The second, optional parameter of the Dir$ function is used to provide additional conditions
(beyond the specified path) with which to select files. For example, using the constant "vbDirectory"
returns only the subdirectories (or folders) in the specified path. The constant "vbVolume" causes
Dir$ to return the specified drive's volume label. The available constants are
summarized below :
Constant Value Purpose
vbNormal 0 (Default Value)
vbHidden 2 Include Hidden Files
vbSystem 4 Include System Files
vbVolume 8 Return Drive Volume Label
vbDirectory 16 Display SubDirectories
vbReadOnly 1 Include read-only files
Note : Constants can be added together if you want to use more than one. For example, the
following code finds the system, hidden and read only file IO.SYS on a machine :
debug.Print Dir$("C:/IO.SYS" , vbHidden+vbSystem+vbReadOnly)
Note that the "vbHidden" constant refers to a file's attributes and not the Windows Explorer option
that hides certain file types.
File Manipulation Functions
File Functions in Visual Basic
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As with the Dir$ function, most of the file manipulation commands in Visual Basic are as
straightforward as their MS-DOS equivalents, although with a few limitations. These commands
are summarised below :
Copy a File FileCopy source dest
Delete one or more Files Kill path
Rename a File Name oldname As newname
Create a Folder MkDir pathname
Remove an empty Folder RemDir pathname
Change current directory ChDir pathname
Change current drive ChDrive drive
Several of these functions are described in the following sections :
Copying Files
The "FileCopy" command has the limitation that you cannot use wildcards to
specify multiple files. "FileCopy" can copy files locally or over a network, as shown in the
following example :
'The following line copies a file while changing its name :
FileCopy "D:\DRAWING\TEST.DWG", "C:\BACKUP\TEST-BACK.DWG"
'The following lines of code use a network path for the source file :
Dim sDest As String
Dim sSource As String
sSource = "\\MYSERVER\DRAWINGS\TEST.DWG"
sDest = "C:\BACKUP\TEST-BACK.DWG"
FileCopy sSource, sDest
The "FileCopy" statement automatically overwrites an existing file, unless the
file is read-only or locked open by another application.
Deleting Files
Visual Basic also allows you to delete files by using the "Kill" statement. "Kill"
can use wildcards to specify multiple files, as in the following example :
Kill "D:\DRAWINGS\*.DWG"
Renaming Files
The "Name" statement is like the MS-DOS "RENAME" command but can be used on only one file
at a time "
Name oldname As newname
You can also use "Name" like the "MOVE" command in MS-DOS if the specified paths are
different :
'Moves the files to a new directory
MkDir "C:\BACKUP\TEST-BACK.DWG"
Name "D:\DRAWING\TEST.DWG" As "C:\BACKUP\TEST-BACK.DWG"
In the preceding example,note the "MkDir" statement, which you have probably guessed is used to
create a new directory. The "MkDir" and "RemDir" statements add and remove directories.
File Functions in Visual Basic
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Setting the Current Directory
In the examples discussed so far, the path has always included the drive and directory. However, as
you may recall from using MS-DOS, during the context of your MS-DOS session, you are always
"in" a certain directory, which is usually displayed to the left of the MS-DOS cursor. For example,
if you type CD \WINDOWS, you can rename, copy, or delete files within the WINDOWS directory
without specifying C:\WINDOWS in the pathname. The same concept of a "current directory"
applies to Visual Basic. By using the "ChDir" and "ChDrive" statements, you can set the current
working directory on each drive and switch between current drives, eliminating the need to specify
the full path for each file operation :
'Change to the desired directory and drive and rename file
ChDir "C:\DRAWINGS"
ChDrive "C:"
Name "TEST1.DWG" As "TEST2.DWG"
'Delete a file in the current directory
ChDrive "D:"
ChDir "D:\DRAWINGS"
Kill "OLDTEST.DWG"
Performing deletes can be dangerous if you don't know the current directory. Fortunately, Visual
Basic offers a function that provides this value: the "CurDir" function. The syntax of "CurDir" is :
stringvar = CurDir$([Drive])
Note - You can use the "Left$" function to get the current drive letter, as in the
following example :
sDriveLetter = Left$(CurDir$( ) , 1)
Okay, let's put this all together into a practical example.
Wouldn't it be nice to be able to backup all your drawings from your working
directory into a backup directory, either on another drive or to the network.
Have a look at this wee application, remembering to change the directory
paths to suit your own.
Open a new module and copy and paste this coding :
'VBA CODING STARTS HERE
Option Explicit
Sub Backup()
Dim sSourceDir As String
Dim sBackDir As String
Dim sNextFile As String
On Error GoTo FileCopyError
'Change these paths to suit.
sSourceDir = "C:\DRAWINGS\"
sBackDir = "D:\BACKUP\"
sNextFile = Dir$(sSourceDir & "*.DWG")
While sNextFile <> ""
FileCopy sSourceDir & sNextFile, sBackDir & sNextFile
sNextFile = Dir$
Wend
File Functions in Visual Basic
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MsgBox "Drawing Backup Complete. Have a Nice Day."
Exit Sub
FileCopyError:
MsgBox "There was a problem copying the Drawings"
End
End Sub
'VBA CODING ENDS HERE

You are visitor number

This application will demonstrate how to connect AutoCAD and Outlook using VBA. It
will allow you to add a Task to Outlook along with a reminder time and a due time.
Special thanks to Randall Raath of VBDesign for this idea.
Here is the complete source coding :
Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()
UserForm1.Hide
AddTask
End Sub
Sub AddTask()
Dim appOutLook As Outlook.Application
Dim taskOutLook As Outlook.TaskItem
Dim Rem1 As Integer
Dim Due1 As Integer
Set appOutLook = CreateObject("Outlook.Application")
Set taskOutLook = appOutLook.CreateItem(olTaskItem)
Rem1 = (CInt(UserForm1.TextBox3.Text) * 60) _
+ CInt(UserForm1.TextBox5.Text)
Due1 = (CInt(UserForm1.TextBox4.Text) * 60) _
+ CInt(UserForm1.TextBox6.Text)
With taskOutLook
.Subject = UserForm1.TextBox1.Text
.Body = UserForm1.TextBox2.Text
.ReminderSet = True
VBA and Outlook
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.ReminderTime = DateAdd("n", Rem1, Now)
'set the reminder time
.DueDate = DateAdd("n", Due1, Now)
'set the due time
.ReminderPlaySound = True
.ReminderSoundFile = "C:\Windows\Media\Ding.WAV"
'Add the path to a .wav file on your computer.
.Save
End With
Set taskOutLook = Nothing
Set appOutLook = Nothing
End Sub
Private Sub CommandButton2_Click()
End
End Sub
Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
UserForm1.TextBox1.SelStart = 0
UserForm1.TextBox1.SelLength = _
Len(UserForm1.TextBox1.Text)
End Sub
If you would like a copy of this module, just click here. Enjoy.......

You are visitor number

VBA Command Line Project

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
VBA Command Line Project
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Search
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VBA Fax (23 Kb)
A lot of people now have E-Mail which makes the sharing of drawings a lot easier. But, not
everybody has got AutoCAD, so even if you E-Mail the drawing to them they still cannot open it.
You could fax it, but that has it's own problems.
Firstly, you must plot the drawing out to suit the size format of the fax machine,
or cut the drawing up into strips and fax it that way.
If you have a fax card and modem connected to your computer you can use a little bit of Visual
Basic to send the drawing to your fax.
First of all you need to set your fax as the default system printer.
Next, open AutoCAD and go to Preferences - Printers and set up a default system Printer. Finally,
open up the Fax VBA Application and change the Fax name to that of your Fax. That's it, you are
ready to Fax any drawing.
Here is the coding for the application :
Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()
ThisDrawing.Plot.PlotToDevice "WinFax"
'change the name of the Fax to suit

End Sub
Private Sub CommandButton2_Click()
End
End Sub
Thanks to Randall Rath of VBDesign for the idea for this project.....

VBA Fax
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
VBA Fax
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Search
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Resource Website
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Timesheet Project (28 Kb)
This project demonstrates a method of extracting system variable data from AutoCAD and
importing it into Microsoft Excel.
The application calculates the length of time a user has spent in a drawing session and extracts this
data to a timesheet created in Excel. It then totals the daily drawing hours along with with the date,
the draughtsman's login name, the drawing number and the job number.
To use this VBA application, simply extract all of the files into your working
directory then load and run Timesheet.Lsp.
(If you have problems when writing or running this project, ensure that
the Microsoft Excel 8.0 Object Library is selected in your VBA References.)
After running the application, open the Excel file Timesheet.xls. You should have something
looking like this :
Timeshet Project
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Here is the source coding for this application.
Public ElapseTime As String
Public Dwgname As String
Public Username As String
'declare global variables
Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()
Dim xlapp As Excel.Application
Dim xlbook As Excel.Workbook
Dim xlsheet As Excel.Worksheet
Dim Colnum As Integer
Dim Rownum As Integer
Dim Currcell As Range
'declare local variables
Set xlbook = GetObject("Timesheet.xls")
'set reference to Excel file
Set xlapp = xlbook.Parent
'set reference to workbook
xlapp.Visible = True
'make Excel visible
xlapp.Windows("TIMESHEET.XLS").Visible = True
'make the workbook visible
'the 2 preceeding lines can be commented out if you
'do not want to see Excel in action
Set xlsheet = xlbook.Sheets("SHEET1")
'set reference to the worksheet Sheet1
Rownum = 10
'set initial row number
Timeshet Project
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Colnum = 3
'set initial column number
Set Currcell = xlsheet.Cells(Rownum, Colnum)
'position the current cell
Do While Currcell <> ""
'while the current cell is NOT empty
Rownum = Rownum + 1
'increase the row number by one

Set Currcell = xlsheet.Cells(Rownum, Colnum)
'reset the current cell

Loop
'carry on looping
xlsheet.Cells(Rownum, Colnum) = Format(ElapseTime, "h:m:s")
'enter the elapsed time
xlsheet.Cells(Rownum, (Colnum - 1)) = UCase(Dwgname)
'enter the drawing number
xlsheet.Cells(Rownum, (Colnum - 2)) = UCase(UserForm1.TextBox1.Text)
'enter the job number
xlsheet.Cells(5, 2) = UCase(Username)
'enter Login Name
xlsheet.Cells(3, 2) = Date
'enter the date
xlbook.Close savechanges:=True
'save the changes in Excel
xlapp.Quit
'quit Excel
Set xlsheet = Nothing
Set xlbook = Nothing
Set axlapp = Nothing
'clean up
UserForm1.Hide
'hide the dialog box
If Not ThisDrawing.Saved Then
'if the current drawing is not saved
If MsgBox(" OK to Save Drawing?", 4) = vbNo Then
'do nothing

Else
ThisDrawing.Save
'if Yes save the drawing

End If
Timeshet Project
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End If
ThisDrawing.Application.Quit
'close the drawing and exit AutoCAD
End Sub
Private Sub CommandButton2_Click()
End
'end the application
End Sub
Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
ElapseTime = ThisDrawing.GetVariable("TDUSRTIMER")
'get the elapsed time
Dwgname = ThisDrawing.GetVariable("DWGNAME")
'get the drawing number
Username = ThisDrawing.GetVariable("LOGINNAME")
'get the login name
UserForm1.TextBox2.Text = UCase(Dwgname)
'display the drawing number
UserForm1.TextBox3.Text = Format(ElapseTime, "h:m:s")
'display the elapsed time
UserForm1.TextBox4.Text = UCase(Username)
'display the login name
UserForm1.TextBox5.Text = Date
'display the date
UserForm1.TextBox1.Text = "Job No"
'display a default Job No value
UserForm1.TextBox1.SetFocus
'set the focus to the Job No text box
UserForm1.TextBox1.SelStart = 0
'select the start of the text
UserForm1.TextBox1.SelLength = Len(UserForm1.TextBox1.Text)
'highlight the text
End Sub
You must also create a new module:
Sub timesheet ()
userform1.show
End Sub

Timeshet Project
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Timeshet Project
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Search
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Loading VBA Projects
When you load an AutoLisp file you just type (load "MYLISPFILE") and AutoCAD will find
the file and load it, as long as it is located within the AutoCAD search path.
Loading a VBA Project file though, is slightly different. AutoCAD will only search the
current working directory for the VBA file. The way to get around this, and to force
AutoCAD into searching the AutoCAD search path, is to use the "Findfile" function.
The following AutoLisp coding will load any VBA Project file that is within the AutoCAD
search path, run the Project and then unload it on completion.
Thanks to Randall Rath of VBDesign for this idea.
(defun c:ldvb ()
;define function
(setvar "CMDECHO" 0)
;switch off command echo
(if (findfile "yourproject.dvb")
;if the project file is found
;in your AutoCAD search path
(progn
;do the following
(setvar "FILEDIA" 0)
;switch off dialogue boxes
(command "_vbaload"
(findfile "yourproject.dvb"))
;load the project file
(command "-vbarun" "yourprojectmacro")
;run the project macro
(command "_vbaunload")
;unload the file
(setvar "FILEDIA" 1)
;switch dialogues back on
);progn
(princ "\nyourproject.dvb not found")
;if project not found, inform the user
);if
(setvar "CMDECHO" 1)
;switch command echo back on
(princ)
Loading VBA Projects
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;finish clean
);defun
(princ "\nyourproject.dvb Loaded")
;inform user
(princ "\nType 'Ldvb' to Run")
;tell him how to run it
(princ)
;load clean

You are visitor number

Now create a Module named Tblock :

Sub matlist()
UserForm1.Show
End Sub
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
VBA and Excel
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Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
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VBA and Excel
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VBA and DataBases (67kb)
This is a sample VBA routine written for AutoCAD Rel 14, 2000, 2000i and 2002.
This application will demonstrate how to import and export Title Block attribute data, to and from an Access 2000
database.
Usage AutoCAD 14 and 2000.
Unzip the files Tblock2000.dvb, Tblock2000.Lsp, Tblock.Dwg and Tblock.Mdb to your working directory.
Insert the Tblock.Dwg. as a block into any drawing.
Usage AutoCAD 2000i and 2002.
Unzip the files Tblock2002.dvb, Tblock2002.Lsp, Tblock.Dwg and Tblock.Mdb to your working directory.
Insert the Tblock.Dwg. as a block into any drawing.
It should look like this :
Type (load "tblock2000(2)") at the command prompt.
Type "tblock2000(2)" to run the application.
(If you have problems when writing or running this projects, ensure that the Microsoft DAO 3.6 Object Library is
selected in your VBA References.)
The Source Code.
VBA and DataBases
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Public acad As Object
Public doc As Object
Public ms As Object
Public ss As Object
Public ssnew As Object
Public Theatts As Variant
Public MsgBoxResp As Integer
Public dbInfo As Database
Public rsInfo As Recordset
'declare global variables
Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()
UpdateAttrib 0, UserForm1.TextBox1.Text
UpdateAttrib 1, UserForm1.TextBox2.Text
UpdateAttrib 2, UserForm1.TextBox3.Text
UpdateAttrib 3, UserForm1.TextBox4.Text
UpdateAttrib 4, UserForm1.TextBox5.Text
'get the attribute values

ssnew.Item(0).Update
'update the attribute block

End
End Sub
Sub UpdateAttrib(TagNumber As Integer, BTextString As String)
'This Sub Procedure tests the attribute data to check
'that is not a null value

If BTextString = "" Then
'if the attribute is empty

Theatts(TagNumber).TextString = "-"
'put a '-' place holder

Else
'if it is not empty

Theatts(TagNumber).TextString = BTextString
'use the attribute value
ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Item("TBLK").Delete
'delete the block

End If

End Sub
Private Sub CommandButton2_Click()
ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Item("TBLK").Delete
End
End Sub
Private Sub CommandButton3_Click()
Dim DrgNumber As String
Dim Msg As String
Dim Msg1 As String
Dim Style As String
Dim TitleLine As String
VBA and DataBases
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Dim Response As String
'declare local variables
DrgNumber = UserForm1.TextBox2.Text
'get the drawing number
Set dbInfo = OpenDatabase("TBLOCK.MDB")
'set the reference to the database
'if the database is not an Access dadtabase use the following line
'Set dbInfo = OpenDatabase("
'C:\DATABASE PATH\", False, False, "dBASE III;C:\DATABASE PATH\TBLOCK.DBF;")
Set rsInfo = dbInfo.OpenRecordset("SELECT *
FROM TITLEBLOCK WHERE DRGNO = '" & DrgNumber & "'", dbOpenDynaset)
'search for the drawing number
UserForm1.Hide
'hide the dialogue box
If (rsInfo.RecordCount <> 0) Then
'if the drawing number is found
Msg = "Drawing already Exists in the DataBase."
Msg1 = "Would you like to Update the Drawing Details?"
Style = vbYesNo + vbQuestion + vbDefaultButton2
Title = "Existing Entry in DataBase"
'set variables for message box

Response = MsgBox(Msg & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & Msg1, Style, Title)
'display the message box

If Response = vbYes Then
'if the user wants to update the database

UserForm1.rsInfo.Edit
'open the database for edit
'-------------------
'this section is for AutoCAD 14/2000
UserForm1.rsInfo("TITLE") = UserForm1.TextBox1.Text
UserForm1.rsInfo("DRGNO") = UserForm1.TextBox2.Text
UserForm1.rsInfo("DATE") = UserForm1.TextBox3.Text
UserForm1.rsInfo("DRAWN") = UserForm1.TextBox4.Text
UserForm1.rsInfo("SCALE") = UserForm1.TextBox5.Text
'get the field values
'--------------------
'For AutoCAD 2000i/2002 replace the preceding section with this :
'UserForm1.rsInfo.Fields("TITLE") = UserForm1.TextBox1.Text
'UserForm1.rsInfo.Fields("DRGNO") = UserForm1.TextBox2.Text
'UserForm1.rsInfo.Fields("DATE") = UserForm1.TextBox3.Text
'UserForm1.rsInfo.Fields("DRAWN") = UserForm1.TextBox4.Text
'UserForm1.rsInfo.Fields("SCALE") = UserForm1.TextBox5.Text
'get the field values
'---------------------

UserForm1.rsInfo.Update
'update the database

MsgBox ("DataBase has been Updated"), , "Update DataBase"
'inform the user

VBA and DataBases
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UserForm1.Show
'reinstate the dialogue box

Else
'if the user does not want to update

UserForm1.Show
'reinstate the dialogue

End If
Else
'if the drawing number has not been found

Msg = "Drawing has not been Entered Into DataBase."
Msg1 = "Would you like to Enter the Drawing Details?"
Style = vbYesNo + vbQuestion + vbDefaultButton2
Title = "New Entry in DataBase"
'set up the message box variables

Response = MsgBox(Msg & Chr(13) & Chr(10) & Msg1, Style, Title)
'display the message box
If Response = vbYes Then
'if the user wants to enter the drawing details

UserForm1.rsInfo.AddNew
'open the dtabase to add a new record

'-------------------
'this section is for AutoCAD 14/2000
UserForm1.rsInfo("TITLE") = UserForm1.TextBox1.Text
UserForm1.rsInfo("DRGNO") = UserForm1.TextBox2.Text
UserForm1.rsInfo("DATE") = UserForm1.TextBox3.Text
UserForm1.rsInfo("DRAWN") = UserForm1.TextBox4.Text
UserForm1.rsInfo("SCALE") = UserForm1.TextBox5.Text
'get the field values
'--------------------
'For AutoCAD 2000i/2002 replace the preceding section with this :
'UserForm1.rsInfo.Fields("TITLE") = UserForm1.TextBox1.Text
'UserForm1.rsInfo.Fields("DRGNO") = UserForm1.TextBox2.Text
'UserForm1.rsInfo.Fields("DATE") = UserForm1.TextBox3.Text
'UserForm1.rsInfo.Fields("DRAWN") = UserForm1.TextBox4.Text
'UserForm1.rsInfo.Fields("SCALE") = UserForm1.TextBox5.Text
'get the field values
'---------------------

UserForm1.rsInfo.Update
'update the database

MsgBox ("Drawing has been Entered into DataBase"), ,
"Enter Into DataBase"
'inform the user

UserForm1.Show
'reinstate the dialogue box

Else
'if the user does not want to enter the drawing details

UserForm1.Show
'reinstate the dialoge box

End If
End If
VBA and DataBases
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End Sub
Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
Dim BlkG(0) As Integer
Dim TheBlock(0) As Variant
Dim Pt1(0 To 2) As Double
Dim Pt2(0 To 2) As Double
'declare local variables

Set acad = GetObject(, "AutoCAD.Application")
'set reference to AutoCAD

Set doc = acad.ActiveDocument
'set reference to the drawing

Set ms = doc.ModelSpace
'set reference to model space

Set ssnew = doc.SelectionSets.Add("TBLK")
'create a selection set

Pt1(0) = 0: Pt1(1) = 0: Pt1(2) = 0
Pt2(0) = 3: Pt2(1) = 3: Pt2(2) = 0
'set up the array

BlkG(0) = 2
'group code 2 for block name

TheBlock(0) = "TBLOCK"
'the name of the attribute block

ssnew.Select 5, Pt1, Pt2, BlkG, TheBlock
'get the block

If ssnew.Count >= 1 Then
'if the block is found

Theatts = ssnew.Item(0).GetAttributes
'get the attributes

UserForm1.TextBox1.Text = UCase(LTrim(Theatts(0).TextString))
'get the title attribute
'clear any leading spaces and
'convert to uppercase

UserForm1.TextBox2.Text = UCase(LTrim(Theatts(1).TextString))
'get the drawing number attribute
'clear any leading spaces and
'convert to uppercase

UserForm1.TextBox3.Text = Date
'get todays date

UserForm1.TextBox4.Text = UCase(LTrim(Theatts(3).TextString))
'get the draughtsmans name
'clear any leading spaces and
'convert to uppercase

UserForm1.TextBox5.Text = "1:" & CStr(doc.GetVariable("DIMSCALE"))
'get the drawing scale, convert it to a string
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'and prefix it with 1:

UserForm1.TextBox1.SetFocus
UserForm1.TextBox1.SelStart = 0
UserForm1.TextBox1.SelLength = Len(UserForm1.TextBox1.Text)
'set the focus to the drawing title and highlight it

Else
'if no attribute title block is found

MsgBox "Sorry - No Title Block Attributes....", vbCritical,
"AfraLisp Tutorial"
'inform the user that there is no attribute title block

End
'end the program

End If

End Sub
Create a new module and add this :
Sub TBlock()
UserForm1.Show
End Sub

You are visitor number

This program not only inserts a chosen type and size of drawing sheet into your drawing, but also sets
your text height and dimension scaling to suit the scale factor.
You can even preset your own system variables within the program. Go for it, it's yours for ever and
ever to do with as you wish.
First the DCL coding.
Copy and paste this into Notepad and save it as "ALSetup.dcl."
//DCL CODING STARTS HERE
alsetup : dialog {
label = "CAD Encoding Drawing Setup";
: row {
: boxed_radio_column {
label = "Choose Sheet";
: radio_button {
label = "&Engineering Sheets";
key = "rb1";
value = "1";
}
: radio_button {
label = "&Architectural Sheets";
AutoLisp/VBA Drawing Setup Page I
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key = "rb2";
}
: radio_button {
label = "&Electrical Sheets";
key = "rb4";
}
: radio_button {
label = "&Blank Sheets";
key = "rb5";
}
}
: boxed_radio_column {
label = "Choose Size :";
: radio_button {
label = "A&0 - 1189 x 841";
key = "rb6";
value = "1";
}
: radio_button {
label = "A&1 - 841 x 594";
key = "rb7";
}
: radio_button {
label = "A&2 - 594 x 420";
key = "rb8";
}
: radio_button {
label = "A&3 - 420 x 297";
key = "rb9";
}
: radio_button {
label = "A&4 - 297 x 210";
key = "rb10";
}
}
}
: edit_box {
label = "&Enter Drawing Scale :" ;
key = "eb1" ;
edit_width = 8 ;
}
:spacer { width = 1;}
ok_cancel ;
: paragraph {
: text_part {
label = "Designed and Created";
}
: text_part {
label = "by CAD Encoding";
}
AutoLisp/VBA Drawing Setup Page I
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}
}
//DCL CODING ENDS HERE
And next, here's the AutoLisp coding. No Visual Lisp this time, just plain AutoLisp. ("Phew," I can hear a
lot of you saying, wiping your delicate brows in relief.)
Copy and paste this into Notepad and save it as "ALSetup.lsp."
;CODING STARTS HERE
(prompt "\nCAD Encoding Setup loaded - Type \"ALSETUP\" to run....")
(defun C:ALSETUP ( / userclick dcl_id siz typ x y l size n oldblip
oldecho oldsnap #dwgsc)
;save system settings
(setq oldblip (getvar "BLIPMODE")
oldecho (getvar "CMDECHO")
oldsnap (getvar "OSMODE")
);setq
;set system variables
(setvar "BLIPMODE" 0)
(setvar "CMDECHO" 0)
(setvar "OSMODE" 0)
;load the dialog
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "alsetup.dcl"))
(if (not (new_dialog "alsetup" dcl_id))
(exit)
);if
;define default settings
(set_tile "rb1" "1")
(set_tile "rb6" "1")
(set_tile "eb1" "1")
(mtile)
(setq siz "A0")
(setq typ "e")
;define radio buttons action statements
(action_tile "rb1" "(setq typ \"e\") (mtile)")
(action_tile "rb2" "(setq typ \"a\") (mtile)")
(action_tile "rb4" "(setq typ \"el\") (mtile)")
(action_tile "rb5" "(setq typ \"b\") (mtile)")
(action_tile "rb6" "(setq siz \"A0\") (mtile)")
(action_tile "rb7" "(setq siz \"A1\") (mtile)")
(action_tile "rb8" "(setq siz \"A2\") (mtile)")
(action_tile "rb9" "(setq siz \"A3\") (mtile)")
(action_tile "rb10" "(setq siz \"A4\") (mtile)")
;define Cancel action statements
(action_tile "cancel"
AutoLisp/VBA Drawing Setup Page I
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"(done_dialog)(setq userclick nil)")
;define OK action statements
(action_tile "accept"
(strcat
"(progn (setq #dwgsc (atof (get_tile \"eb1\")))"
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T))"
);progn
)
;display the dialog
(start_dialog)
;unload the dialog
(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;check the flag setting
(if userclick
;if it's set, do the following
(progn
;set up the sheet size
(cond
((= siz "A0") (setq x 1189.0 y 841.0))
((= siz "A1") (setq x 841.0 y 594.0))
((= siz "A2") (setq x 594.0 y 420.0))
((= siz "A3") (setq x 420.0 y 297.0))
((= siz "A4") (setq x 297.0 y 210.0))
);cond

;Construct drawing sheet name
(setq size (strcat typ siz))
;set system variables according to scale
(setvar "DIMSCALE" #dwgsc)
(setvar "USERR1" #dwgsc)
(setvar "LTSCALE" (* #dwgsc 10))
(setvar "REGENMODE" 1)
(setvar "TILEMODE" 1)
(setq n (* 3.5 #dwgsc))
;define the limits list
(setq L (list (* x #dwgsc) (* y #dwgsc)))
;set up the drawing
(command "LIMITS" "0,0" L
"ZOOM" "W" "0,0" L
"STYLE" "italict" "italict" N "" "" "" "" ""
"INSERT" size "0,0" #dwgsc "" "" )
;inform the user
(prompt "\n ")
(prompt "\nOkay - Setup Routine Complete")

);progn
AutoLisp/VBA Drawing Setup Page I
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);if
;reset system variables
(setvar "BLIPMODE" oldblip)
(setvar "CMDECHO" oldecho)
(setvar "OSMODE" oldsnap)
;finish clean
(princ)
);defun
;;;---------------------------
;function to set the focus to
;the scale edit box
(defun mtile ()
(mode_tile "eb1" 2)
);defun
;;;--------------------------
;load clean
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Store both files and the drawing sheet files in a directory within your AutoCAD search path. Now type
(load "ALSetup") at the AutoCAD command prompt, and then "ALSetup" to run the setup program.
On the next page we'll have a look at doing the same thing using VBA, but this time we'll make use of
drawing template files.
Home Page II

You are visitor number

As for the AutoLisp version, you can customise this program to your little hearts desire.
Right, let's have a look at a wee bit of coding. Fire up AutoCAD and open a new Project in the Visual Basic Editor.
First you need to insert a new UserForm keeping the default name. (UserForm1)
Now add the following controls, naming them as shown :
Button - "cmdOk" G
Button - "cmdCancel" G
Frame containing 4 Option Buttons - "Opt1", "Opt2", "Opt3" and "Opt4". G
Listbox - "Listbox1" G
Edit Box - "Textbox1" G
Now add the following coding under General Declarations :
Option Explicit
'------------------------------------------------
Private Sub cmdCancel_Click()
End
End Sub
'-------------------------------------------------
Private Sub cmdOk_Click()
'declare variables
Dim acadApp As Object
Dim acadDoc As Object
Dim doc As Object
Dim templateFileName As String
Dim DrgSheet As String
AutoLisp/VBA Drawing Setup Page II
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Dim DrgSize As String
Dim newLimits(0 To 3) As Double
Dim sc As Double
Dim oldTextStyle As Object
Dim Blockref As Object
Dim InsertionPoint(0 To 2) As Double
Dim Mspace As Object
Dim Insertsheet As String
'hide the dialogue box
Me.Hide
'set a reference to the AutoCAD Application
Set acadApp = GetObject(, "AutoCAD.Application")
'if there is an error
If Err Then

'inform user
MsgBox Err.Description

'exit application
Exit Sub

End If
'set reference to active document
Set acadDoc = acadApp.ActiveDocument
'if the current drawing is not saved
If Not acadDoc.Saved Then
'ask the user what he wants to do
If MsgBox(" OK to Save Drawing?", 4) = vbNo Then

'if No end application
End

Else
'if Yes save the drawing
acadDoc.Save

End If
End If
'get the scale and convert to double
sc = CDbl(TextBox1.Text)
'if this button selected
If Opt1.Value = True Then
'set first letter of drawing sheet
DrgSheet = "E"

'set the relevant template file
templateFileName = "acadeng.dwt"

'open new drawing with selected template file
Set doc = acadDoc.New(templateFileName)

End If
AutoLisp/VBA Drawing Setup Page II
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If Opt2.Value = True Then
DrgSheet = "A"
templateFileName = "acadarch.dwt"
Set doc = acadDoc.New(templateFileName)
End If
If Opt3.Value = True Then
DrgSheet = "EL"
templateFileName = "acadelec.dwt"
Set doc = acadDoc.New(templateFileName)
End If
If Opt4.Value = True Then
DrgSheet = "B"
templateFileName = "acadblank.dwt"
Set doc = acadDoc.New(templateFileName)
End If
'get the item selected from list box
Select Case ListBox1.ListIndex
'if the index is 0 (first item)
Case 0
'set the drawing size
DrgSize = "A0"

'set the limits
newLimits(0) = 0#
newLimits(1) = 0#
newLimits(2) = 1189# * sc
newLimits(3) = 841# * sc

'get the current text style
Set oldTextStyle = acadDoc.ActiveTextStyle

Case 1
DrgSize = "A1"
newLimits(0) = 0#
newLimits(1) = 0#
newLimits(2) = 841# * sc
newLimits(3) = 594# * sc
Set oldTextStyle = acadDoc.ActiveTextStyle
Case 2
DrgSize = "A2"
newLimits(0) = 0#
newLimits(1) = 0#
newLimits(2) = 594# * sc
newLimits(3) = 420# * sc
Set oldTextStyle = acadDoc.ActiveTextStyle
Case 3
DrgSize = "A3"
newLimits(0) = 0#
newLimits(1) = 0#
newLimits(2) = 420# * sc
newLimits(3) = 297# * sc
Set oldTextStyle = acadDoc.ActiveTextStyle
Case 4
DrgSize = "A4"
newLimits(0) = 0#
newLimits(1) = 0#
newLimits(2) = 297# * sc
newLimits(3) = 210# * sc
Set oldTextStyle = acadDoc.ActiveTextStyle
AutoLisp/VBA Drawing Setup Page II
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End Select
'set drawing limits
acadDoc.Limits = newLimits
'zoom to extents
ZoomExtents
'set Ltscale
Call acadDoc.SetVariable("Ltscale", sc * 10)
'set Dimscale
Call acadDoc.SetVariable("Dimscale", sc)
'store scale in Userr1 for later use
Call acadDoc.SetVariable("Userr1", sc)
'set Regenmode
Call acadDoc.SetVariable("Regenmode", 1)
'set Tilemode
Call acadDoc.SetVariable("Tilemode", 1)
'set Text Height
oldTextStyle.Height = 3.5 * sc
'String Drawing Sheet Name Together
Insertsheet = DrgSheet & DrgSize
'set the insertion point
InsertionPoint(0) = 0
InsertionPoint(1) = 0
InsertionPoint(2) = 0
'get reference to Model Space
Set Mspace = acadDoc.ModelSpace
'Insert the drawing sheet
Set Blockref = Mspace.InsertBlock(InsertionPoint, Insertsheet, sc, sc, sc, 0)
End
End Sub
'-------------------------------------------------
Private Sub ListBox1_Click()
TextBox1.SetFocus
End Sub
'--------------------------------------------------
Private Sub ListBox1_DblClick(ByVal Cancel As MSForms.ReturnBoolean)
cmdOk_Click
End Sub
'--------------------------------------------------
Private Sub Opt1_Click()
TextBox1.SetFocus
End Sub
'--------------------------------------------------
Private Sub Opt2_Click()
TextBox1.SetFocus
End Sub
AutoLisp/VBA Drawing Setup Page II
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'--------------------------------------------------
Private Sub Opt3_Click()
TextBox1.SetFocus
End Sub
'--------------------------------------------------
Private Sub Opt4_Click()
TextBox1.SetFocus
End Sub
'--------------------------------------------------
Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
'Populate the List Box
ListBox1.AddItem "A0 - 1189 x 841"
ListBox1.AddItem "A1 - 841 x 594"
ListBox1.AddItem "A2 - 594 x 420"
ListBox1.AddItem "A3 - 420 x 297"
ListBox1.AddItem "A4 - 297 x 210"
ListBox1.ListIndex = 0
End Sub
Next, you need to add a new Module.
Then add this coding :
Sub VbaSetup()
UserForm1.Show
End Sub
Save your project as "VbaSetup.dvb", then run the macro "VbaSetup."
The dialog should appear in all it's glory. Congratulations!
Quick, call your colleagues, call your boss, in fact, call all your friends and family to come and have a look and what
you've done. Who's a clever boy then? (sorry, or girl.)
To download the AutoLisp and VBA source coding, just click here.
To download the drawings sheets and template files, click here
Home Page I

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Resource Website
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VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Creating a Toolbar DLL (14Kb)
Are you sick and tired of having all those Toolbar Bitmap Files floating around?
And, what a pain it is having to remember to attach the bitmaps along with the
Toolbar menu file every time you send it to someone, or install the menu on another workstation.
(Smiley Faces here we come..)
The solution to this, is to store the Bitmaps in an ActiveX DLL file. (The same as
AutoCAD do with their Toolbar Bitmaps.) Here's the steps to construct your own,
customized Toolbar DLL.
Unfortunately, you will require the Visual Basic Resource Editor which is only
included with VB6. (I do believe though, that the Resource Editor is available as a plug-in for VB5.)
Firstly, you need to build your Toolbar along with all relevant Bitmaps and test it within AutoCAD. Here is
the menu file for the VBA Toolbar which is in the downloadable sample file :
***MENUGROUP=VBA
***TOOLBARS
ID_VBA_0 [_Toolbar("VBA", _Floating, _Show, 350, 246, 1)]
ID_VBA_1 [_Button("VBA Load", "vbaload.bmp", "vbaload32.bmp")]^C^C_vbaload
ID_VBA_2 [_Button("VBA Macro", "vbamacro.bmp", "vbamacro32.bmp")]^C^C_vbarun
ID_VBA_3 [_Button("VBA Editor", "vbaide.bmp", "vbaide32.bmp")]^C^C_vbaide
ID_VBA_4 [_Button("VBA Manager", "vbaman.bmp", "vbaman32.bmp")]^C^Cvbaman
***HELPSTRINGS
ID_VBA_1 [Load VBA Project]
ID_VBA_2 [Run VBA Macro]
ID_VBA_3 [Load VBA Editor]
ID_VBA_4 [Load VBA Manager]
Your Toolbar should look like this :
Now, do yourself a favour and store the Menu file and all Bitmaps into their own sub-directory. If you don't,
you will find it a problem later on when editing the DLL file to locate all the VB support files.
Now fire up VB6 and start a new ActiveX DLL project. Next, open the VB6 Resource Editor. If it is not
loaded, go to the Add-In Manager and load it.
Creating a Toolbar DLL
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Once in the Resource Editor, load each of your Bitmap Files, renaming each Bitmap to match that of the
relevant name in the menu. (Right-Click on each name and select Properties.) Now save your project. (Save it
using the same name as your Menu and to the same sub-directory.)
Finally, choose "File" - "Make YourMenuName.DLL", again saving it to the same directory. (It is important
that the DLL file has the same name as the Menu.)
You can now exit VB6. (saving any files if prompted.)
One final step. (Well, a couple!!) Open up your Menu file and remove the .BMP extension from the Bitmap
file names. It should look like this :
***MENUGROUP=VBA
***TOOLBARS
ID_VBA_0 [_Toolbar("VBA", _Floating, _Show, 350, 246, 1)]
ID_VBA_1 [_Button("VBA Load", "vbaload", "vbaload32")]^C^C_vbaload
ID_VBA_2 [_Button("VBA Macro", "vbamacro", "vbamacro32")]^C^C_vbarun
ID_VBA_3 [_Button("VBA Editor", "vbaide", "vbaide32")]^C^C_vbaide
ID_VBA_4 [_Button("VBA Manager", "vbaman", "vbaman32")]^C^Cvbaman
***HELPSTRINGS
ID_VBA_1 [Load VBA Project]
ID_VBA_2 [Run VBA Macro]
ID_VBA_3 [Load VBA Editor]
ID_VBA_4 [Load VBA Manager]
Then copy your Menu file and the DLL file to any of your AutoCAD support path
directories. You now need to re-compile your Menu file. To do this, first delete all MNS, MNC and MNR files
with the same name as your menu. Then fire up AutoCAD and load your menu. Hopefully, no smiley
faces......
From now on, all you need to do to distribute your menu is to include the DLL file
along with the Menu file. Bye, Bye Bitmaps.....

You are visitor number

Now, choose "File" -> "Save As" and save the file as "vbatoolbar.dll."
Now this is extremely important. The DLL file must have EXACTLY the same name as your menu
name and MUST be in the same directory. Copy the DLL file to the same directory as your MNU
file.
O.K. we've now created out Menu DLL file, but we still have to make some changes to our menu
file.
Open the menu file "vbatoolbar.mnu." It should look like this :
***MENUGROUP=VBA
***TOOLBARS
ID_VBA_0 [_Toolbar("VBA", _Floating, _Show, 350, 246, 1)]
Creating a Toolbar DLL Re-Visited
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ID_VBA_1 [_Button("VBA Load", "vbaload.bmp", "vbaload32.bmp")]^C^C_vbaload
ID_VBA_2 [_Button("VBA Macro", "vbamacro.bmp", "vbamacro32.bmp")]^C^C_vbarun
ID_VBA_3 [_Button("VBA Editor", "vbaide.bmp", "vbaide32.bmp")]^C^C_vbaide
ID_VBA_4 [_Button("VBA Manager", "vbaman.bmp", "vbaman32.bmp")]^C^Cvbaman
***HELPSTRINGS
ID_VBA_1 [Load VBA Project]
ID_VBA_2 [Run VBA Macro]
ID_VBA_3 [Load VBA Editor]
ID_VBA_4 [Load VBA Manager]
You now need to remove the file extension from all of the bitmap references. Your menu file should
now look like this :
***MENUGROUP=VBA
***TOOLBARS
ID_VBA_0 [_Toolbar("VBA", _Floating, _Show, 350, 246, 1)]
ID_VBA_1 [_Button("VBA Load", "vbaload", "vbaload32")]^C^C_vbaload
ID_VBA_2 [_Button("VBA Macro", "vbamacro", "vbamacro32")]^C^C_vbarun
ID_VBA_3 [_Button("VBA Editor", "vbaide", "vbaide32")]^C^C_vbaide
ID_VBA_4 [_Button("VBA Manager", "vbaman", "vbaman32")]^C^Cvbaman
***HELPSTRINGS
ID_VBA_1 [Load VBA Project]
ID_VBA_2 [Run VBA Macro]
ID_VBA_3 [Load VBA Editor]
ID_VBA_4 [Load VBA Manager]
You are now ready to try out your menu. Load and run it. Your toolbar should appear and look
like this :
That's it, no more "smiley faces." Simple hey?
You can now remove all your bitmap files. Do yourself a favour though, keep them somewhere safe
so that if you have to re-compile your DLL files, you still have your source bitmaps.
To download the source files for this tutorial including the empty DLL file,
just click here - Download VbaDll.Zip (8kB)

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Resource Website
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Batch Purge 2004
Batch Purge 2004 will batch purge ALL from a selected list of drawings.
You will need to have AutoCAD 2004 installed on your system, but will run without AutoCAD being
open. Updated for R2004.
Written in Visual Basic 6. Click here to download all VB6 source files.
Usage :
There are three ways of selecting files to purge. You can use the "Select All" button to select all
the drawing files in the current directory, you can double click on individual files, or you can
select a file and use the "Add Files" button. All files selected will be added to the Purge File List
Box.
G
You can select files from multiple directories. G
You can remove files from the Purge File List box by choosing "Remove All", double-clicking on a
file, or choosing a file and clicking the "Remove File" button.
G
Once you are happy with the your file selection, select the "Purge" button to start the Batch Purge
Process. AutoCAD does not have to be open for the process to proceed.
G
You can also selected the "Delete BAK Files" check box to have these files automatically deleted. G

Batch Purge 2004

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Batch Purge 2004
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
RC-Batcher (67Kb)
This application was sent to me by Ramn Castro.
It basically allows you to run any AutoLISP routine against a selected set of drawings.
Usage

Open the application. G

Choose the files to be processed.
(You can choose files from multiple directories.)
G
Select "Browse". G
A new dialogue will open. G
Select the lisp file to use. G
Select O.K. G
RC-Batcher
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Select "Run". G
In the downloadable Zip file, I have included a sample lisp file (Slidem.lsp) that will create slides
from a selection of drawings.
This application is written in Visual Basic 6, so you may require MSVBVM60.DLL to run. Contact
Ramn or myself if you require it.
Ramn Castro is a Survey CADD Technician for City of Fort Lauderdale Engineering.

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Drawing Export
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Drawing Export
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Batch Purge (7 Kb)
BatchPurge.Exe is a stand alone application written in Visual Basic for AutoCAD Release 14.
This routine will Batch Purge (Purge All) a selected directory of drawings.
If AutoCAD is not open when you run the application, it will automatically open AutoCAD. You
can also run it from within Autocad.
Usage :
Open the application by double clicking on BatchPurge.Exe.
A dialogue box will appear. Select the directory where the drawings you wish to Purge reside. Select
"OK".
If you wish to run it from within AutoCAD type the following at the command prompt :
(startapp "....directory path..../batchpurge.exe")
The VBA Code
The following must be placed under the event procedure of the Drive List Box:
Private Sub Drive1_Change()
Dir1.Path = Drive1.Drive
'retrieves the drive name
End Sub
Next, place this coding under the event procedure of the Directory List Box:
Private Sub Dir1_Change()
File1.Path = Dir1.Path
'retrieves the drive and directory name
End Sub
Batch Purge
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The main routine of the function is within the event procedure of the "Start Purge" button :
Private Sub Command1_Click()
Dim acadApp As Object
Dim acadDoc As Object
Dim filename As String
Dim dirname As String
'declare variables

If Right(File1.Path, 1) <> "\" Then
'test for root directory
dirname = File1.Path & "\"
'if not root add \
Else
dirname = File1.Path
'if root directory do nothing
End If
If UCase(dirname) = "A:\" Then
'check if A:Drive has been choosen
Me.Hide
'Hide the dialogue box

MsgBox ("Insufficient Space to Batch Purge Drawings on Drive A:"),_
16, "Batch Purge"
'inform the user

End
'end the application

End If

On Error Resume Next
'if error carry on with next line
Set acadApp = GetObject(, "AutoCAD.Application")
'setq reference to AutoCAD Application
If Err Then
'if there is an error (AutoCAD not open)
Err.Clear
'clear the error
Set acadApp = CreateObject("Autocad.Application")
'open AutoCAD
Set acadApp = GetObject(, "AutoCAD.Application")
'setq reference to AutoCAD Application
If Err Then
Batch Purge
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'if there is another error
MsgBox Err.Description
'inform user
Exit Sub
'exit application
End If
End If
acadApp.Visible = True
'Make Autocad Visible
Set acadDoc = acadApp.ActiveDocument
'set reference to active document
Me.Hide
'Hide the dialogue box

filename = Dir(dirname, vbNormal)
'retrieve the first entry
Do While filename <> ""
'start the loop
If UCase(Right$(filename, 4)) = ".DWG" Then
'ignore files that do not end with .DWG
If (GetAttr(dirname & filename) And vbNormal) = vbNormal Then
'use bitwise comparison to make sure filename is not a directory
If Not acadDoc.Saved Then
'if drawing not saved
If MsgBox("OK to Save Drawing?", 52, "Batch Purge") = vbNo Then
'give user choice to save drawing and continue, or exit application
End
'end if user selects No
Else
'or else
acadDoc.Save
'if Yes, save drawing
End If
End If
acadDoc.Open dirname & filename
'open drawing to purge
acadDoc.PurgeAll
'purge the drawing
Batch Purge
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acadDoc.Save
'save the drawing
End If
End If
filename = Dir
'get the next entry
Loop
'carry on looping
acadApp.Quit
'Close Autocad
MsgBox ("Batch Purge Complete"), , "Purge All"
'inform user that we have finished
End
'Close VBA Application
End Sub
Finally, this coding goes under the event procedure of the "Cancel" button :
Private Sub btnCancel_Click()
End
'end the routine
End Sub

You are visitor number

New Uses For Names For Baby 1.

How To Write Unmaintainable Code
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20,001 Names For Baby
0-380-78047-X
Carol McD. Wallace
Buy a copy of a baby naming book and you'll never be at a loss for variable names. Fred is a
wonderful name, and easy to type. If you're looking for easy to type variable names, try adsf.

Single Letter Variable Names

If you call your variables a, b, c, then it will be impossible to search for instances of them using a
simple text editor. Further, nobody will be able to guess what they are for. If anyone even hints at
breaking the tradition honoured since FRTRAN of using i, j, and k for indexing variables,
replacing them with ii, jj and kk, warn them about what the Spanish Inquisition did to heretics.
2.
Creative Missspelling
If you must use descriptive variable and function names, misspell them. By misspelling in some
function and variable names, and spelling it correctly in others (such as SetPintleOpening
SetPintalClosing) we effectively negate the use of grep or CodeWright search techniques. It works
amazingly well. Add an international flavor by spelling theater and theatre in different situations.
3.
Be Abstract
In naming functions and variables, make heavy use of abstract words like it, everything, data,
handle, stuff, do, routine, perform and the digits e.g. routineX48, PerformDataFunction, DoIt,
HandleStuff and do_args_method.
4.
A.C.R.O.N.Y.M.S.
Use acronyms to keep the code terse. Real men never define acronyms; they understand them
genetically.
5.
Thesaurus Surrogatisation
To break the boredom, use a thesaurus to look up as much alternate vocabulary as possible to
refer to the same action, e.g. display, show, present. Vaguely hint there is some subtle difference,
where none exists. However, if there are two similar functions that have a crucial difference,
always use the same word in describing both functions (e.g. print to mean write to a file, and to a
print on a laser, and to display on the screen). Under no circumstances, succumb to demands to
write a glossary with the special purpose project vocabulary unambiguously defined. Doing so
would be unprofessional breach of the structured design principle of information hiding.
6.
Use Plural Forms From Other Languages
A contributor was the proud author of a VMS script that kept track of the "statii" returned from
various "Vaxen". Esperanto, Klingon and Hobbitese qualify as languages for these purposes. For
pseudo-Esperanto pluraloj, add oj. You will be doing your part toward world peace.
7.
CapiTaliSaTion
If you use intercapitalization for function names (capitalize the first letter of each word), randomly
capitalize the first letter of a syllable in the middle of a word. For example:
ComputeRasterHistoGram().
8.
Recycle Classnames as Member Names 9.
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In C/C++: Make sure to create parameters and local variables that have the same name as member
variables of the class whose method they appear in. For extra points, create nested local
variables inside {} blocks that have the same name as these local variables. The goal is for careful
examination of scope to be the only way to tell which context is actually being used.
ccented Letters
Use accented characters on variable names. E.g.

typedef struct { int i; } nt;

where the second int's i is actually iacute. Since these are structures the three int's are not
interchangeable, but with an 8-bit aware editor it's nearly impossible to distinguish the slant of
the accent mark. Insist the new "ints " are for some specific, but very obscure, situation where a
standard int won't suffice. It helps to toss extra stuff into the structure before making that claim!
10.
Exploit Compiler Name Length Limits
If the compiler will only distinguish the first, say, 8 characters of names, then always use more
characters, but vary the endings e.g. var_unit_update() in one case and var_unit_setup() in
another.
11.
Underscore, a Friend Indeed
Use _ or __ as an identifier.

12.
Mix English and Bahasa Indonesia
If English is your second language, use English for variable names, functions, messages
appearing on-screen, and comments. However randomly intersperse them with words chosen
from your native language. If your boss insists you use English tell him you can organize your
thoughts better in your own language, or allege racial discrimination and threaten to sue your
employers for a vast sum of money. Now that your boss does not understand your code you can
use obscuration techniques that you would never get away with otherwise and will foil a future
maintenance programmer even if she is also a native speaker or is equipped with a bilingual
dictionary.
13.
Extended ASCII
Extended ASCII characters are perfectly valid as variable names, including , , and characters.
They are quite impossible to type without copying/pasting.
14.
Deutch, Franais, Esperanto
If you cannot find the right English word to convey the meaning of a temporary variable (and you
ignore the other suggestions about not giving meaningful names to variables), you may use a
foreign language word as the name of the variable. For example, instead of using variable "p" for
a "point", you may use "punkt", which is the German word for it. Maintenance coders without
your firm grasp of German will enjoy the multicultural experience of deciphering the meaning. It
breaks the tedium of an otherwise tiring and thankless job.
15.
Consider equals As A Variable Name
Choose variable names that are English versions of operators, to get statements like:

openParen = (slash + asterix) / equals;

16.
Bedazzling Variable Names
Choose all variable names to be words that have no association whatsoever with the actual
function of the program but which have strong inherent meaning as words. For example, you
could end up with statements like:

17.
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marypoppins = (julieAndrews + starship) / mailbox;
This confuses the reader because they have difficulty disassociating the concepts of the words
from the logic they're trying to think about. (Combine this with the above method and it's basically
impossible to recover, because search and replace becomes impossible.)
Rename and Reuse
This trick works especially well in Ada, a language immune to many of the standard obfuscation
techniques. The people who originally named all the objects and packages you use were morons.
Rather than try to convince them to change, just use renames and subtypes to rename everything
to names of your own devising. Make sure to leave a few references to the old names in, as a trap
for the unwary.
18.
Reuse Names
Java lets you create methods that have the same name as the class, but that are not constructors.
Exploit this to sow confusion.
19.
When To Use i
Never use i for the innermost loop variable. Use anything but. Use i liberally for any other purpose
especially for non-int variables. Similarly use n as a loop index.
20.
Conventions Schemtions
Ignore the conventions in Java for where to use upper case in variable and class names i.e.
Classes start with upper case, variables with lower case, constants are all upper case, with
internal words capitalised. After all, Sun does (e.g. instanceof vs isInstanceOf, Hashtable). Not to
worry, the compiler won't even issue a warning to give you away. If your boss forces you to use
the conventions, when there is any doubt about whether an internal word should be capitalised,
avoid capitalising or make a random choice, e.g. use both inputFileName and outputfilename. You
can of course drive your team members insane by inventing your own insanely complex naming
conventions then berate others for not following them. The ultimate technique is to create as
many variable names as possible that differ subtlely from each other only in case.
21.
Lower Case l Looks A Lot Like Digit 1
Use lower case l to indicate long constants. e.g. 10l is more likely to be mistaken for 101 that 10L
is.
22.
Reuse of Global Names as Private
Declare a global array in module A, and a private one of the same name in the header file for
module B, so that it appears that it's the global array you are using in module B, but it isn't. Make
no reference in the comments to this duplication.
23.
Recycling Revisited
Use scoping as confusingly as possible by recycling variable names in contradictory ways. For
example, suppose you have global variables A and B, and functions foo and bar. If you know that
variable A will be regularly passed to foo and B to bar, make sure to define the functions as
function foo(B) and function bar(A) so that inside the functions A will always be referred to as B
and vice versa. With more functions and globals, you can create vast confusing webs of mutually
contradictory uses of the same names.
24.
Recycle Your Variables
Wherever scope rules permit, reuse existing unrelated variable names. Similarly, use the same
temporary variable for two unrelated purposes (purporting to save stack slots). For a fiendish
variant, morph the variable, for example, assign a value to a variable at the top of a very long
method, and then somewhere in the middle, change the meaning of the variable in a subtle way,
such as converting it from a 0-based coordinate to a 1-based coordinate. Be certain not to
document this change in meaning.
25.
Cd wrttn wtht vwls s mch trsr
When using abbreviations inside variable or method names, break the boredom with several
26.
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variants for the same word, and even spell it out longhand once in while. This helps defeat those
lazy bums who use text search to understand only some aspect of your program. Consider
variant spellings as a variant on the ploy, e.g. mixing International colour, with American color
and dude-speak kulerz. If you spell out names in full, there is only one possible way to spell each
name. These are too easy for the maintenance programmer to remember. Because there are so
many different ways to abbreviate a word, with abbreviations, you can have several different
variables that all have the same apparent purpose. As an added bonus, the maintenance
programmer might not even notice they are separate variables.
Misleading names
Make sure that every method does a little bit more (or less) than its name suggests. As a simple
example, a method named isValid(x) should as a side effect convert x to binary and store the
result in a database.
27.
m_
a naming convention from the world of C++ is the use of "m_" in front of members. This is
supposed to help you tell them apart from methods, so long as you forget that "method" also
starts with the letter "m".
28.
o_apple obj_apple
Use an "o" or "obj" prefix for each instance of the class to show that you're thinking of the big,
polymorphic picture.
29.
Hungarian Notation
Hungarian Notation is the tactical nuclear weapon of source code obfuscation techniques; use it!
Due to the sheer volume of source code contaminated by this idiom nothing can kill a
maintenance engineer faster than a well planned Hungarian Notation attack. The following tips
will help you corrupt the original intent of Hungarian Notation:

30.
Insist on using "c" for const in C++ and other languages that directly enforce the
const-ness of a variable.
Seek out and use Hungarian warts that have meaning in languages other than your current
language. For example insist on the PowerBuilder "l_" and "a_ " {local and argument}
scoping prefixes and always use the VB-esque style of having a Hungarian wart for every
control type when coding to C++. Try to stay ignorant of the fact that megs of plainly visible
MFC source code does not use Hungarian warts for control types.
Always violate the Hungarian principle that the most commonly used variables should
carry the least extra information around with them. Achieve this end through the
techniques outlined above and by insisting that each class type have a custom wart prefix.
Never allow anyone to remind you that no wart tells you that something is a class. The
importance of this rule cannot be overstated: if you fail to adhere to its principles the
source code may become flooded with shorter variable names that have a higher
vowel/consonant ratio. In the worst case scenario this can lead to a full collapse of
obfuscation and the spontaneous reappearance of English Notation in code!
Flagrantly violate the Hungarian-esque concept that function parameters and other high
visibility symbols must be given meaningful names, but that Hungarian type warts all by
themselves make excellent temporary variable names.
Insist on carrying outright orthogonal information in your Hungarian warts. Consider this
real world example: "a_crszkvc30LastNameCol". It took a team of maintenance engineers
nearly 3 days to figure out that this whopper variable name described a const, reference,
function argument that was holding information from a database column of type
Varchar[30] named "LastName" which was part of the table's primary key. When properly
combined with the principle that "all variables should be public" this technique has the
power to render thousands of lines of source code obsolete instantly!
Use to your advantage the principle that the human brain can only hold 7 pieces of
information concurrently. For example code written to the above standard has the following
properties:

A single assignment statement carries 14 pieces of type and name information.

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A single function call that passes three parameters and assigns a result carries 29 pieces
of type and name information.
Seek to improve this excellent, but far too concise, standard. Impress management and
coworkers by recommending a 5 letter day of the week prefix to help isolate code written
on 'Monam' and 'FriPM'.
It is easy to overwhelm the short term memory with even a moderately complex nesting
structure, especially when the maintenance programmer can't see the start and end of each
block on screen simultaneously.

Hungarian Notation Revisited

One follow on trick in the Hungarian notation is "change the type of a variable but leave the
variable name unchanged". This is almost invariably done in windows apps with the migration
from Win16 :- WndProc(HWND hW, WORD wMsg, WORD wParam, LONG lParam) to Win32
WndProc(HWND hW, UINT wMsg, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam) where the w values hint
that they are words, but they really refer to longs. The real value of this approach comes clear
with the Win64 migration, when the parameters will be 64 bits wide, but the old "w" and "l"
prefixes will remain forever.
1.
Obscure film references
Use constant names like LancelotsFavouriteColour instead of blue and assign it hex value of
$0204FB. The color looks identical to pure blue on the screen, and a maintenance programmer
would have to work out 0204FB (or use some graphic tool) to know what it looks like. Only
someone intimately familiar with Monty Python and the Holy Grail would know that Lancelot's
favorite color was blue. If a maintenance programmer can't quote entire Monty Python movies
from memory, he or she has no business being a programmer.
2.
Camouflage
The longer it takes for a bug to surface, the harder it is to find.
Roedy
Much of the skill in writing unmaintainable code is the art of camouflage, hiding things, or making
things appear to be what they are not. Many depend on the fact the compiler is more capable at making
fine distinctions than either the human eye or the text editor. Here are some of the best camouflaging
techniques.

Code That Masquerades As Comments and Vice Versa

Include sections of code that is commented out but at first glance does not appear to be.

for(j=0; j<array_len; j+ =8)

{
total += array[j+0 ];
total += array[j+1 ];
total += array[j+2 ]; /* Main body of
total += array[j+3]; * loop is unrolled
total += array[j+4]; * for greater speed.
total += array[j+5]; */
total += array[j+6 ];
total += array[j+7 ];
}
Without the colour coding would you notice that three lines of code are commented out?
1.
Arbitrary Names That Masquerade as Keywords
When documenting, and you need an arbitrary name to represent a filename use "file ". Never use
an obviously arbitrary name like "Charlie.dat" or "Frodo.txt". In general, in your examples, use
arbitrary names that sound as much like reserved keywords as possible. For example, good
names for parameters or variables would be: "bank", "blank", "class", "const ", "constant",
"input", "key", "keyword", "kind", "output", "parameter" "parm", "system", "type", "value", "var"
2.
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and "variable ". If you use actual reserved words for your arbitrary names, which would be
rejected by your command processor or compiler, so much the better. If you do this well, the
users will be hopelessly confused between reserved keywords and arbitrary names in your
example, but you can look innocent, claiming you did it to help them associate the appropriate
purpose with each variable.
Code Names Must Not Match Screen Names
Choose your variable names to have absolutely no relation to the labels used when such
variables are displayed on the screen. E.g. on the screen label the field "Postal Code" but in the
code call the associated variable "zip".
3.
How to Hide Forbidden Globals
Since global variables are "evil", define a structure to hold all the things you'd put in globals. Call
it something clever like EverythingYoullEverNeed. Make all functions take a pointer to this
structure (call it handle to confuse things more). This gives the impression that you're not using
global variables, you're accessing everything through a "handle". Then declare one statically so
that all the code is using the same copy anyway.
4.
Long Similar Variable Names
Use very long variable names or class names that differ from each other by only one character, or
only in upper/lower case. An ideal variable name pair is swimmer and swimner. Exploit the failure
of most fonts to clearly discriminate between ilI1| or oO08 with identifier pairs like parselnt and
parseInt or D0Calc and DOCalc. l is an exceptionally fine choice for a variable name since it will,
to the casual glance, masquerade as the constant 1. In many fonts rn looks like an m. So how
about a variable swirnrner. Create variable names that differ from each other only in case e.g.
HashTable and Hashtable.
5.
Similar-Sounding Similar-Looking Variable Names
Although we have one variable named xy_z, there's certainly no reason not to have many other
variables with similar names, such as xy_Z, xy__z, _xy_z, _xyz, XY_Z, xY_z, and Xy_z.
Variables that resemble others except for capitalization and underlines have the advantage of
confounding those who like remembering names by sound or letter-spelling, rather than by exact
representations.
6.
Documentation
Any fool can tell the truth, but it requires a man of some sense to know how to lie well.
Samuel Butler (1835 - 1902)

Incorrect documentation is often worse than no documentation.

Bertrand Meyer
Since the computer ignores comments and documentation, you can lie outrageously and do everything
in your power to befuddle the poor maintenance programmer.
Lie in the comments
You don't have to actively lie, just fail to keep comments as up to date with the code.

1.
Document the obvious
Pepper the code with comments like /* add 1 to i */ however, never document wooly stuff like the
overall purpose of the package or method.

2.
Avoid Documenting the "Obvious"
If, for example, you were writing an airline reservation system, make sure there are at least 25
places in the code that need to be modified if you were to add another airline. Never document
where they are. People who come after you have no business modifying your code without
thoroughly understanding every line of it.

3.
On the Proper Use Of Documentation Templates
Consider function documentation prototypes used to allow automated documentation of the
code. These prototypes should be copied from one function (or method or class) to another, but
4.
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never fill in the fields. If for some reason you are forced to fill in the fields make sure that all
parameters are named the same for all functions, and all cautions are the same but of course not
related to the current function at all.

On the Proper Use of Design Documents

When implementing a very complicated algorithm, use the classic software engineering principles
of doing a sound design before beginning coding. Write an extremely detailed design document
that describes each step in a very complicated algorithm. The more detailed this document is, the
better.
In fact, the design doc should break the algorithm down into a hierarchy of structured steps,
described in a hierarchy of auto-numbered individual paragraphs in the document. Use headings
at least 5 deep. Make sure that when you are done, you have broken the structure down so
completely that there are over 500 such auto-numbered paragraphs. For example, one paragraph
might be: (this is a real example)
1.2.4.6.3.13 - Display all impacts for activity where selected mitigations can apply (short
pseudocode omitted).
then... (and this is the kicker) when you write the code, for each of these paragraphs you write a
corresponding global function named:

Act1_2_4_6_3_13()
Do not document these functions. After all, that's what the design document is for!
Since the design doc is auto-numbered, it will be extremely difficult to keep it up to date with
changes in the code (because the function names, of course, are static, not auto-numbered.) This
isn't a problem for you because you will not try to keep the document up to date. In fact, do
everything you can to destroy all traces of the document.
Those who come after you should only be able to find one or two contradictory, early drafts of the
design document hidden on some dusty shelving in the back room near the dead 286 computers.

5.
Gotchas
Never document gotchas in the code. If you suspect there may be a bug in a class, keep it to
yourself. If you have ideas about how the code should be reorganised or rewritten, for heaven's
sake, do not write them down. Remember the words of Thumper in the movie Bambi "If you can't
say anything nice, don't say anything at all". What if the programmer who wrote that code saw
your comments? What if the owner of the company saw them? What if a customer did? You could
get yourself fired. An anonymous comment that says "This needs to be fixed!" can do wonders,
especially if it's not clear what the comment refers to. Keep it vague, and nobody will feel
personally criticized.

6.
Documenting Variables
Neverput a comment on a variable. Facts about how the variable is used, its bounds, its legal
values, its implied/displayed number of decimal points, its units of measure, its display format, its
data entry rules (e.g. total fill, must enter), when its value can be trusted etc. should be gleaned
from the procedural code. If your boss forces you to write comments, lard method bodies with
them, but never comment a variable, not even a temporary!

7.
Disparage In the Comments
Discourage any attempt to use external maintenance contractors by peppering your code with
insulting references to other leading software companies, especial anyone who might be
contracted to do the work. e.g.:

/* The optimised inner loop.

This stuff is too clever for the dullard at Software Services Inc., who would
probably use 50 times as memory & time using the dumb routines in .
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*/
class clever_SSInc

{
.. .
}

If possible, put insulting stuff in syntactically significant parts of the code, as well as just the
comments so that management will probably break the code if they try to sanitize it before
sending it out for maintenance.

COMMENT AS IF IT WERE CBL ON PUNCH CARDS

Always refuse to accept advances in the development environment arena. Disbelieve rumors that
all functions and variables are never more than one click away and always assume that code
developed in Visual Studio 6.0 will be maintained by someone using edlin or vi. To this end insist
on Draconian commenting rules that bury the source code.

9.
Monty Python Comments
On a method called makeSnafucatedinsert only the comment /* make snafucated */. Never define
what snafucatedmeans anywhere. Only a fool does not already know, with complete certainty,
what snafucated means. For classic examples of this technque, consult the Sun AWT JavaDOC.
10.

Program Design
The cardinal rule of writing unmaintainable code is to specify each fact in as many places
as possible and in as many ways as possible.
Roedy

The key to writing maintainable code is to specify each fact about the application in only one
place. To change your mind, you need change it in only one place, and you are guaranteed the
entire program will still work. Therefore, the key to writing unmaintainable code is to specify a
fact over and over, in as many places as possible, in as many variant ways as possible. Happily,
languages like Java go out of their way to make writing this sort of unmaintainable code easy. For
example, it is almost impossible to change the type of a widely used variable because all the
casts and conversion functions will no longer work, and the types of the associated temporary
variables will no longer be appropriate. Further, if the variable is displayed on the screen, all the
associated display and data entry code has to be tracked down and manually modified. The Algol
family of languages which include C and Java treat storing data in an array, Hashtable, flat file
and database with totally different syntax. In languages like Abundance, and to some extent
Smalltalk, the syntax is identical; just the declaration changes. Take advantage of Java's
ineptitude. Put data you know will grow too large for RAM, for now into an array. That way the
maintenance programmer will have a horrendous task converting from array to file access later.
Similarly place tiny files in databases so the maintenance programmer can have the fun of
converting them to array access when it comes time to performance tune.

1.
Never Validate
Never check input data for any kind of correctness or discrepancies. It will demonstrate that you
absolutely trust the company's equipment as well as that you are a perfect team player who trusts
all project partners and system operators. Always return reasonable values even when data
inputs are questionable or erroneous.

2.
Be polite, Never Assert
Avoid the assert() mechanism, because it could turn a three-day debug fest into a ten minute one.
3.
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Avoid Encapsulation
In the interests of efficiency, avoid encapsulation. Callers of a method need all the external clues
they can get to remind them how the method works inside.

4.
Clone & Modify
In the name of efficiency, use cut/paste/clone/modify. This works much faster than using many
small reusable modules. This is especially useful in shops that measure your progress by the
lines of code you've written.

5.
Use Static Arrays
If a module in a library needs an array to hold an image, just define a static array. Nobody will
ever have an image bigger than 512 x 512, so a fixed-size array is OK. For best precision, make it
an array of doubles. Bonus effect for hiding a 2 Meg static array which causes the program to
exceed the memory of the client's machine and thrash like crazy even if they never use your
routine.

6.
Dummy Interfaces
Write an empty interface called something like "WrittenByMe", and make all of your classes
implement it. Then, write wrapper classes for any of Java's built-in classes that you use. The idea
is to make sure that every single object in your program implements this interface. Finally, write
all methods so that both their arguments and return types are WrittenByMe. This makes it nearly
impossible to figure out what some methods do, and introduces all sorts of entertaining casting
requirements. For a further extension, have each team member have his/her own personal
interface (e.g., WrittenByJoe); any class worked on by a programmer gets to implement his/her
interface. You can then arbitrary refer to objects by any one of a large number of meaningless
interfaces!

7.
Use Three Dimensional Arrays
Lots of them. Move data between the arrays in convoluted ways, say, filling the columns in arrayB
with the rows from arrayA. Doing it with an offset of 1, for no apparent reason, is a nice touch.
Makes the maintenance programmer nervous.

8.
Wrap, wrap, wrap
Whenever you have to use methods in code you did not write, insulate your code from that other
dirty code by at least one layer of wrapper. After all, the other author might some time in the
future recklessly rename every method. Then where would you be? You could of course, if he did
such a thing, insulate your code from the changes by writing a wrapper or you could let VAJ
handle the global rename. However, this is the perfect excuse to preemptively cut him off at the
pass with a wrapper layer of indirection, before he does anything idiotic. One of Java's main
faults is that there is no way to solve many simple problems without dummy wrapper methods
that do nothing but call another method of the same name, or a closely related name. This means
it is possible to write wrappers four-levels deep that do absolutely nothing, and almost no one will
notice. To maximise the obscuration, at each level, rename the methods, selecting random
synonyms from a thesaurus. This gives the illusion something of note is happening. Further, the
renaming helps ensure the lack of consistent project terminology. To ensure no one attempts to
prune your levels back to a reasonable number, invoke some of your code at the application level
via each of the levels.

9.
Wrap Wrap Wrap Some More
Make sure all API functions are wrapped at least 6-8 times, with function definitions in separate
source files.

10.
No Secrets!
Declare every method and variable public. After all, somebody, sometime might want to use it.
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Once a method has been declared public, it can't very well be retracted, now can it? This makes it
very difficult to later change the way anything works under the covers. It also has the delightful
side effect of obscuring what a class is for. If the boss asks if you are out of your mind, tell him
you are following the classic principles of transparent interfaces.

The Kama Sutra

This technique has the added advantage of driving any users or documenters of the package to
distraction as well as the maintenance programmers. Create a dozen overloaded variants of the
same method that differ in only the most minute detail. I think it was Oscar Wilde who observed
that positions 47 and 115 of the Kama Sutra were the same except in 115 the woman had her
fingers crossed. Users of the package then have to carefully peruse the long list of methods to
figure out just which variant to use. The technique also balloons the documentation and thus
ensures it will more likely be out of date. If the boss asks why you are doing this, explain it is
solely for the convenience of the users. Again for the full effect, clone any common logic and sit
back and wait for it the copies to gradually get out of sync.

12.
Permute and Baffle
Reverse the parameters on a method called drawRectangle(height, width) to
drawRectangle(width, height) without making any change whatsoever to the name of the method.
Then a few releases later, reverse it back again. The maintenance programmers can't tell by
quickly looking at any call if it has been adjusted yet. Generalisations are left as an exercise for
the reader.

13.
Theme and Variations
Instead of using a parameter to a single method, create as many separate methods as you can.
For example instead of setAlignment(int alignment) where alignment is an enumerated constant,
for left, right, center, create three methods: setLeftAlignment, setRightAlignment, and
setCenterAlignment. Of course, for the full effect, you must clone the common logic to make it
hard to keep in sync.

14.
Cargill's Quandry
Take advantage of Cargill's quandary (I think this was his): "any design problem can be solved by
adding an additional level of indirection, except for too many levels of indirection." Decompose
OO programs until it becomes nearly impossible to find a method which actually updates
program state. Better yet, arrange all such occurrences to be activated as callbacks from by
traversing pointer forests which are known to contain every function pointer used within the
entire system. Arrange for the forest traversals to be activated as side-effects from releasing
reference counted objects previously created via deep copies which aren't really all that deep.

15.
Packratting
Keep all of your unused and outdated methods and variables around in your code. After all - if
you needed to use it once in 1976, who knows if you will want to use it again sometime? Sure the
program's changed since then, but it might just as easily change back, you "don't want to have to
reinvent the wheel" (supervisors love talk like that). If you have left the comments on those
methods and variables untouched, and sufficiently cryptic, anyone maintaining the code will be
too scared to touch them.

16.
The Magic Of Global Variables
The use of global variables is so obvious that no one thought to mention it until this point.
Instead of using exceptions to handle error processing, have your error message routine set a
global variable. Then make sure that every long-running loop in the system checks this global
flag and terminates if an error occurs. Add another global variable to signal when a user presses
the 'reset' button. Of course all the major loops in the system also have to check this second flag.
Hide a few loops that don't terminate on demand.

17.
Globals, We Can't Stress These Enough! 18.
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If God didn't want us to use global variables, he wouldn't have invented them. Rather than
disappoint God, use and set as many global variables as possible. Each function should use and
set at least two of them, even if there's no reason to do this. After all, any good maintenance
programmer will soon figure out this is an exercise in detective work, and she'll be happy for the
exercise that separates real maintenance programmers from the dabblers.

Globals, One More Time, Boys

Global variables save you from having to specify arguments in functions. Take full advantage of
this. Elect one or more of these global variables to specify what kinds of processes to do on the
others. Maintenance programmers foolishly assume that C functions will not have side effects.
Make sure they squirrel results and internal state information away in global variables.

19.
Local Variables
Never use local variables. Whenever you feel the temptation to use one, make it into an instance
or static variable instead to unselfishly share it with all the other methods of the class. This will
save you work later when other methods need similar declarations. C++ programmers can go a
step further by making all variables global.

20.
Bloated classes
To ensure your classes are bounded in the most obtuse way possible, make sure you include
peripheral, obscure methods and attributes in every class. For example, a class that defines
astrophysical orbit geometry really should have a method that computes ocean tide schedules
and attributes that comprise a Crane weather model. Not only does this over-define the class, it
makes finding these methods in the general system code like looking for a guitar pick in a landfill.

21.
Testing
I don't need to test my programs. I have an error-correcting modem.
Om I. Baud
Leaving bugs in your programs gives the maintenance programmer who comes along later something
interesting to do. A well done bug should leave absolutely no clue as to when it was introduced or
where. The laziest way to accomplish this is simply never to test your code.
Never Test
Never test any code that handles the error cases, machine crashes, or OS glitches. Never check
return codes from the OS. That code never gets executed anyway and slows down your test
times. Besides, how can you possibly test your code to handle disk errors, file read errors, OS
crashes, and all those sorts of events? Why, you would have to either an incredibly unreliable
computer or a test scaffold that mimicked such a thing. Modern hardware never fails, and who
wants to write code just for testing purposes? It isn't any fun. If users complain, just blame the
OS or hardware. They'll never know.

1.
Never, Ever Do Any Performance Testing
Hey, if it isn't fast enough, just tell the customer to buy a faster machine. If you did do
performance testing, you might find a bottleneck, which might lead to algorithm changes, which
might lead to a complete redesign of your product. Who wants that? Besides, performance
problems that crop up at the customer site mean a free trip for you to some exotic location. Just
keep your shots up-to-date and your passport handy.

2.
Never Write Any Test Cases
Never perform code coverage or path coverage testing. Automated testing is for wimps. Figure
out which features account for 90% of the uses of your routines, and allocate 90% of the tests to
those paths. After all, this technique probably tests only about 60% of your source code, and you
have just saved yourself 40% of the test effort. This can help you make up the schedule on the
back-end of the project. You'll be long gone by the time anyone notices that all those nice
"marketing features" don't work. The big, famous software companies test code this way; so
should you. And if for some reason, you are still around, see the next item.
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Testing is for cowards

A brave coder will bypass that step. Too many programmers are afraid of their boss, afraid of
losing their job, afraid of customer hate mail and afraid of being sued. This fear paralyzes action,
and reduces productivity. Studies have shown that eliminating the test phase means that
managers can set ship dates well in advance, an obvious aid in the planning process. With fear
gone, innovation and experimentation can blossom. The role of the programmer is to produce
code, and debugging can be done by a cooperative effort on the part of the help desk and the
legacy maintenance group.
If we have full confidence in our coding ability, then testing will be unnecessary. If we look at this
logically, then any fool can recognize that testing does not even attempt to solve a technical
problem, rather, this is a problem of emotional confidence. A more efficient solution to this lack of
confidence issue is to eliminate testing completely and send our programmers to self-esteem
courses. After all, if we choose to do testing, then we have to test every program change, but we
only need to send the programmers to one course on building self-esteem. The cost benefit is as
amazing as it is obvious.

4.
Ensuring It Only Works In Debug Mode
If you've defined TESTING as 1

#define TESTING 1
this gives you the wonderful opportunity to have separate code sections, such as

#if TESTING==1
#endif
which can contain such indispensable tidbits as

x = rt_val;
so that if anyone resets TESTING to 0, the program won't work. And with the tiniest bit of
imaginative work, it will not only befuddle the logic, but confound the compiler as well.
5.
Choice Of Language
Philosophy is a battle against the bewitchment of our intelligence by means of language.
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Computer languages are gradually evolving to become more fool proof. Using state of the art languages
is unmanly. Insist on using the oldest language you can get away with, octal machine language if you
can (Like Hans und Frans, I am no girlie man; I am so virile I used to code by plugging gold tipped wires
into a plugboard of IBM unit record equipment (punch cards), or by poking holes in paper tape with a
hand punch), failing that assembler, failing that FORTRAN or COBOL, failing that C, and BASIC, failing
that C++.
FRTRAN
Write all your code in FORTRAN. If your boss ask why, you can reply that there are lots of very
useful libraries that you can use thus saving time. However the chances of writing maintainable
code in FORTRAN are zero, and therefore following the unmaintainable coding guidelines is a lot
easier.

1.
Avoid Ada
About 20% of these techniques can't be used in Ada. Refuse to use Ada. If your manager presses
you, insist that no-one else uses it, and point out that it doesn't work with your large suite of tools
like lint and plummer that work around C's failings.

2.
Use ASM 3.
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Convert all common utility functions into asm.

Use QBASIC
Leave all important library functions written in QBASIC, then just write an asm wrapper to handle
the large->medium memory model mapping.

4.
Inline Assembler
Sprinkle your code with bits of inline assembler just for fun. Almost no one understands
assembler anymore. Even a few lines of it can stop a maintenance programmer cold.

5.
MASM call C
If you have assembler modules which are called from C, try to call C back from the assembler as
often as possible, even if it's only for a trivial purpose and make sure you make full use of the
goto, bcc and other charming obfuscations of assembler.
6.
Dealing With Others
Hell is other people.
Jean-Paul Sartre -- No Exit 1934
There are many hints sprinkled thoroughout the tips above on how to rattle maintenance programmers
though frustration, and how to foil your boss's attempts to stop you from writing unmaintainable code,
or even how to foment an RWAR that involves everyone on the topic of how code should be formatted
in the repository.
Your Boss Knows Best
If your boss thinks that his or her 20 year old FORTRAN experience is an excellent guide to
contemporary programming, rigidly follow all his or her recommendations. As a result, the boss
will trust you. That may help you in your career. You will learn many new methods to obfuscate
program code.

1.
Subvert The Help Desk
One way to help ensure the code is full of bugs is to ensure the maintenance programmers never
hear about them. This requires subverting the help desk. Never answer the phone. Use an
automated voice that says "thank you for calling the helpline. To reach a real person press "1" or
leave a voice mail wait for the tone". Email help requests should be ignored other than to assign
them a tracking number. The standard response to any problem is " I think your account is locked
out. The person able to authorise reinstatement is not available just now."

2.
Keep Your Mouth Shut
Be never vigilant of the next Y2K. If you ever spot something that could sneak up on a fixed
deadline and destroy all life in the western hemisphere then do not openly discuss it until we are
under the critical 4 year till event window of panic and opportunity. Do not tell friends, coworkers,
or other competent people of your discovery. Under no circumstances attempt to publish
anything that might hint at this new and tremendously profitable threat. Do send one normal
priority, jargon encrypted, memo to upper management to cover-your-a$$. If at all possible attach
the jargon encrypted information as a rider on an otherwise unrelated plain-text memo pertaining
to a more immediately pressing business concern. Rest assured that we all see the threat too.
Sleep sound at night knowing that long after you've been forced into early retirement you will be
begged to come back at a logarithmically increased hourly rate!

3.
Baffle 'Em With Bullshit
Subtlety is a wonderful thing, although sometimes a sledge-hammer is more subtle than other
tools. So, a refinement on misleading comments: create classes with names like FooFactory
containing comments with references to the GoF creational patterns (ideally with http links to
bogus UML design documents) that have nothing to do with object creation. Play off the
maintainer's delusions of competence. More subtly, create Java classes with protected
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constructors and methods like Foo f = Foo.newInstance()that return actual new instances, rather
than the expected singleton. The opportunities for side-effects are endless.

Book Of The Month Club

Join a computer book of the month club. Select authors who appear to be too busy writing books
to have had any time to actually write any code themselves. Browse the local bookstore for titles
with lots of cloud diagrams in them and no coding examples. Skim these books to learn obscure
pedantic words you can use to intimidate the whippersnappers that come after you. Your code
should impress. If people can't understand your vocabulary, they must assume that you are very
intelligent and that your algorithms are very deep. Avoid any sort of homely analogies in your
algorithm explanations.
5.
Tricks In Offbeat Languages
Programming in Basic causes brain damage.
Edsger Wybe Dijkstra
SQL Aliasing
Alias table names to one or two letters. Better still alias them to the names of other unrelated
existing tables.

G
SQL Outer Join
Mix the various flavours of outer join syntax just to keep everyone on their toes.

G
JavaScript Scope
"Optimise" JavaScript code taking advantage of the fact a function can access all local variables
in the scope of the caller.

G
Visual Basic Declarations
Instead of:

dim Count_num as string

dim Color_var as string
dim counter as integer
use:

Dim Count_num$, Color_var$, counter%

G
Visual Basic Madness
If reading from a text file, read 15 characters more than you need to then embed the actual text
string like so:

ReadChars = .ReadChars (29,0)

ReadChar = trim(left(mid(ReadChar,len(ReadChar)-15,len(ReadChar)-5),7))
If ReadChars = "alongsentancewithoutanyspaces"
Mid,14,24 = "withoutanys"
and left,5 = "without"

G
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Miscellaneous Techniques
If you give someone a program, you will frustrate them for a day; if you teach them
how to program, you will frustrate them for a lifetime.
Anonymous

Don't Recompile
Let's start off with probably the most fiendish technique ever devised: Compile the code to
an executable. If it works, then just make one or two small little changes in the source
code...in each module. But don't bother recompiling these. You can do that later when you
have more time, and when there's time for debugging. When the hapless maintenance
programmer years later makes a change and the code no longer works, she will
erroneously assume it must be something she recently changed. You will send her off on a
wild goose chase that will keep her busy for weeks.

CANI
Constant And Never-ending Improvement. Make "improvements" to your code often, and
force users to upgrade often - after all, no one wants to be running an outdated version.
Just because they think they're happy with the program as it is, just think how much
happier they will be after you've "fixed" it! Don't tell anyone what the differences between
versions are unless you are forced to - after all, why tell someone about bugs in the old
version they might never have noticed otherwise?

1.
About Box
The About Box should contain only the name of the program, the names of the coders and
a copyright notice written in legalese. Ideally it should link to several megs of code that
produce an entertaining animated display. However, it should never contain a description
of what the program is for, its minor version number, or the date of the most recent code
revision, or the website where to get the updates, or the author's email address. This way
all the users will soon all be running on different versions, and will attempt to install
version N+2 before installing version N+1.

2.
Ch ch ch Changes
The more changes you can make between versions the better, you don't want users to
become bored with the same old API or user interface year after year. Finally, if you can
make this change without the users noticing, this is better still - it will keep them on their
toes, and keep them from becoming complacent.

3.
No Skill Required
You don't need great skill to write unmaintainable code. Just leap in and start coding. Keep
in mind that management still measures productivity in lines of code even if you have to
delete most of it later.

4.
Carry Only One Hammer
Stick with what you know and travel light; if you only carry a hammer then all problems are
nails.

5.
Standards Schmandards
Whenever possible ignore the coding standards currently in use by thousands of
developers in your project's target language and environment. For example insist on STL
style coding standards when writing an MFC based application.

6.
Third Party Libraries 7.
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Include powerful third party libraries in your project and then don't use them. With practice
you can remain completely ignorant of good tools and add the unused tools to your resume
in your "Other Tools" section.

Avoid Libraries
Feign ignorance of libraries that are directly included with your development tool. If coding
in Visual C++ ignore the presence of MFC or the STL and code all character strings and
arrays by hand; this helps keep your pointer skills sharp and it automatically foils any
attempts to extend the code.

8.
Collect Coding Standards
Find all the tips you can on writing maintainable code such as these ones the Square Box
Suggestions and flagrantly violate them.

9.
Combine Bug Fixes With Upgrades
Never put out a "bug fix only" release. Be sure to combine bug fixes with database format
changes, complex user interface changes, and complete rewrites of the administration
interfaces. That way, it will be so hard to upgrade that people will get used to the bugs and
start calling them features. And the people that really want these "features" to work
differently will have an incentive to upgrade to the new versions. This will save you
maintenance work in the long run, and get you more revenue from your customers.

10.
Change File Formats With Each Release Of Your Product
Yeah, your customers will demand upwards compatibility, so go ahead and do that. But
make sure that there is no backwards compatibility. That will prevent customers from
backing out the newer release, and coupled with a sensible bug fix policy (see above), will
guarantee that once on a newer release, they will stay there. Extra bonus points: Figure out
how to get the old version to not even recognize files created by the newer versions. That
way, they not only can't read them, they will deny that they are even created by the same
application! Hint: PC word processors provide a useful example of this sophisticated
behaviour.

11.
Compensate For Bugs
Don't worry about finding the root cause of bugs in the code. Simply put in compensating
code in the higher-level routines. This is a great intellectual exercise, akin to 3D chess, and
will keep future code maintainers entertained for hours as they try to figure out whether the
problem is in the low-level routines that generate the data or in the high-level routines that
change various cases all around. This technique is great for compilers, which are
inherently multi-pass programs. You can completely avoid fixing problems in the early
passes by simply making the later passes more complicated. With luck, you will never have
to speak to the little snot who supposedly maintains the front-end of the compiler. Extra
bonus points: make sure the back-end breaks if the front-end ever generates the correct
data.

12.
It's The Size That Counts
It almost goes without saying that the larger a function is, the better it is. And the more
jumps and GOTOs the better. That way, any change must be analysed through many
scenarios. It snarls the maintenance programmer in the spaghettiness of it all. And if the
function is truly gargantuan, it becomes the Godzilla of the maintenance programmers,
stomping them mercilessly to the ground before they have an idea of what's happened.

13.
A Picture is a 1000 Words; A Function is 1000 Lines
Make the body of every method as long as possible - hopefully you never write any
methods or functions with fewer than a thousand lines of code, deeply nested, of course.
14.
Philosophy
How To Write Unmaintainable Code
http://www.afralisp.com/vbaa/unmain.htm (17 of 19) [23/03/2005 05:47:00 p.m.]
The people who design languages are the people who write the compilers and system classes.
Quite naturally they design to make their work easy and mathematically elegant. However, there
are 10,000 maintenance programmers to every compiler writer. The grunt maintenance
programmers have absolutely no say in the design of languages. Yet the total amount of code
they write dwarfs the code in the compilers.
An example of the result of this sort of elitist thinking is the JDBC interface. It makes life easy for
the JDBC implementor, but a nightmare for the maintenance programmer. It is far clumsier than
the FORTRAN interface that came out with SQL three decades ago.
Maintenance programmers, if somebody ever consulted them, would demand ways to hide the
housekeeping details so they could see the forest for the trees. They would demand all sorts of
shortcuts so they would not have to type so much and so they could see more of the program at
once on the screen. They would complain loudly about the myriad petty time-wasting tasks the
compilers demand of them.
There are some efforts in this direction: NetRexx, Bali, and visual editors (e.g. IBM's Visual Age is
a start) that can collapse detail irrelevant to the current purpose.

The Shoemaker Has No Shoes

Imagine having an accountant as a client who insisted on maintaining his general ledgers using a
word processor. You would do you best to persuade him that his data should be structured. He
needs validation with cross field checks. You would persuade him he could do so much more
with that data when stored in a database, including controlled simultaneous update.
Imagine taking on a software developer as a client. He insists on maintaining all his data with a
text editor. He is not yet even exploiting the word processor's colour, type size or fonts.
Think of what might happen if we started storing source code as structured data. We could view
the same source code in many alternate ways, e.g. as Java, as NextRex, as a decision table, as a
flow chart, as a loop structure skeleton (with the detail stripped off), as Java with various levels of
detail or comments removed, as Java with highlights on the variables and method invocations of
current interest, or as Java with generated comments about argument names and/or types. We
could display complex arithmetic expressions in 2D, the way TeX and mathematicians do. You
could see code with additional or fewer parentheses, (depending on how comfortable you feel
with the precedence rules ). Parenthesis nests could use varying size and colour to help matching
by eye. With changes as transparent overlay sets that you can optionally remove or apply, you
could watch in real time as other programmers on your team, working in a different country,
modified code in classes that you were working on too.
You could use the full colour abilities of the modern screen to give subliminal clues, e.g. by
automatically assigning a portion of the spectrum to each package/class using a pastel shades as
the backgrounds to any references to methods or variables of that class. You could bold face the
definition of any identifier to make it stand out.
You could ask what methods/constructors will produce an object of type X? What methods will
accept an object of type X as a parameter? What variables are accessible in this point in the
code? By clicking on a method invocation or variable reference, you could see its definition,
helping sort out which version of a given method will actually be invoked. You could ask to
globally visit all references to a given method or variable, and tick them off once each was dealt
with. You could do quite a bit of code writing by point and click.
Some of these ideas would not pan out. But the best way to find out which would be valuable in
practice is to try them. Once we had the basic tool, we could experiment with hundreds of similar
ideas to make life easier for the maintenance programmer.

How To Write Unmaintainable Code

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
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Shadow Control
Would you like to place shadows on your controls?
Would you like to give your forms a 3D appearance?
The here we go......

'coding starts here

Option Explicit
Public Sub Shadow(f As Form, c As Control, clr As Long)
'This SubRoutine draws a shadow below and to the
'the right of a control. It's quite a simple example
'of drawing in form !
'Example : Shadow Me,Text1,vbBlack
Const shWidth = 3 'Width of the shadow
Dim oldWidth As Integer 'Save old DrawWidth
Dim oldScale As Integer 'Save old ScaleMode
f.AutoRedraw = True 'optional, but otherwise
'shadow won't remain when form is repainted
'or call from the Form_Paint() sub
oldWidth = f.DrawWidth 'Remember current DrawWidth
oldScale = f.ScaleMode 'Remember current ScaleMode
f.ScaleMode = 3 'Set to pixel scaling
f.DrawWidth = 1 '1 pixel width lines
'Draws the shadow by drawing a box behind the control
f.Line (c.Left + shWidth, c.Top + shWidth)- _
Step(c.Width - 1, c.Height - 1), clr, BF
f.DrawWidth = oldWidth 'Restore old DrawWidth
Shadow Control
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f.ScaleMode = oldScale 'Restore old ScaleMode
End Sub
Private Sub Command1_Click()
End
End Sub
Private Sub Form_Load()
Shadow Me, Label1, vbBlack
Shadow Me, Text1, vbBlack
Shadow Me, Command1, vbBlack
Shadow Me, Command2, vbBlack
End Sub
'coding ends here
Download source coding here.

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Custom Application Setup

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
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Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Custom Application Setup
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Custom Application Setup II
Welcome back everyone. So are you ready to create your Setup Script?
You are!! Okay fire up "Inno Setup". This dialog should appear :
For the sake of simplicity, and 'cos it's less work, select the "Create a new script file using the Script
Wizard" option button and then select "OK".
Custom Application Setup II
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The Wizard will then appear. Say hello, ask how Harry Potter is and then select "Next".
Fill in each edit box replacing the contents with your own details if you so wish.
Select "Next".
Custom Application Setup II
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We would like our Application to be installed in the Program Files directory and we are happy with the
Application Directory name. You can uncheck the "Allow user to change the application directory" if
you wish. Click on "Next" again.
Okay, this is the important part. Firstly you need to select AcadInst.exe as the "Application main
executable file". This is the file that will run after the installation is complete. You then need to select
ALL files AND directories that you want to include within the installation. DO NOT forget the AcadInst.ini
file.
Once finished with your selections, press "Next".
Custom Application Setup II
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Now we need to set up our icons. We would like to "Create an Internet shortcut in the Start Menu
folder", and we would like to "Create an Uninstall icon in the Start Menu folder". We DO NOT want to
"Allow user to create a desktop icon". "Acad Install" will take care of that for us. Select "Next" yet again.
This is where we include our License, Warning and Config text files.
Yep, you've guessed, press "Next" again.
Custom Application Setup II
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Right, that's us about done. Now just for a change, select the "Finish" button.
No, we do not want to compile our script as of yet as we have a few tweeks to take care of. Select "No".
Looks nice hey. Have a look at these lines under the [Files] section :
Source: "C:\afralisp2004_Install\Lib2004\*.*"; DestDir: "{app}"; Flags: ignoreversion
Source: "C:\afralisp2004_Install\Lisp2004\*.*"; DestDir: "{app}"; Flags: ignoreversion
Source: "C:\afralisp2004_Install\Templates\*.*"; DestDir: "{app}"; Flags: ignoreversion
For some inexplicable reason, the Wizard does not add the sub-folder paths to the DestDir (Destination
Directory). This means that we need to add them by hand. This is what needs to be added to your script.
Source: "C:\afralisp2004_Install\Lib2004\*.*"; DestDir: "{app}\Lib2004"; Flags: ignoreversion
Source: "C:\afralisp2004_Install\Lisp2004\*.*"; DestDir: "{app}\Lisp2004"; Flags: ignoreversion
Source: "C:\afralisp2004_Install\Templates\*.*"; DestDir: "{app}\Templates"; Flags: ignoreversion
As we do not want "Acad Install" to run at this time, you now need to comment out the following
section. You comment it out by placing a semi-colon ( ; ) at the beginning of the line.
;[Run]
;Filename: "{app}\AcadInst.exe"; Description: "Launch AfraLisp 2004 Custom Menu"; Flags: nowait postinstall
skipifsilent
Your script will look something like this. (I've added the comments by the way).
Now save your script as "AfraLisp.iss" into the root folder of your application.
Okey Doke, it's now time to test our script. Let's do that on the next page.
Exciting hey??
Custom Application Setup II
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Custom Application Setup III

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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; Script generated by the Inno Setup Script Wizard.
; SEE THE DOCUMENTATION FOR DETAILS ON CREATING INNO SETUP SCRIPT FILES!
[Setup]
AppName=AfraLisp 2004 Custom Menu
;the name of the application
AppVerName=AfraLisp 2004 Custom Menu Version 1.5
;the version of the application
AppPublisher=AfraLisp
;the publisher
AppPublisherURL=http://www.afralisp.com
;the publishes web address
AppSupportURL=http://www.afralisp.com
;the publishes support address
AppUpdatesURL=http://www.afralisp.com
;the publishes update address
DefaultDirName={pf}\AfraLisp 2004 Custom Menu
;the default installation folder
;(pf) denotes "Program Files"
DefaultGroupName=AfraLisp 2004 Custom Menu
;the group name
DisableProgramGroupPage=yes
;we do not want a group page
LicenseFile=C:\afralisp2004_Install\license.txt
;path to the License file
InfoBeforeFile=C:\afralisp2004_Install\warning.txt
;path to the Warning file
InfoAfterFile=C:\afralisp2004_Install\config.txt
;path to the Config file
[Files]
;Path to source files/folders and Destination folders.
;(app) denotes The application directory, which the user
Inno Setup Script
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;selects on the Select Destination Directory.
Source: "C:\afralisp2004_Install\AcadInst.exe"; DestDir: "{app}"; Flags: ignoreversion
Source: "C:\afralisp2004_Install\AcadInst.ini"; DestDir: "{app}"; Flags: ignoreversion
Source: "C:\afralisp2004_Install\acaddoc.lsp"; DestDir: "{app}"; Flags: ignoreversion
Source: "C:\afralisp2004_Install\AfraLisp.dll"; DestDir: "{app}"; Flags: ignoreversion
Source: "C:\afralisp2004_Install\AfraLisp.mnu"; DestDir: "{app}"; Flags: ignoreversion
Source: "C:\afralisp2004_Install\Lib2004\*.*"; DestDir: "{app}\Lib2004"; Flags: ignoreversion
Source: "C:\afralisp2004_Install\Lisp2004\*.*"; DestDir: "{app}\Lisp2004"; Flags: ignoreversion
Source: "C:\afralisp2004_Install\Templates\*.*"; DestDir: "{app}\Templates"; Flags: ignoreversion
[INI]
Filename: "{app}\AcadInst.url"; Section: "InternetShortcut"; Key: "URL"; String: "http://www.afralisp.com"
[Icons]
;shortcut icons
Name: "{group}\AfraLisp 2004 Custom Menu"; Filename: "{app}\AcadInst.exe"
Name: "{group}\AfraLisp 2004 Custom Menu on the Web"; Filename: "{app}\AcadInst.url"
Name: "{group}\Uninstall AfraLisp 2004 Custom Menu"; Filename: "{uninstallexe}"
[Run]
the program to run after install
Filename: "{app}\AcadInst.exe"; Description: "Configure AutoCAD"; Parameters: {app}; Flags: waituntilidle
[UninstallDelete]
;delete these files on uninstall
Type: files; Name: "{app}\AcadInst.url"
[UninstallRun]
;run this program on uninstall
Filename: "{app}\AcadInst.exe"; Parameters: -U
Inno Setup Script
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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Inno Setup Script
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Custom Application Setup IV
Let's review what we've done so far.
We've set up our folders and sub-folders for our custom application. G
We've used the "Inno Setup" Wizard to create our setup script. G
We've tweeked the setup script to integrate with "Acad Install". G
Now we need to configure our "AcadInst.ini" file. G
Lets have a look at the "AcadInst.ini" file which should be in your application root folder :
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; ;
; Usage Notes: ;
; See AcadInst.chm help file for instructions on sections and values ;
[PRODUCT]
Name=MyAcadApp
RegPath=MyCompany\MyAcadApp\MyAppVersion
License=
Silent=
[AUTOCAD]
Versions=R15.0,R16.0
Products=
SerialNumbers=
AddPath=|1
Silent=
[AUTOCAD LT]
Versions=R2000
Products=
SerialNumbers=
AddPath=
Silent=
[ARX]
Install=CdWxMyAppArx
Uninstall=
Description=My app's arx description
LoadCtrls=13
Loader=MyAppArx
Groups=GROUP1:GROUP1
Commands=COMMAND1:COMMAND1,COMMAND2:COMMAND2
[ARX2]
Custom Application Setup IV
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Install=CdWxMyAppArx2
Uninstall=
Description=My app's other arx description
LoadCtrls=13
Loader=MyAppArx2
Groups=GROUP1:GROUP1
Commands=COMMAND3:COMMAND3,COMMAND4:COMMAND4
[MENU]
MenuGroups=MyMainMenu:MyMenuFile:1:3,MyOtherMenu:MyMenuFile
Toolbars=MyMainMenu.TB_MAIN
[APPLOAD]
StartupSuite=\MyAppVlx.vlx
History=\MyAppVlx.vlx
[ACADDOC]
Line1=(alert "Pie is good!")
Line2=(princ "\nThe path to my app is ")
[STARTAPP]
[NEWPROFILE]
Name=MyProfile
Description=My profile for my AutoCAD application.
CopyFrom=
MakeDefault=T
DesktopShortcut=T
QuickLaunchButton=T
[General]
;Blipmode=1
;TemplatePath=\Templates
First, let's strip out what we won't need or will not be using. Your AcadInst.ini file should now look like
this :
[PRODUCT]
Name=MyAcadApp
RegPath=MyCompany\MyAcadApp\MyAppVersion
[AUTOCAD]
Versions=R15.0,R16.0
AddPath=|1
[MENU]
MenuGroups=MyMainMenu:MyMenuFile:1:3,MyOtherMenu:MyMenuFile
Toolbars=MyMainMenu.TB_MAIN
[NEWPROFILE]
Name=MyProfile
Custom Application Setup IV
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Description=My profile for my AutoCAD application.
CopyFrom=
MakeDefault=T
DesktopShortcut=T
QuickLaunchButton=T
[General]
TemplatePath=\Templates
Now make these changes as shown in red. I've added comments to each change to explain what is going
on :
[PRODUCT]
Name=AfraLisp2004 Custom Menu
;the name of our application.
[AUTOCAD]
Versions=R15.0,R16.0
;the AutoCAD version/s to be configured
AddPath=<InstallPath>|1;<InstallPath>\Lib2004|2;<InstallPath>\Lisp2004|3
;the support paths to be added and their positions
[MENU]
MenuGroups=AFRALISP:AFRALISP:1:50
;the pull down menu to be added
Toolbars=AFRALISP.LAYMAN
;the toolbar to be added
[NEWPROFILE]
Name=AfraLisp
;the name of the profile to be added
Description=AfraLisp 2004 Menu Profile.
;the description of the profile
CopyFrom=<CURRENT>
;copy the profile from the current profile
MakeDefault=T
;make it the default profile;make it the default profile
DesktopShortcut=T
;yes we want a desktop shortcut
ShortcutName=AfraLisp Profile
;name of the shortcut
ShortcutComment=AfraLisp Custom Menu Profile
;the tooltip
ShortcutArgs=/p "AfraLisp"
;the arguments on startup
ShortcutWorkingDir=C:\drawings
;the working directory
[<PROFILE>General]
TemplatePath=<STRING><InstallPath>\Templates
;the template file path
Custom Application Setup IV
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Let's have a look at our setup application in action. See you on the next page.
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Custom Application Setup V

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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AutoCAD Command Line Switches
What are Command Line Switches Kenny?
Command Line Switches are parameters that you add to the acad.exe command line which enable
AutoCAD to perform additional operations when it starts. For example, AutoCAD can start with an
alternative configuration, run a script, load a template drawing and even open a drawing with a saved
view.
Personally, I feel that Command Line Switches are often neglected by the AutoCAD programmer/system
manager. Why? I don't know as they can drastically cut down on setting up workstations and help a hell
of a lot in enforcing drawing office standards.
Before we have a look at the Command Line Switches, let's have a look at how AutoCAD deals with
them :
If you use a Command Line Switch to specify an environment setting, the Command Line Switch
overrides the settings specified in either the Options dialog box or the environment value.
G
If a Command Line Switch is not set, the corresponding value set in the Options dialog box is
used.
G
If neither a Command Line Switch nor an Options value is set, the environment variable value is
used
G
Note : Command Line Switches and environment variables override Options values for the current
session only. They do not alter the system registry.
Okay dokey, now let's have a look at how we go about changing a Command Line Switch :
Make a backup copy of your AutoCAD 2002 icon. Right-click on the icon and then Copy and Paste it to a safe
location.
G
Again, Right-Click on the AutoCAD 2002 icon on your Desktop. G
Choose Properties G
In the AutoCAD 2002 Properties dialog, select the Shortcut tab. G
This is what it should look like :
AutoCAD Command Line Switches
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The section that we are interested in is the "Target" edit box, which in this example contains "C:\AutoCAD
2002\acad.exe"
A word of warning though, when making changes to the Target box, make sure you don't accidentally remove any
section of the application path or filename itself, Make sure that there is a single space after the path and file
argument and before you switch. Also, ensure there is a space between each argument and your switch statements.
If your path or file names have spaces in them, you will have to surround the path or name with double quotes. In
fact, to be on the safe side, I surround all my paths and file names with double quotes.
Right, let's have a look at the switches :
Switch Syntax and Example Description
/b
path ["drawing file"] /b "script"
"C:\AutoCAD 2002\acad.exe" /b "C:\scripts\MyScript"
Open a drawing and runs a
Script. Drawing name is
optional.
/c
path /c "Configuration File"
"C:\AutoCAD 2002\acad.exe" /c "C:\myconfigs\MyConfig"
Specifies the hardware
configuration file to use.
/nologo
path /nologo
"C:\AutoCAD 2002\acad.exe" /nologo
Starts AutoCAD without the
splash screen.
/p
path /b profile
"C:\AutoCAD 2002\acad.exe" /p "C:\profiles\MyProfile"
Starts AutoCAD with the
specified Profile name. If the
Profile does not exist,
AutoCAD uses the current
Profile.
/r
path /r
"C:\AutoCAD 2002\acad.exe" /r
Resets all AutoCAD default
settings, printers and system
pointing device.
/s
path /s "Support Paths"
"C:\AutoCAD 2002\acad.exe" /s "C:\Blocks;C:\Lisp;C:\VBA"
Designates additional Support
Paths.
AutoCAD Command Line Switches
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/t
path ["drawing file"] /t "Template File"
"C:\AutoCAD 2002\acad.exe" /t "C:\MyTemplates\MyTemplate"
Creates a new drawing based
on a Template or Prototype
drawing. Drawing name is
optional.
/v
path ["drawing file"] /v "View Name"
"C:\AutoCAD 2002\acad.exe" "MyDrawing" /v "MyView"
Opens a drawing with a
predefined view.
You can of course string the Command Line Switches together. For example, to open AutoCAD with no
splash screen using a user defined profile and template drawing, you would use the following syntax :
"C:\AutoCAD 2002\acad.exe" /nologo /p "C:\profiles\MyProfile" /t "C:\MyTemplates\MyTemplate"
Would you like AutoCAD to open in a specific directory every time?
You would? Good!!!
Then just place your directory path in the "Start In" edit box. Easy hey?

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
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All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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Resource Website
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AfraLisp's Tips 'n Tricks II
Page I Page III
Onsnap Menu
Here is a little trick that I did to my osnap cursor menu.I come across a lot of users who are not aware of this
function, 'Cal - Mee.
I used to use a 12 button puck & tablet and had this programmed on button #4. Now, in the modern world of the
InteliMouse, I have given up my beloved tablet, so here is what I have done to my AutoCad menu.
[&Object Snap Cursor Menu]
ID_Tracking [Temporary trac&k point]_tt
ID_From [&From]_from
ID_MnPointFi [->Poin&t Filters]
ID_PointFilx [.X].X
ID_PointFily [.Y].Y
ID_PointFilz [.Z].Z
[--]
ID_PointFixy [.XY].XY
ID_PointFixz [.XZ].XZ
ID_PointFiyz [<-.YZ].YZ
[--]
ID_OsnapEndp [&Endpoint]_endp
ID_OsnapMidp [&Midpoint]_mid
ID_OsnapInte [&Intersection]_int
ID_OsnapAppa [&Apparent Intersect]_appint
ID_OsnapExte [E&xtension]_ext
[--]
ID_OsnapCent [&Center]_cen
ID_OsnapQuad [&Quadrant]_qua
ID_OsnapTang [Tan&gent]_tan
[--]
ID_OsnapPerp [&Perpendicular]_per
ID_OsnapPara [Para&llel]_par
ID_OsnapNode [No&de]_nod
ID_OsnapInse [In&sert]_ins
ID_OsnapNear [Nea&rest]_nea
ID_OsnapNone [&None]_non
[--]
ID_Osnap [&Osnap Settings...]'_+dsettings 2
[--]
[Cal-Mee Expression]'cal;mee;
John Lauer
Command Line Problem
Q. Every time I open AutoCad Im down to one line of text in the command line. My profile specifies 4
lines. When I open Options/display 4 lines is specified. I can change the display to 4 lines, or whatever,
by stretching it with the mouse, but when I close AutoCad and open up again its back to one stingy
line.
A. If you use "Acad.lsp" or "Acaddoc.lsp" or similar at startup you could put the following piece of code
in one of these files; it will ensure that you get the number of command lines you want.
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(setenv "CmdVisLines" "2")
;Sets the number of lines in the AutoCAD command line window
"CmdVisLines" must be written as is ie Upper & Lower case
"2" number of command lines you require ie 1, 2, 3.... etc
Random Number Generator.
Random number generation function - based on the linear congruential method as presented in Doug
Cooper's book Condensed Pascal, pp. 116-117.
Returns a random number between 0 and 1.
(defun randnum (/ modulus multiplier increment random)
(if (not seed)
(setq seed (getvar "DATE"))
)
(setq modulus 65536
multiplier 25173
increment 13849
seed (rem (+ (* multiplier seed) increment) modulus)
random (/ seed modulus)
)
)
Applying Points.
I received this from Roger Farley:
I was browsing your tips and tricks area and thought I would contribute a gem:
These four lines will give you the extreme four values in a points list:
where PointList is a list of 2D or 3D points (like a list of pline vertex points),
(setq X1 (apply 'min (mapcar 'car PointList)))
; The smallest 'X' value
(setq Y1 (apply 'min (mapcar 'cadr PointList)))
; The smallest 'Y' value
(setq X2 (apply 'max (mapcar 'car PointList)))
; The largest 'X' value
(setq Y2 (apply 'max (mapcar 'cadr PointList)))
; The largest 'Y' value
Then assemble like:
(setq LowerLeft (List X1 Y1))
(setq LowerRight (List X2 Y1))
(setq UpperRight (List X2 Y2))
(setq UpperLeft (List X1 Y2))
or
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(setq CPWin (list (List X1 Y1) (list X2 Y1)
(list X2 Y2) (list X1 Y2)))
;A list of 4 points, can be passed to a 'ssget' function
I use the trick in finding an extents boundary around the objects
I am working with, or performing a zoom window around the work area.
Roger Farley
Saving and Restoring System Variables.
It is good practice (and manners) when writing Lisp routines to restore the system environment to the
state that your program found it in on completion of your application. Most AutoLisp routines start and
end like this :
(defun c:example ()
(setq oldhigh (getvar "Highlight")
oldsnap (getvar "Osmode")
oldblip (getvar "BlipMode")
oldecho (getvar "Cmdecho")
);setq
(setvar "Highlight" 0)
(setvar "Osmode" 517)
(setvar "Blipmode" 0)
(setvar "Cmdecho" 0)
Programme statements.............
.................................
(setvar "Highlight" oldhigh)
(setvar "Osmode" oldsnap)
(setvar "Blipmode "oldblip)
(setvar "Cmdecho" oldecho)
(princ)
);defun
;******************************************************
I must have written statements like this a thousand times in my Lisp routines.
The following example is designed to act as a global routine that first stores, then changes specific
system variables. On completion of the routine, the function is then called again and all system
variables are returned to their previous settings.
(defun varget ()
(setq lis '("HIGHLIGHT" "BLIPMODE" "CMDECHO"
"BLIPMODE" "OSMODE"))
;store names of system variables
(setq var (mapcar 'getvar lis))
;get the value of the system variables and
;store them as a list
(setq var1 '(0 0 0 0 517))
;store the new values of the system variables
(setq no 0)
;set counter to zero
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(repeat (length lis)
;get the number of variables in the list
;to use as the counter control number
(setvar (nth no lis) (nth no var1))
;set the variables to their new values
(setq no (1+ no))
;move up one in the list
);repeat
(princ);finish quietly
);defun
;***************************************************************
(defun varset ()
(setq no 0)
;set counter to zero
(repeat (length lis)
;get the number of variables in the list
(setvar (nth no lis) (nth no var))
;reset the variables to their original values
(setq no (1+ no))
;move up one in the list
);repeat
(princ);finish quietly
);defun
;***************************************************************
(princ);load quietly
Our Autolisp routine could now look like this :
(defun c:example ()
(varget)
;store system variables and then reset them
Programme statements.............
.................................
(varset)
;restore system variables
(princ)
);defun
;******************************************************
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As you can see, we have reduced the size of our routine by a lot and saved ourselves quite a bit of
typing. These two routines could both be loaded from our Acad.Lsp file so that they would be available
to all of your routines.
(getfiled) and (startapp).
Here is a handy little routine that displays a dialogue box that defaults to a user defined directory and
allows you to choose a Lisp file to edit. It then opens the file in Window's Notepad. When you have
finished editing, it automatically loads the relevant Lisp file.
It uses the (getfiled) function to locate and open the Lisp file, and the (startapp) function to run
Notepad.exe. You can change both path specifications to suit your setup.
(defun c:test ( / fl)
(setq fl
(getfiled "Select a Lisp File"
"d:/cadken/cadlisp14/NewLisp/"
"lsp" 0)
);setq
(startapp "c:/windows/notepad.exe" fl)
(load fl)
(alert (strcat "\n " fl " Loaded"))
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
Creating Defaults.
In many AutoCAD commands, AutoCAD remembers the last entry and puts that entry between angle
brackets (<>).
Then all you have to do is press Enter, and that value is used. You should use that technique whenever
you're creating your own defaults in AutoLISP.
First make sure that you haven't declared as local the variable that will hold the value. Then follow a
three-step process :
Require input from the user and assign that input to a second variable.
Test to see if the input is nil, and if it is nil, assign a global variable
to the real variable.
G
Finally, assign the real variable to the global variable. G
You're then ready for the next sequence. G
Here's an example :
(defun c:prog1 (/ a)
(if (= gv nil)
(setq gv 1.0)
);end if
(princ "\nEnter Distance <")
(princ gv)
(princ "> ")
(setq a (getdist))
(if (= a nil)
(setq a gv)
);end if
(setq gv a)
(princ "\nThe Distance is ")
(princ a)
(princ)
);defun
gv is the global variable.
No matter how often you run this routine while in the same drawing, it will maintain the last entry as the
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default. The first time through the routine, gv is tested to see if it has a value. If it doesn't, the routine
assigns 1.0 as the default value.
Converting Strings to Uppercase.
There are many occasions when you'll need to convert a string variable to uppercase, especially when
you've requested a response and need to test it. It's much easier to test it against all-uppercase than to
try to test for every combination of uppercase and lowercase. The command for the conversion is
(strcase) :
(setq uc (strcase t))
This converts the value of the string variable t to uppercase and assigns
the new value to the variable uc.
Break @ Circle.
Have you ever tried breaking a Circle into 2 separate parts using the Break command? It doesn't work
does it? This routine allows you to separate a circle into two arcs by picking
two points on the circle.
(defun c:bcirc (/ os pt1 pt2 a pt3)
(setq os (getvar "osmode"))
(setvar "osmode" 512)
(setq pt1 (getpoint "\nFirst Break in Circle : "))
(setq pt2 (getpoint "\nSecond Break in Cricle : "))
(setq a (entget (ssname (ssget pt1) 0)))
(setq pt3 (cdr (assoc 10 a)))
(command "break" pt1 pt2)
(command "arc" pt1 "e" pt2 pt3)
(setvar "osmode" os)
(princ)
)
(princ)
Pick any 2 points on the a Circle.
The circle will look the same, but it will be broken into two arcs.
Restoring 2 Arcs to a Circle.
This routine will join 2 arcs back into a circle.
It will also complete a circle from an Arc.
(defun c:rcirc (/ os pt2 a pt1 ra pt3)
(setq os (getvar "osmode"))
(setvar "osmode" 512)
(setq pt2 (getpoint "\nPick one of the Arcs : "))
(setq a (entget (ssname (ssget pt2) 0)))
(setq pt1 (cdr (assoc 10 a)))
(setq ra (cdr (assoc 40 a)))
(command "erase" pt2 "")
(setq pt3 (getpoint "\nPick other Arc : "))
(setvar "osmode" os)
(command "erase" pt3 "")
(command "circle" pt1 ra)
(princ)
)
(princ)
Begin this routine with one or two arcs.
Pick either arc. That arc will disappear.
Pick the remaining arc if you started with two.
If you started with only one arc, pick any blank space on the screen or press Enter. Now the circle will
Tips and Tricks - Page II
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be restored or the single arc is turned into a complete circle.
Page I Page III

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
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"Utter Rubbish"
Page III
TO: All employees
FROM: The boss
DATE: October 4th, 2002
RE: Foul Language
It has been brought to management's attention that some individuals
throughout the company have been using foul language during the
course of normal conversation with their coworkers. Due to complaints
received from some employees who are easily offended, this type of
language will be no longer tolerated. We do, however, realize the
critical importance of being able to accurately express your feelings
when communicating with coworkers. Therefore, a list of new phrases
has been provided so
that proper exchange of ideas and information can continue in an
effective manner without risk of offending our more sensitive
employees.
TRY SAYING: Perhaps I can work late.
INSTEAD OF: When the f*ck do you expect me to do this?
TRY SAYING: I'm certain that is not feasible.
INSTEAD OF: No f*cking way!
TRY SAYING: Really?
INSTEAD OF: You've got to be sh*tting me.
TRY SAYING: Perhaps you should check with . . .
INSTEAD OF: Tell someone who gives a sh*t.
TRY SAYING: Of course I'm concerned.
INSTEAD OF: Ask me if I give a sh*t.
TRY SAYING: I wasn't involved in the project.
INSTEAD OF: It's not my f*cking problem.
TRY SAYING: That's interesting.
INSTEAD OF: What the f*ck?
TRY SAYING: I'm not sure I can implement this.
INSTEAD OF: F*ck it, it won't work.
TRY SAYING: I'll try to schedule that.
INSTEAD OF: Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner?
TRY SAYING: Are you sure this is a problem?
INSTEAD OF: Who the f*ck cares?
TRY SAYING: He's not familiar with the problem.
INSTEAD OF: He's got his head up his ass.
TRY SAYING: So you weren't happy with it?
INSTEAD OF: Kiss my ass.
TRY SAYING: I'm a bit overloaded at this moment.
Utter Rubbish-Page II
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INSTEAD OF: F*ck it, I'm on salary.
TRY SAYING: I don't think you understand.
INSTEAD OF: Shove it up your ass.
TRY SAYING: I love a challenge.
INSTEAD OF: This job sucks.
TRY SAYING: You want me to take care of that?
INSTEAD OF: Who the hell died and made you boss?
TRY SAYING: I see.
INSTEAD OF: Bite me.
TRY SAYING: Yes, we really should discuss it.
INSTEAD OF: Another f*cking meeting?
TRY SAYING: I don't think this will be a problem.
INSTEAD OF: I really don't give a sh*t.
TRY SAYING: He's somewhat insensitive.
INSTEAD OF: He's a f*cking prick.
TRY SAYING: She's an aggressive go-getter.
INSTEAD OF: She's a ball-busting bitch.
TRY SAYING: I think you could use more training.
INSTEAD OF: What the f*ck are you doing?
=====================
Two Irish men walk into a pet shop. Right away they go over to the bird section.
Gerry says to Paddy, "Dat's dem!"
The clerk comes over and asks if he can help them.
"Yeah, we'll take four of dem dere birds in dat cage dere," says Gerry, "Put dem in a peeper bag."
The clerk does and the two guys pay for the birds and leave the shop.
They get into Gerry's van and drive until they are high up in the hills and stop at the top of a cliff with a
500-foot drop.
"Dis looks like a grand place, eh?" says Gerry.
"Oh, yeh, dis looks good," replies Paddy.
They flip a coin and Gerry wins the toss.
"I guess I git to go first, eh Paddy?" says Gerry.
He then takes two birds out of the bag, places them on his shoulders and jumps off the cliff.
Paddy watches as his mate drops off the edge and goes straight down for a few seconds followed by a
'SPLAT'.
As Paddy looks over the edge of the cliff he shakes his head and says,
"Fock dat, dis budgie jumpin' is too fockin' dangerous for me"
======= PART TWO ======
A minute later, Seamus arrives. He too has been to the pet shop and he, walks up carrying the familiar
peeper bag.
He pulls a parrot out of the bag, and then Paddy notices that, in his other hand, Seamus is carrying a
gun.
"Hi, Paddy. Watch this," Seamus says and launches himself over the edge of the cliff.
Paddy watches as half way down, Seamus takes the gun and blows the parrot's head off.
Seamus continues to plummet until there is a SPLAT!, as he joins Gerry's remains at the bottom.
Paddy shakes his head and says, "An' oim never troyin' dat parrotshooting nider"
======= PART THREE ======
A few minutes after Seamus splats himself Sean strolls up. He too has been to the pet shop and he
walks up carrying the familiar
'peeper bag'. Instead of a parrot he pulls a chicken out of the bag, and launches himself off the cliff with
the usual result.
Once more Paddy shakes his head -
"Fock me Sean, first der was Gerry with his budgie jumping, den Seamus parrotshooting and now you
fockin' hengliding!"
===============
Utter Rubbish-Page II
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Mike goes into an elevator, looks up and sees this great big huge guy standing next to him.
The big guy sees little Mike staring at him, looks down and says, "7 feet tall, 350lbs, 20inch penis,
testicles 3lbs each, Turner Brown."
Mike just faints dead away and falls to the floor.
The big dude kneels down and brings him to by slapping his face and shaking him. He asks, "Are you
OK??"
In a very weak voice Mike says, "Excuse me, but what did you just say to me?"
The big dude says, "When I saw the curious look on your face, I just figured I'd give you the answers to
the questions everyone always asks me. "I'm 7 feet tall, weigh 350lbs, have a 20 inch penis, my testicles
weigh 3lbs each, and my name is Turner Brown."
Mike said, "Oh Thank God!!! .... I thought you said "Turn Around!!"
=============
Bob joins a very exclusive nudist colony. On his first day he takes off his clothes
and starts wandering around. A gorgeous petite blonde walks by him and the man
immediately gets an erection.
The woman notices his erection, comes over to him grinning sweetly and says:
"Sir, did you call for me?"
Bob replies: "No, what do you mean?"
She says: "You must be new here; let me explain. It's a rule here that if I give you an erection,
it implies you called for me." Smiling, she then leads him to the side of a pool, lays down on a
towel, eagerly pulls him to her and happily lets him have his way with her.
Bob continues exploring the facilities. He enters a sauna, sits down, and farts.
Within a few seconds a huge, horribly corpulent, hairy man with a firm erection lumbers out
of the steam towards him. The Huge Man says: "Sir, did you call for me?"
Bob replies: "No, what do you mean?"
The Huge Man: "You must be new here; it is a rule that when you fart, it implies you called for me."
The huge man then easily spins Bob around, bends him over the bench and has his way with him.
Bob rushes back to the colony office. He is greeted by the smiling naked receptionist:
"May I help you?"
Bob says: "Here is your card and key back. You can keep the $500 joining fee."
Receptionist: "But Sir, you've only been here a couple of hours;
you only saw a small fraction of our facilities.....
"Bob replies: "Listen lady, I am 58 years old...
I get a hard-on twice a month, but I fart 15 times a day!
======================
The Kenny Hangover Scale
1-Star Hangover *
No pain. No real feeling of illness. You slept in your own bed and when you woke up there were no
traffic cones in there with you. You are still able to function relatively well on the energy stored up from
all those vodka red bulls. However, you can drink 10 bottles of water and still feel as parched as the
Sahara. Even vegetarians are craving a Cheeseburger and a side of fries.
2-Star Hangover * *
No pain, but something is definitely amiss. You may look okay but you have the attention span and
mental capacity of a stapler. The coffee you hug to try and remain focused is only exacerbating your
rumbling gut, which is craving a full English breakfast. Although you have a nice demeanour about the
office, you are costing your employer valuable money because all you really can handle is some light
filing, followed by aimlessly surfing the net and writing junk e-mails.
3-Star Hangover * * *
Slight headache. Stomach feels crap. You are definitely a space cadet and not so productive. Anytime a
girl or lad walks by you gag because her perfume/aftershave reminds you of the random gin shots you
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did with your alcoholic friends after the bouncer kicked you out at 1:45 a.m. Life would be better right
now if you were in your bed with a dozen doughnuts and a litre of coke watching daytime TV. You've
had 4 cups of coffee, a gallon of water, 2 Sausage Rolls and a litre of diet coke yet you haven't peed
once.
4-Star Hangover * * * *
You have lost the will to live. Your head is throbbing and you can't speak too quickly or else you might
spew. Your boss has already lambasted you for being late and has given you a lecture for reeking of
booze. You wore nice clothes, but you smell of socks, and you can't hide the fact that you either
missed an oh-so crucial spot shaving or it looks like you put your make-up on while riding the dodgems
depending on your gender. Your teeth have their own individual sweaters. Your eyes look like one big
vein and your hairstyle makes you look like a reject from the second-grade class picture circa 1976.
You would give a week's pay for one of the following: _Home time, doughnut and somewhere to be
alone, or a Time machine so you could go back and NOT have gone out the night before. You scare
small children in the street just by walking past them.
5-Star Hangover * * * * *
You have a second heartbeat in your head, which is actually annoying the employee who sits next to
you. Vodka vapour is seeping out of every pore and making you dizzy. You still have toothpaste crust in
the corners of your mouth from brushing your teeth. Your body has lost the ability to generate
saliva, so your tongue is suffocating you. You'd cry but that would take the last of the moisture left in
your body. Death seems pretty good right now.
Your boss doesn't even get mad at you and your co-workers think that your dog just died because you
look so pathetic. You should have called in sick because, let's face it, all you can manage to do is
breathe...very gently.
6-Star Hangover * * * * * *
You arrive home and climb into bed. Sleep comes instantly; as you were fighting it all the way home in
the taxi. You get about 2 hours sleep until the noises inside your head wake you up. You notice that
your bed has been cleared for take off and is flying relentlessly around the room. No matter
what you do you now, you're going to chuck. You stumble out of bed and now find that your room is in a
yacht under full sail. After walking along the skirting boards on alternating walls knocking off all the
pictures, you find the toilet. If you are lucky you will remember to lift the lid before you
spontaneously explode and wake the whole house up with your impersonation of walrus mating calls.
You sit there on the floor in your undies, Cuddling the only friend in the world you have left (the toilet),
randomly continuing to make the walrus noises, spitting, and farting. Help usually comes at this
stage, even if it is short lived. Tears stream down your face and your abdomen hurts. Help now turns
into abuse and he/she usually goes back to bed leaving you there in the dark. With your stomach totally
empty, your spontaneous eruptions have died back to 15-minute intervals, but your body won't relent.
You are convinced that you are starting to turn yourself inside out and swear that you saw your tonsils
projectile out your mouth on the last occasion. It is now dawn and you pass your disgusted partner
getting up for the day as you try to climb into bed. She/He abuses you again
for trying to get into bed with lumpy bits of dried vomit in your hair. _You reluctantly accept their advice
and have a shower in exchange for them driving you to the hospital. Work is not an option.
===============
Unauthorized Activity
This one is a cracker. It was an actual letter sent to a man named
Ryan DeVries by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, State
of Michigan.
Wait till you read this guy's response.......
***************************
Mr. Ryan DeVries
2088 Dagget Pierson, MI 49339
SUBJECT: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20;
Montcalm County
Dear Mr. DeVries:
It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental
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Quality that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the
above referenced parcel of property. You have been certified as
the legal landowner and/or contractor who did the following
unauthorized activity:
Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the
outlet stream of Spring Pond. A permit must be issued prior to
the start of this type of activity. A review of the Department's
files shows that no permits have been issued. Therefore, the
Department has determined that this activity is in violation of
Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and
Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994,
being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Michigan Compiled
Laws, annotated.
The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams
partially failed during a recent rain event, causing debris and
flooding at downstream locations. We find that dams of this
nature are inherently hazardous and cannot be permitted. The
Department therefore orders you to cease and desist all activities
at this location, and to restore the stream to a free-flow
condition by removing all wood and brush forming the dams from the stream channel. All restoration
work shall be completed no later than
January 31, 2002.
Please notify this office when the restoration has been completed
so that a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled by our staff.
Failure to comply with this request or any further unauthorized
activity on the site may result in this case being referred for
elevated enforcement action.
We anticipate and would appreciate your full cooperation in this
matter. Please feel free to contact me at this office if you have
any questions.
Sincerely, David L. Price
District Representative Land and Water Management Division
*******************
This is the actual response sent back........
Dear Mr. Price,
Re: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20;
Montcalm County.
Your certified letter dated 12/17/01 has been handed to
me to respond to.
First of all, Mr. Ryan DeVries is not the legal Landowner and/or
Contractor at 2088 Dagget, Pierson, Michigan. I am the legal
owner and a couple of beavers are in the (State unauthorized)
process of constructing and maintaining two wood "debris" dams
across the outlet stream of my Spring Pond.
While I did not pay for, authorize, nor supervise their dam
project, I think they would be highly offended that you call their
skillful use of natures building materials "debris."
I would like to challenge your department to attempt to emulate
their dam project any time and/or any place you choose. I believe
I can safely state there is no way you could ever match their dam
skills, their dam resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam
persistence, their dam determination and/or their dam work ethic.
As to your request, I do not think the beavers are aware that they
must first fill out a dam permit prior to the start of this type of
dam activity.
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My first dam question to you is: (1) Are you trying to discriminate
against my Spring Pond Beavers or (2) do you require all beavers
throughout this State to conform to said dam request?
If you are not discriminating against these particular beavers,
through the Freedom of Information Act, I request completed
copies of all those other applicable beaver dam permits that have
been issued. Perhaps we will see if there really is a dam violation
of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource
and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of
1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Michigan
Compiled Laws, annotated.
I have several concerns. My first concern is - aren't the beavers
entitled to legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are
financially destitute and are unable to pay for said
representation - so the State will have to provide them with a dam lawyer.
The Department's dam concern that either one or both of the dams
failed during a recent rain event causing flooding is proof that
this is a natural occurrence, which the Department is required
to protect.
In other words, we should leave the Spring Pond Beavers alone
rather than harassing them and calling their dam names. If you
want the stream "restored" to a dam free-flow condition please
contact the beavers - but if you are going to arrest them, they
obviously did not pay any attention to your dam letter, they being
unable to read English.
In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to
build their unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass
is green and water flows downstream. They have more dam rights
than I do to live and enjoy Spring Pond. If the Department of
Natural Resources and Environmental Protection lives up to its name, it
should protect the natural resources (Beavers) and the environment
(Beavers' Dams.).
So, as far as the beavers and I are concerned, this dam case can
be referred for more elevated enforcement action right now. Why
wait until 1/31/2002? The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the
dam ice then and there will be no way for you or your dam staff to
contact/harass them then.
In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention to a real
environmental quality (health) problem in the area. It is the
bears!
Bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely believe
you should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the beavers
alone. If you are going to investigate the beaver dam, watch your
step! (The bears are not careful where they dump!)
Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable
to contact you on your dam answering machine, I am sending this
response to your dam office.
Sincerely,
Stephen L.Tvedten
===================
One night, a police officer was staking out a particularly rowdy bar for possible violations of the driving
under the influence laws.
At closing time, he saw a fellow stumble out of the bar, trip on the curb, and try his keys on five different
cars before he found his. Then, sat in the front seat fumbling around with his keys for several minutes.
Everyone else then left the bar and drove off.
Finally, the guy sitting in his car started his engine and began to pull away.
The police officer was waiting for him. He stopped the driver, read him his rights and administered the
Breathalyzer test. The results showed a reading of 0.0 % !
The puzzled officer demanded to know how that could be.
The driver replied, "Tonight, I'm the Designated Decoy."
=================
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Extract from the Australian Etiquette Handbook
GENERAL:
1. Never take a beer to a job interview.
2. Always identify people in your yard before shooting them.
3. If you have to vacuum the bed, it's time to change the sheets.
4. Even if you're certain you're included in the will, it's rude to take the trailer to the funeral home.
DINING OUT:
1. When decanting wine from the box, tilt the paper cup and pour slowly so as not to "bruise" the wine.
2. If drinking directly from the bottle, hold it with only one hand.
ENTERTAINING IN YOUR HOME:
1. A centrepiece for the table should never be anything prepared by a taxidermist.
2. Don't allow the dog to eat at the table, no matter how good his manners.
PERSONAL HYGIENE:
1. While ears need to be cleaned regularly, this should be done in private, using one's OWN keys.
2. Even if you live alone, deodorant isn't a waste of money.
3. Use of toiletries can only delay bathing a few days.
4. Dirt and grease under the fingernails is a no-no, as it detracts from a woman's jewelry and alters the
taste of finger foods.
DATING (Outside the Family):
1. Always offer to bait your date's hook, especially on the first date.
2. Be assertive. Let her know you're interested: "I've been wanting to go out with you since I read that
stuff on the crap house door two years ago."
3. Establish with her parents what time she's expected back. Some will say 10:00 PM, others might say
"Monday." If the latter is the answer, it's the man's responsibility to get her to school on time.
THEATRE ETIQUETTE:
1. Crying babies should be taken to the lobby and picked up after the movie ends.
2. Refrain from talking to characters on the screen. Tests have proven they can't hear you.
WEDDINGS:
1. Livestock is a poor choice for a wedding gift.
2. Kissing the bride for more than five seconds may get you shot.
3. For the groom, at least, rent a tux. A track suit with a cummerbund and a clean football jumper can
create a tacky appearance.
4. Though uncomfortable, say "yes" to socks and shoes for the occasion.
DRIVING ETIQUETTE:
1. Dim your headlights for approaching vehicles, even if the gun's loaded and the drivers heads in sight.
2. When approaching a round-about, the vehicle with the largest tyres doesn't always have the right of
way.
3. Never tow another car using panty hose and duct tape.
4. When sending your wife down the road with a petrol can, it's impolite to ask her to bring back beer,
too.
=================
Politics..
Returning from school one day, little Johnny goes to his father and asks:
- Dad, our teacher mentioned during the history class today one word I didn't know...
- Yes son...?
-It's "politics", dad. Could you explain me what it means?
- Well now, Johnny - says his father while frowning - that's a rather complex term.. especially for
someone as young as you; to make it easier, let's put it into your perspective: I am your father. I work
and bring money to this house. I make all of the most important decisions. Therefore let's call me
Capitalism. Your mum, she run's the household - so she's something like a Government around here.
Our maid does most of the toil around the house - so she can be the Working Class. You son, let's call
you The People. And your little baby brother is our youngest family member - hence he's the future.
That's pretty much how politics works, son. Was that good enough for you?
-Well, thank's dad. It was a bit confusing though. I'll have to sleep on it a bit and see whether I can
understand it tomorrow..
Later that night, Johnny suddenly wakes up. He's hungry. On the way to the kitchen, he hears his little
brother screaming from his cot. So he sneaks to his room, takes a good look around, and finds his
sibling in soiled pampers ;-) The stench is unbearable. And since Johnny is only a 9-year old kid, with
no baby-training, he shouts for his parents.
Nothing. He shouts again, only louder. Still nothing. Quite frustrated with the situation at hand, he heads
for his parents' bedroom, where he finds his mother fast asleep, but no trace of the "patter familias".
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Puzzled, he goes to the maid's chambers - and lo! and behold there's his dad, (with the maid, of course),
cheating on his wife! Exasparated, Johnny finally gives up, and goes back to bed.
The next day, Johnny's father (unaware of his son's revelations the previous night)goes to his boy and
asks:
- So..is politics any clearer to you now?
- 'Course it is dad. While Capitalism is screwing the Working Class, Government is fast asleep, People is
being ignored, and our Future is in deep sh*t!
=================
Ever wonder why Middle Eastern Muslim terrorists are so quick to
volunteer for suicide missions?
Let's just take a closer look at their lifestyle...
No premarital sex.
No Booze. None. Never.
No TV. No cable TV. No satellite TV
No Spice channel. No Playboy channel. No ESPN. No Hooters!
No Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.
Sand. F*ckin' sand everywhere!
No organized sports of any kind. That's right No Sports!
Women are to be completely covered and wear veils.
No thongs. No Victoria's Secret.
Very, very few cars.
Camels. Lots of camels. Stinking, filthy camels.
Sand. F*ckin' sand everywhere!
Ever try to fish at an Oasis? No bass boats. No bass. No fish.
Sandstorms. More f*ckin' sand everywhere!
Rags for clothes and dishcloths with fanbelts for hats.
Camel and goat burgers cooked over burning camel dung chips.
Eating with your right hand only because you wipe your butt
with your left.
Toilet tissue is unknown.
Sand. F*ckin' sand everywhere!
No Golf. Just sand traps.
Constant wailing next door...no wait, that's their music.
Praying 5 times a day. For what? More of this life?
Oh, and did I mention the f*ckin' sand?
And when you die it's supposed to get better.
No wonder they volunteer for suicide missions!!
================
An elderly Italian man asked the local priest to hear his confession:
"Father, during World War 2 a beautiful woman knocked on my door and asked me to hide her from the
Germans. I hid her in my attic".
The priest replied, "That was a wonderful thing you did and you have no need to confess."
"It's worse, Father. I was weak and told her she must repay me with sexual favours."
"You were both in great danger and would have suffered terribly if the Germans had found her. God, in
his wisdom and mercy, will balance the good and the evil and judge you kindly. You are forgiven."
"Thank you, Father, That's a great load off my mind. I have one more question."
"And what is that?" asked the priest.
The old man replied, "Should I tell her the war is over?
=================
A magazine recently ran a "Dilbert Quotes" contest. They were looking
for people to submit quotes from their real life Dilbert-type managers.
Here are the finalists:
1. "As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building
using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday
and employees will receive their cards in two weeks". (This was the
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winning quote from Fred Dales at Microsoft Corp. in Redmond,WA.)
2. "What I need is a list of specific unknown problems we will encounter".
(Lykes Lines Shipping)
3. "E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should
be used only for company business". (Accounting manager,Electric Boat Company)
4. "This project is so important, we can't let things that are more important interfere with it".
(Advertising/Marketing manager, United Parcel Service)
THIS ONE REALLY TAKES THE CAKE
5. "Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule".
6. "No one will believe you solved this problem in one day! We've been working on it for months. Now,
go act busy for a few weeks and I'll let you know when it's time to tell them". (R&D supervisor,
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing/3M Corp.)
7. "My Boss spent the entire weekend retyping a 25-page proposal that only needed corrections. She
claims the disk I gave her was damaged and she couldn't edit it. The disk I gave her was
write-protected". (CIO of Dell Computers)
8. Quote from the Boss: "Teamwork is a lot of people doing what I say".(Marketing executive, Citrix
Corporation)
9. My sister passed away and her funeral was scheduled for Monday. When I told my Boss, he said she
died on purpose so that I would have to miss work on the busiest day of the year. He then asked if we
could change her burial to Friday. He said, "That would be better for me". (Shipping executive, FTD
Florists)
10. "We know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going to discuss it with the
employees". (Switching supervisor, AT&T Long Lines Division)
11. We recently received a memo from senior management saying: "This is to inform you that a memo
will be issued today regarding the memo mentioned above". (Microsoft, Legal Affairs Division)
12. One day my Boss asked me to submit a status report to him concerning a project I was working on. I
asked him if tomorrow would be soon enough. He said, "If I wanted it tomorrow, I would have waited
until tomorrow to ask for it!" (New business manager,Hallmark Greeting Cards.)
13. As director of communications, I was asked to prepare a memo reviewing our company's training
programs and materials. In the body of the memo in one of the sentences I mentioned the "pedagogical
approach" used by one of the training annuals. The day after I routed the memo to the executive
committee, I was called into the HR director's office, and told that the executive vice president wanted
me out of the building by lunch. When I asked why, I was told that she wouldn't stand for perverts
(paedophiles?) memo, with her demand that I be fired - and the word "pedagogical" circled in red. The
HR manager was fairly reasonable, and once he looked the word up in his dictionary and made a copy
of the definition to send back to her, he told me not to worry. He would take care of it. Two days later, a
memo to the entire staff came out directing us that no words which could not be found in the local
Sunday newspaper could be used in company memos. A month later, I resigned. In accordance with
company policy, I created my resignation memo by pasting words together from the Sunday
paper.
(Taco Bell Corporation)
================
An old cowboy went to a bar and ordered a drink. As he sat there sipping whiskey, a young lady sat
down next to him.
She turned and asked, "Are you a real cowboy?"
He replied, "Well, I've spent my whole life on the ranch, herding cows, breaking horses, mending fences,
so I guess I am." He then asked her what she was.
She replied, "I'm a lesbian. I spend my whole day thinking about women. As soon as I get up in the
morning I think of women, when I eat, shower, watch TV, everything seems to make me think of
women."
A little while later a couple sat down next to the old cowboy and asked him, "Are you a real cowboy?"
He replied, "I always thought I was, but I just found out I'm a lesbian."
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=================
A little girl walks into a pet shop and asks in the sweetest little
lisp, "Excuthe me, mithter, do you keep wittle wabbits?"
The shopkeeper gets down on his knees, so that he's on her level, and asks,
"Do you want a likkle white wabbit? Or a soft and fuwwy black wabbit? Or maybe one like that cute
likkle brown wabbit over there?"
She in turn puts her hands on her knees, leans forward and says in a quiet voice, "I don't fink my pyfon
weally gives a phuck!"
==================
A man left work one Friday afternoon. But being payday, instead of going home he partied with the boys
and stayed out all weekend, spending his entire paycheck.
When he finally appeared at home on Sunday night, he was confronted by a very angry wife and was
barraged for nearly two hours with a tirade befitting his actions.
Finally his wife stopped the nagging and simply said to him. "How would you like it if you didn't see me
for two or three days?"
To which he replied. "That would be fine with me."
Monday went by and he didn't see his wife. Tuesday and Wednesday came and went with the same
results. Come Thursday, the swelling went down just enough where he could see her a little out of the
corner of his left eye.
================
The Washington Post's Style invitational asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by
adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are some recent winners:
Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start
with.
Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The
bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an
indefinite period.
Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
Hipatitis: Terminal coolness.
Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like,
the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
Decaflon (n.): The gruelling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for
you.
Glibido: All talk and no action.
Dopeler effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider
web.
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Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at 3 in the morning and
cannot be cast out.
Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.
And the pick of the literature:
Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid AND an asshole.
===================
Helpful Hint #1
If you are choking on an ice cube, don't panic. Simply pour a jug of boiling water down your throat and
presto! The blockage is almost instantly removed.
Helpful Hint #2
Clumsy? Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while
you chop away
Helpful Hint #3
Don't buy expensive 'ribbed' condoms, just buy an ordinary one and slip a handful of frozen peas inside
it before you put it on.
Helpful Hint #4
Putting just the right amount of gin in your goldfish bowl makes the fishes' eyes bulge and cause them
to swim in an amusing manner.
Helpful Hint #5
An empty aluminum cigar tube filled with angry wasps makes a wonderful inexpensive vibrator.
Helpful Hint #6
Avoid arguments with the missus about lifting the toilet seat by simply pissing in the sink.
Helpful Hint #7
High blood pressure sufferers: ! simply cut yourself and bleed for a while,thus reducing the pressure in
your veins.
Helpful Hint #8
A mouse trap, placed on top on of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to
sleep.
Helpful Hint #9
If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough!
====================
President Bush and Colin Powell are sitting in a bar. A guy walks in, spots them and asks the bartender,
"Isn't that Bush and Powell sitting over there?"
The bartender answers, "Yep, that's them."
So the guy walks over and says, "Wow, this is a real honor. What are you guys doing in here?" Bush
says, "We're planning WW III."
"World War III!" the guy exclaims. "Really? What's going to happen?"
Bush says, "Well, we're going to get rid of Saddam Hussein and kill 140 million Iraqis and one blonde
with big breasts."
The guy looks puzzled. "A blonde with big breasts? Why kill a blonde with big breasts?"
Bush turns to Powell, punches him on the shoulder and says, "See. I told you no one would worry about
the 140 million Iraqis!"
=================
Rev Jackson is sat in a bar with Prince Charles when he asks him:
"Hey, Charlie boy, why is Britain called a Kingdom?
Charles answers, "Because it's run by a King."
The Rev replies, "Oh, I suppose that's why they call America a country."
======================
If a small child is choking on an ice cube, don't panic.Simply
pour a jug of boiling water down its throat and hey presto! The blockage
is almost instantly removed.
Manchester United fans. Save money on expensive new kits by simply
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strapping a large fake penis to your forehead. It is now clear to
all, as to your allegiance.
Clumsy? Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting
someone else to hold them while you chop away.
Keep the seat next to you on the train vacant by smiling and
nodding at people as they walk up the aisle.
Weight watchers. Avoid that devilish temptation to nibble at the
chocolate bar in the cupboard or fridge by not buying the f**king
thing in the first place, you fat b*st*rds.
Save on booze by drinking cold tea instead of whisky. The
following morning you can create the effects of a hangover by drinking a
thimble full of washing up liquid and banging your head repeatedly on the
wall.
Make bath times as much fun for kiddies as a visit to the seaside
by pouring a bucket of sand, a bag of salt and a dog turd into the
bath.
Recreate the fun of a visit to a public swimming pool in your own
home by filling the bath with cold water, adding two bottles of bleach,
then urinating into it, before jumping in.
Girls. Too old to go on an 18 to 30 holiday? Simply get pi**ed,
lie in a sand pit in your garden and sh*g every bloke who looks at you over
the fence.
Don't buy expensive 'ribbed' condoms, just buy an ordinary one and
slip a handful of frozen peas inside it before you put it on.
X-Files fans. Create the effect of being abducted by aliens by
drinking two bottles of vodka. You'll invariably wake up in a strange place
the following morning, having had your memory mysteriously 'erased'.
Don't waste money buying expensive binoculars. Simply stand closer
to the object you wish to view.
Putting just the right amount of gin in your goldfish bowl makes
the fishes' eyes bulge and cause them to swim in an amusing manner.
Save time when crossing a one-way street by only looking in the
direction of oncoming traffic.
Thicken up runny low-fat yoghurt by stirring in a spoonful of
lard.
Anorexics. When your knees become fatter than your legs, start
eating cakes again.
A next door neighbour's car aerial, carefully folded, makes an
ideal coat hanger in an emergency.
Hijackers. Avoid a long stressful siege and the risk of arrest,
imprisonment or death by simply making sure you book a flight to
your intended destination in the first place.
An empty aluminium cigar tube filled with angry wasps makes an
inexpensive vibrator.
Olympic athletes. Disguise the fact that you've taken anabolic
steroids by running a bit slower. - B. Johnson, Canada
Avoid arguments with the missus about lifting the loo seat by
simply pi**ing in the sink.
Weedy fellas. Develop a right forearm like Arnold Schwarzeneggar
by buying one of those Cindy Crawford workout videos.
Smokers. Save on matches and lighters, by simply lighting your
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next fag from the butt of your last one.
Vegetarians coming to dinner? Simply serve them a nice bit of
steak or veal. Since they're always going on about how tofu, Quorn, meat
substitute etc 'tastes exactly like the real thing', they won't
know any difference.
Invited by vegetarians for dinner? Point out that since you'd no
doubt be made aware of their special dietary requirements, tell them
about yours, and ask for a nice steak.
Spice up your sex life by trying a bit of 'rodeo sex'. Take your
missus from behind and, holding on tightly to her jugs, call her by the
wrong name. See how long you can 'stay mounted' for.
Before attempting to remove stubborn stains from a garment always
circle the stain in permanent pen so that when you remove the garment
from the washing machine you can easily locate the area of the stain and
check that it has gone.
Give comics that 'Pulp Fiction' feel by reading the last frames of
cartoons first, then reading the rest in a random order.
High blood pressure sufferers. Simply cut yourself and bleed for a
while, thus reducing the pressure in your veins.
Heavy smokers. Don't throw away those filters from the end of your
cigarettes. Save them up and within a few years you'll have enough
to insulate your loft.
Motorists. Enjoy the freedom of cycling by removing your
windscreen, sticking half a melon skin on you head, then jumping red lights
and driving the wrong way up one way streets.
Create instant designer stubble by sucking a magnet and dipping
your chin in a bowl of iron fillings.
Convince neighbours that you have invented a 'SHRINKING' device by
ruffling your hair, wearing a white laboratory coats and parking a
JCB digger outside your house for a few days. Then dim and flicker the
lights in your house during the night and replacethe JCB unseen, with a
Tonka toy of the same description. Watch their faces in the morning!
Have all your dumps at work. Not only will you save money on
toilet paper, but you'll also be getting paid for it.
Nissan Micra drivers. Attach a lighted sparkler to the roof of
your car before starting a long journey. You drive the things like dodgem
cars anyway, so it may as well look like one.
A mouse trap, placed on top on of your alarm clock will prevent
you from rolling over and going back to sleep.
=============================
A salesman drove into a small town where a circus was in process.
A sign read: "Don't Miss The Amazing Scotsman".
The salesman bought a ticket and sat down. There, on centre stage, was a table with three walnuts on it.
Standing next to it was an old Scotsman. Suddenly the old man lifted his kilt, whipped out a huge penis
and smashed all three walnuts with three mightly swings! The crowd erupted in applause as the elderly
Scot was carried off on the shoulders of the crowd.
Then years later the salesman visited the same little town and saw a
faded sign for the same circus and the same sign: "Don't Miss The Amazing Scotsman".
He couldn't believe the old guy was still alive much less still doing his act! He bought a ticket. Again, the
centre ring was illuminated. This time, however, instead of walnuts, three coconuts were placed on the
table.
The Scotsman stood before them, then suddenly lifted his kilt and
smashed the coconuts with three swings of his amazing member. The crowd went wild! Flabbergasted,
the salesman requested a meeting with him after the show.
"You're incredible!" he told the Scotsman. "But I have to know something. You're older now, why switch
from walnuts to coconuts?"
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"Well," said the Scot, "Me eyes are nae whit they used to be."
====================
Tomorrows Weather Forecast
======================
The weather in Iraq tomorrow is expected to be sunny in the morning with increasing mushroom clouds
in the afternoon. The temperature looks to be a moderate 2000 degrees with cool winds upwards of
around 700 miles per hour. It will definitely be a day for the sunblock, and it wouldn't hurt to shake the
dust off the ol' lead suit in the closet. If you're planning on venturing outside in beautiful Iraq tomorrow,
don't forget to drink plenty of fluids such as barium which shows up nicely when blasts of radiation flow
through your body. Most of all, have fun out there in dusty Iraq and enjoy the old country while........
well, while it's still there.
==================
A little rabbit is happily running through the forest when he stumbles upon a giraffe rolling a joint. The
rabbit looks at her and says, "Giraffe my friend, why do you do this? Come with me running through the
forest, you'll see, you'll feel so much better!"
The giraffe looks at him, looks at the joint, tosses it and goes off running with the rabbit.
Then they come across an elephant doing coke, so the rabbit again says, "Elephant my friend, why do
you do this? Think about your health! Come running with us through the pretty forest, you'll see, you'll
feel so good!"
The elephant looks at them, looks at his razor, mirror and all, then tosses them and starts running with
the rabbit and giraffe.
The three animals then come across a lion about to shoot up heroin..."Lion my friend, why do you do
this? Think about your health! Come running with us through the sunny forest, you will feel so good!"
The lion looks at him, puts down his needle, and starts to beat the shit out of the little rabbit.
The giraffe and elephant watch in horror, and ask him "Lion, why did you do this? He was merely trying
to help us all!"
The lion answers, "Every time he's on Ecstasy that little f**ker makes me run around the forest like an
idiot for hours!"
==============
Defence Attorney: What is your age?
Little old Woman: I am 86 years old.
Defence Attorney: Will you tell us, in your own words, what happened?
Little old Woman: There I was, sitting there in my swing on my front porch on a warm spring evening,
when a young man comes creeping up on the porch and sat down beside me.
Defence Attorney: Did you know him?
Little old Woman: No, but he sure was friendly.
Defence Attorney: What happened after he sat down?
Little old Woman: He started to rub my thigh.
Defence Attorney: Did you stop him?
Little old Woman: No, I didn't stop him.
Defence Attorney: Why not?
Little old Woman: It felt good. Nobody had done that since my Abner passed away some 30 years ago.
Defence Attorney: What happened next?
Little old Woman: He began to rub my breasts.
Defence Attorney: Did you stop him then?
Little old Woman: No, I did not stop him.
Defence Attorney: Why not?
Little old Woman: Why, Your Honour, his rubbing made me feel all alive and excited. I haven't felt that
good in years!
Defence Attorney: What happened next?
Little old Woman: Well, I was feeling so spicy that I just layed down and said to him..."Take me ...young
man...Take me!
Defence Attorney: Did he take you?
Little old Woman: Hell, no. He just yelled, "April Fool!" And that's when I shot the little bastard.
==================
An American decided to write a book about famous churches around the world. For his first chapter he
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decided to write about British churches. So he bought a plane ticket and took a trip to London, thinking
that he would work his way across the country from South to North. On his first day he was inside a
church taking photographs when he noticed a golden telephone mounted on the wall with a sign that
read "$10, 000 per call". The writer, being intrigued, asked a priest who was strolling by what the
telephone was used for. The priest replied that it was a direct line to heaven and that for $10, 000 you
could talk to God. The writer thanked the priest and went along his way.
Next stop was in Wales. There, at a very large cathedral, he saw the same golden telephone with the
same sign under it. He wondered if this was the same kind of telephone he saw in London and he asked
a nearby nun what its purpose was. She told him that it was a direct line to heaven and that for $10, 000
he could talk to God. "O.K., thank you," said the writer. He then travelled to Dublin in Ireland. In every
church he saw the same golden telephone with the same "$R10, 000 per call" sign under it.
The American, upon leaving Dublin saw a sign for Glasgow and decided to see if Glaswegians had the
same phone. He arrived in Glasgow, and again, there was the same golden telephone, but this time the
sign under it read "50 cents per call." The writer was surprised so he asked the priest about the sign.
"Father, I've travelled all over Britian and I've seen this same golden telephone in many churches. I'm
told that it is a direct line to Heaven, but in every place the price was $10, 000 per call. Why is it so
cheap here?" The priest smiled and answered, "You're in the Scotland now son, it's a local call".
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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Aussie Sayings
IM HUNGRY
"I could eat the crotch out of a dead leper's undies."
"I could eat the horse and chase the jockey."
"So hungry I'd eat a shit sandwich, only I don't like bread."
"I could eat the arse out of a rag doll through a cane chair."
"So hungry I could eat the arse out of a low flying duck."
I'M THIRSTY
"I'm dry as a dead dingo's donger."
"I'm drier than a nuns nasty."
"I'm dry as a fuck with no foreplay."
"I'm as dry as a pommie's bath mat."
"I'm as dry as a bulls bum going up a hill backwards."
"I'm drier than an Arab's fart."
I NEED TO GO FOR A PEE
"Gonna drain me dragon."
"My back teeth are floating."
"Need to syphon the python."
"Takin' the kids to the pool."
"I got to take a snakes hiss."
"Gotta go have a slash."
"Gonna go water a horse."
"I'm off to drain the main vein."
"Time to splatter the bladder."
"I'm dying for a piss so bad I can taste it."
"Shake hands with the wife's best friend."
Aussie Sayings
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I NEED TO DO A POO
"I gotta go give birth to a Kiwi."
"I'm takin' a stroll to the gravy bowl."
"It was like giving birth to Kim Beasly."
"Off to the bog to leave an offering."
"Time to snap off a grogan."
"Have to hang a brown bear in the porcelain cave."
"I'm gonna strangle a brownie."
"There's a brown dog barking at the back door."
"I'm going to give birth to your twin."
"Need to choke a brown dog."
"I've freed Nelson Mandela."
"Going for a Rodney."
"Taking out the garbage."
"I gotta back one out."
"Release the Chocolate hostage."
"i gotta lay some cables for Telstra."
VOMIT
"Calling for George.
"I was driving the porcelain bus this morning."
"I left him a lawn pizza."
"Toss a tiger on the carpet."
YES
"Does a fat dog fart?"
"Even Blind Freddy could see it."
"Is the Pope a Catholic?"
"Does a Koala shit in a gum tree and wipe his ass on a Cockatoo?"
"Does the Pope tuck his shirt in with a wooden spoon?"
"Bloody oath!"
"No wucking furries."
NO
"Pig's arse!!"
"Get Fucked!"
Aussie Sayings
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INSULTS
"I hope your ears turn into arseholes and shit on your shoulders."
"Not enough brains to give 'imself a headache!"
"About as useful as tits on a bull."
"You must be the world's only living brain donor."
"He's a few wanks short of an orgasm."
"Shes had more pricks than a second hand dartboard."
"He had a head on him like a sucked mango."
"May your chooks turn into emus and kick your dunny down."
"He's got a few roos loose in the top paddock."
"So stupid that he wouldn't know a tram was up him 'til the bell rang!"
"Couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery."
"Pull your lip over your head and swallow!"
"As ugly as a bucket full of arseholes."
"If I had a dog that looked like him, I'd shave it's arse and make it walk backwards."
"Got a face like a bashed in shit can."
"Couldn't tell his ass from a hole in the ground."
"Couldn't drive a greasy stick up a dog's arse."
"Couldn't organise a fuck in a brothel with a fist full of fifties."
"About as useful as a one-legged man in an arse-kicking competition."
"I'll kick your bum till your nose bleeds!"
"A stubbie short of a six pack."
"Seen better heads in a piss trough."
"You're as handy as shit on a stick."
"Tighter than a fish's arse."
"So tight that he wouldn't shout if a shark bit him."
"Face like a smashed crab."
"As ugly as a bulldog chewing a wasp."
"He could talk a dog off a meatwagon."
"Fucked in the head."
"You've got a head like a half-eaten pastie."
"He wouldn't go two rounds with a revolving door."
"Mate, shes as rough as a pigs breakfast."
"Your face is like a twisted Ugg boot."
"He's got a face like a cat licking shit off a thistle."
"She's been hit with the fugley stick too many times."
"She's two pick handles wide."
"An arse like two pigs fighting in a sugar bag."
"As ugly as a bag of spanners."
Aussie Sayings
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"You've got a head like a dropped pie."
"He thinks his shit don' stink, but his farts give him away."
"I wish his dad had settled for a blow job."
"Fell out of the ugly tree, and hit every branch on the way down."
"If I had a head like yours I'd circumcise it."
"Wouldn't know if someone was up him sideways with an armful of deckchairs."
"As thick as two short planks!"
"You got a head like a busted watermelon."
COMPLIMENTS
"Ya bloods worth bottling!"
"He's True Blue."
"I'd be up her like a rat up a drain pipe."
"A better man never stood in two shoes!"
ASSORTED
"Drilling for Vegemite." (Anal sex)
"I'll have a super." (I'll have a beer)
"Make mine an unleaded." (I'll have a light beer)
"Going off like a frog in a sock." (try to picture this one)

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AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-01

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
=========================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-02
=========================
Tuesday 3rd February 2004
=========================
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
=========================
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
=========================
The dumber people think you are,
the more surprised they'll be when you kill them!
=========================
The Front Stoep.
==============
"The Winds of Change are Blowing"
Big things happening in my life at the moment.
To early yet to tell you what's going on as things are still
very much up in the air.
Watch This Space...........
I receive some really weird emails sometimes.
I get a lot of people asking me all sorts of questions that
have really got nothing to do with AutoCAD, AutoLisp
or any type of coding for that matter.
Here's one of the best :
Kenny,
I am a sailor in the South African Navy. My parents live in the suburb of
Constantia and one of my sisters, who lives in Paarl North, is married to an
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Australian. My father and mother have recently been arrested for growing and
selling marijuana and are currently dependent on my two sisters, who are
prostitutes in Green Point. I have two brothers, one who is currently
serving a non-parole life sentence in Pollsmoor Prison, Cape Town, for the
rape and murder of a teenage girl in 1994, the other is currently being held
in the Bellville remand centre on charges of incest with his three children.
I have recently become engaged to marry a former Thai prostitute who lives
in Sea Point and indeed is still a part time "working girl" in a brothel,
however, her time there is limited as she has recently been infected with an
STD. We intend to marry as soon as possible and are currently looking into
the possibility of opening our own brothel with my fiance utilizing her
knowledge of the industry working as the manager. I am hoping my two sisters
would be interested in joining our team.
Although I would prefer them not to prostitute themselves, it would at least
get them off the streets and hopefully the heroin.
My problem is this: I love my fiance and look forward to bringing her into
the family and of course I want to be totally honest with her. Should I
tell her about my brother-in-law being an Australian?
Pearls of Wisdom
===============
"I figured if I killed the first one, the word would get out."
- This is how I handled my teenage daughter's boyfriends.
===============
Coding
=======
Want a comfirmation box?
//DCL CODING STARTS HERE
yes_no_cancel : dialog {label="Confirmation";
spacer_1;
:boxed_column {
:paragraph {alignment=centered;
:text_part { height=3; width=50;
key="warning";alignment=centered;}
}
spacer;
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}
spacer_1;
:row {alignment=centered;fixed_width=true;
children_fixed_width=true;
:button {label="&Yes";width=10;key="yes";
is_default=true;fixed_width=true;}
spacer_1;
:button {label="&No";width=10;key="no"
;fixed_width=true;}
spacer_1;
:button {label="&Cancel";width=10;key="cancel";
is_cancel=true;fixed_width=true;}
}
spacer;
}
//DCL CODING ENDS HERE
Save this as "Confirm.Dcl".
And now the AutoLisp coding :
;AUTOLISP CODING STARTS HERE
;(c)1999, Harjeet Singh
(defun yes_no_cancel (warn_text / dlg keyval)
(if (/= (type warn_text) 'STR)
(prompt "\nError: Argument supplied to YES_NO_CANCEL is not STRING."
) ;_ end of prompt
(progn (setq dlg (load_dialog "confirm"))
(new_dialog "yes_no_cancel" dlg)
(set_tile "warning" warn_text)
(action_tile "yes" "(setq keyval $key) (done_dialog)")
(action_tile "no" "(setq keyval $key) (done_dialog)")
(action_tile "cancel" "(setq keyval $key) (done_dialog)")
(start_dialog)
keyval
) ;progn
) ;if
) ;_ end of defun
;AUTOLISP CODING ENDS HERE
Save this as "Confirm.Lsp".
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Usage :
(yes_no_cancel "Your Confirmation Message Goes Here")
This will return "Yes" "No" or "Cancel" as a string.
==============
Kenny,
I wish you and all the other creatures staying at your place a Happy and
Healthy New Year.
This mail is a reaction to the article in "the AfraLisp Newsletter No
2004-01" written by Robert Kerbo.
He has problems with cleaning up a drawing, and has written a nice little
program in VBA.
Great! Keep up the good work!!
I like programming to. Well, not VBA. I stick to the good old (Visual)
Lisp.
But it is silly (sorry Robert) to write a program to do a job AutoCAD is
perfectly capable of doing on its own .
AutoCAD has a perfectly good working command to do this job. It is called
ERASE.
It is one off my favourites. It gives me the oppertunity to smuggle my
errors. (Sssst. Don't tell my boss).
First I tell you the HOW, then I tell you the WHY.
The following is the condensation of an instruction session I had with a
colleague of mine.
Open a new drawing and make an empty text string.
Fill your drawing with a 100x1000 array off that empty text strings. You
can not make a bigger array, because 100.000 (one hunderd thousend) is a
historical limmit of AutoCAD and now obsolete.
Copy the matrix.
Okay, okay, I lead you by the hand in doing so.
You know how to make a text string. Do it. (If not, stop here and look for
another trade, eg. paving streets).
Still here? Oke, open the text string for edditing, and use backspace or
delete to obliterate all characters.
Next press the enter key, and you have a empty text string. (Is that
question also answered, Robert.)
Invoke array command. When selecting objects type ALL and then hit enter.
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You have made a selection of one object. Finish the array command.
Invoke copy command. When selecting objects type ALL and then hit enter.
You have made a selection of hundred thousend objects. Finish the copy
command.
So, now you have 200.000 empty text strings in your drawing, even as you
don't see them.
He, you made them, remember? Have some fate in yourself. They are there.
To prove it: save your drawing and type DWGPROPS at the command prompt.
Your drawing will be about 12Mb in size.
Next put some objects in your drawing like lines, circels or text.
The whole purpose off this exercise is to remove invisible objects from a
drawing, right?
Lets remove them.
First of all switch all the layers that are turned off on.(One off the
first things you learned in your Basic AutoCAD Course).
Invoke the erase command.
When prompted to select the objects to delete type ALL at the command line
and hit enter. You made a selection off 200.000+ objects. (Great, no
limmits).
Deselect the visible objects you put in the drawing by holding down the
shift key while selecting these objects. You can do this by window and/or
crossing and/or picking. Now your selection have a size off 200.000
objects. (Remarkable, just the amount you put there in the first place).
Complete the erase command. (Hit enter, you ....).
Save the drawing and type DWGPROPS at the command prompt. Your drawing will
be about a lot smaller than 12Mb in size.
Q.E.F. (for the illiterate: Quod Erat Faciendum, What Had To Be Done).
But why does this method works?
When you open a drawing by AutoCAD the program will search the drawing file
for things to put on the screen. It is a drawing program, is it not?
It is not interested in what you can not see. It put the visible things in
the video memory of your computer for you to play with.
When you make a selection by windowing, crossing or picking, you are
selecting in the video memory, so, only visibiltys are selected.
You can not select what you can not see. (Yes, everything outside the
bounderies off your screen is also invisible).
To select also the invisible objects, that are not on a locked layer, you
have to type ALL at the command line. With this you tell AutoCAD to look in
the RAM memory and/or swapp file of the computer and make its selection
there, selecting everything that is not on a locked or frozen layer.
Do not forget to switch all layers to on!
You can not deselect what you can not see!
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I hope, I made myself understood. My colleague got it, eventually.
Joop Moelee
============
Kenny,
I am using a script file to open and close a series drawings. The problem
is that some of the drawings may already be open and an extra line "Y" is
required in the script file to say "yes", open file as 'read-only'. The
problem is that the script file does not know ahead of time which files are
open. I may be able to work around this another way, but I was wondering
if there was a simple way of making a script file open all the required
drawings as 'read-only'? In his way the script file can be made the same
for all drawings even if they are open. (Is there a system variable that
can be set to force drawings to opened 'read-only'? It appears that there
may have been at one time, but these system variables have now been
removed.)
Regards
Craig Green
==========
Dear Kenny,
I would like to thank very much for giving me the opportunity to
consult you with things regarding AutoCAD.
I am a lisp programmer, and I was wondering how I would open
a drawing in a read-only state, using lisp or visual lisp functions.
Is that possible?
Awaiting your answer impatiently, I remain very truly yours,
Victor Jammal
============
Can you help??
The idea is to draw a pline at a specified width at any scale. Insert into
this pline at specified locations would be arrow heads so that in the end I
would have one continuous pline. I can get it to work by typing what I want
but it won't work in a macro. I can't get the angle specification to work
I can get the width and length of the arrow but not the angle.
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Note userr1 is the drawing scale.
[ 90d ]'OSMODE;0;W;0;(* 1.5 (getvar "userr1"));(* 3.25 (getvar
"userr1"));(* pi (/ 90 180.0));w;0;0;'OSMODE;1;
thanks,
Kevin
=======
Want to draw a rectangle using AutoLisp?
;AUTOLISP CODE STARTS HERE
;Draw a rectangle using (polar) function
(defun C:RECT ()
(setq PT1 (getpoint "\nStart Point Lower Left: "))
(setq WTH (getdist "\nWidth: "))
(setq HGT (getdist "\nHeight: "))
(setq PT2 (polar PT1 0.0 WTH))
(setq PT3 (polar PT2 (* pi 0.5) HGT))
(setq PT4 (polar PT1 (* pi 0.5) HGT))
(command "._pline" PT1 PT2 PT3 PT4 "c")
)
(princ)
;AUTOLISP CODE ENDS HERE
Want to draw a rectangle using VBA?
'VBA CODE STARTS HERE
Sub Rect()
Dim VarRet As Variant
Dim PTS(0 To 7) As Double
Dim WTH As Double
Dim HGT As Double
Dim PLINE As Object

VarRet = Utility.GetPoint(, "Start Point Lower Left:")
PTS(0) = VarRet(0)
PTS(1) = VarRet(1)

WTH = Utility.GetDistance(, "Width: ")
HGT = Utility.GetDistance(, "Height: ")
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VarRet = Utility.PolarPoint(VarRet, 0, WTH)
PTS(2) = VarRet(0)
PTS(3) = VarRet(1)
VarRet = Utility.PolarPoint(VarRet, 1.5708, HGT)
PTS(4) = VarRet(0)
PTS(5) = VarRet(1)
VarRet = Utility.PolarPoint(VarRet, 3.14159, WTH)
PTS(6) = VarRet(0)
PTS(7) = VarRet(1)
Set pline = ModelSpace.AddLightWeightPolyline(PTS)
pline.Closed = True ' Close Polyline
End Sub
'VBA CODE ENDS HERE
Things Weird and Wonderful
========================
To locate other ActiveX functions that create objects, you need to look
in the AutoCAD ActiveX and VBA Reference. In Visual LISP, choose Help,
Visual LISP Help Topics. From the Contents tab, double-click ActiveX and
VBA Reference, and then Methods. You immediately see an alphabetical
list with the As displayed. Here are all the VBA methods that add drawing
objects. To create a Visual LISP function, add VLA- before the method.
For example, to add a circle, you would use VLA-AddCircle.
============
Some useful Links :
Business Opportunity :
http://www.vbdesign.net/expresso/showthread.php?s=&postid=162183#post162183
The Back Stoep Online :
http://www.vbdesign.net/expresso/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=64
AutoDesk VBA Newsgroup :
http://www.vbdesign.net/expresso/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=66
AutoDesk Object ARX :
http://www.vbdesign.net/expresso/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=68
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Spanish Forum :
http://www.vbdesign.net/expresso/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=18
Lost In Stupid Parenthetheeth :
http://www.vbdesign.net/expresso/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=24
Guest Questions :
http://www.vbdesign.net/expresso/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=59
Gr-Acad - Portugeus :
http://www.gr-acad.arq.br/
CADLandia - Italian :
http://www.cadlandia.com/
Aussie CAD Links :
http://www.users.bigpond.com/johncoom/johncooc.html
Intervision - Danish :
http://intervision.hjem.wanadoo.dk/
Free Structural Software :
http://www.structural-engineering.fsnet.co.uk/free.htm
XCad - AutoCAD LT Utilities :
http://www.xcad.it/download/index.htm
AutoDesk Technical Papers :
http://www.fredrick.com/technicalsupport/ts_atods.html
AutoLisp Exchange :
http://web2.iadfw.net/terrycad/
AutoLisp Tutorials:
http://www.geocities.com/johno_iom/autolisp.html
The AutoCad Resource Website :
http://www.llpsite.com/
===========
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Miscellaneous Stuff that I almost Forgot
================================
Hello,
I read your articles about making DLLs and would like to publish them on the site
of the dutch AutoCAD Architectural Desktop 2004 user group (www.adtggnl.nl).
Of course I will name you and your site. Is this ok with you or do you have
any restrictions?
Thanks,
H. Bosma
NHOLLAND University
============
Hi, I have read with interest your letter about John Walker, is a piece of
history.
In it I found the name of Roberta Sandenburgh, I would like to send her kind
regards. I had the pleasure to meet her in the TTT seminar given by Autodesk
in Sausalito 1989.
At that time I was managing the Autocad Training Center at Israeli Institute
of Productivity.
Also I would like to congratulate you and your staff for the good material
you gave us ,and continue with a prolific year.
Jacob Levy.
==========
When creating a slide library using the SLIDELIB utility you create a text file
containing the names of the slide files. SLIDELIB can read a listing created
using DOSs dir command with the /b parameter, which creates a simple listing
of just the file names. Therefore, you can place all the slide files in a folder and
redirect the dir listing to a file. For example, you can create a list named
afrasld.lst by typing the following at the DOS prompt: dir *.sld /b >afrasld.lst
The Back Stoep
=============
How to shower like a woman :
Take off clothing and place it in sectioned laundry basket according to
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whites and coloured.
Walk to bathroom wearing long dressing gown.
If you see husband along the way, cover up any exposed areas.
Look at your womanly physique in the mirror - make mental note to do more
sit-ups.
Get in shower.
Use face cloth, arm cloth, leg cloth, long loofah, wide loofah and pumice
stone.
Wash hair once with cucumber and sage shampoo with 43 added vitamins.
Wash hair again to make sure it is clean.
Condition hair with grapefruit mint conditioner enhanced with natural
avocado oil, leave on hair for 15 minutes.
Wash face with crushed apricot facial, scrub for 10 minutes until red.
Wash entire rest of body with ginger-nut and jaffa cake body wash.
Shave armpits and legs.
Turn off shower.
Squeegee off all wet surfaces in shower, spray mould spots with Tilex.
Get out of shower.
Dry with towel the size of a small country.
Wrap hair in super absorbent towel.
Check entire body for spots, tweeze hairs.
Return to bedroom wearing long dressing gown and towel on head.
If you see husband along the way, cover any exposed areas.
How to Shower Like A Man :
Take off clothes while sitting on the edge of the bed.
Leave in a pile.
Walk naked to the bathroom.
If you see wife along the way, shake willy at her making woo-hoo sound.
Look at manly physique in the mirror.
Admire size of your willy and scratch your ass.
Get in the shower.
Wash your face.
Wash your armpits.
Blow your nose in your hands and let the water rinse them off.
Make fart noises (real or artificial) and laugh at how loud they sound in
the shower.
Spend majority of time washing privates and surrounding area.
Wash your butt leaving those coarse hairs stuck on the soap.
Shampoo hair.
Make shampoo mohawk.
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Pee.
Rinse off and get out of shower.
Partially dry-off.
Fail to notice water on floor.
Admire willy size in mirror again.
Leave shower door open, wet mat on floor, light and fan on.
Return to bedroom with towel around waist.
If you pass wife, pull off towel, shake willy at her and make woo-hoo noise
again.
Throw wet towel on bed.
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy superb music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
If you can still hear the music, it's not loud enough!
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the AfraLisp
Newsletter pop along here:
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
=========================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-03
=========================
Tuesday 10th February 2004
=========================
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
=========================
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
=========================
I tried snorting coke the other day...
But I got an ice cube stuck in my nose.
=========================
The Front Stoep.
==============
Time to start having a closer look at Visual Basic and AutoCAD me thinks.
Over the next few weeks we'll be having a wee go at learning the basics of
Visual Basic. In fact to start with, we are not even going to mention AutoCAD
in any of the tutorials. Instead, we'll first have a look at some of the most
common and useful functions available in the VB stable. In this issue you'll
find an article entitled "File Functions in Visual Basic" which is part one
of a series leading to the development of a VB Drawing Backup routine.
Your feedback on this series of articles would be much appreciated.
========
Hey, I must tell you about this new restaurant I went to the other night.
Their claim to fame was that you could order anything you like and they
would provide it. Just to be difficult I ordered elephant testicles on toast.
The waiter took my order without any comment and disappeared, only
to return 10 minutes later to inform me that my order couldn't be filled as
they had ran out of toast.
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What's New on AfraLisp?
====================
Lot's of Utter Rubbish added :
http://www.afralisp.com/utterrubbish4.htm
===================================
Pearls of Wisdom
===============
I bet a lot of mimes choke to death because
nobody believes they are really choking.
===============
Coding
=======
Hello Kenny,
For your friends Victor Jamal, and Craig Green (see below) in MDI
Mode... To open drawings as Read only.
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun OpenReadOnly (strDrawingName)
(vl-cmdf "vbastmt"
(strcat "AcadApplication.Documents.Open \"" strDrawingName "\", TRUE")
)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Peter Jamtgaard
==============
Want to Wblock your entire drawing?
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun c:al-wblock ()
(vl-load-com)
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(setq thisdrawing (vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object)))
(setq ssets (vla-get-selectionsets thisdrawing))
(if (vl-catch-all-error-p
(vl-catch-all-apply 'vla-item (list ssets "$Set")))
(setq newSet (vla-add ssets "$Set"))

(progn

(vla-delete (vla-item ssets "$Set"))
(setq newSet (vla-add ssets "$Set"))

);progn
);if
;select all objects in the drawing
(vla-Select newSet acSelectionSetAll)
(vla-WBlock thisdrawing "c:/test.dwg" newSet)
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
=================
Would you like to visit AfraLisp?
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun c:afralisp ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq util (vla-get-utility
(vla-get-activedocument
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(vlax-get-acad-object))))

(vla-LaunchBrowserDialog util 'theurl "AfraLisp Browser"
"Open" "http://www.afralisp.com" "ACADBROWSER" 1)
(princ theurl)
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
==================
Hi Kenny,

I liked the "Confirm" program in your last newsletter.
I have a variation on that one that buiilds the DCL code
dynamically so that you can code in any message that you want.
Jim Fisher
=========
;;AUTOLISP CODING STARTS HERE
;;
;; This program creates a multi-line dialog box, similar to the ALERT
;; function in AutoLISP, except that it contains both OK and CANCEL
;; buttons. Depending on the user selection, CONFIRM will return T or
;; nil, respectivly. The message passed is a text string, and can contain
;; the newline character (\n). If you pass the null string ("") as the
;; title argument, the program will use the default title of 'Confirm'
;;

(defun confirm (title msg / fn bkText txtList dh result)

(defun strPart (str sym side / a newstr)
(if (= (type str) 'STR)
(cond
((= side "l")
(setq
a (substr str 2 1)
newstr (substr str 1 1)
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str (substr str 2)
)
(while (/= sym a)
(setq
newstr (strcat newstr (substr str 1 1))
str (substr str 2)
a (substr str 1 1)
)
)
(eval newstr)
)
((= side "r")
(setq
a (substr str 1 1)
str (substr str 2)
)
(while (/= sym a)
(setq
a (substr str 1 1)
str (substr str 2)
)
)
)
)
)
)

(defun makeDcl (fileName title textList / fh)
(if (= title "") (setq title " Confirm "))
(setq fh (open fileName "w"))
(write-line "confirm : dialog {" fh)
(write-line (strcat "label = \"" title "\";") fh)
(write-line "spacer_1;" fh)
(write-line ": paragraph {" fh)
(foreach item textList
(write-line
(strcat
": text_part {label = \""
item
"\";alignment = centered;}"
)
fh
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)
)
(write-line "}" fh)
(write-line "spacer_1;" fh)
(write-line "ok_cancel;" fh)
(write-line "}" fh)
(close fh)
)

;;main function

(setq fn (strcat (getenv "temp") "\\confirm.dcl"))

(while (wcmatch msg "*\n*")
(setq
bkText (strPart msg "\n" "l")
msg (strPart msg "\n" "r")
txtList (cons bkText txtList)
)
)
(setq txtList (reverse (cons msg txtList)))

(makeDcl fn title txtList)

(setq dh (load_dialog fn))
(if (and dh (new_dialog "confirm" dh))
(progn
(if (= (start_dialog) 1)
(setq result 'T)
(setq result nil)
)
(unload_dialog dh)
result
)
)
)
;;AUTOLISP CODING ENDS HERE
===========================
Kenny,
I was trying to create a routine for autocad 2004 to allow me to draw a leader
by clicking on a toolbar button and draw the leader with no text.
I have tried to use the "leader" command along with three pauses for user
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input and the "" "" "n" for no text. For some reason the leader command
doesn't like the pauses. I also tried getting the user input first by
(setq pt1 (getpoint "First point:")) and then for the next two points.
Then I would put the pt1, pt2, pt3 in place where I had the pauses and it
works but I see it before it draws the leader. I click the first point and there
is no visual reference to that point and the next and the next.
I tried (getpoint'(1 1)) but that doesn't work.

How can I get this to work? All I want to do is push a tool button and
draw a 3 point leader with no text. After the third point I want it to end.

I can get the "dim" "leader" to work but I want the arrowhead to be part
of the leader.

Thanks,
Andreas A. Pilson
==============
Things Weird and Wonderful
========================
Hi Kenny,
I am passing this on to you because it has definitely worked for me,
and at this time of year we all could use a little...calm!!!
By following the simple advice I read in an article,
I have finally found inner peace........the article read:
"The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you've started."
So I looked around the house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished....
and before going to work this morning I finished off a bottle of red wine, a
bottle of white, the Bailey's, Kahlua and Tia Maria, my Prozac, some valium,
my cigarettes and a box of chocolates.
You have no idea how freakin good I feel....
You may pass this on to those you feel are in need of Inner Peace...
Regards,
Bill Storey
(In the cold north)
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==============
Miscellaneous Stuff that I almost Forgot
================================
Circle H Drafting/ Design
====================
Without an imagination we
would all live under trees.
http://circlehdesign.homestead.com
Circle H Drafting/ Design/ Animation and has been in
business since January 2001. They do all kinds of drafting from Mechanical to
civil, but they specialize in Commercial and Residential.
They utilize Acad 2000 (which has Arch T included), Inventor 5.3, Mechanical
Desktop 6 (Power Pack), ADT 3.3, Acad 2004, and their premiere software in a
program called Solid Builder. They also utilize most of the Adobe line-up.
For their Animation projects they utilize both MAYA and 3D Studio Max.
All 6 of their machines are DELL Dimension 8300', with P-4 3 gig processors,
1.5 gig of Ram, 120 gig hard drives and running ATI Radian 9800 pro video
cards.
Interested? Then contact :
David & Rachel Hughes
mailto:[email protected]
=====================
File Functions in Visual Basic - Part I
==============================
Dir$
===
One useful file function is the Dir$ function. This function works like the Dir
command at an MS-DOS command prompt. You can use the Dir$ function to retrieve
a list of one or more operating system files that match a file specification
or path. A path can include the name of a directory, a specific file name,
or both. For example, C:\*.DWG is the path to all the files in the root
directory of drive C having a DWG extension. The syntax of the Dir$ function
is as follows :
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stringvar = Dir$(path[,attributes])
Finding Files
===========
One use of the Dir$ function is to determine whether a file exists. If you
try to open a database or access a file that does not exist, an error occurs.
However, you can use Dir$ first to check for a files existence before opening
it, as in the following example :
If Dir$("C:\MYFILE.DWG" = " " Then
Msgbox "The file was not found. Please try again!"
End If
The Dir$ function returns the filename without the full path if the specified
file is found, or it returns an empty string if no files were found.
The preceding line of code displays a message box if "MYFILE.DWG" does not
exist in the root directory of drive C. If the file does exist, the string
"myfile.dwg" is returned. To make things even simpler, you can create a generic
function that returns a Boolean value "True" if the given file exists.
Public Function bFileExists (Sfile As String) As Boolean
If Dir$(sFile) <> " " Then
bFileExists = True
Else
bFileExists = False
End Function
This function could then be used to check any filename passed to the program
by the user, as in the following example :
Dim sUserFile As String
sUserFile = InputBox$("Enter the File Name : ")
If Not bFileExists(sUserFile) Then
MsgBox "The file does not exist. Please try again."
End
End If
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Notice that the code sample ends the program if the file does not exist,
to prevent any errors that might occur later. Another way to handle this
situation would be to keep asking the user for a filename until a valid
filename is entered.
Listing Files and Folders
====================
Another use of the Dir$ function is to return a list of files in the
specified path. If you use the Dir command at an MS DOS prompt, each
matching file is listed on the screen. However, because the Dir$ function
is designed to return only a single string
variable, you have to use a loop and retrieve one filename at a time.
(You can also display a list of files with a file list box, which is one
of Visual Basic's default controls.)
Suppose that your "C:\DRAWINGS" directory contains several drawings with
a "DWG" extension. The path used to retrieve these files with the Dir$
function would be "C:\DRAWINGS\*.DWG". You can use the following lines of
code to retrieve the filenames and add them to a list box :
sNextFile As String
sNextFile = Dir$("C:\DRAWINGS\*.DWG")
While sNextFile <> " "
lstDwgList.AddItem sNextFile
sNextFile = Dir$
Wend
In the preceding example, notice that only the file path to Dir$ is supplied
on the first call. Each subsequent call to Dir$ has no arguments, indicating
that you want to use the previous file path and move to the next filename in
the list. When no more files match, Dir$ returns an empty string and the
"While" loop terminates.
Caution : When you use Dir$ in a loop, always exit the loop after an empty
string is returned. If you try to make another call to Dir$ with no arguments,
a runtime error occurs.
The second, optional parameter of the Dir$ function is used to provide additional
conditions (beyond the specified path) with which to select files. For example,
using the constant "vbDirectory" returns only the subdirectories (or folders)
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in the specified path. The constant "vbVolume" causes Dir$ to return the specified
drive's volume label. The available constants are summarized below :
vbNormal 0 (Default Value)
vbHidden 2 Include Hidden Files
vbSystem 4 Include System Files
vbVolume 8 Return Drive Volume Label
vbDirectory 16 Display SubDirectories
vbReadOnly 1 Include read-only files
Note : Constants can be added together if you want to use more than one.
For example, the following code finds the system, hidden and read only
file "IO.SYS" on a machine :
debug.Print Dir$("C:\IO.SYS" , vbHidden+vbSystem+vbReadOnly)
Note that the "vbHidden" constant refers to a file's attributes and not
the Windows Explorer option that hides certain file types.
==============================
(Second Part Next Week)
The Back Stoep
=============
A blonde girl enters a store that sells curtains. She tells the salesman :
"I would like to buy a pink curtain in the size of my computer screen."
The surprised salesman replies :
"But, madam, computers do not have curtains...."
And the blonde said: "Helloooo.... I've got Windows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer :
Written by a highly caffeinated mammal.
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
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The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
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AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-06

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
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Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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=========================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-07
=========================
Monday 8th March 2004
=========================
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mailto:[email protected]
=========================
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
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=========================
The Front Stoep.
==============
I received this interesting email :
Hey Kenny!

Re: Is it my imagination or is my mailbox getting smaller?

NEWSGROUPS! Least that's my take. I am ending my AutoCAD Clinic
support column in CADalyst magazine because I'm just not getting any
letters any more seeking help. The column has existed for almost 14
years [4 of them by me] and I used to get scores of emails every month.
They way I look at it, why email me for a problem that won't get an
answer for a month or two? Especially when you can go to a ng and
get an answer in a day.

Mike Tuersley
===========
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Is Mike correct in what he says? What do you think?
Personally, I agree with him. But, would that not mean the
demise of Newsletter such as this? Not necessarily I say!
As you've probably noticed, I have slowly but surely
- sneakily - started changing the format of this letter from that
of Questions and Answers, to that of a more tutorial/information
type of publication, not always specifically AutoCAD or
coding orientated. There will always be room for Q and A
but even those that I publish are one's that I feel are out
of the ordinary.
Any suggestions in regards to what you would like to read here?
===============
Pearls of Wisdom
===============
If your parents didn't have any kids,
there's a good chance you won't.
===============
Coding
=======
Hello from Germany,
I have two things for you.
First a AutoLisp Tool which make the DesignCenter to show more dwg-like
Files as dwt and dws File-Types.
It has some nice registry functions within. The main Command is C:ADC+.
Test it. It works fine in german Version an should work in international
Versions too, because it finds the Registry-Path by itself with vlax-product-key
and then creates a copy of the ADC-dwg-Extension in the Registry with the new
extension-name. I think it is very useful.
;CODING STARTS HERE
(vl-load-com)
(defun C:ADC+ (/ ERASEFLAG EXTENSION)
(if (not (REG:TESTWRITE))
(alert
(strcat
"Sorry, unable to write to the Windows-Registry."
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"\nContact your CAD-Admin or login as User"
"\nwith writing-Access to the Registry."
) ;_ end of strcat
) ;_ end of alert
(progn
(initget 1 "dwT dwS All")
(setq EXTENSION
(getkword
"Enhanced FileType-Support for DesignCenter, select File-Extension
[dwT/dwS/All]: "
) ;_ end of getkword
) ;_ end of setq
(if EXTENSION
(progn
(initget "Activate Deactivate")
(setq ERASEFLAG
(getkword
(strcat
"\nDesignCenter-Support for "
(strcase EXTENSION)
" File-Type(s) [Activate/Deactivate]<Activate>? "
) ;_ end of strcat
) ;_ end of getkword
) ;_ end of setq
(if (or (not ERASEFLAG) (= ERASEFLAG "Activate"))
(setq ERASEFLAG NIL)
(setq ERASEFLAG t)
) ;_ end of if
(if (= EXTENSION "All")
(mapcar
(function (lambda (X) (MS:DC-SWITCH-EXTENSION ERASEFLAG X))
) ;_ end of function
'("dwt" "dws")
) ;_ end of mapcar
(MS:DC-SWITCH-EXTENSION ERASEFLAG EXTENSION)
) ;_ end of if
(if ERASEFLAG
(princ (strcat "\nOK, DesignCenter-Support for "
(strcase EXTENSION)
" File-Type(s) DEACTIVATED."
) ;_ end of strcat
) ;_ end of princ
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(princ (strcat "\nOK, DesignCenter-Support for "
(strcase EXTENSION)
" File-Type(s) ACTIVATED."
) ;_ end of strcat
) ;_ end of princ
) ;_ end of if
(princ "\nRestart AutoCAD for Effect.")
) ;_ end of progn
) ;_ end of if
) ;_ end of progn
) ;_ end of if
(princ)
) ;_ end of defun
;;; erzeugt oder lscht den DCenter-Wert fr die bergebene Extension.
;;; Argumente:
;;; ERASEFLAG = nil oder T, wenn T wird die extension gelscht, wenn nil erzeugt
;;; EXTENSION = Zeichenkette, definiert die zu bercksichtigende Dateierweiterung
;;; Prfung auf Lnge und "dw" Anfang
;;;
;;; Funktion legt in jedem Fall eine Backup-Extension der "dwg" als "..." an.
(defun MS:DC-SWITCH-EXTENSION (ERASEFLAG EXTENSION
/ ADCBACKUPKEY
ADCDWGKEY ADCEXTKEY
ADCKEY ADCTARGETKEY
CHANGED-EXT WRITE-BACKUP
)
(setq EXTENSION (strcase EXTENSION t))
(if (and (= (strlen EXTENSION) 3) (wcmatch EXTENSION "dw?"))
(progn
(if (setq ADCKEY (REG:ACADDCKEY))
(progn
(setq ADCEXTKEY (strcat ADCKEY "\\" "Extensions")
ADCTARGETKEY (strcat ADCEXTKEY "\\." EXTENSION)
ADCBACKUPKEY (strcat ADCEXTKEY "\\.zzz")
ADCDWGKEY (strcat ADCEXTKEY "\\.dwg")
) ;_ end of setq
;; Cleanup Backup-Pfad
(if (member ".zzz" (vl-registry-descendents ADCEXTKEY))
;_ existiert der Backup-Eintrag schon?
(if
(not (REG:TEST-LAYOUT-CLSID ADCBACKUPKEY))
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;_ existiert, aber keine Daten gesichert...
(setq WRITE-BACKUP t) ;_ erzeuge Backup
(setq WRITE-BACKUP NIL) ;_ Backup existiert schon
) ;_ end of if
(setq WRITE-BACKUP t) ;_ erzeuge Backup
) ;_ end of if
(if WRITE-BACKUP
(progn
(setq CHANGED-EXT
(REG:->KEY-LST-STRING-SUBST
"zzz"
"dwg"
(REG:->KEY-VALUE-LST ADCDWGKEY)
) ;_ end of REG:->KEY-LST-STRING-SUBST
) ;_ end of setq
(REG:WRITE-KEY-VALUE-LST CHANGED-EXT)
) ;_ end of progn
) ;_ end of if
(if ERASEFLAG
(if (REG:TEST-LAYOUT-CLSID ADCTARGETKEY)
(REG:DELETE-KEY-VALUE-LST
(REG:->KEY-VALUE-LST ADCTARGETKEY)
) ;_ end of REG:DELETE-KEY-VALUE-LST
) ;_ end of if
(REG:WRITE-KEY-VALUE-LST
(REG:->KEY-LST-STRING-SUBST
EXTENSION
"zzz"
(REG:->KEY-VALUE-LST ADCBACKUPKEY)
) ;_ end of REG:->KEY-LST-STRING-SUBST
) ;_ end of REG:WRITE-KEY-VALUE-LST
) ;_ end of if
) ;_ end of progn
) ;_ end of if
) ;_ end of progn
) ;_ end of if
) ;_ end of defun
;;; Gibt den Namen "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" zurck
(defun REG:WINBASEKEY (/)
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE"
) ;_ end of defun
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;;; Gibt den Namen "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE" zurck
(defun REG:WINSOFTWAREKEY (/)
(strcat (REG:WINBASEKEY) "\\" "SOFTWARE")
) ;_ end of defun
;;; Liest den DesignCenter Key fr die aktuell laufende AutoCAD-VErsion aus
(defun REG:ACADDCKEY (/ DCKEY retval)
(setq DCKEY "AutodeskApps\\AcadDC"
;_ Teilschlssel zum ADC Eintrag von R2000 bis R2004 identisch
RETVAL (strcat (REG:WINBASEKEY) "\\" (vlax-product-key) "\\" DCKEY)
) ;_ end of setq
(if (not (vl-registry-descendents RETVAL))
(setq RETVAL NIL)
) ;_ end of if
retval
) ;_ end of defun
;;; Liest einen Registry-Tree ab dem bergebenen Key
;;; und erzeugt daraus eine entsprechende, hierarchische Liste:
;;; Format:
;;; ("KEYNAME" [((VALUENAME . VALUEDATA)(VALUENAME . VALUEDATA)...)
;;;oder nil] [SUBKEY-LIST oder nil])
;;; Format der SUBKEY-LIST: Liste von Listen, die genauso wie die Hauptliste
;;;aufgebaut sind.
;;; Verschachtelung entsprechend des Registry-Trees.
;;; Z.B.:
;;; ("HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\\Autodesk\\...\\.dwg"
;;; (("Container" . 1)
;;; ("Default_IconIndex" . 2)
;;; ("Default_Clsid" . "{C8F4366D-BAC6-4463-9F42-C2627D8E86FB}")
;;; )
;;; (("HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\\Autodesk\\...\\.dwg\\Blocks"
;;;(("LocalName" . "Blcke")...) nil)
;;; ("HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\\Autodesk\\...\\.dwg\\Dimstyles"
;;;(("LocalName" . "Bemstile")... ) nil)
;;; ("HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\Software\\Autodesk\\...\\.dwg\\Layers"
;;;(("LocalName" . "Layer")...) nil)
;;; (...)
;;; )
;;; )
(defun REG:->KEY-VALUE-LST (KEY / RETVAL SUBKEYNAMES VNAMES)
;; Value-Handling fr Key
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(if (setq VNAMES (reverse (vl-registry-descendents KEY t))) ;_ hat der Key values?
(setq
VNAMES (mapcar (function (lambda (X)
(cons X (vl-registry-read KEY X))
) ;_ end of lambda
) ;_ end of function
VNAMES
) ;_ end of mapcar
) ;_ end of setq
) ;_ end of if
(setq RETVAL (list KEY VNAMES))
(if (setq SUBKEYNAMES (reverse (vl-registry-descendents KEY)))
(setq SUBKEYNAMES
(mapcar
(function (lambda (X)
(REG:->KEY-VALUE-LST (strcat KEY "\\" X))
) ;_ end of lambda
) ;_ end of function
SUBKEYNAMES
) ;_ end of mapcar
) ;_ end of setq
) ;_ end of if
(append RETVAL (list SUBKEYNAMES))
) ;_ end of defun
;;; tauscht einen String in allen Keys der Registry-Tree-Liste
(defun REG:->KEY-LST-STRING-SUBST
(NEW PATTERN KEYLST / ELEM-NEU KEY SUB-KEY-LST SUB-KEY-LST-NEW)
(setq KEY (car KEYLST)
KEYLST (subst (vl-string-subst NEW PATTERN KEY) KEY KEYLST)
) ;_ end of setq
(if (setq SUB-KEY-LST (nth 2 KEYLST))
(foreach ELEM SUB-KEY-LST
(setq SUB-KEY-LST-NEW
(cons
(REG:->KEY-LST-STRING-SUBST NEW PATTERN ELEM)
SUB-KEY-LST-NEW
) ;_ end of cons
) ;_ end of setq
) ;_ end of foreach
) ;_ end of if
(setq KEYLST (list (nth 0 KEYLST)
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(nth 1 KEYLST)
(reverse SUB-KEY-LST-NEW)
) ;_ end of list
) ;_ end of setq
) ;_ end of defun
;;; Erzeugt alle Registrierungseintrge die in der bergebenen Registry-Tree-Liste
;;; enthalten sind.
(defun REG:WRITE-KEY-VALUE-LST (LST / KEY SUB-LST VAL-LST)
(if (setq KEY (car LST))
(if (vl-registry-write KEY)
(progn
(if (setq VAL-LST (nth 1 LST))
(foreach ELEM VAL-LST
(vl-registry-write KEY (car ELEM) (cdr ELEM))
) ;_ end of foreach
) ;_ end of if
(if (setq SUB-LST (nth 2 LST))
(foreach ELEM SUB-LST
(REG:WRITE-KEY-VALUE-LST ELEM)
) ;_ end of foreach
) ;_ end of if
) ;_ end of progn
) ;_ end of if
) ;_ end of if
) ;_ end of defun
;;; Lscht alle Registrierungseintrge die in der bergebenen Registry-Tree-Liste
;;; enthalten sind.
(defun REG:DELETE-KEY-VALUE-LST (LST / SUB-KEYS)
(while (not (vl-registry-delete (car LST)))
(if (setq SUB-KEYS (nth 2 LST))
(foreach ELEM SUB-KEYS
(REG:DELETE-KEY-VALUE-LST ELEM)
) ;_ end of foreach
) ;_ end of if
) ;_ end of while
) ;_ end of defun
;;; Testfunktion: Kann der User in die Registrierung schreiben?
(defun REG:TESTWRITE (/ RETVAL TESTKEY)
(setq TESTKEY (strcat (REG:WINSOFTWAREKEY) "\\" "VLWRITETEST")
RETVAL (vl-registry-write TESTKEY)
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) ;_ end of setq
(if RETVAL
(vl-registry-delete TESTKEY)
) ;_ end of if
RETVAL
) ;_ end of defun
;;; Testet fr einen bergebenen Key, ob es fr den SubKey "Layouts",
;;; Wertname "CLSID" einen Wert gibt.
(defun REG:TEST-LAYOUT-CLSID (key /)
(vl-registry-read (strcat key "\\Layouts") "CLSID")
) ;_ end of defun
;;; Liest die Keys fr den bergebenen Schlssel in
;;;"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE"
;;; aus. z.B.: (REG:FIND-SW-KEYS "Autodesk")
(defun REG:FIND-SW-KEYS (SWKEY / RETVAL)
(setq RETVAL (REG:WINSOFTWAREKEY)
SWKEY (strcase SWKEY)
) ;_ end of setq
(if (member SWKEY (mapcar 'strcase (vl-registry-descendents RETVAL)))
(setq RETVAL (vl-registry-descendents (strcat RETVAL "\\" SWKEY)))
(setq RETVAL NIL)
) ;_ end of if
(reverse RETVAL)
) ;_ end of defun
;;; Versuch einer Key-exist Funktion, leider geht es nicht... Mal schauen...
;;; Funktioniert nicht
(defun REG:KEYEXIST? (KEY VALUE / TEST-LST)
(if (setq TEST-LST (REG:REGSTR->KEY-VAL KEY))
(if (not (vl-catch-all-error-p
(vl-catch-all-apply 'vl-registry-descendents (list (car TEST-LST)))
) ;_ end of vl-catch-all-error-p
) ;_ end of not
(if (vl-registry-descendents (car TEST-LST))
KEY
) ;_ end of if
) ;_ end of if
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) ;_ end of if
) ;_ end of defun
(defun REG:REGSTR->KEY-VAL (KEY / LASTBACKSLASH)
(if KEY
(if
(setq LASTBACKSLASH (vl-string-position (ascii "\\") KEY NIL t))
(list (substr KEY 1 LASTBACKSLASH)
(substr KEY (+ LASTBACKSLASH 2))
) ;_ end of list
) ;_ end of if
) ;_ end of if
) ;_ end of defun
;CODING ENDS HERE
The second thing is something about the Express-Tools 2004.
I have made a translation of all Source-Code Files and the help-file with a
team of CAD-Admins (a real Internet-based Project).
We have cleaned some bugs too. I don't know, if you have any other
german-readers on your list, but it could be interesting for other language
translations, because we have marked ANY changes with a comment.
Whenever you find a comment like ";;;***ET2GP-" we have made a
translation or repaired a bug.
You can find us at: http://www.defun.de/express/
Ciao,
Marc
=====
I have a weird problem, when I use the getpoint function,
the value is truncated. For instance, I pick the point with
coordinates
N 929091.88
E 2174244.55
but the returned value for the point is
(217424e+6, 929092.0, 0.0)

What is going on?
Dave McClure
============
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Kenny,
This may be of interested to the die hard drafters out there.
Not much to do with Coding, but it's still in our field.
I found this site when working for a company who forced
me to use LT. My god the horror, as a code junkie I had to
find some alternatives, and Stef's website for LT helped
out a ton! Follow this for a great thread about the good ole' days.

http://www.flatmtn.com/cad/links-oldcad.html

Wonderful site, you're doing a great job! Keep it up.

Kind Regards,
Matthew Corbin
=============
Kenny,
Glad the thread was noteworthy. So you want to publish some LT info.
What are you looking for? Maybe some code for common tools. I know layer
utilities are always hot topics in the forums. Diesel was hard to get
used to, but it can add some robustness (is that a word?) to your very
dull LT system. Here are some layer functions you can create pretty
quickly by adding a new toolbar with some buttons and copy & paste the
code right into the macro section.

FreezeLayer
*^C^C_setenv;oldlayer;$m=$(getvar,clayer);_ai_molc;\"-layer;set;
$M=$(getenv,^M;oldlayer);freeze;$(getvar,clayer)";;LayerOff
*^C^C_setenv;clay1;$m=$(getvar,clayer);^P_ai_molc;\^P_setenv;
clay2;"$m=$(getvar,clayer)";_-layer;_off;"""$m=$(getenv,clay2);
_y;_s;$m=$(getenv,clay1);;;"""
LockLayer
*^C^C_setenv;oldlayer;$m=$(getvar,clayer);_ai_molc;\"_-layer;_s;
$M=$(getenv,oldlayer);_lock;$M=$(getvar,clayer)";;
Isolate ^C^C_ai_molc \-layer freeze * ;;;
UnlockAllLayer ^C^C-layer;_un;*;;
LayerOn ^C^C-layer _on *;;
ThawLayer ^C^C-layer;_t;*;;

Watch for word wrapping.These macros are quick and dirty. I'm afraid
it's about the best you can get when programming in Diesel.This worked
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on LT versions 2000, 2000i, & 2002. Hope this "gets the ball rolling".
I've got a few more tricks, so whenever you want them give me a holler.
Cheers,
Matthew Corbin

P.S. I once toyed with the thought of using VB with LT, but LT didn't
include the IDE. Maybe someone has had some luck going down that route.
===========================
Hi Kenny:
I had no idea you were looking for more code snippets. Frankly, they've
been my favourite part of the newsletter in the recent past, excepting
the new VBA code (please keep it coming, we VBA newbies need help!).
I've dug through my bag o' tricks to find something strange for you and
the rest of the folks.
I wrote this lisp routine after feeling the need to make quick blocks on
the fly. All you do is pick the entities and an insertion point. The
block is then made with a random name.
;Code starts here
================
(defun C:IMP (/ SLCT CDATEX BNAME)
(setvar "cmdecho" 0)
(princ "\nSelect items to IMPLODE: ")
(setq
SLCT (ssget)
GPO (getpoint "\nInsertion Point: ")
CDATEX (rtos (getvar "cdate") 2 9)
BNAME (strcat (substr CDATEX 10 8))
)
(command "_block" BNAME GPO SLCT "")
(command "_insert" BNAME GPO "" "" "")
(setvar "cmdecho" 1)
)
(princ)
================
;Code ends here
Cheers.
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Ron - Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
===========================
Kenny,
You wanted some reaction to your articles? Well heres one.
Some time ago you gave some tricks to do some manipulation
with folders and files. Heres another way :
In VB go to Pulldown menu Project - References.
In the dialogbox choose Microsoft Scripting Runtime
In the source code add: Global fso As New FileSystemObject
Now you can simply type fso.[option]

This is far easier to use. Pressing the F1 button gives you an excellent help.
Hope this is something you wanted?
Greetings,
H. Bosma
========
Dear Kenny,
I am having problems with nested xrefs in vba.
It's easy to find all xrefs in modelspace or paperspace
and change the path, but how do I find the xrefs inside
an xref or inside a block?
Finding the top level xref's is done very fast with a selection set.
But is it possible to use selection sets inside an xref or block?
Now I am doing for each block
For each Obj in Block...
If Obj.Objectname= AcadBlocReference or something like that
Next
That may take a few minutes when there are many large
xrefs and blocks.
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-07
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mvh,
Ragnar Thor Mikkelsen
www.designdata.no
=================
Hi,

We are try to establish some CAD standards in our little office
and in the process made a template file with about 140 layers.
What is happening that anyone who work using this template
use to purge unused layers and if someone needs them again
he/she has to create them again.

What I want is to know that How i can stop those layers from
accidental purge.

Thanks

Gouhar
=======
Hi Kenny,
How is your employment situation?
I trust you have found something that is
(a) Better
(b) Stimulating
(c) Fun
(d) All the above.
Anyway, you were whining about me not contributing to your newsletter. Your
newsletter is the finest anywhere. It is my favorite. I know it doesn't need
my contributions.
So, having said that here is a contribution:
I found by accident that when you offer options in a command line prompt you
can get automatic cursor menu support.
For example if you start the circle command you see this at the command
prompt:
CIRCLE Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]:
If you right click in the drawing window while at this prompt and get a
cursor menu you will see "3P, 2P, and Ttr (tan tan radius)" as options that
you can select in that menu.
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-07
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So . . . if you've written a program that asks for user input at the command
prompt (and who hasn't) you can get the same functionality if you follow a
couple of rules.
1. Use square brackets to enclose your options.
2. Separate your options with a forward slash.
You'll see what I mean if you try the sample code below. Just copy it into a
regular module in AutoCAD VBA.
Run the program. You will get the prompt
Command: Do Something Really Great [New/Edit/Copy/Delete/Smeg] <New>:
At this point pop up your cursor menu. Usually that means hold down the
right mouse button.
You should see all of your options. Select one.
(I only tried this in R2004.)
' Start of code
Public Sub InputOptions()
Dim strOptions As String
Dim strOpt As String
Dim strDefault As String
strDefault = "New"
strOptions = "New Edit Copy Delete Smeg"
ThisDrawing.Utility.InitializeUserInput 0, strOptions
On Error Resume Next
strOpt = ThisDrawing.Utility.GetKeyword( _
"Do Something Really Great [New/Edit/Copy/Delete/Smeg] <"
& _
strDefault & ">: ")
On Error GoTo 0
If strOpt = "" Then strOpt = strDefault
MsgBox "You selected the " & strOpt & " option." & vbCrLf & _
"You must be very proud.", vbOKOnly, "Command line options"
End Sub
' End of code
I hope you find this [Amusing/Entertaining/Exciting/Brilliant] <Brilliant>.
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-07
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=Mark
======
Craig Green is missing "AutoCAD Today" in Acad 2004 because he is using it
for i.e. time-tracking.
But there are more usefull functions. Like library drawings.
A couple off times a year I have to make drawings for fire-protection,
mecanical constructions, pneumatic diagrams, etc. etc.
For this drawings I have a lot of blocks as bolts and nuts, pneumatic
components, building / furniture blocks.
Putting those blocks into menus takes a lot of work, making slides and
typing the icon/pulldown menus.
Instead I made a simple script to insert those symbols in a drawing, all at
0,0,0.
I now have drawings called Nuts, Pneumatc, Fire,Metal screws,Furniture,
Kitchen and a couple off others.
When I open Today I find those drawings under the tab Symbol Lybraries and
by selecting one open it in Design Center.
Try this out. It makes my life a lot simpler. No longer extensive searches
for a specific symbol.
To install Today with AutoCAD2004:
1) Copy the following files from Acad2002 to Acad 2004.
..\Autocad 2002\AcToday.arx
..\Autocad 2002\TodayStyleErr.css
..\Autocad 2002\TodayRes.dll
..\Autocad 2002\WebDepot\ErrorHandler\RepairTodayRes.dll
..\Autocad 2002\WebDepot\ErrorHandler\RepairToday.exe
..\Autocad 2002\actodaydef.htm
..\Autocad 2002\actodayhelp.htm
..\Autocad 2002\TodayDiagnostics.htm
..\Autocad 2002\TodayErrorHandler.htm
..\Autocad 2002\TodayFixer.htm
..\Autocad 2002\TodayDiagnostics.inc
..\Autocad 2002\TodayErrorHandler.inc
..\Autocad 2002\TodayFixer.inc
..\Autocad 2002\acdctoday.ocx
..\Autocad 2002\TodayStyleErr.css.org
C:\Documents and Settings\User1\Favorites\Media\CNET Today -
Technology News.url
2) Load AcToday.arx in Acad.
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-07
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Today should work.
Joop Moelee
===========
Things Weird and Wonderful
========================
Conspiracy theories - http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/
No1 hit singles 1956-2002 - http://www.onmc.iinet.net.au/
I.R.S. forms - http://www.irs.ustreas.gov/
See what others are searching the web for - http://www.metaspy.com/
Pole Shift theories and maps - http://www.zetatalk.com/poleshft/p00.htm
================
Miscellaneous Stuff that I almost Forgot
================================
Dear Sir,

Can I get all these newsletters as a book (PDF Format).
Because some of the newsletters, I may missed to read.
That will be good reference for me and other readers also.

Thanks in Advance

L.Gnanamuthu
=============
Mmmm, now that's a thought!
(Kenny runs off and fiddles with switches and does things.)
Guess what?
You can find all the AfraLisp Newsletters, in PDF format here :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.zip ( 828kb )
I have "misplaced" all the Newsletters prior to 2001. So if anyone still has
any of them, I would be delighted to have a copy.
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-07
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Newsflash - I've just received all the Newsletter from 1999.
A BIG thanks to Steve Chorney.
I'll have them all posted by next week.
============================
The Back Stoep
=============
A small boy was lost at a large shopping mall. He approached a
uniformed policeman and said, "I've lost my dad!"
The policeman asked, 'What's he like?"
The little boy replied, "Beer and women with big tits."
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
You can also download all the AfraLisp Newsletters,
in PDF format here: http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.zip ( 828kb )
Issues 2001-01 to 2004-05
----------------------------------------------------------
The Expresso Cafe
http://www.vbdesign.net/expresso
----------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the AfraLisp
Newsletter pop along here:
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
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You are visitor number

AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-14

http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2004/2004-14.htm (10 of 11) [23/03/2005 05:48:38 p.m.]
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-14
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
=========================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-15
=========================
Tuesday 25th May 2004
=========================
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
=========================
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
=========================
He's dead Jim. Grab his tricorder. I'll get his wallet.
=========================
The Front Stoep.
==============
Keep those Project ideas coming.........
Lot's of good one's already received, but we need more........
======
Have you heard of the International Cad Developers Association?
Thought not!!
Watch this space for more details.............
Pearls of Wisdom
===============
A midget fortune-teller who escapes from prison
is a small medium at large.
===============
Coding
=======
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-15
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Hi,
First I would like to say thanks for the AfraLisp web site.
Its helped me tremendously with my Autocad Lisp/VBA education.
I was on the Tips 'n Tricks II page and noticed the Cal-Mee Expression
for the OSnap Menu. I use a similar expression and find it a little more robust.
Instead of 'CAL;MEE; I use 'CAL;(CUR+CUR)/2;
The 'CAL;MEE only accepts endpoints as inputs where
'CAL;(CUR+CUR)/2;
will take any combination of inputs such as Endpoints, Midpoints,
Intersections, Etc...
Both accomplish the same thing but the CUR+CUR method gives
the user more options. Of course it may take a few more clicks if
running OSnaps are off.
Give it a try and see what you think.
Thanks again for the great website,
Jeff Harris
=========
Kenny
How about a toolbox of handy functions and utilities. You know how you keep
going back to a set of lisps, etc and pulling code out of it because it is
useful. How about a set of those you have to have'em bits.
Keep up the fantastic work
Regards
Mark Bowes
==========
Try this:
My project idea is to have a mini-drawing-environment in Autocad
that works as a polar system. It would have the user select the center
point and then have a series of drawing and modification commands.
For example drawing lines with Ortho on would produce a ray-line
along the X coordinate and an arc along the Y coordinate. Drawing a
10" line along the Y would produce a 10" long arc. The copy command
would be a kind of copy-rotate combination that would keep the object's
rotation to the center constant as it was copied. I haven't really thought
through all the possibilities but I know that this would have been handy a
few times when working on buildings/rooms that were based off a center
point.
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Thanks for all your work on Afralisp.
Zac.
====
Regarding this project:
Well, I received a few interesting suggestions for Projects. Please keep
them coming and I'll list them and then we can all decide which we would
like to tackle. One idea I would like to put forward is a short series
on dealing with controls in DCL and VBA. You know, how to write the
coding for list boxes, option buttons, etc, etc. We could end up with a
complete set of functions that could be called to use in any
application. What do you think??
I think this would be a great idea, any input needed please call on me
Please acknowledge any comments or concerns
Regards,
Zain T Campbell
==============
Hi Kenny .
Just a few weeks ago I unveild the GEOMCAL to be use as a function on LISP
For me it is one of the most wonderfull tool to handle distances , and angle ,
mainly it handle angles in degree and can give the true angle between two lines.
learn it on the ACAD help
Maybe you can develop a tutorial on it
I do not understand about vector and it's use in CAL.
Hope it make sense
Gabriel
=======
Kenny,
I've been tweaking these two scripts for ages, but I think I've
finally refined them to the point where someone else might find them
useful. Using the functions and "mapped key" functions, it enables
"VV" to save the current view and layer state, and "V" to restore it.
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-15
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(defun ddc:quickview-restore()
; restore view and layerstate "_QuickView"
(if (tblsearch "VIEW" "_QuickView")
(command "-VIEW" "R" "_QuickView")
(princ "QuickView not found.")
)
(command "-LAYER" "A" "R" "_QuickView" "" "" "")
(princ)
)
(defun C:V() (ddc:quickview-restore))
(defun ddc:quickview-save()
; save current view and layerstate to "_QuickView"
; delete existing
(if (tblsearch "VIEW" "_QuickView")
(command "-VIEW" "D" "_QuickView")
)
(command "-VIEW" "S" "_QuickView")
; delete existing
(command "-LAYER" "A" "D" "_QuickView" "" "")
(command "-LAYER" "A" "S" "_QuickView" "" "" "")
; close the text window
(GRAPHSCR)
(princ)
)
(defun C:VV() (ddc:quickview-save))
Obviously this destroys the traditional "V" for VIEW, but that's
pretty easy to type by itself, and I since I use power tools to manage
layer states and use:
(defun C:ZZ()
; zoom 95% extents
(command "ZOOM" "E")
(command "ZOOM" "S" "95/100xp")
)
to Zoom Extents, it does the job.
--
Steve Hall
=========
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-15
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Hi
I really need help with some autolisp project I have to make!
I need to make an entity (polyline) that it's composed by lines
and arcs and I cannot find the codes for the vertex for the arc
part of the polyline.
Prejbeanu Lucian
===============
Jason Day
You wrote:
I am LAZY
Welkom to the community of true followers of "the Devine Art of Laziness".
You also wrote:
ENTSEL and NENTSEL are great commands that I use a lot, but I have some
issues with these commands.
The standard solution is very easy if not satisfactory.
(setq Choice nil)
(while (= Choice nil)
(setq Choice (nentsel))
)
The good part is: When you make a bad choice the command won't be
terminated.
The bad part is: The command can only be terminated by making a choice or
by hitting the escape key.
So, if you use this as part of a lisp routine there is a chance that by
hitting the escape key your entire routine will be cancelled.
If so, you will have to adapt your error routine.
Joop
=====
Kenny,
Big fan of the Afralisp site, i dont work with many others whom have any 3D or
autolisp experience so if you have any thoughts on the following query id be very
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-15
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interested to hear it.
Ive documented a 3D piping drawing (lines only) and im using the 3d SW view to
view it as an isometric, however unable to think of any commands that will allow
me to automatically create gaps in lines in the appropriate places so lines to the
back are clear and not overlapping the lines in the front (if you get my drift). Ive
played with a lisp routine that will identify these cross over points however have
had no success.
The aparent intesection may hold some promise however the drawing has many
and im after a way of identifying them all with the touch of a button.
If youve got any thoughts or know of any programs that may be usefull, that would
be great.
Thanks
Ben
=====
Things Weird and Wonderful
========================
Patient goes to surgery and says,
"Doctor, I have a strawberry coming out of my bottom!"
Doctor takes a look and says,
"Oh yes you have, I'll give you some cream for that".
==========================================
Hey, don't move that!!
http://www.lebonze.co.uk/stuff/move.htm
Just don't read this someplace where your laughing will disturb others.
http://unbillablehours.typepad.com/unbillablehours/2004/05/when_the_world_.html
Miscellaneous Stuff that I almost Forgot
================================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-15
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The Back Stoep
=============
Thank you Beer Gods!
How many times have you woken up in the morning after a hard night
Drinking and thought "How on earth did I get home?".
As hard as you try, you cannot piece together your return journey
from the pub to your house.
The answer to this puzzle is that you used a Beer Scooter.
The Beer Scooter is a mythical form
of transport, owned and leased to the drunk by Bacchus the Roman god of wine.
Bacchus has acquired a large batch of these magical devices.
The Beer Scooter works in the following fashion:
The passenger reaches a certain level of drunkenness and the "slurring gland"
begins to give off a pheromone. Bacchus (or one of his many sub-contractors)
detects this pheromone and sends
down a winged Beer Scooter. The scooter scoops up the passenger and deposits
them in their bedroom via a Trans-Dimensional Portal. This is not cheap to run,
so a large portion of the passenger's in-pocket cash is taken as payment.
This answers the second question after a night
out "How did I spend so much money?"
Unfortunately, Beer Scooters have a poor safety record and are thought to be
responsible for over 90% of all UDI (Unidentified Drinking Injuries).
An undocumented feature of the beer scooter is the destruction of time segments
during the trip. The nature of Trans-dimensional Portals
dictates that time will be lost, seemingly unaccounted for.
This answers a third question after a night out "What the hell happened?".
With good intentions, Bacchus opted for the REMIT (Removal of Embarrassing
Moments In Time) add on, that automatically removes, in descending order,
those parts in time regretted most.
Unfortunately one person's REMIT is not necessarily the REMIT of another and
quite often lost time is regained in discussions over a period of time.
Independent studies have also shown that Beer Goggles often cause the scooter's
navigation system to malfunction thus sending the passenger to the wrong bedroom,
often with horrific consequences.
For the family man, Beer Scooters come equipped with flowers picked from other
people's garden and Thump-A-Lot boots (Patent Pending). These boots are
designed in such a way that no matter how quietly you tip-toe up the stairs,
you are sure to wake up your other half.
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-15
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Special anti-gravity springs ensure that you bump into every wall in the house
and the CTSGS (Coffee Table Seeking Guidance System) explains the bruised shins.
The final add-on Bacchus saw fit to invest in for some scooters is the
TAS (Tobacco Absorption System). This explains how one person can apparently
get through 260 Marlboro Lights in a single night.
PS: Don't forget the on-board heater, which allows you to comfortably get
home from the pub in sub-zero temperatures, wearing just a T-shirt.
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp :
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
You can also download most of the AfraLisp Newsletters,
in PDF format here:
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/news.zip ( 1033 kb )
----------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the AfraLisp
Newsletter pop along here:
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm

AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-15

http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2004/2004-15.htm (8 of 9) [23/03/2005 05:48:40 p.m.]
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-15
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2004/2004-15.htm (9 of 9) [23/03/2005 05:48:40 p.m.]
Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
=========================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-16
=========================
Tuesday 1st June 2004
=========================
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
=========================
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
=========================
Is it the twelveth of never YET?
=========================
The Front Stoep.
==============
The AfraLisp Books and the Newsletter Collections are now available as one
downloadable installation file.
http://www.afralisp.com/zip2/AfraLisp_Books.zip ( 5227 kb )
International CAD Academic Association
=================================
The ICAA members will consist of members who have contributed to the CAD
world through the means of tutorials, teaching or training on a non-profit basis.
Our motto will be "We Give Back".
Admission will be granted to those that contribute academically to the CAD world.
A small membership fee will be asked for to cover expenses, dis-encourage the wannabees,
and hopefully help to finance workshops, seminars, etc.
AfraLisp will host and administer, with the three volunteers as adjudicators.
Your thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated.
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-16
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2004/2004-16.htm (1 of 9) [23/03/2005 05:48:41 p.m.]
================
Pearls of Wisdom
===============
How come when Star Trek boldly goes where no one has gone before,
there is always someone there?
===============
Coding
=======
;CODING STARTS HERE
;| Routine to change the color of a certain attribute
in a block of a certain name from the defined color
to a new color. Change the values in the line above
the *'s to the desired blockname, layername, old color
and new color #'s.
Jeff Mishler, May 2004
|;
(defun c:attcolor ()
(att-color-shift "test2" "0" 1 8)
;************************************************* **
; (att-color-shift "test2" "0" 1 8)
; as shown will get all block inserts named "test2" and change
; any red(1) attributes on layer "0" to color 8
(princ)
)
(defun att-color-shift (name str oldcolor newcolor / count ss atts)
(vl-load-com)
(if (setq ss (ssget "x" (list '(0 . "INSERT")(cons 2 name)'(66 . 1))))
(progn
(setq count 0)
(while (< count (sslength ss))
(setq atts (vla-getattributes
(vlax-ename->vla-object
(ssname ss count))))
(foreach att (vlax-safearray->list
(vlax-variant-value atts)
)
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(if (and (= (vla-get-layer att) str)
(= (vla-get-color att) oldcolor)
)
(vla-put-color att newcolor)
)
)
(setq count (1+ count))
)
)
)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Jeff Mishler
===========
Draw any Length of Arc
===================
Code for creating arcs of any given length based on selecting an
existing circle or arc. I use "arcman" for creating hockey arena
dasher board layouts.
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun c:arcman (/ Askresume arc_radius arc_deg arc_rad)
(IF arc_length
(AgainArcMan)
(FirstArcMan)
); end if
(setq arc_radius (distance pt1 pt2))
(setq arc_rad (/ arc_length arc_radius)) ; find radians
(setq arc_deg (* 180.0 (/ arc_rad pi))) ; change to degrees
(command "arc" "c" pt1 pt2 "a" arc_deg) ; build arc
(command "pedit" "last" "");modified for AutoCAD 2004 pline yes variable.
(princ)
); end defun arcman
(defun AgainArcMan ()
(initget "Yes No")
(setq AskResume (getkword (strcat "\nUse last: "
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(rtos arc_length 2 8)
" No or <Y>es: "
)
)
); use old values?
(if (or (= AskResume "Yes") (= askresume nul))
(setq pt2 (osnap (getpoint "\nPick start of arc: ") "end,int,mid"))
(progn ; second progn
(setq pt1 (OSNAP (getpoint "\nPick EXISTING arc: ") "CEN"))
(setq pt2 (osnap (getpoint "\nPick start of arc: ") "end,int,mid"))
(setq arc_length (getdist "\nEnter arc Length: "))
); end second Progn
); end if ask resume
); end defun again Arcman
(defun FirstArcMan ()
(setq pt1 (OSNAP (getpoint "\nPick EXISTING arc: ") "CEN"))
(setq pt2 (osnap (getpoint "\nPick start of arc: ") "end,int,mid"))
(setq arc_length (getdist "\nEnter arc Length: "))
)
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Frank Zander
===========
Kenny,
After helping you out a while back and sending you all
the back Newsletters a while ago ...
I have a small question for you
Using 2002 is it possible to lock layers so that no one could
unlock them without say a password or something?
I'm not looking at the whole drawing file just the layers.
The layer lock feature can easily be unlocked
Thanks,
Steve
======
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Hi, Kenny
Re the request, latest Afralisp for a polar coordinate system,
http://www.btlsp2000.com/GGEN.LSP may be helpful.
When using, load the fntn series(1-7) of support routine files,
found at http://www.btlsp2000.com/page9.html.
...Bill
=====
Things Weird and Wonderful
========================
Imagine if the whole world farted all at once!!!
========================
I'm new to your news letter, so I'm not sure if you've seen these.
Oldy, but Goldy - The Clock :
http://www.suite101.com/files/mysites/AskAlice/Clock.htm
The Industrious Clock
http://www.lares.dti.ne.jp/%7Eyugo/storage/monocrafts_ver3/03/index.html
John Alferes
==========
Miscellaneous Stuff that I almost Forgot
================================
Hello Kenny,
Recently, someone visited www.kitox.com and asked, why Afralisp is
not listed in the links section?
Now your link is placed in the "recommended" section.
So, what about link to www.kitox.com in Afralisp?
---
best regards,
Vaidas Guogis
www.kitox.com
=============
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install-us
========
Installation software for Windows
http://www.media21.de/install-us/com/index.html
Install-us makes it easy to create your own installation applications within minutes.
Install-us brings many powerful features, which will give you total control over the
installation issues of your software.
Features
========
Basics:
Click-and-Build user interface
Various project languages
Installations for 16- and 32-Bit Windows
General:
Supports all Windows platforms:
32-Bit: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000 and XP
16-Bit Windows 3.1 / WfW 3.11
Supports various distribution media:
Diskettes,
CD-Rom
Internet download (Self-Extracting-Setup, SFX)
Special assistant for user-friendly CD-ROM-start menus:
CD-Manager
International installations:
Install-us comes with language files for over 30 languages
File management:
Version check
Shared DLLs
Font Installation
Registration of file name extensions
Registration of ActiveX-servers (OCX)
Configurations:
Component selective Uninstall
Different Configurations (Typical, Minimum, Custom)
Windows 95/98/MENT/2000/XP specific features:
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Registry
Creates shortcuts on the desktop, in the start menu, in autostart...
Addtional features:
Program folders
Start programs after installation
Variables
Reboot and Relogin
Media such as Bitmaps, Audio and Video
ini-file modification
Protection possibilities:
Password and Expiry date
User Registration System
=====================
The Back Stoep
=============
Variations On Murphy's Law
=======================
1. The Law of Common Sense: Never accept a drink from a
urologist.
2. The Law of Reality: Never get into fights with ugly people,
they have nothing to lose.
3. The Law of Self Sacrifice: When you starve with a tiger, the
tiger starves last.
4. The Law of Volunteering: If you dance with a grizzly bear, you
had better let him lead.
5. The Law of Avoiding Oversell: When putting cheese in a
mousetrap, always leave room for the mouse.
6. The Law of Motivation: Creativity is great, but plagiarism is
faster.
7. Boob's Law: You always find something in the last place you
look.
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8. Wailer's Law: Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't
have to do it himself.
9. Law of Probable Dispersal: Whatever hits the fan will not be
evenly distributed.
10. Law of Volunteer Labor: People are always available for work
in the past tense.
11. Conway's Law: In any organization there is one person who
knows what is going on. That person must be fired.
12. Iron Law of Distribution: Them that has, gets.
13. Law of Cybernetic Entomology: There is always one more bug.
14. Law of Drunkenness: You can't fall off the floor.
15. Heeler's Law: The first myth of management is that it exists.
16. Osborne's Law: Variables won't; constants aren't.
17. Main's Law: For every action there is an equal and opposite
government program.
18. Weinberg's Second Law: If builders built buildings the way
programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came
along would have destroyed civilization.
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp :
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
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http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
You can also download most of the AfraLisp Newsletters,
in PDF format here:
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/news.zip ( 1033 kb )
----------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the AfraLisp
Newsletter pop along here:
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
=========================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-18
=========================
Friday 10th July 2004
=========================
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
=========================
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
=========================
For Hire:
A Professional Transvestite.
Likes to eat, drink and be Mary.
=========================
The Front Stoep.
==============
The AfraLisp Newsletter may be a wee bit intermittent for the foreseeable future due
to business and personal reasons.
Please do not adjust your sets as normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.
==============
The world and life is a tough and unforgiving place.
All your well placed plans can go awry at the whim of the moment.
A lot of people do not have any idea of what or where they are within the universe.
As an example, I went into a pet shop the other day and asked the owner if I could buy a bee.
He said to me, "I'm sorry Kenny, but we don't sell bees."
I said, " Yes you do, you've got two in the window.."
The same owner of the "So Called Pet Shop" was broken into two weeks ago.
The police arrived and searched the premises and then announced that they had found a chain
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with a circular piece of leather attached to one end. They claimed that they had found a lead.
==========
This is a must.
http://www.go-opensource.org
I received my CD about a month ago, but have only got around to having a good look at it
about a week ago.
Have a look, it's well worth it and I love their ideas and aims...
Pearls of Wisdom
===============
One Christmas I got a battery with a note saying, "Toy not included."
===============
Coding
=======
Kenny,
I hope to have my update to Topical Index of system variables ready by the end of June.
Would you like a copy when I finish to post on AFRALISP.com?
Gil Hoellerich
============
Of course I told him no, but he insisted.
So, with no further adieu:
http://www.afralisp.com/zip2/sysvar2004.ZIP
============
Dear Mr. Ramage,
I am trying to get Express Tools from Acad 2000 to work with Acad 2002.
Is this possible? I have tried installing them using the step by step guide on your web site.
When I try to use any Express Tool command I get the following error - error: no function
definition: ACET-AUTOLOAD.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks,
Mark Chiarizio
============
http://www.augafrica.com/docs/ExpressBonusTools.zip
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============
Kenny,
I have searched and surfed endlessly for answers concerning Autolisp problems that I
am having.
I keep coming back to Afralisp and Reini Urban for answers. I have found these to be
the most informative web sites for lisps.
But now I am stumped.
I have been working on a routine that will that will ( should) insert, from a folder
containing several title blocks, a title block that
I select with attributes and will allow me to edit the attributes on insertion.
And should allow future updates to the block / blocks thru a dialog box.
Of course the simple lisp I have now inserts a predefined title block and automatically
inserts the title info as text entities, and counts up the page number by 1.
I use multiple tabs for one job in a file. Each time I use the lisp it creates a
new tab with all the right settings and inserts one title block.
However, the info is entered through the use of "command"s in the lisp and once I
save and close the file, all info variables are lost. I could write the info to a file,
but I hate creating more job specific files than what is really needed. If the title
block had attributes, I could use something similar to the "attab" or "attab_vl" lisps
on your web site.
http://www.afralisp.com/lisp/attab.htm
Currently I have modified the code to create a new tab, insert the title block,
and change the info if needed. However, using the function again, it only
retrieves / updates the first inserted block. So I went back to the original source
code of "Attab" to see what happened after inserting the default block the lisp came with.
It worked fine. I inserted the block again.
Ran the lisp, and only the last block updates.
After researching many similar routines, the following excerpt seems to be frequently used:
"(setq ss1 (ssget "X" '((0 . "INSERT")(66 . 1))))"
Shouldn't this update all the blocks with "insert" properties, and with entities that follow?
As I had mentioned, several routines use this same method of retrieving block data.
Why does this not update all the title blocks within a drawing file? I am so handicapped
when it comes to group code use, and how to update attributes. How come the above method
seems to work for everyone else but me?
If you think having the lisp I am working on will help, I will e-mail it to you.
As it is, I am willing to bet you know what my problem is already.
I will appreciate any help you have to offer.
Thank you,
Robert
======
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Kenny,
I got your latest newsletter today and wonder why you did not include my "Bottom of
Steel" list routine in the code section; seeing as you have nothing else there.
Is there a problem with the code? I hope you got it as one time an email I sent was
listed as undeliverable but said they would keep trying and that was the last I heard.
Please let me know what is up. In the meantime, I'll see if I can come up with some
more jokes for you. I never saw the joke about Budweiser in the newsletter either.
Thanks
Jim
===
Jim, your program uses slide images contained in a slide library that is impossible
for me to publish within a text based Newsletter. I will though, within the very near
future, make it available as a download on AfraLisp.
=======================
The following is from the desk of Craig Green...
Kenny,
I am sure ALL your readers will find this lisp program VERY useful ;-) I wrote this
one a few years ago (don't ask me how it works) to draw log-log graph paper. You can
copy the end result as required to produce any number of cycles.
;CODING STARTS HERE
; Draw a log-log graph (one cycle by one cyle) - By C Green - 21/1/1991 ;
(defun scx (n /)
(command "text" "r" (list (+ 0.0125 (/ (log n)
(log 10.0))) -0.02) "0.025" "90" (rtos n 2 0))
)
;
(defun scy (n /)
(command "text" "r" (list -0.02 (- (/ (log n)
(log 10.0)) 0.0125)) "0.025" "0" (rtos n 2 0))
)
;
(defun c:log ()
; x axis
(command ".line" "0,0" "0,1" "" )
(setq an "")
(scx 1)
(setq n 1.1)
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(setq i 0.1)
(while (/= an "10")
(command ".line" (list (/ (log n) (log 10.0)) 0)
(list (/ (log n) (log 10.0)) 1) "")
(setq an (rtos n 2 2))
(cond ((= an "2") (scx n))
((= an "3") (scx n))
((= an "4") (scx n))
((= an "5") (scx n))
((= an "6") (scx n))
((= an "7") (scx n))
((= an "8") (scx n))
((= an "9") (scx n))
((= an "10") (scx n))
)
(if (< n 3.0) (setq i 0.1) (setq i 0.5))
(if (> n 5.0) (setq i 0.2))
(if (> n 7.0) (setq i 1.0))
(setq n (+ n i))
(prin1 an)
)
;
; y axis
(command ".line" "0,0" "1,0" "" )
(setq an "")
(scy 1)
(setq n 1.1)
(setq i 0.1)
(while (/= an "10")
(command ".line" (list 0 (/ (log n) (log 10.0)))
(list 1 (/ (log n) (log 10.0))) "")
(setq an (rtos n 2 2))
(cond ((= an "2") (scy n))
((= an "3") (scy n))
((= an "4") (scy n))
((= an "5") (scy n))
((= an "6") (scy n))
((= an "7") (scy n))
((= an "8") (scy n))
((= an "9") (scy n))
((= an "10") (scy n))
)
(if (< n 3.0) (setq i 0.1) (setq i 0.5))
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(if (> n 5.0) (setq i 0.2))
(if (> n 7.0) (setq i 1.0))
(setq n (+ n i))
)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Two cows were grazing in a paddock. The sky was blue, the sun was shining,
there was a cool gentle breeze blowing and the grass was so fresh and green -
let's face it, it was a great day to be a cow. Suddenly, one of the cows
stopped grazing. She slowly raised her head and said... "Moooo".
Then, the other cow said... "Oh rats. I was going to say that!"
===============
Some times I find it very handy to be able to draw a leader line in the reverse direction.
That is, selecting points from, say a note, to the job (arrow end).
One of the drafters in our office only uses this method!
;CODING STARTS HERE
;rleader - Draw a leader line in the reverse direciton - C Green 3/10/2000
(defun c:rleader () (setq pts ()) (setq pt (getpoint "\nPoint: ")) (while (/= pt ())
(setq pts (cons pt pts))
(setq pt (getpoint pt "\nPoint: "))
)
(setq pts (reverse pts))
; Erase this line to draw forward leaders (apply 'command (cons ".leader" (reverse pts)))
(command "" "" "n")
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
I also have a requirement in a couple of my programs to produce a list of the layout
tabs that have been 'initialised'.
The lisp command "layoutlist" returns all layout tab names whether they have been
'initialised' or not.
I have written the code below to return only the 'initialised' layout tab names.
It seems to work fine.
My only trouble is that the entity data, in this case, is a little beyond my knowledge.
The program gets the entity list associated with each layout tab and checks item 40 to
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see if it is 0,0. It seems to me, that if it is 0,0 then the particular layout has not
been initialised.
Do you think this is a 100% reliable check for an 'initialised' layout tab? Do you know
of a better way of doing this?
You may recognise some of the code - I stole it from the "Model Tab" code in the "lisp
tips" section on the Afralisp site.
(My coding additions may be a bit rough because it is a work in progress at the moment.)
; Coding starts here
; llist.lsp - C Green - 22/6/2004
; This function is like 'layoutlist' but it only returns names of layouts that
have been initialised.
; Note - functions returns nil of no layouts have been initialised.
;
(defun c:llist ( / a b f index laylist laylst)
(setq layList (dictsearch (namedobjdict) "ACAD_LAYOUT"))
(setq Index 0) (setq laylst '()) ; Initialise the layout list
(while (/= (nth Index layList) nil) ; Loop through layout list until end
(if (= (car (nth Index layList)) 3)
(progn
(setq a (cdr (nth Index layList)))
;; (if (= a "Model") ; Do not include model space
;; (setq a ())
;; )
(if (nth (+ Index 1) layList)
(progn
(setq b (entget (cdr (nth (+ Index 1) layList)))) ; Get the layout data
(setq f (cdr (assoc 40 b))) ; Get data associated with item 40
(if (= f 0.0)
(setq a ()) ; Clear layout name if item 40 = 0.0 <--<<< Is this always 100% valid
)
)
)
(if (/= a ())
(setq laylst (append laylst (list a)))
)
)
)
(setq Index (+ Index 1))
)
(setq laylst laylst)
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)
; Coding ends here
The following is a short program I wrote to help solve a graphics conversion
problem at work. Our client supplied us with a drawing in Micrografx.
The only way we could get the drawing into AutoCAD was to load it in Corel
Draw and save it as a dxf. The drawing loaded into AutoCAD fine and it looked
great - until we realised that every single line was NOT a line but a SPLINE,
with hundreds of control points. Unfortunately, this made the drawing almost
useless to us, so one of our draftsman started drawing new lines over each and
every spline from the start point to the end point. I knew a program could be
written to automate the task but at that point, I didn't have the time. The
draftsman took about 2 hours to complete the task manually. That night I
wrote the program below just to prove it could be done. When I got to work
the next day, I run the code on the offending drawing just to see how long
it would take to do the same task automatically - less than 2 seconds.
Needless to say, the draftsman who did the job manually was not too happy.
At least now we are all set for the next Micrografx drawing.
Coding Starts Here
; Spline to line - C Green - 25/6/2004
; Draw a line from the start point to the end point of all splines
(defun c:s2l ( / el en ic index l n p p1 p2) (setvar "cmdecho" 0)
(command "layer" "m" "lines_new" "c" "yellow" "" "") ; Change layer name and color to suit
(setq p (ssget "x" '((0 . "SPLINE")))) ; Get ALL the splines
(setq l 0) (setq n (sslength p)) (setq ic 0) (while (< l n)
(setq en (ssname p ic))
(setq el (entget en))
(setq Index 0)
(while (/= 10 (car (nth Index el))) ; Look for start of sequence
(setq Index (1+ Index))
)
(setq p1 (cdr (nth Index el))) ; First point of spline
(setq Index (1+ Index))
(while (/= nil (car (nth Index el))) ; Loop through rest of list
(if (= 10 (car (nth Index el)))
(progn
(setq p2 (cdr (nth Index el))) ; Next (last point)
)
)
(setq Index (1+ Index))
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)
(command "line" p1 p2 "") ; Draw new line from start pt to end pt
(setq ic (1+ ic))
(setq l (1+ l))
)
(princ)
)
Coding Ends Here
================
Craig Green
===========
Things Weird and Wonderful
========================
Hi Kenny,
I just wanted to drop you a line to tell you that I think your books Are excellent.
I have been a structural Draftie for the past 6 years, and recently completed a
degree in Computer Science.
I still do a bit of drafting and wanted to find out more about customising AutoCAD,
a few minutes of Googling later and I found AfraLISP.
I was originally born in Rhodesia and thought that finding a website in Africa
That had exactly what I was looking for was quite ironic.
I have only just embarked on my CAD customization skills but have found your
Books to be extremely useful and straight forward.
Thanks,
Antony Hall
===========
Hi, Kenny,
Wow. I just happened to bump into your web doing a search for Excel VBA.
Anyway, I just wanted to invite you over:
www.vbaexpress.com/forum
Thanks!!
~Anne Troy
===========
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-18
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I went, I saw, I left
Ouch, stop it Kenny, you're getting grouchy again ===========
Miscellaneous Stuff that I almost Forgot ================================
Hello!
I use your vba application CalculatePolylineLength
(http://www.afralisp.com/lisp/polyarc.htm)
But when the polyline is closed, this function is wrong : the last point of the
polyligne must be the fisrt point !
I modify your function like this :
Private Function CalculatePolylineLength(ent As AcadEntity) As Double
Dim x1 As Double Dim y1 As Double Dim x2 As Double Dim y2 As Double
Dim bulge As Double Dim coords As Variant Dim i As Long
Dim Totaldist As Double Dim lb As Long Dim ub As Long
coords = ent.Coordinates
lb = LBound(coords)
ub = UBound(coords)
For i = lb To ub - 2 Step 2
bulge = ent.GetBulge(i / 2)
x1 = coords(i)
y1 = coords(i + 1)
x2 = coords(i + 2)
y2 = coords(i + 3)
If bulge = 0 Then
Totaldist = Totaldist + Calculate3DDistance(x1, y1, 0, x2, y2, 0)
Else:
Totaldist = Totaldist + CalculateArcLength(x1, y1, 0, x2, y2, 0, bulge)
End If
Next i
' if polyline is closed
If ent.Closed Then
x1 = coords(i)
y1 = coords(i + 1)
x2 = coords(0)
y2 = coords(1)
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bulge = ent.GetBulge(i / 2)
If bulge = 0 Then
Totaldist = Totaldist + Calculate3DDistance(x1, y1, 0, x2, y2, 0)
Else:
Totaldist = Totaldist + CalculateArcLength(x1, y1, 0, x2, y2, 0, bulge)
End If
End If
CalculatePolylineLength = Totaldist
End Function
But, with the autocad 2004 polyline.length property, this beautiful job is
no more necessary ....
Ren Pralat
===========
Thanks Rene. (That's "Rene" with the little funny squiggle above the second "e".)
Bloody froggies!!!!
================
The Back Stoep
=============
I am American
=============
I like big cars, big boats, big motorcycles, big houses and big campfires.
I believe the money I make belongs to me and my family, not some governmental
stooge with a bad comb-over who wants to give it away to crack addicts for
squirting out babies.
Guns do not make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer.
You can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to
ban you from driving to the ball game.
I believe they are called the Boy Scouts for a reason, that is why there are
no girls allowed. Girls belong in the Girl Scouts!
ARE YOU LISTENING MARTHA BURKE?
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I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an
opinion. I don't think being a minority makes you a victim of anything except
numbers.
The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like
the United Negro College Fund, Jet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television,
and Miss Black America. Try to have things like the United Caucasian College
Fund, Cloud Magazine, White Entertainment Television, or Miss White America;
and see what happens. Jesse Jackson will be knocking down your door.
I have the right "NOT" to be tolerant of others because they are different,
weird, or tick me off.
I believe that if you are selling me a milk shake, a pack of cigarettes, a
newspaper or a hotel room, you must do it in English! As a matter of fact,
if you want to be an American citizen, you should have to speak English!
My father and grandfather didn't die in vain so you can leave the countries
you were born in to come over and disrespect ours.
I think the police should have every right to shoot your sorry self if you
threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word
"freeze" or "stop" in English, see the above lines.
I don't think just because you were not born in this country, you are
qualified for any special loan programs, government sponsored bank loans
or tax breaks, etc., so you can open a hotel, coffee shop, trinket store,
or any other business.
We did not go to the aid of certain foreign countries and risk our lives in
wars to defend their freedoms, so that decades later they could come over
here and tell us our constitution is a living document; and open to their
interpretations.
I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor.
I know pro wrestling is fake, but so are movies and television. That doesn't
stop you from watching them.
I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue
to make more. If it ticks you off, go invent the next operating system that's
better, and put your name on the building. Ask your buddy that invented the
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Internet to help you.
It doesn't take a whole village to raise a child right, but it does take a
parent to stand up to the kid; and smack their little behinds when necessary,
and say "NO!"
"I think tattoos and piercing are fine if you want them, but please don't
pretend they are a political statement. And, please, stay home until that
new lip ring heals. I don't want to look at your ugly infected mouth as you
serve me french fries!
I don't go around saying I am a European-American because my great, great,
great, great, great, great grandfather was from Europe. I am proud to be
from America and nowhere else.
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp :
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mailto:[email protected]
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The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
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The AfraLisp Books and the Newsletter Collections are now available as one
downloadable installation file.
http://www.afralisp.com/zip2/AfraLisp_Books.zip ( 5227 kb )
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
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Search
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Resource Website
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AfraLisp Newsletter No 2004-19
^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^
Tuesday 20th July 2004
=========================
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
=========================
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
=========================
Just remember, if the world didn't suck, We'd all fall off.
=========================
The Front Stoep.
==============
The AfraLisp Newsletter is going through a change.
As from this weeks issue, the Newsletter will only be published on a two weekly basis.
On top of that, I've invited certain targeted people to participate in a whole new vision
of CAD related utterances. Why you may ask?
There are CAD forums around that do a sterling job of answering day to day questions
and many of you, like myself are very involved with them. But, I really believe that
there are some of you that would rather take a wee bit of time to put your thoughts on
paper and have them read and digested by a more discerning type of audience.
The people who have contributed in this issue have been threatened rather badly by myself,
my two sons, my three next door neighbours and my bank manager. I am though, eternally
grateful and would like to thank them profusely. I would also like to extend an open
invitation to anyone else who would like to submit an article. Any subject, it doesn't
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particularly have to be about coding or CAD, it could be about anything that you feel
would be of interest to the readers.
Tell us about your job, a recent holiday, a funny thing that happened the other day,
etc, etc.
Of course this does not mean we won't be discussing CAD or coding, this I'm sure will
still be the main subject, I would just like to try and encourage other subject writers
to participate and hopefully we'll all learn something new.
Anyway, enough waffle from me and let's get on with the show.
Oh, one last thing, the next publication date will be Tuesday the 3rd of August, so I
will require all contributions by Monday the 2nd.
Kenny
======
Pearls of Wisdom
===============
When, where, how, and who discovered the exact time?
===============
Words of Wisdom
===============
The Cornfield
============
Col I.
=====
Hello and welcome to the first Cornfield column in the AfraLisp Newsletter.
Since this is the first one I will do a bit of introducing myself, and the column.
My name is Andy but everyone calls me Cornbread. I served for 8 years in the U.S.M.C
and my nickname comes from my time there. It stuck even after I left so I guess its
here to stay. I am a GIS developer for the worlds largest telecom and data provider.
Since my employer would rather not be mentioned Ill let you figure out for whom I work.
So since my background is largely GIS and Civil the articles in this column will be
heavily slanted in that direction. I suppose if you classify developers by their
language of choice I would be considered a C and C++ developer. I however enjoy using
many other types of languages from Lisp to Php. For most articles I will be using
Microsofts Visual C++ for the code and examples. If you dont have Visual Studio
the compiler and linker can be obtained for free here:
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http://msdn.microsoft.com/visualc/vctoolkit2003/
That is a command line version of the one in Visual Studio.
I will be using VC++6 as that seems to be most prevalent in my industry as the compiler
of choice in the WIN32 environment. For all those already wondering, yes, you can write
arxs with that Free compiler listed above unlike other free compilers such as gcc due
to the fact that the ObjectArx static Lib format is not linkable directly from gcc
environments like Dec-Cpp. It is possible to port those static libs but it is more of a
pain than its worth given that you can get the above compiler for free.
I am a firm believer in Open Source solutions to real world corporate problems.
Thankfully my employer is very much so too. Since many of the countries to which this
newsletter is sent are developing countries Open Source solutions are particularly
attractive to this demographic too. Many of the things presented in this column will
show how to use Open Source solutions for GIS. This will save you a bundle and keep
your company from getting fleeced by large software corporations like ESRI, MapInfo
and AutoDesk.
The next few articles will be on how to read and write ESRI shape files from
within AutoCAD.
So first will be writing data out of drawings into shape files then after we are
done with that we will cover reading data into the drawing from shape files.
We will be covering simple geometry shape files first and then if there is enough
demand I will cover complex geometry files following that. If there isnt enough
demand for complex geometry files we will move directly into reading and writing
MapInfo .tab files. I will be using sample data, which was publicly available from
a South African web site. If you are from Africa and have some GIS data in a drawing
file that you want used in the demo apps please contact Kenny and we can go from there
as I do not have server space to host uploads. I would like to keep the examples in
African data sets preferably South Africa. So if you have some spatial data in drawing
files or have shape files please let Kenny and I know and I will take a look at them
and possibly use them in the demo. Shape files of streets in any well known African
city would be excellent as I could not find any on line.
This column was just a bit of an introduction. They next column will begin the tutorial.
The languages to be used will be C and C++. The project will be an .arx project done
in VC++6.
We will be using portions of the source from this library:
http://dl.maptools.org/dl/shapelib/
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We will not be using the library itself. We will be recompiling portions of the source
into our project.So go to the above link and download the file shapelib-1.2.10.tar.gz .
We will be using that in the upcoming tutorials so please be proactive and get it
downloaded before hand.
I hope you all will enjoy my column,
Andy the Cornbread
=================
Boxed In.
=========
By Mr Randall Rath himself.
Occasionally Marie will decide that my office needs to be cleaned. She does this,
in her words, as a "favor" to me. I can think of no single other thing that I dread
more than a good "Marie"
cleaning of my office. You see, everything ends up in a box or, more accurately,
several unmarked boxes hidden deep within the bowels of our storage room.
Tax papers? Those are in the box with AC adapters and cables. Hard drives? Software CD's?
Checks? All in the same box, the one that was marked "Kitchen" but has since been
crossed out.
Of course, she doesn't know that they're in those boxes, I discover that later
when I need one of the aforementioned items. The conversation goes something like,
"What happened to the server discs?"
"Which discs?"
"The server discs, from Microsoft."
"What do they look like?"
"They are in a plastic case with 'Microsoft MSDN subscription' on the front"
"Oh, I put them in a box."
Damn, Damn, Damn the boxes.
The normal course of events from there involves several hours of me shouting things like,
"AH-HA! I found my razor!" from amidst a veritable sea of brown boxes and packing material
that I have simply dumped, dumping being the most expedient way to get to the bottom of
things, onto the floor while Marie watches on in, what I feel must be, total satisfaction.
You see, Marie thinks I hoard. Oh, she has never said it out loud, but I can see that
she thinks it.
She doesn't see the point behind keeping adapters, modems, old mother boards, well,
you get the idea.
One day she will thank me for keeping all of these items, when the world has finally
hit a shortage of AC adapters or modems became a valuable source of plastic.
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And those motherboards? They contain GOLD fer cry'n out loud! Who throws gold away?
But really, the point is that it's Marie who fills our home with crap.
In our Kitchen she keeps a bag full of those ketchup packages you get from fast food
restaurants and we have a drawer full of plastic spoons with a napkin wrapped in little
plastic envelopes.
Old telephone directories? She keeps them. There's a whole stack of them next to her desk.
In the end I found my MSDN cases. Before she packed them away she reorganized them for me.
They are now all sorted by color. And yet, were I to run over her with my car, they would
call me the criminal.
===========
And now a few words from Marie:
To start with, I guess I should introduce myself.
My name is Marie Rath. I am the wife of Randall Rath whom administers CADVault.com.
Randall and I have been married going on 7 years. We started dating the first week I
started working for the Arizona Department of Corrections.
To start with the Department, we had to go to an academy called C.O.T.A., (Correctional
Officers Training Academy). It is kind of like being in boot camp, but not as strenuous.
We had to do push-ups, sit-ups and lots of running. The academy was 7 weeks long.
We also attended classes to show us how to do paperwork and more paperwork.
Not much hands on dealing with inmates. That didnt start until I was assigned to my
first unit.
My first unit was SMU I (Special Management Unit I) which housed, at the time, all
the really bad guys: rapist, murderers, child molesters and ones that could not get
along with the general population inmates, the trouble makers.
Being assigned to a lockdown unit my first year was a great challenge. The inmates are
lockdown 23 hours, 7 days a week. Learning to deal with the name calling, cat calls
and the nastiness of the male inmates was very hard.
Being a female officer in a male institution was even harder because most of the male
inmates hadnt seen a woman, besides in uniform, for years, so when new officers arrive,
they do their best to get whatever they can.
Randall has helped me deal with a lot of things when it comes to my job.
I dont think I would have lasted this long, going on 8 years, if it wasnt for him.
Marie Rath
=========
>From the Greenhouse
==================
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Rotate with reference:
One of the shortest yet most useful lisp programs I have written automates the reference
option incorporated in the standard rotate command. (Who, like me, never even noticed the
reference option?) I often have the need to rotate one or more objects about a point by a
specific angle. After selecting the rotate command, and then selecting one or more objects
you are then promoted to "Specify base point:" followed by "Specify rotation angle or
[Reference]:". If you type "R", your are then required to "Specify the reference angle <0>:".
This is where it all gets a bit messy for me, and hence why I wrote this program:
;CODING STARTS HERE
; rot.lsp - Rotates selected objects about a reference point through a selected angle.
;C W Green 9/3/99
(defun c:rot ( / p1 p2)
(prompt "\nSelect objects to rotate: ")
(ssget)
(setq p1 (getpoint "\nCentre of rotation: "))
(setq p2 (getpoint p1 "\nReference point: "))
(command "rotate" "p" "" p1 "r" p1 p2 pause)
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Load the program into AutoCAD and type "rot". Select the required object(s),
select the centre of rotation followed by the reference point
(normally the end point etc of one of the objects to be rotated) and
finally select the point you want the objects rotated to.
I think you will find the program saves a few steps and is a whole lot easier to use.
DOSLib:
I am a big fan of DOSLib. - Thanks Kenny for putting me on to it! If you haven't
heard of it before, it basically provides an extension to the AutoLISP command
language and provides Drive functions, Path functions, Directory functions,
File functions, Printer functions, Configuration functions, Process functions,
Graphical User Interface functions, String functions, AutoCAD Specific functions,
DOSLib functions and System and Other functions.
I have found the Graphical User Interface functions particularly useful as they
often remove the need to write DCL code. You can create quite professional looking
programs with the minimum of fuss. As far as I'm concerned, it is a 'MUST HAVE',
and it's FREE from Robert McNeel & Associates ( www.mcneel.com ). The current
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version is DOSLib 6.1.
There are varieties of the program for the different versions of AutoCAD and a
very comprehensive manual is provided. There are a number of ways of loading
DOSLib (refer to the manual), but I just use AutoCAD's appload function to add the
required DOSLib .ARX file to the startup suit.
Having said all this, I did run into a small problem recently using DOSLib - and
please note, this is the only problem I have ever had using DOSLib. I developed a
reasonably large lisp program using many of the DOSLib 6.1 functions. The program
worked fine in AutoCAD2000, but 'crashed' when run in AutoCAD 2004. I tracked the
problem down to some sort of clash between the dos_splash command and the
dos_msgboxex command.
(dos_splash and dos_msgboxex are DOSLib functions.) The splash command displays
one of those annoying bit maps when you start a program and I used the msgboxex
command to display the opening option menu for my LISP program.
The offending code fragment is shown below - (Don't bother loading it, as it
is incomplete and the required bit map file is not provided):
(defun c:autorev ()
(dos_splash "c://autorev.bmp" 2) ; Display the bit map file for 2 seconds ;
(setq text "Drawing Revision Program")
(setq buttons (list "Define Revision" "AutoRev" "Test" "Exit")) ; Program options
(setq option (dos_msgboxex text "AutoRev:" buttons 4)) ; Run the required option
(cond ((= option 0) (revdef))) (cond ((= option 1) (revup1)))
(cond ((= option 2) (revdwg))) (cond ((= option 3) (exit)))
)
I emailed Robert McNeel & Associates seeking a resolution to this problem and
received an email the following day with a revised version of DOSLib for AutoCAD 2004.
I think you would have to agree this sort of support for any program, let alone a
free one, is not bad at all! Needless to say, the revised version fixed the
'crashing' problem.
Dale, from Robert McNeel & Associates, informed me that the culprit was the
splash function.
Apparently both dos_splash and dos_msgboxex are multi-threaded functions.
I have no idea what this means but he sure fixed the problem!
If you have any interesting lisp programs using DOSLib, please send them in to Kenny.
I know I would be interested in seeing them and they may give others (and me)
ideas for future programs.
Craig Green
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========
Is Autodesks pricing policy paying off?
================================
By The Baker Man
Many years ago when I started using, and selling, AutoCAD the price was
very competitive.
About 20 years ago AutoCAD was a saviour to many designers when the only
other systems on the market were bundled with dedicated hardware and sold
for many times AutoCADs price.
In anticipation of AutoCAD coming out on something better than the IBM PCs
320 x 200 resolution 4-colour option, I bought a NCR DM5 PC running on its
own version of DOS.
This PC, the NCR DM5, gave a fantastic 640 x 480, 8 colour option, and
was a great improvement. It was not a long wait before AutoCAD was available
on many other platforms including the NCR DM5.
(Some of the other platforms that AutoCAD supported were Wang, Radio Shack,
Hewlett Packard and Olivetti and later on also Apple Mac, Unix in the form of
SCO and Sun Spark.)
What has this got to do with price? I hear you say. Well, it allowed
Autodesk to have a very wide user base, and the customers a very good
entry price. Over the years AutoCAD has improved enormously and Autodesk
have cut back to running only on Microsoft Windows, but the prices have increased
enormously.
I am not a marketing fundi and I do realise that the market determines the
price of any goods. As long as people are prepared to pay the asking price,
even if relatively high, then the product will sell. My argument however is
that there is a correlation between the price of a product and the sales volumes.
Simply put, if you sold twice the volume by halving the price you would still
realise the same turnover.
If you however sold 3 times as much by halving the price, then the price
reduction is justified.
You would also be better off strategically by gaining a larger market share.
After all, AutoCADs wide user base is a direct result of its affordability
when first launched, especially by the small one-man size businesses.
In my humble opinion I believe that Autodesk products are today generally
overpriced, and that this is affecting their sales volumes. When are Autodesk
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going to do a proper market survey to determine what the correct price for
their products are?
When are Autodesk going to talk to the end user to see how they feel about
their products and prices? Sure Autodesk have great products, but so do their
competitors. I have spoken to many end users and I have yet to find one that
thinks Autodesks products are priced competitively priced. As a result Autodesk
are loosing market share, or at least not gaining the market share they would like to.
What do you think?
Please note that this is my personal opinion and is not the opinion of any other
person or company.
Terry Baker
==========
Daves Corner
===========
Here is a little something to get started. I have recently been playing around
with this lisp routine.
It was not originally written by myself.
It was originally a routine to write the co-ordinates of picked points to an
ASCII file.
I adapted it to create a table in AutoCAD. I have since modified it to add a
few more choices as to how the table is drawn, ie with or without labels and
levels and also to read the 3D info of the selected points. The most recent
modification made is to select a polyline and automatically number the
vertices and add the generated number along with the co-ordinates of the
vertex to the table. I have placed the routine in a zip file as the coding is
quite long.
You can download the program using this link:
http://www.afralisp.com/zip2/coordtbl.zip
I am currently preparing a "book" in pdf format of an alternative look at
some of the the more advanced commands in AutoCAD. This stemmed from a
request in my office for a dummies guide to AutoCAD for occasional CAD users.
I had intended to have it published in the hope of making a bit of money, but
the length of time it took me to write and the rapid advancement of AutoCAD,
has already outdated my efforts (it is written for AutoCAD 2000, but
hopefully it will still be of use to someone).
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Will post it as soon as possible.
Lastly some sites that I find quite interesting:
For some useful Tips & Tricks
www.cadtutor.net
www.postalcad.com
For some useful routines to interconnect AutoCAD with MS Excel:
www.ikozmos.com
and for those interested in 3D and rendering resources, etc:
www.3dm-mc.com
www.accustudio.com
Dave Corral
==========
Images and AutoCAD
=================
By Stig Madsen
Kenny has been so kind as to ask me to contribute with a few writings in
his popular AfraLisp newsletter (well, actually he threatened to break my
legs if I didnt contribute but that's another story). So, seeing that he -
that'd be Kenny - made it a standing invitation to contribute on a regular
basis, I thought it might be in place with a tiny introduction - just to
get it over with. I'm a batchelor architect, 43 years old and live in the
capital of Denmark.
AutoCAD has been part of my field of activity for 14 years or so, and
AutoLISP for almost as long.
Currently I'm employed at a state institution where I mostly am involved in
structural maintenance.
Because AutoLISP is what I know best of the API's that AutoCAD has to offer,
any ramblings of mine here will be entangled with parantheses. However, while
being honored to contribute (and thankful for keeping my legs), I don't think
there are many subjects that haven't already been covered on the AfraLisp website
and that alone can make it a bit of a hurdle to come up with new topics. So,
if you have any ideas for future topics, please let me know - either via Kenny
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or directly at [email protected]
In this issue I thought we might have a look at how images are accessed via
AutoLISP.
We won't go deep into detail or write much code but it will be a rather long
rant, anyhow.
So itll be the only topic from my hand this time.
AutoCAD has plenty of commands to deal with images, the center of which is the
Image Manager. I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about shortcomings
of the image facilities so why even bother to dig into the subject? Two reasons.
It can often be confusing to obtain information on how images are stored - and
the more information, the better. Number two reason is that some useful routines
can, after all, be written to extend the existing facilities.
Ever thought there should to be an IMAGEDETACH command like there is an IMAGEATTACH
command? It wouldn't be difficult to write one.
Images have much in common with blocks in the sense that multiple instances of the
same image can point to the same image attachment. To start explaining how this is
accomplished, try the following sequence:
- Open the Image Manager with command IMAGE and attach an image.
- Use COPY to make a few copies of the image in model space.
- Open the Image Manager again. Notice that there is only one image attached.
Click on Browse and select a different image. Exit the Image Manager by hitting OK.
- Back in model space, all images will change to the new image.
When an image is attached to a drawing, two things normally happen: 1. A non-graphical
image definition is created, and 2., a graphical entity that displays the image in
the drawing editor is created. The entity type of the image definition is IMAGEDEF.
It is stored in the main dictionary in the drawing. The entity type of the displayed
image is IMAGE. It is stored in the drawing database just like lines, circles and
other graphical entities.
Image definitions hold very little but crucial information. First and foremost, it
contains the name of the image file and the path, if specified. Other pieces of
information kept by the image definition are: Image size in pixels, units of a pixel,
load/unload status and resolution units.
As we would expect, the definition doesn't keep information about insertion point,
rotation, scale factor and other things that are specific to the onscreen representation.
Those properties are related to the image entity.
You may have noticed that each image is given a name by the Image Manager. The default
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name is simply the image file with the extension cut off but it can be renamed arbitrarily,
following standard naming conventions. However, the name is not part of the image definition
entity list because it doesnt need to be, due to the way dictionary entries are built.
Lets try and insert an image and see how its put together. For the sake of this virtual
test, lets say we have an image with the filename and path C:\Images\house.jpg.
Let the size be 640x380 pixels and the resolution 96 dpi.
We now attach the image - via the Image Manager - at WCS 0,0,0 in model space.
Scale factor is 1.0 and rotation is zero (we take it that the path is saved with the image).
After completing the attachment, the image will be named house, which is simply the
base file name. Using ENTGET and ENTLAST we can get an entity list similar to this:
Command: (setq imgEnt (entget (entlast)))
((-1 . <Entity name: 7ef710e0>)(0 . "IMAGE")(330 . <Entity name: 7ef5ccf8>)
(5 . "10C") (100 . "AcDbEntity") (67 . 0) (410 . "Model") (8 . "0")
(100 . "AcDbRasterImage")(90 . 0)(10 0.0 0.0 0.0)(11 0.264583 0.0 0.0)
(12 0.0 0.264583 0.0)(13 640.0 380.0 0.0)(340 .
<Entity name: 7ef710d0>) (70 . 7)(280 . 0)(281 . 50)(282 . 50)(283 . 0)
(360 . <Entity name: 7ef710d8>)(71 . 1)(91 . 2)
(14 -0.5 -0.5 0.0) (14 639.5 379.5 0.0))
This is the IMAGE entity that is saved in the drawing database along with all
other graphical entities. The image definition resides in the main dictionary
in an entry called ACAD_IMAGE_DICT.
Lets try to do a search for our image:
Command: (dictsearch (namedobjdict) "ACAD_IMAGE_DICT")
((-1 . <Entity name: 7ef5cf70>)(0 . "DICTIONARY")(5 . "E6")
(102 . "{ACAD_REACTORS")(330 . <Entity name: 7ef5cc60>)(102 . "}") (330 .
<Entity name: 7ef5cc60>)(100 . "AcDbDictionary")(280 . 0)(281 . 1)
(3 . "house")(350 . <Entity name: 7ef710d0>))
There it is at the bottom. Each entry consists of a name (code 3) and an
entity name (code 350) that holds the actual data. Thats the only place
where the name occurs. If you change the name of an image, it will affect the entry name.
Notice that the entity name of the dictionary entry, <Entity name: 7ef710d0>,
is the same as the entity name in code 340 of the IMAGE entity. Thats the only
immediate link between the image entity and the image definition (there are
other links but we won't go there this time). Whether we get hold of the image
definition by image entity or by dictionary is almost indifferent, 'almost'
because in the case where all image entities have been deleted, i.e. in the
case of an unreferenced image definition, the only way is to tap into the dictionary.
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Lets dig further into the image definition:
(setq imgDict (dictsearch (namedobjdict) "ACAD_IMAGE_DICT"))
(setq imgDef (dictsearch (cdr (assoc -1 imgDict)) "house"))
The returned entity will look similar to this (with the reactor stuff cut out):
((-1 . <Entity name: 7ef710d0>)(0 . "IMAGEDEF")(5 . "10A") ...
(330 . <Entity name: 7ef5cf70>) (100 . "AcDbRasterImageDef") (90 . 0)
(1 . "C:\\Images\\house.jpg")(10 640.0 380.0 0.0)(11 0.264583 0.264583 0.0) (280 . 1) (281 . 5))
Code 10 is not an insertion point; its the dimensions of the image in pixels.
Code 11 is a unit vector that describes the number of units per pixel and code 281
is the resolution unit.
These data remain static until the image definition is deleted or changed by
referencing another file. From it we can calculate image dimensions in
drawing units: X_units = width * U, where U is the X-portion of the unit vector.
The calculation is similar for the Y direction.
So with a resolution unit of millimeters, the image width and height will be:
(setq x_units (* (car (cdr (assoc 10 imgDef)))(car (cdr (assoc 11 imgDef)))))
-> 169.333 units
(setq y_units (* (cadr (cdr (assoc 10 imgDef)))(cadr (cdr (assoc 11 imgDef)))))
-> 100.542 units
The dimensions depend on the resolution units in code 281, which initially depends on
information in the graphics file or the system variable INSUNITS. Either way,
the image definition unit vector is unitless in the sense that it always is
expressed in units per pixel.
It's only when creating an image entity that the resolution unit is used,
hence the need for keeping the information separate in code 281
(and using INSUNITS).
For example, if the image is attached using inches as the resolution unit,
the image is scaled by a factor of 25.4 in proportion to metric units.
To convert manually, simply divide by 25.4 (or multiply if you're in inches a
nd want millimeters):
(setq x_units (/ x_units 25.4)) -> 6.6667 (setq y_units (/ y_units 25.4)) -> 3.9583
>From the unit vector, you can extract the resolution of the image. If
>you want it in dpi, simply
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divide 25.4 with the unit vector:
(setq x_res (/ 25.4 (car (cdr (assoc 11 imgDef))))) -> 96.0 dpi
(setq y_res (/ 25.4 (cadr (cdr (assoc 11 imgDef))))) -> 96.0 dpi
When the image is inserted into the drawing, it can be scaled and rotated arbitrarily.
This will not affect the image definition values. As implied above, the
image definition needs to keep the parameters intact so that multiple image
entities can be created without affecting each other. Changing INSUNITS between
attachments will affect the scaling factors of existing images but it will not
affect the physical size because it's in a given relation to the unit vector of
the image definition.
The image entity holds alot more info than the definition. Naturally, it holds the
insertion point but it has no need of an explicit rotation angle or scaling factor
because it has its own set of unit vectors from which to calculate both angle and
scale. Unit vectors are given for both X and Y directions, or in terms of image mapping,
in U and V directions. This means that there can actually be separate rotations and
scale factors for any given image (as a funny side effect it also means that it is
possible to skew an image). But AutoCAD always uses the U vector for rotation and scale.
To calculate the rotation of the image, extract the U vector in code 11 and make use of ATAN:
(setq u_vec (cdr (assoc 11 imgEnt)))
(if (equal (cadr u_vec) 0.0 1e-6)
0.0
(atan (/ (car u_vec)(cadr u_vec)))
)
The scale factor is a little more complicated because it depends on the current
setting of INSUNITS.
It's always possible to get hold of the scale factor between an image entity and
the corresponding image defintion by comparing the X-portions of unit vectors.
(setq u_vec (cdr (assoc 11 imgEnt)))
(setq def_vec (cdr (assoc 11 imgDef)))
(setq scale (/ (car def_vec)(car u_vec)))
If you ever need the scale relationship between multiple instances of the same
images you can do the same but with image entity vectors (it will give the
difference between INSUNITS at the time of attachments).
Other properties in the image entity are the brightness, contrast and fade values.
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They can be interesting from a programming point of view because changes can be
applied to multiple images in one go.
Clipping coordinates are embedded directly within the image entity. When an image
is inserted, it has two diagonally clipping points set by default. They don't
affect clipping but can be adjusted to whatever you want. If you add clipping
point to make a polygonal clipping then remember to provide the correct number
of vertices in code 91.
Before Kenny starts to edit this submission because it starts to take up an
obscene amount of space in his newsletter, let's stop it here.
On the other hand, there wasn't much code to go with so here's a take on
writing an IMAGEDETACH command. It simply uses the fact that image definitions
are dictionary entries that can be referenced by name, so it runs through each
that matches the users search pattern and deletes the entry.
However, in release 2004 and below it might leave invisible image entities in
the drawing so, if you decide to use this code, it comes with the home assignment
to figure out how to remove both the image definitions and the image entities :)
;; CODING STARTS HERE
(defun getImgList (aDict / alist)
(while (setq aDict (member (assoc 3 aDict) aDict))
(setq alist (cons (cdar aDict) alist)
aDict (cdr aDict)
)
)
alist
)
(defun C:IMAGEDETACH (/ imgDict imgDefs imgList imgEnt searchStr tmp a b cmd)
(vl-load-com)
(setq cmd (getvar "CMDECHO"))
(setvar "CMDECHO" 0)
(command "UNDO" "Begin")
(cond
((setq imgDict (dictsearch (namedobjdict) "ACAD_IMAGE_DICT"))
(setq imgList (getImgList imgDict))
(foreach n imgList
(setq imgEnt (cdr (assoc -1 (dictsearch (cdr (assoc -1 imgDict)) n)))
imgDefs (cons (cons n imgEnt) imgDefs)))
(if imgList
(cond
((/= (setq searchStr (getstring "Images to search for: ")) "")
(setq a 1)
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(cond ((vl-string-position 44 searchStr)
(while (setq b (vl-string-position 44 searchStr))
(setq tmp (cons (strcase (substr searchStr a b)) tmp))
(setq searchStr (substr searchStr (+ 2 b)) a 1)
)
(setq tmp (reverse (cons (strcase searchStr) tmp)))
)
(T (setq tmp (list (strcase searchStr))))
)
(foreach n imgDefs
(cond ((or (member (car n) tmp)
(wcmatch (strcase (car n))
(apply 'strcat
(mapcar '(lambda (n) (strcat n ",")) tmp)
))
)
(initget "Yes No")
(cond ((/= (getkword
(strcat "\nDelete image " (car n) "? <Yes>/No: ")
) "No")
(entdel (dictremove (cdr (assoc -1 imgDict)) (car n))))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
(command "UNDO" "End")
(setvar "CMDECHO" cmd)
(princ)
)
;;; CODING ENDS HERE
Stig Madsen
===========
Things Weird and Wonderful
========================
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New from McAfee:
WiScan. It removes all Windows programs.
==========
Miscellaneous Stuff that I almost Forgot ================================
We use AutoCAD Mechanical and have chosen to stay at version 6 for right now
(its AutoCAD 2002). Well it seems that some of our customers use Mechanical 2004,
that seems okay, we just tell them to save down to AutoCAD 2000.
Well, that works for plain AutoCAD but not the Mechanical version, it crashes
version 6 whenever you open the "saved to 2000 version".
We fix it by opening it in 2004 (we carry one seat for compatibility issues),
wblocking the entities (in modelspace only, its a wblock thing) and then
reopening it in 2004 and then saving to 2000...
stupid. I got on the Autodesk forum and asked about it, the rep said we
should install 2004 across the board and the problem would go away.
Wrong answer.
I realize you cannot support older software forever, but when you say
you save to an older version, it should able to be opened in that older version.
Wow, glad I got that off my chest. Thanks and keep up the good work.
John Walker
===========
The Back Stoep
=============
HANGOVERS
===========
One Star Hangover (*)
No pain. No real feeling of illness. You're able to function relatively well.
However, you are still parched. You can drink
5 sodas and still feel this way. For some reason, you are craving a steak & fries.
Two Star Hangover (**)
No pain, but something is definitely amiss. You may look okay, but you have the
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mental capacity of a staple gun. The coffee you are chugging is only increasing
your rumbling gut, which is still tossing around the fruity pancake from the
3:00 AM Curry House excursion. There is some definite havoc being wreaked upon your bowels.
Three Star Hangover (***)
Slight headache. Stomach feels crappy. You are definitely not productive.
Anytime a girl walks by you gag because her perfume reminds you of the
flavored schnapps shots your alcoholic friends dared you to drink.
Life would be better right now if you were home in your bed watching Lucy reruns.
You've had 4 cups of coffee, a gallon of water, 3 iced teas and a diet Coke ---
yet you haven't peed once.
Four Star Hangover (****)
Life sucks. Your head is throbbing. You can't speak too quickly or else you might puke.
Your boss has already lambasted you for being late and has given you a lecture for
reeking of booze. You wore nice clothes, but that can't hide the fact that you
only shaved one side of your face. (For the ladies, it looks like you put your
makeup on while riding the bumper cars.) Your eyes look like one big red vein,
and even your hair hurts. Your sphincter is in perpetual spasm, and the first
of about five shits you take during the day brings water to the eyes of everyone
who enters the bathroom.
Five Star Hangover, (*****)
You have a second heartbeat in your head, which is actually annoying the employee
who sits in the next cube. Vodka vapor is seeping out of every pore and making you
dizzy. You still have toothpaste crust in the corners of your mouth from brushing
your teeth in an attempt to get the remnants of the poop fairy out. Your body has
lost the ability to generate saliva so your tongue is suffocating you. You don't
have the foggiest idea who the hell the stranger was passed out in your bed this
morning. Any attempt to defecate results in a fire hose like discharge of
alcohol-scented fluid with a rare 'floater' thrown in. The sole purpose of this
'floater' seems to be to splash the toilet water all over your ass. Death sounds
pretty good right about now....
^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-^-.,.-
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
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---------------------------------------------------------
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mailto:[email protected]
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
The AfraLisp Books and the Newsletter Collections are now available as one
downloadable installation file.
http://www.afralisp.com/zip2/AfraLisp_Books.zip ( 5227 kb )
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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
=========================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-03
=========================
15th May 2003
=========================
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
=========================
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
=========================
Wet Paint - Do NOT Touch!!
=========================
The Front Stoep.
==============
Firstly, I must apologise for a number of grammar errors that slipped through the proverbial net in last weeks
Newsletter. And no, it wasn't too many beers in fact, quite the reverse.
There I was in a mad rush to go out, and without thinking, I pressed the "Send" button. I then suddenly
remembered that I hadn't proof read the bleedin' thing. That's what happens when you try and do important
things whilst sober!! I should have waited until I wobbled home later that night.
Question?
How do you set up your AutoCAD workstations? Do you just use vanilla AutoCAD on a stand alone PC, or
have you got multiple workstations to deal with? I'm not talking about your drawing office standards or
layering standards, I'm talking about your AutoCAD System Setup itself. Are all your drawings, menus and
custom support files on the Network, or do you keep all support files on the users local drive and the drawings
on the Network?
Do you deal with multiple configurations for various disciplines? Do you make use of Profiles or Template
drawings? Or do you have a super dooper "AutoCAD Multiple Configuration Application" written by a team
of expert C++ programmers?
If if the answer is "Yes" to any of the above, I'd be interested in hearing from you.

Pearls of Wisdom
===============
Black holes suck.
===============

Coding
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=======
Would you like to set up custom support paths?
;CODING STARTS HERE
;set the path to your custom subdirectory.
(setq netpath "C:\\Custom")
;uncomment the next line if you want to clear all paths
;and set the support paths back to the AutoCAD default.
;(setenv "ACAD" "")
;store the existing support paths
(setq defpath (getenv "ACAD"))
;append your custom paths.
(setenv "ACAD" (strcat
defpath ";"
netpath ";"
netpath "\\" "Menu;"
netpath "\\" "Lisp;"
netpath "\\" "VBA;"
netpath "\\" "Blocks;"
))
;CODING ENDS HERE
===================
Hi Kenny
Whazzup, Whasappening??
I was starting to get withdrawal symptoms! I missed your Afralisp newsletter. Oh well I survived. Here is a
collection of some of my lisp routines that I use very frequently on a daily basis and are also often used by
others in the office. They are very rough and ready, but they do the job quite nicely. I have quite a few ideas to
beef them up, but I'm sure there are many other coders out there that will also enjoy toying around with them
and tidying them up.
Cheers,
Dave
========
You can download DCTools here :
http://www.afralisp.com/lisp/dctools.htm
========
Want to convert a list to a string?
;CODING STARTS HERE
;Function to turn a list into a string
(defun ltos (lst / gfile)
;open a file on disk
(setq gfile (open "temp.txt" "w"))
;print list to file
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(prin1 lst gfile)
;close file
(close gfile)
;open file
(setq gfile (open "temp.txt" "r"))
;read list from file
(setq strname (read-line gfile))
;close file
(close gfile)
;return converted list
strname
);defun
;CODING ENDS HERE
===========
Kenny,
Hi there, my name is Michael. Cool site, love the humour. I am just getting back into some CAD programming
- stopped about 6 years ago before VLISP. I am bouncing between VLISP and VBA. My forehead is getting
sore from banging the computer monitor. I am stumped!
I am trying to find a point on a surface - not necessarily at a convienient vertex of course - have x,y get z from
surface kind of thing.
Simple, right? It started out promising and has been spiralling downhill.
My biggest block is accessing the surface data.
For example, none of the surfaces I get seem to be standard, but either "AcDbBody" (exploded solid) or
"AcAsSurfBody" (IGES import surface).
If I could access the vertices, I could dust of my old algebra texts and calculate the Coons patches between
points - very ugly prospect.
I should think that there would be an easier way.
The IntersectWith method looks good, but it either is not implemented yet, or its ARX is not loaded. AutoCAD
has to use the surface info to process HIDE and RENDER and so on, so it has to be in the realm of the
possible. But I can't find it.
Any help that you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Michael Richmond
P.S. Oh ya, is there anyway to access the mouse coords in real time without "clicking" - possibly accessing the
"status bar" COORDS
==============
Control Template :
Ever get tired of making an exit button over and over? Do you use the same set up for multi page (or any
control) over and over? Save time, save effort. Make a control template!
1) Start with a New VBA Project in AutoCAD (or any VBA enabled application)
2) Add a UserForm to the project
3) Draw a command button on the form
4) If the properties window is not visible, click properties on the View Menu
5) Make sure that the properties for the command button are being listed in the properties window, then
change the following items:
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6) Caption = Exit
7) Font = Arial (example, use your favorite font)
8) From the file menu choose close and return to AutoCAD (or whatever application you are setting up).
9) Close AutoCad, when prompted to save the changes to Global1 say "yes" (save it under any name, you will
open it right back up).
10) Restart AutoCAD and load the dvb file saved in step 7.
11) Drag the command button you customized in step 5 onto the controls tab of the Toolbox.
===========
Another type of snap:
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun c:between ( / x y)
(setq x (getpoint "\nEnter first point : ")
y (getpoint x "\nEnter second point : "))
(command "_non")
(setq x (polar x (angle x y) (/ (distance x y) 2)))
(command "line" x pause)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
==================
Kenny,
Your Unload all function on your site won't run in MAP5, this will in case you ever need it.
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun C:CORNLOAD( / acadapp vbe vbp actVbp vbpFileName)
(vl-load-com)
(setq acadapp(vlax-get-acad-object))
(setq vbe(vla-get-vbe acadapp))
(setq vbp(vlax-get vbe "VBProjects"))
(While (setq actVbp(vlax-get vbe "ActiveVBProject"))
(setq vbpFileName(vlax-get actVbp "FileName"))
(vla-UnloadDVB acadapp vbpFileName)
)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Andy Canfield
============

Things Weird and Wondeful

========================
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I thought you might be interested in the price of AutoCAD in Southern Africa.
(Prices can vary due to exchange rates.)
AUTOCAD LT 2004
Full Commercial R 11,065 (US$1510)
Upgrade from 2000/i/2002 R 2,400 (US$328)
AUTOCAD 2004 (Stand Alone)
Full Commercial R 33,600 (US$4584)
Upgrade from 2002 R 4,080 (US$557)
Upgrade from 2000/2000i R 8,160 (US$1113)
Prices also exclude VAT of approx 15%
================
Want to see what hardware and software is installed on your PC?
http://www.belarc.com/
Just select the "Free Download" link and download the software. (about 660kb)
Displays a web page listing of all the hardware and software on your PC.
====================
Miscellaneous Rubbish that I almost Forgot
===================================
As a general rule: always reset any system variables that were changed
during a routine, unless it is the specific purpose of the routine to change
them. A system variable should NOT be "reset" to any specific value, but it
should be reset to the value it had before changes were made.
This means grabbing the current value with GETVAR, saving it and setting it
later with SETVAR.
Where a system variable should be reset depends on the code and the system
variable. For example, OSMODE could be changed just before picking a point
and reset immediately after if required by the following actions.
In the case of CMDECHO, there's no need to change it unless you write code
that can echo back to the screen. If you do have echos and you don't want to
clutter the screen with it, you can save/change it in the beginning and
reset it (to its former value!) in the end.
Even if you are only writing code for yourself, it is well advised to follow
this rule or maybe someday you will be cursing at your own routines.
Stig Madsen
==============

The Back Stoep

=============
A Dog's Prayer.
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Why do humans smell the flowers, but seldom, if ever, smell one another? Where are their priorities?
When we get to heaven can we sit on your couch? Or is it the same old story?
Why are there cars named after the jaguar, the cougar, the mustang, the colt, the stingray and the rabbit, but
not ONE named for a dog? How Often do you see a cougar riding around?
We dogs love a nice ride! Would it be so hard to rename the Chrysler Eagle the Chrysler Beagle?
If a dog barks his head off in the forest and no human hears him, is he still a bad dog?
If we come back as humans is that good or bad?
More meatballs, less spaghetti, please.
When we get to the Pearly Gates, do we have to shake hands to get in?
Are there dogs on other planets or are we alone? I have been howling at the moon and stars for a long time,
but all I ever hear back is the Schnauzer across the street.
Are there mailmen in Heaven? If there are, will I have to apologize?
We dogs can understand human verbal instructions, hand signals, whistles, horns, clickers, beepers, scent
ID's, electromagnetic energy fields, and Frisbee flight paths. What do humans understand?
May I please have my testicles back?
These are just some of the things I must remember (in order to keep my present living arrangements)
The garbage collector is not stealing our stuff.
I do not need to suddenly stand straight up when I'm lying under the coffee table.
I will not roll my toys behind the fridge, behind the sofa or under the bed.
I must shake the rainwater out of my fur before entering the house.
I will not eat the cats' food before they eat it or after they throw it up.
I will stop trying to find the few remaining pieces of clean carpet in the house when I am about to get sick.
I will not throw up in the car.
I will not roll on dead seagulls, fish, crabs, possums, etc. just because I like the way they smell.
I will not munch on "leftovers" in the kitty litter box; although they are tasty, they are not food.
I will not eat any more Kleenex or napkins and then redeposit them in the backyard after processing.
The diaper pail is not a cookie jar.
I will not chew my humans' toothbrushes and not tell them.
I will not chew crayons or pens, especially not the red ones, or my people will think I am hemorrhaging.
When in the car, I will not insist on having the window rolled down when it's raining outside.
We do not have a doorbell. I will not bark each time I hear one on television.
I will not steal my mom's underwear and dance all over the back yard with them.
The sofa is not a face towel; neither are Mom and Dad's laps.
My head does not belong in the refrigerator.
I will not bite the officer's hand when he reaches in for Mom's driver's license and registration.
I will not play tug of war with dad's underwear when he's on the toilet.
I will not roll around in the dirt right after getting a bath.
Sticking my nose into someone's crotch is not an acceptable way of saying hello.
I will not come in from outside and immediately drag my butt across the carpet.
The toilet bowl is not a never ending water supply and, just because t the water is blue, that doesn't mean it's
cleaner.
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I will not sit in the middle of the living room and lick my crotch when company is over.
I will remember that suddenly turning around and smelling my rear end can quickly clear a room.
The cat is not a squeaky toy so when I play with him and he makes that noise, it's usually not a good thing.
Love,
The Dog
=========
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy superb music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
(If we're too loud, you're too old!)
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the AfraLisp
Newsletter pop along here:
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm

You are visitor number

=========================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-04
=========================
28th May 2003
=========================
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
=========================
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
=========================
This is an air conditioned environment.
Do not open Windows.
=========================
The Front Stoep.
==============
A bit late this week I'm afraid. In fact about a week late!!
Sorry about that that, but in this part of the world it's been two long weekends in a row and I've been off to
Luderitz on a mini-tour with the band.
Other than that, I must warn you that I'm messing around with PHP at the moment. So, if you see AfraLisp
looking a bit weird every now and again, don't worry, be happy. Normal service will be resumed as soon as
possible. Hey, you're lucky, unlike AutoDesk I don't charge you for upgrades.
Pearls of Wisdom
===============
A belly button is for salt when you eat celery in bed.
===============
Here's a couple of answers I received in regards to the AutoCAD Configuration question I asked in the last
issue :
My configurations are pretty standard, and I feel 'common sensical', but I decided to reply in case you're short
on obvious replies....
I work as a CAD manager in a small Structural Engineering office in Australia. We have been using AutoCAD
since v1.7b in 1983. At work we only have 3 Acad seats which are configure (almost) identically. One seat is
LT+DRC-Toolkit, which can emulate our full seats. They are on a network, but each seat is self sufficient,
however, we do use shortcuts to shared block libraries and have one global library/backup area on the
network. We still like to only turn one machine on if there is only one person in the office ;-)
At home I moonlight for some Architectural designers and NEED four different CAD configurations.
- One vanilla for development and testing.
- One Structural Engineering (for overtime work)
- Two separate Architectural environments.
I simply have four icons on my desktop which launch each environment using profiles. I have a simple LISP
routine to control it and confirm that I am dropping in to the correct environment. Each has it's own Folder
with LISP routines, custom menus, fonts, linetypes, patterns and all relevant blocks that are used in that
environment.
AutoCAD itself gets installed as pure vanilla. The only customisation is to add my 'acaddoc.lsp' within its
support path. Each environment has it's Search File Paths and other options defined and saved as a named
profile in IT'S Folder.
Works for me ;-)
Rob Jackson
============
Ed Note : Rob did supply an example of his "bootstrap" routine, but unfortunately space is limited and I had
to exclude it. I will be talking to Rob in regards to publishing this section at a later date as it is quite
interesting.
============
Just a real quick one on the config front. The company I work for uses a program called Autosys to control
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client driven layers and linetypes.
Within this program is a package called apploader, which gives you the ability to load and unload addon
packages for autocad within one session, without having to swap profiles all the time. Ther is also batch p[lot
utilities and a host of Autocad tools (a lot are obsolete as
they were written back in r10 days). If your keen for further info, let me know.
Regards
Dennis
=======
Coding
=======
Is it possible to record a list of the commands that I use during a session of AutoCAD in to a text file? I would
like it to be similar to the list of commands that you find under "Recent Commands" on the text line.
Peter
=====
Peter, you could not just switch on "Maintain a Log File" or try this out :
"Allclear Macro Recorder"
http://www.dczaland.com/
======================
Are you aware that the Visual LISP IDE can help you in finding erroneous code?
Check the item "Break On Error" in the DEBUG menu.
Load and run the LISP code with an error.
As expected, your program fails.
Now pick the item "Last Break Source" in the DEBUG menu.
The cursor takes you to the point of failure in the LISP code.
(Note: This may not work for complex errors - especially in any of my programs!!)
========
In response to Stig Madesens words of wisdom in regards to resetting system variables in last weeks
Newsletter, if you want to set many system variables programmatically, instead of using individual expressions
use these efficient and easily maintainable AutoLisp expressions to set and reset AutoCAD system variables.
;; store default values
(setq defvars (mapcar 'getvar '(cmdecho highlight osmode)))
;; set values to your need
(mapcar 'setvar '(cmdecho highlight osmode) '(0 0 0)))
;; reset them back once you are done
(mapcar 'setvar '(cmdecho highlight osmode) defvars)))
Big Ed
=========
I wrote something similar a while back if anyone is interested.
You can find it on this page :
"Saving and Restoring System Variables".
http://www.afralisp.com/tips.htm
And here's something in the same vein :
"Efficient Variables"
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp55.htm
===========================
Hey Kenny,
I want to point to a directory on the network F:\\ctb, w/o having to make this change in tools/options and to
force the change if someone changes it to some place else. Is this possible?
Zain
=======
I "borrowed" this from somewhere.
;CODING STARTS HERE
;;; Save and loads support paths to a text file
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(defun C:saveSupportPaths (/ files paths f)
(vl-load-com)
(setq files (vla-get-files (vla-get-preferences (vlax-get-acad-object))))
(setq paths (vla-get-supportpath files))
(setq f (open "thepaths.txt" "w"))
(write-line paths f)
(close f)
(princ)
)
(defun C:loadSupportPaths (/ files paths f)
(vl-load-com)
(setq files (vla-get-files (vla-get-preferences (vlax-get-acad-object))))
(setq f (open "thepaths.txt" "r"))
(setq paths (read-line f))
(close f)
(vla-put-supportpath files paths)
(princ)
)
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
==========
Hi Kenny,
Is it possible through AutoLISP or other to change an attribute of a batch of drawings without manually doing
each one. Such as the revision in the title block.
Cheers,
Ryan
==========
And here's a couple of answers to a couple of questions compliments of Stig Madsen :
From last weeks Newsletter:
Is there anyway to access the mouse coords in real time without "clicking" - possibly accessing the "status
bar" COORDS?
Accessing mouse coordinates in real time can be done with GRREAD. You can do
all sorts of cool device tracking with GRREAD; find out if the mouse has
been moved, where it's been moved, if the mouse has been pressed, what key
has been pressed or if a pulldown menu has been accessed.
Here are two small commands to rattle on mouse locations. The first reports
the current location of the cursor and the second reports running movements
of the cursor until a key or the mouse is pressed:
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun C:LOC (/ pt)
(setq pt (cadr (grread T 1)))
(mapcar 'princ (list "\n" (car pt) "," (cadr pt) "," (caddr pt)))
(princ)
)
(defun C:RUNC (/ pt)
(while (= 5 (car (setq pt (grread T 1))))
(mapcar 'princ (list "X: " (caadr pt) " Y: " (cadadr pt) "\n"))
)
(princ)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
And from Issue No 2:
We have a network and I want to attatch an XREF drawing from the server, when doing so I want all the
layers to be turned to the color red in order to differentiate between my work and the attached layers from
other departments.
To ensure that changes made to XREF's layers in the current drawing don't
get reset or, actually, reloaded next time the drawing is opened, set the
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system variable VISRETAIN to 1. The setting is saved with the drawing
containing the XREF's and also has the effect that paths are saved with the
drawing.
If entities in the reference drawings are created with a color property
other than Bylayer, it is not directly possible to assign new colors to them
in the host drawing, but if they are of color Bylayer it is possible to make
a shortcut that both sets VISRETAIN to 1 and changes all XREF-based layers
to a color.
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun C:xrefcolor (/ cnt color lyr layer llst off)
(setq cnt 0)
;; get a color from the pretty color dialog
(cond ((setq color (acad_colordlg 1 nil))
(while (setq lyr (tblnext "LAYER" (not lyr)))
;; run through all layers and pick up those that
;; come from reference drawings
(cond ((= (logand (cdr (assoc 70 lyr)) 16) 16)
(setq layer (tblobjname "LAYER" (cdr (assoc 2 lyr)))
llst (entget layer)
;; save the layers on/off state so we don't turn
;; it on by accident
off (if (< (cdr (assoc 62 lyr)) 0) -1 1)
)
;; change the layers color to the pick of the day
(if (entmod (subst (cons 62 (* color off)) (assoc 62 llst)
llst))
(setq cnt (1+ cnt)))
)
)
)
)
)
;; be nice and only set VISRETAIN if any xref layers were changed
(if (> cnt 0)(setvar "VISRETAIN" 1))
(princ)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
==============
Things Weird and Wondeful
========================
Try this link:
http://www.bigswamp.org/Se7en/
AND, you've all seen Urban Legends such as these :
"Entering a phone number into the Google search engine will return a home address and a map with
directions to that address."
Or :
"Microsoft is marketing the iLoo, an Internet-capable portable toilet."
Interested in Urban Legends are we?
Then pop along here and have a good root around :
http://www.snopes.com/
====================
Miscellaneous Rubbish that I almost Forgot
===================================
Would you like to convert your AutoLisp/VBA Coding into HTML?
Would you like to colour code it and add line numbers?
Try this :
http://www.vbdesign.net/language.htm
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AND, would you like to know more about Lisp?
(Lisp NOT AutoLisp)
http://grimpeur.tamu.edu/~colin/lp/
==============
The Back Stoep
=============
The following are actual letters that Abigail Van Buren (Dear Abby) herself admitted she was at a loss to
answer:
Dear Abby,
A couple of women moved in across the hall from me. One is a middle-aged gym teacher, and the other is a
social worker in her mid-twenties. These twowomen go everywhere together, and I've never seen a man go into
their apartment or come out. Do you think they could be Lebanese?
Dear Abby,
What can I do about all the sex, nudity,language and violence on my VCR?
Dear Abby,
I have a man I never could trust. He cheats so much I'm not even sure this baby I'm carrying is his.
Dear Abby,
I am a twenty-three-year-old liberated woman who has been on the pill for two years. It's getting expensive,
and I think my boyfriend should share half the cost, but I don't know him well enough to discuss money with
him.
Dear Abby,
I suspected that my husband had been fooling around, and when I confronted him with the evidence he denied
everything and said it would never happen again.
Dear Abby,
Our son writes that he is taking Judo. Why would a boy who was raised in a good Christian home turn against
his own?
Dear Abby,
I joined the Navy to see the world. I've seen it. Now, how do I get out?
Dear Abby,
My forty-year-old son has been paying a psychiatrist $50 an hour every week for two-and-a-half years. He
must be crazy.
Dear Abby,
I was married to Bill for three months, and I didn't know he drank until one night he came home sober.
Dear Abby,
Do you think it would be all right if I gave my doctor a little gift? I tried for years to get pregnant and
couldn't, and he did it.
Dear Abby,
My mother is mean and short-tempered. I think she is going through her mental pause.
Dear Abby,
You told some woman whose husband had lost all interest in sex to send him to a doctor. Well, my husband
lost all interest in sex years ago and he is a doctor.
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-04
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----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy superb music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
A Rock 'n Old Band.
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the AfraLisp
Newsletter pop along here:
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm

You are visitor number

The syntax for acet-getvar is as follows:

(acet-getvar (list <varname> [location]))

Where <varname> is the string name of the variable and [location] is the sum of one or more of the
bit coded values described above. If the optional location argument is omitted, the drawing will be
searched first, and then the current profile and then finally the fixed profile. The first location that
has the specified variable stored there will be used for the return value.
============
Trying to process objects on Locked layers is a common mistake.
You should either unlock them or stop users from selecting objects on locked layers in the first
place. Try this :
(ssget ":L")
":L" stops users from selecting objects on locked layers.
=============
By setting OSMODE to 0 you simply turn off each individual object snap (end point, middle, center
and so on). When you use F3, the bit code 16384 is added to turn the object snap FUNCTION off,
not the individual object snap's. By adding and removing this value you can turn on and off
running object snap without loosing your settings.
(setvar "OSMODE" (boole 7 (getvar "OSMODE") 16384))
Turns running object snap off
(setvar "OSMODE" (boole 2 (getvar "OSMODE") 16384))
Turns running object snap on
==============
Want a good demonstration of an active image tile?
Try this :
//DCL CODING STARTS HERE
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cur : dialog {
label = "Cursor" ;
: image_button {
width = 40 ;
height = 12 ;
color = -15 ;
key = "cur_img" ;
}
spacer_1;
: text {
label="Click at different places in the image";
width=10;
alignment=centered;
}
spacer_1;
ok_only ;
}
//DCL CODING ENDS HERE
==========
Save this as cur.dcl
==========
;;;AUTOLISP CODING STARTS HERE
(defun c:cur()
(setq cur_id (load_dialog "cur"))
(if (not (new_dialog "cur" cur_id)) (exit))
(action_tile "cur_img" "(cur_it $x $y)")
(action_tile "accept" "(done_dialog)")
(start_dialog)
(unload_dialog cur_id)
(princ)
);defun
;==========================
(defun cur_it (xval yval)
(setq xv xval yv yval)
(start_image "cur_img")
(setq xx (dimx_tile "cur_img"))
(setq yy (dimy_tile "cur_img"))
(fill_image 0 0 xv yv 5)
(fill_image xv 0 xx yv 1)
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(fill_image xv yv xx yy 3)
(fill_image 0 yv xv yy 2)
(vector_image 0 yv xx yv 8)
(vector_image xv 0 xv yy 8)
(end_image)
);defun
(princ)
;AUTOLISP CODING ENDS HERE
============
Save this as Cur.lsp
============
Kenny,
I am using LT2002 with LT-Extender (lisp enabler) but previously used full version 2000 and 2002
where I became almost reliant on the Extension osnap. LT 2002 does not have the extension osnap
as standard therefore my question is whether it would be possible to invoke this osnap (osmode
4096) in LT2002 using a lisp or arx routine in conjunction with the LT-Extender lisp generator?
Simon A. Baines
==============

Things Weird and Wondeful

========================
Hi Kenny,
Thanks for the newsletter and love the link to snopes.
The following has got to be my latest favorite!
http://www.snopes.com/humor/iftrue/chess.htm
While it didn't really happen playing chess, I am sure it will happen soon somewhere when
programming in .NET!
Thanks
Bill H
=====
Have fun with "MTJIGSTRING" and set it in a startup lisp to the name of the user or anything else.
Put (setvar "mtjigstring" (strcase (getvar "loginname"))) in your acaddoc.lsp.
It will show the first 10 characters in the MText edit box.

Miscellaneous Rubbish that I almost Forgot

===================================
To help you build global-friendly AutoLisp routines, have a look at the (undocumented) system
variable GLOBCHECK which is set off (= 0) by default. If you enable it (= 1), it will reject any
command or keyword input from scripts, menus or application sources that fails to use the
underscore prefix.
Set GLOBCHECK=1 while developing and debugging your program to make sure you catch all of
the pertinent strings.
If you set GLOBCHECK=3, it will display the size of a dialog box at the command line when
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-05
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displayed.
=========
A Chinese AutoLisp site!!!
http://www.adi-xz.com.cn/study/user/dev/user04.htm

The Back Stoep

=============
I met a Dutch girl with inflatable shoes last week, phoned her up to arrange a date but
unfortunately she'd popped her clogs.
Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly; but when they lit a fire in the craft, it sank, proving
once and for all that you can't have your kayak and heat it.
But I'll tell you what I love doing more than anything: trying to pack myself in a small suitcase. I
can hardly contain myself.
But I'm in great mood tonight because the other day I entered a competition and I won a years
supply of Marmite.........one jar.
Now did you know all male tennis players are witches, for example Goran, even he's a witch.
So a lorry-load of tortoises crashed into a train-load of terrapins, I thought "That's a turtle
disaster".
A priest, a rabbi and a vicar walk into a bar. The barman says, "Is this some kind of joke?"
Dyslexic man walks into a bra.
A seal walks into a club...
A three-legged dog walks into a saloon in the Old West. He slides up to the bar and announces:
"I'm looking for the man who shot my paw."
A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their
recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked
them to disperse. "But why?" they asked, as they moved off. "Because," he said "I can't stand
chess nuts boasting in an open foyer."
There was a man who entered a local paper's pun contest. He sent in ten different puns, in the
hope that at least one of the puns would win. Unfortunately, no pun in ten did.
A woman has twins, and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is
named "Amal." The other goes to a family in Spain, they name him Juan". Years later, Juan sends
a picture of himself to his mum. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wished
she also had a picture of Amal. Her husband responds, "But they are twins. If you've seen Juan,
you've seen Amal."
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy superb music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-05
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Also known, unkindly I may say, as "BedLam".
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the AfraLisp
Newsletter pop along here:
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm

You are visitor number

AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-12

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-12
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
=========================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-13
=========================
Wednesday 6th August 2003
=========================
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
=========================
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
=========================
printf("To C or not to C...that is the question\n");
=========================
The Front Stoep.
==============
Ahum, could I have your attention please!!!
This week on AfraLisp we have a couple of surprised guest speakers.
First up is Mr Scott McGlynn who is about to enlighten us all with
his outlook on the wonderful world of "PolyLines and Arcs."
http://www.afralisp.com/lisp/polyarc.htm
And secondly, and who I must say spared no expense to get here this week,
is Mr Glen Ryan, who has brought his "Plan" along for all us to have a
wee look and poke at :
http://www.afralisp.com/lisp/plan.htm
A big round of applause please Ladies and Gentlemen.
On a more humorous side, we also have a couple of contributions from
the house comics - "More Dinosaurs" and "Some Aussie Humour."
Both will be appearing in the small room just off to the left
of the Ladies loo :
http://www.afralisp.com/utterrubbish.htm
===============
And on behalf of the management of this here establishment,
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I would just like to remind everyone that we are not snobs.
We accept drinks and money from anyone.
==================================
Pearls of Wisdom
===============
If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest drown, too?
===============
Coding
=======
I am trying to figure out a way using Lisp or VBA to set
a drawing to "Read Only" after it has been opened.
Is there a way to do this?
Rick France
==========
Ooooh, that's a good one...........
Anyone care to enlighten us with an answer to this?
==========
Hello,
I have been trying to find out on how to just check if a certain block
(which I know its name) is already on a drawing or not. I am not sure, but I
was hoping you can help me with that. I have been reading your help files on
the internet, but I still could not put a routine (lsp) to check if a block
is already there.
I know I can check by typing a "rename" and see it there, but I wanted an
auto lisp routing so I can avoid the "redefine" block option when you create
a new block.
I would greatly appreciate any help from you. Thank you very much in
advance...
==========
Ahmed,
Have a look at this snippet of coding :
(setq t (tblsearch "BLOCK" "BLOCKNAME"))
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If the Block exists, it will return the entity list :
((0 . "BLOCK") (2 . "BLOCKNAME") (70 . 0) (10 0.0 0.0 0.0)
(-2 . <Entity name: 40075288>))
If the block doesn't exist, it will return "nil".
=============================
Hey Kenny~
I was customized a button. But when I re-loaded it, It came up a smiley face.
So I tried the copy from acad.mns method, and pasted that section into the
.mnu file. but, when I re-load acad the button continues to come up a smiley face.
I think it is taunting me! Thanks for your help!! Maybe I should just make a
custom menu and load that....
Brian
======
The easiest way to get around this problem is to create yourself a partial menu
and a toolbar DLL. You can find step by step instructions on how to go about
doing this here :
http://www.afralisp.com/vbaa/vbadll.htm
================
Try this out :
Create a block consisting of a couple of lines and a circle with
a radius of 20. Now type this :
(setq e (entget (car (nentsel))))
Now pick the circle. AutoLisp should return something like this:
Select object: ((-1 . ) (0 . "CIRCLE") (5 . "282")
(100 . "AcDbEntity") (67 . 0) (8 . "0") (100 . "AcDbCircle")
(10 0.0 -1.51849 0.0) (40 . 20.0) (210 0.0 0.0 1.0))
Hey, Hang about. It's returned the entity list of the circle even
though it's part of a block!! Now type the following:
(setq d (assoc 40 e))
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(setq e1 (subst '(40 . 50.0) d e))
(entmod e1)
Now REGEN the drawing.
Did you noticed what happened? The radius of the circle has change
even though it's part of a block. Not only that, it has also redefined
the block definition. In other words, every block in the drawing with
the same name would have changed.
Just a thought!!
==============
Want to create your own entity?
Normally, in AutoLisp you would draw a line like this:

(command "Line" pt1 pt2 "")
Now, create you own line by doing this:
(setq e '((0 . "LINE")(8 . "0")(10 50.0 50.0 0.0)
(11 100.0 100.0 0.0)))
(entmake e)
Just another thought!!
==================
Things Weird and Wonderful
========================
This HTML Code will allow you to open a Lisp file from a web page :
<html>
<head>
<title>Open Lisp Document</title>
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE=javascript>

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</SCRIPT>
</head>
<body>
<a href=# onclick="return openLisp(this);">c:\test.lsp</a><p>
<a href=# onclick="return openLisp(this);">c:\test1.lsp</a>
</body>
</html>
============
Miscellaneous Rubbish that I almost Forgot
===================================
Would you like a customised message in your Status Bar?
(setvar "modemacro" (getvar "Cprofile"))
Will display the Active Profile
(setvar "modemacro" (getvar "LoginName"))
Will display the current users login name.
(setvar "modemacro" "Company Name")
Will display your company name.
And this will toggle your screen menu :
(setenv "ScreenMenu" (itoa (- 1 (atoi (getenv "ScreenMenu")))))
Put this in your AcadDoc and you can toggle your Middle Button :
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun C:mb ()
(if (= (getvar "mbuttonpan") 0)
(progn
(setvar "mbuttonpan" 1)
(prompt "\nMiddle Button set to Pan.")
);progn
(progn
(setvar "mbuttonpan" 0)
(prompt "\nMiddle Button set to Osnap Menu.")
);progn
);if
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(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
==================
The Back Stoep
=============
Compliments of Mark Johnston :
A grouchy old man goes to the doctor for a physical. Naturally, his grouchy
old wife goes with him.
The man's ears, like most everything else, are not what they used to be so
his wife is along to hear for him.
The doctor does his usual work and then sits down with the two of them.
Doc says to the old man "To complete my examination I'll need three more
things. A blood sample, a urine sample and a stool sample."
The old man says "WHAT?"
His wife says to him "He wants your underpants."
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy superb music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
If we are too loud, you are too old.
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
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http://www.corbimite.com
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the AfraLisp
Newsletter pop along here:
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm

You are visitor number

AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-14

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-14
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
=========================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-15
=========================
Tuesday 19th August 2003
=========================
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
=========================
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
=========================
If anybody can think of an English word that rhythms
with "purple", they are very, very clever.
=========================
The Front Stoep.
==============
This week was not only a wee bit cold, it also rained!!
Hey, 19mm in two nights. That's more than our annual rainfall.
At least it made it easier for my wife to pick up my beers bottle 'cos
normally I just chuck them out of my study window and she deals
with them whilst she's picking up the dog turds, and the remains of
dead cats that the dogs have got, and would be burglars that I have
got etc, etc. Because of the rain though, she's had it bloody easy 'cos
everything washed down into the pool which means that whilst she's
scooping out the leaves and twigs and dead frogs, and cats that
can't swim, and the next-door-neighbours-kids-that-can't-swim, she can
also deal with the rest of the rubbish at one time. Which makes me
pleased 'cos I like things neat and tidy around where I live.
Don't you agree?
Pearls of Wisdom
===============
Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face,
he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride,
he sticks his head out the window?
===============
Coding
=======
Kenny,
Thanks for the great newsletter. I always learn something and get a
smile from it.
I have a little routine here that draws isocircles in response to
Sebastio's question in the last letter.
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun c:isocircle(/ PtCenter isoRad isoPlane Beta Theta Ratio eccent
Temp1 Temp2 AxisMajor PtOrigin
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AxisEndPt varOrigin VarCenter VarEndPt objMSpace
objEllipse)
(vl-load-com)
(setq PtCenter (getpoint "\nPick Center Point "))
(setq isoRad (getreal "\nEnter Radius "))
(initget 1 "Top Left Right")
(setq isoPlane (getkword "\nEnter Iso Plane (Top, Left, Right) "))
(setq Beta 0.5235983) ; 30 degrees in radians, needed for 30 deg
isometric projection
(setq Ratio 0.57735027) ; axis ratio for 30 deg projection
(setq Theta
(cond
((= isoPlane "Top") 0.0) ; 0 degrees
((= isoPlane "Left") 2.09439) ; 120 degrees
((= isoPlane "Right") 1.0471967) ; 60 degrees
)); end theta
(setq eccent (sqrt (- 1 (* ratio ratio)))); eccentricity
(setq Temp1 (- 1 (* eccent eccent (cos beta) (cos beta))))
(setq Temp2 (- 1 (* eccent eccent)))
(setq AxisMajor (/ isoRad (sqrt (/ temp2 temp1))))
(setq PtOrigin (list 0 0 0))
(setq AxisEndPt (polar PtOrigin theta axismajor))

(setq varOrigin (vlax-3d-point PtOrigin))
(setq varCenter (vlax-3d-point PtCenter))
(setq varEndPt (vlax-3d-point AxisEndPt))
(setq objMSpace (vla-get-modelspace (vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object))))
(setq objEllipse (vla-addellipse objMSpace varOrigin varEndPt Ratio))
(vla-move objEllipse varOrigin varCenter)
(vlax-release-object objEllipse)
(vlax-release-object objMSpace)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Cheers,
David Blackmon
aka SomeCallMeDave
===================
Would you like to list the files within sub-directories
of a particular directory?
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun C:SEARCHFOR (/ foundfiles folder fn)
(defun filesearch (fld filename / fld fn found flst lst)
(cond ((setq flst (vl-remove ".."
(vl-remove "." (vl-directory-files fld))))
(setq lst (mapcar (function (lambda (n)
(if (= (substr fld (strlen fld) 1) "\\")
(strcat fld n)(strcat fld "\\" n))))
flst)
)
(foreach fd lst
(cond ((vl-file-directory-p fd)
(filesearch fd filename))
(T
(cond ((wcmatch fd filename)
(setq found fd
foundfiles
(cons found foundfiles)
)
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(princ found)
(terpri)))))
)
)
)
)
(setq folder (getstring "\nStart in folder: ")
fn (getstring "\nFile to search for: ")
)
(if (= folder "")(setq folder (getenv "systemDrive")))
(cond ((and folder (/= fn ""))
(filesearch folder fn))
)
(princ (strcat "\n" (itoa (length foundfiles)) "
files found"))
(princ)
)

;CODING ENDS HERE
For example, wanna know how many lsp files you have?
Command: SEARCHFOR
Start in folder: C:\\ACAD2004
File to search for: *.lsp
C:\ACAD2004\Sample\Database Connectivity\CAO\caotest.lsp
C:\ACAD2004\Sample\VisualLISP\activex\vla-tst.lsp
C:\ACAD2004\Sample\VisualLISP\External\propagate.lsp
C:\ACAD2004\Support\sample-profile-util.lsp
C:\ACAD2004\Tutorial\VisualLISP\Lesson1\gpmain.lsp
C:\ACAD2004\Tutorial\VisualLISP\Lesson2\gpmain.lsp
7 files found
Stig Madsen
============
And something in a similar vein - as Dracula said to his Cousin :
;CODING STARTS HERE
;DIRTXT - Directory Text - Allows you to print the contents
;of any directory from Notepad whilst in AutoCAD.
;Written by Russel W. Steffy
;
;Your acad.pgp file must have these lines in it:
; SHELL, , 0,*OS COMMAND: ,
; NOTEPAD, START NOTEPAD, 0,*FILE TO EDIT: ,
;
; FOLLOWING THIS FORMAT:
; <COMMAND NAME>,[<DOS REQUEST>],<BIT FLAG>,[*]<PROMPT>,
;
;<BIT FLAG> should be set to zero
;
;
;***ERROR HANDLING***
(defun dirtxterr (s)
(if (/= s "Function cancelled")
; If an error (such as CTRL-C) occurs
(princ)
(princ (strcat "\nError: " s))
; while this command is active...
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) ;if
(princ "\n!!!Directory Text error!!!")
(setq *error* olderr)
;Restore old *error* handler
(princ)
) ;end dirtxterr
;***ERROR HANDLING***
(defun c:dirtxt
(/ olderr source winpath cnt 2cnt src sing_char dospath)
(setq olderr *error*
;Save old *error* handler
*error* dirtxterr
) ;Set new *error* handler
(setq source (getfiled "PICK FILE TO GET PATH"
(getvar "DWGPREFIX")
"*"
16
)
)
(princ)
(setq winpath source
dospath source
)
;***STRIP FILENAME FROM END OF STRING***
(while (/= "\\" (substr winpath (strlen winpath) 1))
(setq winpath (substr winpath 1 (- (strlen winpath) 1)))
) ;while NOT \
;***STRIP FILENAME FROM END OF STRING***
; PUT DOUBLE QUOTES AROUND FOLDER NAMES AND FILE NAME
(setq cnt 1
src (strlen dospath)
2cnt 0
)
(while (< cnt src)
(setq sing_char (substr dospath cnt 1))
(if (= sing_char "\\")
(progn
(if (>= 2cnt 1)
(progn
(setq
dospath (strcat (substr dospath 1 (- cnt 1))
"\"\\\""
(substr dospath (+ cnt 1) (- src cnt))
) ;strcat
) ;setq
(setq cnt (+ cnt 1)
2cnt (+ 2cnt 1)
)
) ;progn
(progn
(setq
dospath (strcat (substr dospath 1 cnt)
"\""
(substr dospath (+ cnt 1) (- src cnt))
) ;strcat
) ;setq
(setq cnt (+ cnt 1)
2cnt (+ 2cnt 1)
)
) ;progn
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) ;if
) ;progn
) ;if
(setq src (strlen dospath))
(setq cnt (+ cnt 1))
) ;while
(setq dospath (strcat dospath "\""))
; PUT DOUBLE QUOTES AROUND FOLDER NAMES AND FILE NAME
;***STRIP FILENAME FROM END OF STRING***
(while (/= "\\" (substr dospath (strlen dospath) 1))
(setq dospath (substr dospath 1 (- (strlen dospath) 1)))
) ;while NOT \
;***STRIP FILENAME FROM END OF STRING***
(setq ap "AM"
cd (rtos (getvar "CDATE") 2 4)
mx (atoi (substr cd 5 2))
hr (atoi (substr cd 10 2))
mn (substr cd 12 2)
mo (nth mx
'(nil "JAN"
"FEB" "MAR"
"APR" "MAY"
"JUN" "JUL"
"AUG" "SEP"
"OCT" "NOV"
"DEC"
)
)
) ;setq
(if (>= hr 12)
(setq ap "PM")
)
(if (>= hr 13)
(setq hr (itoa (- hr 12)))
(setq hr (itoa hr))
)
(setq yr (strcat "DATE: "
mo
" "
(substr cd 7 2)
", "
(substr cd 1 4)
)
)
(setq tm (strcat winpath " " yr " TIME: " hr ":" mn " " ap))
(setq out_unit (open (strcat winpath "DIR.TXT") "w"))
;write dir.txt file
(write-line tm out_unit)
(write-line "" out_unit)
(close out_unit)
(command "SHELL"
(strcat "DIR " dospath "*.*/B/A:-d/O:n>>" dospath "DIR.TXT")
)
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(command ".REDRAW")
(setq *error* olderr)
(command "NOTEPAD"
(strcat winpath "DIR.TXT")
)
(princ)
) ;end c:dirtxt
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
==================
Kenny,
We are a small Electronics company who designs and stuffs Printed
Circuit Boards (PCB) and what I'm trying to create is a simple Bill of
Material lisp routine that when a drawing is open in autocad will
search all blocks with attribute tags that I have placed on the drawing.
Where I am having some troubles is some of my blocks are placed in model
space and some are placed in paper space.
The attribute tags that I want extracted are listed below. The brackets
give you an example
CATNO (007-0027)
DESCRIPTOR (U1)
QTY (This would be a tally of the total amout of CATNO found on the
drawing that match each other)
DESCRIPTION (74HC273)
MFG (PHILIPS MOTOROLA)
MFG_CATNO (74HC273N MC74HC273N)
Currently we are using a freeware program called "OpenOffice" in our
office and it would be nice to have the exported attributes load into
this program. OpenOffice can inport .xls, .csv, .txt plus other formats
that I know nothing about.
I want to thank you for your help in this matter. I have enjoyed reading
your online newsletters and have downloaded several codes from your
site. You are the only one I could think of who would know how to find a
solution to my problem.
Thank You
Mark Ruble
============
I would always get mad when someone would close a drawing and
not zoom it back out. I worked on a lot of big projects and sometimes would
have 15 tab of drawings.
This little gem will go through each tab, zoom out and do a Qsave.
It's also good to use if you are going to email someone your DWG's
See ya
John Michael Hivatal
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun c:loz (/ echo lolst llnt lcnt lnam)
(setq echo (getvar "cmdecho"))
;_get echo var.
(setvar "cmdecho" 0)
;_set so commands will not show
(setq lolst (layoutlist))
;_get layout tabs list
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(setq llnt (length lolst))
;_how many layout tabs
(setq lolst (reverse lolst))
;_flip list so first tab is at front of list
(setq lcnt 0);_counter
(while (< lcnt llnt)
;_loop through list
(setq lnam (nth lcnt lolst))
;_get each iten in list
(command "layout" "set" lnam)
;_go to the tab
(command "zoom" "e")
;_zoom extence
(setq lcnt (1+ lcnt))
;_add 1 to counter
);_end while
(command "qsave")
;_after all tabs have been zoomen out do a save
(setvar "cmdecho" echo)
;_reset echo back to original setting
(princ)
);_end defun say bye-bye
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
==================
Things Weird and Wonderful
========================
Did you know that the AND function returns NIL if any of its arguments
are NIL, otherwise it returns T. The OR function returns T if any of its
arguments are T, otherwise it returns NIL.
Reading this carefully explains why, with no arguments, (and) is T,
but (or) is NIL.
This is true, I think.
And this???
(and (or))
Returns nil
Or :
(or (and))
Returns T
By the way, NOT returns T if its argument is NIL; and returns NIL if its
argument is T.
(not (and (or)))
Returns T
Huh!!
======
And on a similar note :
Kenny,
A note about your comments regarding the listp function. Nil is
considered a list, so (listp nil) will return T. I don't know about
others, but this one I didn't expect.
Mike Weaver
===========
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Well done Mike, at least someone is awake!
So, we all agree that "nil" is considered by (listp) to be a list.
But, to determine whether it is empty or not, we need to look at
(boundp) which has only one argument which we will call "sym".
Now (boundp) returns T if "sym" has a value bound to it.
If no value is bound, or if it has been bound to nil, (boundp) returns nil.
If "sym" is an undefined symbol, it is automatically created and is
bound to nil.
Try this :
(setq a (list 2))
Returns: (2)
(setq b nil)
Returns: nil
(listp a)
Returns: T
Yep, it's a list.
(listp b)
Returns: T
Mmm, so you were right Mike, "nil" is also a list.
But.......
(boundp 'a)
Returns: T
It must contain something?
(boundp 'b)
Returns: nil
Now we know it's truly empty, although still a list.
Interesting hey??
But, before you run off crying for your Mother,
(boundp 'anotherlist)
Returns: nil
(listp anotherlist)
Returns: T
Hey, we've just created an empty list!!
Useful hey?
===============
Some brilliant photographs here :
http://www.worth1000.com/
=======================
"Cam Studio"
============
Other than being one of the best screen capturing applications
I've used, this magic program will also produce Streaming Web
Format files.
What the SWF Producer basically does is to convert AVI files to Flash
(.swf) files. It can convert almost all AVI files to Flash, including
those not produced with CamStudio.
http://www.rendersoftware.com/products/camstudio/index.htm
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The beauty about the whole thing, is that it is not only Free,
it's also Open Source.
Yippeee!!!!
Miscellaneous Stuff that I almost Forgot
===================================
Want to add two lists together?
(setq list1 (list 1.1 2.2 3.3))
Would return: (1.1 2.2 3.3)
(setq list2 (list 4.4 5.5 6.6))
Would return: (4.4 5.5 6.6)
Therefore..........
(setq total (mapcar '+ list1 list2))
Would return : (5.5 7.7 9.9)
Now you know why it's called (map) (car).
We've had a few discussions on how to find the mid point of
two points. Here's a (mapcar) version - and it works in 3D!!
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun c:mp ( / pt1 pt2 pt3)
(setq pt1 (getpoint "\nSelect First Point : ")
pt2 (getpoint pt1 "\nSelect Second Point : "))
(setq pt3
(mapcar '+ pt1
(mapcar '/
(mapcar '- pt2 pt1)
'(2.0 2.0 2.0)
)
)
)
(command "LINE" pt3 pause)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
==============
The Back Stoep
=============
A Breakthrough in Medical Research
==============================
Medical research has just discovered, that in the human body,
there is a nerve that connects the eyeball to the rectum.
It is to be called the anal-optic nerve.
It is found to be responsible for giving people a shitty
outlook on life.
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If you don't believe it, and need proof, pull a hair from
your ass and see if it doesn't bring a tear to your eye.
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy superb music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
Rock 'n Roll is Here to Stay!!
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
----------------------------------------------------------
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Newsletter pop along here:
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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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=========================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-18
=========================
Tuesday 9th September 2003
=========================
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
=========================
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
=========================
For Sale!!
One budgie going cheep.
=========================
The Front Stoep.
==============
Spring is officially here in Namibia. Our clocks have
moved forward to Summer Time and we are now one hour
ahead of GMT. My vegetable garden has been prepared
and we are looking forward to a bumper crop this year.
In fact, I've just finished eating a beautiful avocado
pear, fresh from the tree in my front garden. In a couple
of weeks I'll start picking mangoes, and my lemons are
hanging in clusters from their branches.
Oh, life is tough in Africa.
========
Oh by the way, on AfraLisp I've posted a listing of the
AutoCAD 2004 System Variables in PDF format :
http://www.afralisp.com/zip2/sysvar2004.ZIP
And an extract from the 2004 Customisation manual in regards
to Menus :
http://www.afralisp.com/zip2/2004MENU.ZIP
Pearls of Wisdom
===============
Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit
and the person who doesn't get it.
===============
Coding
=======
Quite a few responses to last weeks challenge in regards
to short code.
In fact, there was so much I've decided to split them
over two Newsletters.
Not much though in the way of VBA code. (hint, hint.)
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============
Hi Kenny
I like many others (I would imagine) use Zoom Marco's
extensively, below are the one's I've set-up and use
day-in day-out -
;Zoom All
;--------
(defun c:za ()
(setq Save_CmdEcho (getvar "CMDECHO"))
(setvar "CMDECHO" 1)
(command "._ZOOM" "_ALL")
(setvar "CMDECHO" Save_CmdEcho)
(princ)
)
;Zoom Dynamic
;------------
(defun c:zd ()
(setq Save_CmdEcho (getvar "CMDECHO"))
(setvar "CMDECHO" 1)
(command "._ZOOM" "_DYNAMIC")
(while (> (getvar "CMDACTIVE") 0)
(command pause)
)
(setvar "CMDECHO" Save_CmdEcho)
(princ)
)
;Zoom Extents
;------------
(defun c:ze ()
(setq Save_CmdEcho (getvar "CMDECHO"))
(setvar "CMDECHO" 1)
(command "._ZOOM" "_EXTENTS")
(setvar "CMDECHO" Save_CmdEcho)
(princ)
)
;Zoom Previous
;-------------
(defun c:zp ()
(setq Save_CmdEcho (getvar "CMDECHO"))
(setvar "CMDECHO" 1)
(command "._ZOOM" "_PREVIOUS")
(setvar "CMDECHO" Save_CmdEcho)
(princ)
)
;Zoom Window
;-----------
(defun c:zw ()
(setq Save_CmdEcho (getvar "CMDECHO"))
(setvar "CMDECHO" 1)
(command "._ZOOM" "_WINDOW")
(while (> (getvar "CMDACTIVE") 0)
(command pause)
)
(setvar "CMDECHO" Save_CmdEcho)
(princ)
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)
;Zoom Out 0.5x
;-------------
(defun c:z5 ()
(setq Save_CmdEcho (getvar "CMDECHO"))
(setvar "CMDECHO" 1)
(command "._ZOOM" "0.5x")
(setvar "CMDECHO" Save_CmdEcho)
(princ)
)
;Zoom Out 0.95x
;--------------
(defun c:z9 ()
(setq Save_CmdEcho (getvar "CMDECHO"))
(setvar "CMDECHO" 1)
(command "._ZOOM" "0.95x")
(setvar "CMDECHO" Save_CmdEcho)
(princ)
)
;Zoom In 2.0x
;--------------
(defun c:z2 ()
(setq Save_CmdEcho (getvar "CMDECHO"))
(setvar "CMDECHO" 1)
(command "._ZOOM" "2.0x")
(setvar "CMDECHO" Save_CmdEcho)
(princ)
)
And now for something completely different -
;Zero Fillet
;-----------
(defun c:F0 ( / Save_FilletRad Save_TrimMode)
(setq Save_FilletRad (getvar "FILLETRAD"))
(setq Save_TrimMode (getvar "TRIMMODE"))
(setvar "FILLETRAD" 0)
(setvar "TRIMMODE" 1)
(setvar "CMDECHO" 1)
(command "._FILLET")
(while (> (getvar "CMDACTIVE") 0)
(command pause)
)
(setvar "FILLETRAD" Save_FilletRad)
(setvar "TRIMMODE" Save_TrimMode)
(princ)
)
Will be interesting to see other routines that you post
within your newsletter, especially from the *guru's*
(yourself, Stig, Peter, Robert etc) as I honestly
think it will be very interesting to see how some short
code (maybe simple) can really save so much time...
Cheers, Mike
===========
See http://www.btlsp2000.com/page100.html#imp for
the routine I use to process defaults at input.
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It's clunky, but it works.
I define a 2 dimensional input matrix, first.
(if (not imxxx)(setq imxxx (list 2 "Pick..."
(entlast) "Get..." (getvar "lastpoint") "Enter..." 1.0))).
Then, (setq imxxx (imp imxxx)).
...Bill
=====
The following was "stolen" from Randall :
'Accept Numbers only
'Use This in the keypress event of the Box
If KeyAscii < 45 Or KeyAscii > 57 Then
KeyAscii = 0
End If
=======
'Ignore Numbers
'Use This in the keypress event of the Box
If KeyAscii < 97 Or KeyAscii > 122 Then
If KeyAscii < 64 Or KeyAscii > 90 Then
KeyAscii = 0
End If
End If
=======
'Force to caps
'Use This in the keypress event of the Box
KeyAscii = AutoCap(Me.ActiveControl, KeyAscii)

'Force to caps
'This is the function
Public Function AutoCap(Tbox As TextBox, _
KeyAscii As MSForms.ReturnInteger) As Integer
AutoCap = KeyAscii
If KeyAscii > 95 And KeyAscii < 123 Then
AutoCap = AutoCap - 32
End If
End Function
=============
This is kind of short code.
It creates a rectangle based on the user's
width and height entered.
I used entmake instead of the rectang command so
the I would have to worry about setting and resetting
the cmdecho variable.
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun c:rc (/ wid hgt ins1)
(princ "\nCreate a rectangle")
(initget 3) (setq wid (getreal "\nWidth: "))
(initget 3) (setq hgt (getreal "\nHeight: "))
(setq ins1 (getpoint "\nSelect insertion point: "))
(entmake
(list
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(cons 0 "LWPOLYLINE")
(cons 100 "AcDbEntity")
(cons 100 "AcDbPolyline")
(cons 90 4)
(cons 70 1)
(cons 10 (list (car ins1) (cadr ins1)))
(cons 10 (list (+ (car ins1) wid) (cadr ins1)))
(cons 10 (list (+ (car ins1) wid) (+ (cadr ins1) hgt)))
(cons 10 (list (car ins1) (+ (cadr ins1) hgt)))
)
)
(princ)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Hope this is short enough!
Steve Mattingly
==============
To open a drawing :
(command "vbastmt" (strcat "AcadApplication.Documents.Open "
(chr 34) filen (chr 34)))
;where filen is a qualified path and filename
And to close a drawing :
(command "vbastmt"(strcat "AcadApplication.Activedocument.Close") 0)
Will
============
This will add a prefix in font of all your Layer Names :
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun C:PreLay ()
(vl-load-com)
(vlax-for x
(vla-get-layers
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object)))
(vl-catch-all-apply
'vla-put-name
(list x (strcat "Prefix-" (vla-get-name x))))
)
(princ)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Toni
=====
Kenny my man,
A couple of shorties :
FIXX
An Improved version to (FIX)
rounds numbers to either upper or lower value.
(AutoLISP native function FIX always rounds
numbers to the nearest lower integer).
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;CODING BEGINS HERE
(defun fixx (realnum)
(if (> realnum (+ (fix realnum) 0.5))
(setq realnum (1+ (fix realnum)))
(setq realnum (fix realnum))
)
realnum
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Examples :

(fixx 1.3) returns 1
(fixx 1.6) returns 2 (AutoLISP's FIX would have returned 1)
(fixx 1.50000001) returns 2
(fixx 1.49999999) returns 1
(fixx 1.49999999999) returns 1
(fixx 1.50000000001) returns 2
(fixx 0.0001) returns 0
(fixx 0.9999999) returns 1
================
SET_SLIDE
Easily activate a slide_image in a DCL
Syntax: (SET_SLIDE key path bg_color)
Elements :
key - STR - slide_image key name
path - STR - Full path of SLD file
color - INT - Background color
(Refer to AutoCAD DCL programming books for the right color )

;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun set_slide (key path color / x y fillx filly)

(setq x (dimx_tile key))
(setq y (dimy_tile key))
(start_image key)
(fill_image 0 0 x y color)
(slide_image 0 0 x y path)
(end_image)
(setq fillx (dimx_tile key))
(setq filly (dimy_tile key))
)
;CODING ENDS HERE

Example: (set_slide "icon1" "c:/myapps/stairs" 1)
=======================
Dave R.
=======
Kenny
Attached is a lisp program I have written to change
xref addressing from absolute to relative addressing.
For example, an xref like :
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D:\PROJECTS\1234\CAD\ELEC\A1SHEET.dwg
If A1SHEET.dwg is in the same folder as the current drawing,
the xref path will be changed to :
.\A1SHEET.dwg
This makes xrefs drive independent so drawings can more easily
be shared. (It also makes xrefs project independent.)
;CODING STARTS HERE
; relpath.lsp
; C GREEN 1/6/02
; Change absolute Xref addressing to relative addressing.
;
; 4/6/03 - Bug fix - Now works OK if drawing and xref have
; different driver letters.
; .\ added to path if folder is a subfolder of the current
; drawing folder.
;
; Version 1.1
;
(defun c:relpath (/ a blk bref dfp dots dsf dsfl dt e n p
relpath xdn xfp xsf xsp xt)
(setvar "cmdecho" 1) ; Turn command echo off
(princ "Relpath Version 1.1 - Creating relative paths to XREFs...\n")
(setq dfp (getvar "dwgprefix")) ; Drawing prefix
;
(setq e (tblnext "block" t)) ; Retrieve 1st block in drawing
(while (/= e nil) ; Loop through all blocks in drawing
(setq bref (assoc 1 e))
(getstring "\nBreakpoint 1, press Enter to continue...");Erase_BP

(if (/= bref nil) ; Process if block is an xref
(progn
(setq blk (assoc 2 e)) ; Get xref reference name
(setq blk (cdr blk))
(setq xsp (cdr (assoc 1 e))) ; Get Xref save path
;
(setq n (strlen xsp)) ; Extract folder name of xref save path
(setq a (substr xsp n 1))
(while (/= a "\\")
(setq n (- n 1))
(setq a (substr xsp n 1))
)
(setq xfp (substr xsp 1 n)) ; Xref prefix
(setq xdn (substr xsp (1+ n))) ; Xref drawing name
;
; Continue processing only if xref and drawing drives letters
; are the same
(if (= (strcase (substr xfp 1 1)) (strcase (substr dfp 1 1)))
; Changed 4/6/03
(progn
(if (= xfp dfp)
(setq relpath (strcat ".\\" xdn))
; Set current folder if xref in same folder as drawing
(progn
(setq n 1)
(setq xt (substr xfp 1 1)) ; Get first character of xref path
(setq dt (substr dfp 1 1)) ; Get first character of drawing path
(while (= xt dt) ; Keep looping if common portion of name
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(setq n (1+ n))
(setq xt (substr xfp 1 n)) ; Get next portion of xref path
(setq dt (substr dfp 1 n)) ; Get next portion of drawing path
) ; end while
;
(setq xsf (substr xsp n)) ; Remainder of xref path
(setq dsf (substr dfp n)) ; Remainder of drawing path
(setq dsfl (strlen dsf)) ; Length of remainder of drawing path
;
(setq dt (substr dsf 1 1))
; Get first character of remainder of drawing path
(setq n 0)
(setq p 1)
(repeat dsfl
(if (= dt "\\") ; Normal path delimiter
(setq n (1+ n))
)
(if (= dt "/") ; Alternative path delimiter (just in case)
(setq n (1+ n))
)
(setq p (1+ p))
(setq dt (substr dsf p 1))
) ; end repeat
(setq dots "")
(repeat n
(setq dots (strcat dots "..\\"))
; Loop to form number of relative steps up
) ; end repeat
(setq relpath (strcat dots xsf))
; Form the relative path to the xref
; Added 4/6/03
(if (/= "." (substr relpath 1 1))
; Final check to see if folder is a subfolder of current folder
(setq relpath (strcat ".\\" relpath)) ; Add current folder symbol
) ; end if
;
) ; end progn
); end if
(command "xref" "path" blk relpath) ; Rename old path with new path
) ; end progn
) ; end if
) ; end progn
) ; end if
(setq e (tblnext "block")) ; Retrieve next block in drawing
) ; end while
(setvar "cmdecho" 1) ; Turn command echo on
(princ)
)
; end of function
;CODING ENDS HERE
Craig Green
===========
From last week :
"I need a leader arrow that can read the ID of the point
the arrow begins and completes the coordinates in the text
string."
...........
Kenny,
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Check out the leader lisp.
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun c:TOW (/ Inspt NextPoint EndPoint Xpoint Ypoint)
(setq Inspt (getpoint "Select start point: "))
(setq Xpoint (car Inspt))
(setq Ypoint (rtos(cadr Inspt)))
(if (>= Xpoint 100.0)
(progn
(setq a (fix(/ Xpoint 100)))
(setq Xpoint (rtos(- Xpoint (* a 100))))
(setq Line1 (strcat "STA " (rtos a 5) "+" Xpoint))
)
(setq Line1 (strcat "STA 0+" (rtos Xpoint)))
)
(command "leader"
Inspt

pause
pause
""
Line1
(strcat "TOW EL=" Ypoint)
""
)
)
(defun c:TOLC (/ Inspt NextPoint EndPoint Xpoint Ypoint)
(setq Inspt (getpoint "Select start point: "))
(setq Xpoint (car Inspt))
(setq Ypoint (rtos(cadr Inspt)))
(if (>= Xpoint 100.0)
(progn
(setq a (fix(/ Xpoint 100)))
(setq Xpoint (rtos(- Xpoint (* a 100))))
(setq Line1 (strcat "STA " (rtos a 5) "+" Xpoint))
)
(setq Line1 (strcat "STA 0+" (rtos Xpoint)))
)
(command "leader"
Inspt

pause
pause
""
Line1
(strcat "TOLC EL=" Ypoint)
""
)
)
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Jeff Fry.
========
Hi Kenny.

I've been searching the net for a 'dwg reference scanning wizard.
I have 15,000 documents (sorted by project folders).
There is a need to scan the 15,000 files (most in DWG 2000 format.)
And record which DWG file[s] is referenced to which DWG[s].

AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-18
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My AutoLISP knowledge, isn't to that level yet.
Can you help?
Regards as Always,
A. Monforte
============
I am trying to extract dimension data...
actually dynamically link it to a spreadsheet.
Do you have any ideas???
I have a cabinet builder that wants to link
his drawings with a cutting list.....so that,
for example,when he changes the length of a
cabinet in the drawing, it will be
reflected in the list.....any ideas???

So far the only method I can think of is to add
a second dimension line,
then pull the dimension text over to the list
(which I have drawn up in the same drawing file.....
Appreciate any ideas you might have.
(I'm in Kelowna, B.C.)
Thank you
Gerry
======
Hi Kenny,
I really enjoy your newsletter, keep it coming.
I have two burning issues that I have been trying
to investigate to no avail.
When using Dialog boxes, in particular image buttons
on them, is there a way to load the image before the
dialog box appears on the screen. Some of my dialogs
that have a lot of image buttons on them (15 or so)
appear without images and then they appear after a
short pause. Is this a processor thing (my computer
is pretty new with fairly reasonable amounts of ram etc.)
or is there an order for the coding to speed up this
process or to pre-load the images.
My other question.
Have you seen yet any way to manipulate the "QLEADER"
command variables (straight arrow line or spline line
in particular-I use both on a regular basis).
The last time I looked into this it was not possible
to preset any features prior to running this command.
Thanks,
Kris de Jong
=============
Things Weird and Wonderful
========================
...looking in the mirror. She says to her husband,
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"I look fat and ugly, pay me a compliment"
Husband says,
"Your eyesights spot on"
====================
Want a good FREE Spam Filtering program?
http://www.spampal.org/
========================
Miscellaneous Stuff that I almost Forgot
===================================
If you come across a drawing that always gives you errors,
is really large compared to the amount of visible entities,
or there is an indication that many blocks are there
that you cant see, then apply the following sequence:
1. Open the drawing. (Duh!!)
2. At the command prompt type "z" (for zoom) followed by "v"
(acquires everything visible)
3. Type "e" for erase, then enter.
4. Type "ALL", then enter.
5. Type "R" to remove the entities we wish to retain, then enter.
6. Window in the title block (if your title block is in modelspace,
otherwise just window all visible entities) and all lines within,
then enter.
7. Then purge the drawing and remove any unwanted block(s).
8. Then save.
And there you go.
===============
The Back Stoep
=============
Some wise thoughts :
1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill
and a laxative on the same night.
2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why
the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve,
its full potential, that word would be "meetings."
3. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and
"mental illness."
4. People who want to share their religious views
with you almost never want you to share yours with them.
5. You should not confuse your career with your life.
6. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
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7. Never lick a steak knife.
8. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.
9. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and
compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.
10. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely
suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an
actual baby emerging from her at that moment.
11. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other
people to make big deal about your birthday. That time is
about age eleven.
12. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of
age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background,
is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above
average drivers.
13. A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter,
is not a nice person.
(This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)
14. Your friends love you anyway.
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
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---------------------------------------------------------
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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=========================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-19
=========================
Monday 15th September 2003
=========================
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
=========================
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
=========================
Anyone interested in a bargain?
I have a parachute, never opened, used once, small stain.
Offers?
=========================
The Front Stoep.
==============
Bit early, but I've got a heavy week with the band.........
Lot's and lot's of "shorties" this week. In fact, I've got enough to even
carry some over until next week. Please keep them coming though,
'cos eventually I'll be creating a "Shorties" section on AfraLisp and
I'm sure you would all like to be included.
Question? (well a few.)
How do you deal with your drawings once complete?
Do you check them?
How do you circulate them for comments/approval/signatures?
Do you store them electronically?
Do you keep hardcopies?
I'm basically interested in finding out what you do with the drawings
once the draughtsman/woman/other has completed them.
If you could spare a few minutes, let me know.
What's New on AfraLisp?
======================
AutoLisp Basics - Download in PDF format.
http://www.afralisp.com/zip2/autolisp_basics.zip
================
Not to be missed : ACCESSing AutoCAD
By Scott McGlynn
First installment
http://www.afralisp.com/vb/access.htm
=============
Pearls of Wisdom
===============
"The floggings will continue until morale improves."
===============
Coding
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=======
And the "Shorties" continue...............
Hey Kenny, I got busy with stuff going on at work but here are a couple
of short lisp routines.
I have a set of routines that saves and recalls views to warp me to
different points in the drawing.
To save:
(DEFUN C:S1 ()
(COMMAND "-VIEW" "S" "1")
(PRINC)
)
To recall:
(DEFUN C:1 ()
(COMMAND "-VIEW" "R" "1")
(PRINC)
)
This routine turns on, thaws and sets the 0 layer current:
(defun c:0 ()
(command "-layer" "t" "0" "on" "0" "s" "0" "")
(command "color" "bylayer")
(command "linetype" "s" "bylayer" "")
(princ)
)
A tilemode toggle to switch back and forth from paper and model spaces:
(defun c:ti ()
(setq a (getvar "tilemode"))
(if (= a 0) (setvar "tilemode" 1) (setvar "tilemode" 0))
(princ "\nCreated by: Andrew W. Scanlon CD")
(princ)
)
Lastly, since I deal a lot with areas I have a few routines that create
text labels noting the acreage and square feet.
Acreage:
(defun c:adt ()
(setq Save_CmdEcho (getvar "CMDECHO"))
(setvar "cmdecho" 0)
(princ "\nCreated by: Andrew W. Scanlon CD")
(princ "\nSelect object: ")
(command "area" "o" pause)
(setq area (getvar "area"))
(setq result (/ area 43560))
(setq tx (rtos result 2 2))
(setvar "cmdecho" 1)
(command "text" pause pause pause (strcat tx " AC"))
(setvar "CMDECHO" Save_CmdEcho)
(princ)
)
Square feet:
(defun c:sfdt ()
(setq Save_CmdEcho (getvar "CMDECHO"))
(setvar "cmdecho" 0)
(princ "\nCreated by: Andrew W. Scanlon CD")
(princ "\nSelect object: ")
(command "area" "o" pause)
(setq area (getvar "area"))
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(setq txsf (rtos area 2 2))
(setvar "cmdecho" 1)
(command "text" pause pause pause (strcat txsf " SF"))
(setvar "CMDECHO" Save_CmdEcho)
(princ)
)
Acreage and Square feet:
(defun c:asd ()
(setq Save_CmdEcho (getvar "CMDECHO"))
(setvar "cmdecho" 0)
(princ "\nCreated by: Andrew W. Scanlon CD")
(princ "\nSelect object: ")
(command "area" "o" pause)
(setq area (getvar "area"))
(setq result (/ area 43560))
(setq txac (rtos result 2 2))
(setq txsf (rtos area 2 2))
(setvar "cmdecho" 1)
(command "text" pause pause pause (strcat txac " AC"))
(command "text" "" (strcat txsf " SF") "")
(setvar "CMDECHO" Save_CmdEcho)
(princ)
)
Hope these are helpful. Good work on the newsletter and keep them
coming. Good luck on your next album.
Thank you,

Andrew Scanlon
==============
Kenny,
I looked thru my VB code for "short code" that I could pass on. None of it
is generic enough, and would not make sense unless you worked here. Here is
some of my lisp code. Most of the really short code that I have has already
been covered by others. This is some of the other (fairly short) code that I
have found useful.
Have a good day,
Robert
=======
Swaps the position of two pieces of text;
;code starts here:
(defun c:swT ()
(setvar "cmdecho" 0)
(prompt "\pick first text line: ")
(setq ss1 (entget (car (entsel))))
(prompt "\npick second text line ")
(setq ss2 (entget (car (entsel))))
(setq old1 (assoc 1 ss1))
(setq old2 (assoc 1 ss2))
(setq new1 (assoc 1 ss2))
(setq new2 (assoc 1 ss1))
(setq ent1 (subst new1 old1 ss1))
(setq ent2 (subst new2 old2 ss2))
(entmod ent1)
(entmod ent2)
(princ)
)
;code ends here
Swaps the position of any two sets of entities:
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;code starts here:
(defun c:swE (/ cmd ss1 ss1bp ss2 ss2bp)
(setq cmd (getvar "cmdecho")) (setvar "cmdecho" 0)
(prompt " Select 1st items to swap : ")
(setq ss1 (ssget))
(initget 1) (setq ss1bp
(getpoint "\nPick first base point: ")) (terpri)
(prompt "\nSelect 2nd items to swap places with 1st: ")
(setq ss2 (ssget))
(initget 1) (setq ss2bp (getpoint "\npick 2nd base point: "))
(setq a (getvar "osmode")) (if (<= 16384 a) (princ "OSnap OK")(setvar
"osmode" (+ 16384 a)))
(command ".move" ss1 "" ss1bp ss2bp ".move" ss2 "" ss2bp ss1bp
".move" ss1 "" ss1bp ss1bp)
(setq a (getvar "osmode")) (if (>= a 16384)(setvar "osmode" (- a 16384)))
(setvar "cmdecho" cmd) (princ)
)
;code ends here
Rotates the drawing horizontal or vertical:
;code starts here:
(defun c:rth ()
(command "rotate" "all" "" "0,0" "90")
(command "zoom" "e")
)
(defun c:rtv ()
(command "rotate" "all" "" "0,0" "-90")
(command "zoom" "e")
)
;code ends here:
This one increments numbers (numbers text). If you don't want a prefix or
suffix just hit space bar when prompted.
;code starts here:
(DEFUN C:CHNUM ()

(setq counter (getINT "\nStarting Number..."))

(setq counter (1- counter))
(IF (= NT NIL)(SETQ NT " ")(SETQ ONT NT))
(IF (= ST NIL)(SETQ ST " ")(SETQ OST ST))
(SETQ OST ST)
(SETQ NT (GETSTRING (STRCAT "\nPrefix:<" NT ">") t))
(IF (= NT "") (SETQ NT ONT))
(IF (= NT " ") (SETQ NT ""))
(SETQ sT (GETSTRING (STRCAT "\nSuffix:<" ST ">") t))
(IF (= ST "") (SETQ ST OST))
(IF (= ST " ") (SETQ ST ""))
(while (SETQ B (ENTGET (CAR (ENTSEL))))
(SETQ ER (ASSOC 0 B))
(SETQ ER1 (CDR ER))
(IF (/= "TEXT" ER1)(EXIT))
(setq counter (1+ counter))
(SETQ TX (STRCAT NT (ITOA COUNTER) st))
(SETQ C (ASSOC 1 B))
(SETQ D (CONS 1 TX))
(SETQ B (SUBST D C B))
(ENTMOD B)

)
(PRINC)
)
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;code ends here.
================
Kenny,
Here is one of my fav lil functions. Nothing special,
just a mirror-delete function using ActiveX methods
but useful.
;CODING STARTS HERE
;;; Mirror Delete
;;; Invokes a mirror and delete of a selected object.
;;; Author: John (Se7en) Kaul
;;;**********************************
(defun c:md (/ x pt)
(vla-StartUndoMark (vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object)))
(vla-mirror
(setq x (vlax-ename->vla-object (car (entsel))))
(vlax-3d-point (setq pt (getpoint
"\nSpecify first point of mirror line:")))
(vlax-3d-point (getpoint pt
"Specify second point of mirror line:"))
)
(vla-delete x)
(vlax-release-object x)
(vla-EndUndoMark (vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object)))
(princ)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Later, 7
=========
And a couple of more from 7 :
;;; Slected-p
;;;------------------
;;; This function will test to see if something is selected on screen
;;;
;;; Returns: T or nil
;;;
;;; Author: John Kaul
;;;
;;; Usage: (if (not (Slected-p))
;;; (vlax-ename->vla-object (car (entsel))))
;;;===================================
(defun Slected-p ()
(and (cadr (ssgetfirst)))
)
======
;;; UNDO GROUPING FUNCTIONS
;;;========================
(defun vl-UndoBegin ()
(vla-StartUndoMark
(vla-Get-ActiveDocument
(vlax-Get-Acad-Object)
)
)
)
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(defun vl-UndoEnd ()
(vla-EndUndoMark
(vla-Get-ActiveDocument
(vlax-Get-Acad-Object)
)
)
)
===========
;;; VLASEL
;;; This function mimics the AutoLISP entsel function.
;;; The difference is that the return value is a vla-object.
;;;
;;; Returned Value: A the selected item as a vla-object
;;; such as: #<VLA-OBJECT IAcadCircle 01b42790>
;;;
;;; Usage: (setq MyJunk (vlasel))
;;;================================
(defun vlasel (/ sel)
(if (setq sel (entsel))
(vlax-ename->vla-object (car sel))
)
)
;;;=============
;;; VLA-ENTLAST
;;;-------------
;;; This function mimics the AutoLISP entlast function
;;; -The difference is that the return value is a vla-object
;;;
;;; Return Value: The item as a vla-object such as:
;;; #<VLA-OBJECT IAcadCircle 01b42790>
;;;
;;; Usage: (setq MyJunk (vla-entlast))
;;;====================================
(defun vla-entlast (/ sel)
(if (setq sel (entlast))
(vlax-ename->vla-object sel)
)
)
============
I like "7ens" coding 'cos his intro's and explanations are about three
times as long as his coding!!!
============
And one that's a wee bit different. A "shorty" menu :
***POP11
[Info]
[$(eval,Drawing: $(getvar,dwgname))]$M=$(getvar,dwgname);
[$(eval,Date: $(edtime,$(getvar,date),MON DD""",""" YYYY))]+
$M=$(edtime,$(getvar,date),MON DD""",""" YYYY);
[$(eval,Day: $(edtime,$(getvar,date),DDD))]$M=$(edtime,$(getvar,date),DDD);
[$(eval,Time: $(edtime,$(getvar,date),H:MMam/pm))]+
$M=$(edtime,$(getvar,date),H:MMam/pm);
[$(eval,Elapsed: $(edtime,$(getvar,tdusrtimer),H:MM:SS))]+
$M=$(edtime,$(getvar,tdusrtimer),H:MM:SS);
[$(eval,Scale: 1:$(rtos,$(getvar,dimscale),2,2))]+
(strcat "1:" (rtos (getvar "DIMSCALE") 2 2));
Jorge
=============
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And here's a couple from yours truly :
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun c:al-eval ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq applic (vlax-get-acad-object))
(vla-eval applic (strcat "MsgBox \"Hello Everybody\"" ", "_
"vbInformation" ", " "\"AfraLisp\""))
(vla-eval applic (strcat "MsgBox \"Are You Fine?\"" ", "_
"vbQuestion" ", " "\"CAD Encoding\""))
(vla-eval applic (strcat "MsgBox \"Or, are you not Well?\"" ", "_
"vbCritical" ", " "\"VBA Expresso\""))
(alert "\nAnd this is the boring\nAutoCAD message box!!")
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
==========
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun c:al-launchbrowserdialog ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq util (vla-get-utility
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object))))

(vla-LaunchBrowserDialog util 'theurl "AfraLisp Browser"
"Open" "http://www.afralisp.com" "ACADBROWSER" 1)
(princ theurl)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
========
Answers to last weeks queries :
Kenny:
I read with great interest the latest instalment of the Afralisp
newsletter and spotted the program to set an xref's relative addressing.
Here's a less eloquent, but equally useful program I developed. The
catch is that all the files must be in the same folder, so it's not
"true" relative referencing. We use it when we archive our issued sets
of drawings and want to strip off the pathing to the network working
directories.
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun c:stripxrefpath ()
; make a selection set of all blocks in the current
drawing
(setq selset (ssget "x" '((0 . "insert"))))
; count how many blocks there are
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(setq setlength (sslength selset))
; set up a counter at 0 for the first block
(setq counter 0)
; go thru loop for once eack block
(repeat setlength
; get the first block
(setq ent1 (ssname selset counter))
; get the entity name of the block
(setq ename (entget ent1))
; get the real name of the block
(setq blockname (cdr (assoc 2 ename)))
; search block table for info on the block
(setq blockinfo (tblsearch "block" blockname))
; check if the block is an xref
(if (assoc 1 blockinfo)
; if the block is an xref, strip the path off the xref
(command "-xref" "path" blockname blockname)
)
; repeat for the next block
(setq counter (+ counter 1))
)
;exit quietly when done
(princ)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Keep up the good work!
Ron Albrecht
============
Kenny,
Here is a possible solution to the "Q-LEADER" question,
if you have not already provided it. Many of the variables
are held in the "xrecord" within the main dictionary called
"AcadDim". See "EXPRESSO CODE CAF" article by SMADSEN dated
01-07-2003. I had a question about them recently and found
my answer there.
http://www.vbdesign.net/expresso
Thanks,
Andrew C. Millard
================
In response to Kris de Jong's question about Qleader and being
able to use both spline arrows and straight arrows, I send in this short lisp.
It doesn't change the settings prior to drawing the leader but it is quick to
change it from straight to spline. I tried to incorporate the actual qleader
command into the lisp but I couldn't get it to work so you have to run it
after the qleader command is complete.
;----start coding---
(defun c:lfix ()
(setq ldr (car (entsel))
ldd (entget ldr))
(progn
(setq odr (assoc 72 ldd)
ndr (cons 72 1)
ldd (subst ndr odr ldd))
)
(entmod ldd)
(princ)
)
;-----end-----
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I'm looking forward to next week's newsletter for a
better solution than this one.
Elise
=====
Hi Kenny
<snip>
Have you seen yet any way to manipulate the "QLEADER"
<snip>
Below comes courtesy of Robert Bell via the LISP Guild on the AUGI Web Site -
Here is an alternative function that does not require an external file
(written by one of the Express Tools team):
;|
qlset.lsp - example initialization of QLEADER settings
Frank Whaley, Autodesk
Two functions are included in this file:
(acet-ql-get)
Returns an association list containing the current QLEADER settings from the
Named Object Dictionary.
(acet-ql-get <alist>)
Sets the specified values for QLEADER settings from the given association
list.
Returns an association list containing the new values.
These functions can be used to examine the current QLEADER settings, or to
initialize the setting before using the QLEADER command.
For example, to use splined leaders and framed text:
(acet-ql-set '((65 . 1)(72 . 1)))
Both functions use the following group codes to identify QLEADER settings:
3: user arrowhead block name (default="")
40: default text width (default=0.0)
60: annotation type (default=0)
0=MText
1=copy object
2=Tolerance
3=block
4=none
61: annotation reuse (default=0)
0=none
1=reuse next
62: left attachment point (default=1)
63: right attachment point (default=3)
0=Top of top line
1=Middle of top line
2=Middle of multiline text
3=Middle of bottom line
4=Bottom of bottom line
64: underline bottom line (default=0)
65: use splined leader line (default=0)
66: no limit on points (default=0)
67: maximum number of points (default=3)
68: prompt for MText width (word wrap) (default=1)
69: always left justify (default=0)
70: allowed angle, first segment (default=0)
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-19
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71: allowed angle, second segment (default=0)
0=Any angle
1=Horizontal
2=90deg
3=45deg
4=30deg
5=15deg
72: frame text (default=0)
170: active tab (default=0)
0=Annotation
1=Leader Line & Arrow
2=Attachment
340: object ID for annotation reuse
|;
(defun acet-ql-get (/ xr cod itm reply)
(if (setq xr (dictsearch (namedobjdict) "AcadDim"))
(progn
(foreach cod '(3 40 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 170 340)
(if (setq itm (assoc cod xr))
(setq reply (append reply (list itm)))))
reply)
'((3 . "")
(40 . 0.0)
(60 . 0)
(61 . 1)
(62 . 1)
(63 . 3)
(64 . 0)
(65 . 0)
(66 . 0)
(67 . 3)
(68 . 1)
(69 . 0)
(70 . 0)
(71 . 0)
(72 . 0)
(170 . 0))))
(defun acet-ql-set (arg / cur prm)
;; fetch current
(setq cur (acet-ql-get))
;; override per argument
(while arg
(setq prm (car arg)
arg (cdr arg)
cur (subst prm (assoc (car prm) cur) cur) )
;; handle DIMLDRBLK
(if (= 3 (car prm))
(setvar "DIMLDRBLK" (cdr prm))))
;; put back
(dictremove (namedobjdict) "AcadDim")
(setq cur (append '((0 . "XRECORD")(100 . "AcDbXrecord")(90 . 990106))
cur))
(dictadd (namedobjdict) "AcadDim" (entmakex cur))
(acet-ql-get))
;; load quietly
(princ)
R. Robert Bell, MCSE
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-19
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2003/2003-19.htm (10 of 13) [23/03/2005 05:49:27 p.m.]
AUGI Guild Moderator
www.AcadX.com
Cheers, Mike
============
Re: Dwg reference scanning wizard.
Kenny,
He should join the opendwg alliance, then download my program "Archive Them"
from www.vbdesign.net. He will need visual basic to modify the code a bit
and add recursion. But it should give him a good start.
Jeremie Schultz
==============
Hopefully the following link may help -
http://www.cadalyst.com/solutions/alispsols/0801als/0801als.htm
Cheers, Mike
============
Things Weird and Wonderful
========================
You gotta love a good beer slogan.............................
The latest Becks Beer advert in Scotland (displayed in pubs etc) is as
follows:
'YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE POSH TO SWALLOW BECKS'
Michael Perry
============
H3ll0 7h3r3. 50 y0u'v3 d3c1d3d 70 p4y 4 v1517 70 5n34k P34k h4v3 y0u?
Do you know what this means?
No!! Then pop along here and find out :
http://www.vbdesign.net/modules.php?name=Sneak_Speak
Miscellaneous Stuff that I almost Forgot
===================================
DCL Primer.
http://www.afralisp.com/zip2/dcl_primer.zip
=====
Batch Purge 2004.
http://www.afralisp.com/vba/bp2004.htm
=====
Basic Tool System Primer.
http://www.afralisp.com/lispb/toolr.htm
The Back Stoep
=============
A man and his wife are awakened at 3 o'clock in the morning by a loud
pounding on the door.
The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, standing
in the pouring rain, is asking for a push. "Not a chance," says the husband,
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-19
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"it is three o'clock in the morning".
He slams the door and returns to bed.
"Who was that?" asked his wife.
"Just some drunk guy asking for a push," he answers.
"Did you help him?" she asks.
"No, I did not, it is three in the morning and it is pouring outside!"
His wife said "Can't you remember about three months ago when we broke
down and those two guys helped us?" "I think you should help him, and you
should be ashamed of yourself!"
The man does as he is told, gets dressed, and goes out into the
pouring rain.
He calls out into the dark, "Hello, are you still there?"
"Yes," comes back the answer.
"Do you still need a push?" calls out the husband.
"Yes, please!" comes the reply from the dark.
"Where are you?" asks the husband.
"Over here on the swing!" replies the drunk.
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy superb music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
We Love Rock n' Roll......
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is generously supported by :
"Corbimite.com"
http://www.corbimite.com
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the AfraLisp
Newsletter pop along here:
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2003-24
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-01
--------------------------------------------------
Thursday 3rd January 2002
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
--------------------------------------------------
Have you visited this site yet?
http://www.cadchat.com
--------------------------
The Front Stoep
--------------------------
Welcome to the year 2002. I hope you had a jolly Xmas and New Year. I
know I did, or so my wife tells me!!! (Hey, I didn't get arrested this
year). I've got a lot in store for this next couple of months. I'm going to
be looking at Visual Lisp and attributes, followed by getting AutoCAD
to talk with other applications such as Excel and Access using Visual
Lisp. And then I'm going to have a wee peek at dictionaries. End of
January, the 2002 upgrades should have arrived, so I'll have that lot to
plough through and probably lot's of system tweeking to deal with.
On top of all that, we're just about to start recording the bands new CD.
So, I've got my work cut out for me, but it keeps me out of trouble. (and
the pub).
Anyway, enough waffle and on with the Newsletter.........
------------------------
The Site
------------------------
I've been a bit lazy over the festive season and didn't manage to do
much in the way of work. I started I don't know how many times, but
gave up after the second beer.
Anyway, not to worry, I'm back at work on Monday and will soon have
one or two new goodies written and posted.
-------------------------
Michael Demott has very kindly designed an AfraLisp Link button. So,
if you've got your own website, and would like to link to AfraLisp, you
can grab the button from here :
http://www.afralisp.com/images/afra-but.gif
-------------------------
I don't know if you've popped along to have a look at
http://www.cadchat.com yet, but it's well worth the visit. Most of you
should be familiar will Dave Whynot, but just in case you're not, here's
a brief bio :
David Whynot is the founder and owner of CADchat.com, an AutoCAD
hacker since 1988. He is the creator of the original CADsyst website
(now CADdepot - http://www.caddepot.com) which he still is involved
as librarian. David's "real" job is IT manager, website developer and
AutoCAD draftsman for Halsall Associates Ltd - http://www.halsall.com
, a consulting engineering firm. Self taught in the ways of AutoCAD,
website development and NT networking, David enjoys the opportunity
to learn from others, hence one of the reasons for creating
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-01
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CADchat.com. "I found the newsgroups I visited too congested with
spam and other irrelevant distractions" says David, "I hope this
website offers a safe haven of pure information dedicated to the
various CAD programs available".
This site does not just deal with AutoCAD, but with all types of CAD
software. So, if you feel like slagging off the Bentley boys, then this is
the place to be.
By the way, I'm "Moderating" under the AutoCAD programming
section. I get to delete all the jokes and keep them for this Newsletter.
--------------------------------
The following function displays an Input Box similar to the VBA Input
Box
function.
Syntax : (inputbox "prompt" "title" "default")
e.g. (inputbox "Enter Number" "AfraLisp Inputbox" "342.34")
Returns a variable "inputvalue" containing the value of the
Edit Box.
DCL Coding :
//CODING STARTS HERE
inputbox : dialog {
key = "title";
: text {
key = "prompt";
}
: edit_box {
key = "eb1";
}
ok_cancel;
}
//CODING ENDS HERE
--------------------------------------------
Save this as "Inputbox.dcl"
Now the Coding :
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun inputbox (prompt title default)
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "inputbox.dcl"))
(if (not (new_dialog "inputbox" dcl_id))
(exit)
)
(set_tile "prompt" prompt)
(set_tile "title" title)
(set_tile "eb1" default)
(mode_tile "eb1" 2)
(action_tile
"cancel"
"(done_dialog)
(setq result nil)"
)
(action_tile
"accept"
"(setq inputvalue (get_tile \"eb1\"))
(done_dialog)
(setq result T)"
)
(start_dialog)
(unload_dialog dcl_id)
(princ)
)
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(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Save as "Inputbox.lsp"
-------------------------------------------
Here's how to design and code a Popup Listbox in DCL :
//DCL CODING STARTS HERE
popup : dialog {
label = "AfraLisp Popup List" ;
: popup_list {
label = "Choose Name:";
key = "selections";
value = "5" ;
edit_width = 12;
}
ok_cancel ;
}
//DCL CODING ENDS HERE
--------------------------------------------
Save this as "Popup.dcl"
Now the AutoLisp Coding
;AUTOLISP CODING STARTS HERE
(defun C:popup ()
;define function
(setq NAMES '("Monday" "Tuesday" "Wednesday" "Thursday"
"Friday" "Saturday" "Sunday")
);setq
;define list
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "popup.dcl"))
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "popup" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
(start_list "selections")
;start the list box
(mapcar 'add_list NAMES)
;fill the list box
(end_list)
;end list
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed
(strcat
;string 'em together
"(progn
(setq SIZ (atof (get_tile \"selections\")))"
;get list selection
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T))"
;close dialog
);strcat
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);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog
);action_tile
(start_dialog)
;start dialog
(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;check O.K. was selected
(progn
;if it was do the following
(setq SIZ (fix SIZ))
;convert to integer
(setq SIZ (nth SIZ NAMES))
;get the Day
(alert (strcat "You Selected: " SIZ))
;display the Day
);progn
);if userclick
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;AUTOLISP CODING ENDS HERE
-----------------------------------------------------
Save this as "Popup.lsp"
Load and Run. Select a day from the Popup Listbox.
It should be displayed.
I have not declared any variables to allow you to view them.
------------------------
The Questions
------------------------
I am creating a VBA routine to do a batch .dwg or .dxf
file conversion to previous releases, as well as purging
and binding xrefs.
Your Drawing Backup application has all the right functionality
for file selection and the selection of a target location.
I have also found it difficult, impossible so far, to bind unloaded
xrefs so I also need the ability to generate an error log for
incomplete bindings.
Any code greatly appreciated.
thanks
Michael de Glanville
----------------------------------------
Hi Kenny,
I am a novice at VBA for CAD but I was looking at your site and was
wondering if you could help me?
I can insert a block into a drawing ok:
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but I want to click to insert the block not define it in the macro as x,y,z.
If you can help me it would be appreciated.
regards
Richard MIchael
Australia
----------------------------------
Dear Sir/Madam
I appreciate your efforts in design of this website, so i recommend it to
my
collegues who are interested in lisp coding..
I work at a project office focusing on structural design and drafting of
high rise buildings and towers, as a structral engineer. The basic
principals in the office depend on the lisp based programmes. So far, i
have
found the oppurunity in processing data in Cad enviroment.
Yet i have question that i couldnt find a solution:
i want to apply a program to many numbers of drawings in a folder. i
wrote a
scpript and i managed to do it.. i opened the drawings one by one by
open
command, and load the program, do it and save the drawing and open
the other
dwg and so on..but i wrote all the dwg names and repeated it many
times.. it
could be done with a repeat command in lisp very elegantly and much
more
time and space consuming..
but when i wanted to it with a lisp i failed to do it:
By the help of your routines with the title "Dir Command", i managed to
get
a list of the drawings in a specified drawing and get the oppurtunity of
applying commands in those drawings.
(temp.txt is created by dos dir command..)
i wrote like..:
(setq data "temp.txt")
(repeat total ;total is the total number of lines in the temp.txt
(setq dwgname (read-line data)
(command "open" dwgname)
(load "myprogram")
(command "save")
);(there may be errors, i just write it from mind just for case show, ;dont
interperet it as compelete and true..)
but when i opened the drawing, the loaded lisp is no more valid so the
rest
of the program does not work.. i tried to use "start_app" or something
like
that and opened a new AutoCad session.(i have AcadR14 so a drawing
is opend
once in a session.. you know..) but i cant
apply my commands to the second (new) session of Autocad. so it will
be
allright if the lisp targets its commands to the new drawing.
i hope i managed to express my problem.. i will be gratefull if you help
me..
Yours Sincerely
Omer Yalcin
Istanbul/Turkey
p.s: happy new year to you all there..
-------------------------------------------
Is there any way to delete layers using AutoLISP in version 2002?
There isn't a command line option to do so.
Russ Johnston
Quite a few difficult questions this week, so come on folks, let's give
them a hand.
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-----------------------
The Answers
-----------------------
I get material from your site quite often, and I think it is time to give
something back. I am sending a routine in lisp to project-align TEXT
and
BlOCK entities upon an existing line. Quite useful when drawing
parking
stalls, etc.
Rogelio Bravo
;CODING STARTS HERE
;; project/align texts and blocks upon preexistent line
(defun C:aligne ()
(prompt "\nPick base line upon which project/align objects:")
(setq ent (entsel))
(setq pt2 (cadr ent))
(setq nlin (car ent))
(setq pt2 (osnap pt2 "Nea"))
(prompt "\nSelect texts/blocks to project/align: ")
(setq conj (ssget))
(setq num 0)
(setq con (ssadd))
(setq lon (sslength conj))
(repeat lon
(setq name (ssname conj num))
(setq lst (entget name))
(setq tip (cdr (assoc 0 lst)))
(if (or (= tip "TEXT")(= tip "INSERT")) ;seleccion objetos texto o bloque
(ssadd name con)
)
(setq num (+ 1 num))
) ; end repeat
(setq lon1 (sslength con))
(setq num1 0)
(repeat lon1
(setq e1 (entget (ssname con num1))) ; lista de la primera entidad
(setq pt1 ( cdr (assoc 10 e1))) ;punto insercin texto o bloque
(setq name (cdr (assoc -1 e1)))
( command "line" pt1 (osnap pt2 "per") "")
;obtencin punto final de la recta perpendicular
(setq pfin (cdr (assoc 11 (entget (entlast)))))
(command "_erase" (entlast) "")
(command "_move" name "" pt1 pfin)
(setq num1 (+ 1 num1))
);end repeat
(initget "Yes No")
(setq what (getkword "\nErase base line? (Y/N) <Y>: "))
(if (= what nil)(setq what "Yes"));end if
(cond
((= what "Yes")(command "_erase" nlin ""))
); end cond
(princ)
) ; end defun
;CODING ENDS HERE
Thanks Rogelio, much appreciated.....
--------------------------------------------------------------
If you're interested in DCL, this is worth a wee look at :
I posted a zip file image4.zip on my website under
www.cad-code.com/archive.htm
under image4.zip at the bottom of the page.
It creates a dialog that has two image buttons and if you
select the buttons the image changes.
As far as the location selected on the image, you can get the
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-01
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x and y coordinates of the selection point from $X and $Y
just like the $value returned from edit boxes.
Peter Jamtgaard
www.cad-code.com
---------------------------------------
Kenny -
I love your newsletter! It is extremely well done and it is *required*
reading for my programming staff.
I was checking out the tutorial you wrote on error handling with vlisp,
when I caught a common mistake in your code. Now, it might be that
you are showing every step for the beginner to follow. If that is the
case, please disregard and pitch this email into the electronic waste
basket.
In the error code, you are making repeated calls to the interpreter to
determine the meaning of setq. Not only is it redundant, it takes time
for the interpreter to evaluate the expression. In a program of small to
medium size, this is not an issue. In larger programs, there is a
noticable difference when only a single call is made to setq as in:
(setq x 1)
(setq y 2)
(setq z 3)
(setq x 1 y 2 z 3)
Now, even in small projects you can regain some speed depending
upon the complexity of the program. Take for instance the following
lines from the error handler:
(if (vl-catch-all-error-p result)
(progn
(setq int (abs int))
(setq result (vl-catch-all-apply 'sqrt (list int)))
);progn
);if
This can be simplified to:
(if(vl-catch-all-error-p result)
(setq int (abs int)
result (vl-catch-all-apply 'sqrt (list int)))) ; setq/if
Here, less time is spent evaluating the lisp expressions because
removing the second setq removes the need for the progn statement.
And, again, I realize that this is nano seconds but the time does add up
on large projects.
Keep up the great work! Best Regards,
Mike Tuersley
Thanks Mike, this is definitely something that needs to be pointed out
to newer Lispers.
-------------------------------
If you enjoy good music, then visit
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
Disturbing The Peace Since 1994!
http://www.BedrockBand.com
---------------------------
The Back Stoep
---------------------------
For a change from programming, I thought that I would let you in on a
special recipe for the best ever rum cake. Try this out :
1 or 2 quarts of rum
1 cup butter
1 tsp sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup dried fruit
Baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
lemon juice
brown sugar
nuts
Before you start, sample the rum to make sure it is of the highest
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-01
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quality. If it's alright continue as follows :
Select a large mixing bowl, measuring cup etc. Check the rum again to
make sure it hasn't gone off. To be sure that it is adequate for the cake
pour one level cup of rum into a glass and drink it as fast as you can.
Repeat...pause...With an electric mixer beat 1 cup of butter in a large
flufft bowl. Add 1 seaspoon of thugar and beat again. Meanwhile make
sure the rum is of the highest quality. Try another cup. Open 2nd quart
if necessary. Add 2 arge leggs, 2 cups drilled fruit and beat til high. If
drilled fruit gets stuck in beaters, just pry it loose with a drewscriver.
Sample the rum again, checking for tincisticity. Next sift 3 cups of salt
or pepper (it really doesn't matter which). Sample the rum again. Sift
1/2 pint lemon juice. Fold in chopped butter and strained nuts. Add one
babblespoon of brown sugar or whatever colour you can find. Wix mel.
Crease over and turn cake pan into the coven and bake at 350 gredees.
Check the rum again and go to bed.
Highly recommended.
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe
stating your reasons in not less than 1000 words.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=subscribe
----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
Disturbing The Peace Since 1994!
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
Have you visited this site yet?
http://www.cadchat.com
----------------------------------------------------------
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
----------------------------------------------------------
Bye...........
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-01
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2002/2002-01.htm (8 of 9) [23/03/2005 05:49:40 p.m.]
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Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
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AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-01
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2002/2002-01.htm (9 of 9) [23/03/2005 05:49:40 p.m.]
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2002 7:47
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-02
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
--------------------------------------------------
Have you visited this site yet?
http://www.cadchat.com
--------------------------
The Front Stoep
--------------------------
Friends, Romans and Gentlemen. How are you? Well I hope, and
recovered nicely from the over indulgences of the festive season?
I've had a few requests from subscribers to include the e-mail
addresses of those of you that send in questions or answers. I used to
do the this, but stopped it when a certain weird gentleman decided that
this was a good way of contacting people to tout for business. As it's
your Newsletter as much as mine, I've decided to reinstate e-mail
addresses, but only if the contributor expresses a wish for me to do so.
So, please remember, if you send me anything to include in this
Newsletter, please mention whether or not you would like your e-mail
to be published.
E-mail addresses will NOT be included in the web version posted in the
AfraLisp Archives :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote of the Day : "I love animals - They taste great!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------
The Site
------------------------
**This is interesting**
I've updated the tutorial on the (eval) function to show how you can
use this as an alternative to the (cond) function. You can find this at :
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp44.htm
------------------------
Would you like a dialog complete with slider?
I thought you would.....
//DCL CODING STARTS HERE
slide : dialog {
label = "Slider Example" ;
: edit_box {
key = "eb1" ;
label = "Slot &Length (O/All Slot)" ;
edit_width = 6 ;
}
: slider {
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key = "myslider" ;
max_value = 100;
min_value = 0;
value = "50";
}
ok_cancel ;
}
//DCL CODING ENDS HERE
Save this as "Slide.dcl". Now the AutoLisp Coding :
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun C:Slide ()
;define function
(setq lngth 50.0)
;preset slot length
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "slide.dcl"))
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "slide" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
(set_tile "eb1" "50")
;put data into edit box
(mode_tile "eb1" 2)
;switch focus to edit box
(action_tile "myslider"
;if user moves slider
"(slider_action $value $reason)")
;pass arguments to slider_action
(action_tile "eb1"
;if user enters slot length
"(ebox_action $value $reason)")
;pass arguments to ebox_action
(defun slider_action (val why)
;define function
(if (or (= why 2) (= why 1))
;check values
(set_tile "eb1" val)))
;update edit box
(defun ebox_action (val why)
;define function
(if (or (= why 2) (= why 1))
;check values
(set_tile "myslider" val)))
;update slider
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed
(strcat
;string 'em together
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"(progn
(setq lngth (get_tile \"eb1\"))"
;get slot length
"(done_dialog)(setq userclick T))"
;close dialog, set flag
);strcat
);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog
);action_tile
(start_dialog)
;start dialog
(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;check O.K. was selected
(alert (strcat "You Selected: " lngth))
;display the selected length.
);if userclick
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;AUTOLISP CODING ENDS HERE
Save this as "Slide.lsp".
------------------------
The Questions
------------------------
Hi Kenny,
I'm one of the person who is getting benefited from your Afralisp site
for
autolisp & VBA. I'm currently working on Autocad2000 VBA.
I'm developing a VBA program for storing the entity properties in an
ExcelSheet. I have a block of 32 entities and I have to get the entity
property of a particular entity of the block. I don't want the block to be
exploded. I tried (as per your tutorial) in Autolisp & found it worked
well.
Is it possible to get the list properties of a selected entity of a block
in VBA? Or How can I manipulate the list properties of an entity in a
block?
Your advice in this regard is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Rajesh.
-------------------------------------------------
My problem is this, I have a number of drawings with hatched regions
shown.
Is there a LISP or VB program that can query these hatched regions
and
display their areas?
If not, is there a LISP or VB program where you can pick a point inside
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an
irregular, inclosed region (like creating a hatch) and extract the area?
Regards,
Bret
I sent Bret this link :
http://www.afralisp.com/lisp/area.htm
-----------------------------------------------
How I obtain to have access an entity selected with the SelectionSet
of the VBA and as I can have access the properties of this entity?
Atenciosamente,
Anderson A. Campos
------------------------------------------------------
Have you said "Hi" to "The Wonder Llama" lately?
http://www.vbdesign.net
Don't mention my name!!!!
Would you like to rate Randall's nose?
Take your pick. (excuse the pun)
[1] mailto:[email protected]?subject=Rubbish-Nose
[2] mailto:[email protected]?subject=Terrible-Nose
[3] mailto:[email protected]?subject=Disgusting-Nose
[4] mailto:[email protected]?subject=Pickable-Nose
[5] mailto:[email protected]?subject=BIG-Nose
-----------------------
The Answers
-----------------------
Happy B'day Kenny -
You can't be old 'cause you Rock....
(if (not (2 old (2 RocknRoll)))
(then (2 young (2 die)))
) ;end if
...Just press `PLAY'
G.Nelson
--------------
Yep, it was my birthday on the 9th
"Too old To Rock and Roll" - never!
Too young to die" - damn right..."
-----------------------------------------------------------
The AugAfrica - AutoCAD Users Group Africa - is now up and running.
You can find their new website at :
http://www.AugAfrica.com
or e-mail them at :
mailto:[email protected]
---------------------------------------------
The system variable LTSCALE controls the global LineType Scale of all
entities within a drawing.
But do you know that you can change the LTSCALE of individual
entities?
Manual Method :
Open the Properties dialog.
Select a line.
Change the value of the LineType Scale property.
LTSCALE should change.
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If it doesn't, make Rum Cake.....
Automated Method :
;AUTOLISP CODING STARTS HERE
(prompt "\n Type LTCHG to run.....")
(defun c:ltchg ( / ssets acadDocument newsset ctr item newscale)
(setq newscale (getreal "\nEnter New Linetype Scale : "))
;load the visual lisp extensions
(vl-load-com)
;retrieve a reference to the documents object
(setq acadDocument (vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object)))
;retrieve a reference to the selection sets object
(setq ssets (vla-get-selectionsets acadDocument))
;add a new selection set
(setq newsset (vla-add ssets "SS1"))
;select your new selection set objects
(vla-selectOnScreen newsset)
;set the counter to zero
(setq ctr 0)
;count the number of objects and loop
(repeat (vla-get-count newsset)
;retrieve each object
(setq item (vla-item newsset ctr))
;check if the entity has a color property
;and it can be updated
(setq check (vlax-property-available-p item "LinetypeScale" T))
;if it can
(if check
;change it's color
(vlax-put-property item 'LinetypeScale newscale)
);if
;increment the counter
(setq ctr (1+ ctr))
);repeat
;delete the selection set
(vla-delete (vla-item ssets "SS1"))
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;AUTOLISP CODING ENDS HERE
---------------------------
The Back Stoep
---------------------------
Some very good news. My daughter Kyla, passed her final school
exams with flying colours and matriculated with university exemption.
Time to open the "bubbly".
---------------------------
A couple of hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the
ground. He doesn't seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in
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his
head. The other guy whips out his mobile phone and calls the
emergency
services.
He gasps to the operator, "My friend is dead! What can I do?"
The operator, in a calm soothing voice says, "Just take it easy.
First, let's make sure he's dead."
There's silence, then a shot is heard.
The guy's voice comes back on the line.
He says, "OK, now what?"
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
You have subscribed to this Newsletter
using the following E-mail address :
mailto:
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe
stating your reasons in not less than 1000 words.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=subscribe
----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
Disturbing The Peace Since 1994!
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
Have you visited this site yet?
http://www.cadchat.com
----------------------------------------------------------
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
----------------------------------------------------------
Bye...........
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-02
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You can stop reading now.
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-02
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Saturday, January 19, 2002 10:19
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-03
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------
This Newsletter is best read using a Human Brain.
(Release 1.0 Beta and above).
Click on the link below if you need to download one :
http://www.vh.org/Providers/Textbooks/BrainAnatomy/Ch1Text/Section02.html
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
--------------------------
The Front Stoep
--------------------------
Good Morning.
Well it's morning here in the middle of the desert. I'm sat here contemplating
my navel and wondering why my daughter would say "Dad, you're weird!"
I don't know where she got that impression from. It's like my doctor. I went to
see him the other day and he said, "Hi Kenny, I haven't seen you for a long
time. And I said, "I know I've been sick". He also looked at me weird.
Then, at work the other day, I was leaving the office and my boss said to me,
"Where are you going Kenny?"
"To get my haircut" I told him.
"What during working hours?"
"Well it grows during work time."
"Not all of it". he said.
"I'm not getting it all cut."
He also looked at me weird!!!
Strange people??
Thought of the day :
"There are basically three kinds of people in the world.
Those who can count and those that can't."
------------------------
The Site
------------------------
Here's something that you could maybe build on :
Would you like to add a note to any object or entity in your drawing?
;AUTOLISP CODING STARTS HERE
(prompt "\nType AddNote to run.")
(defun C:AddNote ( / ss1 pt1 pt2 ar ao thenote)
(setq ar "I")
(setq ao "O")
(setq ar (getstring "\nRemove/Insert <I> : "))
(if (= (strcase ar) "R")
(progn
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(setq ss1 (ssget))
(command "-HYPERLINK" "R" ss1 "" "*")
);progn
(progn
(setq ao (getstring "\nArea/Object <O> : "))
(if (= (strcase ao) "O")
(progn
(setq ss1 (ssget))
(setq thenote (getstring T "\nEnter Note : "))
(command "-HYPERLINK" ar ao ss1 "" "" "" thenote)
);progn
(progn
(setq pt1 (getpoint "\Enter first point : "))
(setq pt2 (getcorner pt1 "\nEnter second point "))
(setq thenote (getstring T "\nEnter Note : "))
(command "-HYPERLINK" ar ao pt1 pt2 "" "" thenote)
);progn
);if
);progn
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;AUTOLISP CODING ENDS HERE
Save this as "AddNote.lsp"
------------------------
The Questions
------------------------
I was looking at your website last night and all the
useful information that it has and I have a question
for you. This is going to be an awkward question,
but I was wondering if you would/could send me all of
your tutorials on your site for my own reference rather
than me having to copy and paste them. I would
greatly appreciate and wouldn't hesitate to return the favor
if asked. Keep up the good work. Thank you.
Mark
I've been thinking about this.
How does an electronic book sound?
PDF format?
Let me know everyone.
Then I'll think about it some more!!
-----------------------
Hi Kenny,
I was hoping you could help me finish my first lisp?
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The lisp is design to insert a plant callout block from my blocks file into the
drawing onto a new titled layer and color that is in the lisp code, then ask for
the insertion scale, then ask for the text info, and final the insertion point.
Here is what I got so far.
(defun c:ptco ( / player txt1 txt2 txt3 inspt sc1)
(command ".undo" "begin")
(setq player (getvar "clayer"))
(setvar "cmdecho" 0)
(command "-LAYER" "M" "L-PLT_CALLOUT" "C" "3" "L-PLT_CALLOUT" "")
(setq txt1 (getstring T "\nQuantity: "))
(setq txt2 (getstring T "\nGenus and species: "))
(setq txt3 (getstring T "\nSize: "))
(while (not (setq inspt (getpoint "\nPick insertion point: "))))
(setq sc1 (getvar "dimscale"))
(command "-insert" "c:/cadd/blocks/pltg-co" inspt sc1 sc1 "")
(command "-ATTEDIT" "n" "n" "" "" "" "Qty" txt1)
(command "-ATTEDIT" "n" "n" "" "" "" "Name" txt2)
(command "-ATTEDIT" "n" "n" "" "" "" "Size" txt3)
(setvar "clayer" player)
(setvar "cmdecho" 1)
(graphscr)
(command ".undo" "end")
(princ)
);defun
I am using 2002 and the lisps does work but not 100%.
When the lisp has finished and I have enter my text info, the inserted block
shows the following:
attedit for Qty,
n for Genus & Species, and
n for Size
I also don't know how to have it ask for the scale factor I.E. 96 for 1/8",
240 for 20 scale.
If you can help, I would be grateful
thanks,
Kyle Crooke
Try adding these lines before and after the "Insert" :
(setvar "ATTREQ" 1)
(setvar "ATTDIA" 1)
(initdia)
(command "-insert" "c:/cadd/blocks/pltg-co" inspt sc1 sc1 "")
(setvar "ATTREQ" 0)
(setvar "ATTDIA" 0)
-----------------------
hi Kenny...
i would like to know what wrong with this....
(defun c:fss ()
(setq fich1 (getfiled "Ouvrir un Nouveau Plan:" "" "dwg" 8))
(setvar "filedia" 0)
(command "filedia" "0" "open" fich1)
(setvar "filedia" 1)
)
is not working......why ???
Andrea Andreetti
-----------------------
Kenny
Try this. Copy drawing from Acad2002 into PowerPoint. I am using
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PowerPoint
97. On my system it automatically shuts down Autocad. I Used this adnausem
in Acadr14, without any problems
Yours?
Cameron Mocke
-----------------------
Hi Kenny.
First of all let me say you site is just fantastic. I use it all the time for some
coding examples.
What I am trying to do is at the moment is write a vb program that edits the
attributes in a block. I have managed to do this just fine.
What I am have trouble with is I am trying to overwrite the default AutoCAD
function that is called up when you double click a block.
I want to double click my block and run my edit program. not AutoCAD's
attedit one. Can you help please?
Regards Stuart.
------------------------------------------------------
Hi, Kenny:
Im lost, as the little dog, trying to get the dim value expresed with decimals, I
try at DDUNITS, and UNITS at the DDIM dialog box but despite the changes I
made to it, when I DIM angles or lines, the values becomes as integers.
Any help please.
Gabriel Cals De Vit
----------------------
The Answers
-----------------------
Hi Kenny
In regards to the question about changing the LTSCALE of individual entities,
the
"Manual Method" is correct, but I think it needs to be pointed out that you are
actually changing the CELTSCALE of the Entity NOT! the LTSCALE (As noted
in the question this controls the Global LineType Scale of all Entities). Sorry if
this seems to be splitting hairs, just thought this should be made clear.
From a personal point of view, I would discourage CAD users from altering
the
CELTSCALE of Entities (Should always be 1) unless it is TOTALLY
unavoidable
to do so, let the LTSCALE do the work. We had a CAD user here that would
set LTSCALE to 1 then change all Entities CELTSCALE in a drawing just so
the dashes & dots looked right when switching between ModelSpace &
PaperSpace.
Made sense to them (don't ask me), but when others opened a drawing done
in
this way, TOTAL confusion (I couldn't blame them).
Will have to starting taking a look at the Visual LISP Extensions, as it seems
more
and more of you "LISP Yoda's" are using them to accomplish the task's you
require; so can't possibly comment on the "Automated Method".
Have a good one,
Mike Perry
----------------------------------
Dear Sirs:
I send You my new LISP program to create analytical
curves and spirals as polylines (spaced vertexes),
include -involute, -cycloid, -hyperbola, -sine, -power func, etc.
It was developed just in 2002. Feel free to test it.
Could You please distribute this software as a freeware.
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Sincerelly
Eugeny Kalney
You can download this application at :
http://www.afralisp.com/zip1/curves.zip (183kb)
----------------------------------
Hi Kenny!
Since you've got a couple of other foreign language AutoLISP Links -- I
thought You might like to get a wee peek at this one.
http://www.cadmagazine.net/programming.html
Mike DeMott
We think is Arabic. Could anybody confirm this?
---------------------------
The Back Stoep
---------------------------
This weeks Back Stoep is a couple of contributions from you.
First one from Pete Willem :
A man runs home and bursts in yelling :
"Pack your bags sweetheart, I've just won the lottery, all six numbers!"
She says :
"Oh wonderful! Should I pack for the beach or the mountains?"
He replies :
"I don't care ... just pack and shove off!"
-------------------------------
Gabriel Cals De Vit sent me this little gem. He did ask me to correct the
grammar, etc, but I think it's a cracker just as is.
Once upon a time a little fox terrier dog get lost at the middle of the jungle.
Looking the way to going back home, he see a pair of red eyes surrounded by
a black head.
It was a big black panther.
The dog feel that he will be the panthers breakfast, so looking for a help he
take an old bone from ground and chewing it say, "Oh , what a good panther I
had for breakfast!"
Seeing this, the panther goes back step to jungle, but as always is, a little
monkey see the scene and going after the panther he reach and tell him about
the dogs trick.
The panther said, "I go back where the dog is and this time I will eat him".
The monkey ask to ride the panther so he will see how it will happen.
The litle dog was still lost but he see the panther with the monkey coming to
him.
Giving his back to them , the dog says, "I wonder where damm is the monkey.
About half an hour I ask him to bring me another panther for lunch.!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Thanks Gabriel, and no offence meant. I wish I could speak Argentinouwenies
as well as you speak English.
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe
stating your reasons in not less than 1000 words.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-03
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2002/2002-03.htm (5 of 6) [23/03/2005 05:49:43 p.m.]
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=subscribe
----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
Disturbing The Peace Since 1994!
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
Have you visited this site yet?
http://www.cadchat.com
----------------------------------------------------------
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
----------------------------------------------------------
Bye...........
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-03
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: January 25, 2002 09:07
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-04
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------
This line intentionally left blank.
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
--------------------------
The Front Stoep
--------------------------
Hi Kenny, remember the electronic book containing all the tutorials on
AfraLisp that I was yapping on about last week? I did say that I would
think
about it. Well, I'm still thinking about it!! I've only got a wee brain and
major decisions like this take time to filter through and get processed.
(even Randall Rath has been begging, but he'll just have to wait).
The Newsletter is going out early this week as I'm recording all
weekend and
will be subsequently tied up with artistic endeavours of the musical
kind.
So, start saving now 'cos as soon as our new CD is finished I'll be
bugging
you all to buy a copy.
Anyway, on with this weeks show, but first a commercial break :
***Advertisement***
Join the army.
Travel to exotic foreign lands.
Meet interesting people.
And kill them.
------------------------
The Site
------------------------
The site. You may well ask. I haven't added much lately 'cos I'm in the
middle of a major technical upgrade. (clean up). You won't notice much
of a
difference except in speed, but I'm busy re-doing and re-formatting all
the
pages. (and there's lot's). I had a problem with indexing (not to mention
my
spelling) because I was a bit lazy at the beginning, but the time came
when
I had to bite the bullet and fix things up. Please be patient, normal
service will be resumed as soon as possible.
*Stop Press*
For a complete listing of AutoCAD System Variables, have a wee look
here :
http://www.afralisp.com/sysvar1.htm
---------------------------
This routine draws a rectangle corresponding to the current settings of
LIMMIN and LIMMAX. The rectangle is erased by a redraw/regen or by
running
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the routine again.
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun C:LR (/ pt1 pt2 r1 r2)
(setq pt1 (getvar "LIMMIN")
pt2
(getvar "LIMMAX")
)
(grvecs (list 256
(list (car pt1) (cadr pt2))
pt2
256
(list (car pt2) (cadr pt1))
pt1
256
pt1
(list (car pt1) (cadr pt2))
256
pt2
(list (car pt2) (cadr pt1))
)
)
(grdraw pt1 pt2 -1)
(grdraw (list (car pt1) (cadr pt2))
(list (car pt2) (cadr pt1))
-1
)
(princ "Limit rect info : ")
(setq r1 (rtos (car (getvar "limmin")))
r2
(rtos (cadr (getvar "limmin")))
)
(prompt (strcat "\nLower left : " r1 "," r2))
(setq r1 (rtos (car (getvar "limmax")))
r2 (rtos (cadr (getvar "limmax")))
)
(prompt (strcat "\nUpper right : " r1 "," r2))
(if (= (getvar "LIMCHECK") 0)
(setq linf "off")
(setq linf "on")
)
(prompt (strcat "\nLimits are " linf))
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
-----------------------
And a present from the Wonder Llama :
'CODING STARTS HERE
Public Sub Oomph()
Dim textObj As AcadText
Dim textString As String
Dim returnPnt1 As Variant
Dim height As Double
' Return a point using a prompt
returnPnt1 = ThisDrawing.Utility.GetPoint(, "Enter a point: ")
' Define the text object
'///A Zen Moment From Me to You////
height = ThisDrawing.Utility.GetReal("Text height: ")
textString = "Place object here"
' Create the text object in model space
Set textObj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace.AddText(textString, returnPnt1,
height)
End Sub
'CODING ENDS HERE
Ralph
Wonder Llama
http://www.vbdesign.net
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------------------------
The Questions
------------------------
Two questions for you regarding the time and date stamping article
from the
web page - http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp40a.htm
First, how would I add to the info that the lisp puts on the page, the
dwg
name and path? Second, how would I specify which text to use when
doing the
plot stamp? How would add any additional info in the code and what
not?
Thanks for your help.
Mark
----------------
First you would need to create a block containing additional attributes
other than the 3 attributes, namely "Date", "Time" and "Who By", called
for
in the tutorial.
Let's name these two attributes "Drg" and "Note".
To retrieve that drawing name and path, use the following :
(setq drg (strcat (getvar "dwgprefix") (getvar "dwgname")))
To get a custom string from the user, do this :
(setq note (getstring T "\nEnter Note : "))
Now add the 2 new attribute variables to the (command) function :
(command "Insert" "Stamp" "0,0" "" "" "" thedate thetime plotby drg
note)
To specify the text to use, you would accomplish this when you create
the
attribute.
----------------------
P.S. What goes "Mark, Mark?
A dog with a lisp!!!
----------------------
Kenny,
I've on to your web site since the beginning, and haven't asked any
questions. Well that's changed now. I'm attempting to create a lisp
routine
to set a standard dimension style, make a layer for it and a certian style
of text. My routine runs through fine if the style exists and is currently
set. If I run it on a new drawing it works fine except it creates the
Dimstyle as an override. If run the routine and the dimstyle is not
current,
errors out on me. Any suggestions for this type of lisp checking for
dimstyles?
I'm using ACAD 2002 and would like this routine to be accessed
through a
toolbar so that everyone in the office can have access to it.
Thanks
Mark Bross
-------------------
Mark,
Another dog with a lisp!!! To check for the existence of a Layer, Style
or a
Dimstyle can be achieved in a couple of ways. To achieve it using plain
old
AutoLisp and the (tblsearch) function, have a look here:
Working with Layers, DimStyles and Styles
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp31.htm
eg.
(defun C:Lon ()
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(if (tblsearch "LAYER" "STEEL")
(command "layer" "on" "STEEL" "")
(princ "\nLayer STEEL not found")
)
(princ)
)
If you would like to achieve it the "new" way, (and the preferable way I
must admit) have a look at doing it using Visual Lisp :
Visual Lisp Collections
http://www.afralisp.com/vl/collect1.htm
eg.
(defun c:layerAdd ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq acadDocument (vla-get-activedocument (vlax-get-acad-object))
theLayers (vla-get-layers acadDocument)
newLayer (vla-add theLayers "Steel"))
(vla-put-color newLayer 5)
(vla-put-linetype newLayer "Dashed2")
(princ)
);defun
This routine creates a new Layer named "Steel" with Color "5" and a
Linetype
of "Dashed2". If the Layer already exists, this routine simply does
nothing.
Visual Lisp may seem a bit daunting at first, but believe me, it's the way
to go..
---------------------
Hi Kenny, thanks for yours concepts on my English and the little dog
tale.
Question : 1
Which is the system variable at SETVAR that handle the back ground
color, I
often change it from original dwg in black to light gray such 250, and to
white 255 when I do a copy and paste to other program , or to *.wmf.
Question : 2
What's the way to export a file in graphic mode not so heavy as *.bmp
and
not so particular as *.wmf, say at any format as jpg, gif, in a such mode
it
can be handled by image, photshop, paint or so.
GABRIEL CALOS DE VIT
---------------------
Hi Kenny, I was wondering if you could give me any advice on securing
plain
Autolisp files.
Is it possible for autolisp to read and write to the registry or ini files?
Can Autolisp read motherboard or hardrive etc serial No's?
One of my problems is that the program will be running on machines
that run
LT 2000i with an add-on that enables it to use lisp files. That rules out
DosLib which as you know uses arx so any protection will have to be
plain
lisp. What I would like to do is try and make the routines run so that
they
will only run on a particular computer, hence the trying to get the
hardrive
serial.
Mick
---------------------
Kenny,
How can I delete page setups in one drawing and insert new ones from
another
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drawing automatically? Let me 'splain. Recently we went through
updating
our network. This means that our printers now have new addresses. I
have
created a single drawing which I use for creating Page Setups for
sending
the same drawing to various printers. This allows me the flexibility to
copy a group of page setups from my "master" drawing into a new
drawing. I
then have the ability to click on one page setup and have the drawing
go to
an 11x17 printer. I can then click on another page setup and have the
drawing go to our full size printer, and so on. I have since modified that
one "master" page so my different Page Setups for the different
printers have been updated. However, the drawings I am currently
working on,
all 250+ of them, have page setups in them referring to the old printer
address. I would like to be able to go into a drawing, run a program,
and
have the program delete all of the current page setups
and install new ones which I have established in another drawing. Is
this
possible?
Thanks!
Marty Kriewall
----------------------
The Answers
-----------------------
Kenny,
Over the weekend I came up with a strong solution for password
protecting
attributes.
Download LOCKBLOCK.zip from my website :
http://www.cad-code.com/archive.htm
Let me know what you think.
Peter Jamtgaard
--------------------
Thanks Peter.
This site is well worth a visit......
---------------------------
Hi Kenny,
http://www.cadmagazine.net/programming.html
The site referred is Arabic. I took a look at it.
I think it is good enough to add it to your links.
Sherko
------------------------------
Kenny,
My wife also thinks you're weird.
She just don't standunder.
She thinks that I'm lysdectic.
Les
---------------------------
The Back Stoep
---------------------------
In my teens, I lived in Zambia for quite a few (interesting) years. There,
the local brew (beer) was known as "chibuku". The locals though,
never
referred to "chibuku" as a drink, but rather as animals! This used to
confuse me terribly until the day I plucked up some courage and
declared my
ignorance by asking the question........
What are "chibuku?"
"Chibuku" are really cute little animals with an intoxicating, liquid gait
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-04
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and a very frothy, heady personality. They have sparkling amber eyes.
They are very active in the afternoon and through the night. In a big
enough
herd they lead you to seeing other game such as unusual elephants. In
those
circumstances, (especially in the morning), they have been known to
come
back and pound on your head with their little hooves.
They have a terrible habit of getting themselves trapped in bottles, but
that's OK, because blokes in particular are willing to spend most of
their
lives freeing them from bottles and spending time with them. Alas, if
you
leave them out too long without interacting with them they become dull
and
flat and rather sour.
Their Aussie counterparts have names such as "fosters" - Australian
for
"chibuku".
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
You have subscribed to this Newsletter
using the following E-mail address :
[email protected]
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe
stating your reasons in not less than 1000 words.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=subscribe
----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
If we're to Loud, you're to Old!
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
Have you visited this site yet?
http://www.cadchat.com
----------------------------------------------------------
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
----------------------------------------------------------
Bye...........
*****************************************************************************
The information contained in this e-mail is confidential and may
be subject to legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient,
you must not use, copy, distribute or disclose the e-mail or any
part of its contents or take any action in reliance on it. If you have
received this e-mail in error, please e-mail the sender by replying
to this message. All reasonable precautions have been taken to
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ensure no viruses are present in this e-mail and the sender cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from the use of this
e-mail or attachments.
*****************************************************************************
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-04
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2002/2002-04.htm (7 of 7) [23/03/2005 05:49:44 p.m.]
Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-05
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------
This line has writing in it.
--------------------------------------------------
Have you visited here yet?
VBA Expresso
"Lost in Stupid Parenthetheeth"
http://www.vbdesign.net/~rrath/cgi/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi
If not, Why not?
-------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
--------------------------
The Front Stoep
--------------------------
Here's a wee bit of advice that was given to me by a wrinkled, grey
haired, old man who turned out to be twenty three and died a year later
from a mixture of rattlesnake poisoning and cirrhosis of the liver :
"Always have a bottle of whiskey in your pocket in case of snakebite.
Furthermore, always have a small snake in your other pocket."
------------------------------------------------------------------
On his death bed, his last words to me before he shuffled off the mortal
coil were, "Always be prepared".
To be honest, what he really said was,
"Ulfaays pee prapaairet - hicc".
------------------------------------------------------------------
So, I'm going to take his advice and ask you to participate in a bit of a
survey.
There are lot's of AutoCAD newsletters like this this, and quite few
sites like AfraLisp.
I would like to ask you what you DO NOT like about them. You don't
have to go into heavy details and that sort of thing, but I would
appreciate if you would let me know your thoughts and feelings. I
promise to publish the lot, warts and all. (I'll only take out the swear
words.) So, come on, let me know what you really think. Pass this on to
your friends and colleagues. If they don't have access to email, don't
worry! Ask them to write their comments on the back of a postcard,
stick a stamp on, make their way to to an Internet Cafe, copy what
they've written on the postcard into email, and then send it to me.
Simple hey?
-------------------------------------
Quotation of the Week
-------------------------------------
I am not a vegetarian because I love animals;
I am a vegetarian because I hate plants.
------------------------
The Site
------------------------
I've finally finished with the technical update on the site (phew-wipe's
sweat off brow). The indexing is now working, so you should be able to
search the site correctly, or should I say, get meaningful results from
the search. As well, the Site Map is catalogued, which should make the
site a lot easier to navigate. http://www.afralisp.com/sitemap.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-05
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I can now hopefully, forget about the technical issues of the site and
get back into some coding. Hey, I'm also trying to record a CD!!!!
(excuses, excuses - Kenny's Mum)
------------------------
The Questions
------------------------
I enclose a lisp routine which I find quite useful. It draws an arc tangent
to an existing line, beginning in any designated point on the line and
ending through a designated point exterior to the line. It draws any of
the
two possible solutions. I would like that it should be able to draw the
arc
tangent, not only to a line, but also to a straight segment of a
lwpolyline.
For that, I would need a method of picking a straight segment of
lwpolyline,
and getting as output the two extreme points (vertex) of that segment.
Rogelio Bravo
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun C:arctg ( / rec pt1 pt2 ang pt3 pt4 resp ref)
;draw arc tangent to existing line,
; beginning in designated point on the line
; and ending through a designated point exterior to the line
(setq rec (entget (car (entsel "\nPick base line:"))))
(setq pt1 (cdr (assoc 10 rec)));punto inicial recta
(setq pt2 (cdr (assoc 11 rec)));punto final recta
(setq ang (angle pt1 pt2)); angulo recta
(setq ref (getvar "osmode"));almacena valor inicial de osmode
(command "_osnap" "_end,_nea");establece nuevos refent
(setq pt3 (getpoint "\nPick, on the line, the initial point of arc: "))
(setvar "osmode" ref);restablece valores iniciales de osmode
(setq pt4 (getpoint "\nPick final point of arc: "))
(command "_arc" pt3 "_e" pt4 "_d" (/ (* 180.0 ang) pi))
(initget 6 "Yes No")
(if (null (setq resp (getkword "\nIs arc correctly oriented? (Y/N)<Y>:" )))
(setq resp "Yes")
)
(while (/= resp "Yes")
(setq ang (+ ang pi))
(command "_erase" "_l" "")
(command "_arc" pt3 "_e" pt4 "_d" (/ (* 180.0 ang) pi))
(initget 6 "Yes No")
(if (null (setq resp (getkword "\nIs arc correctly oriented? (Y/N)<Y>:" )))
(setq resp "Yes")
)
);end while
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
-----------------------------------
Hey Kenny....
Is there any way to check the status of a LAYER. ei. is it frozen, off,
locked etc...
Thanks
Russ Johnston
------------------------
Russel,
First create the layer STEEL then type the following :
(setq t (tblsearch "LAYER" "STEEL"))
The entity list of the layer STEEL should be returned :
((0 . "LAYER") (2 . "STEEL") (70 . 64) (62 . 7) (6 . "CONTINOUS"))
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The first part of the entity list is '0', indicating Associative 0.
In this case it's an entry in the "LAYER" Table.
Associative 2 indicates the name of the layer. STEEL in our case.
Associative 70 is the state of the entity. 1 is Frozen, 2 is Frozen on new
paper space view ports and 4 is locked. These numbers are added to
64. In this case the layer is neither frozen nor locked.
Associative 62 is the colour of the layer. Ours is white which is colour
number 7. If the colour number is a negative number then the layer is
off.
Associative 6 is the linetype of the layer, in this case, "CONTINUOUS".
If the (tblsearch) had not found the layer then it would have returned
'nil' and you would know that the layer did not exist.
Therefore, all you have to do is test for the relevant associative code
value to determine the status of your layer.
----------------------
How do you permanently save AutoLISP variables in the drawing file?
For example, userr1-5 system variables are saved in drawing file.
Thanks
Rusty
-------------
Rusty,
There are a few ways of permanently save variable data within a
drawing file. You could use Extended Entity Data -
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp21.htm or you could give Application
Data a try - http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp12.htm
---------------------
Hi Kenny,
I saw my remark about the Arabic CAD website in your newsletter. I
became very popular these days. This is the second time you publish
my name in your newsletter. THANX
I have a little question :
First take a look at this code;
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun QQQQ ()
(princ "\nThis is function QQQQ")
(princ)
)
(defun I_do_not_know_how ()
(setq var1 "QQQQ")
;;; I want to call QQQQ using the variable var1
;;; var1 holds the name of the function I want to call
;;; an urgent call to Kenny :-)
(princ "\nIs there a way to do this ? ")
(princ)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Is my question clear ?
By the way I am using AutoCAD 2002
Yours
Sherko
---------------------------
First we need to rewrite the QQQQ function :
(defun QQQQ (message )
(princ message)
(princ)
)
Load "QQQQ" into AutoCAD.
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Now type this at the command line :
(setq var1 "QQQQ")
Followed by this :
((eval (read var1)) "This is function QQQQ")
----------------------
Is it possible to have a message box open when a pop down menu is
called from the top of the screen in acad2000, to inform users of new
additions to the menu?
Thanks,
Kevin
----------------------
The Answers
-----------------------
The question was :
> What's the way to export a file in graphic mode not so heavy as *.bmp
and
> not so particular as *.wmf, say at any format as jpg, gif, in a such
mode it
> can be handled by image, photshop, paint or so.
>
> GABRIEL CALOS DE VIT
And the answer is :
Hi Kenny
Hope the recording goes well, I hear you need it ;-)
[cheeky swine, he won't say that when I'm a rich and famous Rock Star
surrounded by a flock of big breasted beauties - Kenny]
If the above user is using >AutoCAD 2000 they can set up a
Printer/Plotter to accomplish the task of creating a .jpg or other image
file formats that are supported when you choose the "Raster File
Formats" option from within the Add-A-Plotter Wizard window.
The PUBLISHTOWEB command uses Printers/Plotters set up this way,
so you could just choose "PublishToWeb JPG.pc3" from the drop
down window on the Plot Device Tab within the Plot dialog box to get a
.jpg file.
Have a great weekend,
Mike Perry
--------------------------
Funny, when I was in Kenya the brew of choice(?) was Tuskers.
Garry
------------
Nice beer, I've had a few gallons of that.
--------------------------
;;;REVIEW STARTS HERE;;;
William Kishonti asked me to have a look at this. I didn't have much
time, but it's well worth trying out. Pop along and and have a look at
the demo version. Unfortunately, he wants money for the real thing :-(((
Hurricane PowerTool for AutoCAD
http://www.74mph.coat
;;;REVIEW ENDS HERE;;;
---------------------------
The Back Stoep
---------------------------
The Top 5 Reasons Dogs Don't Use Computers
20) Can't stick their heads out of Windows 2000.
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19) Fetch command not available on all platforms.
18) Hard to read the monitor with your head cocked to one side.
17) Too difficult to "mark" every website they visit.
16) Can't help attacking the screen when they hear "You've
Got Mail."
15) Fire hydrant icon simply frustrating.
14) Involuntary tail wagging is dead giveaway they're browsing
www.pethouse.com instead of working.
13) Keep bruising noses trying to catch that MPEG frisbee.
12) Not at all fooled by Chuckwagon Screen Saver.
11) Still trying to come up with an "emoticon" that signifies
tail-wagging.
10) Oh, but they WILL... with the introduction of the
Microsoft Opposable Thumb.
9) Three words: Carpal Paw Syndrome
8) 'Cause dogs ain't GEEKS! Now, cats, on the other hand...
7) Barking in next cube keeps activating YOUR voice
recognition software.
6) SmellU-SmellMe still in beta test.
5) SIT and STAY were hard enough, GREP and AWK are out
of the question!
4) Saliva-coated mouse gets mighty difficult to manuever.
3) Annoyed by lack of newsgroup, alt.pictures.master's.leg.
2) Butt-sniffing more direct and less deceiving than
online chat rooms.
and the Number 1 Reason Dogs Don't Use Computers...
1) TrO{gO DsA[M,bN HyAqR4tDc TgrOo TgYPmE WeIjTyH P;AzWqS,. *
(* 1) Too Damn Hard To Type With Paws.)
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe
stating your reasons in not less than 1000 words.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=subscribe
----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
The more you drink, the better we sound!
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
Have you visited this site yet?
VBA Expresso
"Lost in Stupid Parenthetheeth"
http://www.vbdesign.net/~rrath/cgi/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi
----------------------------------------------------------
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
----------------------------------------------------------
Bye...........
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-05
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-05
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Saturday, February 09, 2002 15:38
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-06
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------
Space left for you to enter notes.
--------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
A Rock 'n Old Band
http://www.BedrockBand.com
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
--------------------------
The Front Stoep
--------------------------
Hey , this Newsletter must be good 'cos, even though only a couple of
readers responded to last weeks request, NOBODY slagged off
AfraLisp. It just goes to show you what good taste you have. But, I
would still like your comments on what you dislike about AutoCAD
websites and Newsletters. So please take a minute out of your life and
drop me a line. Next week I publish!!!! Promise. No excuses. On pain of
death. Cross my heart and hope to die.
Content is always a problem with me. I tend to look for the more
unusual and obscure type of information. A good example is the type
of links I publish. I mean, who else let's you know where to find an
Arabic, or a Spanish speaking AutoCAD website? (I found a good
Japanese Visual Lisp site the other day).
The same goes for the type of coding I post. I try to look for something
different that's not available from other sources. I really wouldn't like to
produce a Newsletter that explains, yet again, something like how to
create a selection set, on screen, using VBA. And to do that week after
week would drive me to drink. (sic)
Political correctness also plays a big part. I've written stuff and
thought, whoa Kenny, that's a heavy. I must say, I normally bounce it
off Randall first 'cos he's got some good judgement in that respect. (he
normally says, "Post it", and then sits back and watches me take the
flack). Seriously though, you have to take every bodies politics,
religion, race, sense of humour, etc into account with every word you
write. It does get a wee bit difficult. That's why I ask for feedback. It's
hard to gauge what the reader wants AND what he expects. Somebody
did once mention that they don't like being given only a partial answer
to their query. I must admit, I'm very guilty of that but for a reason. I
don't feel that I should write the solution for you. I think that you
should be made to use your brain. I'll point you in the correct direction
and then you should take it from there. Remember the old saying "Give
a man a fish and he'll eat it then starve. But show him HOW to fish......."
Which brings me to the main gist of this post. I try and encourage
active participation in my website and my newsletter.
So , let me know what you want, what you don't like and what you
would like to see in the future. Ask Randall, you get a letter from
someone asking if it would be possible to run AutoCAD from your
wristwatch whilst diving at 200m. Hey, I'll try to do it, and hopefully,
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have a laugh at the same time. Or, would you prefer me to post the
latest announcements from AutoDesk?
What "I" don't like!!!
1) Websites full of inane announcements in regards to how great their
product is and how everybody in the whole wide world is now using it.
2) Slooooooow websites.
3) Navigating hundreds of pages, only to find out that the FREE offer is
really shareware (and costs me lot's to download).
4) Websites that a not really free. (send us money and we'll give you
further access.)
5) Newsletters FULL of advertisements.
6) Newsletters that copy and paste from AutoCAD help and other
newsletters and then pretend that they've discovered something new.
7) Websites/Newsletters/Forums that take themselves too seriously. (a
lot of so called "Moderators" are extremely guilty of that).
My philosophy in two words.
"Provide information".
-------------------------------------
Quotation of the Week
-------------------------------------
"You can't be a real country unless you have a national beer and a
national airline.
It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear
weapons, but at the very least you need a beer".
Frank Zappa
------------------------
The Site
------------------------
With a lot of help and input from a lot of people (this means I
"borrowed" most of it), I've added a complete listing of AutoCAD
System Variables for your reference.
http://www.afralisp.com/lisp/acadvar.htm
If you would like to print it out and have it next to you whilst you
whistle and work, you can download the list in PDF format :
http://www.afralisp.com/zip1/acadvar.zip
Or, in RTF format :
http://www.afralisp.com/zip1/acadvar1.zip
Now don't say I'm not nice you!!
------------------------
Want to Load and Run an AutoLisp routine from VBA?
Sub RunLisp()
ThisDrawing.SendCommand "(Load ""Alispfile"")" & vbCr & "Alispfile"
& vbCr
End Sub
------------------------
The Questions
------------------------
Hi Kenny,
Thanks for all your efforts on your website Afralisp. It is so good to be
able to find out quality info on Autocad.
I have a question to ask you in regards to Autocad 2000, I am trying to
find out some information on how to go about designing a program to
perform automated parts nesting and G code production for use with a
cnc cutting machine. I have done some searching on the web and have
found several stand alone programs but I have not been able to find
out how they work or even how they operate in principle. I was hoping
that you might have had some experience with this in the past or knew
someone who could explain the algorithm to me. I understand how a
manual nest can be created from ployline shapes inserted onto a
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material blank but the automation of this process and the generation of
G code eludes me. Any help would be gratefully received.
Thanks
Steve Reid
I mentioned to Steve that I know nothing about G code. I passed him
on to James Bond who then introduced him to M. Unfortunately G was
at the dentist.
Can anybody else help Steve?
----------------------
Kenny,
Yet another question. I was wondering if you had
or could quickly develop a routine or something that
would batch bind xrefs to drawings simply that runs
outside of autocad. Similar to pack and go and with
any other goodies that you think could go along with
this? Thanks.
=====
Mark
Mark.
Have a look at this Batch Slide application. It should be simple enough
for a man of your calibre and good looks to modify the coding to bind
any xrefs in the drawing instead of making slides. Any problems, drop
me a line.
(it's a pity you can't e-mail six packs!!)
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp59a.htm
----------------------
Hi Kenny,
You articles and tutorials are great! I have made several routines that I
couldn't have made without you tutorials.
I'm still using AutoLisp for some (small) routines that I make.
Now I'm trying to make a routine that will read data from an Ascii-file
and inserts it in the drawing. ATOF does the job, but when I use
numbers like "201823.52" ATOF returns "201824.0" (yes, I see it's eight
places).
Is there a setting that I've missed?
Gerrit
Are you using the number for anything else than internal calculations?
ATOF returns the precise number but the display is limited to the
eternally irritating cut-offs (wasn't there once a sysvar that controlled
display of decimals?).
Try evaluating (- (atof "201823.52") (fix (atof "201823.52"))) - it should
return 0.52
Stig Madsen
----------------------
And to reinforce Stigs theorem :
Command: (setq a "201823.52")
"201823.52"
Command: (setq b (atof a))
201824.0
Command: (setq c (* b 2.0))
403647.0
Command: (setq d (rtos c))
"403647.0400"
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----------------------
Help! I need a routine to draw a pline around an existing hatch that was
created with bhatch and consequently has no selectable boundary.
Bruce
-----------------------
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun mosta-theway ()
(setq ENT (entget (car (entsel "\nPick hatch! :"))))
(setq POINTS (massoc 11 ENT))
(command "PLINE")
(foreach P POINTS
(command p)
);end foreach
(command "c" "")
);end defun
;MASSOC by Jaysen Long
(defun massoc (key alist / x nlist)
(foreach x alist
(if
(eq key (car x))
(setq nlist (cons (cdr x) nlist))
);end if
);end foreach
(reverse nlist)
);end defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Al Paca
----------------------
The Answers
-----------------------
Would you like a listing of AutoCAD User Groups?
Then make your way here :
AutoCAD Resource site
http://www.llpsite.com/
There's also LOTS more......
--------------------------
Note : A#
---------------------------
Want to print out your VB code?
Want to add line numbers?
Check out "PrettyCode"
http://www.vbcity.com/page.asp?p=home
Free, :-)) but you will need to register.
----------------------------------------------------------
Peter Jamtgaard very kindly gave me permission to publish this.
Have you ever had a gazillion drawings open in mdi mode and just
wanted to shut down a bunch of them, but not all of them quickly.
This program displays a dialog box with all of the open acad
documents listed. You can multiple select the ones you want to close
and pick o.k. It has some kinda cool stuff in it for everyone.
//DCL CODING STARTS HERE
dddwgs : dialog {
label="Select Documents to close";
:list_box { key = "dwgs";
height = 20;
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width = 30;
multiple_select = true;
allow_accept = true;
}
ok_only;
}
//DCL CODING ENDS HERE
Save this as "CLOSE_DWG.DCL"
;AUTOLISP CODING STARTS HERE
(defun C:CLOSE_DWG (/ ACADOBJ DOCOBJ DOCSOBJ FULL NAME
PATH)
(vl-load-com)
(get_docs_list)
(ddcloser)
(if DWGLST
(progn
(setq CNT (- (length DWGLST) 1))
(repeat (length DWGLST)
(setq DOCOBJ (vlax-invoke-method DOCSOBJ "item" (nth CNT
DWGLST))
CNT (1- CNT)
PATH (vlax-get-property DOCOBJ "path")
NAME (vlax-get-property DOCOBJ "name")
FULL (strcat PATH "\\" NAME)
)
(if (= (vlax-get-property DOCOBJ "active") :vlax-false)
(vla-close DOCOBJ :vlax-true FULL)
(princ (strcat "\nDrawing " FULL " is still active: "))
)
(vlax-release-object DOCOBJ)
)
(vlax-release-object DOCSOBJ)
(vlax-release-object ACADOBJ)
)
)
(princ)
)
(defun GET_DOCS_LIST ()
(setq ACADOBJ (vlax-get-acad-object)
DOCSOBJ (vlax-get-property acadobj "Documents")
DOCSLIST nil
)
(vlax-for FOR-ITEM DOCSOBJ
(setq DOCSLIST (cons
(strcat (vlax-get-property FOR-ITEM "Path") "\\"
(vlax-get-property FOR-ITEM "Name")
)
DOCSLIST
)
)
)
(setq DOCSLIST (reverse DOCSLIST))
(princ)
)
(defun DDCLOSER (/ DWGS DWGNUM IDD )
(setq IDD (load_dialog "close_dwg.dcl"))
(new_dialog "dddwgs" IDD)
(start_list "dwgs")
(mapcar 'add_list DOCSLIST)
(end_list)
(action_tile "dwgs" "(setq DWGLST (read (strcat \"(\" $value \")\")))")
(setq start (start_dialog))
(setq ddone (done_dialog))
)
(princ "\nC:CLOSE_DWG")
(princ)
;AUTOLISP CODING ENDS HERE
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Save this as "CLOSE_DWG.LSP"
---------------------------
Kenny,
Just want to thank you for a great site with all its info. I am new to lisp
and have Been trying to modify some existing routines. Your tutorials
and other material have been a big help.
I am a pipefitter and welder, and for the last 3 years, a piping detailer
using Autocad. The more I discover about lisp, the more I realize how
routines can simplify and speed up the creation of drawings.
Attached is a routine similar to your cumdist.lsp only this will calculate
slope up or down and post elevation tags at selected points. This really
comes in handy doing layout for plumbing drains and DI water and
other piping systems that have to drain completely. I didn't write the
original code, but have done my best to sort it out and clean it up along
with adding the up/down routine and some additional tagging. Any
suggestions you may have would be greatly appreciated. Please feel
free to share it with your readers if you desire.
Thanks again
Jim Exler
;;;CODING STARTS HERE
;;;SLOPE / DISTANCE
;;;Routine to calculate elevation change up or down
;;;from user entered elevation and % slope
;;;and place elev tags at selected points.
;;;Modified by Jim Exler to add new features.
(defun C:SD (/ d0 d1 e0 e1 e2 p1 p2 s0 s1 s2 t1 t2 v1 v2) ;main routine
(if (= e2 nil)
(setq e2 0.0)
);set first-time global elevation value to 0.0
(setq e0 (getdist (strcat "Starting Elevation: (" (rtos e2) ") ")))
(if (= e0 nil)
(setq e1 e2)
(setq e1 e0)
);if nil, use last elev, else use inputed
(if (= s2 nil)
(setq s2 1.0)
);set default slope to 1 %
(prompt (strcat "@ " (rtos s2 2) "%"))
(princ)
(if (= t1 nil)
(setq t1 "N")
);set default tag ? to N
(setq p2 0);gives p2 a value, if p2 ever equals nil, end routine
(setq d1 0)
(princ "\nEnter Slope %: <")
(princ s2)
(princ "> ")
(setq s0 (getREAL));get % input
(if (= s0 nil)
(setq s0 S2)
);end if
(setq S2 s0)
(setq s1 (/ s2 100));conv to decimal
(setq v1 "Y")
(setq v2 (strcase
(getstring (strcat "\nSlope Downward? Y/N [" v1 "] "))
)
);get direction of elev chg
(if (= v2 "")
(setq v2 nil)
)
(if (= v2 nil)
(setq v1 v1)
(setq v1 v2)
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)
(if (= v1 "Y")
(setq direct "d")
(setq direct "u")
);set var to indicate up or down
(setq p1 (getpoint "First point: "))
;routine to determine if you want to place a tag at start elevation
(setq
t2 (strcase
(getstring (strcat "\nPlace Elevation Tag? Y/N [" t1 "] "))
)
)
(if (= t2 "")
(setq t2 nil)
)
(if (= t2 nil)
(setq t1 t1)
(setq t1 t2)
)
(if (= t1 "Y")
(progn;place tag if Yes
(command "leader" p1 pause "" (rtos e1) "")
(princ)
)
)
(if ;start if #1
(progn ;start progn #1
(while p2
(if ;start if #2 if no next pt given, exit
(setq p2 (getpoint p1 "\nNext pt: ")) ;get next point
(progn ;start progn #2
(setq d1 (+ d1 (setq d0 (distance p1 p2)))
p1 p2
)
(setq e2 (* d1 s1)) ;calculates drop from last point.
(if (= direct "d")
(setq e2 (- e1 e2))
(setq e2 (+ e1 e2)) ;subtracts or adds drop
); from last elevation.
(princ (strcat "\nDist from last pt: " (rtos d0)))
;display interim values
(princ (strcat " Cumulative dist: " (rtos d1)))
(princ (strcat "\nElevation: " (rtos e2)))
;displays elevation
; routine to determine if you want to place a tag
(setq
t2 (strcase
(getstring
(strcat "\nPlace Elevation Tag? Y/N [" t1 "] ")
)
)
)
(if (= t2 "")
(setq t2 nil)
)
(if (= t2 nil)
(setq t1 t1)
(setq t1 t2)
)
(if (= t1 "Y")
(progn ;place tag if Yes
(command "leader" p1 pause "" (rtos e2) "")
(princ)
)
)
) ;end progn #2
) ;end if #2
) ;end while
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(if (/= d1 0) ;start if #3
(eval d1)
(princ)
) ;end if #3
) ;end progn #1
(princ)
) ;end if #1
;);end MD
(princ (strcat "Cumulative dist: " (rtos d1)))
;at end, display cumulative dist.
(princ (strcat "\nElevation Change: " (rtos (- e2 e1))))
;at end, displays total elevation chg.
(princ)
)
(princ)
;;;CODING ENDS HERE
---------------------------
The Back Stoep
---------------------------
Me! A male chauvinist pig? Never!!
I always give both sides of the story.
Are Computers Male or Female?
A teacher divided an adult education class into 2 groups; male and
female. They were asked to determine what gender was appropriate for
a PC.
The males decided that they must be female because:
No one but their creator understands their internal logic.
The native language that they use to communicate with other
computers is incomprehensible to everyone else.
Even your smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for later
retrieval.
As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending
half your earnings on accessories for it.
So what gender did the ladies think PCs should be?
Inevitably they decided that a computer was male because:
In order to get their attention you have to turn them on.
They have a lot of data but are still clueless.
They are supposed to help you solve your problems but half the time,
they ARE the problem.
As soon as you commit to one, you realise that, if you had waited a
little longer, you could have had a better model.
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe
stating your reasons in not less or more than 42 words.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=subscribe
----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy good music, visit :
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-06
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2002/2002-06.htm (8 of 9) [23/03/2005 05:49:47 p.m.]
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
A Rock 'n Old Band
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
Have you visited this site yet?
-----------VBA Expresso---------------
"Lost in Stupid Parenthetheeth"
http://www.vbdesign.net/~rrath/cgi/ikonboard301/ikonboard.cgi
We'll be checking!!!
----------------------------------------------------------
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
----------------------------------------------------------
Night, Night.....
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-06
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2002/2002-06.htm (9 of 9) [23/03/2005 05:49:47 p.m.]
Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2002 7:27
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-07
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------
Have you visited this site yet?
-----------VBA Expresso---------------
"Lost in Stupid Parenthetheeth"
http://www.vbdesign.net/~rrath/cgi/ikonboard301/ikonboard.cgi
I will be checking!!!
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
--------------------------
The Front Stoep
--------------------------
I hope your cattle are sitting well in the fields and your corn is free
from elephant tracks. (a well known Zulu greeting).
--------------------------------
Quote of the week
--------------------------------
"You know you're drunk when you fall off the floor."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What do you HATE about AutoCAD Websites/Newsletters?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow, what a response!!! Thank's to everybody for your feedback.
For the newcomers to this Newsletter (welcome by the way), and the
geriatrics among the rest of you who have forgotten, I asked the above
question in last weeks Newsletter. This week I'm posting your
responses.
I'm not going to post the total contents of your e-mails 'cos of space
constrictions, and I'm also not going to say who said what. But, I
haven't changed a thing. (you lie Kenny, you fixed up a couple of
spelling mistakes.) Alright, I admit that I had to fix up a lot of Randall
Rath's spelling errors but, other than that, this is what you wrote. I
must apologise for the fact that this subject is taking up so much
space in this weeks Newsletter that could have been filled with coding.
But, believe me, it's very important to me to find out that what I'm
doing, and that the way I'm doing it, is on the right track. I'll make it up
to you next week. OK, over to you...........
--------------
A good site is a site that adds something at least twice a month. Most
of the sites I visit do no change or add anything for months. Some of
them do not change at all.
---------------
Many sites are there just to sell you some product. They do not give
you any help. A good site knows what the surfer wants and try to
balance
---------------
I don't mind if the code gets long but the information leading up
to it needs to be more to the point.
---------------
I think the personality of the person composing the e-mail makes a
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difference.
It always helps to have something to laugh about at the end and
sometimes beginning of the newsletter.
---------------
The only suggestion I have for the site is in the autolisp section.
The differences in code from r10 to r2002 have caused some trouble
when
running a particular lisp routine that's not compatible with the version
it was written for. It would be nice to see what the listed lisp routine
will run correctly on. Also I wish you could come up with a good way to
debug the older lisp routines to work with the latest revision. (The
lisp analyser in migration tools hasn't done us a lot of help).
----------------
Och there laddie, twoud' be mean of meself not to respond to thoust
request, so here it be in good faith and full of the crap that I am;
needless to say I am sober.
Cannot find any begrudgings about 'others' sites or newsletters, cos I
only allow my mail room to accept the ones I want.
I have a favourites list of hundreds of sites but only visit when I want
and which I want. Now, if I didnt have your site with which to roam, I
would truely be
lost in my own lounge room.
For you, tara the noo, and the vote for Fosters.
-------------------
The lisps are quite good andI've been trying to learn more especially in
customization of AutoCAD. I still would like to have lisps/routines for 3
dimensional objects, how to integrate lets say 3D object like a tank,
pumps given the technical specifications to generate models of plants
for presentations. I've been using add-ins to AutoCAD they seem to
work well but not the way I would like to do. I would like when I
produce a model of a plant then sent it in either
power point for presentation and still extract data to an excel to
generate Bill of materials.
--------------------
A friend of mine asks me to publicize his dilemma, and would like to
know if he is the only one to suffer it.
He is a 55 years old civil engineer (slide-rule generation), in a
management more that a technical role, and so when 10 years ago his
firm discarded manual drafting and began using Autocad 10 he really
was not obliged to learn it, but felt it was his duty to understand this
new tool and so speak with draftmen, suppliers, etc. in the same lingo.
As Autocad was not his primary duty, he spent only a few hours
(mostly, at home) with it, so he needed almost four years to feel
relatively comfortable with it. At that point he knew enough about
Autocad (Version 11, if I remember well) to appreciate that, without
customizing it, its usefulness was quite limited, so he began studying
Autolisp, neglected his family, wrestled with parenthesis and defuns
and now, five more years and two autocad versions later, is the proud
owner of about 150 homemade lisp routines, and many more
downloaded from Webs (Afralisp, primarily) which allow him to draw
his sketches in a fast and efficient way, and begin reaping, at last, the
harvest of 10 years of hard labor.
Alas, the Autodesk folks tracked mercilessly this development (with
CIA and Microsoft help, I suppose), and just, now, when he has spent
10 years and countless hours the learn the vagaries of Autocad and the
subtetlies of Autolisp, the guys change the rules, publish three new
Autocad versions in two years (2000, 2000i, 2002) make clear that
Autolisp is dead but, graciously, announce that old dinosaurs like my
friend need only invest a few more years to master Visual Basic (which,
needless to say, will be, in 5-8 years time, replaced by Aural Basic,
Sensual Basic or who know what) to rebuild the routines which,
essentially, will do the same they already do.
Well, sorry, you win. I can't follow. Stop the world, I am leaving.
By the way, you all know already that my friend is me.
-----------------------
I like to go to web page where I can learn something that can make my
daily
work easier and more proficient. I visit those web pages as read my
e-mail
between 5 to 6:30 am almost every day.
So returning to your question, and sorry about my personal info, I like
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web
pages where I can find ways to do specific things like: how to insert a
Word
document into AutoCAD?, or how to treat Xrefs, Biding them, attaching
or
overlaying?, or stuff that makes my life easier.
I really like AutoCAD; I hate that about the time that you feel that you
have almost learn any AutoCAD release, there is a new upgrade, with
enough
changes to make your life miserable, so you need to learn new ways,
(where I
work almost each client ask us to work with the latest update); and
then
you'll find that you need to update your PC because the new programs
require
more power, this is sad amigo.
----------------
I think my main gripe with web sites is the slow ones. and the ones we
have to wade through a load of rubbish to get to the meat.
----------------
This is a belated reply to your first request for feedback. It may be the
start of a new year but I fell asleep - took a while for the after effects of
the festive season to catch up on me.
I had been quite interested in a number of other sites relating to
AutoCAD and Lisp but found the info to be not exactly what I was
looking for.
Nothing turns me off more than having to pay for anything. The best
things in life are free, thats why I got married - I guess.
------------------------
So many times I think I'm getting something great, only to find I have to
pay for it. Then again, I get great ideas from these pay-for-it routines -
ie get up off my lazy backside and write my own routines, with a lot of
help and tips from AfraLisp site!!!.(Whats it they say..... you can't steal
something thats already been stolen??)
-------------------------
What I don't like about CAD related websites.
Those darn pop up advertisements...
-------------------------
Add this to my list of things I hate...broken links
-------------------------
Here in Brazil we didn't have good books in Portuguese. I had to read
the "AutoCad reference guide" and the tutorials to learn something...
Everything in English....Too hard and boring.
I like English, but in my opinion the Autodesk didn't believe in Brazil
--------------------------
Something that you should cover on your site is more in depth on
polylines.
--------------------------
Only few words to tell you that it could be better if the Lisp routines
were written using the 'international style' with the '_' (Underscore)
character before the commands.
If you make so the Lisp routines can run on AutoCAD in all languages.
---------------------------
Really though, I hate boring, humorless content. Like at the AutoDesk
Forum.
---------------------------
I hate it when you can't download an attachment even when you're
logged in on a site! Not to name names <cough autodesk cough>
---------------------------
I hate the news letters that don't really say anything useful have lots of
ads and demos but no code or they aren't doing Q & A.
It's refreshing not to be talked down at or told something is stupid.
Lots of the other forums have Know-it-alls that don't even help. Here
most everyone is helpful and if they are making fun of you it is really all
just fun not condescending.
-----------------------------
I have the type of personality that doesnt' allow me to put up with bs
websites, so those I find that are worth something I hang around,
which is why I don't remember the 2 dozen or so others i tried to get
information out of 3 months ago.
-----------------------------
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Newsletters that don't have an easy way to opt out of them. Most any
newsletter that has you email them with the word unsubscribe,
unsuscribe, remove me, removeme, rererererereremeoveme or
something like that is very annoying. If you are going to have a news
letter I suggest you make the unsubscribe link a link to a website to
remove addresses. Not to mention make sure the link works!
I might have more later. I just charged myself up into a lather!
----------------------------
Ok you asked for it. My first comment is I don't like the message
following
the cursor on AfraLisp. The affects on main page are very cool but
maybe you should have
it as a toggle, sometimes people just want to hurry through for
information.
----------------------------
I HATE newsletters that:
Don't have enough content or have too much content.
Don't have any humor or have too much chicken related humor. (you
know who you are)
Don't answer the exact question that I was thinking of just then.
Have ads that demand my attention by flashing, moving or skin.
Promote product more than they promote education.
Don't make me think.
----------------------------
For my 2 cents, I really hate the sites where, if you disagree with
another participant, you are relegated to a ranking slightly below whale
excrement. Not only do you know nothing of the subject at hand, but
you are taking up way too much space on earth.
------------------------------
------------------------------
Thank's again to everyone for their constructive response.........
-----------------------------
-----------------------------
To make up for this weeks shortage of coding, here's a free gift.
(Well it's free 'cos I didn't have to pay for it!!!)
"I thought you guys might want to use this lisp routine I made. It is
used for replacing old blocks with a new block, like updating old
drawings to new standards".
Rodney Nelson
CODING STARTS HERE
;;
;; Function to replace selected block with another...
;; Another Bad Ass thing by Rodney Nelson
;;
(defun c:blkswitch (/ BENT BENTL BNAME X ANG SS1 N1 D IND ENT
XVAL ELIST BP)
(initerr)
(setvar "cmdecho" 0)
(setvar "osmode" 0)
(command "undo" "be")
(setq BENT (entsel "\nPick old block you want to replace: "))
(if (null BENT)
(while (null BENT)
(princ "\nNothing selected, Pick old block you want to replace or press
^C to quit: ")
(setq BENT (entsel))
);while
);if
(setq BENTL (entget (car BENT)))
(setq BNAME (cdr (assoc 2 BENTL)))
(if (= BNAME NIL)
(progn
(alert "Entity selected is not a block. ")
);progn
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(progn
(setq newblk (entsel "\nPick new block to replace old: "))
(if (null newblk)
(while (null newblk)
(princ "\nNothing selected, Pick new block to replace old or press ^C
to quit: ")
(setq newblk (entsel))
);while
);if
(setq newblkl (entget (car newblk)))
(setq newblkname (cdr (assoc 2 newblkl)))
(if (= newblkname NIL)
(progn
(alert "Entity selected is not a block. ")
);progn
(progn
(setq newblklay (cdr (assoc 8 newblkl)))
(prompt "\nSearching database for blocks...")
(setq SS1 (ssget "x" (list (cons 2 BNAME))))
(setq N1 (sslength SS1))
(setq D "t")
(while D
(setq IND (- N1 1))
(setq ENT (ssname SS1 IND))
(setq edat (entget (ssname SS1 IND)))
(entdel (ssname SS1 IND))
(setq blklay (cdr (assoc 8 edat)))
(setq inspt (cdr (assoc 10 edat)))
(setq xscl (cdr (assoc 41 edat)))
(setq yscl (cdr (assoc 42 edat)))
(setq blkrot (cdr (assoc 50 edat)))
(setvar "clayer" newblklay)
(command "-insert" (strcat blockpath newblkname) inspt blkscale ""
(rtd blkrot))
(setq N1 (- N1 1))
(if (= N1 0)
(setq D NIL)
);if
);while
);progn
);if
(prompt (strcat "\nAll done! " (rtos (sslength SS1) 2 0) " <" BNAME ">
blocks were replaced with <" newblkname "> blocks"))
);progn
);if
(command "undo" "e")
(reset)
(princ)
);defun blkswitch
(defun rtd (radval / )
(* radval (/ 180.0 PI))
)
;;
;; Global error checking routine
;;
(defun error()
(prompt "\nGlobal Error Trap Loaded")
(princ)
);defun
;;;*error checking routine
;;;
(defun initerr ()
(setq oldlayer (getvar "clayer"))
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(setq oldsnap (getvar "osmode"))
(setq oldpick (getvar "pickbox"))
(setq oldorth (getvar "orthomode"))
(setq echo (getvar "cmdecho"))
(setq olddia (getvar "attdia"))
(setq oldfile (getvar "filedia"))
(setq oldang (getvar "snapang"))
(setq temperr *error*)
(setq *error* trap)
(princ)
)
;;;*
(defun trap (errmsg)
(command nil nil nil)
(if (not
(member errmsg
'("console break" "Function Cancelled"))
)
(princ (strcat "\nError: " errmsg))
)
(setvar "clayer" oldlayer)
(setvar "menuecho" 0)
(setvar "highlight" 1)
(setvar "osmode" oldsnap)
(setvar "pickbox" oldpick)
(setvar "orthomode" oldorth)
(setvar "cmdecho" echo)
(setvar "attdia" olddia)
(setvar "filedia" oldfile)
(setvar "snapang" oldang)
(princ "\nError Detected, Resetting Original Enviroment ")
(terpri)
(setq *error* temperr)
(princ)
)
;;;
(defun reset ()
(setq *error* temperr)
(setvar "clayer" oldlayer)
(setvar "menuecho" 0)
(setvar "highlight" 1)
(setvar "osmode" oldsnap)
(setvar "pickbox" oldpick)
(setvar "orthomode" oldorth)
(setvar "cmdecho" echo)
(setvar "attdia" olddia)
(setvar "filedia" oldfile)
(setvar "snapang" oldang)
(princ)
)
;;;
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
---------------------------
The Back Stoep
---------------------------
And another great free contribution ...............
"No Question or insights, just thought you might enjoy this bit of
humor..."
The Parrot :
A lady was walking down the street to work and she saw a parrot on a
perch
in front of a pet store. The parrot said to her, "Hey lady, you are really
ugly." Well, the lady is furious! She stormed past the store to her work.
On the way home she saw the same parrot and it said to her, "Hey lady,
you
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are really ugly." She was incredibly ticked now.
The next day the same parrot again said to her, "WOW lady, you are
still
really ugly."
The lady was so ticked that she went into the store and said that she
would
sue the store and kill the bird. The store manager replied profusely and
promised he would make sure the parrot didn't say it again.
When the lady walked past the store that day after work the parrot
called
to her, "Hey lady." She paused and said, "Yes?"
The bird said, "You know."
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe
stating your reasons in not less or more than 42 words.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=subscribe
----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
A Rock 'n Old Band
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
----------------------------------------------------------
The End............

You are visitor number

AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-11

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Friday, March 22, 2002 18:22
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-12
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
--------------------------------------------------
***Please delete this line as it is not required.***
--------------------------------------------------
Why not join a pleasant and civilised conversation pertaining to AutoLisp :
http://www.vbdesign.net/~rrath/cgi/ikonboard301/ikonboard.cgi
Look for the "Lost in Stupid Parenthetheeth " Board.
This forum is also great in regards to VBA.
--------------------------
The Front Stoep
--------------------------
Hi Everyone. Hope you're all fine and looking forward to a pleasant Easter
weekend. I just thought I'd give you a little bit of advance warning in that I'll be
going off on my holidays in just over a weeks time. This means that after next
weeks Newsletter, there will be no Newsletters for about 2 weeks.
More about that next week.
I'm not feeling all that great at the moment 'cos the bleedin Aussies have just
beaten us (South Africa) again at cricket. Ha, just wait, there are plenty of
matches left and revenge is sweet!!
(Australia - This is the land where men are men and the sheep are very
nervous!!!)
--------------------------------
Quote of the week
--------------------------------
Friends help you move.
Real friends help you move bodies.
--------------------------------
The Site
--------------------------------
I've had so many queries in regards to loading VBA files that I thought it was time
to have a close look at the subject. You can find what I've almost decided is
maybe, probably, could be the best way of achieving the aforemention task at :
http://www.afralisp.com/vl/vl-vba.htm
How does a Library of AutoLisp functions sound?
Not AutoLisp programs, functions/sub-routines.
You input and desirability in regards to this matter would be appreciated.
(In other words, let me know what you think).
--------------------------------
The Questions
--------------------------------
I apologize for insisting (I must be a bit slow, but VBA really overwhelm me), but
after years of loading, lisp routines in MNU files with the faithful
^C^C(if (not cl) (load "cl"));cl , ,
and using the same method, but with ARXLOAD, with ARX files, I am not yet sure
how to load DVB
files in MNU files (I owe to you to know that these files are VBA applications);
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Must I use APPLOAD? Summing up: How to load example.dvb from a menu file?
Would (appload "example") do it?
Rogelio Bravo
-----------------------
Rogelio, the answer to your problem can be found in "The Site" section.
While we're on the subject, would you like to how to load and run a DVB
application from another DVB application? Here we go :
'CODING STARTS HERE
Sub Afra_LoadDVB()
Dim FileName As String
FileName = "d:\drawings\DVBFile.dvb"
LoadDVB FileName
RunMacro "DVBFile.dvb!Module1.Amacro"
UnloadDVB FileName
End Sub
'CODING ENDS HERE
-----------------------
Do you know how to load a routine and to automatically have it run when
Acad2000 starts (without any user input) ??
thanks,
Kevin
--------------------------
OK here's one method. Copy and paste this coding into Notepad and save it as
"Testing.lsp".
This will be our routine that we want to run.
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun testing ()
(alert "Testing, Testing 123")
(princ)
)
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
-----------------------------------
Now add the following to your Acad.lsp file or Acaddoc.lsp file :
;CODING STARTS HERE
(load "Testing" "\nTesting.Lsp not found.")
;-----------------------------------------------
(defun-q TESTINGSTARTUP ()
(testing)
);defun-q
(setq S::STARTUP (append S::STARTUP TESTINGSTARTUP))
;CODING ENDS HERE
--------------------------
The Answers
--------------------------
Kenny,
Your code for changing the screen colors works well, but it doesn't change the
crosshair colors. This results in crosshairs the same color as the background :-)
This is what I ended up with:
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Thanks for the huge jump-start!!!
Mike Weaver
;CODING STARTS HERE
(vl-load-com)
;Toggle Paper Space
(defun c:pswhite()(screencolors nil 16777215 0)(princ))
(defun c:psblack()(screencolors nil 0 16777215)(princ))
(defun c:psgray()(screencolors nil 5592405 5592575)(princ))
;Toggle Model Space
(defun c:mswhite()(screencolors T 16777215 0))
(defun c:msblack()(screencolors T 0 16777215))
(defun c:msgray()(screencolors T 5592405 5592575))
;;; mspace nil - use paper space
;;; mspace T - use model space
(defun screencolors(mspace bkgrnd crshrs)
(setq acaddisplay (vla-get-display (vla-get-preferences (vlax-get-Acad-Object))))
(if (null mspace)
(progn
(vla-put-GraphicsWinLayoutBackgrndColor acaddisplay bkgrnd)
(vla-put-LayoutCrosshairColor acaddisplay crshrs)
);progn
(progn
(vla-put-GraphicsWinModelBackgrndColor acaddisplay bkgrnd)
(vla-put-ModelCrosshairColor acaddisplay crshrs)
);progn
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
---------------------------
Recently the guys here at work wanted me to write a routine that would toggle
the display to work in a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) mode. I did
do it with VBA because I didn't think there was a way to do it using Lisp. Am I
correct? Could Visual Lisp have done it?
Here is my VBA code:
'CODING STARTS HERE
Sub wysiwyg()
'Toggle Mspace Pspace
If Not (ThisDrawing.ActiveSpace = acPaperSpace) Then
ThisDrawing.ActiveSpace = acPaperSpace
ThisDrawing.SetVariable "dimscale", 1
ThisDrawing.SetVariable "ltscale", ThisDrawing.GetVariable("dimscale") * 0.5
End If
' Toggle Layout Crosshair Color
If Not (ThisDrawing.Application.Preferences.Display.LayoutCrosshairColor =
vbBlack) Then
ThisDrawing.Application.Preferences.Display.LayoutCrosshairColor = vbBlack
Else
ThisDrawing.Application.Preferences.Display.LayoutCrosshairColor = vbWhite
End If
' Toggle Layout Background Color
If Not
(ThisDrawing.Application.Preferences.Display.GraphicsWinLayoutBackgrndColor
= vbWhite) Then
ThisDrawing.Application.Preferences.Display.GraphicsWinLayoutBackgrndColor
= vbWhite
Else
ThisDrawing.Application.Preferences.Display.GraphicsWinLayoutBackgrndColor
= vbBlack
End If
' Toggle Show Plot Styles
If Not (ThisDrawing.ActiveLayout.ShowPlotStyles = True) Then
ThisDrawing.ActiveLayout.ShowPlotStyles = True
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Else
ThisDrawing.ActiveLayout.ShowPlotStyles = False
End If
' Toggle Lweight Display
If ThisDrawing.GetVariable("LWDISPLAY") = "0" Then
ThisDrawing.SetVariable "lwdisplay", 1
Else
ThisDrawing.SetVariable "lwdisplay", 0
End If
'Lock viewports
Dim Ent As AcadEntity, pVP As AcadPViewport
For Each Ent In ThisDrawing.PaperSpace
Debug.Print Ent.ObjectName
If Ent.ObjectName = "AcDbViewport" Then
Set pVP = Ent
Debug.Print pVP.DisplayLocked
If Not pVP.DisplayLocked Then pVP.DisplayLocked = True
End If
Next Ent
' Regen The Drawing
ThisDrawing.Regen acAllViewports
End Sub
'CODING ENDS HERE
Thanks,
James
-----------------
Kenny
Further to earv's question last week about XREF stamping of drawings, I
offer the following code that I have been using.
This code has been cut down from a program I wrote in 1998 which stamped
the drawing with the user name, time and date, file name and AutoCAD
version.
Being a cut down program, the code is a bit clumsy and probably contains
elements that are not really required - But it works for me!
The program is manual in that you have to remember to type in 'stampx' to
stamp the drawing with all the XREFs. All you have to do next is point to
the top left hand corner of the drawing frame. (The program looks for the
end of the line.)
Users may like to customise the xloc and ftl to suit their own drawing
frame. Also the font iso3098b could be changed to the user preferred font.
Users should note the warning on the bottom of the program. Because the
drawing places text on the stamps layer, this layer is erased when the
program is run - Actually, only text with the style 'stamps' on the
'stamps' layer is erased, so the program is reasonably safe.
I am sure there are better ways of doing this (eg with attributes etc), but
I have been using this method for years with no problems.
BY THE WAY - I would be interested in knowing if there is a similar way of
stamping a drawing with IMAGE files attached to the drawing! I can't see
how to do it.
Regards
Craig Green
;CODEING START HERE
; stampx.lsp - Stamps drawing with xrefs list.
; C Green 10/12/2001
;
; LAYER USAGE:
; STAMPX Used for xref stamping of drawings
;
(defun c:stampx()
;
(command "zoom" "E")
(setq tl (osnap (getpoint "\nPoint to Top Left of drawing frame...")
"end"))
(setq ds (getreal "\nDrawing scale? <1>: "))
(if (= ds nil) (setq ds 1.0))
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(setq txts (* 2.0 ds))
(setq osm (getvar "osmode"))
(setvar "osmode" 0)
;
; Standard sheet default locations:
; Stamp locations
(setq xloc (list 25.2 574.49 0.0)) ; Xref list location
(setq ftl (list 24.5 579.0 0.0)) ; Top left of drawing frame
; Polar vectors for stamps
(setq xdist (distance ftl xloc))
(setq xang (angle ftl xloc))
;
(setq scmde (getvar "cmdecho"))
(setvar "cmdecho" 0)
(setq layer (getvar "clayer"))
(setq tstyle (getvar "textstyle"))
(setq tsize (getvar "textsize"))
(setq cecol (getvar "cecolor"))
(setq celt (getvar "celtype"))
(command "regenmode" "0")
(command "color" "7")
(setq prec (getvar "LUPREC"))
(setvar "LUPREC" 4)
(command "linetype" "set" "continuous" "")
(command "style" "stamps" "iso3098b" txts "1" "0" "n" "n" "n")
;
; Make the STAMPS layer and clear it
(command "LAYER" "MAKE" "STAMPS" "COLOR" "WHITE" "" "")
(setq r (getstring "Erase the stamp layer? <y>: "))
(setq r (strcase r))
(if (/= r "N")
(progn
(command "ERASE" (ssget "X" (list (cons 8 "STAMPS") (cons 0 "TEXT")
(cons 7 "STAMPS") )) "")
)
)
;
; Stamp the sheet with xrefs
;
(setq pt1 (polar tl xang (* xdist ds)))
(command "text" "style" "stamps" "j" "tl" pt1 "0" "%%uXREF LIST:")
(setq entl (tblnext "block" t))
(while (/= entl nil)
(setq xref (assoc 1 entl))
(if (/= xref nil)
(progn
(setq xref (cdr xref))
(command "text" "" xref)
)
)
(setq entl (tblnext "block"))
)
; Terminate the program
(command "zoom" "P")
(setvar "LUPREC" prec)
(if (= layer "STAMPS") (setq layer "0"))
(command "layer" "s" layer "")
(command "color" cecol)
(command "style" tstyle "iso3098b" tsize "1" "0" "n" "n" "n")
; RESET FONT & TWF etc?
(command "regenmode" "1")
(setvar "cmdecho" scmde)
(setvar "osmode" osm)
(prompt "\nW A R N I N G: Do not draw on the layer 'STAMPS'!")
(prin1)
)
;CODEING ENDS HERE
---------------------------
A reader wrote.
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I downloaded you Attab VBA application and modified it for use with my title
block. My title block has 24 attributes, so I added the appropriate number of lines
to the "textbox" areas and got it to work. However, in doing so I initially added 26
lines to see what would happen and it errored out. I was
thinking of trying to use this routine instead of the ddatte routine (since Autodesk
had to screw it up and not allow customizing it). The problem is, I won't always
know how many attributes will be in a given block, and I wouldn't want to have to
create new code for every block where I do know how
many attributes I have. Is there a way to have it adjust itself according to how
many attributes there are? Also, is there a way for the label on the dialog box to
show the prompt for the attribute?
------------
And, Robert Endres wrote back :
The above is possible !
NOTE the following code CANNOT be written into the code of the form if the form
is the first thing loaded by issuing the command to run this routine.
It needs to be written into a "module" that is called before the form with your
attribute info is displayed.
In a MODULE that is loaded by the "start my command" button create a
GET_ATTRIBUTE_INFO routine to read through your blocks and extract the
attribute prompt and the attribute value and then set a variable equal to the
number of attributes on your FORM you need to create enough LABELS and
TEXT BOXES up to the maximum you might ever need. It may make sense to
number them by their index.....
LABEL1 >>>>>> TEXTBOX1
LABEL2 >>>>>> TEXTBOX2 etc.....
Then before issuing the MY_ATTRIBUTE_FORM.SHOW run the
GET_ATTRIBUTE_INFO routine and
set the PROPERTIES of the LABEL# and TEXTBOX# to visible up to the number
of ATTRIBUTES in the block.
example:
MY_TITLEBLOCK has 12 attributes
MY_ATTRIBUTE_FORM has 40 LABELS and TEXTBOXES numbered 1-40
in my MODULE code I enable LABELS and TEXTBOXES through 12
LABEL1.visible = TRUE up to LABEL12.visible = TRUE
TEXTBOX1.visible = TRUE up to TEXTBOX12.visible = TRUE
the text for the LABEL can be extracted from the GET_ATTRIBUTE_INFO routine
and
activated by LABEL#.TEXT = ATTRIBUTE_PROMPT
the text for the associated TEXTBOX can also be extracted from the
GET_ATTRIBUTE_INFO routine and activated by TEXTBOX #.TEXT =
ATTRIBUTE_DATA
if the user wants to he can resize the MY_ATTRIBUTE_FORM based upon the
number of ATTRIBUTES and how the layout of the form was created.
Robert Endres
---------------------------
And, to my shame, I contribute this :
From ACAD Newsletter Dated October 27th 1999. (http://www.vbdesign.net)
(And believe it or not, it was "me" that asked Randall the question!!!)
Q. How's about project that would display a set of AutoCad slides, similar to the
image dialogue that AutoCAD uses. The difference being, that the application
would allow the user to select a library directory (where the slides and blocks are
kept) and would create the image dialogue "on the fly". This way, the image
dialogue would not have to be hardcoded as it is in the AutoCAD menu. Thinking
about it, maybe we should use WMF files instead of slides
A. Of course we could use the slide ocx to display a complete library of slides,
but it is a shareware tool. So Kenny went with using Window Metafiles for the
images. The problem is, VBA does not allow for a dynamic array of controls (in
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VB 5 and up this can be done), so we could create the image controls one at a
time (see my dynamic control code from this month), but this becomes very
complex if you have more than say, 10 images in a directory. You need to expand
the form to fit all of the images, or provide a button to switch to the next set of
images...too much trouble when we can just use StdPictures. What is an
stdPicture? A picture held in memory! We can even make these a dynamic array!
Well, that solves half of our problem, but how do we get enough image controls
onto the form to display all of the pictures in any given directory? the answer is,
we don't! Time to use a Tab Strip! This is the first part of this project, the second
half will depend on what Kenny (and the YOU) want to do with it, should we set it
so that the user can click an image and have the block inserted? Perhaps allow
multiple selections so that many blocks can be inserted as many times as
needed? INPUT please!!!
One last note, Take a look at what Ralph worked up prior to building the project!!
For the form:
1 tab strip named tabImages
9 image controls (all with default names) placed in the client area of the tab strip
1 command button (default name)
1 text box (default name)
'Begin code Block
Option Explicit
Option Base 1
Private stdImages() As StdPicture
Private colFiles As Collection
Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()
If TextBox1.Text > "" Then
If Dir(TextBox1.Text) > "" Then
tabImages.Enabled = True
LoadImages TextBox1.Text
CommandButton1.Enabled = False
Else
MsgBox "The path provided was not valid", vbOKCancel, "Llama Central"
End If
Else
MsgBox "You must provide a valid path", vbOKCancel, "Llama Central"
End If
End Sub
Private Sub tabImages_Change()
Dim ctlcontrol As Control
For Each ctlcontrol In UserForm1.Controls
If TypeOf ctlcontrol Is Image Then
ctlcontrol.Picture = Nothing
End If
Next
SetImages
End Sub
Private Sub TextBox1_Change()
CommandButton1.Enabled = True
End Sub
Private Sub UserForm_Click()
End Sub
Private Sub LoadImages(strPath As String)
Dim strFile As String
Dim intCnt As Integer
Static intTab As Integer
Set colFiles = New Collection
If Right(strPath, 1) <> "\" Then strPath = strPath & "\"
strFile = Dir(strPath & "\*.wmf")
Do While strFile > ""
colFiles.Add strFile
strFile = Dir
Loop
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intCnt = colFiles.Count
ReDim stdImages(intCnt)
For intCnt = LBound(stdImages) To UBound(stdImages)
Set stdImages(intCnt) = LoadPicture(strPath & colFiles(intCnt))
If intCnt > 8 Then
If intCnt Mod 9 = 1 Then
tabImages.Tabs.Add "Tab" & intTab, intCnt & " - " & intCnt + 9
intTab = intTab + 1
End If
End If
Next
SetImages
End Sub
Private Sub SetImages()
Dim intIcnt As Integer
Dim intTabNum As Integer
intTabNum = tabImages.SelectedItem.Index * 9
intIcnt = 1 + intTabNum
Image1.Picture = stdImages(intIcnt)
If intIcnt = UBound(stdImages) Then Exit Sub
intIcnt = intIcnt + 1
Image2.Picture = stdImages(intIcnt)
If intIcnt = UBound(stdImages) Then Exit Sub
intIcnt = intIcnt + 1
Image3.Picture = stdImages(intIcnt)
If intIcnt = UBound(stdImages) Then Exit Sub
intIcnt = intIcnt + 1
Image4.Picture = stdImages(intIcnt)
If intIcnt = UBound(stdImages) Then Exit Sub
intIcnt = intIcnt + 1
Image5.Picture = stdImages(intIcnt)
If intIcnt = UBound(stdImages) Then Exit Sub
intIcnt = intIcnt + 1
Image6.Picture = stdImages(intIcnt)
If intIcnt = UBound(stdImages) Then Exit Sub
intIcnt = intIcnt + 1
Image7.Picture = stdImages(intIcnt)
If intIcnt = UBound(stdImages) Then Exit Sub
intIcnt = intIcnt + 1
Image8.Picture = stdImages(intIcnt)
If intIcnt = UBound(stdImages) Then Exit Sub
intIcnt = intIcnt + 1
Image9.Picture = stdImages(intIcnt)
intIcnt = intIcnt + 1
End Sub
Private Sub UserForm_Initialize()
tabImages.Tabs.Item(0).Caption = "1 - 9"
tabImages.Tabs.Remove (1)
tabImages.Enabled = False
CommandButton1.Caption = "Load Images"
End Sub
'End Code Block
---------------------------
The Back Stoep
---------------------------
Well, that's about it until next week. Hey, if you've got something humourous that
you would like me to include on the "Back Stoep", please feel free to send it to
me. The more the merrier!!!
And I leave you with this............
After Quasimodo's death, the bishop of the cathedral of Notre Dame sent word
through the streets of Paris that a new bellringer was needed. The bishop
decided that he would conduct the interviews personally and went up into the
belfry to begin the screening process.
After observing several applicants demonstrate their skills, he decided to call it a
day when a lone armless man approached him and announced that he was there
to apply for the bellringer's job. The bishop was incredulous.
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"You have no arms!"
"No matter," said the man, "observe!"
He then began striking the bells with his face, producing a beautiful melody on
the carillon. The bishop listened in astonishment, convinced that he had finally
found a suitable replacement for Quasimodo.
Suddenly, rushing forward to strike a bell, the armless man tripped, and plunged
headlong out of the belfry window to his death in the street below. The stunned
bishop rushed to his side. When he reached the street, a crowd had gathered
around the fallen figure, drawn by the beautiful music they had heard only
moments before.
As they silently parted to let the bishop through, one of them asked, "Bishop,
who was this man?"
"I don't know his name," the bishop sadly replied, "but his face rings a bell."
The following day, despite the sadness that weighed heavily on his heart due to
the unfortunate death of the armless campanologist, the bishop continued his
interviews for the bellringer of Notre Dame. The first man to approach him said,
"Your excellency, I am the brother of the poor armless wretch that fell to his
death from this very belfry yesterday. I pray that you honor his life by allowing
me to replace him in this duty."
The bishop agrees to give the man an audition, and as the armless man's brother
stoops to pick up a mallet to strike the first bell, he groans, clutches at his chest
and dies on the spot. Two monks, hearing the bishop's cries of grief at this
second tragedy, rush up the stairs to his side.
"What has happened?", the first breathlessly asks, "Who is this man?"
"I don't know his name," sighs the distraught bishop, "but he's a dead ringer for
his brother."
Tara the noo, (Scots for "Goodbye for Now")
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
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The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
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----------------------------------------------------------
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(Some People Will Listen to Anything)
http://www.BedrockBand.com
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enter your e-mail address and press the button.
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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
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The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
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Sent: Monday, April 01, 2002 8:40
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-13
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
---------------------------------------------------
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
(Although sometimes the Sand gets in the Band)
http://www.BedrockBand.com
--------------------------
The Front Stoep
--------------------------
I know what I forgot to mention to you last week. I've finally received
our 2002 Upgrades. I ordered them at the beginning of January but,
well this is Africa!!!
Looks good so far although there are one or two or twenty changes to
my existing coding that I need to make. But, all in all, not too much
work to be done. I'll be pointing out the new programming features in
future Newsletters and just hope that those of you on lower releases
(especially those of you on R14 and below) don't get too frustrated.
As I mentioned briefly last week, I will be on leave for the next two
weeks. So, unfortunately, there will be no Newsletter whilst I'm away
enjoying myself. Please feel free to send emails as my son and
daughter will be here, but don't expect any sort of reply for about 2
weeks.
Where am I going? From here (Oranjemund, Namibia), drive to Cape
Town, South Africa - couple of days there drinking beer - on to
Plettenberg Bay - visit my wife's Mum and sister and do some fishing
and drink some beer - back to Cape Town for another couple of days
and drink some more beer, and then return to Namibia. I'm looking
forward to it, I need a break from drinking.
Anyway, I should be back on-line around about the 12th of April.
--------------------------------
Quote of the week
--------------------------------
Puritanism :
The haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy.
Liberalism :
The haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy, and rich.
--------------------------------
The Site
--------------------------------
I decided, that before I disappear on holiday, I'd leave you something to
ponder upon.
I had a bit of a wee look at "Visual Lisp - Directories and Files". Quite a
few powerful commands Visual Lisp has! Pop along and have a look. I
might even show you how to design your own Files Dialog without
having to resort to DosLib or VBA.
http://www.afralisp.com/vl/vl-dir.htm
I also published a Tutorial on "Compiling AutoLisp Files". So, if you're
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confused over the difference between LSP, FAS and VLX files, and you
don't want the coding that you sweated for hours over "borrowed", pop
along here :
http://www.afralisp.com/vl/vl-comp.htm
Remember last week I mentioned adding a Library of AutoLisp
Functions to AfraLisp?
Well, I've decided to go ahead with this. If you look on the site, you'll
see a new addition to the menu bar entitled "Thingies". It's a dead link
at the moment as I'm still busy putting the Library together. So, if
you've got any AutoLisp Functions (Thingies) that you would like to
see added to the Library, please feel free to send them in.
And, just to wet your appetite, here's a couple of example "Thingies" :
;CODING STARTS HERE
;Extract from User Get Functions with Default Prompt
;AfraLisp Thingie Library
;http://www.afralisp.com
;March 2002
;--------------------
;Description : Integer Input Function with prompt
;Syntax : (LISP_getint prompt default_value)
;Arguments : prompt - User defined prompt - String
; default_value - Default Value - Integer
;Returns : val - Integer or Default Value
;Example : (Lisp_getinteger "Please enter Integer" 7)
(defun LISP_getint (prmpt val / x)
(princ (strcat "\n" prmpt " <" (itoa val) ">: "))
(setq x (getint))
(if x
(setq val x)
)
val
)
;-------------
;Description : Real Number Input Function with prompt
;Syntax : (LISP_getreal prompt default_value)
;Arguments : prompt - User defined prompt - String
; default_value - Default Value - Real Number
;Returns : val - Real Number or Default Value
;Example : (Lisp_getreal "Please input Number" 8.5)
(defun LISP_getreal (prmpt val / x)
(princ (strcat "\n" prmpt " <" (rtos val 2 (getvar "LUPREC")) ">: "))
(setq x (getreal))
(if x
(setq val x)
)
val
)
;---------------
;Description : String Input Function with prompt
;Syntax : (LISP_getstring prompt default_value)
;Arguments : prompt - User defined prompt - String
; default_value - Default Value - String
;Returns : val - String or Default Value
;Example : (Lisp_getstring " Please Enter Your Name" "Kenny")
(defun LISP_getstring (prmpt val / tstr)
(princ (strcat "\n" prmpt " <" val ">: "))
(setq tstr (getstring T))
(if (/= tstr "") tstr val)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
--------------------------------
The Questions
--------------------------------
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Jambo Kenny!
Do you have any routines (LISP or VBA) that will purge ALL of the
unused STYLES (Wall, Door, Slab, etc...) from a drawing?
Architectural Desktop has Wall Styles, Slab Styles, Door Styles,
Window Styles, etc...for drawing it's true 3D entities.
Thanks!
Garry in Florida, USA
--------------------------
I can't help Garry 'cos I don't have ADT.
Anyone willing to help?
--------------------------
Kenny,
I've been reading the Dummy book and learning a whole lot. Thanks for
the advice. Here's something I have noticed. There are differences
between Visual Basic 6.0 and VBA for AutoCAD. For instance there is
no "Load" for a UserForm in VBA. In VBA it is "Activate". Also, for a
listbox there is no "Item_Check" in VBA. What do you do in instances
like that?
James
---------------------
James,
The differences between VB and VBA are a big problem for all of us.
Just the other day, a friend of mine sent me a VBA application written
in AutoCAD 2002 VBA. It would not run on R2000 because the "Round"
function does not exist in R2000 VBA (which by the way, is VB5).
Before using any VB function, you need to check if it is available in
AutoCAD VBA. (You can check for it under the Object Browser).
Randall Raath has a great website dedicated to AutoCAD and VBA. He
has a lot of "work arounds" to the sort of thing you mentioned.
http://www.vbdesign.net
He also has a great forum where you can ask all these sort of
questions, and I'll guarantee that you'll get a nice friendly response.
Hey, I even have a Lisp section on it.
http://www.vbdesign.net/~rrath/cgi/ikonboard301/ikonboard.cgi
Sign up, you'll get a lot of good info and it costs you nothing.
I'll see you there........
--------------------------
I am writing various lisp routines to assist me in drawing up erf
diagrams for a housing project. (They are small and numerous because
the project is a rush job and there are constant changes - the client
cannot make up his mind what he wants, and because of the rush the
coding is very untidy.) the two questions are this :
1. I want to in my lisp be prompted to draw a closed polyline which is
usually rectangular but sometimes irregular. I get the lisp to do so but
when I type "C" to close the polyline the lisp routine ends with an error.
2. In this very same project we are looking at having about 400 layout
tabs. To find a specific layout can be quite cumbersome. Is there no
way of going directly to the tab you want. Each layout tab has been
named the same as the drawing number ie "PE 123".
Cheers
Dave
-------------------------
The polyline query is really quite simple. Just stick it in a while loop.
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun c:pclose ( / pt1 pt2)
(setq pt1 (getpoint "\nFirst point: "))
(setq pt2 (getpoint pt1 "\nSecond point: "))
(command "PLINE" pt1 pt2)
(while (setq pt2 (getpoint "\nTo point: " pt2))
(command pt2)
);end while
(command "c")
(princ)
)
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(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Note: You don't enter "C" to end the Pline, you just press "Enter"
-------------------------
Dear Kenny
Please I am with problems to change a text style using
vlax-get-property and vlax-put
EX:
To change the Font of " TXT " for " ARIALBD.TTF "
To change height of the source of 2.5 for 12.5
Do you can me to help?
Tanks
Sebastio Velasquez
--------------------------
The Answers
--------------------------
On the theme of blocks and attributes.......
Here is a handy dandy little VBA routine that allows the user to select
blocks with attributes. You can select 1 block at a time or multiples and
then modify the following properties :
move the text
rotate the text.
of 1 or all of the attributes within the blocks.
This puppy ROCKS !!
The user can type in the text rotation or select it in the drawing using
points
the move command is always done selecting 2 points.
Robert Endres
-----------
Thanks Bob,
You can download this handy application here :
http://www.afralisp.com/vba.htm
P.S. What do you call a man with no arms and no legs swimming in the
ocean?
You guessed - Bob!
--------------------------
Looking for AutoLisp files?
Then pay a visit to the "Autolisp Download Center".
http://www.cybernation.nl/michiel/
Still under construction, but looking good....
---------------------------
Would like to have your very own AutoLisp Editor that runs
independently from AutoCAD? Have a look at this :
LispLink 15.02 is now available and now provides a powerful listing of
your functions and variable lists.
LispLink is an advanced text editor designed to use with All AutoCAD
customisation files. LispLink was designed specifically for AutoCAD
Release 2000, 2000i, and 2002 user files, but will work with ALL
releases of AutoCAD.
If you're serious about programming, you need this in your toolbox. I
don't endorse many products but this one definitely gets the thumbs
up.
http://www.caelink.com
Tell them that I sent you 'cos they promised me a keg of beer per
download.
(I can but wish!!!)
---------------------------
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The Back Stoep
---------------------------
We've all read, or not bothered to, those funny leaflets that are
included in the box with any type of electronic appliance that you
purchase.
If I had my way, this is how they would be worded :
******READ THIS FIRST*******
Congratulations! You have purchased an extremely fine device that
would give you thousands of years of trouble-free service, except that
you undoubtedly will destroy it via some typical bonehead consumer
maneuver. Which is why we ask you to PLEASE FOR GOD'S SAKE
READ THIS OWNER'S MANUAL CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU UNPACK
THE DEVICE. YOU ALREADY UNPACKED IT, DIDN'T YOU? YOU
UNPACKED IT AND PLUGGED IT IN AND TURNED IT ON AND FIDDLED
WITH THE KNOBS, AND NOW YOUR CHILD, THE SAME CHILD WHO
ONCE SHOVED A POLISH SAUSAGE INTO YOUR VIDEOCASSETTE
RECORDER AND SET IT ON "FAST FORWARD", THIS CHILD ALSO IS
FIDDLING WITH THE KNOBS, RIGHT? WE MIGHT AS WELL JUST
BREAK THESE DEVICES RIGHT AT THE FACTORY BEFORE WE SHIP
THEM OUT, YOU KNOW THAT?
We're sorry. We just get a little crazy sometimes because we're always
getting back "defective" merchandise where it turns out that the
consumer inadvertently bathed the device in acid for six days. So, in
writing these instructions, we naturally tend to assume that your skull
is filled with
dead insects, but we mean nothing by it. OK? Now let's talk about :
1. UNPACKING THE DEVICE. The device is encased in foam to protect
it from the Shipping People, who like nothing more than to jab spears
into outgoing boxes.
PLEASE INSPECT THE CONTENTS CAREFULLY FOR GASHES OR MS
BARKER'S ENGAGEMENT RING, WHICH SHE LOST LAST WEEK, AND
SHE THINKS MAYBE IT WAS WHILE SHE WAS PACKING DEVICES. Ms
Barker really wants that ring back, because it is her only proof of
engagement, and her fiancee, Bob, is now seriously considering
backing out on the whole thing inasmuch as he had consumed most of
a bottle of vodka in Quality Control when he decided to pop the
question.
WARNING: DO NOT EVER AS LONG AS YOU LIVE THROW AWAY THE
BOX OR ANY OF THE PIECES OF STYROFOAM, EVEN THE LITTLE
ONES SHAPED LIKE PEANUTS.
If you attempt to return the device to the store, and you are missing
one single peanut, the store personnel will laugh in the chilling manner
exhibited by Joseph Stalin just after he enslaved Eastern Europe.
Besides the device, the box should contain :
* Eight little rectangular snippets of paper that say "WARNING"
* A little plastic packet containing four 5/17 inch pilfer grommets and
two club-ended 6/93 inch boxcar prawns.
YOU WILL NEED TO SUPPLY: a matrix wrench and 60,000 feet of tram.
IF ANYTHING IS DAMAGED OR MISSING: You IMMEDIATELY should
turn to your spouse and say, "Margaret, you know why this country
can't make a without a major transmission overhaul? Because nobody
cares, that's why."
WARNING: This is assuming your spouse's name is Margaret.
2. PLUGGING IN THE DEVICE: The plug on this device represents the
latest thinking of the electrical industry's Plug Mutation Group, which,
in a continuing effort to prevent consumers from causing hazardous
electrical current to flow through their appliances, developed the
Three-Pronged Plug, then the Plug Where One Prong is Bigger Than
the Other.
Your device is equipped with the revolutionary new Plug Whose
Prongs Consist of Six Small Religious Figurines Made of Chocolate.
DO NOT TRY TO PLUG IT IN!
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Lay it gently on the floor near an outlet, but out of direct sunlight, and
clean it weekly with a damp handkerchief.
WARNING: WHEN YOU ARE LAYING THE PLUG ON THE FLOOR, DO
NOT HOLD A SHARP OBJECT IN YOUR OTHER HAND AND TRIP OVER
THE CORD AND POKE YOUR EYE OUT, AS THIS COULD VOID THE
WARRANTY.
3. OPERATION OF THE DEVICE. WARNING : WE MANUFACTURE
ONLY THE ATTRACTIVE DESIGNER CASE. THE ACTUAL WORKING
CENTRAL PARTS OF THE DEVICE ARE MANUFACTURED IN JAPAN.
THE INSTRUCTIONS WERE TRANSLATED BY MRS. SHIRLEY
PELTWATER OF ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE, WHO HAS NEVER
ACTUALLY BEEN TO JAPAN BUT DOES HAVE MOST OF "SHOGUN"
ON TAPE.
INSTRUCTIONS: For results that can be the finest, it is our advising
that :
NEVER to hold these buttons two times!! Except the battery. Next
taking the (something) earth section may cause a large occurrence!
However. If this is not a trouble, such rotation is a very maintainence
action, as a kindly (something) virepoint from Drawing B.
4. WARRANTY: Be it hereby known that this device, together with but
not excluding all those certain parts thereunto, shall be warrantied
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between
now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2, during which time the
Manufacturer will, at no charge to the Owner, send the device to our
Service People, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals
designed to cleanse it of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover the
attractive designer case.
WARNING: IT MAY BE A VIOLATION OF SOME LAW THAT MRS.
SHIRLEY PELTWATER HAS "SHOGUN" ON TAPE.
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy superb music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to this Newsletter,
go to the AfraLisp main page :
http://www.afralisp.com
enter your e-mail address and press the button.
----------------------------------------------------------
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-13
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2002/2002-13.htm (6 of 7) [23/03/2005 05:50:00 p.m.]
Search
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-13
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The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2002 9:25
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-14
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
--------------------------
The Front Stoep
--------------------------
Hey, I'm back earlier that I thought. I had a nice spot of leave and a good break. Drove
about 4500km, but that's to be expected in this part of the world.
Quite a few emails waiting for me when I got back. If you sent me anything and haven't yet
received a reply, please be patient, I will get back to you.
OK, enough drivel, let's get on with this weeks Newsletter........
--------------------------------
Quote of the week
--------------------------------
"If at first you don't succeed, call it version 1.0"
--------------------------------
The Site
--------------------------------
Have you ever wondered where the Visual Lisp Editor came from?
Would you like a copy of the original standalone Visual Lisp Editor?
Are you still using R14 (or even R12 of R13) and don't have the Visual Lisp Extensions?
Then pop along here :
http://www.afralisp.com/vl/vlisp.htm
Small in size (202KB), easy to use AND you don't have to have AutoCAD installed to use it.
It's nice to have even for nostalgias sake. (who's this nostalgia guy?)
--------------------------------
The Questions
--------------------------------
Hi Kenny,
I just started working with AutoCAD a few months ago and I'm really enjoying it. I've also
began studying Autolisp in order to make my work a bit easier. I have very limited
programming experience (I've done some decent scripts for the game
Counterstrike...that's about it)...but it's better than
nothing, I guess. I discovered your site about a week or so ago and I now visit it
daily...thanks for all of the tutorials and information!
From time to time I get confused about how to make certain ideas work...do you know of
any forums or chat rooms devoted to AutoLisp? Perhaps you may be able to help me (I
notice you answered questions in your newsletter).
Here goes:
Is there a way to change the values in a block's attribute without having to select an
attribute by location (by picking a point on the attribute)? In other words, can you call up
the block attributes by name and enter the values in by command line only? Here's the
situation: I make shop drawings
for precast underground structures (manholes, storm inlets, etc). Each job we do contains
many different structures, so we use one drawing for each individual job and place a
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different structure on each layer of that drawing. We have an attribute block in the upper
right-hand corner of each layer stating the Job Number and the Structure Number...the
block appears to be named "STRUCT_DESC". We use several different scales within a job,
so the location of this block can change from layer to layer...which is why I'd rather
access the block by name than by location. I'm attempting a lisp
which will copy the contents of one layer to a new layer...it will get the new Structure
Number from the user and name the new layer and edit the proper attribute if this is
possible.
Well, that about sums it up for now. Thanks for taking the time to read this and keep up
the good work with the site...it's the best I've found.
Thanks again,
Don Whitford
-------------------
Don,
A good AutoLisp chat room/forum? Pop along here :
http://www.vbdesign.net/~rrath/cgi/ikonboard301/ikonboard.cgi
Look for the "Lost in Stupid Parenthetheeth " Board.
Don't worry, it's all free.
Your second question regarding attributes. Have you had a look at these three sections on
AfraLisp :
http://www.afralisp.com/lisp/attab.htm
http://www.afralisp.com/vl/attab-vl.htm
http://www.afralisp.com/vba/attabvba-htm
You've got the choice between straight AutoLisp, Visual Lisp or VBA. All three do exactly
the same but using slightly different methods. The main point though, is that they all
retrieve the block containing attributes by name and then manipulate the attribute entities.
--------------------------
Hi Kenny,
A question subjected to Autolisp would like to ask you. If there are a list of number, how
to convert the information to a polygon via autolisp?
Example :
34,324 54,3242 234,234 534,45 234,234 ......
which is equivalent to :
x1,y1 x2,y2 x3,y3 x4,y4 ....xn,yn
where the x,y represent the vertex of polygon, and x1,y1 will connected to xn,yn
As well, do you know is there any autolisp program to convert Caltech Intermediate
Format (CIF) to AutoCAD (DWG / DXF ) format?
Regards
Victor Li
--------------------------
The Answers
--------------------------
Kenny,
Just been checking your web page out. I'd been looking for some hints and tips on VBA
and came across Afralisp. Nice site.
I'm the cad manager for a building services consultant in Sydney. We run a mixture of
Autocad 2000i and the 2000 LT version. I used to use a lot of lisp at the last company I
worked - they ran the full version on all cad terminals, so it gave me a lot of control.
However, having a mixture of the full and the LT at this place means that everything has to
be set up for the 'lowest common denominator'. That is, all my routines have to be
accessible to LT. I've had to spend a hell of a lot of time setting up menus using simple
macros with some diesel thrown in. Even had to buy a bar fridge so that I could work
uninterupted in my computer shack.
I would imagine that this problem is widespread, as the price difference between the 2
versions is significant and I cannot, in all honesty, justify any increase in productivity by
asking the management to spend a few thousand dollars per platform to upgrade to the
full version.
I still use a lot of lisp myself, but there are things that I want to do for all cad draughtsmen
that become impractical when not everyone has access to that particular routine. For
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example, setting up a system whereby a datestamp is automatically updated whenever
you save a drawing is worthless if even one cad terminal can't run it. If the date is only
90% trustworthy, then it becomes next to useless.
Enter the boys at drcauto: http://www.drcauto.com/
I've been speaking to them about a piece of software that they've been developing over
the last year or so. It seems that Autocad LT and the full version are identical - it's just that
our friends at Autodesk throw some switches within the code to disable Lisp (and some
aspects of 3D modelling). Drcauto has gone delving into the dark, musty corners of the
code and has brushed the cobwebs off these switches and turned them back on. They are
apparently allowed to do this as they class this action as a byproduct of the software that
they offer (which is some type of layer management system). Yeah, right...
They offer this package for circa $US400. You can get a trial demo as well (but the
bastards actually charge for it! However, they will knock the few bucks off the full version
if you decide to buy). I had the local Autodesk suppliers around for a demo of 2002 not so
long ago and the upgrade price (from 2000i) was something in excess of that. It went very
quiet around the table when I asked them what they thought was the better value. I'm
pushing our hierarchy to install this on all terminals over the next few months.
I thought you might like to know about these guys and maybe include the info on your
web page. I have to say that I have no connection with drcauto, other than the fact that
they're Aussies and their office is just down the road...
Guess I'll have to get into Visual Lisp after all.
Yours,
Ian Matthews
----------------------
Here is an example of setting layouts with a dialog box and
Active X.
Peter Jamtgaard
First the DCL Coding :
ddlayout : dialog {
label="**Layouts**";
:list_box { key = "layouts";
height = 30;
width = 25;
allow_accept = true;
}
ok_only;
}
Save this as "Set_Layout.dcl".
And now the AutoLisp coding :
;CODING STARTS HERE
; Set_layout will display a dialog box with all available layouts
; and allow the user to select the layout to switch to.
(defun C:SET_LAYOUT (/ CLOSE1 LAYOUTS FULL)
(vlax-for LOUTOBJ
(vla-get-layouts
(setq CDWGOBJ (vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object)
)
)
)
(setq LAYOUTS (cons (cons (vla-get-name LOUTOBJ) LOUTOBJ) LAYOUTS))
)
(setq LAYOUTS (reverse LAYOUTS))
(vla-put-activelayout CDWGOBJ (cdr (nth (ddset_layout LAYOUTS) LAYOUTS)))
)
(defun DDSET_LAYOUT (LISTIN )
(setq id (load_dialog "set_layout.dcl"))
(new_dialog "ddlayout" id)
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(start_list "layouts")
(mapcar 'add_list (mapcar 'car LISTIN))
(end_list)
(action_tile "layouts" "(progn (setq LAYN (atoi $value)) (princ LAYN))")
(setq start (start_dialog))
LAYN
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Save this as "Set_Layout.lsp".
-------------------------
Kenny,
Working my way through a large pile of your newsletters...came across question re best
way to rotate crosshairs to certain angle. Kev Knowles sent a page or 2 of yummy looking
lisp which I'm sure does the trick.
Am I missing something, or would this mini macro be a bit simpler to use. We use it as a
button on our standard toolbar.
'SNAP R 0,0;PER;
Click the button, click the entity (polyline, xref, you name it) and voila. We've got another
button to snapang to zero when you're done. Works for me...
Thanks,
Ian M
---------------------------
Here is another version of pclose with the ability to enter "c" or "space"/"enter" for the
prompt. Also it cleans up the prompts on the command line.
Mike Melichar
;CODING STARTS HERE
;---------------------------------------------------------------------
; draw pline and close with c, enter or space
;---------------------------------------------------------------------
(defun c:pclose (/ pt1 pt2)
(setq cmdecho (getvar "cmdecho"))
(setvar "cmdecho" 0)
(setq pt1 (getpoint "\nStart point: "))
(setq pt2 (getpoint pt1 "\nNext point: "))
(command "PLINE" pt1 pt2)
(while pt2
(initget "Close")
(setq pt2 (getpoint pt2 "\nNext point or [Close/Enter]: "))
(if (or (= pt2 "Close") (= pt2 nil))
(progn
(command "c")
(setq pt2 nil)
)
(command pt2)
)
)
(setvar "cmdecho" cmdecho)
(princ)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
---------------------------
The Back Stoep
---------------------------
There was this fella with a parrot. And this parrot swears like a sailor, I mean he's a pistol.
He can swear for five minutes straight without repeating himself. Trouble is, the guy who
owns him is a quiet, conservative type, and this bird's foul mouth is driving him crazy.
One day, it gets to be too much, so the guy grabs the bird by the throat, shakes him really
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hard, and yells, "QUIT IT!" But this just makes the bird mad and he swears more than ever.
Then the guy gets mad and says, "OK for you," and locks the bird in a kitchen cabinet.
This really aggravates the bird and he claws and scratches, and when the guy finally lets
him out, the bird cuts loose with a stream of vulgarities that would make a veteran sailor
blush.
At that point, the guy is so mad that he throws the bird into the freezer.
For the first few seconds there is a terrible din. The bird kicks and claws and thrashes.
Then it suddenly gets *VERY* quiet.
At first the guy just waits, but then he starts to think that the bird may be hurt. After a
couple of minutes of silence, he's so worried that he opens up the freezer door. The bird
calmly climbs onto the man's outstretched arm and says, "Awfully sorry about the trouble
I gave you. I'll do my best to
improve my vocabulary from now on."
The man is astounded. He can't understand the transformation that has come over the
parrot.
Then the parrot says, "By the way, what did the chicken do?"
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy superb music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to this Newsletter,
go to the AfraLisp main page :
http://www.afralisp.com
enter your e-mail address and press the button.
----------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from the AfraLisp Newsletter, clink on this link :
http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com/[email protected]
We will then hunt you down and make you change your mind.
-----------------------
This newsletter is hosted by :
http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com
-----------------------
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-14
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2002/2002-14.htm (5 of 5) [23/03/2005 05:50:01 p.m.]
Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Saturday, April 20, 2002 1:49
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-15
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
--------------------------
The Front Stoep
--------------------------
Bit of a short Newsletter this week I'm afraid. (more questions than answers). I was out of
town for most of last week on a business trip so unfortunately, I couldn't get a lot of
AfraLisp work done.
Very interesting trip though, as I went to have a look at 3D draughting packages. Some
good stuff out there!
--------------------------------
Quote of the week
--------------------------------
Suicidal twin kills sister by mistake!
--------------------------------
The Site
--------------------------------
Watch This Space. I should have the "Thingies" section up and running by next week.
--------------------------------
The Questions
--------------------------------
Hello,
Thanks for your newsletter. I have a question to submit:
I have a Microsoft Access database in MA2001. I'm using Autocad 14. My database is
about 12 fields long. I have about 120 records in this database and would like to link this
database to drawings.
I work for an electrical contractor and the drawings are in paperspace with an mview
window. The Access table is a list of conduit runs, the fields describe the properties of
the run (size conduit, contents, source, destination, bla, bla, bla. There is also a ref #). If,
for example (5) conduits appear in a particular drawing, I'd like those (5) records to be
linked into the drawing, when I specify the appropriate ref # somewhere. The information
could be displayed on the paper space next to the mv window or in another mv window.
Can this be done? If so could we go a step further and say that some sort of intelligence
could be added to objects to make the proper records appear in each drawing
automatically?
Thank You,
Darryl
-------------------------------
Dear sir,
I am facing the following problem: I would like to move a block in Acad, thusfar no
problems, if I do this with the "move" command, then a ghost image appears after
selecting the `base point`, so that one can see where the object will be positioned after
clicking the target-point.
Now the following question: is this possible through VBA??? Moving objects and
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-15
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selecting their target point is no problem, but i don`t find a solution to see the
ghost-image.
I think this problem can be solved by sending the normal command `move`, so by
sending from VBA a Autolisp command to Acad, but I don`t know what is the syntax to
send this command from VBA.
If you have any suggestion how to solve this problem, please let me know
kind regards,
Diederik Laroy
--------------------------
Hi Kenny,
I am coding a program in VB which creates DWF files once you select a directory where
you have your DWG files. This runs in a loop opening each DWG and generating DWF.
My problem is that when it opens the second DWG it pops up a dialog box which say's
"Save changes to C:\xxx.dwg" and gives you three options of "Yes/No/Cancel". Is there
any way we can supress this dialog box.
The steps my program will perform are:
(1) Open the DWG file
(2) Create a temp layer where I can put hatch pattern in the rooms (This involes query
from database. Each room has diff. pattern and attribute which comes from DB)
(3) Create the DWF file with the hatch patterns inculed and the attributes of the room
(4) I do not want to save the DWG file since we only require hatch pattern for DWF
(5) Open the next DWG file and do the same
If you can help me out I will appreciate it very much. I know you have worked lot on
VB/VBA/LISP
Hope to hear from you soon.
Thnx,
Anwarul M Sufi
-------------------------
Anwarul,
You can use the "SetDbMod" method of asdkunsupp2000.ARX
http://vbdesign.hypermart.net/cadpages/tbox.htm
(R14 users can get the same functionality using AcadUnsupp.ARX from the same page)
To force "DBMOD" to 0 prior to opening the next drawing. After you download the ARX,
follow the
instructions in the help file for registering it, then use code like this:
Public Sub SetDbMod()
Dim objSup As AsdkUNSUPP2000Lib.Application
Set objSup = _
Application.GetInterfaceObject("Asdkunsupp2000.Application.1")
objSup.SetDbMod 0
End Sub
-----------------------------
Hi Kenny hope you had a good holiday,
This is more of a general question than a LISPy one. Have you ever come across the .cit
image format used extensively in Microstation for background mapping. I need to use
backgrounds we got with some Microstation drawings to generate new maps in Acad
and I was wondering if you knew where I could
get a compatible (free) .dll for Acad or if you knew of another method of importing this
image format into Acad. Any ideas?
Regards
Liam
--------------------------------
hi Kenny,
I would like to know how to execute a wave file without having the dos screen or without
starting any wav player....is it possible??
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only play a wav file when a button or option is selected.....
(i work with lisp...not VBA...)
thanks...
Andrea Andreetti
--------------------------
Andrea,
Have a look at "DosLib" by Robert Mcneel and Associates.
http://www.mcneel.com
You can play a "wav" file from AutoLisp using one of the functions.
-------------------------
G' day Kenny
Have been a fan and member for years and think it is still one of the best sources on the
net.
I do a bit of programming and have a question. I am doing a bunch of dialogues that
have image panels in them.
What is the best way to get the full image tile filled with the slide? I has been ages since I
did these slides but I seem to remember that it requires getting the dimx dimy values
from the image tile, then using that size as a view port size.
Is this right?? When you mslide, do you do this in PS or MS??
Know anyone with a creation tool for doing it this way? I have Slide factory which is
good but not suitable for this application.
regards
Mark Bowes
--------------------------
The Answers
--------------------------
Here's a lisp routine for exploding minserted blocks into single blocks and keeping the
minsert block pattern?
Heine Munch Nielsen
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun C:MINX (/ ENT OBS BLK INS CS RS RWS CLS)
(if (setq ENT (entsel "\nSelect minsert: "))
(progn
(command ".undo" "begin")
(setq OBS (entget (car ENT))
BLK (cdr (assoc 2 OBS))
INS (cdr (assoc 10 OBS))
CS (cdr (assoc 44 OBS))
RS (cdr (assoc 45 OBS))
RWS (cdr (assoc 70 OBS))
CLS (cdr (assoc 71 OBS))
)
(command ".insert" ENT "non" INS "" "" "" ".array" "Last" "" "R" CLS RWS RS CS
".erase" ENT "")
(command ".undo" "end")
)
)
)
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
--------------------------
Kenny,
I was able to resolve the issue of "painting the "z" from one object to another, so I'm
sharing it with you and the fans of Afra-Lisp.
This uses "nearest" for a snap, so be aware that wherever you select (especially on an
object with differing "z's") it will use that value. My small repayment for all of your help.
Tested on ADT3.
Thanks,
Garry
;CODING STARTS HERE
;created 04-09-02 by Garry Fisher
(defun c:paintz (/ a2 c2 newtdc oldtdc obj1 obj2)
(setvar "osmode" 512)
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(SETQ moveme (GETPOINT "\nSelect the entity to be moved to the desired elevation"))
;(setq SS1(lastn 1))
(SETQ OLDTDC (GETPOINT "\nSelect an entity on the desired elevation"))
(terpri)
(SETQ obj1 (ENTLAST))
(setq a2 (caddr oldtdc))
(setq c2 (caddr newtdc))
(COMMAND "CHANGE" moveme "" "P" "E" a2 "" "")
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
--------------------------------------
Hi Kenny
Roaming around the net i found these undocumented filters for the ssget function:
:L Disallows selection of objects on locked layers (this was what I was looking - so cool!)
:P Disallows selection of Paper space viewports
:C Limits selection to objects in the current space
The last three flags are undocumented. Their use is permitted only in conjunction with
the default interactive object selection mode (where the balance of the mode argument is
an empty string). These three modes cannot be used with "X", or "P" or other modes that
prompt the user to interactively select objects. These three flags are particularly useful
for preventing the use of the "All" object selection keyword from selecting objects on
locked layers; objects not in the current space; or paper space viewports.
Maybe you knew them already but I thought it could be something for the newsletter.
Heres the link - there's some pretty dandy info on selection sets, in VBA though:
http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze2vjds/acadx/classes/acadxapplication.htm
Med Venlig hilsen
Kind regards
Heine Munch Nielsen
---------------------------
You might like this routine for your thingies section, which enables a user to pick
multiple points with visual feed back and this is then passed back to the main routine.
Note the global variable...
PMV:EntlastFlag
The error routine will delete the entity if there is a crash.
Kind regards
Paul Matthews.
;;; CODING STARTS HERE.
;;; GEN:GETMPOINTS.lsp
;;; Written by Paul Matthews
;;; DESCRIPTION
;;; Sub routine that enables user to pick multiple points and returns
;;; list of points at conclusion to main routine. Function uses PLINE
;;; function to give user an indication of what is happening.
;;; MODE = nil for standard, 1 for 3D poly
;;; retain = keep created pline ( T ) or delete it ( nil ).
( defun GEN:GetMPoints ( MODE Retain / fp p1 p2 pntlst elst )
; This flag is called by error routine to check if pline requires deleting during crash
( setq PMV:EntlastFlag nil )
( defun GRdgp ( p )
( initget "Close Undo" )
( getpoint p "\nClose/Undo/<Endpoint of line>: " )
);def local function
( setvar "cmdecho" 0 ); turns off autocad prompts
( if
( setq fp ( getpoint "\nFrom point: " ))
( progn
( setq p1 fp pntlst ( list p1 )) ; start pntlist
( if ( = mode nil )
( progn ( setvar "PLINETYPE" 1 )( command "_.pline" p1 ))
( command "_.3dpoly" p1 )
)
( if ( null Retain )( setq PMV:EntlastFlag 1 ))
( setq p2 ( GRdgp p1 ) )
( while p2
( cond
;-------------------------------------------------
(( = p2 "Undo" ) ; remove last point from lst
( progn
( cond
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(( > ( length pntlst ) 2 )
( progn
( setq pntlst ( reverse pntlst )
pntlst ( cdr pntlst )
p1 ( car pntlst )
pntlst ( reverse pntlst )
)
( command p2 )
)
)
(( = ( length pntlst ) 2 )
( progn
( setq p1 ( car pntlst ) pntlst ( list p1 ))
( command p2 )
)
)
(( = ( length pntlst ) 1 )
( progn
( setq PMV:EntlastFlag nil )
( princ "\nAll segments already undone." )
)
)
);cond
);progn
)
;-------------------------------------------------
(( = p2 "Close" )
( progn
( if ( > ( length pntlst ) 2 )
( progn
( command p2 )
( setq p2 0 )
( if ( null Retain )( setq PMV:EntlastFlag 1 ))
)
( progn
( princ "\nCannot close until two or more segments have been drawn")
)
);if
))
;-------------------------------------------------
(( /= p2 nil )
( progn ( command p2 )
( setq p1 p2 pntlst ( append pntlst ( list p2 )))
( if ( null Retain )( setq PMV:EntlastFlag 1 ))
))
);cond
( if ( /= p2 0 )( setq p2 ( GRdgp p1 )))
( if ( = p2 nil )( command "" ))
( if ( = p2 0 )( setq p2 nil ))
; ( princ pntlst)( princ " " );( princ p2 )( terpri )
);while
;(princ "flag1" )
;( princ PMV:EntlastFlag )
;( princ pntlst)
;;; function needs to discern if LWpline or HeavyPline and get
;;; resulting point list.
( setq elst ( entget ( entlast )))
;( princ "flag2" )
( if ( = ( dxf 0 elst ) "LWPOLYLINE")
( setq pntlst ( GEN:LwplinePntLst elst ))
( setq pntlst ( GEN:PlinePntLst elst ))
)
( if ( null Retain )( progn ( entdel ( entlast )) ( setq PMV:EntlastFlag nil )))
);progn
);if
pntlst
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); defun
; returns pntlst of a 3dpline
( defun GEN:PlinePntLst ( elst / plst p )
( setq elst ( entnext ( dxf -1 elst ))
elst ( entget elst )
);setq
( while ( = ( dxf 0 elst ) "VERTEX")
( setq p ( dxf 10 elst )
elst ( entnext ( dxf -1 elst ))
elst ( entget elst )
);setq
( if ( null plst )
( setq plst ( list p ))
( setq plst ( append plst ( list p )))
)
);while
plst
)
; returns pntlst of a LightWeightPline
( defun GEN:LwplinePntLst ( elst / val pnt_lst )
( foreach val elst
( if ( = ( car val ) 10 )
( progn
( if ( = pnt_lst nil )
( setq val ( append ( cdr val ) '(0.0))
pnt_lst ( list val )
)
( setq val ( append ( cdr val ) '(0.0))
pnt_lst ( append pnt_lst ( list val ))
)
)
);progn
);if
);4
pnt_lst
);defun
;CODING ENDS HERE
---------------------------
The Back Stoep
---------------------------
An man walks into a city bank and asks to see the loan officer. He says he is going on
holiday for two weeks
and needs to borrow $10,000. The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of
security for such a loan, so the man hands over the keys of his new BMW M3 parked on
the street in front of the bank.
Everything is checked out, and the bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the
loan. An employee drives the BMW into the bank's underground garage and parks it
there.
Two weeks later, the man returns, repays the $10,000 and the interest, which comes to
$15.41.
The loan officer says, "We are very happy to have had your business, and this
transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled.
While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire.
What puzzles us is why would you bother to borrow $10,000?"
The man replied, "Where else in the city can I park my car safely for two weeks for only
15 bucks?"
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
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----------------------------------------------------------
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http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
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go to the AfraLisp main page :
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enter your e-mail address and press the button.
----------------------------------------------------------
----------------------
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We will then hunt you down and make you change your mind.
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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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Sent: Friday, April 26, 2002 9:05
;READING STARTS HERE
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-16
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://www.BedrockBand.com
Disturbing the peace since 1994
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
--------------------------
The Front Stoep
--------------------------
Well another week has passed me by and I still haven't managed to add anything new to
AfraLisp. What will my mother say? Tut, tut, Kenny!!
We did though, manage to put the first African in space. (thanks to the Russians and lot's
of money). Not to be beaten, Namibia has plans to send the first manned mission to the
sun. "But they'll burn up", I can hear you say. Naaw, we're going to send them at night.
Anyway, to make up for my lack of contribution to AfraLisp, there's lot's of coding and
some nice goodies in this weeks Newsletter.
Oh, by the way, a big welcome to Terry Baker. Terry was the gentleman that first
introduced me to AutoCAD and AutoCAD customisation. (is that good or bad??) I'm
hoping to twist his arm and get him to contribute one or two articles to this Newsletter
(and hopefully AfraLisp), as he really knows his stuff.
--------------------------------
Quote of the week
--------------------------------
"I am amazed at radio DJ's today.
I am firmly convinced that AM stands for Absolute Moron.
I will not begin to tell you what FM stands for."
- Jasper Carrott
--------------------------------
The Site
--------------------------------
Have you upgraded to 2002?
Have you lost your "Express Tools?"
Would you like to have Express Tools installed in 2002?
You would? OK, now follow these simple steps :
Firstly, you will need to have your R2000 installation disk.
Got it? Great!
Create a sub-directory "Express" under the main AutoCAD 2002 directory.
Copy all the files in the AutoCAD 2000\Express directory to your new "Express"
sub-directory.
(Copy Autocad 2000\express\*.* to Autocad 2002/express)
Copy Autocad 2000\support\acettest.fas to Autocad 2002\support
Copy Autocad 2000\help\acetmain.hlp to Autocad 2002\help
Copy Autocad 2000\help\acetmain.cnt to Autocad 2002\help
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Copy Autocad 2000\help\acetfaq.hlp to Autocad 2002\help
Fire up AutoCAD 2002 and select "Tools" "Load Application" from the pulldown
menus.
Now, from the "Startup Suite" select "Contents".
Add the file "acettest.fas" from your AutoCAD 2002 Support directory.
Exit the dialog.
Now, exit and then re-open AutoCAD.
Type "Expressmenu" at the command line.
Voila, your "Express" menu pulldown should now appear.
Please note that I haven't tested whether on not all the Express Tools work correctly in
AutoCAD 2002.
-------------------------------
Don't you like the "Double-Click" feature in 2002?
Would you like to switch it off?
You can disable the double click by typing "Dblclkedit" at the command line and selecting
"Off".
Just thought you might like to know!
-------------------------------
Would you like to use AutoCAD commands from Visual Basic or VBA?
Use the SendCommand method on the document object.
This example sends a command to the AutoCAD command line of a particular drawing for
evaluation. We will create a Circle in the active drawing and will zoom to display the entire
circle
'CODING STARTS HERE
Sub Example_SendCommand()
ThisDrawing.SendCommand "_Circle" & vbCr & "2,2,0" & vbCr & "4" & vbCr
ThisDrawing.SendCommand "_zoom" & vbCr & "a" & vbCr
ThisDrawing.Regen acAllViewports
MsgBox "A circle command has been sent to the command line of the current drawing."
End Sub
'CODING ENDS HERE
----------------------------------------
Do you know that you can automate the creation of DWF files using VBA?
The following code listing provides an example of how to create a DWF file using VBA :
'CODING STARTS HERE
Sub test()
Dim objDoc As AutoCAD.AcadDocument
Set objDoc = Documents.Open("C:\AutoCAD 2000\sample\colorwh.dwg")
Set objPlot = objDoc.Plot
Dim blnRet As Boolean
blnRet = objPlot.PlotToFile("c:\temp\temp.dwf",
"C:\AutoCAD 2000\plotters\DWF ePlot.pc3")
'Replace C:\AutoCAD 2000 with the location of acad.exe
'blnRet should be True if the plot is successful
objDoc.Close False
End Sub
'CODING ENDS HERE
--------------------------------------------
Script files do not execute properly when you use long file names or directory names in
the script. For example, if you included the path c:\myproject\floor plan.dwg in a script,
the Program would look for a file named floor and ignore the rest of the file name. Spaces
in file names are interpreted to be the end of the path.
To use long file names or directory names in a script file, you must enclose the entire path
in double quotes, as in the following example:
"c:\my project\floor plan.dwg"
The text inside the quotes is read as one object.
---------------------------------------------
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Would you like to be able to access the Registry using Visual Lisp?
Try this :
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun C:RegTest ( / AcadReg LMAcadReg Name1 Name2)
(vl-load-com)
(setq AcadReg (vlax-product-key)
LMAcadReg (strcat "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\" AcadReg)
Name1 (vl-registry-read LMAcadReg "FirstName")
Name2 (vl-registry-read LMAcadReg "LastName")
);setq
(alert (strcat "The name of this computer is " Name1 " " Name2))
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Thanks to Bill Kramer for this little beauty.
------------------------------------------
Have you got an AutoLisp/Visual Lisp question that you would like an answer to?
Then make your way along to this forum :
http://www.vbdesign.net/~rrath/cgi/ikonboard301/ikonboard.cgi
Look for the "Lost in Stupid Parenthetheeth " Board.
This forum is also the best in regards to VB/VBA.
--------------------------------
The Questions
--------------------------------
Hi,
I would like to hatch multiple objects by picking a polyline or picking inside a space.
Is there a way this can be done with Lisp or vb so that the hatches remain individual for
editing rather than becoming one block. I use AutoCAD 2000
Any help greatly appreciated
Michael de Glanville
--------------------------
Michael,
When I first read your question, I immediately thought about using selection sets.
We would first create a selection set of all Objects or Points, loop through each one
hatching the object or area as we went along. Then I thought, don't be silly Kenny, why
don't we just use the "Bhatch" command and stick it in a "while" loop. Unfortunately, the
coding below will only allow you to select and Internal Point or an Object. (It's also a bit
"rough and ready").
Paste this into Notepad and save it as "MHatch.lsp".
;CODING STARTS HERE
(prompt "\nType MHATCH to run")
(defun c:mhatch ( / flag ans)
(setq flag (getstring "\nInternal Point or Object <I or O> : "))
(setq ans "y")
(if (or (= flag "I") (= flag "i"))
(progn
(while (or (= ans "y") (= ans "Y"))
(prompt "\nSpecify internal point : ")
(command "-bhatch" pause "")
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(setq ans (getstring "\nContinue? <Y or N> : "))
);while
);progn
);if
(if (or (= flag "O") (= flag "o"))
(progn
(while (or (= ans "y") (= ans "Y"))
(prompt "\nSelect Object : ")
(command "-bhatch" "S" pause "" "")
(setq ans (getstring "\nContinue? <Y or N> : "))
);while
);progn
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
-----------------------------------
Good Morning Mr Ramage,
My name is Chris Griffiths, i spent a night searching the internet for an Autocad program
that would extract 'attext' data from clients drawing title blocks. Preferably a stand alone
program. I found 2, one costs too much for the single need I have, the other program is
'attext.exe' which is very simple but I believe, it needs the dwgs to be in release 12, so I
need to batch convert a few hundred dwgs.
Does your program do this, and how does it work? I tried to use your prog but did not
know where to run it from. Sorry I am a bit incompetent when it comes to technical things.
Chris Griffiths
-----------------------------
My problem is with the creation of the slides. I am having problems with the slides not
filling the image tile fully. They appear as fairly small images in the image tile. I would also
like to be creating them so they are fairly consistant in location.
What's happening...
The dialogue shows a duct piece, when various insulation radio buttons are selected, the
image tile changes to reflect the set insulation. The original slides I created are perfect but
I have created more with extra detail and these are all over the place - I just can't
remember the trick.
Mark
--------------------------------
Could you give me some feedback about the 3d packages you looked at? Im specifically
interested in applications for architects in conjunction with Autocad.
Regards Charles Howroyd
------------------------------------
Charles,
I looked at four main packages. Unfortunately, I was looking at them from the point of view
of Plant Layout and Structural/Mechanical design/detailing and not from an Architectural
point of view.
I had a look at Rhino, AutoCAD Inventor, Rebis and Pro-Engineer.
--------------------------------------
Kenny
Do you or any of your readers have a routine that will search a drawing for 2 identical
entities, be it blocks, lines text etc and delete all but one of those entities.
I have recieved a number of external drawings lately, that have 2 lots of blocks, 1 on top of
the other and am looking for a quick way of cleaning them up. Any help would be greatly
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appreciated.
Thanks
Dennis.
---------------------------------------
Dennis,
Check out the AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-05
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2001-05.htm
---------------------------------------
Mr. Kenny
I'm sorry ! No good of my English.
I have a question about Autocad command of "Offset"
Offset command to select one at a time of Autocad default value .
Now!!
I want to select one time several articles of "Offset" command. (maybe above 500 articles).
How to writing the lisp program??
Thanks for your help ...
Peter Chiu
---------------------------
Peter, try this :
;CODING STARTS HERE
;This application will perform an Offset on multiple entities.
;Kenny Ramage - April 2000
;[email protected]
;http://www.afralisp.com
(prompt "\nType MULTOFF to run....")
(defun c:multoff ( / off sel1 side n lng)
(setq off (getdist "\nOffset Distance : ")
sel1 (ssget)
side (getpoint "\nSelect Side to Offset: ")
n 0
lng (sslength sel1))
(repeat lng
(setq ent (ssname sel1 n))
(command "OFFSET" off ent side "")
(setq n (1+ n))
);repeat
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Save this as "Multoff.lsp".
----------------------------------
Hello,
I'm in need of shareware or software that will batch convert dwg's to pdf's Any help or
ideas?
Regards,
Rodger L. Ackinclose
------------------------
Strange, but I've just received this in my mailbox :
AcroPlot(tm) is the fast, easy, and inexpensive way to convert several AutoCAD drawings
into an Adobe Portable Document Format (*.pdf) file. AcroPlot even includes it's own PDF
Printer driver so there is no need to buy Adobe Acrobat. With AcroPlot(tm) you can easily
add bookmarks, a title page, and even create the email to send the .pdf file to your
customers or clients. Other features include advanced options such as template files, text
tags, and watermarks that allow you to quickly create the perfect PDF document for
anyone to view.
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For further information, contact:
mailto:[email protected]
www.cadopolis.com
Or :
mailto:[email protected]
www.cadzation.com
--------------------------
The Answers
--------------------------
Would you like to have a look at an "Artificially Intelligent Referencing Agent" that runs in
AutoCAD?
Then pop along to Aaron Strom's webpage :
http://geocities.com/watsonlisp/index.html
---------------------------
Re: AutoCAD Background color.
Here's a simple function that changes your bgcolor to any RGB values you like :
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun bgcol (r g b / mycol)
(setq mycol (+ (* b 65536) (* g 256) r))
(command "VBASTMT"
(strcat "Thisdrawing.application.preferences.Display.GraphicsWinModelBackgrndColor =
"
(itoa mycol)
)
)
);defun
;CODING ENDS HERE
I might add that if the color "numbers" look kinda weird, it's because they are computed a
certain way. An OLE-color is a longint and is calculated this way :
Color = (blue * 65536) + (green * 256) + red
Call it from a loop with 3 changing integers and you'll have a psychedelic rush (or maybe
not).
Stig Madsen
---------------------------
I have encountered what may be a bug in AutoCAD 2000 regarding the Layout TABs. On
several occasions now, for seemingly no reason, the UCS on a Layout tab becomes
rotated 90 clockwise - but is still World UCS!! All the info inside the various viewports
appears to have disappeared. You can stand on your head and whistle Beethovens' 5th
through your feet but nothing will rectify the Layout. The solution, though, is very simple.
Use CTRL-C (copy clip) to copy everything on the offending Layout tab. Create a new
Layout and make it current, then CTRL-V (paste). All the info and UCS is back to normal.
You may find that on some occasions the viewports have been turned off, use MVIEW
command to turn them back on.
Hope this may be helpful to some.
Dave
---------------------------
Hey,
Would you like a different version?
Minserts to Inserts and visa versa.
Peter Jamtgaard
;CODING STARTS HERE
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;Minsert to Insert
(defun C:MINTOIN (/ B CNT BELST BENAM ELST ENAM SSET)
(setq SSET (ssget (list (cons 0 "INSERT")))
CNT 0
)
(if SSET
(progn
(repeat (sslength SSET)
(setq ENAM (ssname SSET CNT)
ELST (entget ENAM)
)
(if (= (cdr (assoc 100 (reverse ELST))) "AcDbMInsertBlock")
(progn
(setq ELST (subst (cons 70 0)(assoc 70 ELST) ELST)
ELST (subst (cons 71 0)(assoc 71 ELST) ELST)
ELST (reverse (subst (cons 100 "AcDbBlockReference")(assoc 100 (reverse ELST))
(reverse ELST)))
BENAM ENAM
CNT (1+ CNT)
)
(entmake (cdr ELST))
(setq B 0)
(if (= (cdr (assoc 66 ELST)) 1)
(while B
(setq BENAM (entnext BENAM)
BELST (entget BENAM)
)
(entmake (cdr BELST))
(if (= (cdr (assoc 0 BELST)) "SEQEND")(setq B nil))
)
)
(entdel ENAM)
)
)
)
)
)
(prin1)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
----------------------------------
;CODING STARTS HERE
;Insert to Minsert
(defun C:INTOMIN (/ B CNT BELST BENAM ELST ENAM SSET)
(setq SSET (ssget (list (cons 0 "INSERT")))
CNT 0
)
(if SSET
(progn
(repeat (sslength SSET)
(setq ENAM (ssname SSET CNT)
ELST (entget ENAM)
)
(if (= (cdr (assoc 100 (reverse ELST))) "AcDbBlockReference")
(progn
(setq ELST (subst (cons 70 2)(assoc 70 ELST) ELST)
ELST (subst (cons 71 2)(assoc 71 ELST) ELST)
ELST (reverse (subst (cons 100 "AcDbMInsertBlock")(assoc 100 (reverse ELST)) (reverse
ELST)))
BENAM ENAM
CNT (1+ CNT)
)
(entmake (cdr ELST))
(setq B 0)
(if (= (cdr (assoc 66 ELST)) 1)
(while B
(setq BENAM (entnext BENAM)
BELST (entget BENAM)
)
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(entmake (cdr BELST))
(if (= (cdr (assoc 0 BELST)) "SEQEND")(setq B nil))
)
)
(entdel ENAM)
)
)
)
)
)
(prin1)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
---------------------------
The Back Stoep
---------------------------
A few months ago, there was an opening with the CIA for an assassin. These highly
classified positions are hard to fill, and there's a lot of testing and background checks
involved before you can even be considered for the position. After sending some
applicants through the background checks, training and testing, they narrowed the
possible choices down to 2 men and a woman, but only one position was available.
The day came for the final test to see which person would get the extremely secretive job.
The CIA men administering the test took one of the men to a large metal door and handed
him a gun. "We must know that you will follow your instructions no matter what the
circumstances", they explained. "Inside this room, you will find your wife sitting in a chair.
Take this gun and kill her."
The man got a shocked look on his face and said "You can't be serious! I could never
shoot my own wife!" "Well", says the CIA man, "you're definitely not the right man for this
job then."
So they bring the second man to the same door and hand him a gun. "We must know that
you will follow instructions no matter what the circumstances ", they explained to the
second man. "Inside
you will find your wife sitting in a chair. Take this gun and kill her."
The second man looked a bit shocked, but nevertheless took the gun and went in the
room. All was quiet for about 5 minutes, then the door opened. The man came out of the
room with tears in his
eyes. "I tried to shoot her, I just couldn't pull the trigger and shoot my wife. I guess I'm not
the right man for the job." "No" the CIA man replied, "You don't have what it takes. Take
your wife and
go home."
Now they're down to the woman left to test. Again they lead her to the same door to the
same room and hand her the same gun. "We must be sure that you will follow instructions
no matter what the
circumstances, this is your final test. Inside you will find your husband sitting in a chair.
Take this gun and kill him." The woman took the gun and opened the door. Before the
door even closed all the way, the CIA heard the gun start firing. One shot after another for
13 shots. Then all hell broke loose in the room. They heard screaming, crashing, banging
on the walls. This went on for several minutes, then all went quiet. The door opened
slowly, and there stood the woman.
She wiped the sweat from her brow and said "You guys didn't tell me the gun was loaded
with blanks!
I had to beat the son of a bitch to death with the chair!"
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
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----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy superb music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to this Newsletter,
go to the AfraLisp main page :
http://www.afralisp.com
enter your e-mail address and press the button.
----------------------------------------------------------
;READING ENDS HERE
----------------------
To unsubscribe from the AfraLisp Newsletter, clink on this link :
http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com/[email protected]
We will then hunt you down and make you change your mind.
-----------------------
This newsletter is hosted by :
http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com
-----------------------
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2002 21:50
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-17
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
--------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
--------------------------------------------------
Are you looking for an Applications Developer?
Larry Hooven is your man.
mailto:[email protected]
Read on for more details.
--------------------------
The Front Stoep
--------------------------
"The Times they are-a-Changing"
Ladies and Gentlemen. I'm afraid I've got some good news and some bad news.
The bad news first.
Due to time constraints and work commitments on my side, I am not going to be able to
carry on with the AfraLisp Newsletter. In fact, this will be the final issue.
(Loud groans of dismay rise up from around the planet!!!!)
The good news is, Randall Raath (http://www.vbdesign.net) and myself, Kenny Ramage
(http://www.afralisp.com) have decided to put our heads together and publish a brand
new Newsletter. Within this new, improved, electronic correspondence, provisionally
entitled "Out of the Nutshell", we intend to provide coverage of all the AutoCAD
customisation languages.
(I look after AutoLisp and Visual Lisp, and Randall takes care of VC++ and the DWG
format via VB. We will both be sharing VBA).
The format of the letter will basically remain the same except that we will be covering a
lot more issues and looking at them in greater depth. Don't worry, we will still be catering
for all users, from beginners to experts. We also hope to have quite a few "guest" writers
to give you an even larger subject scope and the Question and Answer format will of
course, still apply - my mailbox is always open.
I hope you will all still continue to support Randall and myself in this new venture. There
will be no need to re-subscribe as your subscription to the AfraLisp Newsletter will
automatically be transferred. In the unlikely chance that you do not like the new
Newsletter, full unsubscribe information will be provided in the first issue and on the
AfraLisp and VB Design websites.
And, talking about the first issue, Wednesday the 15th of May is the planned roll out
date.
Your feedback and comments in regards to this first issue would be greatly appreciated.
I thank you for your support (and more than a few laughs), and hope that you find "Out
of the Nutshell" exciting, informative and that you hopefully learn a thing or two.
I Thank You.....
Kenny
-----------
(Kenny slumps over his keyboard. A tear trickles slowly down his cheek as he realises
that he has reached a crossroads, the end of an era, the beginning of a new
dawn........Sniff, sniff).
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-17
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--------------------------------
Quote of the week
--------------------------------
"2 + 2 = 3 for extremely large values of 2."
--------------------------------
The Site
--------------------------------
As a bit of a "going away" present, I'd like to point you to this link :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/code/code.htm
Here you will find a listing of ALL the coding that appeared in the AfraLisp Newsletters.
Go on, help yourself......
-----------------
Now for a bit of fun.
Copy this into Notepad and save it as "Flag.lsp".
Enjoy!!!
;CODING STARTS HERE
;Written by Watson Kilbourne
(prompt "\nType FLAG to run and stand to attention........")
(defun C:FLAG ( / SP HT XD XA EP YA D1 D2
D3 D4 RP RH XZ YZ P1 P2
P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 PX
PY PZ S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6
oldecho)
(setq oldecho (getvar "CMDECHO"))
(setvar "CMDECHO" 0)
(while (= SP nil)
(setq SP (getpoint "\nPick Lower Left Corner of Flag : "))
);while
(while (= HT nil)
(setq HT (getcorner SP "\nPick Upper Right Corner of Flag : "))
);while
(if (>= (angle SP HT) (/ pi 2))
(setq HT (polar SP (/ pi 4)
(distance SP HT)))
);if
(setq XD (distance SP HT)
XA (angle SP HT)
EP (polar SP (/ pi 2) (* XD (sin XA)))
YA (angle SP EP)
D1 (distance SP EP)
D2 (/ D1 13)
D3 (* D2 0.8)
D4 (* D2 1.4)
RP (polar SP 0.0 (* D1 1.5))
RH (polar EP 0.0 (* D1 1.5))
XZ (polar SP (* pi 1.25) D2)
YZ (polar RH (* pi 0.25) D2)
P1 (polar SP (/ pi 2) (* d2 6))
P2 (polar P1 0.0 (* D2 8.5))
P3 (polar EP 0.0 (* D2 8.5))
P4 (polar SP YA D2)
P5 (polar RP YA D2)
P6 (polar P4 YA D2)
P7 (polar P5 YA D2)
P8 (polar RP YA (* D2 6))
P9 (polar P2 YA D2)
PX (polar P8 YA D2)
PY (polar P9 YA D2)
PZ (polar PX YA D2)
S1 (polar P1 (* pi 0.25) D2)
S2 (polar S1 (* pi 0.3) (* D3 0.172))
S3 (polar S1 (* pi 0.7) (* D3 0.172))
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S4 (polar S1 YA (* D3 0.43952))
S5 (polar S1 (* pi 0.25) D2)
S6 (polar P3 (* pi 1.25) D4)
);setq
(command "BLIPMODE" "OFF"
"FILL" "ON"
"ZOOM" "W" XZ YZ
"LAYER" "M" "BLUE" "C" "5" "" ""
"SOLID" P1 P2 EP P3 ""
"LAYER" "M" "RED" "C" "1" "" ""
"SOLID" SP P4 RP P5 ""
"ARRAY" "L" "" "R" "3" "1" (* D2 2)
"SOLID" P2 P9 P8 PX ""
"ARRAY" "L" "" "R" "4" "1" (* D2 2)
"LAYER" "M" "WHITE" "C" "7" "" ""
"SOLID" P4 P6 P5 P7 ""
"ARRAY" "L" "" "R" "3" "1" (* D2 2)
"SOLID" P9 PY PX PZ ""
"ARRAY" "L" "" "R" "3" "1" (* D2 2)
"SOLID" S1 S2 S3 S4 ""
"ARRAY" "L" "" "P" S1 "5" "360" "Y"
"ARRAY" "W" P1 S5 "" "R" "5" "6" D4 D4
"COPY" "W" P1 S6 "" S1 S5
"BLIPMODE" "ON"
);command
(setvar "CMDECHO" oldecho)
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
-------------
Just as a matter of interest, these were the Top Twenty search strings for AfraLisp
during the month of April: vba tutorials; visual lisp; autolisp; vba; powerpoint vba; edit
dll files; lisp editor; excel timesheet; autocad linetypes; visual basic autocad; vba
autocad; macro recorder; autocad visual basic; autolisp files; edit dll; hatch patterns;
resource hacker;
toolbar.dll; introduction to vba; vba primer.
--------------------------------
The Questions
--------------------------------
Does anyone or has anyone worked with this?? I have done a few things. I'm wondering
if there is a way that I can force the actually size of the link to show more of the object
that I have embedded or linked into my file. I seen a weB site that covered such a topic,
but I did not bookmark it for future reference. I also want to know why it is that when I
create a plt file of a drawing that the OLE info does not get wrote to the plt file. If there is
anyone that can help, please let me know.
Thanks
Brian S. Young
-------------------------------------
Dear Kenny,
Is possible to discover in AutoCAD R14 if source of a Style of I Test they have the
property Bold or Italic with VisualLISP or AutoLISP?
Thanks Sebastio.
---------------------------------------
Hi Kenny
I'm fine tuning some of my lisp routines to include an ABOUT or Help file. I would like to
be able to extract the path portion of a lisp routine that is loaded in the current drawing
using visual lisp. Is this possible?
Cheers
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Dave
-----------------
Dave,
Here you go, this should help you out :
VL-FILENAME-DIRECTORY
Returns the directory path of a file, after stripping out the name and extension.
(vl-filename-directory filename)
Arguments : filename
A string containing a complete file name, including the path. The vl-filename-directory
function does not check to see if the specified file exists. Slashes (/) and backslashes (\)
are accepted as directory delimiters.
Return Values :
A string containing the directory portion of filename, in uppercase.
Example
_$ (vl-filename-directory "c:\\lisp\\lispfile.lsp")
"C:\\LISP"
And a couple more just for interest sake :
VL-FILENAME-BASE
Returns the name of a file, after stripping out the directory path and extension.
(vl-filename-base filename)
Arguments : filename
A string containing a file name. The vl-filename-base function does not check to see if
the file exists.
Return Values :
A string containing filename in uppercase, with any directory and extension stripped
from the name.
Examples
_$ (vl-filename-base "c:\\acadwin\\acad.exe")
"ACAD"
_$ (vl-filename-base "c:\\acadwin")
"ACADWIN"
VL-FILENAME-EXTENSION
Returns the extension from a file name, after stripping out the rest of the name.
(vl-filename-extension filename)
Arguments : filename
A string containing a file name, including the extension. The vl-filename-extension
function does not check to see if the specified file exists.
Return Values :
A string containing the extension of filename. The returned string starts with a period (.)
and is in uppercase. If filename does not contain an extension, vl-filename-extension
returns nil.
Examples
_$ (vl-filename-extension "c:\\acadwin\\acad.exe")
".EXE"
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_$ (vl-filename-extension "c:\\acadwin\\acad")
nil
--------------------------------------
Howdy Kenny et all,
I dont know much about the 'Registry' and I noticed that you had a lisp in this weeks
newsletter regarding accessing it and etc. My question is simply: "What exactly is the
Registry and where do I find it?" Any info at all concerning this area would be
appreciated as I am not familiar with it in any way at all. I realise its probably more a
general computer question than an Autocad question but I'd really like to know anyway.
A lighter note :
What do you call a skeleton in the closet with blonde hair??
Last years Hide n' Seek winner. heh heh..!
Til next time its fare thee well from Oz.....
Pete
---------
Pete,
The registry is used by applications and Windows to store configuration data. It is a
replacement for the large numbers of .ini files that proliferate on Windows 3.x machines,
and is also used heavily by OLE.
Windows 3.1 used initialization (INI) files to store system-specific or application-specific
information on the state or configuration of the system. For example, the WIN.INI file
stored information about the appearance of the Windows environment, the SYSTEM.INI
file stored system-specific information on the hardware and device driver configuration
of the system, and various INI files (such as MSMAIL.INI and WINWORD6.INI) stored
application-specific information.
The Registry remedies this situation by providing a single location for a computer's
configuration information.
The registry is organized using a hierarchical series of keys and values resembling a
tree. Each key, beginning with one of the six predefined root keys, can have subkeys and
values associated with it.
You can access the Registry by choosing "Start" then "Run".
Enter "REGEDIT" into the "Open" text box and then select "OK".
Now open the "HKEY_CURRENT_USER" folder (root key).
Next open the "Software" folder (subkey).
You should find a folder entitled "Autodesk".
Keep on drilling down. You will find a treasure trove.
This will be one subject that I will be looking at in more detail in "Out of the Nutshell".
****WARNING***
Editing the Registry incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to
reinstall your operating system. BEFORE you attempt to edit the registry, make sure you
understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. You have been warned!!!!
--------------------------
Hello Kenny, long time no write. I have noticed that your newsletter is back and running
after along period of "no-letter". Oh well.
I have a question that will make you think a wee bit. You can call it a 3 beer question.
That is you can take up to 3 beers to find an answer. If by then you don't know the
answer, then you can have another 3.
Ok, here goes. I wrote a lisp that analyzes drawing files. You run the lisp and at the end it
tells you how many layers and names in a drawing. How many entities in each layer. How
many block names and instances of each.
In summary, it gives all relevant information of what is in the drawing.
Now what it is missing is SHAPES. And the question is: how do you query for shapes. Is
there a SHAPE table, like BLOCKS and LAYERS?
Thanks Kenny.
Ramn Castro
-------------------------
I have noticed that when you open a drawing that was saved in R14 that you get a
message stating that you are opening an early release saved drawing. you also get the
message when you do your work in LD3 and then save it to R14 format. I have found that
be typing in "EXPERT" at the command line you can this from happening. The only
problem is that when you exit out and then restart AutoCAD that it defaults back to "0".
Does any one know of a way to changes this so that the dialoge box come up?? Please
let me know. We have to
save it in R14, because we still have some Architects in my firm using R14, and they do
not want to change.
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Thanks
Brian
--------------------------
The Answers
--------------------------
One of your readers asked about a attribute extract program
Here is one for you.
Have a great day
Peter Jamtgaard
----------------------------
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun C:Get_Attributes (/ ATTLIST ELST ENT ETYP )
(setq ENT (car (entsel "\nSelect block: "))
ELST (entget ENT)
ETYP (cdr (assoc 0 ELST))
)
(if (= ETYP "INSERT")
(if (assoc 66 ELST)
(princ (setq ATTLIST (atts_to_list ENT)))
(princ "\nThat block doesn't have attributes: ")
)
(princ "\nThat is not a block! ")
)
(prin1)
)
(defun ATTS_TO_LIST (ENAM)
(setq X (vlax-ename->vla-object ENAM))
(if (= (cdr (assoc 66 (entget ENAM))) 1)
(progn
(mapcar '(lambda (X) (cons (vla-get-tagstring X)
(vla-get-textstring X)
)
)
(vlax-safearray->list
(variant-value
(vla-getattributes
(vlax-ename->vla-object ENAM)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
-----------------------------------
Hi Kenny
Re: My problem is with the creation of the slides.
The following info on slide creation is from the AutoCAD 2002 Online Help File -
You can use any slide generated by AutoCAD as an image. However, the optimal use of
Image tile menus requires that you take care in preparing slides that will serve as
images.
Follow these guidelines :
Keep it simple. When an Image tile menu is displayed, the user must wait for all images
to be drawn before making a selection. If you are using the Image tile menu to show the
user numerous complex symbols, make the images simple versions of the symbols
rather than full renditions. An image should be as simple as possible and yet
immediately recognizable. Fill the box. Screen space is limited, and images appear in
small portions of the full screen. When making a slide for an image, be sure to fill the
screen with the image before entering the MSLIDE command. If the image is very wide
and short, or long and thin, the Image tile menu will look best if you center the image on
the screen with the PAN command before making the slide.
Images are displayed with an aspect ratio of 3:2 (3 units wide by 2 units high). If your
drawing area has a different aspect ratio, it can be difficult to produce image slides that
are centered in the Image tile menu. If you work within a floating viewport that has an
aspect ratio of 3:2, you can position the image and be assured that it will look the same
when it is displayed in the Image tile menu.
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Solid-filled areas such as wide polylines, traces, and filled solids are visible in Image
tiles only if the slide was generated after issuing the -SHADE command. Otherwise, they
display as outlines. Do not overuse images as you encode abstract concepts into
symbols.
First Kenny in Space?
Mike
----------------------------
Some nice AutoLisp files :
http://autolisp.3utilities.com/
--------------------------
Kenny
Back in Newsletter 2001-13, you gave us the code to delete objects by double-clicking on
them. You mentioned that one could use this method to double-click on text to open the
text edit box - just what AutoCAD 2000 users want! I know nothing about reactors or vla
commands but (don't ask me how) I put the following code together and it seems to work
just fine! I load the code in the 'Startup Suite' and it works pretty much like double
clicking on text in 2000i. (I cant believe it!)
;CODING STARTS HERE
(vl-load-com)
;------------
(vlr-mouse-reactor "Edit text Object" '((:vlr-beginDoubleClick . DC-Edit)))
(defun DC-Edit (theReactor thePoint / app doc)
(setq app (vlax-get-acad-object)
doc (vla-get-activedocument app)
)
(vla-sendcommand doc "ddedit ")
(princ)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
Any comments or suggested improvements?
Regards
Craig Green
------------------------
I think Craig deserves a big round of applause for this one.
Just one comment! Try double-clicking on a non-text object!!!!
---------------------------
I don't normally do this, but a friend of mine is out of work and this is the last issue.
So, over to you Larry :
Hello,
This morning while getting ready for the day, I realized the solution for problems some of
your readers are facing in their programming department.
They don't really want an Applications Programmer; They want an increase in sales,
reduction in implementation time as well as a reduction in customer complaints about
their product.
Now, I am not some "Developer Cowboy" with an itchy trigger finger. I have
"sleeves-rolled-up" programming skills that will help your readers in their pursuit to:
1. Increase their customer satisfaction.
2. Improve customer service relations.
3. Reduce implementation time and costs.
4. Reduce redundancies that lead to "spaghetti" code.
More importantly, I understand that they are in business to MAKE MONEY and I will help
them do that as well as help get more customers, sell them more and bring them back for
more.
I have worked with some very switched on operators and have copied and emulated
many of the ideas and strategies they use to run successful, service oriented, profit
driven software companies.
I realize that a good applications developer does more than write code to accomplish a
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given task, they are the face of your customers business, and that is a very big
responsibility.
Honestly, do your readers want just another coder, or someone who has the people
skills as well as the logic skills born at the gate level to get the job done.
Would they rather have the next version of their product actually contain new features
rather than "bug fixes"?
If any of your readers are looking for a applications developer who is sales and service
focused and can write tight, error free, well tested code, I would love to hear from them.
If they can afford to pay me for doing all of the above, well then that would be nice too.
Yours Truly,
Larry Hooven.
EXPERIENCE
Design and Production
Designed, developed and programmed applications to generate bills of materials from
AutoCAD drawings automatically.
Wrote modular code and DLL's for functionality of client software product using Visual
Basic 6 and MSSQL.
Developed innovative solutions to nonstandard manufacturing problems using both
software and hardware.
Designed, wrote, and deployed project tracking software that reduced mis-shipped parts
by 70%
Created a successful product failure tracking system using Paradox database engine 5
and Delphi.
Researched and recommended changes in products based on customer feedback.
Designed and directed engineering and technical personnel in fabrication of testing and
test control apparatus and equipment.
Designed, constructed, programmed, tested and implemented automated equipment that
resulted in 300 percent increase in productivity on average.
Part of a development team responsible for writing codes for timing and scoring of CART
Indy cars.
SPECIAL SKILLS
Proficient in Visual basic, JavaScript Proficient in MS Access, pervasive.SQL, MSSQL
and Paradox databases.
I know my way around ADO.
Experienced in PASCAL, FORTRAN, DELPHI, R-Base, DBII, Basic, Dreamweaver4 and
FORTH.
Experienced in all phases of production, including design, customer service, product
testing and evaluation.
Excellent Database normalization skills.
Excellent ladder logic and PLC programming skills.
Contact Details :
Larry Hooven
P.O. BOX 94,
NORCO, CA 92860
PHONE 909-734-0609
mailto:[email protected]
---------------------------
The Back Stoep
---------------------------
For years, it has been believed that electric bulbs emit light, but recent investigation has
proven otherwise. Electric bulbs don't emit light; they suck dark. Thus, we call these
bulbs Dark Suckers.
Studying the Dark Sucker Theory and the characteristics of dark suckers has proven that
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dark has significant mass and is heavier and faster than light.
First, the basis of the Dark Sucker Theory is that electric bulbs suck dark.
For example, consider the Dark Sucker in the room you are in. There is much less dark
near it than there is further away. Larger Dark Suckers are capable of sucking more dark
than smaller ones. Dark Suckers in the parking lot have a much greater capacity to suck
dark than the ones in this room.
As with all things, Dark Suckers don't last forever. Once they are full of dark, they can no
longer suck. This fact is clearly indicated by the dark spot that often appears on a full
Dark Sucker.
A candle is a primitive Dark Sucker. A new candle has a white wick. You can see that
after the first use, the wick turns black. This black is the residue of all the dark that has
been sucked into it. If you put a pencil next to the wick of an operating candle, it will turn
black. This is because the pencil got in the way of the dark flowing into the candle. One
of the disadvantages of these primitive Dark Suckers is their limited range.
There are also portable Dark Suckers. In these, the bulbs can't handle all the dark by
themselves and must be aided by a Dark Storage Unit. When the Dark Storage Unit is
full, it must be either emptied or replaced before the portable Dark Sucker can operate
again.
Dark has been shown to have mass. When dark goes into a Dark Sucker,
friction from the mass causes heat. Thus, touching an operating Dark Sucker is not
advised. Candles present a special problem, as the mass must travel into a solid wick
instead of through clear glass. This generates a greater amount of heat and therefore it's
more dangerous to touch an operating
candle. Also, dark is heavier than light. If you were to swim just below the surface of a
lake, you would see a great amount of light. If you were to slowly swim deeper and
deeper, you would notice it getting darker and darker. When you get to some great
depth, you would be in total darkness. This is because the heavier dark sinks to the
bottom of the lake and the lighter light floats at the top. This is why it is called light.
Finally, we can prove that dark travels faster than light. If you were to stand in a lit room
in front of a closed, dark closet, and slowly opened the door, you would see the light
slowly enter the closet. But since dark is so fast, you would not be able to see it escape.
Cosmologists now believe that most of the mass in the universe is Dark Matter.
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
---------------------------------------------------------
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
---------------------------------------------------------
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
----------------------------------------------------------
If you enjoy superb music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://www.BedrockBand.com
----------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe to this Newsletter,
go to the AfraLisp main page :
http://www.afralisp.com
enter your e-mail address and press the button.
----------------------------------------------------------
----------------------
To unsubscribe from the AfraLisp Newsletter, clink on this link :
http://www.yourmailinglistprovider.com/[email protected]
We will then hunt you down and make you change your mind.
-----------------------
This newsletter is hosted by :
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-----------------------
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2002-17
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Sunday, September 16, 2001 14:58
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-01
AfraLisp : http://afralisp.hypermart.net
=====================================
Hello and Welcome.....
Short and sweet, eh?
No, I'm not lazy, (not very) but how else do you start off a
newsletter that you haven't produced for over a year?
I suppose I should begin by explaining what I've been doing for the
last 12 months!!
Easy.......I was practicing to become a "Rock Star." (Don't believe
me? Check out this site : http://kramage.tripod.com)
O.K. I promise, no more plugs for my new CD "Recovery"
available at :
http://kramage.tripod.com
and currently at No 14 on the South African Charts.
Enough Kenny!!!
Sorry......
Right, we've got that over with so now onto something completely
indifferent.
THE FORMAT OF THIS LETTER!!!!
Here is where I need your help.
I would like/hope/wish this letter to be an open forum where "us"
people who are interested in AutoCAD/AutoLisp/Visual
Lisp/VBA/VB, etc, can write in with problems, solutions,
annoyances, gimmicks, etc, etc, and hopefully, receive some
constructive feedback.
I will try to help the best I can, but I really need "YOU", "YES
YOU", (don't look away,) to share with all the other readers of this
letter the pearls and fruits of your vast wisdom and experience.
This letter will concentrate more on AutoLisp and Visual Lisp
rather that VBA. The one reason being, is that I know what I'm
doing with AutoLisp (I think) and the second being that Randall
Raath is too bloody good at VBA/VB. (I had to say that as he'd
threatened to de-tune my guitar at my next gig if I said something
within the negative. He also now owes me 2 beers for being nice to
him.)
That aside, I do take great pleasure in proving to Randall that an
ancient and arcane language such as AutoLisp can still do lot's of
things that VBA/VB cannot do!!!! And, I don't need a VB interface
to programme, just Notepad or even DOS Edit. Hey Randall, some
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of my stuff will even work on R10. (How's that for fighting talk?)
Anyway, down to business. (as the actress said to the Bishop.)
The letter will be split into certain distinct sections, most of which
will require contributions from yourself and every other reader to
make them work :
The Front Stoep.
This is the front veranda (stoep is the African word for veranda,)
where I sprout off about anything that catches my fancy, normally
whilst indulging in a nice cold beer.
The Site.
http://afralisp.hypermart.net
This is where I let you know what has been added or changed on
AfraLisp.
At the moment, I'm busy with a major upgrade and plan to make it
a much more interactive site.
Don't worry, the tutorials will not only stay, but lot's more will be
added within the near future.
(If I've got to learn Visual Lisp, you might as well learn with me.)
The Questions.
This bit you fill in. Send your questions to me at
mailto:[email protected] and if I can't answer, I'm sure some
kind reader will help you out. (I even put questions in here.)
The Answers.
I fill in what I can, the rest you do. Send answers to
mailto:[email protected]
The Back Stoep.
Here, I do anything that catches my fancy that I forgot to mention
earlier whilst indulging in my 3rd beer.
The Credits.
The bit at the bottom that nobody ever reads unless they want to
un-subscribe.
Right. You've got the idea!!!! So, what are you waiting for?
Send in the e-mails and I look forward to speaking to you all next
week............
Cheers,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
=====================================
AfraLisp : http://afralisp.hypermart.net
=====================================
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]
with "Unsubscribe" in the Subject Line.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
=====================================
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
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mailto:[email protected]
with "Subscribe" in the Subject Line.
=====================================
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://kramage.tripod.com
=====================================
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C. (or even your life for that matter.)
==========================================
Bye.
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-01
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2001/2001-01.htm (3 of 3) [23/03/2005 05:50:08 p.m.]
Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2001 12:32
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-02
AfraLisp : http://afralisp.hypermart.net
=====================================
The Front Stoep
Instead of working, I'm sitting here contemplating my belly button whilst drinking beer. Why,
you might ask? Simple. I'm surrounded by a vast mountain of pamphlets, photo copies and
technical manuals ranging from VB6 to Visual Lisp to "How to record a set of drums so that
the punters think it's Bon Jovi and not some little garage band." You see, I'm trying to catch
up with all of the developments that have gone on in the AutoCAD programming world over
the past year.
But, don't worry, I'm getting there. I'm slowly plodding my way along and really quite
enjoying myself. A lot of the hard work in sussing out how these languages can co-exist with
AutoCAD has already been done by people like Randall Raath, Frank Zanders and others. All
I have to do now is to work out how to present it in such a way that they don't realise where I
stole it from. (hee, hee.)
Please note, that if you are receiving these letters twice, please let me know as I'm trying to
update my old mailing list with new subscriptions coming in all the time. In other words, I get
a bit confused!!! (and that is not difficult for me.)
The Site
AfraLisp is still under major re-construction but new sections should be
posted within the next week or two. (time, time, time.....) To keep you happy
here's a couple of handy tricks.......
Have you had a good look at the Express Tools yet? Under the Text sub-menu there
is a little gem of a routine called "Rtext." Using this application you can
insert Diesel expressions anywhere in your drawing. This is great for Plot
Stamps and much easier to setup and maintain than other Plot Stamp
applications. Just insert it into your template drawings and away you go.
Here's the one that I use :
Date Plotted : $(edtime, 0, Mon DD"," YYYY - H:MMam/pm)
Plotted By : $(upper, $(getvar, "loginname"))
This "stamps" the Plotted Date and Time as well as the users Login name.
Check out the "Rtext" help for more details and more uses.
==================================================================
Can anybody remember the Acad.lsp file? Now that there are MNL files and Acaddoc.Lsp,
Acad.Lsp would seem to be redundant. Well not really. The Acad.Lsp file is great for ensuring
that partial menu's are loaded.
So, want to ensure your custom menu/menu's, including pulldowns, are loaded
everytime AutoCAD is opened? Copy and paste this into your Acad.Lsp file
substituting your menu name where applicable :
;;;Start Coding Here
(defun MYSTARTUP ( );;;replace this line with the following if you are using R2000
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;;;(defun-q MYSTARTUP ( )
;first set the flag
(setq flag1 T)
;check for the existence of the menu
(setq loaded (menugroup "MYMENU"))
;if it's not loaded
(if (= loaded nil)
;do the following
(progn
;find the menu
(setq temp (findfile "MYMENU.MNU"))
;if you find it
(if temp
;do the following
(progn
;suppress dialogues
(setvar "FILEDIA" 0)
;load the menu
(command "menuload" "MYMENU")
;un-suppress dialogues
(setvar "FILEDIA" 1)
;load the first pulldown
(menucmd "P11=+MYMENU.POP1")
;load the second
(menucmd "P12=+MYMENU.POP2")
;tell them what you are doing
(prompt "\nLoading MyMenu Custom Utilities....\n")
);progn
;if you cannot find the menu, do this
(progn
;tell the it's missing
(alert "Cannot Locate MyMenu Menu. \n
Blame Randall Raath.")
;clear the flag
(setq flag1 nil)
);progn
);if
);progn
);if
;if the flag is set
(if flag1
;inform the user
(prompt "\nMyMenu Custom Utilities Loaded....\n")
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);if
;finish clean
(princ)
);defun
;append your startup function to any other startup function
(setq S::STARTUP (append S::STARTUP MYSTARTUP))
;;;End Coding Here
Please ensure that all "MYMENU" menu files are in your AutoCAD search path.
=======================================================================
The following will give you a list of all entries in a symbol table. This is
great for creating a list to populate a list box in DCL.
;;;Start Coding Here
(defun tablelist (s / d r)
(while
(setq d (tblnext s (null d)))
(setq r (cons (cdr (assoc 2 d)) r))
);while
);defun
;;;End Coding Here
For example, if you would like a list of all layers in a specific drawing,
use this :
(setq all_layers (tablelist "LAYER"))
AutoLisp should return something like this :
("7" "6" "5" "4" "3" "2" "0")
To populate a list box with the key of "selections," use this :
(start_list "selections")
(mapcar 'add_list all_layers)
====================================================================
The Questions
And the first question in this newsletter is from Antonio Pellegrino :
I read your report "Application data" of Afralisp.com.
I download the routines c:test8 and register that work very fine to control
the number of runs of an application by 'setcfg' and 'getcfg' that write and
read the file acad.cfg.
This approach is not very safe if I want distribute my demo-application for
valuation to potential users because the file acad.cfg is a ASCII file that
can be read and write by users in a very easy way.
I thinked to Autolisp files but also them are ASCII files. There's a way to
write informations in place very hard to read and write by users?
Thank you for the answer.
By Antonio Pellegrino.
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mailto:[email protected]
This was always a problem with earlier releases of AutoCAD. There was, and still probably
are, a couple of applications floating around that "protected" your source coding.
Unfortunately, these applications were cracked days before they were ever released. With the
release of Visual Lisp though, and the ability to compile your applications, things have
changed. Visual Lisp also gives you access to the Windows registry. This may not be a
foolproof way of storing this type of demo data, but most amateurs think twice before messing
with the registry. VBA , of course is also another solution. You didn't mention what release of
AutoCAD you are working with, but my advice would be to upgrade if you are using one of the
earlier releases and are serious about protecting your work.
============================================================
I got a question...
How do you set dwgprops using lisp???
Thanx
Dan
mailto:[email protected]
I don't know but would love to!! Can anybody out there help?
=============================================================
Is there a batch converter for converting old AutoCad drawings to AutoCad
2000? If so where can I find it.
Thanks
Darrell Trent
Peabody Energy
St. Louis, Mo
314-342-7636
mailto:[email protected]
Darrell,check out http://afralisp.hypermart.net/lisp59.htm
This is a tutorial on creating batch slides but you should be able to modify the coding to do
want you want. (Hint: Just open the drawing in 2000 then save it.) If you get stuck give me a
yell and I'll send you the coding.
================================================================
Anybody know the latest method of loading and unloading a VBA application using AutoLisp?
Kenny
mailto:[email protected]
================================================================
The next contribution is stolen from Frank Zander with his blessing.
Contract CADD Group
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
This application is the perfect example of how something so simple can be so powerful.
My immediate reaction on reading this article and then running the coding was, "Why didn't I
think of that?"
I implemented it into my office so quickly you wouldn't believe it.
Using VBA in AutoCAD R14 / 2000 to Control Layer Standards.- Frank Zanders
Introduction
Have you ever wondered why drawings can contain many layers, but objects such as "text",
"dimensions" and "hatch" do not always end up on the correct layers? This article addresses
a potential solution to that problem. First, I talk briefly about layer standards and show you
how to create a small VBA project for AutoCAD r14.01 or 2000 to control layers.
Layer Standards
Several times in the past, I have been asked by new users, "Why doesn't AutoCAD put text
objects on the text layer and hatch objects on a hatch layer, etc?" The answer is that Autodesk
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has designed AutoCAD to give users unrestricted flexibility with layer names and to allow
companies to create or adopt any layer standard. Unfortunately, this flexibility of
open-architecture layer names within AutoCAD has allowed many an AutoCAD user to
recklessly create layer names. Sometimes, it seems, layer names are chosen according to what
pops into the user's head while staring at the AutoCAD layer dialogue box! And after several
other users in the same company use these layer names, the results are then called the
"company layer standards".
There are many recognized layer standards in existence, such as AIA, Master Format, British
BSD, etc. that companies can adopt, but it seems to be more trendy for companies to make up
their own layer names and standards on the fly. The rationale seems to be "Those other
existing layer standards could not possibly accommodate the type of work that our company
does. " How many times have you come across a drawing (done by someone else, of course)
containing layers called dim, dimension, and dimensions? The purpose of this small VBA
project is to create a mini layer-manager that enforces layers for "text", "hatch" and
"dimension" objects as they are created in a drawing. Text goes on to a layer called "text",
hatch patterns are placed on a layer called "hatch", and dimensions are placed on a layer
called "dim". Seems almost too obvious! Sure, this is a rather simplistic way of managing
layers for objects, but it works! For those interested in modifying the code to fit your own
company layer standard or for working with multiple disciplines, take a look at the section
called "Extending the Code" later in the article.
I was recently exposed to the "AcadDocument_BeginCommand" sub-program when I began a
technical review for WROX press of a book called AutoCAD - VBA Programmers Reference
(currently being written by Joe Sutphin). Joe's example code made me think, "Wow! I could
apply his technique to do some layer management of my own!" In the program outlined in this
article, I access this sub-program to check on the command being accessed by AutoCAD. Once
the command being used is checked, it creates the appropriate layer settings before AutoCAD
starts the command. Therefore, when a user enters the text command, my VBA program
sets-up and/or creates the text layer, transparently in the background, before the text
command starts. The sub-program "AcadDocument_BeginCommand" picks up on AutoCAD
commands used in LISP programs and any alias (defined in the ACAD.pgp) that references an
AutoCAD command. For example, if a user types "BH" (standard short cut alias for the
"bhatch" command), the sub-program "AcadDocument_BeginCommand" still traps the
"bhatch" command.
The compliment to the "AcadDocument_BeginCommand" sub-program is the sub-program
"AcadDocument_EndCommand". I use the latter sub-program to check for the name of the
command that has just been completed. If the command name matches my criteria (using the
"select case" method), the layer is set back to the original layer in use before the command was
started. Look at the following commented code to see if you can follow what is happening
inside the VBA program. Start with the "AcadDocument_BeginCommand" sub-program and
finish with the "AcadDocument_EndCommand" sub-program.
A Look at the Code
'<---Coding Starts Here
' Using Option Explicit -- you must explicitly declare all variables using the
' Dim, Private, Public, ReDim, or Static statements.
' If you attempt to use an undeclared variable name,
' an error occurs at compile time.
' Option Explicit is a great way to make sure you do not have wonkie typo mistakes
' in your code.
Option Explicit
' set the public object current Layer to be an AutoCAD Layer
Public objCurrentLayer As AcadLayer
' set the public object Previous Layer to be an AutoCAD Layer
Public objPreviousLayer As AcadLayer
Private Sub AcadDocument_BeginCommand(ByVal CommandName As String)
' Save the current / active AutoCAD layer
Set objPreviousLayer = ThisDrawing.ActiveLayer
' Check for the folowing cases of the AutoCAD command.
Select Case CommandName
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' Check the AutoCAD command,
' is there a match for TEXT, MTEXT, or DTEXT
Case "TEXT", "MTEXT", "DTEXT" ' then do the following..
' check for to see if the current layer is Text
' if the current layer is not TEXT then set up the TEXT
' layer for use.
If Not ThisDrawing.ActiveLayer.Name = "TEXT" Then
' set up the TEXT layer
' this layer will be created if it does not exist
Set objCurrentLayer = ThisDrawing.Layers.Add("TEXT")
' make the TEXT layer blue
objCurrentLayer.Color = acBlue
' turn the TEXT layer ON
objCurrentLayer.LayerOn = True
' Thaw the TEXT layer
objCurrentLayer.Freeze = False
' Unlock the TEXT layer
objCurrentLayer.Lock = False
' Make the TEXT layer the current
' active layer in this drawing.
ThisDrawing.ActiveLayer = objCurrentLayer
' end of if checking for TEXT being the current layer.
End If
' Check the AutoCAD command,
' is there a match for HATCH, or the BHATCH command.
Case "HATCH", "BHATCH"
' check for to see if the current layer is HATCH
' if the current layer is not HATCH then set up the HATCH
' layer for use.
If Not ThisDrawing.ActiveLayer.Name = "HATCH" Then
' set up the HATCH layer
Set objCurrentLayer = ThisDrawing.Layers.Add("HATCH")
' make the HATCH layer red
objCurrentLayer.Color = acRed
' turn the HATCH layer ON
objCurrentLayer.LayerOn = True
' Thaw the HATCH layer
objCurrentLayer.Freeze = False
' Unlock the HATCH layer
objCurrentLayer.Lock = False
' Make the HATCH layer the current
' active layer in this drawing.
ThisDrawing.ActiveLayer = objCurrentLayer
' end of if checking for HATCH being the current layer.
End If
' check for AutoCAD dimension commands..
Case "DIMALIGNED", "DIMANGULAR", "DIMCENTER", _
"DIMCONTINUE", "DIMDIAMETER", "DIMLINEAR", "LEADER", _
"DIMORDINATE", "DIMRADIUS", "DIM", "DIM1"
If Not ThisDrawing.ActiveLayer.Name = "DIM" Then
Set objCurrentLayer = ThisDrawing.Layers.Add("DIM")
objCurrentLayer.Color = 140
objCurrentLayer.LayerOn = True
objCurrentLayer.Freeze = False
objCurrentLayer.Lock = False
ThisDrawing.ActiveLayer = objCurrentLayer
' end of if checking for DIM being the current layer.
End If
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' end of the Select
End Select
' end of Private Sub AcadDocument_BeginCommand
End Sub
Private Sub AcadDocument_EndCommand(ByVal CommandName As String)
' Check for the folowing cases of the AutoCAD command that has just ended.
Select Case CommandName
' check for a match on the following AutoCAD commands
Case "HATCH", "BHATCH", "MTEXT", "TEXT", "DTEXT", _
"DIMALIGNED", "DIMANGULAR", "DIMCENTER", _
"DIMCONTINUE", "DIMDIAMETER", "DIMLINEAR", "LEADER", _
"DIMORDINATE", "DIMRADIUS", "DIM", "DIM1"
' make the current active AutoCAD layer the previously saved layer.
ThisDrawing.ActiveLayer = objPreviousLayer
' clear the objCurrentLayer
Set objPreviousLayer = Nothing
End Select
' clear the objCurrentLayer
Set objCurrentLayer = Nothing
' end Private Sub AcadDocument_EndCommand
End Sub
'Coding Ends Here-->
=======================================================
Change the layer names to suit your own then place the coding into a module in "This
Drawing." Then add it to your Startup Suite. I tell you, brilliant. Thanks again Frank.
=======================================================
The Back Stoep
A number of people have asked why I do this? Here's one reason :
Dear Mr. Ramage,
We are two boys on a technical orientated school in the South-Western part of
Germany.
For our graduation next summer we have to do a "special" work.
Our teacher told us that there is no user's manual in German for this programme
like you have put on in English on the website
http://afralisp.hypermart.net/tutor.htm.
Because of the fact that we both have Advanced Course English he asked us to
translate your manual into German and put it on a website.
We would appreciate it, if you could give us the permission to translate your
manual from English into German.
Please answer as soon as you can; if it is possible until Thursday, because we
have a meeting on Friday with our teacher and he wants to give us further
instructions.
If we do not get your permission - we do not hope so - he will give us another -
maybe bad - work.
We would be very proud to translate the your manual into German, so please let
us know what is going on.
Sincerely
Markus & Lars
Would you give them permission?
========================================================
A couple of great informative and helpful AutoLisp/VBA sites :
VB Design
http://www.vbdesign.net/
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Contract CADD Group
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
AcadX.Com
http://www.acadx.com
Reini Urban
http://xarch.tu-graz.at/autocad
======================================================
Did you hear of the Irish town of Ballybutton?
It's a Naval Base.............
And I'd like to leave on this note :
C#
(That's "C sharp" for the musically illiterate amongst you.)
Cheers,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
=====================================
AfraLisp : http://afralisp.hypermart.net
=====================================
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]
with "Unsubscribe" in the Subject Line.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
=====================================
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]
with "Subscribe" in the Subject Line.
=====================================
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://kramage.tripod.com
=====================================
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
==========================================
Bye.
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-02
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2001 6:36
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-03
AfraLisp
URL : http://www.afralisp.com
E-mail : mailto:[email protected]
=====================================
The Front Stoep
So, have you been to AfraLisp's new home yet? Nice hey! Just wait, I've got lot's of new content in
the pipeline and lot's of space to do it with. Again, a big thank you to Frank Zander (Contract
CADD Group - http://www.contractcaddgroup.com) for his generous help in making this possible.
I mentioned last week that if you were receiving multiple copies of this newsletter then you must
please let me know. Well conversely, if you are not receiving the newsletter, you must also let me
know!!!
But, I digress. Have we got some goodies for you this week?
Curious? then read on.......
The Site
I've posted a couple of new items on AfraLisp. One is a tutorial on "Automating Menu Loading."
You can find this at http://www.afralisp.com/menuload.htm
The second one I'm not going to say anything about at the moment. You'll find out all about it
later on in the letter.
As the pickings on the website are a bit slender this week because AfraLisp is still under
reconstruction, (or should it be "destruction?" as Randall Raath would say) a couple of more code
snippets for you to play with :
Want to repeat a command indefinitely using AutoLisp?
Try this :
;;;<--Coding starts here
(defun c:test ()
(prompt "\nSpecify first point: ")
(command "_LINE")
(while
(= 1 (logand (getvar "CMDACTIVE") 1))
(command PAUSE)
(prompt "\nSpecify next point: ")
);while
;;;Now you can carry on with rest of your programme
(alert "\nLine command is complete.")
(princ)
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);defun
;;;Coding ends here-->
And here's another bit of coding that draws a never ending leader line :
;;;<--Coding starts here
(defun c:test1 ( / pt1 pt2 pt3)
(setq pt1 (getpoint "\nSpecify first point: "))
(setq pt2 (getpoint "\nSpecify next point: "))
(setq pt3 (polar pt1 (angle pt1 pt2) 3.5))
(command "_PLINE" pt1 "W" "0" 5.0 pt3 "W" "0" "0" pt2)
(while
(setq pt2 (getpoint "\nTo point: " pt2))
(command pt2)
);while
(command "")
;;;Now you can carry on with rest of your programme
(alert "\nLeader Line command is complete.")
(princ)
);defun
;;;Coding ends here-->
====================================================================
The Questions
Hello Kenny,
Just having another look over your site today after you sent out the new
newsletter, and was having a look at the section "Creating a Toolbar DLL."
http://afralisp.com/vba15.htm
I came across a great web site a while ago which offers a Resource compiler
which I use to create toolbar dll's and its FREE. I thought this might be
useful to people who don't have VB6. The link is below.
http://rpi.net.au/~ajohnson/resourcehacker/
BTW, I have no affiliation with the site, I'm just trying to contribute
something to the CAD community.
Regards,
Chad.
mailto:[email protected]
Thanks Chad, you're a star....
I downloaded this application, it's called "Resource Hacker," and believe me it really works. It's
quite small (533Kb zipped) and reasonably easy to use. The only problem comes when you want to
create a new DLL file. As the author was not kind enough to provide an empty one for us to use, I
just took an existing one, deleted the bitmaps I didn't require and added the ones I did. I am trying
to contact the author to ask him for permission to include this on AfraLisp. If he grants my wish,
I'll post an empty DLL for you to use.
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Breaking News.
You can find a tutorial explaining everything you need to know about this application in regards to
creating Toolbar DLL's, and links to the download sites at : http://www.afralisp.com/vbadll.htm
See, I have been busy!!!
=========================================================================
Afternoon
I have a question for you. I am using ACAD2000i.
How can I determine if lines are duplicate or fragmented lines contained
in that line (lines that are over lines) so they can removed from the
drawing?
I just need a code fragment or where to start from or look for. The code
fragment could be in lisp or vba.
Thank for any help
Tom
mailto:[email protected]
=============================================================
Re: Using VBA in AutoCAD R14 / 2000 to Control Layer Standards.
Frank Zanders
I have a question on this VBA tool from Frank.
He traps certain AutoCAD commands and sets certain layers current.
My question is, Is there a way to trap a lisp command and have it
change layers the same way. Reason is because some lisp routines
I have are encoded so I can't edit the routine to change layers so I'm
trying to find another way of doing it, and this would be great.
Thank you
Darek D. Watson
mailto:[email protected]
Darek, one possible solution.
Create a new lisp file that changes to the desired layer first, calls the
encoded lisp routine as a sub-routine, and then changes the layer back.
=================================================================
Answers
And the question in question was :
"How do you set dwgprops using AutoLisp?"
And the beginning of the answer is :
"You want to modify the Revision Number field on the Statistic tab of the
Drawing Properties dialog box do you?
This field is used by revision control or other drawing management software.
There is no simple method for editing this field. However, you can use the
following AutoLISP function to update this field.
Note: You must save the drawing prior to updating its revision number with
the following sample routine."
;;;;
;;;;Beginning of the AutoLISP routine
;;;
(defun add-record (/ Xrec Xname)
(setq Xrec '((0 . "XRECORD")
(100 . "AcDbXrecord")
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(1 . "DWGPROPS COOKIE")
(9 . "")
)
)
(setq Xname (entmakex Xrec))
(dictadd (namedobjdict) "DWGPROPS" Xname)
)
(prompt "\nType in UPDREV to start this routine")
(defun c:updRev (/ xlist rev)
(setq Rev (getstring "\nEnter drawing Revision Number: "))
(setq xlist (dictsearch (namedobjdict) "DWGPROPS"))
(if Xlist
(progn
(dictremove (namedobjdict) "DWGPROPS")
(dictadd (namedobjdict) "DWGPROPS" (entmakex (subst (cons 9 Rev)
(assoc 9 xlist) xlist)))
)
(progn
(add-record)
(setq xlist (dictsearch (namedobjdict) "DWGPROPS"))
(dictremove (namedobjdict) "DWGPROPS")
(dictadd (namedobjdict) "DWGPROPS" (entmakex (subst (cons 9 Rev)(assoc
9 xlist) xlist)))
;(entmod (subst (cons 9 Rev) (assoc 9 xlist) xlist))
)
)
(princ)
)
;;;;
;;;;End of the AutoLISP routine
;;;
And it came from :
Victor Delgado
mailto:[email protected]
O.K. who's brave enough to expand on this?
Remember, you're only allowed to use AutoLisp.
==============================================
And, believe it or not, hot of the press.......
"I created a routine in 2002 for setting DwgProps...
Thanks to Victor Delgado for pointing out info on AutoDesks webpage.
Here is what I came up with..."
<--- Start Of Lisp --->
;----------------------------------
; 2 Title
; 3 Subject
; 4 Author
; 6 Comments
; 7 Keywords
; 1 Hyperlink
; 8 Last saved by
; 9 Revision
; 40 Editing time
; 41 Creation time
; 42 Last modified time
; 90 Number of custom properties
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; 300-309 Custom properties
;----------------------------------
(defun add-record (NUMBER / Xrec Xname)
(setq Xrec '((0 . "XRECORD")
(100 . "AcDbXrecord")
(1 . "DWGPROPS COOKIE")
(NUMBER . "")
))
(setq Xname (entmakex Xrec))
(dictadd (namedobjdict) "DWGPROPS" Xname)
)
(defun upddwgp (NUMBER STRING)
;(defun upddwgp (NUMBER / xlist STRING)
(setq xlist (dictsearch (namedobjdict) "DWGPROPS"))
(if Xlist
(progn
(dictremove (namedobjdict) "DWGPROPS")
(dictadd (namedobjdict) "DWGPROPS" (entmakex (subst (cons NUMBER STRING)
(assoc NUMBER xlist) xlist)))
)
(progn
(add-record NUMBER)
(setq xlist (dictsearch (namedobjdict) "DWGPROPS"))
(dictremove (namedobjdict) "DWGPROPS")
(dictadd (namedobjdict) "DWGPROPS" (entmakex (subst (cons NUMBER STRING)(assoc
NUMBER xlist) xlist)))
;(entmod (subst (cons NUMBER STRING) (assoc NUMBER xlist) xlist))
)
)
(princ)
)
<--- End Of Lisp --->
<--- Start Example Function Call --->
(setq MYSTRING "This is my string")
(upddwgp 6 MYSTRING)
<--- End Example Function Call --->
If you see fit, then add to your newsletter and/or website...
Or if you know a better way of doing things I would really like to see them...
Thanx
Dan Landrum
mailto:[email protected]
THANK YOU, Victor and Dan.
This is what this Newsletter is all about.
Maybe we should call it the "Open AutoLisp Alliance?"
or OAA or "?" (think about the last one.)
==========================================================================
The question :
"Anybody know the latest method of loading and
unloading a VBA application using AutoLisp?"
The answer :
"This is how I've been doing it. Don't know if it's the right way or not
but it works."
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(command "undefine" ".qsave")
(defun c:qsave ()
(command "vbaload" "n:\\autocad\\common\\pltstmp.dvb")
(command "vbarun" "pltstmp.thisdrawing.pltstmp")
(command "vbaunload" "pltstmp")
(command ".qsave")
(princ)
)
Darek Watson
mailto:[email protected]
Thank's Darek, let's see if we get anymore answers to this vexing issue.
==========================================================
I would like to extract extended entity data and property data
from child elements of inserted blocks. I have tried various things, but I
can only access the data properties of the parent block entity. What method
should I use?
Eric Tompos
mailto:[email protected]
==========================================================
The Back Stoep
Well, that's about it for this week. My daughter is home from boarding school so I'm getting nasty
female type looks every time I sit down at the computer. Crikey I hate shopping, especially when
I'm only the unpaid taxi driver. Naaaw, I don't really mind. We don't see much of Kyla with her
being away at school in Cape Town and she is studying so hard for her finals.
So, I bid you farewell until next week and leave you with this :
There was a man who sent ten different puns to his work mates,
in the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh.
Unfortunately, no pun in ten did.
Cheers,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
======================================================
Sites worth a wee look at :
VB Design
http://www.vbdesign.net/
Contract CADD Group
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
AcadX.Com
http://www.acadx.com
Reini Urban
http://xarch.tu-graz.at/autocad
=====================================
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
=====================================
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]
with "Unsubscribe" in the Subject Line.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
=====================================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-03
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2001/2001-03.htm (6 of 7) [23/03/2005 05:50:11 p.m.]
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]
with "Subscribe" in the Subject Line.
=====================================
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://kramage.tripod.com
=====================================
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
==========================================
Bye.
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-03
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2001/2001-03.htm (7 of 7) [23/03/2005 05:50:11 p.m.]
Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Saturday, October 06, 2001 7:31
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-04
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
=====================================
AfraLisp is supported by :
Contract CADD Group
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
=====================================
The Front Stoep
Ladies and Gentlemen and Randall. I welcome you once again to my humble abode and hope that
you are feeling well within yourself. Moi? I feel great. Tired yet happy, busy as a little bee,
haphazardly flitting from programme to programme overcoming new challenges, discovering
otherwise unknown planets, conquering the entire civilised world.........
To cut a long story short, I'm fine thanks.
I'm still busy, slowly but surely, with the updating of AfraLisp. Oh yeah, before I forget, please
remember that AfraLisp will also post your AutoLisp or VB/VBA application. Just send it to me,
(the coding please, not the application,) I place it on AfraLisp, and suddenly, you're rich and
famous. Sounds good doesn't it, and it doesn't cost you a penny. Ask Randall, he must be a
millionnaire by now with all the stuff I've nicked from him and posted on AfraLisp :-)))
Right, enough waffle. Shut the doors, draw the curtains, switch the lights off, (the lights, not your
monitor!!) and on with the show........
============================================================
The Site
Creating Icon menu's in AutoCAD can be quite tedious. First you need to create slides of all your
drawings that you want to include in your menu. (http://www.afralisp.com/lisp59a.htm) Secondly,
you need to create a text file with the names of all the slides. Thirdly you need to run "Slidelib.exe"
to create your slide menu. And last but not least, you need to add all the menu items and macros to
your menu. (http://www.afralisp.com/menu3.htm)
A lot of work hey! Then, 2 months later you want to add something to the menu and you have to go
through the whole process again.
This is where the "AfraLisp Slide Manager" comes in. This application will allow you to create
Slide Libraries without the overhead of having to create icon menu's or modify your menu files. Pop
along, download the AutoLisp application and play around with it. Your comments would be
appreciated.
You can find "AfraLisp Slidemanager" at : http://www.afralisp.com/slideman.htm
Wach this space 'cos I'm busy attempting to produce a similar application using VBA.
(Randall, stop laughing......Jessica, please throw him a fish or something.)
By the way, for those of you who don't know Randall, he's a 42.4 year old Llama.
You can find him at http://www.vbdesign.net
Don't tell him I sent you!!!
===========================================================================
The Autosave feature in AutoCAD does not save the drawing you are working on, but saves a copy
of your drawing to a directory stored in the Savefilepath system variable. This drawing does not
have the same name as your drawing file and can be overwritten with subsequent Autosaves. Here's
a little VBA application which I wrote that will save your drawings at a user determined interval.
(or very close.) It basically takes the time from the system clock and stores it in one of the User
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system variables. Every time you select "Line," "Pline," or "Zoom," the application checks to see if
15 minutes has passed. If it hasn't, it does nothing. If it has, it saves the drawing and then resets the
stored time to the system time. (Phew!)
Stick this coding in a module, save it as "SaveTime.dvb," and add it to your startup suitcase.
'<--Start Coding Here
Option Explicit
Private Sub AcadDocument_BeginCommand(ByVal CommandName As String)
Dim OldTime
Dim NewTime
'trigger when user selects
Case "LINE", "PLINE", "ZOOM"
'get the time now
NewTime = (Hour(Time) * 60) + Minute(Time)
'get the time stored in USERI2
OldTime = ThisDrawing.GetVariable("Useri2")
'If the time has not been set
If OldTime = 0 Then
'set the time
ThisDrawing.SetVariable ("Useri2"), NewTime
'then end
End
End If
'if the difference is greater that 15 minutes
If (NewTime - OldTime) > 15 Then
'save the drawing
ThisDrawing.Save
'and then reset Useri2
ThisDrawing.SetVariable ("Useri2"), NewTime
End If
' end of the Select
End Select
End
End Sub
'End Coding Here-->
You can find "SaveManager" at : http://www.afralisp.com/saveman.htm
====================================================================
And, just to prove to you all that I do, and can read, here's a little something that appeared in the
Llama's A.C.A.D. dated October 1999!!!!!
Did you know that you can run VBA statements from the command line?
Try this :
From AutoCAD's Command line
1. VBASTMT <enter>
2. ThisDrawing.PurgeAll <enter>
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=============================================================
The Questions
Why don't you include some IntelliCAD stuff on your site - It may not match AutoCAD but it is hot
on the heels because it walks like a duck, it quacks like a duck, fill the rest yourself.............
Like your sense of humour..... or lack of it........all depends on your time and space......keep up the
good work and don't slack off with the VBA code because lisp is in slow decline (death comes to us
all) Ralph The Wonder Llama can see the future.........we need death and rebirth to progress!
Kind Regards
From Australia
John Finlay
mailto:[email protected]
I replied to Bruce with this :
"Glad you enjoy the letter Bruce. II intend to add a lot more VB/VBA stuff in the near future. A lot
of users though are still using AutoLisp and I get a stack of correspondence on that subject. Believe
it or not, a lot of people are still on R12/R13. (especially in this part of the world.) IntelliCAD! I
haven't looked at. Have you got a free copy for me?"
Kenny
And, of course, Bruce replied back to me :
Kenny,
For a free copy of IntelliCAD 2001 just go over to the CMS web site at http://intellicadms.com
and select Download. The Lisp and DCL are very similar and would only require slight
modification of your ACAD routines to enable them to work. See the help files in ICAD for
differences. ICAD has a command interface just like ACAD only menu customisation is easier in
ICAD - you will see what I mean by selecting Tools>Customise from the pull down menu.
Now you can tell all your readers where to obtain free copies. Even some may like to use ICAD to
read or convert ACAD2000 drawings back to R12 -> R2.5
Regards
John Finlay
===================================================================
Hi Ken
Have started being a regular visitor to your excellent website.
I have a problem you may be able to help with, I recently downloaded a copy of a program called
"AWELD". It really is a good program for inserting weld symbols comprising a lisp routine and a
slide library which does not need slides?
There is also a DCL file which seems to have the tile drawing routines written in it, my problem is
that the tiles display perfectly in R12 & 2000 but not in R14, although selection does function OK,
any ideas?
Regards
cyril horsey
mailto:[email protected]
South Australia
Cyril,
I had a similar problem with R14. I ended up having to remake all my slide files and slide libraries.
Why? I haven't a clue! What goes on behind the screen and inside my "box" is a mystery to me.
Hopefully some hardware guru can help us both out.
Kenny
=================================================================
Kenny,
Thankyou for listing the earliy version of Watson.
Attached is the current version Watson2.
I was hoping you might list this one if you dare.
The site has also been updated for version2 at
http://www.geocities.com/watsonlisp/
Aaron J. Strom
mailto:[email protected]
Aaron, It will be posted on AfraLisp sometime this week.
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===================================================
Answers
The question was:
"Anybody know the latest method of loading and
unloading a VBA application using AutoLisp?"
What about :
(command "vbarun" "TestFile.dvb!TestModule.TestMacro")
if testfile,dvb is found in support file search path.
or
(defun c:qsave ()
(command "vbarun" "n:\\autocad\\common\\pltstmp.dvb!pltstmp.thisdrawing.pltstmp")
(command ".qsave")
(princ)
)
?
Why do you need to unload?
Ragnar Thor Mikkelsen
mailto:[email protected]
===============================================================
If you are using AutoCAD 2002 there are new lisp functions for handling VBA...
Instead of using "vbaload use this: "vl-vbaload"
Instead of using "vbarun" use this: "vl-vbarun"
The two new functions include better error handling... For example if you
use "vbaload" on a project that is already loaded but you did not know,
well, then you get an error. But if you use "vl-vbaload" for the same
example, well, you do not get the already loaded error...
I do not know for sure which version of AutoCAD these new functions came
into play but I do know for sure that they are in version 2002...
Dan
mailto:[email protected]
==========================================================
This is interesting to see how others perform this task. The way I have
come up with to load & unload is :-
;; Load BayCreate Program
(defun c:Lmdt41 ()
(setq p1 "d:/program files/premier/vb/baycreate.dvb")
(command "-vbaload" p1 "-vbarun" "choice")
)
;; Unload BayCreate Program
(defun c:Umdt41 ()
(setq p1 "d:/program files/premier/vb/baycreate.dvb")
(command "vbaunload" p1)
)
Looking back im not sure why I did the load and unloading coding in this
way, just seemed the way to do it at the time. Also, why I chose to use /
in the directory structure and also the - symbol in the -vbaload and
-vbarun commands is also something I cannot remember now . hehe
Peter. K. Foster Jnr
mailto:[email protected]
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==========================================================
The Back Stoep
I mentioned my daughter Kyla finishing her preliminary exams last week. Well, she brought home
one of her exam papers. I knew things had changed since I was at school, but this was what was
written at the top of the exam paper :
Note :
Please read all instructions carefully.
If the words are too long, ask the examiner to read them for you.
Write all answers between the lines.
No part of the answer book is to be rolled and smoked.
No children of students are allowed to participate.
Leave firearms in the possession of the parole officer.
Bribes may be accepted for amounts exceeding $500.
If this exam paper does not match the one purchased last night
please notify the examiner.
Cheers,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
======================================================
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
=====================================
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]
with "Unsubscribe" in the Subject Line.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
=====================================
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]
with "Subscribe" in the Subject Line.
=====================================
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://kramage.tripod.com
=====================================
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
==========================================
Bye.
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
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Search
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2001 5:00
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-04
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
=====================================
AfraLisp is supported by :
Contract CADD Group
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
=====================================
The Front Stoep
Jeepers, what a week. Sunday fixed all the bugs (I hope) in "AfraBack" (see The Site) that
Randall so kindly picked up for me. Monday work. Tuesday, drove to Cape Town, South
Africa for my daughters valedictory. (850km.) Wednesday attended aforementioned
ceremony wearing suit. (Ughh...) Thursday, drove home. (another 850km.) Friday, back to
graft. Phew, time for a nice long beer. In fact, talking about beer, I recently went on the
drinking mans diet. You don't eat anything, you just drink beer. I lost 3 days!
AfraLisp is coming on well, I'm happy with the look of the site and delighted with
AfraLisp's new service provider. (Way to go Frank.) Please let me know if there is
anything in particular you would like to see added to the site and I'll do my best to oblige.
I've had a lot of queries in regards to my band "BedRock" and our CD "Recovery."
Check out the "Back Stoep" for more news.
============================================================
The Site
Do you need to transfer drawing files from one directory or drive to another?
Do you work on your local drives then transfer them to a network drive at the end of the
day?
Or do you not trust your I.T. department and prefer to make your own backups of critical
files? (that's me.)
Then "AfraLisp Drawing Backup" is for you.
Pop along, have wee look, and then help yourself.
http://www.afralisp.com/afraback.htm
Feedback on this application would be much appreciated.
=============================================================
VBA Tips has been updated, (http://www.afralisp.com/vbtips.htm) and I intend
updating all the R14 VBA applications and tutorials for R2000 functionality.
Watch this space.
=============================================================
Would you like to create a hyperlink to your favourite website on a form using VBA?
Thought so!
Open a new project in VBA and insert a new Userform.
Add a label to the form and change the caption to the URL of your website.
e.g. http://www.afralisp.com
Change the colour of the label to Blue - Underlined.
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Now add the following coding to the click event of the label :
'<- Coding Starts Here
Private Sub Label1_Click()
Dim nFile As Integer
'Write a temp file URL
nFile = FreeFile
Open "TEMP.URL" For Output As #nFile
Print #nFile, "[InternetShortcut]"
Print #nFile, "URL=http://www.afralisp.com"
Close #nFile
'Launch the browser
Shell "rundll32.exe shdocvw.dll,OpenURL " & "\temp.url", vbNormalFocus
'Delete the temp file
Kill "TEMP.URL"
End Sub
' Coding Ends Here
Voila, you have a hyperlink on your form.
===============================================================
The Questions
Hi Ken,
Do you ever come across DXF files produced by Caddie? I have a few newly
generated ones here that have an error in the hatch objects. AutoCAD will
not import them because the dxf structure of the hatch objects are wrong. I
fixed it once before but I cannot remember how I did it - hence this
desperate SOS.
Thanks,
Kevin Barnett
mailto:[email protected]
===============================================================
Hi Kenny,
Firstly, thanks for the newsletter No 2001-04, I especially enjoyed the
Back Stoep. So true these days.
I downloaded your Ddsteel routine many moons ago and have been using it with
great success ever since. (It is version 2.0 of 1998). I have one
suggestion/request (because I don't have time/am too lazy). What about
adding in the train rails and heavy crane rails. It is such a schlepp to
draw them out each time I need them. (I know I should save them as std
drawings and just insert them as needed - but as I said I am too lazy,
besides I cannot remember which jobs I have used them previously to go and
drag them out and save them as standards)
I wanted to email a fish for Randall but I was afraid it might stink up my
hard drive, thanks again for the great humour in the newsletter keep up the
good work.
Cheers
Dave Corrall
mailto:[email protected]
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Dave,
I'll try and find some time and add the crane sections to Ddsteel.
In fact it's due for a spring clean and polish.
=========================================================================
Hello there Kenny,
I am simple AutoLisper per say and have a major hang up at the moment.
I have a list [ex. (1.0 5.0 6.0 8.0 2.0) ] and need them in a new list, in proper order [ex. (1.0
2.0 3.0 4.0 ect....)]. Can you possibly help here?
Thanks,
Eric
mailto:[email protected]
Eric,
Try this :
;create a list
Command: (setq a '(1.5 5.7 9.3 2.4 1.1))
Returns: (1.5 5.7 9.3 2.4 1.1)
;convert to strings
Command: (setq a (mapcar 'rtos a))
Returns: ("1.5" "5.7" "9.3" "2.4" "1.1")
;sort the list
Command: (setq a (acad_strlsort a))
Returns: ("1.1" "1.5" "2.4" "5.7" "9.3")
;convert back to real numbers
Command: (setq a (mapcar 'atof a))
Returns: (1.1 1.5 2.4 5.7 9.3)
If you are using Visual Lisp it's worth looking at the
vl-sort functions.
For more complex sorts, check out Tony Tanzillo's sort page at :
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/tonyt/sortsort.htm
or Reini Urban at :
http://xarch.tu-graz.ac.at/autocad/lisp/#sort
===============================================================
Ken,
I'm looking for a way to add a support path to autocad using autolisp. Can you please
help?
Dave
mailto:[email protected]
Dave,
Try this out :
;<-Coding Starts Here
(defun addSP (dir pos / tmp c lst)
(setq tmp ""
c -1
)
(if
(not
(member (strcase dir)
(setq lst (mapcar 'strcase (parse (getenv "ACAD") ";")))
)
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)
(progn
(if (not pos)
(setq tmp (strcat (getenv "ACAD") ";" dir))
(mapcar '(lambda (x)
(setq tmp (if (= (setq c (1+ c)) pos)
(strcat tmp ";" dir ";" x)
(strcat tmp ";" x)
)
)
)
lst
)
)
(setenv "ACAD" tmp)
)
)
(princ)
)
(defun parse (str delim / lst pos)
(setq pos (vl-string-search delim str))
(while pos
(setq lst (cons (substr str 1 pos) lst)
str (substr str (+ pos 2))
pos (vl-string-search delim str)
)
)
(if (> (strlen str) 0)
(setq lst (cons str lst))
)
(reverse lst)
)
;Coding Ends Here ->
Arguments : A folder path and the position at which to insert it. (0 based.)
Example : (addSP "c:\\afralisp" 3)
Funnily enough, I was looking for something like this myself just the other day.
Anyway, I "borrowed" this from http://www.acadx.com
Please don't tell on me!!!
========================================================================
Answers
The question was :
"How can I determine if lines are duplicate or fragmented lines contained
in that line (lines that are over lines) so they can removed from the
drawing?"
And the answer :
Hello ,
Here is the code to find and delete overlapped (not overlapping) lines.
It highlights lines that are fully overlapped (embedded) by other lines, and asks the user
whether he wants to delete it.
The user has two choices:
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1) Select all lines in the drawing (default option).
2) Select lines by window.
I have tried it successfully on a small drawing.
There is still scope for
a) Error handling
b) Code optimization and
c) User interface.
But important thing is, it works. (AutoCAD 2000 compatible.)
You are all welcome to abuse test it and suggest errors, improvements or new features,
or simply send your comments.
mailto:[email protected]
;;; ======================
(defun c:Overlap ()
(setq oOSMODE (getvar "OSMODE"))
(Setvar "OSMODE" 0)
(setq oCMDECHO (getvar "CMDECHO"))
(Setvar "CMDECHO" 0)
(setq vZERO 8.8817843e-16)
(Setq ss1 (ssadd))
(Setq ss2 (ssadd))
(initget "All Window ")
(setq selOption
(getkword
"Select Objects; [window] or All : "
)
)
(If (= selOption "Window")
(progn
(setq
s1 (getcorner
(setq f1
(getpoint
"Specify first corner: "
)
)
"Specify opposite corner: "
)
)
(While (= (sslength ss1) 0)
(Command "_Zoom" "_W" f1 s1)
(Setq ss1 (ssget "_w" f1 s1))
)
)
(progn
(Command "_zoom" "_e")
(setq SS1 (ssget "_x" '((0 . "LINE"))))
)
)
(setq
TotLines (sslength ss1)
) (if (< TotLines 2)
(progn
(Alert
"No overlapping lines found in the selection!\n\n
The program ends!!"
)
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(setvar "CMDECHO" oCMDECHO)
(setvar "OSMODE" oOSMODE)
(princ)
(exit)
)
)
(setq lDone 0)
(While (< lDone TotLines)
(setq bLine (ssname ss1 lDone))
(setq lDone (1+ lDone))
(setq pt (cdr (assoc 10 (entget bLine))))
(setq ss2 (ssget "_c" pt pt '((0 . "LINE"))))
(if (/= ss2 nil)
(processSS1)
)
)
(setvar "CMDECHO" oCMDECHO)
(setvar "OSMODE" oOSMODE)
(princ)
)
(defun ProcessSS1 ()
(if (> (sslength ss2) 1)
(progn
(setq ss2 (ssdel bLine ss2))
(while (> (sslength ss2) 1)
(ssdel (ssname ss2 (- (sslength ss2) 1)) ss2)
)
(setq pt1
(cdr
(assoc 10
(entget bLine)
)
)
)
(Setq pt2
(cdr
(assoc 11
(entget bLine)
)
)
)
(setq sLine (ssname ss2 0))
(setq sLinEdata (entget sLine))
(setq pt3 (cdr (assoc 10 sLinEdata))
pt4 (cdr (assoc 11 sLinEdata))
)
(processSS2)
)
)
)
(defun ProcessSS2 ()
(if (= (inters Pt1 Pt2 pt3 Pt4)
nil
)
(progn
(if
(or
(And
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(< (abs (- (angle Pt3 Pt1)
(angle Pt3 Pt2)
)
)
vZERO
)
(< (abs (- (angle Pt4 Pt1)
(angle Pt4 Pt2)
)
)
vZERO
)
(and
(/= (distance Pt1 Pt3) 0)
(/= (distance Pt2 Pt4) 0)
)
(and
(/= (distance Pt1 Pt4) 0)
(/= (distance Pt2 Pt3) 0)
)
)
(or
(and
(= (distance Pt1 Pt3) 0)
(= (distance Pt2 Pt4) 0)
)
(and
(= (distance Pt1 Pt4) 0)
(= (distance Pt2 Pt3) 0)
)
)
(and (or (= (distance Pt1 Pt3) 0)
(= (distance Pt1 Pt4) 0)
(= (distance Pt2 Pt3) 0)
(= (distance Pt2 Pt4) 0)
)
(or (> (abs
(- (angle Pt3 Pt1)
(angle Pt3 Pt2)
)
) vZero
)
(> (abs
(- (angle Pt4 Pt1)
(angle Pt4 Pt2)
)
) vZero
)
) ;_ end of or
)
)
(progn
(vl-load-com)
(setq obj1
(vlax-ename->vla-object bLine)
)
(vla-highlight obj1 "True")
(initget "Yes No")
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(setq delLin
(getkword
"This line is being 'embedded' by another line.\n\n
You can confirm by zooming transparently.
\n\nDo you want to delete it? [No] or Yes: "
)
)
(if (= delLin "Yes")
(progn
(entdel bLine)
(ssdel bLine ss2)
)
)
(command "_regen")
)
)
)
)
)
(alert
"Type 'Overlap' at the command
prompt to run this program"
)
;;; ================
===============================================================
The Back Stoep
As most of you probably know, I'm lead guitarist/vocalist for "BedRock - The Band in the
Sand." If you would like to listen to a couple of sample Mp3's from our new CD
"Recovery," or would like to purchase a copy on-line, then pop along to
http://www.oneworld.co.za/ Enter "BedRock" into the search text box in the upper right
hand corner to access BedRock's download page.
And I leave you with this :
A man takes his Rottweiler to the vet.
"My dog's cross-eyed, is there anything you can do for him?"
"Well," says the vet, "let's have a look at him"
So he picks the dog up and examines his eyes, then checks his teeth.
Finally, he says "I'm sorry but I'm going to have to put him down."
"What? Because he's cross-eyed?"
"No, because he's really heavy"
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
======================================================
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
======================================================
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter" archive can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter.htm
======================================================
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]
with "Unsubscribe" in the Subject Line.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
======================================================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-05
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To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]
with "Subscribe" in the Subject Line.
======================================================
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://kramage.tripod.com
======================================================
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
======================================================
Bye........
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-05
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2001 6:08
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-06
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
**********************************************
AfraLisp is supported by :
Contract CADD Group
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
**********************************************
The Front Stoep
"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that, we're all mad here." said the Cat: "I'm mad. You're mad!"
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
Makes you think doesn't it?
===============================================================
The Site
Would you like to be able to write the perfect code whether it be in AutoLisp, VBA or C+?
Then do yourself a favour and read this article : "How to write Unmaintainable Code," written by
Roedy Green. You can find it at : http://www.afralisp.com/unmain.htm
This is not to be missed..........
===============================================================
Is your ambition in life to be able to place shadows on your controls?
Do you dream of giving your forms a 3D appearance?
Then check out http://www.afralisp.com/vba/shadow.htm
===============================================================
Have you every tried to calculate the area of two intersecting entities, especially if one,
or both, include curves? Difficult hey!
Draw a couple of intersecting entities (like two circles,) and run this little routine :
;coding starts here
(defun c:barea ( / a b opp tekst)
(setq a (getpoint "\nSelect Internal Point: "))
(command "-Boundary" a "")
(setq b (entlast))
(redraw b 3)
(command "area" "O" "L")
(setq opp (rtos (getvar "area") 2 3))
(setq tekst (strcat "\nArea = " opp))
(alert tekst)
(redraw b 4)
(command "Erase" b "")
(princ)
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);defun
(princ)
;coding ends here
If you would like to know more about calculating and formatting areas, pop along here
and have a wee look :
http://www.afralisp.com/lisp/area.htm
=======================================================================
Something a bit different especially if you need screen shots for web pages or manuals.
You are all probably going to laugh at me for not knowing this, but anyway, here goes :
To perform a screen capture of an AutoCAD dialog box:
1. Display the dialog box as desired.
2. Simultaneously press ALT+Print Screen buttons.
3. Start the destination application.
4. Select Edit > Paste from the destination applications pull down menu.
The AutoCAD dialog box should now be pasted into the application.
See, you're never too old to learn.
===============================================================
The Questions
Dear Kenny,
I have any questions about your written application with visual basic, AcadExport.Exe I have
download this application from your website and I had export any drawings from AutoCAD
Release 14 to dwf format. But I will export a selected directory of drawings to dwf format for
Autocad release 2000. How can I export dwg format to dwf with autocad 2000 or 2002.
Greatings,
R. Ayaz
Amsterdam
mailto:[email protected]
I've had a lot of queries in regards to creating DWF files using a batch process application.
Well, if you use AutoCAD 2000, you don't need one. In A2K, you can use the Batch Plot utility to
automate the creation of DWF files.
1. Start the Batch Plot utility.
The Batch Plot utility starts a new A2K session.
2. In the AutoCAD Batch Plot Utility window, choose the Add Drawing button to select drawing
files for the batch plot list.
3. In the Add Drawing File dialog box, select some drawing files and choose Open.
4. In the AutoCAD Batch Plot Utility window, select the drawings you want to batch plot.
5. Choose the Plot Devices button to list the current plot devices for A2K.
6. In the Plot Devices dialog box, select DWF ePlot.pc3 from the Plot devices list, and
then choose OK. The Plot Device column in the AutoCAD Batch Plot Utility window displays
DWF ePlot.pc3 for each of the files you selected in step 4.
7. In the AutoCAD Batch Plot Utility window, choose the Plot button to batch plot the selected
drawings and create the DWF files.
===============================================================
Dear Kenny Ramage,
You run an awesome site and I, along with many other people, keep coming
back to it for reference and new ideas. It's great to see that you got a
domain instead of a subdomain.
I have, finally, set up a site of my own. The idea is to pass on
information gathered through 10 years trying to deal with AutoLISP, and by
that maybe help others or maybe even get some started.
I'd appreciate and be honoured if you would be kind enough to maybe have a
look at the site or at least include a reference to it on your links page.
It is rather sketchy at the moment, but I decided that it contains enough
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information by now to go online with it.
http://intervision.hjem.wanadoo.dk/
Regards,
Stig Madsen
Danish National Museum,
Copenhagen, Denmark
mailto:[email protected]
Nice site with lot's of potential.
Welcome to the family Stig....
===============================================================
Where does the *32.bmp file come from?
In the menus I have, the first call for a bitmap is the bitmap name and then
the second call is to a "icon_16_blank" or something like that?
How do you make a *32.bmp from one of my custom autocad bmp's?
Darek Watson
mailto:[email protected]
Darek, let's have a look at a typical toolbar menu item :
ID_3 [_Button ("Draw a Line", "Cline16.bmp", "Cline24.bmp")]^C^C^P_Line;
The first item "Button" defines a button on the toolbar.
The second item "Draw a Line" is the tooltip.
The third item "Cline16.bmp" calls the bitmap used.
The fourth item "Cline24.bmp" calls the bitmap file to use if large buttons are selected.
(Right click on any toolbar, select "Large Buttons" and see what happens.)
When you create your bitmaps for the toolbar, you are suppose to create a set that are
16 x 15 in size, and a set that are 24 x 22 in size.
BUT, if the 24 x 22 bitmaps are not available, AutoCAD will just scale up the 16 x 15
bitmaps and use them. So, it would be perfectly exceptable for your toolbar menu item
to look like this :
ID_3 [_Button ("Draw a Line", "Cline16.bmp", "Cline16.bmp")]^C^C^P_Line;
Have a look at the AutoCAD menu. That's how they do it.
================================================================
Hey Kenny,
Love the site!
I am trying to automate some of my lisp files here in the office. I would like to be able to use a
dialog box to choose which LISP file to run. How do I make a call to run another lisp file from a
radio button? Do I make the call to the lisp In the "action_tile"? ex: (action_tile "rb1" "(setq door
\"single\")")
where "single" is the name of the lisp file I want to execute.
I'm new to dialog boxes, so I would really appreciate your help.
Thanks,
David W Fitzgerald
mailto:[email protected]
David,
Copy this coding into Notepad and save it as Startlisp.dcl :
//dcl coding starts here
startlisp : dialog {
label = "StartLisp" ;
: radio_button {
key = "rb1" ;
label = "Lisp Routine No &1" ;
value = "1" ;
}
: radio_button {
key = "rb2" ;
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label = "Lisp Routine No &2" ;
}
ok_cancel ;
}
//dcl coding ends here
Now copy this coding into Notepad and save it as Startlisp.lsp :
;autolisp coding starts here
(defun C:startlisp ()
;define function
(setq choice "No1")
;store default choice
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "startlisp.dcl"))
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "startlisp" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
(action_tile "rb1" "(setq choice \"No1\")")
;*store choice
(action_tile "rb2" "(setq choice \"No2\")")
;*store choice
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T)"
;close dialog
);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog
);action_tile
(start_dialog)
;start dialog
(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;check O.K. was selected
(progn
;do the following
(if (= choice "No1")
(progn
(cond
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((null C:Lisp1) (prompt "Please Wait...")
;if not loaded
(load "Lisp1")))
;load it
(C:Lisp1)
;then run it
);progn
);if
(if (= choice "No2")
(progn
(cond
((null C:Lisp2) (prompt "Please Wait...")
;if not loaded
(load "Lisp2")))
;load it
(C:Lisp2)
;then run it
);progn
);if
);progn
);if userclick
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;autolisp coding ends here
There is another way of triggering an AutoLisp expression from within a dialog box.
Check out http://www.afralisp.com/lisp49f.htm
For a complete explanation of DCL Tile Attributes go to :
http://www.afralisp.com/lisp49m.htm
And for a listing of all available DCL Tiles, pop along to :
http://www.afralisp.com/lisp48m.htm
All of the above include downloadable working examples.
Now, am I not nice?
================================================================
Do you know of a way to tab through several viewports in Model Space
(Acad200) ?
Right now I'm using -VIEW R (view name), etc, etc
Quite cumbersome when dealing with many views to find a detail....
thanks,
Kevin
mailto:[email protected]
One technique used for fast viewing of drawings is to divide the drawing into regions. You can
then quickly zoom into those regions. "PanZoom" uses an AutoLisp routine and a toolbar to
automate the viewing of your drawing in four regions. You can find "PanZoom" at :
http://www.afralisp.com/mylisp.htm
===============================================================================
Kenny,
Have you ever written any routines that will find duplicate entities and
delete them? I have several hundred duplicate text entities (they somehow
were copied on top of each other) and I need to get rid of them. Any ideas?
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Thanks
Rod
mailto:[email protected]
===============================================================================
Hi,
My name is Andrea and your website is a big reference for me.
I would like to know how to extract an attribute in a variable:
example: (setq att1 ( get the attribute whos the tag is "x"))
I don't know how. Could you help me with this ?
thank you
mailto:[email protected]
Hi
My Name Is Jeff.
I realy appreciate the web site, it is very helpful.
I was wandering if you could shed some light on a
problem I'm having?
I can not figure out how to get text entered in an
edit box to run in a lisp routine.
I wrote a simple lisp routine to change the text in
a block attribute.
Kind of like changing xx to JBP in the title block
where it says drawn by.
I can not get it to work with a dialog box.
Your help would be greatly appricaited.
Jeff Pickett
mailto:[email protected]
Andrea/Jeff,
You'll find the answer to this one at :
http://www.afralisp/lisp/attab.htm
It's a wee bit large to include in this forum.
==========================================================
Answers
The question was:
"Anybody know the latest method of loading and
unloading a VBA application using AutoLisp?"
Here's another method:
(vl-vbarun "MyFile.dvb!MyMacro")
I think this is the easiest method, and I still don't understand why you need to unload :-)
For Nestor AS
Ragnar Thor Mikkelsen
mailto:[email protected]
The front runner to this discussion (I was going to say argument but people might get upset,)
is without doubt "VL-VBALOAD."
Why????
If you use the command "VBALOAD" and the VBA application is already loaded, you get
an error message. "VL-VBALOAD" does not cause an error and just does nothing if the
application
is already loaded. (or maybe it loads it again and makes it run twice as fast???)
Why would you want to unload?
In the "olden" days, system resources were valuable and if you were not using an application,
you would unload it to conserve memory.
Just habit I guess. Jeepers, you youngsters are spoilt!!!
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===============================================================
The Back Stoep
I was thinking about what I mentioned just now about preserving system resources. I started
using AutoCAD with Release 1.7. It came on ONE 320kB floppy disk. (I've still got it.) We had no
hardrives. First we loaded DOS (remember that dark place,) with one disk, then we loaded
AutoCAD, and then we stuck another disk in to save our drawings. One day, my boss arrived in
the office with a "borrowed" PC that had a 10 meg hardrive installed. "There is no way on earth
that we could possibly fill this." I confidently remarked. We used to store all the drawings in one
big directory. No clue that such a thing as sub-directories existed. No mouse, no digitizer, just
the pen and, wait for it, a black and white monitor. (10") No pull down menu's, no toolbars, no
icon menu's, just the screen menu. I felt like a king on the cutting edge of technology. We used
to customise the AutoCAD menu using "Word Star." You needed a degree in computer science
just to understand the keystroke combinations on that word processor!!!
O.K. I'm showing my age. Hey, this was only 18-19 years ago.
Must go, it's time for my tablets and my daily walk around the garden with the nurse.
Talk again soon...........
"Apparently, 1 in 5 people in the world are Chinese.
And there are 5 people in my family, so it must be one of them.
It's either my mum or my dad, or my older brother Colin.
Or my younger brother Ho-Cha-Chu.
But I think it's Colin."
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
===============================================================
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
===============================================================
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter" archive can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter.htm
===============================================================
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]
with "Unsubscribe" in the Subject Line.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
===============================================================
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]
with "Subscribe" in the Subject Line.
===============================================================
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://kramage.tripod.com
===============================================================
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
===============================================================
Bye........
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-06
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-06
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2001/2001-06.htm (8 of 8) [23/03/2005 05:50:15 p.m.]
Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2001 21:44
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-07
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
**********************************************
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
**********************************************
The Front Stoep
Competition time. (FX : drum roll that gradually get's louder.) I'm looking for a nice simple logo for
AfraLisp. You know, one of those small, eye catching goodies, about the size of a postage stamp, that
immediately catches your attention. The prize? A copy of my band BedRock's
(http://www.bedrockband.com) new CD "Recovery", fully autographed by the band and delivered to
your doorstep anywhere in the world. Full credit will be given to the designer of the winning logo and
your name will appear on the site. Judging will be done by my wife Heather, Randall Rath and myself.
Hope you don't mind Randall? (I haven't asked him yet!!!) Results will appear in Newsletter No 2001-09.
(that's 2 weeks time folks.)
===============================================================
The Site
AfraLisp now has a discussion forum where you can post AutoLisp/VB/VBA questions and answers.
If you would like to participate in some serious intellectual debate, or simply swop insults, then pop along
to :
http://afralisp.community.everyone.net
===============================================================================
Last week I posted a new tutorial on AfraLisp entitled "Attributes and Dialogue Boxes."
http://www.afralisp.com/lisp/attab.htm
Well this week I've published one that does exactly the same, but this time using VBA.
You can find this tutorial entitled "Attributes and VBA" at :
http://www.afralisp.com/vba/attab.vba.htm
==========================================================================
Want to add menu items to your right-click shortcut menu? Try this :
'CODING STARTS HERE
Sub VbaMenu()
Dim currMenuGroup As AcadMenuGroup
Dim openMacro As String
Dim newScmenu As AcadPopupMenu
Dim scMenu As AcadPopupMenu
Dim entry As AcadPopupMenu
On Error GoTo Err_Control
' Use MenuGroups property to obtain reference to main ACAD menu
Set currMenuGroup = ThisDrawing.Application.MenuGroups.Item("ACAD")
'===================================================================
'find the shortcut menu
For Each entry In currMenuGroup.Menus
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If entry.ShortcutMenu = True Then
Set scMenu = entry
End If
Next entry
'create a shortcut menu item
Set newScmenu = scMenu.AddSubMenu(0, "&VBA Menu")
'create the vbaload macro
openMacro = Chr(3) & Chr(3) & Chr(95) & "vbaload" & Chr(32)
'display the shortcut sub-menu item
newScmenu.AddMenuItem "", "VBA &Load", openMacro
'create the vbaide macro
openMacro = Chr(3) & Chr(3) & Chr(95) & "vbaide" & Chr(32)
'display the shortcut sub-menu item
newScmenu.AddMenuItem "", "VBA &Editor", openMacro
'create the vbarun macro
openMacro = Chr(3) & Chr(3) & Chr(95) & "vbarun" & Chr(32)
'display the shortcut sub-menu item
newScmenu.AddMenuItem "", "VBA &Macro", openMacro
'create the vbaman macro
openMacro = Chr(3) & Chr(3) & Chr(95) & "vbaman" & Chr(32)
'display the shortcut sub-menu item
newScmenu.AddMenuItem "", "&VBA Manager", openMacro
'add a separator line
scMenu.AddSeparator 1
're-compile the AutoCAD menu
currMenuGroup.Save acMenuFileCompiled
'==========================================================
Over_Here:
Exit Sub
Err_Control:
Select Case Err.Number
Case -2147024809
Err.Clear
Resume Over_Here
Case Else
MsgBox Err.Number & " - " & Err.Description
Exit Sub
End Select
End Sub
'CODING ENDS HERE
For a complete tutorial on creating menu's using VBA, look out for :
http://www.afralisp.com/vba/vbamenu.htm
I should have it posted sometime next week.
=================================================================
Using AutoLisp you can only explode one entity at a time using the command function.
This is untrue and this is why :
;<--Coding starts here
(defun c:multiex ( / sel i n_ent )
(setq sel (ssget))
(setq i 0)
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(setq n_ent(sslength sel))
(repeat n_ent
(command "_explode" (ssname sel i))
(setq i (+ 1 i))
);repeat
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;Coding ends here==>
==================================================
Or would you like an even quicker way? Try this :
;<--coding starts here
(defun c:ex ()
(setvar "QAFLAGS" 1)
(command "explode" "all" "")
(setvar "QAFLAGS" 0)
(princ)
)
(princ)
;coding ends here -->
I can just hear everybody! "What's this "QAFLAGS?"
Don't ask me, I just use it.......
=============================================================================
Place this into your Startup Suitcase, double click on any object
in your drawing and see what happens :
'CODING STARTS HERE
Private Sub AcadDocument_BeginDoubleClick(ByVal PickPoint As Variant)
ThisDrawing.SendCommand ("_properties") & vbCr
End Sub
'CODING ENDS HERE
=============================================================
Does this happen on your system?
You close a drawing that you did not modify while it was open; however, the following prompt displays:
Save changes to <filename>?
Some applications run automatically when you open a drawing, such as an AutoLISP routine stored in
acad.lsp or acaddoc.lsp. These routines can result in modifications of system variables that apply to a
drawing. For this reason, you are prompted to save changes to a drawing that you did not modify.
You can modify such an AutoLISP routine to prevent this by using the new functions, acad-push-dbmod
and acad-pop-dbmod.
The following excerpt is from the AutoCAD 2000 Readme file:
New Functions Provided to Prevent a Document From Being Marked "Updated"
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-07
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Two new functions, acad-push-dbmod and acad-pop-dbmod, can be used to suspend and resume the
$DBMOD recording mechanism that AutoCAD uses to track changes to a drawing. These functions allow
applications to make changes to a document as part of their initialization process without setting flags in
$DBMOD and triggering unwanted save drawing queries.
(acad-push-dbmod) pushes the current value of the $DBMOD system variable for the document onto an
internal stack. The function always returns T. (acad-pop-dbmod) restores the value of $DBMOD to the
most recently pushed value on the document's internal stack. The function returns T for a successful
stack pop and nil if the stack is empty.
The acad-push-dbmod and acad-pop-dbmod functions are implemented in acadapp.arx, which is loaded
by default on AutoCAD startup, but can be disabled, if desired.
To use the new functions, precede program actions that should not affect the value of "$DBMOD" with
calls to push the $DBMOD value, then pop the value after performing the action. Here is a simple LISP
example:
(acad-push-dbmod)
(setq new_line '((0 . "LINE") (100 . "AcDbEntity") (8 . "0")
(100 . "AcDbLine") (10 1.0 2.0 0.0) (11 2.0 1.0 0.0)
(210 0.0 0.0 1.0)))
(entmake new_line) ; Sets $DBMOD 1 flag
(command "_color" "2") ; Sets $DBMOD 4 flag
(command "_-vports" "_SI") ; Sets $DBMOD 8 flag
(command "_vpoint" "0,0,1") ; Sets $DBMMOD 16 flag
(acad-pop-dbmod) ; $DBMOD will again have the same value it had before
==================================================================
The Questions
Thanks for the help on my little dcl/lisp program!! It work fine.
I have been cruising thru your sit and reading all of your tutorials on lisp and VBA and I find them very
useful. My next step is to upgrade our panel schedule program to allow more functionality. We are
currently creating all of our schedules (HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing etc.) in excel and exporting to
AutoCAD using the Spanner program. It is an easy way to get your schedules into AutoCAD, but that is
about it.
I would like to be able to access these items from within Cad or from excel to do editing. I thought of
using OLE objects, but then I run into problems with them not wanting to print out right. I guess my
question to you would be, Do you have any information on using VBA with excel to import excel files into
AutoCAD, and be able to edit from either direction? Also how about converting an excel spreadsheet to a
VBA application? I made a small excel spreadsheet to do motor load calculations and I would like to try
and convert this to VBA. Can you direct me to more info on this subject?
Thanks for your knowledge!
David W Fitzgerald
mailto:[email protected]
===============================================================
Hi Kenny
I downloaded the vbasteel program together with all that I could find on vba programming and got stuck
into it, I was very impressed with the website as a whole.
Anyway I have filled the vbasteel program with all the BHP Australia sections including welded and pile
sections, if you think it will be any use on the website I will upload it to you,
it has ended up at 885 Mb so it's fairly hefty.
Regards
Cyril Horsey
South Australia
mailto:[email protected]
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I'll have this handy application posted next week.
===============================================================
Kenny,
I have used many of your utilities and lisp programs that you have written over the years, but I have
found that I am terrible at programming. My eyes cross, my brain freezes and I forget my name for
starters. So I wanted to ask you a question. I have some things I want to "do" in AutoCAD that if I had a
clue I know I could write code to do it. I know what I want to do but how to do it is a mystery for me.
How do other people get code to do what they want? What do you think? Should I just give up and find
someone to write code for me? Do you do that?
Obviously Im fishing for information.
Any help would be great.
Thank You.
Chris Allen
mailto:[email protected]
"Someone to write code for me!!" Yes, Randall Rath.
Seriously Chris, read, try out, read, try out again, read, try out, steal from Randall, read, try out, ask
Randall for help, read, try out, give up, have beer, try out yet again, sleep on it, dream about it, wake up,
try out, read, talk to walls, ask dog for advice, have beer, try out...................................Hey, it works, BIG
smile. Have 12 beers. Start next program. Infinite loop.
=============================================================================
A question for you or the Wonder Llama. How do you make a routine that
"paints" the z value from one object or block to another?
Thanks,
Garry Fisher
mailto:[email protected]
=============================================================================
Dearest Kenny,
I have been reading your newsletter for a short time. I am beginning to look
forward to seeing it in my mailbox. I hope you can help me and maybe post
the answer in your Q & A section of your newsletter. I have been trying
(with little success) to make an automated bill of material lisp.
What I envision is a simple leader that after given the pick points, asks
for a quantity, piece mark and description. The pertinent info would appear
on the leader as well as in a database, that would generate a bill of
material when the drawing is finished, by a "generate bill of material"
command.
I have been experimenting with it for about 2 months now and the voices in
my head are getting louder with every failed attempt. I just wish they would
get my right when they scream at me :)
ttyl,
Shane (not Joe) MacIntyre
mailto:[email protected]
==============================================================
Is it possible to make a patch purge program that also can
delete all frozen layers on a drawing ?
Terje Gunnarsen
mailto:[email protected]
=============================================================
Can you start external applications from within Autocad 2002.
Specifically I would like to have a button on a toolbar to start some
frequently used applications.
Thanks,
Russ Johnston
mailto:[email protected]
Russ,
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Just place this small AutoLisp routine within the macro section
of the toolbar button :
^C^C^C(startapp "Theapplication.exe")
eg. To start Notepad, add this :
^C^C^C(startapp "Notepad.exe")
=============================================================
I would like to know how to get a combo box to display a list of variables that I can use to open a folder
on my hard drive, or on the network. What I am trying to do is set up a vba application to allow the user
to select from a list of (types of drawings) which will correspond to a folder on the hard drive. Then in a
text box I want to show the contents of that folder that have the (.dwg) extension. Next when the user
highlights one of those drawings in the list box I would like to show a preview of that drawing. Then be
able to hit the "OK" button to insert that drawing into the current drawing that the user has opened.
It doesn't sound like much, but how? Please help me!
David W Fitzgerald
mailto:[email protected]
==========================================================
The Answers
About screen shots:
If you use ALT+PrtSc and then Paste directly into Word, you will soon have a doc at several Mbytes.
Maybe Word 2000 is asmarter than older version?
Here is one suggestion to minimze the doc-size:
1) Use 256 colors in Windows or "thousands of colors" instead og "millions". (Right click your desktop
and select "Propeties")
2) Paste the screenshot into MsPain (or simmilar).
3) Copy from MsPaint and use "Paste Special" in Word, selecting "Picture" or "Image" (not sure
because I have Norwegian Office, the point is to create a Word picture object, not a bitmap).
Ragnar Thor Mikkelsen
mailto:[email protected]
====================================================================
The Back Stoep
Well, I finally seem to have got the Newsletter distribution list sorted out. There should be no more
double e-mails and hopefully things will run smoothly from now on. (famous last words Kenny!) Any
problems, please drop me a line.
If you don't know already, "BedRock - The Band in the Sand" has a new home. Check us out at :
http://www.BedRockBand.com
Pop along and sign our guestbook. We'd love to hear from you.
Some Alternative Meanings
Coffee (n), a person who is coughed upon.
Flabbergasted (adj), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
Abdicate (n), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
Pokeman (n), a Jamaican proctologist.
Esplanade (v), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
Willy-nilly adj), impotent.
Negligent (adj), answering the door in your nightie.
Lymph (v), to walk with a lisp.
Gargoyle (n), an olive flavoured mouthwash.
Flatulence (n), the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you've been run
over by a steamroller.
Balderdash (n), a rapidly receding hairline.
Testicle (n), a humorous exam question.
Oyster (n), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddish expressions.
Circumvent (v), the opening in the front of underpants.
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
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===============================================================
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
===============================================================
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Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter" archive can be found at :
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===============================================================
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with "unsubscribe afralisp-newsletter" in the BODY.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
===============================================================
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
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with "subscribe afralisp-newsletter" in the BODY.
===============================================================
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===============================================================
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
===============================================================
Bye........
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2001 7:38
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-08
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
**********************************************
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
**********************************************
The Front Stoep
I apologise profusely for the double Newsletter last week. I must have hiccupped and pressed the
"send" button twice, or maybe I was seeing double when I wrote it and produced two without
realising. Who knows? Who cares? You're lucky I'm not a twin! Now if I'd sent 42 copies we
would all have the secret of the universe wihin our grasp and nobody would complain.
(Voice Over : "Kenny, a simple 'sorry' will suffice.")
Yes, well, no, fine.
The site is building up nicely, (I hope you've noticed.) I'm posted quite a few new tutorials and I
am looking for ideas for more. Any suggestions? I'm also going to start a new section where I'll
be posting other peoples VBA/VB coding/applications. So, if you've got any super-duper
earthshaking coding that you'd like to share with the big wide world, just send it in.
By the way, I've only received two entries for the AfraLisp Logo. (although the two I've received
are very nice.)
Come on all you budding graphic designers, time is running out.......
===============================================================
The Site
I've completed the tutorial on VBA and Menu's. You can find it at :
http://www.afralisp.com/vba/vbamenu.htm
And Cyril Horsey's VBASteel can be downloaded from :
http://www.afralisp.com/vba.htm
You can also find a new tutorial entitled "VBA and Sequential Text Files."
(sounds complicate doesn't it? - don't worry, it can't be if I understand it.)
There's a letter further on which will give you my motive for writing this.
Oh, by the way, you can find the tutorial at : http://www.afralisp.com/vba/extext.htm
===============================================================
Would you like to change certain aspects of your AutoCAD display?
Check this out :
'CODING STARTS HERE
Sub Setup_Display()
Dim ACADPref As AcadPreferencesDisplay
'error handler
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On Error GoTo Err_Control
'get a reference to the AutoCAD display
Set ACADPref = ThisDrawing.Application.Preferences.Display
'set the cursor size
ACADPref.CursorSize = 5
'switch on the scrollbars
ACADPref.DisplayScrollBars = True
'release display object
Set ACADPref = Nothing
Exit Sub
Err_Control:
MsgBox Err.Number & " - " & Err.Description
Err.Clear
Exit Sub
End Sub
'CODING ENDS HERE
=========================================================================
I stole this from the AutoCAD help 'cos I thought it was maybe worth looking into :
If you want to use a VBA macro to launch an AutoCAD interactive (built-in)
dialog box, AutoCAD does not open this dialog box until the VBA macro has
completed. (AutoCAD queues any AutoLISP commands that are executed using the
ThisDrawing.SendCommand method until the VBA macro finishes.)
The result of this is that you cannot run code or make changes or verify
preferences.
If you split the macro into two or more parts, and then use this queuing to
your advantage, you can force the macro to resume -- actually, the second
macro takes control when the dialog box is closed.
Here is a sample of a macro that calls a second 'part' after a dialog box is
closed:
'CODING STARTS HERE
Sub Test()
MsgBox "Please setup the layout the way you would like", vbOkOnly, "User Prompt"
' This command queues the launch of the 'Layout Wizard' dialog
ThisDrawing.SendCommand ("(command ""_layoutwizard"")" & vbCr)
' This command queues the second part of the macro
ThisDrawing.SendCommand ("(command ""_-vbarun"" ""Test_Part_2"")" & vbCr)
End Sub
Sub Test_Part_2()
MsgBox "Part 2"
End Sub
'CODING ENDS HERE
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==================================================================
The Questions
Hey Kenny,
You fixed the double email - I now get three - nice one Kenny!
John Finlay
Go on John, rub it in!!!
Hey, that means you owe me for an extra one.
===============================================================
Kenny,
Thank you for the newsletter with the edit menu facility... very
interesting... I looking forward to trying this out.
However I have a problem with some basic trigonometry, and maybe I'm looking
at this too hard.
How does one work out the angle of a triangle knowing the lengths of it's
sides?
Take for instance a 3,4,5 triangle... I assume one uses the formula - sine
angle = ( / opposite hypotenuse )
using autolisp...
( setq opposite ( log 3 ) hypotenuse ( log 5 ))
; using log otherwise Autolisp returns 0 as a result
( setq result ( / ( exp opposite )( exp hypotenuse )))
this returns a value of 0.6
How does one then change this value into the angle, Autolisp doesn't appear
to have a reverse sine function?.
The resulting angle should be 36.8699deg or 0.643501 radians.
Kind regards
Paul Matthews
Paul, I'm sure that arc sine is just the inverse of sin.
eg. 1/sin or "one divided by the sine of the number, or the sign of the number
to the power of minus one. Must think about this one. I'll ask the kid's, they've
just finished maths at school. I'll get back to you...
==================================================================
Hi Kenny,
I would like to know where I can download the autolisp source code for 3D cube.
Regards
Victor
===============================================================
Hi Kenny,
I was just wondering if it is possible to add the file name, date and time
of a plot automatically to the bottum of a plot.
Regards,
Barend.
I've had a lot of queries regarding this subject so everybody please excuse
me for repeating something from one of the earlier newsletters :
Have you had a good look at the Express Tools yet? Under the Text sub-menu there
is a little gem of a routine called "Rtext." Using this application you can
insert Diesel expressions anywhere in your drawing. This is great for Plot
Stamps and much easier to setup and maintain than other Plot Stamp
applications. Just insert it into your template drawings and away you go.
Here's the one that I use :
Date Plotted : $(edtime, 0, Mon DD"," YYYY - H:MMam/pm)
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Plotted By : $(upper, $(getvar, "loginname"))
This "stamps" the Plotted Date and Time as well as the users Login name.
Check out the "Rtext" help for more details and more uses.
===============================================================
Hello Kenny,
I have a problem.
I made an excel file and put my information in it (blocknames, distances,
enz. ), then I call it from VBA and use it in AutoCAD, but also a
possibility I heard is, to get the information out of an .txt file instead
of an .xls file, this would save a little time so the routine is quicker.
Do you know have to call a .txt-file in VBA?
I hope you can help me.
Regards Ren
Rene,
The following example will read from an external text file and populate a list box :
'CODING STARTS HERE
Sub FillListBox()
Dim sTemp As String
lstLayer.Clear
Open "C:\DATA\LAYERS.TXT" For Input As #1
While Not EOF(1)
Line Input #1, sTemp
lstLayer.AddItem sTemp
Wend
Close #1
End Sub
'CODING ENDS HERE
Rene, came back to me with this :
Kenny,
Thank you I will try it.
I got another answer to from someone else, would you tell me what your
opinion is about his answer?
**The time you might save on loading the text file will be lost in
**formatting the text in the text file. Stick with your Excel!!! Your
**wasting time trying to pull formatted text out of a text file.
Thank you and goodbye my friend.
So I replied back with this :
Rene,
Your friend is quite right in what he says except for one or two "minor" points :
a) Saving Time? How much time are you going to lose? Milliseconds!!! A good text parsing
routine will extract the information you need before the user has time to blink. I have text files
with up to 2000 plus entries and speed is not an issue.
b) More importantly, any user must have Excel installed on his PC before you can extract
information from it. Every computer can read an ASCII text file. On top of that, when you start
using VBA and talking to Excel, different versions of Excel have different object models which
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creates further complications. With text files, no such issue.
I'm not saying Text files are better to use than Excel, or vice a versa, only you can decide that,
but looking at general overheads and maintenance, text files in my opinion can be a quick and
easy way of exporting/importing information. As a matter of interest, you can not only read from
a text file sequencially using VBA, you can also create a random access file or, even go so far as to
create an INI file. All of these files are ASCII text files. (hey, this is a very good subject for a
tutorial.)
To put it in a nutshell, using Excel or any other application such as Access or Lotus makes you
reliant on that application for your program to work. Using a text file keeps your program
independent.
On the other hand, if you intend to export information, run calculations or create reports and
then import the results into AutoCAD, Excel or a similar application is the route to take.
For further info check out http://www.afralisp.com/vba/extext.htm
================================================================
Hello,
I found your address at the afralisp.com homepage.
I'm looking for a solution to get EXCEL 97 datas drawn by AUTCAD 14
automatically.
For example a simple rectangle.
Could you please forward some hints or examples or contact me via E-Mail?
I can also sent my sheets and the corresponding drawing later.
Thanks in advance,
Ralf
OK Ralf, the pressure is getting to much. I'll have a look at AutoCAD and
Excel in the near future. Watch this space. " "
=================================================================
Hello Kenny,
I am trying to insert a title block into a new drawing and I do not know how to write a VB code to
accomplish this task. Title block's name is "a-shop.dwg", and has several attributes.
Could you please help me?
Thanks, Eugene.
Yep, Watch the site next week.
=================================================================
The Answers
Following on from the AfraLisp newsletter...
I obtained this from CadDesk magazine..
But this routine utilises a global variable that contains the file name that
you want to open. It may be of interest to you...
^C^C^P(setq pmv:tmp (findfile "ACAD.PGP"))(startapp "C:/windows/notepad.exe"
pmv:tmp)(princ)
Also I have inserted the following that enables Autocad to open up other
drawings. R2000 is a little different to R14. Again it might interest
you....
;;;----------------CODING STARTS HERE---------------------------
;;; ( GEN:OpenDwgFile filename bit )
;;; Function discerns which Acad version and applies appropriate command.
;;; Bit controls as follows
;;; 0 = Open file if Acad2000 or separate session if Acad14
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;;; 1 = Open file - Don't save current drawing
;;; 2 = Open file - Save current drawing.
( defun GEN:OpenDwgFile ( filenm bit / cmd f )
;;; local functions
( defun OpenDwgFileR15 ( f / cmd )
; string together the cmd expression and send to VBASTMT e.g.
; ( command "vbastmt" "AcadApplication.Documents.Open
\"x:/ADG/templates/ControlledSurveys.dwt\"")
( setq cmd ( strcat "AcadApplication.Documents.Open \"" f "\"" ))
( command "vbastmt" cmd )
) ; local defun
( defun OpenDwgFileR14 ( f bit / cmd )
( command "pan" "0.0,1.0,0.0" "0.0,0.0,0.0" ) ; force prompt
( if ( = bit 1 )
( command "_.open" "n" f ) ; save changes
( command "_.open" "y" f ) ; don't save changes
)
) ; local defun
( defun OpenDwgFile>0 ( f )
( alert "When using this file either SAVEAS and edit file \n OR
\nCUT and PASTE but don't overwrite original." )
(if ( wcmatch ( getvar "ACADVER" ) "15*" )
( progn
( setvar "SDI" 0 ) ; turn on multiple document interface
( OpenDwgFileR15 f ) ; if R2000 open dwg otherwise start separate
session of Acad.
); progn
( startapp "acad.exe" f)
)
); local defun
( defun OpenDwgFile>1 ( filenm / f ) ; don't save changes
(if ( wcmatch ( getvar "ACADVER" ) "15*" )
( progn ( OpenDwgFileR15 filenm ));progn
( OpenDwgFileR14 filenm 0 )
)
); local defun
( defun OpenDwgFile>2 ( filenm / f ) ;save changes
(if ( wcmatch ( getvar "ACADVER" ) "15*" )
( progn ( OpenDwgFileR15 filenm ));progn
( OpenDwgFileR14 filenm 1 )
)
); local defun
; main function
( if ( setq f ( findfile filenm )) ; locate file
( progn
( cond
(( = bit 0 )( OpenDwgFile>0 f )); access another drawing
(( = bit 1 )( OpenDwgFile>1 f )); don't save changes
(( = bit 2 )( OpenDwgFile>2 f )); save changes
);cond
);progn
( alert ( strcat "AutoCad cannot find " filenm ))
)
) ; defun
;;;----------------CODING ENDS HERE---------------------------
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Kind regards
Paul Matthews.
===============================================================
The Back Stoep
Well, another week has gone by (plus one more crate of beer,) and I'm just gearing myself up for
the "silly" season with the band. (Check out our Diary page at
http://www.bedrockband.com/diary.htm) From the look of things, we're pretty well booked up
right until Xmas and New Year so I suppose I'd better start taking care of my liver. Or do you
think I should I put it under an intensive training schedule to let it get used to the competitive
drinking that I'm sure I'll indulge in? A serious word of warning to you all. Pleeeeease be careful
on the roads. There's a lot of nutters out there. And don't drink and drive. You might spill some.
Until the next time....
Yesterday, I was getting into my car, and this chap says to me
"Can you give me a lift?"
I said "Sure, you look great, the world's your oyster, go for it.'
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
===============================================================
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
===============================================================
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter" archive can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter.htm
===============================================================
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]
with "unsubscribe afralisp-newsletter" in the BODY.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
===============================================================
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]
with "subscribe afralisp-newsletter" in the BODY.
===============================================================
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://www.BedrockBand.com
===============================================================
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
===============================================================
Bye........
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-08
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2001/2001-08.htm (7 of 8) [23/03/2005 05:50:18 p.m.]
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-08
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2001 20:33
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-09
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
**********************************************
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
**********************************************
The Front Stoep
I've had a few entries for the AfraLisp Logo competition and decided that I'm
going to let you, the reader, decide which one you think is the best. So if you
would like to have a hand in designing the AfraLisp home page, just pop along to
http://www.afralisp.com/logo/logo.htm and have your say. Each of the Logo's are
numbered and all you have to do is send an e-mail to :
mailto:[email protected] with "Logo" in the Subject line and the Logo number
of your choice in the Body.
===============================================================
The Site
Jings, I've been lazy this week. Only one new tutorial. What will my Mum say?
Naw, just a bit busy with work and the band. I have posted a simple but effective
tutorial that has a closer look at "Layers and Linetypes ByLayer." 'cos I'm busy
trying to fill in all the little gaps in my AutoLisp Tutorials that I've been meaning to
cover for ages. This is one of them. You can find it at :
http://www.afralisp.com/lisp/clay.htm
Quite handy if you like to play around with Colours and Linetypes.
Don't forget the AfraLisp Discussion Form is up and running at :
http://afralisp.community.everyone.net
Although, in a way, I much prefer posting your Questions and Answers via this
Newsletter.
(Mum : "So why do you have a Discussion Forum if you don't want one. I've told
you before Kenny, your eyes are bigger than your belly. Now look at that nice
young lad Randall. I bet he doesn't, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah ...............")
See Randall, the trouble you get me into.........
==================================================================
The Questions
I had two similar questions this week, both of them concerning DCL and AutoCAD
freezing.
I'm only going to show you the line that was the cause of the error.
Have a look at the first one :
(action_tile "cancel" "(done_dialog) (setq bryt 1) (exit)")
I was told that everytime the user clicked the "Cancel" button, AutoCAD would
freeze.
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Any idea why?
The second example has a similar error :
(action_tile
"accept"
"(progn
(setq rimel (get_tile \"ebrim\"))
(setq maxel (get_tile \"ebmax\"))
(done_dialog) (setq flag T) (cutt))"
)
They were both trying to call a function (exit) and (cutt) from within a dialog.
In other words, the dialog was still open when they called the function.
An easy error to make and one to look out for.
Please everybody, be careful out there!
=================================================================
Kenny - I just had a look at your site and was quite impressed.
Thanks for having a link to my cad nauseam site on your site.
However, the cad nauseam site has now moved to :
http://www.users.bigpond.com/stevejohnson.
I bet there are quite a few links broken on my site, too. :)
Steve Johnson
Yes, I know Mum, the Links page also need updating.
See Steve, you've also dropped me in it with my Mum.
============================================================
I found your website via cadence newsletter. Interesting site.
You, being an autolisp jock, I suspect have other tricks up your sleeve.
I've got a border sheet that I've added some new rtext features to in an
effort to "automate" some of the grunt work - like dates, paths, filenames
etc.
When people use a file naming convention incorporating the sheet number as
the first two characters, such as: 01GenNotes.dwg, or, 33BunchaDetails.dwg
... the rtext extracts the number of the drawing and places it in a part of
the block requiring that. So the user has "drawing 1 of ...". The trick
I'm looking for is extracting the largest sheet number of the set of
drawings. It can be done in Lisp, but I'm not sure the other blokes in here
would bother with running a routine. The best way, in my opinion, would be
to do it with an rtext statement. At this point I'm stumped. I haven't any
idea whether this is even doable in rtext. Any ideas?
Thanks ahead of time.
Tom Edwards.
==================================================================
Sometime ago I set something with Acad2000 that allowed me to resize the
Open or New Drawing Box by grabbing the bottom right side corner. Great for
previewing existing drawings.
A co-worker wanted to know how to do the same. I can't remember what I did.
Could you help?
Thanks,
Kevin
===================================================================
Hi Ken, (& da band).......
I was musing over the last N/L when I came across the chap who was talking
about 'sine' etc......I believe it was Paul Mathews.
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I would like to use your newsletter to ask Paul (and yourself if you can throw light)
why he uses LOG to achieve his Trig solution.
I also ask this because I have no idea at all about using 'log' etc or how it works.
I have a problem understanding how Paul understands LOG yet doesnt
understand Trig...........yet he understands how to put it all together but still needs
to ask.
Paul, if you are listening, I too wish to know a heck of a lot more about sine,cos, &
etc than I do now, but putting in LOG has thrown more for a six as I dont
understand this side of Cad yet, let alone the math.
So, on that note Kenny, how bout' doing a MATH page. I am more than sure that
there are millions out here (there) who are in the same boat as me. Autocad
demands at least a reasonable understanding of geometry, and if us users dont
understand at that basic level then we are in deep trouble before we even open
the program.
Can you give us a "Kenny version" of how to use Sine, Cosine, Tangent etc?
Pete
==============================================================
Dear sir,
I would like to ask if it is possible to add my link at your site!!
My site is:
http://come.to/autolisppage
I do think Afralisp is a great and I would be happy if your visitors will
be able to visit my site as well.
Thanks in advance,
Michiel de Bruijcker
================================================================
The Answers
The question from Paul Matthews was :
However I have a problem with some basic trigonometry, and maybe I'm looking
at this too hard.
How does one work out the angle of a triangle knowing the lengths of it's
sides?
And some of the answers :
Hi Kenny,
This is the first time that I write to you.
I just wanted to say that arc sine does not equal to 1/sin . AutoLISP has
arc tan function that returns the angle in radians knowing the tangent of
the angle.
The following equetions can be useful :
sin a * sin a + cos a * cos b = 1
tan a = sin a / cos a
this means you can calculate tan of the angle if you have the sin or the
cos.
the arc tan function in AutoLISP is (atan ). It takes one or two arguments.
You can take a look at this function in the LISP help .
Have a nice week-end
Sherko
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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=========================================================
Kenny (& Paul)
Autolisp does have an inverse tan function: atan. And that's all you need
really.
;asin
;-1<=y<=1
;returns inverse sin in radians
(defun asin (y)
(atan y (sqrt (- 1 (* y y))))
)
;acos
;-1<=y<=1
;returns inverse cos in radians
(defun acos (y)
(atan (sqrt (- 1 (* y y))) y)
)
btw, 1/sin(x) would be sec(x) not the inverse sine. Arc sin is indeed the
inverse of sine but the notation "sin to the power -1" is just shorthand for
inverse sine, it does not mean literally raised to the power of minus 1;
i.e. 1/sin(x).
I hope this is a useful contribution. I have certainly had my "moneys worth"
from your newletter and web site. Thank you
jeff russon
======================================================
Hi Kenny,
I didn't see Paul Matthews's email address. You can forward him this
attached file for Trig functions in AutoLISP.
Kind regards.
Jasmina
;CODING STARTS HERE
;Trig functions in AutoLISP
;adapted from CADalyst tip 442, by John Howard
;
;CO-TANGENT
(defun cot (x)
(cond
((equal (sin x) 0.0 1.0e-16)
(if (minusp x)
-1.0e200
1.0e200
)
)
(T
(/ (cos x) (sin x))
)
)
)
;
;CO-SECANT
(defun csc (x)
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(cond
((equal (sin x) 0.0 1.0e-16)
(if (minusp x)
-1.0e200
1.0e200
)
)
(T
(/ 1.0 (sin x))
)
)
)
;
;SECANT
(defun sec (x)
(cond
((equal (sin x) 0.0 1.0e-16)
(if (minusp x)
-1.0e200
1.0e200
)
)
(T
(/ 1.0 (cos x))
)
)
)
;
;TANGENT
(defun tan (x)
(cond
((equal (cos x) 0.0 1.0e-16)
(if (minusp x)
-1.0e200
1.0e200
)
)
(T
(/ (sin x) (cos x))
)
)
)
;
;ARC COSECANT
(defun acsc (x)
(cond
((equal x 1.0 1.0e-16)
(* pi 0.5)
)
((equal x -1.0 1.0e-16)
(* pi -0.5)
)
((> (abs x) 1.0)
(atan (/ (/ 1.0 x) (sqrt (- 1.0 (/ 1.0 (* x x))))))
)
(T
(prompt "\n*ERROR* (abs x) < 1.0 from ACSC function\n")
)
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)
)
;
;ARC COSINE
(defun acos (x)
(cond
((equal x 1.0 1.0e-16)
0.0
)
((equal x -1.0 1.0e-16)
pi
)
((< (abs x) 1.0)
(- (* pi 0.5) (atan (/ x (sqrt (- 1.0 (* x x))))))
)
(T
(prompt "\n*ERROR* (abs x) > 1.0 from ACOS function\n")
)
)
)
;
;ARC SECANT
(defun asec (x)
(cond
((equal x 1.0 1.0e-16)
0.0
)
((equal x -1.0 1.0e-16)
pi
)
((> (abs x) 1.0)
(- (* pi 0.5) (atan (/ (/ 1.0 x) (sqrt (- 1.0 (/ 1.0 (* x x)))))))
)
(T
(prompt "\n*ERROR* (abs x) < 1.0 from ASEC function\n")
)
)
)
;
;ARC SINE
(defun asin (x)
(cond
((equal x 1.0 1.0e-16)
(* pi 0.5)
)
((equal x -1.0 1.0e-16)
(* pi -0.5)
)
((< (abs x) 1.0)
(atan (/ x (sqrt (- 1.0 (* x x)))))
)
(T
(prompt "\n*ERROR* (abs x) > 1.0 from ASIN function\n")
)
)
)
;
(princ "\nCOT, CSC, SEC, TAN, ACSC, ACOS, ASEC, ASIN \n")
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(prin1)
;CODING ENDS HERE
==========================================================
Hello Kenny,
Try this simple one :
(defun cangle (a b c)
(setq max_val (max a b c))
(cond
((= max_val a)(setq a b b c))
((= max_val b)(setq b c))
)
(setq
A_ang (/ (* 180 (atan a b)) pi)
B_ang (/ (* 180 (atan b a)) pi)
C_ang (- 180.0 A_ang B_ang)
)
(print (strcat "Angle A is " (rtos A_ang) " degrees"))
(print (strcat "Angle B is " (rtos B_ang) " degrees"))
(print (strcat "Angle C is " (rtos C_ang) " degrees"))
(princ)
)
Lennart Ekelund
=================================================================
And from the wonder Llama himself :
*ahem*
'CODING STARTS HERE
Function ArcSin(x As Double) As Double
'Inverse Sin
If x = 1 Then
ArcSin = PI() / 2
ElseIf x = -1 Then
ArcSin = -PI() / 2
Else
ArcSin = Atn(x / Sqr(-x * x + 1))
End If
End Function
Function ArcCos(x As Double) As Double
' Inverse Cosine
If x = 1 Then
ArcCos = 0
ElseIf x = -1 Then
ArcCos = -PI()
Else
ArcCos = Atn(x / Sqr(-x * x + 1)) + PI() / 2
End If
End Function
Function Arccotan(x As Double) As Double
Arccotan = Atn(x) + PI() / 2
End Function
Function PI() As Double
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PI = Atn(1) * 4
End Function
'CODING ENDS HERE
Thanks Randall, much appreciated.
If you are interested in grabbing some super-duper VBA examples and more, then
pop along to VB Design, the second best site on the web.
http://www.vbdesign.net
============================================
The Back Stoep
This is the transcript of the ACTUAL radio conversation of a US Naval
ship and the Canadians, off the coast of Newfoundland, Oct 95.
Radio conversation released by the Chief of Naval Operations 10-10-95.
CANADIANS: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the South, to
avoid a collision.
AMERICANS: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to
the North, to avoid a collision.
CANADIANS: Negative. You will have to divert your course 15
degrees to the South to avoid a collision.
AMERICANS: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert
YOUR course.
CANADIANS: Negative. I say again, You will have to divert your course.
AMERICANS: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS LINCOLN.
THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES ATLANTIC
FLEET, WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE
CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT
YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE 15 DEGREES NORTH, I SAY AGAIN,
THAT'S 15 DEGREES NORTH, OR COUNTERMEASURES WILL BE
UNDERTAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.
CANADIANS: We are a lighthouse. Your call.
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
===============================================================
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
===============================================================
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter" archive can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter.htm
===============================================================
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]
with "unsubscribe afralisp-newsletter" in the BODY.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
===============================================================
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]
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with "subscribe afralisp-newsletter" in the BODY.
===============================================================
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://www.BedrockBand.com
===============================================================
Have you seen Page 42?
http://www.afralisp.com/42.htm
===============================================================
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
===============================================================
Bye........
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-09
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Monday, November 19, 2001 15:45
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-10
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
**********************************************
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
**********************************************
The Front Stoep
This is Kenny's Mum speaking here. Kenny is very sorry about the double e-mail's and the
other problems with the Newsletter. I've grounded him for 3 days and told him that anything
that gets sent from his computer must now be checked by me first. He's sitting in his room
sulking at the moment, but he must realise that this is all part of growing up.
Kenny's Mum
P.S. I've got nice recipe for tripe and onion's if anybody is interested.......
============================================================================
Thanks Mum, now can I write something? Ouch!! All right, I'm sorry........
Due to popular demand, and threats of physical violence to my body from certain people who
shall remain nameless, I've decided to extend the Logo Competition for another two weeks.
Every logo I receive will be posted on AfraLisp at http://www.afralisp.com/logo/logo.htm. So
pop along and have a look. Thanks to all who voted already but I'm going to have to ask you
to do it all over again in a couple of weeks.
Please do not send in your votes yet. I will let you know when the last logo has been posted
and voting can commence.
If you want to quickly find out "Whats New" on AfraLisp, pop along to :
http://www.afralisp.com/whatsnew.htm for all the latest site updates.
*****AND*****
Special Courses for our female subscribers. Check out the Back Stoep......
We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters
will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare.
Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.
================================================================
The Site
I decided to have a look at "AutoLisp and Debugging" this week as I've had a few queries on
this subject especially from people using earlier releases of AutoCAD. You can find this
article at : http://www.afralisp.com/lisp/debug.htm
Have you ever wanted to design your own bicycle? Then pop along to
http://www.afralisp.com/olisp.htm and download "Bike-Lisp". Clever little application and
good fun. Thanks Alan.
I'm looking for some ideas for tutorials using AfraLisp. Any ideas? Should I start looking at
Visual Lisp? Should I concentrate more on VBA? Or, should I carry on "as is" and just keep
on giving a mixture of everything? Should I start giving guitar lessons?
Feedback pleeeeease!!!!! Or, as the Froggies say "R.S.V.P."
How does a repository of "Classic" AutoLisp routines sound? You know the type I mean. The
one's that you know are out there, you've seen them a thousand times, but you can't find
when you need them. Let me know and I can start putting a collection together.
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(The scope for full scale major theft is enormous here!!)
========================================================================
Want some VB Code? Try these two sites :
VB Free Code
http://www.freevbcode.com/
VB Code
http://www.vbcode.com/
Lot's and lot's to steal.........
=========================================================================
And talking of Links, I've finally updated the Links page.
http://www.afralisp.com/links.htm
I've tested all the links, removed the dead one's, and added a few new live one's.
Any AutoLisp/VBA Links? Send them to me.
=========================================================================
Do you know that you can draw on the screen without hurting the current drawing?
Thought not!!
First assign coordinates to variables pt1 and pt2. Now run this :
(grdraw pt1 pt2 2)
This will draw a yellow line between the two points.
Add a 1 to the end to highlight the lines :
(grdraw pt1 pt2 2 1)
REGEN or REDRAW to restore your drawing.
"Honest boss, I did the drawing but when I regened it just disappeared".
========================================================
The Questions
Kenny,
I typed in (mem) at the command prompt and this is what came up:
Command: (mem)
; GC calls: 10; GC run time: 60 ms
Dynamic memory segments statistic:
PgSz Used Free FMCL Segs Type
512 26 101 74 1 lisp stacks
256 417 348 151 3 bytecode area
4096 50 10 10 4 CONS memory
32 749 1234 1234 1 ::new
4096 56 34 12 6 DM Str
4096 87 3 1 6 DMxx memory
128 3 508 508 1 bstack body
Segment size: 65536, total used: 22, free: 3
nil
Can you tell me what it all means? Also, could you explain the (atoms-family) function?
I know it's got something to do with lisp routines that are loaded. Finally, has VBA got
anything similar
Thank You,
Dave
The (mem) function displays statistics on AutoLISP memory usage. I'm not much of a
"memory" man myself but hopefully someone can expand on this for us.
(atoms-family) returns a list of the currently defined symbols. Each function and all variables
loaded into memory are regarded as symbols. That's why you declare your variables as
Global or Local. Global variables retain their values after your AutoLisp routine ends and
appear in the atoms list. Local variables lose their value and are removed from the list.
Randall, maybe you could be so kind as to answer the question regarding VBA?
================================================================
Hi, my name is Andrea.
I'm trying to make a lisp with the chroma dialog of Autocad...
But all I'm able to do is this....
(defun colord ()
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(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "acad.dcl")) ;Load the DCL file
(if (not (new_dialog "rq_chroma" dcl_id)) ;Initialize the dialog
(exit) ;Exit if this doesn't work
)
(start_dialog)
(unload_dialog dcl_id))
But the chroma does not appear and I don't have the key associated codes..
It's the same for the "open" dialog box....where can I find the key..??
I would like to modify the "open" dialog or create one but I really don't know how..
Could you help me ?
tx
Andrea,
Of course I can help you. This is an easy one.
Use the (acad_colordlg) and the (getfiled) AutoLisp functions.
In fact you can read a tutorial regarding the (getfiled) function at :
http://www.afralisp.com/lisp14.htm
Both functions are also well documented in the AutoLisp Reference book.
================================================================
Hi Kenny,
I've really learned alot from the Afralisp site, I'm doing pipework drawings
in 3-D using AutoCad 2000i and problem comes when i'm putting elevation from
the ground level and labelling. I would like the letters also to be in 3-D
so that i can plot either hidden or shaded.
How will i change a 3-D solid pipe to a single line?
Regards,
Kitonga mutuku
Come on you 3D fundies out there, help this guy.....
===============================================================
Kenny,
How do I load and run another Lisp program from my program.
I have the code (load "geotech") but when I try and run the Lisp it fails.
Matthew
Matthew,
What's probably happening is that the program "geotech" is defuned
(well I think it's a word) as c:geotech.
Try, (load "geotech") to load the routine, then (c:geotech) to run it.
Hey, another easy one....
=================================================================
Hello Kenny:
Would you be interested in creating a "Text Replacement" routine. This routine would allow
you to create a selection set and make several "Search and Replace" commands on it. For
instance if you were using a drawing to create a new drawing and the elevation on the old
was one meter lower than the new you might want to change all "97000" text instances to
"98000" but you also might want to change all "98000" instances to "99000". Presently with
the lisp routines I have now I have to make 2 selection sets and so must make sure I don't
mix up ones already selected.
Please let me know if you would be interested.
Charlie Peppard
Calgary, Alberta Canada
Charlie, sorry about the delay in posting your query.
I misplaced your e-mail but finally found it hidden behind the washing machine.
I must say that this is quite an interesting one. Let me think about a solution
and I'll get back to you. Anybody else got ideas on this one?
=========================================================================
Hi, my name is Andrea Andreetti
Every time I need information to make a lisp, your web site have it.
It is very helpful....thanks.
I have this in a txt file:
D:\Andrea\Lisp\
-------
M-0 LEGEND
M-1 VENTILATION 3rd FLOOR DEMOLITION
M-3 PLUMBING 3rd FLOOR
M-2 VENTILATION 3rd FLOOR NEW
FP-1 FIRE PROTECTION 3rd FLOOR
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-10
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and I would like to write a lisp to do this:
1) Search if "M-2" existing
2) If exist replace-it, if not add-it, but in order (bettween M-1 and M-2)
I really don't know how to do this......can you help me ??
tx.
================================================================
The Back Stoep
As Randall Rath is running a course on AutoCAD and VBA, I decided that I would offer some
courses specifically for our lady readers. So, as a special offer from AfraLisp, training
courses are now available for women on the following subjects :
1. Silence, the Final Frontier: Where No Woman Has Gone Before
2. The Undiscovered Side of Banking: Making Deposits
3. Parties: Going Without New Outfits
4. Man Management: Minor Household Chores Can Wait until After The Game
5. Bathroom Etiquette I: Men Need Space in the Bathroom Cabinet Too.
6. Bathroom Etiquette II: His Razor is His
7. Communication Skills I: Tears - The Last Resort, not the First
8. Communication Skills II: Thinking Before Speaking
9. Communication Skills III: Getting What you Want Without Nagging
10. Driving a Car Safely: A Skill You CAN Acquire
11. Telephone Skills: How to Hang Up
12. Introduction to Parking
13. Advanced Parking: Backing Into a Space
14. Water Retention: Fact or Fat
15. Cooking I: Bringing Back Bacon, Eggs and Butter
16. Cooking II: Bran and Tofu are Not for Human Consumption
17. Cooking III: How not to Inflict Your Diets on Other People
18. Compliments: Accepting Them Gracefully
19. PMS: Your Problem . . . Not His
20. Dancing: Why Men Don't Like To
21. Classic Clothing: Wearing Outfits You Already Have
22. Household Dust: A Harmless Natural Occurrence Only Women notice
23. Integrating Your Laundry: Washing It All Together
24. Oil and Gas: Your Car Needs Both
25. TV Remotes: For Men Only
Please register immediately as the courses are in great demand.
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
===============================================================
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
===============================================================
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter" archive can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
===============================================================
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe
stating your reasons in not less than 1000 words.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
===============================================================
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=subscribe
===============================================================
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://www.BedrockBand.com
===============================================================
Have you seen Page 42?
http://www.afralisp.com/42.htm
===============================================================
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-10
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2001/2001-10.htm (4 of 5) [23/03/2005 05:50:22 p.m.]
wrong with your P.C.
===============================================================
Bye........
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-10
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2001/2001-10.htm (5 of 5) [23/03/2005 05:50:22 p.m.]
Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Friday, November 23, 2001 21:48
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-11
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
**********************************************
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
**********************************************
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://www.BedrockBand.com
**********************************************
The Front Stoep
At last my daughter Kyla is home from boarding school. She's now finished school after
completing her final exams and all that is left is the wait for her results. Please keep your
fingers crossed for her, although she's supremely confident that she's done well.
Moi, well I'm in a thoroughly relaxed mood. Twelve more days and I'm on leave for a whole
month, I'm finally getting stuck into Visual Lisp, and all seems quiet on the Western Front.
My two sons, Stuart and Daniel are doing fine. Did I mention that Stuart is a Sound Engineer
and Daniel a trainee Paramedic? Anyway, at the moment, I'm one extremely happy camper,
although we had a bit of a hiccup with the band as Eddie, our drummer, had to be rushed
into hospital for an emergency back operation resulting in us having to cancel the last of this
years gigs.
That aside, enjoy this weeks Newsletter............
============================================================================
The Site
Due to popular demand, I've finally got around to writing tutorials on "Creating Linetypes"
and "Creating Hatch Patterns." You can find them at :
http://www.afralisp.com/lisp/ltype.htm for the Linetypes and
http://www.afralisp.com/lisp/hatch.htm for the Hatches.
Hey, check out Charles Sweeney's new Hatch Pattern website.
Goes with my tutorials. (Designer Tutorials???)
Well we are both Scottish, although I have my doubts about him as he's "giving" Hatch
Patterns away!!!! You're a traitor to your country Charles....A Scotsman "giving" things
away!!!!
http://www.hatchpatterns.com/
Ask Charles about his "Tartan" hatch.
He keeps it a closely guarded secret!!
Remember, if you missed a couple of issues, the "AfraLisp Newsletter" archive can be found
at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
================================================================
Watch the Tutorial Page. Visual Lisp is about to begin!!!!!!
http://www.afralisp.com/tutor.htm
================================================================
Last week I showed you how you can draw on your screen using the (grdraw) function.
Well, I've had a couple of e-mails from people asking what possible use this could be?
Well here's one :
;CODING STARTS HERE
;Show limits on screen
;This routine draws a rectangle corresponding to the current settings of LIMMIN and
LIMMAX.
;The rectangle is erased by a redraw/regen or by running the routine again.
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(defun C:LR (/ pt1 pt2 r1 r2)
(setq pt1 (getvar "LIMMIN")
pt2 (getvar "LIMMAX")
)
(grvecs (list 256 (list (car pt1)(cadr pt2)) pt2
256 (list (car pt2)(cadr pt1)) pt1
256 pt1 (list (car pt1)(cadr pt2))
256 pt2 (list (car pt2)(cadr pt1))
)
)
(grdraw pt1 pt2 -1)
(grdraw (list (car pt1) (cadr pt2))
(list (car pt2) (cadr pt1))
-1
)
(princ "Limit rect info:")
(setq r1 (rtos (car (getvar "limmin")))
r2 (rtos (cadr (getvar "limmin")))
)
(prompt (strcat "\nLower left: " r1 "," r2))
(setq r1 (rtos (car (getvar "limmax")))
r2 (rtos (cadr (getvar "limmax")))
)
(prompt (strcat "\nUpper right: " r1 "," r2))
(if (= (getvar "LIMCHECK") 0)
(setq linf "off")
(setq linf "on")
)
(prompt (strcat "\nLimits are " linf))
(princ)
)
;CODING ENDS HERE
I "stole" this from Stig Madsen's new website "Intervision".
http://intervision.hjem.wanadoo.dk/
Thanks Stig, I hope you don't mind?
By the way, keep an eye on this website.
It's building up nicely and has got a lot of potential.
===========================================================================
The Questions
Is it possible to get a program to select a file just plotted and have it
sent to a backup folder ?
thanks,
Kevin
The mind is thinking aloud.........
How can you copy whilst the drawing is still open? SaveAs? SaveAs to another directory
under the same name, or different name then SaveAs again using the original path and
name? Would the original drawing be retained or deleted? Dangerous if retained, 'cos now
we've two drawings! How do you delete the original file? What happens if things go wrong
and you lose both drawings? Blame Randall! Yes.....
Mind is still thinking, quietly this time..........
Me thinks more explanation of request required.
Back to you Kevin.......Phew!
================================================================
Hi Kenny
I don't know if you can help me. I am after a lisp routine to break a
dimension line. There are various dbreak.lsp routines on the net but none of
them seem to work with AutoCAD 2000i. Any Suggestions?
Great news letter - Keep it up
Adrian Snape
Adrian, I've got a little routine that does what you want, but it only works on "exploded"
dimensions. I don't use associative dimensions. Why? Don't ask......(Go on ask, I dare you).
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Here's the coding :
;CODING STARTS HERE
;This routine breaks dimension lines that are crossing.
;The break gap is 5 units both sides of the intersection point.
;Adjust to suit.
;This routine only works on non-associative dimensions.
(defun C:LCR ( / AR LN OL OS IN P1 P2 P3 P4 LINE1 LINE2 ENT1 ENT2 AN)
(setq AR 0.5)
(setvar "osmode" 0)
(setq ENT1 (car (entsel "\nSelect crossing line to break: "))
LINE1 (entget ENT1)
LN (cdr (assoc 8 LINE1))
P1 (cdr (assoc 10 LINE1))
P2 (cdr (assoc 11 LINE1))
AN (angle P1 P2)
ENT2 (car (entsel "\nSelect line to cross over: "))
LINE2 (entget ENT2)
P3 (cdr (assoc 10 LINE2))
P4 (cdr (assoc 11 LINE2))
IN (inters P1 P2 P3 P4)
BPT1 (polar IN AN (* AR (getvar "ltscale")))
BPT2 (polar IN (+ AN pi) (* AR (getvar "ltscale")))
);setq
(command "break" ENT1 BPT1 BPT2)
(princ)
);defun
;;;*==========================================================
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
This routine uses the value of the system variable "Ltscale" to scale the break
value. Just substitute this with your scaling variable.
==========================================================
Hi Kenny,
It's 1st time i write u, so, first of all , good site, it's very helpful.
The question:
Thank to dxf codes and afralisp, now I can extract vertex of a 2d polyline,
(lwpolyline), but what about 3d poly (polyline)?
Thank,
umberto
==================================================================
Do you know of a way to rotate a line relative to an angled line with an
angle other than 0?
Kevin.
No need to use AutoLisp or VBA here. Just use the "Align" command.
"Align" must be one of the most under documented AutoCAD commands, yet one of the
most powerful. If you haven't looked at this command yet, do yourself a favour and do so
A.S.A.P.
In the meantime, Kevin replied with this :
Works but is cumbersome. I deal with Transmission lines and plotting angles
relative to another, align will work but is time consuming.
You could also use the reference option under the rotate command but it
isn't 100% reliable.
I remember seeing something a couple of months ago, either an Acad command
or Lisp routine that did the trick perfectly but I forgot to keep a record
of it.
I do appreciate your help.
Kevin.
Hey, if you get your hands on it Kevin, please send me a copy.
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==================================================================
The Answers
Kenny,
Keep up the great work. I like the option of "carry on as is" with a
little more emphasis on visual lisp. The repository of classic lisp's
would be wonderful if you could categorize them somehow.
Sincerely,
Jim Basnett
Jim,
Visual Lisp is on it's way.
I'm still looking into the feasibility of the "Classic" section, although I'm very tempted.
Watch This Space........ " "
================================================================
Dear Kenny's Mum,
Please do not send me the nice recipe for tripe and onion's.
Thanks,
Tony Burns
Tony, you don't know what you're missing. Taste buds maybe. :-)))
================================================================
Do you know..........?
AutoLISP supports concatenations of car and cdr up to four levels deep. The
following are valid functions:
caaaar cadaar cdaaar cddaar
caaadr cadadr cdaadr cddadr
caaar cadar cdaar cddar
caadar caddar cdadar cdddar
caaddr cadddr cdaddr cddddr
caadr caddr cdadr cdddr
caar cadr cdar cddr
Can you imagine trying to pronounce cddddr!!
You'd sound like a machine gun.
===========================================================
A couple of interesting sites I popped into during my travels:
@Acad+
http://www.newz.net/acadplus/homeangl.htm
The "Mech" of Cad
http://www.microtec.net/mrochon/
And here's a site from some guy who seems to be a bit of a rookie at VBA.
Not bad though for a beginner. Check it out....
http://www.vbdesign.net
==================================================================
Remember, the "AfraLisp Logo Competition" is still open. Send your Logo to :
mailto:[email protected] or pop along and have a look at all the entries at :
http://www.afralisp.com/logo/logo.htm
==================================================================
The Back Stoep
I've decided to give an early Xmas present to all AfraLisp Newsletter subscribers.
Other people give away screen savers, wallpaper or mouse pads. I though, have decided to
be different and give away a special "AfraLisp Coffee Holder". Just click on this link to
download; http://www.afralisp.com/zip1/coffee.zip or visit the download page at :
http://www.afralisp.com/vba.htm to grab online.
A couple of weeks ago I had a bit of a dig at the Yanks.
Now it's the English tribes turn :
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-11
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2001/2001-11.htm (4 of 6) [23/03/2005 05:50:24 p.m.]
Only in England... can a pizza get to your house faster than an
ambulance.
Only in England... do supermarkets make sick people walk all the way
to the back of the shop to get their prescriptions while healthy people
can buy cigarettes at the front.
Only in England... do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries,
and a DIET coke.
Only in England... do banks leave both doors open and chain the pens
to the counters.
Only in England... do they leave cars worth thousands of pounds on the
drive and put their junk and cheap lawn mower in the garage.
Only in England... do they buy hot dogs in packs of ten and buns in
packs of eight.
Only in England... do they use answering machines to screen calls and
then have call waiting so they won't miss a call from someone they didn't
want to talk to in the first place.
Only in England... are there handicap parking places in front of a
skating rink.
3 Englishmen die each year testing if a 9v battery works on their tongue.
142 English idiots were injured in 1999 by not removing all pins from new
shirts.
58 English artisans are injured each year by using sharp knives instead of
screwdrivers.
31 English university graduates have died since 1996 by watering their Christmas tree while
the fairy lights were plugged in.
19 English people have died in the last 3 years believing that Christmas
decorations were chocolate.
English Hospitals reported 4 broken arms last year after cracker
pulling accidents.
101 English people since 1999 have had to have broken parts of plastic toys
pulled out of the soles of their feet.
18 Englanders had serious burns in 2000 trying on a new jumper with a lit
cigarette in their mouth.
A massive 543 English football supporters were admitted to A&E in the last two years after
opening bottles of beer with their teeth.
5 English schoolteachers were injured last year in accidents involving out of control
Scalextric cars.
and finally.........
In the year 2000, eight Scotsmen cracked their skull whilst throwing up into the
toilet!
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
===============================================================
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
===============================================================
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
===============================================================
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe
stating your reasons in not less than 1000 words.
We will then hunt you down and make you
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-11
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2001/2001-11.htm (5 of 6) [23/03/2005 05:50:24 p.m.]
change your mind.
===============================================================
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=subscribe
===============================================================
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://www.BedrockBand.com
===============================================================
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
===============================================================
Bye........
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-11
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/2001/2001-11.htm (6 of 6) [23/03/2005 05:50:24 p.m.]
Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2001 19:55
AfraLisp Newsletter No 2001-12
http://www.afralisp.com
mailto:[email protected]
**********************************************
AfraLisp is supported by :
"Contract CADD Group"
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com
**********************************************
The Front Stoep
The Newsletter is a bit early this week as I have quite a few things that I need to tie up at
work before I start my leave next Wednesday. Don't worry, the Newsletter will continue until
just before Xmas and then it'll take a short break until the New Year.
The competition for the AfraLisp Logo is now closed. "Voting is now open!!!!" Please visit
http://www.afralisp.com/logo/logo.htm , choose which Logo you think is the best, and cast
your vote. The winner will be announced in next weeks Newsletter.
============================================================================
The Site
The Visual Lisp Tutorials
Some good news!!! The "Visual Lisp" section is up and running. (Fanfare of trumpets.......)
So far, I've posted 5 Tutorial sections, namely :
The Visual Lisp Editor - http://www.afralisp.com/vl/vl-edit.htm
The Beginning - http://www.afralisp.com/vl/vl-begin1.htm
Properties and Methods - http://www.afralisp.com/vl/pm1.htm
Arrays - http://www.afralisp.com/vl/array.htm
Selecting Objects - http://www.afralisp.com/vl/selsets.htm
Cooking Tripe and Onion's - in progress.
Please, just remember!! Visual Basic is NOT a replacement for AutoLisp, it is an extension to
AutoLisp. You will still require a good understanding and knowledge of AutoLisp to code in
Visual Lisp. (knowing VBA also helps.)
So, if you want to have a look at Visual Lisp, tell your wife to shut up and leave you in peace,
phone work and tell them you're sick, grab yourself a six pack of beers, and click on this URL
: http://www.afralisp.com/tutor.htm
Here, you will find a new section listing all the Tutorials dedicate to Visual Lisp.
Just to give you a taste, can you remember in Newsletter No 2001-02 when I included an
article on "Controlling Layering Standards" by Frank Zanders? This routine was written
using VBA. Well here's a similar application I wrote using Visual Lisp and Reactors :
;CODING STARTS HERE
(prompt " \nLoad Only....Do NOT Run...")
(vl-load-com)
;***********************************************************************
(vlr-command-reactor
nil '((:vlr-commandWillStart . startCommand)))
(vlr-command-reactor
nil '((:vlr-commandEnded . endCommand)))
(vlr-command-reactor
nil '((:vlr-commandCancelled . cancelCommand)))
;*************************************************************************
(defun startCommand (calling-reactor startcommandInfo /
thecommandstart)
(setq OldLayer (getvar "CLAYER"))
(setq thecommandstart (nth 0 startcommandInfo))
(cond
((= thecommandstart "TEXT") (setvar "CLAYER" "4"))
((= thecommandstart "MTEXT") (setvar "CLAYER" "4"))
((= thecommandstart "DTEXT") (setvar "CLAYER" "4"))
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((= thecommandstart "HATCH") (setvar "CLAYER" "6"))
((= thecommandstart "BHATCH") (setvar "CLAYER" "6"))
);cond
(princ)
);defun
;**********************************************************************
(defun endCommand (calling-reactor endcommandInfo /
thecommandend)
(setq thecommandend (nth 0 endcommandInfo))
(cond
((= thecommandend "TEXT") (setvar "CLAYER" OldLayer))
((= thecommandend "MTEXT") (setvar "CLAYER" OldLayer))
((= thecommandend "DTEXT") (setvar "CLAYER" OldLayer))
((= thecommandend "HATCH") (setvar "CLAYER" OldLayer))
((= thecommandend "BHATCH") (setvar "CLAYER" OldLayer))
);cond
(princ)
);defun
;*****************************************************************************
(defun cancelCommand (calling-reactor cancelcommandInfo /
thecommandcancel)
(setq thecommandcancel (nth 0 cancelcommandInfo))
(cond
((= thecommandcancel "TEXT") (setvar "CLAYER" OldLayer))
((= thecommandcancel "MTEXT") (setvar "CLAYER" OldLayer))
((= thecommandcancel "DTEXT") (setvar "CLAYER" OldLayer))
((= thecommandcancel "HATCH") (setvar "CLAYER" OldLayer))
((= thecommandcancel "BHATCH") (setvar "CLAYER" OldLayer))
);cond
(princ)
);defun
;*********************************************************
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
=======================================================
When a user adds Text or Hatch to the drawing, the layer will automatically change to Layer
"4" or Layer "6" respectively. When the command is completed, or cancelled, the user is
returned to the original Layer he was on before he started the command. Save the file as
"LayMan.lsp", BUT please remember, that as this routine contains reactors, you must only
Load it and NOT Run it. If you want to use this routine on a permanent basis, you'll have to
ensure that it is loaded at startup. There is also no checking to ensure that the layers exist,
are frozen, switched off, etc. and no other form of error checking. I've got to leave something
for you to do!!!
================================================================
The Questions
Hi,....
I would like to undefine the (_.attedit)......with the dot
in fact i would like to replace the double click command
without turning off the "dblclkedit" command.
How can i do this...??
tx.
Andrea
=====================================================
Hello,
I am a new programmer in AutoCAD LT 2000. I need to write a program in VB
version 6 to access a drawing, read it, and set default values. In order to this I need to know
what libraries I need to reference. If you could help me I would really appreciate it.
Teresa Walkosz
==================================================================
What is the command name to invoke "bring to front" and " send to back"
I need to make a menu icon group to use it.
Gabriel Cals De Vit
Gabriel - Use these macros :
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Bring to Front
^C^C^P(ai_draworder "_f") ^P
Send to Back
^C^C^P(ai_draworder "_b") ^P
==================================================================
Hi, I would like to replace this......
(setq ss1 (ssget "X" '((0 . "INSERT")(66 . 1))))
(if ss1
(progn....blah ...blah....
to only one selection....like
(setq ss1 (entsel))
but is not working..!!?? why....any one can help me ??
Andrea Andreetti
Andrea,
The first expression is selecting everything in the drawing and filtering the entities. The next
expression, (entsel) only allows you to select a single entitity. Why would you want to filter a
single entity?
Now I stand corrected. Andrea, please make your way along to this site :
http://www.acadx.com
Select "AutoLisp" from the side-bar menu and then "I:EntSelf". This is the description of the
routine. (I nearly "stole" it , but then thought, "Hey Kenny, they probably need the traffic on
their site.")
This routine is useful when you have congested drawings that (entsel) would normally have
fits with. The advantage in this case, is that this routine acts like an (entsel), but really uses
an (ssget) with a crossing box the size of your pickbox. This permits the use of selection set
filters, to give you control over what the user selects.
Author
R. Robert Bell
See, you live and learn.
======================================================
The Answers
The question was :
Is it possible to get a program to select a file just plotted and have it
sent to a backup folder ?
And the answer is :
Copy and paste this coding into Notepad and save it as "EndPlot.lsp". You must only load
this application. "Do not run it, as it contains reactors".
Open the drawing you want to plot, and then load the application : (load "endplot")
Plot your drawing. At the end of the plot the application will first Save the drawing to the
current directory, and then SaveAs, to a directory called "c:/backup/". You can quite easily
change the directory path to suit your backup directory.
;CODING STARTS HERE
(prompt " \nLoad Only....Do NOT Run...")
(vl-load-com)
;*******************************************************
(vlr-command-reactor
nil '((:vlr-commandEnded . endPlot)))
;*******************************************************
(defun endPlot (calling-reactor endcommandInfo /
thecommandend drgName newname)
(setq thecommandend (nth 0 endcommandInfo))
(if (= thecommandend "PLOT")
(progn
(setq acadDocument (vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object)))
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(setq drgName (vla-get-name acadDocument))
(setq newname (strcat "c:\\backup\\" drgName))
(vla-save acadDocument)
(vla-saveas acadDocument newname)
);progn
);if
(princ)
);defun
;*********************************************************
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
===============================================================
Kenny
I offer the following tip for you and your readers.
Upon my return to AutoCAD, after using AES (Architectural & Engineering Series CAD
program), I found AutoCAD was missing one very handy feature that AES had.
In AES it was possible to draw a line from any point to the X or Y component of any other
point.
I was aware that AutoCAD point filters could be used but found them to be very clumsy.
After a bit of poking around, I found I was able to automate the point filters and created the 'X
of...' and 'Y of...' object snaps in the POP0 menu as shown below.
The POP0 menu is found near the top of the acad.mns file which is located in the AutoCAD
'support' folder. Using the WordPad text editor, add the two lines starting with ID_PointXcom
and ID_PointYcom as detailed below. I find these two additions to be absolutely invaluable
as they save drawing and erasing temporary construction lines.
By way of explanation:
Start drawing a line from any point.
Invoke the Osnap menu (shift right click on my computer).
Select 'X of...' or 'Y of...' as required.
The Osnap menu is redisplayed.
You then pick from any of the traditional object snaps (end, mid, int, cen etc...)
You then pick on the required entity and the line is completed from its start location to the X
or Y component of the selected entity.
The above may sound a bit cumbersome but it works very easily and smoothly. Give it a try...
(I have since been told that you can use something called 'tracking' to achieve the same
function. I haven't tried this because I find it hard to imagine that it would be any easier.)
PS - You may notice I have also added 'Mid-way' to the POP0 menu. I stole this from the
Autodesk site. Very handy for drawing a line from and/or to a point midway between two
other points.
Regards
Craig Green
- Part acad.mns file starts here -
***POP0
**SNAP
[&Object Snap Cursor Menu]
ID_Tracking [Temporary trac&k point]_tt
ID_From [&From]_from
ID_MnPointFi [->Poin&t Filters]
ID_PointFilx [.X].X
ID_PointFily [.Y].Y
ID_PointFilz [.Z].Z
[--]
ID_PointFixy [.XY].XY
ID_PointFixz [.XZ].XZ
ID_PointFiyz [<-.YZ].YZ
[--]
ID_PointXcom [X of...]$p0=* ^P(progn (setq pt1 (getpoint "x of: ")) (command ".x" pt1 "@"))
^P
ID_PointYcom [Y of...]$p0=* ^P(progn (setq pt1 (getpoint "y of: ")) (command ".y" pt1 "@"))
^P
[--]
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ID_OsnapEndp [&Endpoint]_endp
ID_OsnapMidp [&Midpoint]_mid
CAL_Mid3D [Mid-way]'CAL;(CUR+CUR)/2;
ID_OsnapInte [&Intersection]_int
ID_OsnapAppa [&Apparent Intersect]_appint
ID_OsnapExte [E&xtension]_ext
[--]
ID_OsnapCent [&Center]_cen
ID_OsnapQuad [&Quadrant]_qua
ID_OsnapTang [Tan&gent]_tan
[--]
ID_OsnapPerp [&Perpendicular]_per
ID_OsnapPara [Para&llel]_par
ID_OsnapNode [No&de]_nod
ID_OsnapInse [In&sert]_ins
ID_OsnapNear [Nea&rest]_nea
ID_OsnapNone [&None]_non
[--]
ID_Osnap [&Osnap Settings...]'_+dsettings 2
- Part acad.mns file ends here -
Thanks Craig, you are an Officer and a Gentleman.
===============================================================
The Back Stoep
Question to my wife :
"How many women does it take to change a light bulb?"
Answer from my wife :
"One. Only ONE!! And do you know WHY? Because no one else in this house knows HOW to
change a light bulb! They don't even know that the bulb is BURNED OUT! They would sit in
the dark for THREE DAYS before they figured it out.
And, once they figured it out, they wouldn't be able to find the light bulbs despite the fact
that they've been in the SAME CUPBOARD for the past 17 YEARS! But if they did, by some
miracle, actually find them 2 DAYS LATER, the chair they dragged to stand on to change the
STUPID light bulb would STILL BE IN THE SAME SPOT!! AND UNDERNEATH IT WOULD BE
THE WRAPPER THE STUPID @*!#$% LIGHT BULBS CAME IN! WHY? BECAUSE NO-ONE
EVER CARRIES OUT THE GARBAGE!! IT'S A WONDER WE HAVEN'T ALL SUFFOCATED
FROM THE PILES OF GARBAGE THAT ARE 12' DEEP THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE.
THE HOUSE!! IT WOULD TAKE AN ARMY TO CLEAN THIS #@*$!#@!... HOUSE!
I'm sorry...what did you ask me?"
Tara the noo,
Kenny Ramage Q.B.E.
===============================================================
AfraLisp : http://www.afralisp.com
===============================================================
Did you miss a newsletter?
Are you a new subscriber?
The "AfraLisp Newsletter Archive" can be found at :
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/newsletter.htm
===============================================================
To unsubscribe send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe
stating your reasons in not less than 1000 words.
We will then hunt you down and make you
change your mind.
===============================================================
To subscribe to AfraLisp send e-mail to
mailto:[email protected]?subject=subscribe
===============================================================
If you enjoy good music, visit :
"BedRock - The Band in the Sand"
http://www.BedrockBand.com
===============================================================
All reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure no
viruses are present in this e-mail. AfraLisp cannot
accept responsibility for loss or damage arising from
the use of this e-mail or in fact, anything that goes
wrong with your P.C.
===============================================================
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Bye........

You are visitor number

AfraLisp Newsletter No 27-05-99

http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/1999/27-05-99.htm (2 of 3) [23/03/2005 05:50:33 p.m.]
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Crikey I'm early this week. It must be the weather!! (More likely whether or
not my brain is functioning). Or it could be because it's the first day of a
new month. Or even because it's the last year of this century? Or even
because my cricket team, South Africa, is through to the Super Six in the
cricket World Cup? (Which we are going to win, by the way). Anyway, enough
blathering and on with this weeks items.
First, I received 3 clever applications from Lintang Darudjati :
Hot Blocks v1.2
A block manager with an INI style customization file and a dialog box,
performing collection-grouping, file path display, and slide previews as
'hot thumbnails'. Build your own dwg block library with it, and make them
ready to be inserted easily, anytime.
Slide Factory v1.0
Automates the process of creating multiple slides and slide-libraries. It
creates slide files for all DWG files found in a user-selected folder. It
also creates a slide library file (SLB) if desired. Just select a folder
containing one or more DWG files, and the rest of process is in Slide
Factory's hands.
Layer Color Fixer v1.0
A small program for AutoCAD users. It fixes layer colors for plotting
purposes (via a dialog box) by assigning layer colors to an INI-style config
file that matches specific pen settings.
========================================================
You can download all 3 applications from the "Other AutoLisp" page :
http://members.tripod.com/~kramage/olisp.htm
or directly from Lintangs site at :
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/1073/
mailto:[email protected]
===========================================================
I've also updated the "Acad Code a Day" page. Almost fully up to date, just
got one more week to add. Again, if you are into Visual Basic, Randall
Raaths newsletters have some invaluable information, so pop along and have a
look.
===========================================================
Here's a query I received from Mike Boerner :
Hi Ken..
I read your tutorial on DCL and found it very helpful. I was wondering if
you help me out, or point me in the right direction for the answer to my
next question; How do you enable/disable tiles by using toggles?
Y'know.. if you click on a toggle, it will turn on a previously greyed-out
area and allow the user to select choices from that area..
The ACAD manuals aren't that helpful. They discuss that you SHOULD use
them.. but don't tell you HOW to use them..
I appreciate your time..
Thanks..
Mike Boerner
Westcoast Energy Inc.
(604)691-5156
mailto:[email protected]
==========================================================
This was my reply to Mike :
Mike,
Let's hope this helps. Say for example you have a radio button with
AfraLisp Newsletter No 01-06-99
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the key of "rb6" which tells us that the user has selected a slotted hole.
The following will happen when the user selects the radio button :
(action_tile "rb6" "(setq hole \"slot\")
;store hole type
(mode_tile \"eb1\" 0)
;enable edit box
(mode_tile \"myslider\" 0)
;enable slider
(mode_tile \"eb1\" 2)")
;switch focus to edit box
=================================================
As you can see, "mode_tile" is the command you use to enable or disable
another tile. Mode_Tile has five code values :
0 - Enable Tile
1 - Disable Tile
2 - Set focus to tile
3 - Select Edit Box Contents
4 - Flip Image Highlighting on or off
You can see this in action in a sample application that I wrote as part of
my tutorial "Dialogue Boxes Step by Step" You can find it at :
http://members.tripod.com/~kramage/lisp71.htm
==========================================================
Kenny
I need your help. I have written a routine that I want to operate on
multiple drawings. The sequence goes like this. I select a prototype plan
drawing by dialog box or input prompt. I saveas the drawing to a new name.
The routine then edits the drawing, then the routine saves the changes and
should load the next selected prototype drawing, however the routine stops
upon loading the next prototype drawing. I have the
system variable set to lispinit 0. The routine is in memory but does not
continue on the newly loaded drawing. I know that lisp memory is reloaded on
a per drawing basis if lispinit set to 1. It seems that the .open command
creates problems. Any help will be appreciated.

Andrew
==========================================================
If anyone can help Andrew, you can contact him at :
mailto:[email protected]
==========================================================
In being search for nice lisp programs I found your page
It looks very useful, I hope I'll be able to use some things.
I think it's a very good idea to make pages like that, I just started to
discover the power of NET, so I do not really know how to seek and
find what I need.
I was looking for answer for many questions (how to..,and how to..), but
now have one (maybe stupid, but I was almost shot by my boss) the question
is: why I can't plot the True Type fonts if they are made in 255 color?
Maybe is this wrong with me..
Thank You very much.
Kaczor :)
ps1. sorry for English
==========================================================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 01-06-99
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You can contact Kaczor at :
mailto:[email protected]
==========================================================
Dear Kenny,
I've looked at your site (not completely) and I think that you are a Civil
Eng. because of your steel/structural lisp programs. Is it correct? Well,
I'm looking for a lisp code or an auxiliary routine to export an dwg/dxf to
an iges file. (AutoCAD -> ansys)
Do you know some place where I can find it?
Regards,
Pietro Ferrazzo
==========================================================
Pietro can be contacted at :
mailto:[email protected]
==========================================================
Right, that's it for this week. I'll leave you with a bit of humour :
Did you hear about the two parrots sat on a perch?
One turned to the other and said "Do you smell fish?"
==========================================================
Think about it...................

You are visitor number

AfraLisp Newsletter No 22-07-99

http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/1999/22-07-99.htm (1 of 2) [23/03/2005 05:50:40 p.m.]
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 22-07-99
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/1999/22-07-99.htm (2 of 2) [23/03/2005 05:50:40 p.m.]
Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
AfraLisp
http:\\members.tripod.com\~kramage\
mailto:[email protected]
****************************************
Houston, we have a problem........
My new Acad2000 package has gone on walk-about. It was put on the truck in
Windhoek and was never seen again. It was supposed to be delivered to me on
Wednesday but now it looks like I'll have to wait for another two weeks for
another copy to be dispatched. Well, this is Africa!!! I'm sorry for not
being able to answer the numerous Acad2000 queries that I receive, but I am
saving them and will get around to dealing with them as soon as possible.
I've finally got around to creating a stand alone, downloadable, HTML
version of ALL the tutorials found on AfraLisp. This includes all the
AutoLisp and DCL source coding. You can find it at :
http://members.tripod.com/~kramage/html.htm
I'm afraid that, even when compressed, it's a bit large (1.8Mb). Sorry!!!!
===========================================================================
Randall Raath has got a brand new VB Application called "Towel". Drop him a
line at mailto:[email protected] for further info. and details on
this superb programme.
===========================================================================
Did you know that 42 is the natural vibration frequency of human and white
mouse DNA?
===========================================================================
Kenny
I know the speed of dark! Zero(0). There is no such thing as dark, it is
only the absence of light.
Regards,
Mark
==========================================================================
Mark, if the speed of dark is zero then what happens if it slows down even
further to say -100. Does this mean that everything starts to look like a
negative photograph?
==========================================================================
Hey there Kenny - Ken Dispoto here.
I'm the fellow who asked for your help in getting a plot date stamp lisp
routine.
Thanks for putting one together - I works pretty good!
My question today is not as involved (I don't think).
I would like to find a way to insert symbols (fuses, contacts, sw's, etc)
into a horizontal or vertical line and have the line break around it. Have
you anything tucked in your bag of tricks?
Thanks again - and keep cool!
Ken D...
==========================================================================
Hi Kenny,
AfraLisp Newsletter No 30-07-99
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I wrote to you a couple of weeks ago about getting a routine that I was
working on to work. This routine would allow a user to pick 2 points after
a block was inserted and would break that line between the 2 points. I
guess I could also do it by having the btrim command invoked right after it
was inserted that way might be better. Anyway you said that you were
working on something like that and that you would post it on your web page
so I was wondering if you've posted it somewhere else in your new layout and
I missed it?
Thanks in advance,
Tim K.
===========================================================================
O.K. guys, I get the message. You will find a tutorial complete with a
sample application for Auto-Breaking Blocks on AfraLisp at the following
URL:
http://members.tripod.com/~kramage/lisp52.htm
Now don't ever say that I'm not good to you!!!
===========================================================================
Hi Kenny,
Do you know if there is a Lisp Manager available that shows all the Lisp
routines in a chosen directory at the left and the first REMark lines in
the Lisp routine at the right.
I think with such an application a lot of AutoCAD users would be very happy.
Best regards,
Lambertus Oosterveen
mailto:[email protected]
===========================================================================
Sounds like a good idea. Anybody know of anything like this?
===========================================================================
Dear Kenny,
I Am still quite new to VB, as you might guess from my question none the
less I am trying. I need to code for simple tasks such as cut, copy, paste,
bold, and align. I would be grateful for your expert help,
Thank you Kindly
Ronnie van Wyk
Mailto:[email protected]
===========================================================================
What is the VBA equivalent to EntGet in AutoLisp and how do you extract the
dxf codes of AutoCAD entities.
John Rodrick
mailto:[email protected]
===========================================================================
Did you know that light reflects off water at 42 degrees to make a rainbow?
===========================================================================
This code below gets me the name of the group of an object in AutoCAD, along
with the name is a description field in the group command in AutoCAD how do
I access this in VB. I can not find a property for the value that is in the
description field when I create a group in AutoCAD.
Private Sub Command1_Click()
Dim AcadApp As Object
Dim AcadDoc As Object
Dim gpitem As Integer
Set AcadApp = GetObject(, "AutoCAD.Application")
Set AcadDoc = AcadApp.ActiveDocument
AcadApp.Visible = True
If Err Then
Err.Clear
'Start AutoCAD if it is not running.
Set AcadApp = CreateObject("AutoCAD.Application")
If Err Then
AfraLisp Newsletter No 30-07-99
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MsgBox Err.Description
Exit Sub
End If
End If
For gpitem = 0 To AcadDoc.Application.ActiveDocument.Groups.Count - 1
groupname = AcadDoc.Application.ActiveDocument.Groups.Item(gpitem).Name
MsgBox groupname
Next
AcadApp.Update
End Sub
John Rodrick
mailto:[email protected]
==========================================================================
This week I'm going to finish off with something completely different :
Life in the 1400's (1442 to be exact)
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May
and were still smelling pretty good by June. However, they were Starting to
smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the b.o. Baths equaled
a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of
the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and
finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so
dirty you could actually loose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't
throw the baby out with the bath water".
Houses had thatched roofs. Thick straw, piled high, with no wood
underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the pets
dogs, cats and other small animals, mice, rats, bugs lived in the roof.
When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and
fall off the roof. Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs," There was
nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real
problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could really mess up
your nice clean bed. Therefore, they found that if they made beds with big
posts and hung a sheet over the top, it addressed that problem. Hence, those
beautiful big 4 poster beds with canopies. The floor was dirt. Only the
wealthy had something other than dirt, hence the saying "dirt poor". The
wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet. So
they spread thresh on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter
wore on they kept adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would
all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed at the entryway,
hence a "thresh hold".
They cooked in the kitchen in a big kettle that always hung over the fire.
Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They mostly ate
vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner
leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the
next day. Sometimes the stew had food in it that had been in there for a
month. Hence the rhyme: peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas
porridge in the pot nine days old."
Sometimes they could obtain pork and would feel really special when that
happened. When company came over; they would bring out some bacon and hang
it to show it off. It was a sign of wealth and that a man "could really
bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and
would all sit around and "chew the fat."
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with a high acid content
caused some of the lead to leach onto the food. This happened most often
with tomatoes, so they stopped eating tomatoes... for 400 years.
Most people did not have pewter plates, but had trenchers - a piece of wood
with the middle scooped out like a bowl. Trencher were never washed and a
lot of times worms got into the wood. After eating off wormy trenchers,
AfraLisp Newsletter No 30-07-99
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they would get "trench mouth."
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the
loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the "upper
crust".
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would
sometimes knock them out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the
road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid
out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather
around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the
custom of holding a "wake". England is old and small and they started
running out of places to bury people. So, they would dig up coffins and
would take their bones to a house and re-use the grave. In reopening these
coffins, one out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the
inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. Therefore,
they thought they would tie a string on their wrist and lead it through the
coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to
sit out in the graveyard all night to listen for the bells. Hence on the
"graveyard shift" they would know that someone was "saved by the bell" or he
was a "dead ringer".
===========================================================================
Have nice weekend.....
Regards,
Kenny Ramage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
E-Mail :
Mailto:[email protected]
AfraLisp :
http:\\members.tripod.com\~kramage\
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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AfraLisp Newsletter No 06-10-99

http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/1999/06-10-99.htm (4 of 5) [23/03/2005 05:50:48 p.m.]
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 06-10-99
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/1999/06-10-99.htm (5 of 5) [23/03/2005 05:50:48 p.m.]
Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
AfraLisp
http://afralisp.hypermart.net/
mailto:[email protected]
****************************************
Is there anybody out there?
Firstly,
thanks to everybody for taking the time and effort to re-subscribe to this
Newsletter. I must say it's now a lot easier to control and maintain and it
means that I can now spend more time thinking up and writing vast amounts of
this type of high quality garbage. Please let me know if you have any
problems from your side and I hope that the advertisement doesn't turn out
to be too much of a hassle.
Anybody following the Rugby World Cup? South Africa is going to mollicate
the lot of you, especially the Aussies and the All Blacks. For all of you in
the States, Rugby is the real man's game, not that pansy American Football
that you lot play. I mean, why don't your players just wear suits of armor
and get it over with? :-))))))
===================================================================
Here's a few new things that I've added to AfraLisp :
Create A Toolbar DLL :
Are you sick and tired of having all those Toolbar Bitmap Files floating
around?
I think you are probably aware just what a pain it is having to remember to
attach the bitmaps along with the Toolbar menu file every time you either
send it to someone, or install the menu on another workstation. (Smiley
Faces here we come..)
The solution to this, is to store the Bitmaps in an ActiveX DLL file. (The
same as
AutoCAD do with their Toolbar Bitmaps.) This article will take you through
the steps required to construct your own customized Toolbar DLL.
http://afralisp.hypermart.net/vba15.htm
TestDCL.Lsp :
by M.P.Saju. mailto:[email protected]
Testing DCL files becomes a necessity when developing a good sized lisp
application for easy input and understanding. This routine in lisp was
written for just such a necessity.
Usage is very simple... Just type "Testdcl" in the AutoCAD text screen and
press
"Enter". A file selection dialog box will open up to select the DCL file.
On entering, the DCL under test will open. This application works under
the assumption that there is an active "accept" or "cancel" button.
http://afralisp.hypermart.net/olisp.htm
===================================================================
Letters :
Our office uses SummaSketch III tablets and Calcomp 4x5 DesignStations.
Currently I have a line in the Acad.Lsp file to load our menu:
(command "menu" "mwacad").
AfraLisp Newsletter No 12-10-99
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The problem is, the tablets use different configurations in the ***Buttons1
menu area.
Is there a way I can have an "if" statement in the Acad.Lsp file to load the
correct menu based on the workstation/tablet that is being used? We are
on a Windows NT server with Windows 95/98 workstations.
Brian Fifelski mailto:[email protected]
==================================================================
Brian,
Your best solution to this problem is to set up 2 different Profiles
for each tablet and each Menu. You could have 2 different icons on your
desktop that will open AutoCAD for each tablet/menu. You can use something
like this when you start AutoCAD :
"c:\acadr14\acad.exe"/p summa
"c:\acadr14\acad.exe"/p cal
Check out the AutoCAD Help on how to set up and use profiles.
==================================================================
Hi Kenny
Glad to know you like "Testdcl.lsp". By all means add
it to your "AfraLisp". In return could you please help
me with this query.
I am looking for persons who deal with Hydraulic
manifold block design. I developed "Testdcl" while I
was in the process of developing a lisp routine
involving Mechanical desktop commands for the design
and development of Hydraulic manifold blocks. Can you
help?
Regards
Saju Philippose mailto:[email protected]
==================================================================
Although I am currently using ACAD2000, this questions should pertain to any
version.
I am creating an AutoLisp program that will insert a block and then change
certain block attribute definitions based on criteria inputted at the
insertion time. For example, once I insert this specific block, I want to
change the justification of an attribute based on the inserted rotation
angle. Hence this will be specific to each individual block when inserted.
The only way I have figured out this could be accomplished is by (a)
exploding the block (hence leaving it exploded in my drawing) or (b)
exploding the block, redefining it, and saving it again as a redefined
block. I do not want to use any of these two possibilities because (a) I
need the block to remain unexploded and (b) I do not want to change any
previous occurrences of this block already inserted into the drawing and I
also want to keep the original attribute definitions (the definitions set
previous to insertion) for the next time I insert the block.
Please help in any way. I realize it hard to explain exactly what I am
looking for, so let me know if you do not understand my intentions.
Thanks,
Greg Lee
mailto:[email protected]
====================================================================
Tip of the Week :
This routine will join 2 broken lines.
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;Start AutoLisp Coding
;;;Join.Lsp : Joins two broken colinear lines.
AfraLisp Newsletter No 12-10-99
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;;;Written by Kenny Ramage
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
(defun C:Join ( / a b ai va vb dst1 dst2 a1 b1 a2 b2 ent1 ent2
end1 end2 dst3 dst4 oldlst newlst)
(defun mid (w z)
(list (/ (+ (car w) (car z)) 2) (/ (+ (cadr w) (cadr z)) 2))
);defun
(setvar "cmdecho" 0)
(setq a (cadr (entsel "\nSelect two lines to be joined: "))
b (cadr (entsel))
ai (mid a b)
va (ssget a)
vb (ssget b)
a1 (cdr (assoc 10 (entget (setq ent1 (ssname va 0)))))
b1 (cdr (assoc 11 (entget (ssname va 0))))
a2 (cdr (assoc 10 (entget (setq ent2 (ssname vb 0)))))
b2 (cdr (assoc 11 (entget (ssname vb 0))))
dst1 (distance ai a1)
dst2 (distance ai b1)
);setq
(if (< dst1 dst2)
(setq end1 b1
end1 a1
);setq
);if
(setq dst3 (distance ai a2)
dst4 (distance ai b2)
);setq
(if (< dst3 dst4)
(setq end2 b2
end2 a2
);setq
);if
(setq oldlst (entget ent1)
newlst (subst (cons 10 end1)(assoc 10 oldlst) oldlst)
newlst (subst (cons 11 end2)(assoc 11 newlst) newlst)
);setq
(entdel ent2)
(entdel ent1)
(entmake (cdr newlst))
(setvar "cmdecho" 1)
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;;;end AutoLisp Coding
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
==================================================================
AfraLisp Newsletter No 12-10-99
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And here's a VB Tip :
Open a new module and enter this under the declarations section of the
module :
Declare Function ExitWindowsEx Lib "user32" (ByVal uFlags As Long,_
ByVal dwReserved As Long) As Long
Public Const EWX_FORCE = 4
Public Const EWX_LOGOFF = 0
Public Const EWX_REBOOT = 2
Public Const EWX_SHUTDOWN = 1
Now, insert a new form and enter the following into the Form_Load procedure.
Dim lRetVal As Long
lRetVal = ExitWindowsEx(EWX_REBOOT, 0)
Now run the application and see what happens......
=================================================================
And now here's something rather interesting to finish off this weeks
Newsletter :
Ever wonder why MS applications seem slower with each new release? Read
on...
Apparently the constant rain in Redmond has driven Bill's engineers to
obsessive flights of fancy. Below are instructions on how to access a
little flight simulator that was inexplicably hidden by precipitation
maddened programmers deep inside Excel 97.
In Excel97, open a new blank worksheet.
Press F5. (Go to function.)
Type X97:L97 in the box and click OK.
Now hit the Tab key once. (You should now be in cell M97.)
Now, whilst pressing the 'Ctrl' and 'Shift' keys, click once on the 'Chart
Wizard' icon. (The one at the top with the blue-yellow-red bar chart.)
After a few moments, you should be flying.
Steer with the mouse and accelerate/slow down with the left/right mouse
buttons.
Look for the monolith with the programmer credits.
Exit the program with the Esc key.
'Till Next Week,
Kenny Ramage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
E-Mail :
Mailto:[email protected]
AfraLisp URL :
http://afralisp.hypermart.net/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To unsubscribe send blank E-Mail to :
mailto:[email protected]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To subscribe send blank E-Mail to :
mailto:[email protected]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AfraLisp Newsletter No 12-10-99

http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/1999/12-10-99.htm (4 of 5) [23/03/2005 05:50:49 p.m.]
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 12-10-99
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/1999/12-10-99.htm (5 of 5) [23/03/2005 05:50:49 p.m.]
Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
AfraLisp
http://afralisp.hypermart.net/
mailto:[email protected]
****************************************
Greetings and Salutations,
Forewith, (from now on), I shall be
known as "Hairy Chops." Why? (I hear you say). Because, (I quickly reply),
I'm busy growing a beard (3 weeks now). And, the itching is driving me up
the wall!! So if my writing is a little bit shaky, don't worry, it's just me
scrattin away at my cheek bones trying to gain a little relief from the
maddening itch.
I'd like to once again, extend an invitation to each and everybody who
receives this Newletter to contribute to it. Anything goes as long as it is
AutoCAD related or you feel it would be of interest to AutoCAD users.
Snippets of code, interesting AutoCAD Sites, and humour, of course, is
always welcome. Please do not send X-Rated photographs to this Newsletter,
but rather send them directly to me :-))
Right, enough blathering and on with this weeks show.......
======================================================================
What's New on AfraLisp
Looking for something specific on AfraLisp? Then why not make use of the new
Search Engine that I've installed. Just enter a keyword, click on the "Go"
button, and a list of links to pages on AfraLisp containing that word will
appear. All part of the service!!
======================================================================
I don't know if you are aware, but there is an application included with
AutoCAD that makes dealing with the operating system a breeze when working
with AutoLisp. This is DOSLib.Arx, designed and distributed by Robert Mcneel
and Associates. http://www.mcneel.com
DOSLib, or DOS Library, is a library of LISP-callable functions that provide
Windows operating system and DOS command-line functionality to various CAD
applications, including AutoCAD and IntelliCAD.
DOSLib extends their LISP programming languages by providing the following
functionality:
* Drive handling functions to change between drives and check disk
space.
* Path handling functions to manipulate path specifications.
* Directory handling functions to create, rename, remove, select and
change directories.
* File handling functions to copy, delete, move, rename, and select
files. Functions for getting directory listings, searching and finding
multiple instances of files, and changing attributes are provided.
* Print handling function to get and set default printers, and spool
files.
* Initialization file handling functions to manipulate Windows-style
initialization (INI) files, and Windows Registry access functions.
* Process handling functions to run internal DOS commands or other
programs.
* Miscellaneous functions, like changing the system date and time, and
displaying Windows message boxes.
I have written a tutorial that will show you how to use some of the various
functions available within DOSLib. You can find it at :
AfraLisp Newsletter No 18-10-99
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/1999/18-10-99.htm (1 of 5) [23/03/2005 05:50:50 p.m.]
http://afralisp.hypermart.net/lisp59.htm
===================================================================
I came across a great little application written by Rollin Laird
mailto:[email protected]
IDECLARE searches given LISP source file(s) for undeclared local variables
and declares any such found. Any new declares made are flagged with a
comment.
Global variables are recognized by having a '#' (number sign) as the first
character. The original LISP input file will be renamed with the file
extension ORG. Wildcard characters '*' and '?' can be used in the LISP input
file name.
The global variable identifying character can be changed by giving the new
identifying character as the second parameter on the command line, after the
file name. A new file extension for the original LISP input to be saved
under can be given as the third command line argument.
You can find this application at:
http://afralisp.hypermart.net/olisp.htm
===================================================================
Letters :
I was wondering if you can help me with the begin command event...I wanted
to
know if I used the following VBA code, could I also have VBA react to a
specific block, as in example two....if a person select the attedit command
to select the rev
block, can I have a VBA form to pop up when they use the command and pick
the
rev block..thanks
Private Sub AcadDocument_BeginCommand(ByVal CommandName As String)
If CommandName = "ATTEDIT" Then
MsgBox "we do not use that to edit.", , "vb"
SendCommand Chr(27) & Chr(27)
SendCommand "circle" & Chr(10)
End Sub
Private Sub AcadDocument_BeginCommand(ByVal CommandName As String)
If CommandName = "ATTEDIT" And acBlockReference.Item(0).Name = "REV" Then
MsgBox "we do not use that to edit.", , "vb"
SendCommand Chr(27) & Chr(27)
SendCommand "circle" & Chr(10)
End Sub
Kenneth Rhodes mailto:[email protected]
======================================================================
Ich schreib in German!
Danke Kenny, Deine Homepage ist first class.
Mach weiter so !
Ralf
======================================================================
Kenny,
I have a problem when I insert a block with attributes. In R14 I
used to be able to insert a block containing attributes using Lisp and the
command function. After inserting the block the attribute dialog would open.
Now in 2000 the block is inserted but the dialog box does not open, just the
command prompts for the attribute. Can you help please...
Dave Allen mailto:[email protected]
Dave,
The following AutoLisp code does not work correctly even though the same
syntax is functional in AutoCAD Release 14:
;;;code begin
(setvar "ATTREQ" 1)
AfraLisp Newsletter No 18-10-99
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/1999/18-10-99.htm (2 of 5) [23/03/2005 05:50:50 p.m.]
(setvar "ATTDIA" 1)
(command "-insert" "MyBlock" InsertionPoint Xscale Yscale Zscale Rotation)
;;;code end
This code in R14 inserts a block with attributes, then displays the Enter
Attributes dialog box (where the attributes are entered), and the block is
placed in the drawing.
But, in R2000, the Insert Attribute dialog box will not display when called
from an AutoLisp function unless ATTDIA is set to 1, and the INITDIA
function is called prior to executing the -INSERT command.
To do this, the AutoLisp code needs to be as follows:
;;;code begin
(setvar "ATTREQ" 1)
(setvar "ATTDIA" 1)
(initdia)
(command "-insert" "MyBlock" InsertionPoint Xscale Yscale Zscale Rotation)
;;;code end
Hope this answers your question. (I had the same problem myself and it took
me ages to suss out the answer.)
======================================================================
Tip of the Week :
Often, whilst running AutoLisp routines, your system variables can get well
and truly messed up. To alleviate this problem, you can write yourself a
small AutoLisp routine that does nothing more than re-set the system
variables to your standards. Here's an example :
;;;Start Coding Here
(defun reset ()
(setvar "blipmode" 1)
(setvar "cmdecho" 1)
(setvar "highlight" 1)
(setvar "osmode" 32)
(setvar "pickbox" 5)
(setvar "filedia" 1)
(setvar "apperture" 4)
(prompt "\nSystem Variables Re-set to Default...")
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;;;End Coding Here.
Now, if your variables ever get messed up, you just run this routine to set
everything back to normal. (I have created a toolbar button to trigger
this.)
======================================================================
And now I bid you a fond farewell with this :
Bill Gates dies in a car accident. He finds himself
being sized up by God....
"Well, Bill, I'm really confused on this call. I'm
not sure whether to send you to Heaven or Hell. After
all, you helped society enormously by putting a
computer in almost every home in America, yet you
also created Windows '95. I'm going to do something
I've never done before. In your case, I'm going to
let you decide where you want to go."
"Well, what's the difference between the two?" Bill
asks.
God says, "I'm willing to let you visit both places
briefly, if it will help your decision."
AfraLisp Newsletter No 18-10-99
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"Fine, but where should I go first?"
"I'll leave that up to you."
"Okay, then," says Bill. "Let me try Hell first."
So Bill goes to Hell. It's a beautiful, clean, sandy
beach with clear waters and lots of beautiful women
running around, playing in the water, laughing and
frolicking about. The sun is shining, the temperature
is perfect.
He is very pleased. "This is great!" he tells God.
"If this is Hell, I
REALLY want to see Heaven!"
"Fine," says God, and off they go.
Heaven is a place high in the clouds, with angels
drifting about, playing harps and singing. It's nice,
but not as enticing as Hell. Bill thinks for a quick
minute and decides. "Hmm. I think I'd prefer Hell,"
he tells God.
"Fine," replies God. "As you desire."
So Bill Gates goes to Hell. Two weeks later, God
decides to check on the late billionaire to see how
he is doing in Hell. When he gets there, he finds
Bill shackled to a wall, screaming amidst hot flames
in a dark cave, being burned and tortured by demons.
"How's everything going?" he asks Bill.
Bill responds, his voice filled with anguish and
disappointment, "This is awful! This is nothing like
the Hell I visited two weeks ago! I can't believe
this is happening! What happened to that other place,
with the beaches and the beautiful women playing in
the water?"
"Oh ... that was the SCREENSAVER."
'Till Next Week,
Kenny "Hairy Chops" Ramage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
E-Mail :
Mailto:[email protected]
AfraLisp URL :
http://afralisp.hypermart.net/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To unsubscribe send blank E-Mail to :
mailto:[email protected]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To subscribe send blank E-Mail to :
mailto:[email protected]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please send all insults to Randall Raath
mailto:[email protected]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AfraLisp Newsletter No 18-10-99
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You are visitor number

AfraLisp Newsletter No 01-11-99

http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/1999/01-11-99.htm (4 of 5) [23/03/2005 05:50:52 p.m.]
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AfraLisp Newsletter No 01-11-99
http://www.afralisp.com/newsletter/1999/01-11-99.htm (5 of 5) [23/03/2005 05:50:52 p.m.]
Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
AutoLisp Quick Start
This tutorial is aimed at the AutoCAD users who would like to start learning AutoLisp.
I suggest that you go through this tutorial along with the AutoCAD Programmers Reference Guide. You
can then lookup the relevant AutoLisp commands for a more detailed explanation. Hope this helps you
and Good Luck in your Lisping - Kenny Ramage
PRINCIPLES OF PROGRAMMING
All AutoLisp programs must contain the suffix LSP otherwise AutoCAD will not access them when
loading. (eg. CHTEXT.LSP).
Use a simple text processor such as Notepad to create and edit your lisp files.
FUNCTION (Which is simply the program)
Is a pre-defined set of instructions that describes a set of actions that AutoLisp is to perform, divided
into three sections :
OPERATOR - Getting input. G
ARGUMENT - Manipulating the input. G
COMMAND - Using the manipulated input. G
CHARTING
Draw out or write out in English what you want your program to do.

VARIABLES
These are like empty boxes in which to store data, to be used later. In AutoLisp, variables may be a
collection of letters or numbers as long as they begin with the letters.
Example of legal variables are as follows :
A G
ARC1 G
POINT1 G
PNT1 G
D3 G
An AutoLisp variable may contain more than one value in a single variable. A value can be anything,
such as :
Real number G
String G
Integer G
Pickset G
Therefore a variable can store just about anything.
STRUCTURING
Structure your program in such a way that it is easy to understand, by yourself and everyone else. e.g.
Keep input statements together. Keep your arguments together. Keep your commands together. Track
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your work with the semicolon. When you begin a line with a semicolon, anything you write after will be
ignored by AutoLisp. It is used for documentation and explanation of your program. Write notes about
your program, what you are doing and what the variables are. A semicolon does not have to begin the
line.
(prompt "This line will print"); This is a comment
From where the semicolon begins, the remainder of the line is a comment statement.
PARENTHESES ( )
Parentheses are vital to writing AutoLisp programs. All commands are surrounded by parentheses.
AutoLisp uses parentheses to nest, allowing you to write a command that acts on (evaluates) another
command. In turn, that command can act on another. As you add parentheses, you're nesting
commands become deeper and deeper. Remember to come out of the nest with an equal number of
parentheses.
NOTE: Always close what you open.
THE DEFUN COMMAND
In AutoLisp the name of the program or function must be defined in the first statement, which is done
by using the command
DEFUN.
Defun is the first actual command and is followed by the name of the function (or program). There are
different ways of starting a function for example :
(Defun drawline () G
(Defun drawline (/ pntl pnt2) G
(Defun C:drawline () G
(Defun C:drawline (/ pntl pnt2) G
(Defun drawline (a / pntl pnt2) G
The first way, you are saying that all variables you plan to use in the program are GLOBAL, which are
variables that do not lose their value after the program ends.
The second way, you are saying that the variables you are using are LOCAL variables, which are
variables that have value only for that program and while that program is running.
The third way, as the first BUT the C: tells AutoCAD to treat that function as any other AutoCAD
command.
The fourth way, as the second, but an AutoCAD command.
The last, variable a receives the first value to it from outside the program.
DATA TYPES
Integers - Is a number ranging between -32768 and +32767 without decimal points eg: 1
Reals - Is a number with a decimal point eg: 1.0
Strings - Strings can be up to a maximum length of 100 characters.
Lists - A list is a variable that has more than one element. A point in your drawing is described by the
value of the X co-ordinate and the value of the Y co-ordinate. In AutoLisp, that point can be described by
a single variable, a list of two elements, the first being the X value and the second being the Y value eg :
( 7 10 ) G
( 5 9 7 2 ) G
(1.5 2.3 4.9 ) G
Atoms - If a variable has only one value it is an atom e.g. 6
The Type command - will return the data type of variable.
Input Commands -(Getting info from the user)
getpoint - Needs you to pick a point on the screen. G
getint - Needs a Integer eg: 1 G
getreal - Needs a real number eg: 10.00 G
getcorner - Needs a second point on the screen and draws an elastic window from a previous G
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point.
getstring - Needs a string of text. G
getdist - Needs a value either by picking on the screen or a number from the keyboard. G
getangle - Needs an angle either by pointing on the screen or by typing an angle, which will be
returned in radians.
G
getkword - Needs a keyword from the user. G
getvar - Will get the value of an AutoCAD system variable. G
initget - Establishes various options for use by the next GET XXX function. G
getorient - Is similar to the GETANGLE but is affected by the zero-degree base and the direction. It
will always give you the absolute angle using 0 degree base as EAST.
G
Input Command Examples
1. (getpoint "\n Pick POINT on the screen:")
\n - The n MUST always be lower case, \n takes you to the next line. G
Your prompt must always be between " " (Quotes), and after picking a point will return a value of
that point.
G
2. (getint "\Enter your age :") Type a number and AutoLisp will return that number.
3. (getreal "\nEnter a number:") Type a real number eg 10.51 and AutoLisp will return that number.
4. (getcorner pntl "\n Pick second point:") Will create an elastic window from variable pntl.
5. (getstring 1 "\What is the day today ?:") Type some text and Autolisp will return that text.
6. (getdist "\nHow long is the line ?:") Pick two points or type a length and AutoLisp will return that
length.
7. (getangle "\nWhat is the angle ?:") Pick two points for the angle or type an angle and AutoLisp will
return that angle in radians.
8. (initget 1 "Yes No")
(getkword "\nAre you going? ("Yes or NO):") Initget will control the next getxxx function, getkword will
accept only one word. The initget will accept that one word only to be Yes or No.
9. (getvar "FILLETRAD") Would return the set fillet radius eg : 0. 5
Initget Bits
1 Disallow null input G
2 Disallow zero values G
4 Disallow negative values G
8 DO not check limits, even if LIMECHECK is on. G
16 Return 3D points rather than 2D points. G
32 Use dashed lines when drawing rubber band or box.
(initget (+ 1 2 4))
(getint "\nHow old are you?:") Will only accept an Integer eg : 21
G
11. (getorient "\nWhat is the angle?:") Pick two points for the angle or type an angle and AutoLisp
will return an angle in radians relative to 0 degrees at East.
G
Setq Command (Set Equal)
(Setq) is an assignment command, eg : it assigns the value of one variable or constant to another
variable.
NOTE : (Setq) is the primary assignment command in AutoLisp. The = is not used as an assignment. =
does exist but only as a non assignment statement. It does not have the ability to make one variable
equal to another. (It is used for a comparison of variables, numbers or strings)
(setq a b)
This statement assigns the value of b to the variable a.
NOTE : The first variable after the (setq) is the one that receives the value.
Print Commands
Prompt
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This command is used simply to print a message on the command line. A line feed (\n) is not included
so two consecutive prompt commands will print both messages on the same line. Therefore , any
printing after the prompt must have the (terpri) or \n command.
(terpri)
This is a line feed that causes the next printed text to appear on the next line. It generally follows the
prompt command. eg:
(prompt "Hello, how are you ?")(terpri) or G
(prompt "\nHello, how are you ?") G
Prin1
This function prints the expression on the screen and returns the expression. It can be any expression
and need not only be a string. The expression can also be written to a file and will appear in the file
exactly as it would on the screen.
(prin1 "Hello") would print Hello G
(prin1 a) would print the value of variable a G
(prin1 a f) would print the value of variable a to an open file named in variable f G
Princ
Is the same as prinl except that the control characters ("") are not printed. Can also be used to print a
blank line by using no statement after princ.
Print
Same as prinl except that a new line is printed before the expression and a space is printed after the
expression. eg:
(print "Hello") would return "Hello" "Hello" G
Setvar
This function sets an AutoCAD system variable to a given value and returns that value. The variable
name must be in double quotes. eg:
(setvar "blipmode" 0) returns 0 G
Will switch blipmode off. 1 would switch it on again.
Doing arithmetic
(+ 1 1) returns 2 G
(- 2 1) returns 1 G
(* 2 2) returns 4 G
(/ 2 1) returns 2 G
(1+ 1) returns 2 (Incremented) G
(1- 2) returns 1 (Decremented) G
FOR MORE - REFER AUTOLISP PROGRAMMERS REFERENCE
Polar
This function returns the point at an angle (in radians) and distance from a point.
(polar pntl angl distl) G
Inters
Examines two lines and returns the point where they intersect even if they do not cross one another.
(inters pntl pnt2 pnt3 pnt4) G
AutoCAD commands in AutoLISP
Any AutoCAD command can be used inside your lisp program BUT one must remember that they have
to be used exactly as you would in AutoCAD and your RETURN is a double set of Quotes (""). eg:
(command "line" pnt1 pnt2 "") This will draw a line from pntl to pnt2 and the "" acts as a return to
terminate your line command.
(graphscr) would return you to the graphics screen while the program is running.
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(textscr) would return you to the text screen while the program is running.
Entities from a list
When you used (setq a (getpoint)) you assigned the X and Y coordinate numbers to variable a. That
Variable now is a list that may look like (5 10). If you want to look at the list in variable a, AutoLISP gives
you a convenient way to do that from the command line.
!a Placing the ! in front of the variable will display the value or values of the variable.
(car) X COORDINATE (lst element)
The primary command for taking a list apart, (car) gives you the first element of the list. If the value of a
is a list of: (5 10)
Then (setq b (car a)) would assign to the variable b the value of the first element in a which is 5.
(cdr) SECOND AND REMAINING
This is the secondary command for taking a list apart. (cdr) gives you the second and remaining
elements of the list. If variable a is a list of
(2 5 7 9 11)
Then (setq b (cdr a)) would assign to variable b the second and remaining elements of the list in variable
a
(5 7 9 11).
(cadr) Y COORDINATE (2nd element)
This always produces the second element of a list. Assuming a still has the list (5 10),
Then (setq b (cadr a)) would produce 10.
(caddr) Z COORDINATE (3rd element)
This always produces the third element of a list. Assuming a has a list (3 7 5)
Then (setq c (caddr a)) would produce 5.
This program draws a rectangle by pointing to two points.
(defun c:retan (/ pl p2 p3 p4)
(setq pl (getpoint "\nfirst corner of rectangle: "))
(setq p3 (getcorner "\nsecond corner of rectangle: "))
(setq p2 (list (car pl)(cadr p3)))
(setq p4 (list (car p3)(cadr pl)))
(command "line" pl p2 p3 p4 "c")
(princ)
)
DTR converts degrees to radians.
(defun dtr (a)
(* pi (/ a 180)) )
RTD converts radians to degrees.
(defun rtd (a)
(/ (* a 180) pi) )
Things to strings
strcase (string case)
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Changes a string of text from lower case to upper case, leaving upper case characters as they are. eg:
(strcase "Hello") returns "HELLO"
(strcase a) returns the alphabetic characters in variable a from lower case to upper case.
strcat (string cat)
Returns two or more separate strings as one. eg:
(strcat "H" "ello") returns "Hello"
(strcat a b) returns two strings in variable a & b as one.
strlen (string length)
Returns the length, of the characters of a string. eg:
(strlen "hello") returns 5.
(strlen a) returns the length of a string in variable a.
substr (substitute string)
Returns a part of a string, from a specified position, ending either at the end or another specified
position. eg:
(substr "Hello 2) returns "ello".
(substr "Hello 2 1) returns "e".
(substr "Hello" 3 2) returns "ll".
List Manipulation
The apostrophe ' serves a special function in AutoLISP, for example if a group of items is preceded by
an apostrophe ' it is treated as a list. eg:
'(20 10 5) is treated as a list.
Angle
Returns an angle between two points in radians. To use that angle in AutoCAD you have to convert it
back to decimal degrees. eg:
(setq a (angle pntl pnt2)) sets the angle between pntl and pnt2 to the variable a.
To use a:
(command "text" pntl "40" a t) The text command with a height of 40, rotation angle assigned to variable
a and text to variable t. But a is not the correct rotation angle because it is in radians.
Append
Takes any number of specified lists and joins them together as one list. eg:
(append '(10 20) '(30 40)) returns the list: (10 20 30 40).
(append a b) returns the list in variable a and the list in variable b as one.
Distance
Measures the distance from two known points. eg:
(setq distl (distance pntl pnt2)) returns the distance between pntl and pnt2 and assigns the distance to a
variable called dist1.
Length
Returns the number of elements in a list. eg:
(length '(a b c d)) returns 4.
Member
Looks for a duplicate and returns that and the rest of the list eg:
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(member 'c '(a b c d e)) returns (C D E).
nth
Returns the nth element in a list, where n is the number of the element to return. (Zero is the first
element). eg:
(nth 3 '(a b c d)) returns d.
Assoc (associative)
Often used with (subst) command, this command lets you search for a specific element, then assign
that element to a variable.
Lets assume variable b is the list ((10 5.5 2.7)(40 5)) and you looking for a code 40. You want to pull out
the entire element and assign it to a variable c. eg:
(setq c (assoc 40 b))
This assigns the entire element containing the 40 in the list b to variable c. Now c is
a list that looks like this: (40 5).
Subst (subsitute)
Allows you to substitute one aspect for another. When substituting ALWAYS substitute the new item for
the old in the list. Now lets substitute 20 for the 5 in the variable c.
(setq bl (subst '(40 20) c b))
Now bl is the new list.
'(40 20) is the new element substituted for the old element (40 5) c, found in list b.
If you want to use a variable which represents the value.
(setq bl (subst '(40 h) c b)), It looks like it should work, but it does not. The new element will look like
this: (40 h).
(subst) cannot interpret variables. You need to construct a new variable containing the entire list
element, then use
the new variable in the (subst) command.
Cons (Construct)
Constructs a new list with the new element placed at the begining. Assume variable c contains the
following list: (40 5).
Also, assume variable h contains the real number 20.0 then:
(setq d (cons (car c) h)) Remember (car c) gives you 40. Therefore, (car c) is the new first element,
followed by the value h. Thus it produces a new list d (40 20.0).
Now we substitute:
(setq bl (subst d c b)) That substitutes the new element found in variable d for the old element found in
variable c. (In the list found in variable b) and assigns the new list to bl.
Conversions
Angtos
Takes an angle in radians and converts it into a string, into a specific format.
Angtos Mode Format :
0 Degrees G
1 Degrees/minutes/seconds G
2 Grads G
3 Radians G
4 Surveyor's units G
Assuming variable a has an angle in radians. eg:
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(angtos a 0 0) returns "180"
(angtos a 0 4) returns "180.0000"
(angtos a 1 4) returns "180d0"0""
Fix
This function returns the convention of a real number to an Integer. eg:
(fix 8) returns 8
(fix 8.6) returns 8
Float
This function returns the convention of an Integer to a real number. (One can use either real or an
Integer.) eg:
(float 8) returns 8.0000
(float 8.6) returns 8.6000
Ascii
Returns the convention of the first character of a string into its ASCII character code. (An Integer) eg:
(ascii "a") returns 65
(ascii "BLUE") returns 66
Chr
Returns the convention of an Integer representing an ASCII character code into a single character
string. eg:
(chr 65) returns "A"
(chr 66) returns "B"
Atof
Returns the convention of a string into a real number. eg:
(atof "9.3") returns 9.3000
(atof "2") returns 2.0000
Rtos
Returns the convention of a real number to a string into a
specified format.
Rtos Mode Format
1 Scientific G
2 Decimal G
3 Engineering(feet & decimal inches) G
4 Architectural(feet & fractional inches) G
5 Arbituary fractional units G
The real number can be set according to mode and precision. eg:
(rtos 7.2 1 4) returns "7.200OE+00"
(rtos 7.2 2 2) returns "7.20"
Itoa
Returns the convention of an Integer into a string. eg:
(itoa 25) returns "25"
Atoi
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Returns the convention of a string into an Integer. eg:
(itoi "25") returns 25
Conditionals
(=)
Is not an assignment command, only (setq) is. The (=) command is used only to test if items are equal. It
does not make them equal.
if
(if) is the standard if-then-else statement. In AutoLISP you may only match one if statement with a then
statement. eg:
(if (= a b) (setq b 5 (setq b 6))
If a is equal to b, then b will be assigned the value of 5.
If it is not then b will be assigned the value of 6.
Cond (Conditional)
This function accepts any number of lists as arguments. It evaluates the first item in each list (in order
supplied) until one of these items are a value other than nil.
eg: A user's response string is variable s,
(cond
((= s "Y") 1)
((= s "y") 1)
((= s "N") 0)
((= s "n") 0)
(t nil)
)
This function tests the response and returns 1 if it is "Y" or "y", and 0 if it is "N" or "n", and nil
otherwise.
Repeat
Similar to a loop but repeat will only go through the commands as many times as is told. eg:
(setq a 10)
(setq b 100)
(repeat 4
(setq a (+ a 10))
(setq b (+ b 10))
Returns 140.
While
Is another loop control command available in AutoLISP. A loop is necessary if you want to repeat a
command. However, unless you have a way of controlling it, the program will run forever and hang you
up. eg:
(setq a "w")
Sets up the controlling variable to a value other than nil.
(while a
The loop will continue, begining with the commands that follow, until the variable a is set to nil.
(xxxx)
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(xxxx) Are the commands that are performed in the loop.
(if (= c d) (setq a nil))
Evaluates if c is equal to d, and if so, sets the loop controlling variable a to nil to end the loop.
)
While parenthesis closes loop, and program will continue with the commands after this.
Entities
An entity is the smallest object you can place on your screen. The following are entities: LINE, CIRCLE,
ARC, TEXT, POLYLINES, etc. Entities are stored and referenced in the drawing database. They can be
changed and manipulated using AutoLISP to suit your needs. Each entity has a massive definition in
AutoCAD's database. eg: The data for a single line contains the following info:
Entity name, Entity type, Layer, Color, Beginning X Y coordinate, Ending X Y coordinate, Line type, etc.
You can modify any of the above aspects. An example of an entity list:
( - 1 <Entity name: 60000014) (0 "CIRCLE") (8 . "LAYER1")
(10 . 50.000 100.000) (40 . 60.000)
It is an entity list of a circle on layer LAYER1, center point relative to 0,0 of 50.0,100.0 , and a radius of
60.0
Ssget and Entsel (select entities)
Both give you a way of selecting the entities for the selection set. (entsel) only selects one entity at a
time. You may not use WINDOW or CROSSING to select entities. (ssget) however lets use WINDOW or
CROSSING as well as other selection techniques. You will mostly be using (ssget).
(setq a (ssget)) will prompt you to select objects. You have now created a selection set with a specific
name, <Selection set:l> , assigned to variable a, or use filter option (setq a (ssget "X" '((0 . "TEXT")))) to
search database for certain entities or codes.
Ssname (get entity name)
Lets you secure the name of the entity. The name of the entity is realy a hexadecimal number, therefore
don't expect to see a name like LINE, or CIRCLE etc. The name of your entity might be 60000018.
Lets assume variable a is the selection set and variable i is set to 0. (setq i 0) To set Counter variable.
(setq na (ssname a i)) This assigns na the entity name found in the selection set a at index number i.
Remember that a selection set may contain more than one entity name. You can point to each entity by
using its relative number in the selection set. eg: Entity 1 is Index 0 , Entity 2 is Index 1 , etc.
Entget (get entity list)
This command actually pulls out, or extracts, the entity list. The entity list can be assigned to a variable.
(setq b (entget na)) That assigns to b the entire entity list for that entity name.
Subst (substitute new for old)
Allows you to substitute one aspect for another. Assume variable b is the name of the list and variable c
contains the value of the element: (40 . 60.0000) (setq bl (subst '(40 . 30.0000) c b)) ;bl is now the new
list. '(40 . 30.0000) is the new element substituted for the old element c found in list b.
Sslength
Gives you the length or number of selections made.
Entmod (entity modification)
Gives you the ability to take the newly modified entity list and write it back to the database to update the
drawing. Now that you have a new list in the variable b1, you want to make bl the permanent list in your
drawing database. (entmod bl) You should see the change appear on the screen.
Change Cross Hair Angle
This program permits you to draw lines perpendicular to other lines. The program measures the angle
of the line chosen, and shifts the SNAP ANGLE to the angle of that line. Use ORTHO ON and draw
perpendicular to your chosen line.
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(defun c:perpdon (/ a b pntl pnt2 angl)
(graphscr)
(setq a (entsel))
(setq b (entget (car a)))
(setq pntl (cdr (assoc 10 b)))
(setq pnt2 (cdr (assoc 11 b)))
(setq angl (angle pntl pnt2))
(setvar "snapang" ang1)
(princ)
)
(defun c:perpdoff
(setvar "snapang" 0)
(princ)
)
Erase Screen
Erases everything on the drawing screen. If you are in a ZOOM ALL position, the program erases
everything within the limits of the drawing.
Note: if you accidentally invoke this command, you can recover with OOPS.
(defun c:erasescr (/ l u)
(setq l (getvar "limmin"))
(setq u (getvar "limmax"))
(command "erase" "w" l u "")
(princ)
)
Change Layer
Lets you select objects by any selection method and change their layer. The target layer is chosen by
simply pointing to an object on the desired layer. All objects selected will then change to that target
layer. To test this program, you will need to create a drawing with objects on different layers.
(defun c:chlayer (/ a1 a2 n index b1 b2 d1 d2 b3)
(graphscr)
(prompt "\nselect entities to be changed: ")
(setq a1 (ssget))
(prompt "\npoint to entity on target layer: ")
(setq a2 (entsel))
(setq n (sslength a1))
(setq index 0)
(setq b2 (entget (car a2)))
(setq d2 (assoc 8 b2))
(repeat n
(setq b1 (entget (ssname a1 index)))
(setq d1 (assoc 8 b1))
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(setq b3 (subst d2 d1 b1))
(entmod b3)
(setq index (+ index 1))
)
(princ)
)

Now examine the program line by line.
(defun c:chlayer (/ a1 a2 n index b1 b2 d1 d2 b3)
Defines the function with all local variables.
(graphscr)
Changes to graphics screen.
(prompt "\nSelect entities to be changed: ")
This is a prompt statement.
(setq a1 (ssget))
Allows you to select the objects to be changed. The selection set is assigned to variable al.
(prompt "\npoint to entity on target layer: ")
This is a prompt statement.
(setq a2 (entsel))
This is a special type of selection statement that allows you to select only one entity.
(setq n (sslength a1))
Measures the number of entities in the selection set in variable a1.
(setq index 0)
Sets the variable called index to 0.
(setq b2 (entget (car a2)))
This statement gets the entity list from a2. Thus, a2 is assigned the entity list.
(setq d2 (assoc 8 b2))
This looks for the code 8 in entity list a2, then assigns the sublist to d2.
(repeat n
This begins the loop that pages through the selection set.
(setq bl (entget (ssname a1 index)))
This gets the entity list and assigns it to b1.
(setq d1 (assoc 8 b1))
Gets the sublist code 8 (the layer).
(setq b3 (subst d2 d1 b1))
Substitutes the new d2 layer for the old d1 layer in the entity list a1, and assigns it to the new entity list
b3.
(entmod b3)
Updates the new entity list in the database.
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(setq index (+ index 1))
Increases the index variable by 1, making it ready for the next loop.
The first ) closes the repeat loop. (princ) exits quitly. The second ) closes the function.
Substitute text
This program lets you choose a line of text and substitute another line at exactly the same place.
(defun c:subtext (/ a b d e d1 b1 y)
(prompt "\nSelect text line: ")
(setq a (entsel))
(setq b (entget (car a)))
(setq d (assoc 1 b))
(prompt (cdr d))(terpri)
(setq e (getstring 1))
(setq d1 (cons (car d) e))
(setq b1 (subst d1 d b))
(entmod b1)
(setq y (getstring "\nIs this correct - Y : "))
(if (= (srtcase y) "N") (entmod b))
(princ)
)

TEXT- OWN DISTANCE, OWN TEXT HEIGHT
This program lets you change the distance between multiple text lines. In addition to the standard start
point and height, you are asked to enter the distance between text lines. You may enter as many text
lines as you wish. To stop the program, enter an asterix (*).
(defun tex (/ p1 a b c d e f)
(setq pl (getpoint "\nStarting point: "))
(setq a (getdist p1 "\nEnter height: "))
(setq c (getdist p1 "\nline spacing: "))
(setq d "T")
(while d
(setq e (getstring 1 "Text: "))
(command "text" pl a "0" e)
(setq pl (list (car p1)(- (cadr p1) c)))
(setq f (getstring))
(if (= f "*") (setq d nil))
)
(princ)
)

GLOBAL TEXT HEIGHT CHANGE
AutoLisp Quick Start
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This program allows you to globally change the size of text within a WINDOW or CROSSING without
affecting other entities.
(defun chtext (/ a ts n index b1 b c d b2)
(setq a (ssget))
(setq ts (getreal "\nEnter new text size"))
(setq n (sslength a))
(setq index 0)
(repeat n
(setq b1 (entget (ssname a index)))
(setq index (1+ index))
(setq b (assoc 0 b1))
(if (= "TEXT" (cdr b))
(progn
(setq c (assoc 40 b1))
(setq d (cons (car c) ts))
(setq b2 (subst d c b1))
(entmod b2))))
(princ)
)

You are visitor number

Now it's time to make AutoLisp do some calculations for us.

Let's say we wanted AutoLisp to draw a beam, in elevation, for us.
First of all we would start by getting input from the user regarding certain parameters that we
would need to draw the beam.
Here's what we are trying to draw, along with the values that the user
needs to input.
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The values that we need to retrieve from the user are as follows :
Insertion Point ip
Length of Beam lb
Height of Beam hb
Flange Thickness wt
End Plate Thickness ep
Length of Notch nl
Depth of Notch nd
Let's write a routine to retrieve these values first.
(defun c:testbeam ()
;define the function
;********************************************************
;Get User Inputs

(setq lb (getdist "\nLength of Beam : "))
;get the length of the beam
(setq hb (getdist "\nHeight of Beam : "))
;get the height of the beam
(setq wt (getdist "\nFlange Thickness : "))
;get the thickness of the flange
(setq ep (getdist "\nEnd Plate Thickness : "))
;get the thickness of the end plate
(setq nl (getdist "\nLength of Notch : "))
;get the length of notch
(setq nd (getdist "\nDepth of Notch : "))
;get the depth of the notch
;End of User Inputs
;*********************************************************
;Get Insertion Point
(setq ip (getpoint "\nInsertion Point : "))
;get the insertion point
;********************************************************
(princ)
;finish cleanly
) ;end of defun
;**********************************************************
(princ) ;load cleanly
;**********************************************************
Load and run the routine. You will be prompted for all the values listed above. Enter some
numbers and then check the value of all the variables by preceeding the value names with "!" (e.g.
!ip).
O.K. we've got all the values we need from the user.
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But first we need to do some calculations to determine the other points required before we can
draw the beam.
See you on the next page.......
Page I. Home. Page III. Page IV.

You are visitor number

The Basics in a Nutshell Page III

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Page I. Page II. Page III. Home.
The Basics in a Nutshell - Page IV.
Snap settings in AutoCad can cause havoc with an AutoLisp routine.
Therefore, it's a very good idea to switch off the snap at the beginning of any AutoLisp
routine and only switch it on when it is required. Blips on your screen are also very
annoying, so switch them off too. Please, just remember to return the AutoCad settings
that you change, back to their original state before exiting your routine.
Let's edit our routine to include this :
(defun c:testbeam ()
;define the function
;********************************************************

;Save System Variables
(setq oldsnap (getvar "osmode"))
;save snap settings
(setq oldblipmode (getvar "blipmode"))
;save blipmode setting
;********************************************************
;Switch OFF System Variables
(setvar "osmode" 0)
;Switch OFF snap
(setvar "blipmode" 0)
;Switch OFF Blipmode

;********************************************************
;Get User Inputs

(setq lb (getdist "\nLength of Beam : "))
;get the length of the beam
(setq hb (getdist "\nHeight of Beam : "))
;get the height of the beam
(setq wt (getdist "\nFlange Thickness : "))
;get the thickness of the flange
(setq ep (getdist "\nEnd Plate Thickness : "))
;get the thickness of the end plate
(setq nl (getdist "\nLength of Notch : "))
;get the length of notch
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(setq nd (getdist "\nDepth of Notch : "))
;get the depth of the notch
;End of User Inputs
;*********************************************************
;Get Insertion Point

(setvar "osmode" 32)
;switch ON snap

(setq ip (getpoint "\nInsertion Point : "))
;get the insertion point

(setvar "osmode" 0)
;switch OFF snap

;********************************************************
;Start of Polar Calculations
(setq p2 (polar ip (dtr 180.0) (- (/ lb 2) nl)))
(setq p3 (polar p2 (dtr 270.0) wt))
(setq p4 (polar p2 (dtr 270.0) nd))
(setq p5 (polar p4 (dtr 180.0) nl))
(setq p6 (polar p5 (dtr 180.0) ep))
(setq p7 (polar p6 (dtr 270.0) (- hb nd)))
(setq p8 (polar p7 (dtr 0.0) ep))
(setq p9 (polar p8 (dtr 90.0) wt))
(setq p10 (polar p9 (dtr 0.0) lb))
(setq p11 (polar p8 (dtr 0.0) lb))
(setq p12 (polar p11 (dtr 0.0) ep))
(setq p13 (polar p12 (dtr 90.0) (- hb nd)))
(setq p14 (polar p13 (dtr 180.0) ep))
(setq p15 (polar p14 (dtr 180.0) nl))
(setq p16 (polar p15 (dtr 90.0) (- nd wt)))
(setq p17 (polar p16 (dtr 90.0) wt))
;End of Polar Calculations
;**********************************************************
;Start of Command Function
(command "Line" ip p2 p4 p6 p7 p12 p13 p15 p17 "c"
"Line" p3 p16 ""
"Line" p9 p10 ""
"Line" p5 p8 ""
"Line" p11 p14 ""
) ;End Command
;End of Command Function
;**********************************************************

;Reset System Variable
(setvar "osmode" oldsnap)
;Reset snap
(setvar "blipmode" oldblipmode)
;Reset blipmode

;*********************************************************
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(princ)
;finish cleanly
) ;end of defun
;**********************************************************
;This function converts Degrees to Radians.
(defun dtr (x)
;define degrees to radians function
(* pi (/ x 180.0))
;divide the angle by 180 then
;multiply the result by the constant PI
) ;end of function
;**********************************************************
(princ) ;load cleanly
;**********************************************************
Load and run the program. If you were having problems, they should now have disappeared. (I
hope!!). Did you notice how we switched on the snap just before asking for the insertion point?
This, of course, is to allow the user to snap to an insertion point.
We still have another problem though. What would happen if the user entered an illegal value, such
as zero, or a negative number.
This could cause very strange results.
To guard against this we will use the (initget) function.
Here's how it works :
(initget (+ 1 2 4))
(setq lb (getdist "\nLength of Beam : "))
This function works on the "sum of the bits" system.
1 = Disallows the user from pressing "Enter".
2 = Disallows the user from entering "Zero".
3 = Disallows the user from entering a "Negative Number".
The same function could have been written like this :
(initget 7)
(setq lb (getdist "\nLength of Beam : "))
Let's add this function to our routine :
(defun c:testbeam ()
;define the function
;********************************************************
;Save System Variables
(setq oldsnap (getvar "osmode"))
;save snap settings
(setq oldblipmode (getvar "blipmode"))
;save blipmode setting
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;********************************************************
;Switch OFF System Variables
(setvar "osmode" 0)
;Switch OFF snap
(setvar "blipmode" 0)
;Switch OFF Blipmode
;********************************************************
;Get User Inputs

(initget (+ 1 2 4))
;check user input

(setq lb (getdist "\nLength of Beam : "))
;get the length of the beam

(initget (+ 1 2 4))
;check user input

(setq hb (getdist "\nHeight of Beam : "))
;get the height of the beam

(initget (+ 1 2 4))
;check user input

(setq wt (getdist "\nFlange Thickness : "))
;get the thickness of the flange

(initget (+ 1 2 4))
;check user input

(setq ep (getdist "\nEnd Plate Thickness : "))
;get the thickness of the end plate

(initget (+ 1 2 4))
;check user input

(setq nl (getdist "\nLength of Notch : "))
;get the length of notch

(initget (+ 1 2 4))
;check user input

(setq nd (getdist "\nDepth of Notch : "))
;get the depth of the notch
;End of User Inputs
;*********************************************************
;Get Insertion Point
(setvar "osmode" 32)
;switch ON snap
(setq ip (getpoint "\nInsertion Point : "))
;get the insertion point
The Basics in a Nutshell Page IV
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(setvar "osmode" 0)
;switch OFF snap
;********************************************************
;Start of Polar Calculations
(setq p2 (polar ip (dtr 180.0) (- (/ lb 2) nl)))
(setq p3 (polar p2 (dtr 270.0) wt))
(setq p4 (polar p2 (dtr 270.0) nd))
(setq p5 (polar p4 (dtr 180.0) nl))
(setq p6 (polar p5 (dtr 180.0) ep))
(setq p7 (polar p6 (dtr 270.0) (- hb nd)))
(setq p8 (polar p7 (dtr 0.0) ep))
(setq p9 (polar p8 (dtr 90.0) wt))
(setq p10 (polar p9 (dtr 0.0) lb))
(setq p11 (polar p8 (dtr 0.0) lb))
(setq p12 (polar p11 (dtr 0.0) ep))
(setq p13 (polar p12 (dtr 90.0) (- hb nd)))
(setq p14 (polar p13 (dtr 180.0) ep))
(setq p15 (polar p14 (dtr 180.0) nl))
(setq p16 (polar p15 (dtr 90.0) (- nd wt)))
(setq p17 (polar p16 (dtr 90.0) wt))
;End of Polar Calculations
;**********************************************************
;Start of Command Function
(command "Line" ip p2 p4 p6 p7 p12 p13 p15 p17 "c"
"Line" p3 p16 ""
"Line" p9 p10 ""
"Line" p5 p8 ""
"Line" p11 p14 ""
) ;End Command
;End of Command Function
;**********************************************************
;Reset System Variable
(setvar "osmode" oldsnap)
;Reset snap
(setvar "blipmode" oldblipmode)
;Reset blipmode
;*********************************************************
(princ)
;finish cleanly
) ;end of defun
;**********************************************************
;This function converts Degrees to Radians.
(defun dtr (x)
;define degrees to radians function
(* pi (/ x 180.0))
;divide the angle by 180 then
;multiply the result by the constant PI
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) ;end of function
;**********************************************************
(princ) ;load cleanly
;**********************************************************
Now, everything should be running fine except for one thing.
What happens if we want to draw two beams with exactly the same values? We would have to go
through the whole routine again, entering exactly the same inputs. We could, of course, set up each
variable to default to the last value used, but we would still have to run through the whole routine.
Here's a better way. We'll enclose the complete routine in a (while) loop. Have a look :
(defun c:testbeam ()
;define the function
;********************************************************
;Save System Variables
(setq oldsnap (getvar "osmode"))
;save snap settings
(setq oldblipmode (getvar "blipmode"))
;save blipmode setting
;********************************************************
;Switch OFF System Variables
(setvar "osmode" 0)
;Switch OFF snap
(setvar "blipmode" 0)
;Switch OFF Blipmode
;********************************************************
;Get User Inputs

(initget (+ 1 2 4))
;check user input
(setq lb (getdist "\nLength of Beam : "))
;get the length of the beam
(initget (+ 1 2 4))
;check user input
(setq hb (getdist "\nHeight of Beam : "))
;get the height of the beam
(initget (+ 1 2 4))
;check user input
(setq wt (getdist "\nFlange Thickness : "))
;get the thickness of the flange
(initget (+ 1 2 4))
;check user input
(setq ep (getdist "\nEnd Plate Thickness : "))
;get the thickness of the end plate
(initget (+ 1 2 4))
;check user input
The Basics in a Nutshell Page IV
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(setq nl (getdist "\nLength of Notch : "))
;get the length of notch
(initget (+ 1 2 4))
;check user input
(setq nd (getdist "\nDepth of Notch : "))
;get the depth of the notch
;End of User Inputs
;*********************************************************
;Get Insertion Point
(setvar "osmode" 32)
;switch ON snap

(while
;start of while loop

(setq ip (getpoint "\nInsertion Point : "))
;get the insertion point
(setvar "osmode" 0)
;switch OFF snap
;********************************************************
;Start of Polar Calculations
(setq p2 (polar ip (dtr 180.0) (- (/ lb 2) nl)))
(setq p3 (polar p2 (dtr 270.0) wt))
(setq p4 (polar p2 (dtr 270.0) nd))
(setq p5 (polar p4 (dtr 180.0) nl))
(setq p6 (polar p5 (dtr 180.0) ep))
(setq p7 (polar p6 (dtr 270.0) (- hb nd)))
(setq p8 (polar p7 (dtr 0.0) ep))
(setq p9 (polar p8 (dtr 90.0) wt))
(setq p10 (polar p9 (dtr 0.0) lb))
(setq p11 (polar p8 (dtr 0.0) lb))
(setq p12 (polar p11 (dtr 0.0) ep))
(setq p13 (polar p12 (dtr 90.0) (- hb nd)))
(setq p14 (polar p13 (dtr 180.0) ep))
(setq p15 (polar p14 (dtr 180.0) nl))
(setq p16 (polar p15 (dtr 90.0) (- nd wt)))
(setq p17 (polar p16 (dtr 90.0) wt))
;End of Polar Calculations
;**********************************************************
;Start of Command Function
(command "Line" ip p2 p4 p6 p7 p12 p13 p15 p17 "c"
"Line" p3 p16 ""
"Line" p9 p10 ""
"Line" p5 p8 ""
"Line" p11 p14 ""
) ;End Command
;End of Command Function
;**********************************************************

(setvar "osmode" 32)
;Switch ON snap
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);end of while loop

;**********************************************************
;Reset System Variable
(setvar "osmode" oldsnap)
;Reset snap
(setvar "blipmode" oldblipmode)
;Reset blipmode
;*********************************************************
(princ)
;finish cleanly
) ;end of defun
;**********************************************************
;This function converts Degrees to Radians.
(defun dtr (x)
;define degrees to radians function
(* pi (/ x 180.0))
;divide the angle by 180 then
;multiply the result by the constant PI
) ;end of function
;**********************************************************
(princ) ;load cleanly
;**********************************************************
The programme will now repeat itself indefinetly, asking for an insertion point and drawing a
beam, until the user presses enter.
This is how it works. The (while) function will continue to evaluate an expression until the
expression evaluates to nil. As long as the user selects a point, the expression is true. But, when the
user selects "Enter" the expression returns "nil" and the programme moves out of the loop.
(AutoLisp evaluates "Enter" as "nil")
I hope you have understood this tutorial and that it has given you a better understanding of
AutoLisp. You will find a more detailed explanation of many of the functions used here in other
tutorials on this site.
If you would like the source coding for this AutoLisp Tutorial
then Click Here. Cheers for Now......
Page I. Page II. Page III. Home.

The Basics in a Nutshell Page IV

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
The Basics in a Nutshell Page IV
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
Define Function - (defun).
We've all seen something like this :
(defun C:DDSTEEL ( / t1 t2 h1 h2 ang)
This, of course, is the first line of an AutoLISP routine.
But, do you know what it all means?
When I started writing AutoLISP code, I was totally confused!!
The more I read, the more in a muddle I got.
Global, Local, Argument, Define, Aghhh......
So, if you are as confused as I was, read on.
Let's start at the very beginning. (A very good place to start, say you!)
The name of a program, or function, must be defined in the first statement, which is done by using
the command :
(defun [Define Function]
Why is there not a closing parenthesis after the (defun command?
There is! In fact the last parenthesis in the program is the one that closes (defun.
Anyway, let's carry on.
After (defun must come the name of the program :
(defun DDSTEEL
You do realise that the name of the AutoLISP file, is not necessarily the name of the program. In
fact, one AutoLISP file can have several programs inside.
Hey, that was easy, I hear you say. Now comes the hard part!!
After you've named your program you have three choices.
First, do nothing by using ( ) :
(defun DDSTEEL ( )
What you are saying here is that every variable that you use in your function is GLOBAL. A
GLOBAL variable is one that doesn't lose it's value when the program ends. For example, if PT3
was defined as 45.2 in your program, it would still have the value of 45.2 when your program ends
and would retain that value until you replace it with another value or, start a new drawing.
Secondly, you can declare your variables as LOCAL.
To do this you precede your variables with / :
(defun DDSTEEL ( / p1 p2 p3)
The following example shows the use of LOCAL symbols :
(defun TEST ( / ANG1 ANG2)
(setq ANG1 "Monday")
(setq ANG2 "Tuesday")
(princ (strcat "\nANG1 has the value " ANG1))
(princ (strcat "\nANG2 has the value " ANG2))
(princ)
Define Function (defun)
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);defun
Now, at the AutoCAD command line, assign the variables ANG1 and ANG2 to values other than
those used by the TEST function :
Command: (setq ANG1 45)
Command: (setq ANG2 90)
Verify their values :
Command: !ANG1 [Should return 45.0]
Command: !ANG2 [Should return 90.0]
Now run our function :
Command: (load "TEST")
Command: (TEST)
The function should return :
ANG1 has the value Monday
ANG2 has the value Tuesday
Now check the current values of ANG1 and ANG2 :
Command: !ANG1
Command: !ANG2
You will find that they still have the values of 45.0. and 90.0 respectively.
A LOCAL variable is one that has a value only for that program while the program is running.
The third option is to list a variable without the /.
This means that a variable is set up to receive a value passed to it from outside the program. eg :
(defun DTR (a)

(* PI (/a 180.0))
)
To use this, we must pass the value of the argument to the function :
(DTR 90.0)
Here is another example :
Let us write a function that calculates the area of a circle.
The formulae for calculating the area of a circle is:
Area = PI x radius squared or, PI x r x r
Our program would look like this :
(defun acirc (r)

(setq a (* (* r r) PI))

(setq a (rtos a))

(princ (strcat "\nArea = " a))
(princ)
)
Now try it :
Command: (load "acirc")
Command: (acirc 24)
Define Function (defun)
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It should return :
Area = 1809.6
You can, of course combine all three options, for example :
(defun DDSTEEL ( a / b c d)
DDSTEEL is the name of the function. Variable a is an argument and receives the first value passed
to it from outside the program.
Variables b, c, and d are all locals and lose their values once the program has ended.
Another option that can be used with (defun is if the name of the function is preceded with C:
(defun C:DDSTEEL ()
Because of the C: you don't have to use parenthesis to call the function.
AutoCAD now thinks of that function as an AutoCAD command.
This is only true if you call the function from the AutoCAD command line.
If you call the function from within another function you must precede it with C:
(C:DDSTEEL)
It's a good idea to leave all variables as global whilst you are writing your
program so that you can check their values during debugging.

You are visitor number

(if <testexpr><thenexpr>[<elseexpr>])
Conditionally evaluates expressions.
(inters <pt1><pt2><pt3><pt4>[<onseg>])
Returns the intersection point of two lines.
If <ONSEG> is greater than 0 the intersection
may lie past the endpoints of the lines.
(itoa <number>)
Returns the conversion of an integer to a string.
(lambda <arguments><expr>...)
Defines an "anonymous" function.
(last <list>)
Returns the last element in <LIST>.
(length <list>)
Returns the number of elements in <LIST>.
(list <expr>)
Returns the list of a number of expressions.
(listp <list>)
Returns T if the item is a list.
(load <filename>)
Loads an AutoLISP program in memory.
(log <number>)
Returns natural log of <NUMBER> as a real.
(logand <number><number>...)
Returns the logical bitwise AND of a list of numbers.
(logior <number><number>...)
Returns the logical bitwise OR of a list of numbers.
Quick Reference Table
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(lsh <numb1><numbits>)
Returns the logical bitwise SHIFT operator of <NUM1>
by <NUMBITS>
(mapcar <function><list1>...<listn>)
Executes <FUNCTION> on the elements of <LIST1>
through <LIST2>.
(max <number><number>...)
Returns the maximum of the numbers given.
(member <expr><list>)
Searches <LIST> for first occurence of <EXPR>
and returns the remainder of the list.
(menucmd <string>)
Switch between pages in an AutoCAD menu.
(min <NUMBER><NUMBER>...)
Returns the smallest of the numbers given.
(minusp <ITEM>)
Returns T if the item is negative.
(not <ITEM>)
Returns T if the expression is nil.
(nth <n><LIST>)
Returns the "nth" element of <LIST>.
(null <ITEM>)
Returns T if <ITEM> is bound to nil.
(numberp <ITEM>)
Returns T if <ITEM> is an integer or a real.
(open <FILENAME><MODE>)
Opens a file.
(or <EXPR>...)
Returns the logical OR of a list of expressions.
(osnap <PT><MODE-STRING>)
Returns a point by applying the osnap command.
(polor <PT><ANGLE><DISTANCE>)
Returns point at <ANGLE> and <DISTANCE> from <PT>.
(prin1 <EXPR>[<FILENAME>])
Prints <EXPR> on the screen or to <FILENAME>.
(princ <EXPR>[<FILENAME>])
Same as prin1 except control character are printed
without expansion.
(print <EXPR>[<FILENAME>])
Quick Reference Table
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Same as prin1 except a new line is printed before
<EXPR> and a space is printed after.
(progn <EXPR>...)
Evalutes each expression sequentially.
(prompt <MSG>)
Displays <MSG> on the screen PROMPT area.

(quote <EXPR>)
Returns <EXPR> unevaluated.

(read <STRING>)
Returns the first LIST obtained from <STRING>.
(read-char [<FILENAME>])
Returns a character from the keyboard buffer or from <FILENAME>.
(read-line [<FILENAME>])
Returns a string from the keyboard buffer or from <FILENAME>.
(redraw [<ENAME>][<MODE>])
Redraws either entire drawing, or <ENAME> in <MODE>.
(rem <NUM1> <NUM2> ...)
Returns the remainder of <NUM1>/<NUM2>.
(repeat <NUMBER> <EXPR> ...)
Evaluates each expression <NUMBER> times.
(reverse <LIST>)
Returns a list reversed.
(rtos <NUMBER> [<MODE><PRECIS>])
Returns a real number as a string.

(set <SYM><EXPR>)
Sets the value of a sysmbol name.
(setq <SYM1><EXPR1>...)
Sets the value of <SYM1> to <EXPR1>.
(setvar <VARNAME><VALUE>)
Sets a system variable to <VALUE>.
(sin <ANGLE>)
Returns the sine of an angle.
(sqrt <NUMBER>)
Returns the square root of <NUMBER>.
(ssget [<MODE>][<PT1><PT2>])
Returns a selection set.
Quick Reference Table
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(sslength <SS>)
Returns the number of entities in selection set <SS>.
(ssname <SS><INDEX>)
Returns the name of the <INDEX>th entity in selection set <SS>.
(ssadd [<ENAME>][<SS>])
Adds entities to selections sets.
(ssdel [<ENAME>][<SS>])
Deletes entities from selections sets.
(ssmemb [<ENAME>][<SS>])
Returns <ENAME> if <ENAME> is a member of selections set <SS>.
(strcase <STRING>[<WHICH>)]
Returns <STRING> as upper case if <WHICH> is nill.
If <WHICH> is not nill the returned string will be all lower case.
(strcat <STRING1><STRING2>..)
Concatenates a series of strings.
(strlen <STRING>)
Returns the number of characters in a string.
(subst <NEWITEM><OLDITEM><LIST>)
Substitutes <NEWITEM> for <OLDITEM> in <LIST>.
(substr <STRING><START><LENGTH>)
Returns a substring of <STRING> begining at <START>
of <LENGTH> characters.
(tblnext <NAME> [<rewind>])
Scans symbol table for next entity.
(tblsearch <NAME><SYM>[<setnext>])
Searches entire symbol table for <NAME>.
(terpri)
Prints a new line on the screen.
(textscr)
Flips from graphics screen to text screen.
(trace <FUNCTIONS>...)
Debugging aid that returns the last function name.
(trans <PT><FROM><TO>[<DISP>])
Translates a point <PT> from one coordinate system to another.
(type <ITEM>)
Returns the type of <ITEM>.
(untrace <FUNCTIONS>...)
Clears the trace floag for <FUNCTIONS>.
(ver)
Quick Reference Table
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Returns AutoLISP version number.
(vports)
Returns a list of currently active viewports.
(while <TESTEXPR><EXPR>)
Evaluates <TESTEXPR> and if not nill executes <EXPR>.
(write-char <NUM> [<FILENAME>])
Writes the character represented by the ASCII value of
<NUM> to the screen or to <FILENAME>.
(write-line <STRING> [<FILENAME>])
Writes <STRING> to the screen or to <FILENAME>.
(vmon)
Enables AutoLISP virtual function pager.
(zerop <ITEM>)
Returns T if <ITEM> evaluates to zero.
(*error* <STRING>)
User-definable error function.

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AutoCAD System Variables

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
AutoCAD System Variables
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Search
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Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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Environment Variables Listing.
Compiled and kindly donated by Stig Madsen.
Remember that environment variables are dependent on .. well, the environment, so each may or may
not apply to a certain setup.
Some are almost described, some are definitely not. The first are OS dependent, the rest are AutoCAD
dependent.
System related
(getenv "Path") ;string System search paths
(getenv "COMSPEC") ;string Cmd.exe path
(getenv "UserName");string User logon name
(getenv "Temp") ;string Temp path
(getenv "TMP") ;string Temp path
(getenv "ComputerName");string Computer name
(getenv "Windir") ;string Windows path
(getenv "OS") ;string Operating system
(getenv "UserProfile");string Current user profile path
(getenv "Pathext") ;string Exec extensions
(getenv "SystemDrive");string System drive
(getenv "SystemRoot");string System root path
(getenv "MaxArray");integer
General
(getenv "ACAD") ;string Support search paths
(getenv "ANSIHatch");string Pattern file for ANSI setup 1)
(getenv "ANSILinetype");string Linetype file for ANSI setup 1)
(getenv "ISOHatch");string Pattern file for ISO setup 1)
(getenv "ISOLinetype");string Linetype file for ISO setup 1)
(getenv "StartUpType");string Current default for StartUp dialog
(getenv "acet-MenuLoad");string Loading of Express Tools menu
(getenv "Measureinit");string MEASUREINIT
(getenv "InsertUnitsDefSource");integer INSUNITSDEFSOURCE
(getenv "InsertUnitsDefTarget");integer INSUNITSDEFTARGET
(getenv "acet-Enable");string
(getenv "LastTemplate");string Last DWT used
Environment Variables Listing
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(getenv "AcetRText:type");string Current default for RTEXT "Diesel"
(getenv "Pickstyle");integer
(getenv "Coords") ;integer
(getenv "ShowProxyDialog");integer
(getenv "Osmode") ;integer
(getenv "EdgeMode");integer
(getenv "PAPERUPDATE");integer
(getenv "ACADPLCMD");string Plotter command string
(getenv "ImageHighlight");integer
(getenv "Attdia") ;integer
(getenv "Attreq") ;integer
(getenv "Delobj") ;integer
(getenv "Dragmode");integer
(getenv "UseMRUConfig");integer
(getenv "PLSPOOLALERT");integer
(getenv "PLOTLEGACY");integer
(getenv "PSTYLEPOLICY");integer
(getenv "OLEQUALITY");integer
(getenv "Anyport") ;integer
(getenv "Validation Policy");integer
(getenv "Validation Strategy");integer
(getenv "CommandDialogs");integer CMDDIA
(getenv "TempDirectory");string Temp dir
(getenv "PlotSpoolerDirectory");string Spooler dir
(getenv "DefaultLoginName");string Default login
(getenv "MenuFile");string Default menu path
(getenv "NetLocation");string Default URL
(getenv "ACADDRV") ;string Driver path
(getenv "ACADHELP");string Help path
(getenv "PrinterConfigDir");string Plotter path
(getenv "PrinterStyleSheetDir");string Plot styles path
(getenv "PrinterDescDir");string Plotter driver path
(getenv "NewStyleSheet");string Default .stb/.ctb file
(getenv "DefaultFormatForSave");integer Default saveas
(getenv "DefaultConfig");string Default pc3
(getenv "LastModifiedConfig");string Last pc3
Environment Variables Listing
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(getenv "MRUConfig");string pc3?
(getenv "ACADLOGFILE");string Logfile
(getenv "MaxDwg") ;integer
(getenv "AVEMAPS") ;string Texture files path
(getenv "TemplatePath");string Templates path
(getenv "DatabaseWorkSpacePath");string Data Links path
(getenv "DefaultPlotStyle");string e.g. "ByLayer"
(getenv "DefaultLayerZeroPlotStyle");string e.g."Normal"
(getenv "LineWeightUnits");integer
(getenv "LWDEFAULT");integer Default lineweight
(getenv "CustomColors");integer
(getenv "Blipmode");integer
(getenv "ToolTips");string
1) used by MEASUREINIT and MEASUREMENT sysvars
Editor Configuration
(getenv "SDF_AttributeExtractTemplateFile");string ??
(getenv "AutoSnapPolarAng");string POLARANG
(getenv "AutoSnapPolarDistance");string POLARDIST
(getenv "AutoSnapPolarAddAng");string POLARADDANG
(getenv "AutoSnapControl");integer AUTOSNAP
(getenv "AutoSnapTrackPath");integer TRACKPATH
(getenv "PickBox") ;integer PICKBOX
(getenv "AutoSnapSize");integer
(getenv "PickFirst");integer PICKFIRST
(getenv "PickAuto");integer PICKAUTO
(getenv "MenuOptionFlags");integer MENUCTL
(getenv "FontMappingFile");string
(getenv "LogFilePath");string
(getenv "PSOUT_PrologFileName");string
(getenv "MainDictionary");string
(getenv "CustomDictionary");string
(getenv "MTextEditor");string
(getenv "XrefLoadPath");string
(getenv "SaveFilePath");string
(getenv "AcadLspAsDoc");string
Environment Variables Listing
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Drawing Window
(getenv "Background");integer Background color
(getenv "Layout background");integer PS Background color
(getenv "XhairPickboxEtc");integer Crosshair color
(getenv "LayoutXhairPickboxEtc");integer PS Crosshair color
(getenv "Autotracking vector");integer Autotracking vector color
(getenv "MonoVectors");integer
(getenv "FontFace");string Screen Menu
(getenv "FontHeight");integer
(getenv "FontWeight");integer
(getenv "FontItalic");integer
(getenv "FontPitchAndFamily");integer
(getenv "CursorSize");integer
(getenv "HideWarningDialogs");integer:00000008 <- hit
(getenv "SDIMode") ;integer:00000000 <- hit
Command Line Windows
(getenv "CmdLine.ForeColor");integer
(getenv "CmdLine.BackColor");integer
(getenv "TextWindow.ForeColor");integert
(getenv "TextWindow.BackColor");integer
(getenv "CmdLine.FontFace");string
(getenv "CmdLine.FontHeight");integer
(getenv "CmdLine.FontWeight");integer
(getenv "CmdLine.FontItalic");integer
(getenv "CmdLine.FontPitchAndFamily");integer
(getenv "TextWindow.FontFace");string
(getenv "TextWindow.FontHeight");integer
(getenv "TextWindow.FontWeight");integer
(getenv "TextWindow.FontItalic");integer
(getenv "TextWindow.FontPitchAndFamily");integer

Environment Variables Listing

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Environment Variables Listing
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The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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Migrating 2000's Express Tools To 2002
If you are upgrading from AutoCAD 2000 to AutoCAD 2002 and also have Express Tools installed, you
should choose to install without uninstalling the older software version first. This option will ensure that
Express Tools migrate into AutoCAD 2002 without difficulty.
Users who choose to completely uninstall AutoCAD 2000 prior to installing AutoCAD 2002, will need to
first backup the Express Tools library as the library is not included with AutoCAD 2002.
Step by Step Guide
1 Prior to uninstalling AutoCAD 2000, please make a backup copy of the following Express Tools-related
files found in the following directories:
Express\*.* G
Support\acettest.fas G
Help\acetmain.hlp G
Help\acetmain.cnt G
Help\acetfaq.hlp G
2 Install AutoCAD 2002.
3 Restart your PC.
3 Create a subdirectory called Express under the directory you installed AutoCAD 2002. For example if
you installed AutoCAD on the C:\ drive in the directory C:\Program Files\AutoCAD 2002, create the
directory C:\Program Files\AutoCAD 2002\Express.
4 Copy all of the Express Tools files from Express\*.* backed up in Step 1 into this new directory you
created in Step 3.
5 Copy acettest.fas to the AutoCAD 2002 Support Files subdirectory. Following the example above, if
you have installed AutoCAD on the C:\ drive in the C:\Program Files\AutoCAD 2002 directory, the
Support files directory would be C:\Program Files\AutoCAD 2002\Support.
6 Copy acetmain.hlp, acetmain.cnt, acetfaq.hlp to the AutoCAD 2002 Help subdirectory. Again, following
the example directories above, the help directory would be C:\Program Files\AutoCAD 2002\Help.
7 At the command line, enter the EXPRESSMENU command by typing EXPRESSMENU at the command
line.
The Express Tools menu will now load automatically in AutoCAD 2002 and

Migrating 2000'sExpress Tools to 2002

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Migrating 2000'sExpress Tools to 2002
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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Enhanced Express Tools 2002 Menu
In AutoCAD 2002, Express Tools are not part of
the standard AutoCAD installation but can be
purchased as a plug in from AutoDesk.
Nevertheless, for some reason certain of the
Express Tools functions are only accessible
through the command line and are not part of the
Express Tools pull down menu.
To rectify this, I have modified the AutoCAD
Express Tools Menu to include the Command
Line functions.
Please note that this modification does not effect the
functionality of the Express Tools default menu. It
only adds to it.
Before you do anything though, you need to
download the Enhanced Express Tools 2002
Menu by clicking here.
Now, the installation of the Enhanced Express
Tools 2002 menu is a simple matter of replacing
the default Express Tools menu - acetmain.mnu -
with the modified menu file contained in the
download zip file.
Instructions :
Unzip the acetmain.mnu file contained in the zip file into the AutoCAD Express directory
containing the default Express Tools menu. This can normally be found within a directory
path that looks something like this :
C:/Program Files/Autocad 2002/Express
If you open AutoCAD and look under "Tools" - "Options" - "Files" - "Support File Search
Path", you will also find the Express directory listed there :
Enhanced Express Tools 2002 Menu
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Note!!
Unzipping to this folder, will overwrite the default menu
file contained therein, so you may want to make a copy
of the existing menu file before replacing it.
As we now want to force the Express Tools menu to
recompile, you now need to delete the following two
files from the same directory as the menu file :
acetmain.mns and
acetmain.mnc
Now restart AutoCAD.
The Express Tools Menu will recompile and you will
find that all the Command Line functions have been
added to the Express Tools pull down menu.
Hint of the Day!!
Express Tools 2002 can be downloaded from here :
http://www.contractcaddgroup.com/download/ExpressBonusTools.zip

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On the Windows desktop, right-click the AutoCAD icon.

Then choose Properties.
Choose the Shortcut tab.

In the Start In box, enter the path of the folder that should be the default when you open or save drawing
files.

Choose OK.
REMEMBERFOLDERS
Type: Integer
Saved in: Registry
Initial value: 1
Controls the default path for the Look In or Save In option in standard file selection dialog boxes.
Default Drawing Folder
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0 This setting restores the legacy behavior of AutoCAD 2000 and previous releases. When you
start AutoCAD by double-clicking an AutoCAD icon, if a Start In path is specified for the icon, that
path is used as the default for all standard file selection dialog boxes.
G
1 The last used paths in each particular standard file selection dialog box are remembered across
and within sessions. The Start In folder specified for the AutoCAD icon is not used.
G

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;; First, check to see if our menu file "VbaMenu.mns" already

;; exists. If it doesn't then simply make an empty file that
;; we can later write our menu definition to
(setq flag nil)
(if (not (findfile "VbaMenu.mns"))
(progn
(setq fn (open "VbaMenu.mns" "w"))
(close fn)
)
)
Visual Lisp and Menu's.
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;; Get hold of the application object - we will use it to
;; retrieve the menuGroups collection, which is a child object
;; of the application
(setq acadobj (vlax-get-acad-object))
;; Get the active document - also a child of the application
(setq thisdoc (vla-get-activeDocument acadobj))
;; Get all menugroups loaded into AutoCAD
(setq menus (vla-get-menuGroups acadobj))
;; Now we could use VLA-ITEM to test if "VbaMenu" exists among
;; all loaded menugroups with (vla-item menus "VbaMenu").
;; Instead, as a friendly service, we want all loaded menus to
;; be printed to the screen and at the same time we might as well
;; use it to set a flag if "VbaMenu" is among the loaded menus
(princ "\nLoaded menus: ")
(vlax-for n menus
(if (= (vla-get-name n) "VbaMenu")
(setq flag T)
)
(terpri)
(princ (vla-get-name n))
)
;; If VbaMenu wasn't among the loaded menus then load it
(if (null flag)
(vla-load menus "VbaMenu.mns")
)
(setq currMenuGroup (vla-item menus "VbaMenu"))
;; If no popUpMenus exist in VbaMenu then go create one -
;; otherwise exit with grace. In this example we merely check
;; if the number of popup menus in "VbaMenu" is greater than 0.
;; A safer way to test for its presence would be to set up a
;; test for its name, "V&BA Menu":
;; (vla-item (vla-get-menus currMenuGroup) "V&BA Menu")
(if (<= (vla-get-count (vla-get-menus currMenuGroup)) 0)
(createMenu)
(princ "\nThe menu is already loaded")
)
Visual Lisp and Menu's.
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(princ)
)
Now navigate your way to VbaMenu.mns and open it. You should see something like this :
//
// AutoCAD menu file - D:\drawings\VbaMenu.mns
//
***MENUGROUP=VbaMenu
***POP2
ID_mnuVBA Menu [V&BA Menu]
ID_VBA Load [VBA &Load]^C^C_vbaload
ID_VBA Editor [VBA &Editor]^C^C_vbaide
ID_VBA Macro [VBA &Macro]^C^C_vbarun
ID_VBA Manager [&VBA Manager]^C^C_vbaman
[--]
ID_Zoom [&Zoom]^C^C_zoom w
ID_View Point [View &Point]^C^C_(if (not c:ddvpoint) (load "ddvpoint") ddvpoint
ID_3D Objects [&3D Objects]^C^C_$I=image_3dobjects $I=*
ID_AfraLisp.com [&AfraLisp.com]^C^C_browser www.afralisp.com
***TOOLBARS
***HELPSTRINGS
ID_VIEW POINT [View Point]
ID_AFRALISP.COM [Go visit this awesome place, or else!]
ID_VBA MANAGER [Display the VBA Manager]
ID_VBA LOAD [Load a VBA Application]
ID_ZOOM [Zoom Window]
ID_VBA MACRO [Run a VBA Macro]
ID_3D OBJECTS [3D objects]
ID_VBA EDITOR [Switch to the VBA Editor]
//
// End of AutoCAD menu file - D:\drawings\Vbamenu.mns
//
You should also find VbaMenu.mnc and VbaMenu.mnr in the same folder. Even though the
VbaMenu.mns didn't exist when we started, Visual Lisp has created it as well as all the coding
necessary and compiled the other menu support files required for the menu to run.
On the next page, we'll have a look at creating Toolbar menu's.

Home. Page II.

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Custom HATCH patterns and Menu access

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
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Creating Hatch Patterns
You want to what!!! Create a hatch pattern? Crikey, you're brave.
Honestly, though, simple hatch patterns are quite easy to create. It's the complicated ones that take
time, effort, a good understanding of how to create hatches and linetypes, some knowledge of
geometry and quite a bit of imagination.
Before proceeding with this tutorial, I would strongly recommend that you read my tutorial on
creating custom linetypes. Linetypes are used extensively throughout hatch patterns and a good
understanding is a requisite. You can find my tutorial on custom linetypes at :
htpp://www.afralisp.com/lisp/ltype.htm
Let's take a look at a simple hatch pattern first. The same principal applies to even the most
complicated hatch pattern so, as my Mum often says, "Pay attention!!"
A hatch pattern definition is stored in a simple ASCII text file with an extension of PAT. You can
append a hatch pattern to an existing file if you wish, or you can store it in it's own file. If you store
it in it's own file, the file name must match the name of the hatch pattern. We are going to create
our own hatch definition or pattern file.
O.K. Open Notepad and add this line :
*Dashdot, Dashes and dots
This is the name of our hatch pattern followed by a description of the pattern, separated by a
comma. (,)
Now add this on the next line :
0, 0,0, 0,0.5, 0.5,-0.25,0,-0.25,0,-0.25
This line describes a single drawing pass over the hatch pattern. In this example we are only using a
single pass so we will only get one line. Save your file as "Dashdot.pat". If you loaded this hatch
pattern and added it to your drawing, it would look like this :
The syntax of each drawing line is as follows :
Angle, X,Y Origin, Offset-x,Offset-y, Pen Command Pattern
Let's look a bit closer at each field :
0, 0,0, 0,0.5, 0.5,-0.25,0,-0.25,0,-0.25
The first field, Angle, which in our case is "0", determines the angle at which the line is to be
drawn. In our case it will be drawn horizontally. Don't confuse this with the angle of the hatch
pattern which is controlled by the AutoCAD Hatch command. Look at a hatch pattern as a
successive series of lines that are drawn from left to right, then from down to up.
Creating Hatch Patterns
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0, 0,0, 0,0.5, 0.5,-0.25,0,-0.25,0,-0.25
The second field is the X,Y Origin. This controls the starting point of the line segment. This is not
an AutoCAD co-ordinate, but rather a relative distance from the current Snap base point of the
drawing. All hatch patterns have a point of origin. Since this point of origin is the same throughout,
you're assured that the patterns will line up.
0, 0,0, 0,0.5, 0.5,-0.25,0,-0.25,0,-0.25
The third field is the X-Offset and Y-offset values. 0 is the X-Offset and 0.5 is the Y-Offset. The
hatch pattern will begin at an arbitrary origin and proceed to draw a group from left to right, then
advance upward in the Y direction.
0,0.5 means that each successive line in the pattern will move to the right 0 units and up by 0.5
units. This results in the 0.5 spacing between the lines. The offset is relative to the initial angle given
in the line, so that angle forms the X axis for the offset.
The Y value Offset is quite easy to understand - it gives you the spacing between the lines. But why
would you want to offset the X value, and what effect does that have? Think of a brick wall. Each
successive line of bricks is offset to the right a little to create a pattern. So, 0.5,1 would space the
bricks upward by 1 unit, and every other line would be offset by 0.5 to the right of the origin,
creating a "stepladder" effect.
0, 0,0, 0,0.5, 0.5,-0.25,0,-0.25,0,-0.25
The fourth and final group is the linetype definition or the dash dot pattern. In words, this pattern
is saying:
"Draw a line 0.5 units long, lift the pen for 0.25 units, draw a dot, lift the pen for 0.25 units, draw
another dot, lift the pen for 0.25 units, draw a third dot, lift the pen for 0.25 units and then repeat
the process".
The dashdot pattern was drawn using only one definition line, let's try one with two. Open a new
file with Notepad and add this :
*VASTRAP, Vastrap Checkered Plate
0, 0,0.09375, 0.25,0.25, 0.25,-0.25
90, 0.125,0.21875, 0.25,0.25, 0.25,-0.25
Close the file and save it as "Vastrap.pat". This hatch will produce a pattern like this :
Even though I defined the pattern with 0 and 90 degree lines, you can rotate the pattern to get the
desired effect. I made the pattern at 0 and 90 degrees to avoid having to calculate the angles.
(Chicken hey!)
As I said at the beginning, simple hatch patterns are quite easy to create, but the complicated one's?
Well, that's another story.
Would you like a couple of hundred hatch patterns to play around with and analyze? Some simple,
some "very" complicated! You would? Then just place your mouse here and click.

Creating Hatch Patterns

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Custom Linetypes
There are two different ways of creating linetypes within AutoCAD. You can write your own
linetype definition file, or you can use AutoCAD's built in function to create it for you. In this
tutorial we'll look at both methods. Let's start with the AutoCAD built in function first.
Before we start though, let's have a look at what a linetype is.
A linetype is a series of positive and negative numbers that tell a plotter how long to lower or raise a
pen. Positive numbers lower the pen, and negative numbers raise it. The normal length of a dash is
.5; a dot is 0.
e.g. 0,-.25 would produce a series of dots. The first 0 produces the dot; the -.25 raises the pen .25 of
a unit. The series then repeats itself.
A dash-dot would be .5,-.25,0,-.25.
A dashed line would be .5,-.25.
Easy hey! Now let's have a look at creating out own custom linetype. Let's say we want a linetype to
be dash, dot, dot, dot.
The format would be .5,-.25,0,-.25,0,-.25,0,-.25. and we'll call the linetype "dashdot3".
Fire up AutoCAD and enter the following at the command line :
Command: -linetype
Current line type: "ByLayer"
Custom Linetypes
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Enter an option [?/Create/Load/Set]: c
Enter name of linetype to create: dashdot3
After pressing "Enter", the following dialog will appear :
Enter "Afralisp" as the file name and select "Save".
Creating new file
Descriptive text: _ . . . _ . . . _ . . . _
Enter linetype pattern (on next line):
A,.5, -.25, 0, -.25, 0, -.25, 0, -.25
New linetype definition saved to file.
Enter an option [?/Create/Load/Set]:
Select "Enter" to complete the process.
We could have appended the linetype definition to an existing file, but in this case we've created a
new file.
If you want to change an existing linetype definition, just create a new linetype, giving it the same
name as the old one. AutoCAD will ask you if you want to overwrite the existing linetype; answer
yes. You can then enter the new definition and description.
Note : Complex linetypes cannot be created using the "Linetype" command at the command line.
To load and set your new linetype, enter "Linetype" at the command line. The "Linetype
Manager" dialogue will appear :
Custom Linetypes
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Select "Load". The Load dialog will appear :
Select "File" and then "AfraLisp.lin"
Next select "dashdot3" linetype and then "OK"
In the "Linetype Manager" dialogue, select "dashdot3" again and then "Current" followed by
"OK".
Your "dashdot3" linetype should now be loaded and set. Draw a line. It should look like this :
To create your own linetype definition is very simple. First locate your newly created "Afralisp.lin"
file, and open it using Notepad. It should look like this :
;
Custom Linetypes
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;AfraLisp Linetype definitions
;Written November 2001
;
*dashdot3,_ . . . _ . . . _ . . . _
A,0.5,-0.25,0,-0.25,0,-0.25,0,-0.25
Yours will not have the first two lines as I added them later. Just precede any comments you wish to
add with ";".
As you can see, your linetype definition consists of 2 lines.
The first line consists of "*" followed by the linetype name followed by the description separated by
a comma ",".
The description is optional and can be a sequence of dots, spaces and dashes or a comment such as
"A Dashed Line followed by 3 Dots". If you omit the description, do not put a comma after the
linetype name. If you include a description, it should be no more than 47 characters long. (Why?
Who knows!!)
The second line starts with the "alignment" field which you specify by entering "A". AutoCAD
only supports one type of alignment field at this time so you will always enter "A".
Next comes a comma "," followed by your linetype definition.
Pretty easy hey. On the next page we'll have a look at complex linetypes.
To Page No II

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Determine the width of the repeating text

1. Use the DTEXT command and create the text OO, (capital o) set the height to
0.5.
2. Use the DIST command to measure the width of the text. It should be around
0.83. This width is used to determine the value needed to center the text in the
complex line.
Define the linetype
1. Open up a text editor like Windows Notepad and enter the following 2 lines.
*MYLINE,----OO----
A,1,-2,["OO",TEST,S=0.5,R=0,X= -1.42,Y= -0.25],1
2. Save this file with the arbitrary name of lt-test.lin
Load the linetype in AutoCAD
1. Issue the linetype command
2. Select the load option.
3. Enter MYLINE font the linetype to load.
4. Select the lt-test.lin in the Select Linetype File dialog box.
Use the linetype
1. Bring up the layer control dialog box.
2. Select layer zero
3. Choose Set LTYPE.
4. Select MYLINE.
5. Press OK.
6. Make sure linetype is set to MYLINE and layer zero is current, and press OK.
7. Draw lines and notice that the text is now centered in the repeating space.
Discussion of the exercise
1. Open the lt-test.lin in a text editor (such as Notepad).
2. The following should be in the file:
*MYLINE,----OO----
A,1,-2,["OO",test1,S=0.5,R=0,X= -1.42,Y= -0.25],1
Controlling Complex Linetypes
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The X value is used to move the text parallel to the repeating line segments. In this
linetype the letters OO need to be centered in a space of 2. The width of the text at height
of 0.5 is 0.83. The number 1.42 was derived by the following formula:
2-((2-0.83)/2)=1.42
The number is negative to move the repeating text back towards the start of the line into
the blank space.
The Y value is used to move the text perpendicular to the repeating line segments. In this
linetype the -0.25 is used to center the letters OO. This number is derived by dividing the
S=0.5 value by two. The number is negative to move it down in relationship to the
repeating line segments.
Helpful tips
If a text style that will be used in the linetype is not defined, the error "Bad
definition of (linetype name) at line (line#) of file filename.lin" will
appear when you attempt to load the linetype.
Use a text editor to create the complex linetype. If you try to create a complex
linetype from the AutoCAD command line, you will get the error: "INVALID
number or bad continuation". The linetype definition will not be saved.

Text objects in complex linetypes are displayed completely and never trimmed.
The Description of the linetype (first line) has a 47 character limit.

There is a 12 Dash - length specifications limit per linetype, and a limit of 80

characters for a line.

The first line segment cannot be negative.

Put half of the repeating segment after the text definition. Adding a line segment
after the repeating text will ensure that a line segment will not cross the last text
object in the line when it is placed in a drawing. AutoCAD adjusts the line
segments to force the line to start and end with a dash.

The scale command adjusts the length of the complex linetype and not the size
of the repeating text or repeating line segments.
The complex linetype can only have one color in standard AutoCAD. It can be
set to color by layer or to any color using entity creation mode.
The text in a complex line is not a separate entity. The complex line cannot be
exploded.
Compiled shape files (.SHX files) can be used in complex linetypes. These .SHX
files must be created in AutoCAD. The location of the .SHX file must be set in
the support path under Preferences/ File System. Use the instructions in the
AutoCAD Customization Guide under Linetype Definition Files. An AutoCAD
drawing that contains such a linetype must be accompanied by the compiled
shape file or .SHX file where the shape is defined, as well as the .LIN file where
the linetype is defined.

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Preserving CustomToolbars
When you create, or edit, your toolbars for AutoCAD the changes, or new toolbars, are written into your
ACAD.MNS file (assuming your menu file is ACAD.MNU). As soon as you recompile your ACAD.MNU,
AutoCAD will write over these changes when it creates a new MNC, MNR and MNS file for the associated
ACAD.MNU. To preserve your new, or customized, toolbars follow these easy steps:
Using any text editor (Notepad or Write will work) open up the
ACAD.MNS, or whatever menu's associated MNS file you are
using.
G
Use the SEARCH or FIND utility to go to the TOOLBARS section of
the ACAD.MNS. The Toolbars section starts with the following
couple lines:
***TOOLBARS
**STANDARD_TOOLBAR
**TB_STANDARD_TOOLBAR
G
Go to the toolbar(s) which you've either added or customized,
highlight it, then copy it to your clipboard. Usually any *new*
toolbars created will be at the end of the TOOLBARS section. For
example, if you've created a new toolbar named, MOSTUSED,
then go to the TOOLBARS section and search for MOSTUSED and
copy this portion to the clipboard.
G
Open up the ACAD.MNU file in your text editor. G
Find the TOOLBARS section of the ACAD.MNU file using the
SEARCH/FIND utility. The TOOLBARS section starts with the
following lines:
//
// Begin AutoCAD ToolBars
//
***TOOLBARS
**STANDARD_TOOLBAR
G
Now PASTE the contents of the clipboard into the TOOLBARS
section of the ACAD.MNU. By putting your customized, or new,
toolbars in the ACAD.MNU you will preserve them forever, even
when you recompile the ACAD.MNU.
G
If you've editted, or changed, the HELPSTRINGS section you will
need to cut and paste these changes from the HELPSTRINGS
section of the ACAD.MNS to the HELPSTRINGS section of the
ACAD.MNU.
G
Now that you've successfully cut and paste your customized
toolbars into the ACAD.MNU save the file, and exit.
G
Whenever you need to recompile the ACAD.MNU now in AutoCAD,
the changes you've made will carry along without being overwritten
or lost.
G

Preserving Custom Toolbars

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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Set and Setq
In AutoLisp, the process of establishing a value for a symbol is called assignment. The common way to do assignment is
to use SETQ. An assignment causes the value of its second argument to become the value of its first argument, which
has to be a symbol. A symbol is a lexical variable, declared implicitly.
SET is somewhat like SETQ except that SET does evaluate its first argument. Therefore the first argument must evaluate
to the name of a dynamic variable (one whose value is to be created dynamically). The only other difference is that SET
takes only two arguments.
Consider the following assignments :
(setq a `var) sets symbol A to VAR. Symbol VAR is not defined.

(set a 2) Evaluates A and sets the result of this evaluation to 2.

(princ var) Returns 2. Symbol VAR is now defined and set to 2.
A common use of the SET assignment is to define symbols at runtime, and is sometimes more efficient than list
construction when the number of items is not known in advance. As an illustration of this, the following lisp routine
example takes a variable number of points, sorts them by their Y coordinate and draws a line using the sorted points.
(defun c:test ( / j lpt symb)

(setq j 1)
(while (set (read (strcat "point_" (itoa j)))
(getpoint "\nPoint : ")
)
(setq j (1+ j))
)
;; Last point is nil.
(setq j (1- j))
;; Sort the points. See function "sortpoints" below.
(sortpoints j)
;; Initialize the list of points to be passed to (command "_line")
(setq lpt (list ""))
;; Construct the list and set each of our
Set and Setq
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;; "on the fly" symbols to nil
(while (> j 0)
(setq
symb (read (strcat "point_" (itoa j)))
lpt (cons (eval symb) lpt)
)
(set symb nil)
(setq j (1- j))
)
;; draw the line
(command "_line")
(mapcar 'command lpt)
(princ)
)

;; This function sorts the points by their Y coordinate
(defun sortpoints (j / i cur_y prev_y cur_symb prev_symb point)
(setq i 2)
(while (<= i j)
(setq
cur_symb (read (strcat "point_" (itoa i)))
prev_symb (read (strcat "point_" (itoa (1- i))))
cur_y (cadr (eval cur_symb))
prev_y (cadr (eval prev_symb))
)
(if (> cur_y prev_y)
(progn
(setq point (eval prev_symb))
(set prev_symb (eval cur_symb))
(set cur_symb point)
(if (/= i 2) (setq i (1- i)))
)
(setq i (1+ i))
)
)
)

Set and Setq

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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Set and Setq
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Program Looping.
AutoLisp uses 2 kinds of loops, namely (repeat) and (while).
Let's have a look at the (repeat) function first :
(repeat).
The (repeat) function is a simple looping structure. It executes any number
of statements a specific number of times. Like the (progn) function, all of
it's expressions get evaluated, but they get evaluated once each loop.
Here's a simple example :
(defun c:loop ()
(setq pt (getpoint "\nCentre of Rotation : "))
(setq n (getint "\nEnter Number of Steps : "))
(repeat n
(command "Rotate" "L" "" pt "20")
)
(princ)
)
Now draw a circle anywhere on the screen and then run the routine.
The circle should move around.
Note that the variable that controls the number of loops must be an integer.

(while).
The (while) function loops like (repeat) except that (while) has a
conditional test. (while) will continue looping through a series of
statements until the condition is nil. Here's an example :
(defun c:loop1 ()
(while
(setq pt (getpoint "\nChoose a point : "))
(command "point" pt)
)
(princ)
)
In this example, you can continue to pick points until you press Enter.
(AutoLisp treats Enter as nil). When you press enter the loop will terminate.
Here's another example :
(defun c:loop2 ()
(setq ptlist nil)
(while
(setq pt (getpoint "\nEnter Point or RETURN when done: "))
Program Looping
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(setq ptlist (append ptlist (list pt)))
)
(princ)
)
This example keeps on asking for a point and adding the point to a list of
points, called ptlist. It uses the (append) function to merge the new point
list to ptlist. As soon as you hit Enter the loop stops.
Run the routine, choose a few points and check the value of ptlist.
It should contain a long list of points.

The (while) function can also be used for programme iteration.

This means that a loop is continued until the results of one or more expressions, calculated within the
loop, determine whether the loop is terminated. A common use of iteration is to increment a counter.
Have look at this example :
(defun c:loop3 ()
(setq count 0)
(while (< count 10)
(princ count)
(setq count (1+ count))
)
(princ)
)
You should get :
012345678910
If you know the number of times you want to loop, use (repeat), a much
simpler command than (while).
Hint : Have you ever wondered how to make an AutoLisp routine Auto-Repeat?
Enclose the whole function or sub-function in a (while) loop.
This way, the function will keep on repeating until Enter or Cancel is hit.
Enough for now, my brain hurts......
In fact, I think I'm going "Loopy-Loo"
Cheers....

You are visitor number

If you need to evaluate more than one then, or else statement, you must use the (progn) function.
Here's another example :
(defun c:testprogn ()
(setq a (getreal "\nEnter a Number : ")
b (getreal "\nEnter Second Number : ")
);setq
(if (= a b)
(progn
(prompt "\nBoth Numbers are equal")
(prompt "\nHere is Another statement")
(prompt "\nAnd Another One")
);progn
(prompt "\nBoth numbers are not equal")
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
You can use as many statements as you like within the (progn) function.
You can also use (if) along with logical operators. They are functions that determine how two or
more items are compared. The available logical operators are :
Conditionals
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AND OR NOT
AND returns true if all arguments are true.
OR returns true if any of the arguments are true.
NOT returns true if it's argument is false and returns false if it's argument is true. Let's look at
some examples :
(defun c:testand ()
(setq a (getreal "\nEnter a Number : "))
(if
(and
(>= a 5.0)
(<= a 10.0)
);and
(prompt "\nNumber is between 5 and 10")
(prompt "\nNumber is less than 5 or greater than 10")
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

(defun c:testor ()
(setq a (getstring "\nAre you Male? Y/N : "))
(if
(or
(= a "y")
(= a "Y")
);or
(prompt "\nHello Sir")
(prompt "\nHello Madam")
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

A Relation Operator is a function that evaluates the relationship between two or more items.
Relationship Operators available are :
< less than
> greater than
<= less than or equal to
>= greater than or equal to
= equal to
/= not equal to
eq are two expressions identical
equal are two expressions equal
Let's look a bit closer at the (eq) and the (equal) functions.
The (eq) function determines whether two expressions are bound to the same object.
(setq a '(x y z))
(setq b '(x y z))
(setq c b)
(eq a c) would return nil, a and c are not the same list.
Conditionals
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(eq c b) would return true, b and c are exactly the same list.
The (equal) function determines whether two expressions evaluate to the same thing. You can use
the optional numeric argument, fuzz, to specify the maximum amount by which both expressions
can differ and still be considered equal.
(setq a '(x y z))
(setq b '(x y z))
(setq c b)
(setq m 1.123456))
(setq n 1.123457))
(equal a c) would return true.
(equal c b) would return true.
(equal m n) would return nil.
(equal m n 0.000001) would return true.

What about a Multiple (if) function. The (cond) function works very much like (if), except (cond)
can evaluate any number of test conditions.
Once (cond) finds the first condition that is true, it processes the statements associated with that
condition. (It only processes the first true condition). Here's an example :
(defun c:testcond ()
(setq a
(strcase (getstring "\nSize of Bolt (M10,M12,M16): ")
);strcase
);setq
(cond
((= a "M10") (prompt "\nYou have choosen M10"))
((= a "M12") (prompt "\nYou have choosen M12"))
((= a "M16") (prompt "\nYou have choosen M16"))
(T (prompt "\nUnknown Bolt Size"))
);cond
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
The (cond) function takes any number of lists as it's arguments.
Each argument must be a list containing a test followed by any number of expressions to be
evaluated.

You are visitor number

Let's look at an example. We want to open a directory on c:/ called "Slides" containing a list of file that
we would like to view. Our routine would look like this :
(defun c:slv ( / sl)
(setq sl (getfiled "Pick a slide to view"
"C:/SLIDES/"
"sld"
10
);getfiled
);setq
(command "vslide" sl)
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
Your dialogue box should look like this :
Take note of a couple of things.
See how it defaults to the C:/SLIDES directory;
The "Type it" button has been disabled; (Flag 2 was set.)
The full path name of the file was returned. (Flag 8 was set)
This is because C:/SLIDES is not in my AutoCAD search path.

As you can see, this is quite a useful function in that it can restrict your user to only certain directories
and file types whilst still leaving them some flexiblity in their choice.

Locating Files
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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File Handling.
AutoLisp can only deal with one type of external file, namely an ASCII text file.
As well as this, AutoLisp can only read a file in sequential order. (It does not have
random access.)
Despite these drawbacks, AutoLisp has certain basic tools that allow you to read and
write one character at a time, or a full line at a time.
You can also append data to an existing file.
Working with external files is very simple.
First you "Open" the file.
Then you process the file by "Reading", "Writing" or "Appending" to it.
You then "Close" the file.
When you "Open" a file, Autolisp returns a file handle. This file handle is a name supplied by the
operating system that let's you inform AutoLisp which file you want to work with.
Let's look at some examples.
(setq file (open "Testfile.txt" "w"))
AutoLisp should return something like this :
File: #28a27d2
This is the file handle returned by the operating system and stored in variable "file".
Try this now :
(write-line "This is some test data." file)
This "writes" a line of data to the file with handle "file".
(write-line "This is some more test data." file)
Let's write some characters to the same file :
(write-char 79 file)
This would write the ASCII character "O" to the file.
(write-char 75 file)
This would write the letter "K"
Now let's close the file :
(close file)
To read a file is just as simple :
(setq file (open "testfile.txt" "r"))
Open "Testfile.txt" to "Read".
(read-line file)
Read the first line.
Lisp should return :
"This is some test data "
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Read the next line :
(read-line file)
Lisp should return :
"This is some more test data."
Let's read a character :
(read-char file)
Lisp will return :
79
It has returned the ASCII number.
(chr (read-char file))
Read the character AND convert it.
Lisp should return :
"K"
(read-line file)
Lisp should return "nil" as we have reached the end of the file.
Before moving on, you should always make sure that you close
your files.
(close file)

Append is very similar to writing to a file except the file must already
exist if you want to append to it.
There are three other functions that write to an external file.
They are (princ), (prin1) and (print).
Let's have a look at them :
(setq file (open "afile.txt" "w"))
(princ "This is the (princ) function" file)
(prin1 "This is the (prin1) function" file)
(print "This is the (print) function" file)
(close file)
Open the file "afile.txt". You should have the following :
This is the (princ) function"This is the (prin1) function"
"This is the (print) function"
All 3 functions display the result at the prompt line and send the
output to a file. Here are the differences :
(princ) displays strings without quotation marks.
(prin1) displays strings with quotation marks.
(print) displays strings with quotation marks and places a blank line
before the expression and a space afterwards.
Now we will look at a practical example :
The following is a Drawing Log Routine that logs the date, time, &
Drawing Name of each Drawing Session. It writes a report
to an ASCII Text file (Log.Txt).
(defun C:LOGIN ( / a c d file fp)
(setq file (findfile "LOG.TXT"))
(if (not file)
File Handling
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(open "LOG.TXT" "w")
);if
(setq a (TODAY)
TIME1 (TIME)
c (getvar "DWGNAME")
d (strcat "Drg Start " a " - " TIME1 " - " c)
);setq
(if (/= c "Drawing.dwg")
(progn
(setq file (findfile "LOG.TXT")
fp (open file "a")
);setq
(princ d fp)
(princ "\n" fp)
(close fp)
(princ (strcat "\nLogged in at : " TIME1))
);progn
);if
(princ)
);defun
;;;*-------------------------------------------------
(defun C:LOGOUT ( / a c d file fp)
(setq a (TODAY)
TIME2 (TIME)
c (getvar "DWGNAME")
d (strcat "Drg Exit " a " - " TIME2 " - " c)
);setq
(if (/= c "Drawing.dwg")
(progn
(setq file (findfile "LOG.TXT")
fp (open file "a")
);setq
(princ d fp)
(princ "\n" fp)
(close fp)
(princ (strcat "\nLogged out at : " TIME2))
(etime)
);progn
);if
(princ)
);defun
;;;*-------------------------------------------------
(defun ETIME ( / hr1 m1 s1 tot1 hr2 m2 s2 tot2 total ht mt file fp)
(setq hr1 (* 60 (* 60 (atof (substr time1 1 2))))
m1 (* 60 (atof (substr time1 4 2)))
s1 (atof (substr time1 7 2))
tot1 (+ hr1 m1 s1)
hr2 (* 3600 (atof (substr time2 1 2)))
m2 (* 60 (atof (substr time2 4 2)))
s2 (atof (substr time2 7 2))
tot2 (+ hr2 m2 s2)
total (- tot2 tot1)
hr1 (/ total 3600)
ht (fix hr1)
hr1 (- hr1 ht)
mt (* hr1 60)
ht (rtos ht)
mt (rtos mt)
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);setq
(setq d (strcat "Editing Time This Session :
" ht " Hours and " mt " minutes"))
(setq file (findfile "LOG.TXT")
fp (open file "a")
);setq
(princ d fp)
(princ "\n" fp)
(princ "==========================
====================================" fp)
(princ "\n" fp)
(close fp)
(princ)
);defun
;;;*-------------------------------------------
;;;*Calculates the Current Date
(defun TODAY ( / d yr mo day)
(setq d (rtos (getvar "CDATE") 2 6)
yr (substr d 3 2)
mo (substr d 5 2)
day (substr d 7 2)
);setq
(strcat day "/" mo "/" yr)
);defun
;;;*-------------------------------------------
;;;*Calculates the Current Time
(defun TIME ( / d hr m s)
(setq d (rtos (getvar "CDATE") 2 6)
hr (substr d 10 2)
m (substr d 12 2)
s (substr d 14 2)
);setq
(strcat hr ":" m ":" s)
);defun
(princ)
Load the file and type "Login" to run it. Leave it for a minute or so and then type "Logout" to exit
the routine.
Have a look at the file Log.txt. It should look something like this :
Drg Start 07/12/98 - 15:36:31 - F4443.dwg
Drg Exit 07/12/98 - 15:36:34 - F4443.dwg
Editing Time This Session : 0 Hours and 0.05 minutes
==============================================================
Every time you log on and off the Starting Time, Ending Time and Total Editing Time will be
appended to this file.
If you wish you can load Login.Lsp from your AcadDoc.Lsp file, and edit the Acad.mnu to call the
Logout.Lsp routine before Exiting, Quiting or Starting a new drawing.
To download the source coding for this routine, just place you mouse
pointer here and click. (Gently please, I've got a hangover.)
For more information on this topic, refer to the External Data Tutorial.

File Handling
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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External Data
Do you have a library full of blocks taking up vast amounts of disk space?
Do you find it difficult to locate a specific block because you've got so many or cannot
remember what you called it?
By using external data you can parametrically draw these objects. If you look at my
Structural Steel Programme DDSTEEL you will notice that every section is drawn using
data retrieved from an external data file.
The following tutorial will show you how to retrieve external data, format it into
something that Autolisp can use, then place the data into individual variables.
First of all you need to create the external data file.
Create a text file called Test.dat and type in the following data :
*6
152.0,10.0,124.0
*7
178.0,12.0,135.0
*8
203.0,14.0,146.0
*9
229.0,16.0,158.0
This type of data file is known as a comma deliminating text file.
The data represents values that we would use to draw a specific object.
The first line (*6) represents the name of the object
and the second line (152.0,10.0,124.0) are the values that we are
attempting to retrieve.
Next, create a Lisp file called Test.Lsp and type in the following :
(defun C:Test (/ item data dline maxs
count chrct numb size)
(setq size
(getstring "\nEnter Size <6, 7, 8 or 9>: "))
;enter size req'd
(setq dlist nil
size (strcat "*" size)
;add asterix to size
file (findfile "test.dat")
;find data file
fp (open file "r")
;open file to read
item (read-line fp)
;first line is label for file
);setq
(while item
;process each line of file
(if (= item size)
;compare values
(setq data (read-line fp)
;read a line
item nil
External Data
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;stop searching for item
);setq
(setq item (read-line fp))
;keep searching for item
);if
);while
(if data
;if the size has been found
(progn
(setq maxs (strlen data)
;establish length of input
count 1
;initiliaze count
chrct 1
;initiliaze char position
);setq
(while (< count maxs)
;process string one chr at a time
(if (/= "," (substr data count 1))
;look for the commas
(setq chrct (1+ chrct))
;increment to next position
(setq numb (atof
(substr data
(1+ (- count chrct)) chrct))
;convert to real
dlist (append dlist (list numb))
;add it to the list
chrct 1
;resets field ct
);setq
);if
(setq count (1+ count))
;increment the counter
);while
(setq numb (atof
(substr data
(1+ (- count chrct))))
;convert to real
dlist (append dlist (list numb))
;add it to the list
);setq
);progn
);if data
(close fp)
;close data file
(mapcar 'set '(a b c) dlist)
;allocate to variables
);defun
The programme basically does the following :

Gets the name of the object who's data we want to retrieve.(eg 6) G

Adds a * to the front of it. (eg *6) G
Searches for the Data file (Test.Dat) and opens it to read. G
Reads each line of the file until it finds one matching our objects name. G
Reads the next line and stores the data. G
External Data
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Unfortunately, the data we have looks something like this :

(152.0,10.0,124.0)
Oh No, Commas...Don't worry the next section of the program deals with them. It parses the data
and removes all commas so that we end up with a LIST looking like this :
(152.0 10.0 124.0)
Now by using the mapcar function we can allocate each item in the list to its own variable.
(mapcar 'set '(a b c) dlist)
I have deliberately not declared these variables as locals so that you can view them within
AutoCAD.
Type !dlist to view the data list.
Type !a to see the first item in the list.
Type !b to see the second item in the list.
Type !c to see the third item in the list.
You can now use this data to draw your object.
As you can see, this is a much more efficient way of drawing objects that are the same shape but
have differing dimensions.
To save you having to type here is the source code for the whole
of this routine. Now don't you think I'm good to you?
Test Zip (7 Kb)

You are visitor number

AutoLisp provides other functions to manipulate lists. Let's have a look at some of them.
Append
This takes any number of lists and runs them together as one list :
(append '(12.0 15.5) '("M20" "M30))
Would return :

(12.0 15.5 "M20" "M30")
Last
Will return the last element of a list :
(last '("M20" "M24" "M30"))
Would return :
("M30")
Length
This returns an integer indicating the number of elements in a list :
(length '("M20" "M24" "M30"))
Should return :
(3)
Member
This function searches a list for a specific element. If found it returns the element plus the
remainder of the list :
(member 'c '(a b c d e f))
would return :
(c d e f)
Reverse
Returns a list with it's elements reversed :
(reverse '(a b c d e f))
Will Return :
List Manipulation Page II
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(f e d c b a)
Subst
Searches a list for an old element and returns a copy of the list with the new item substituted in
place of every occurrence of the old item :
Syntax : (subst newitem olditem lst)
(setq lst '(a b c d e c)))
(subst 'f 'c lst)
Would return
(a b f d e f)
On the next page we will have a look at a more advanced List Manipulation Example.
Page I. Home. Page III.

You are visitor number

Into the Database Page I

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Page I. Home. Page III.
Into the Database - Page II
When you first start to delve into the AutoCAD database it is, I admit, quite daunting. But,
although entity access and manipulation is fairly complex, it can be divided into
component parts that make it much easier to understand.
Let's have a look at an AutoLisp routine that can be used, as a sort of template
which you can apply to numerous, similar applications. Have a close look at this coding :
(defun C:CHLAYER ( / a1 a2 n index b1 b2 b3 d1 d2)

(prompt "\nSelect Entities to be Changed : ")
(setq a1 (ssget))
(prompt "\nPoint to Entity on Target Layer : ")
(setq a2 (entsel))
(setq n (sslength a1))
(setq index 0)
(setq b2 (entget (car a2)))
(setq d2 (assoc 8 b2))
(repeat n
(setq b1 (entget (ssname a1 index)))
(setq d1 (assoc 8 b1))
(setq b3 (subst d2 d1 b1))
(entmod b3)
(setq index (1+ index))
);repeat
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
This routine allows you to select any number of objects and change them to a different layer. The
target layer is choosen by simply pointing to an object on the desired layer. (To test this routine,
you will need to create a drawing with objects on different layers.) Let's have a look line by line :
(defun C:CHLAYER ( / a1 a2 n index b1 b2 b3 d1 d2)
Defines the function and declares all variables as local.
(prompt "\nSelect Entities to be Changed : ")
Prompts the user.
(setq a1 (ssget))
Allows the user to select the objects to be changed. The selection set is assigned to variable 'a1'.
(prompt "\nPoint to Entity on Target Layer : ")
Prompts the user to select the Target Layer.
(setq a2 (entsel))
This is a special type of selection statement that only allows you to
select one entity.
(setq n (sslength a1))
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Counts the number of entities in the selection set 'a1' and stores this number in variable 'n'.
(setq index 0)
Sets the loop control variable 'index' to zero.
(setq b2 (entget (car a2)))
This statement retrieves the entity list from 'a2' and assigns it to 'b2'.
(setq d2 (assoc 8 b2))
This looks for the code 8 in the entity list 'a2', and then assigns the sub list to 'd2'.
(repeat n
This begins the loop that pages through the selection set.
(setq b1 (entget (ssname a1 index)))
This gets the entity list and assigns it to 'b1'.
(setq d1 (assoc 8 b1))
Gets the sublist code 8. (The Layer)
(setq b3 (subst d2 d1 b1))
Substitutes the new 'd2' layer for the old 'd1' layer in the entity list 'a1', and assigns it to the new
entity list 'b3'.
(entmod b3)
Updates the new entity list in the database.
(setq index (1+ index))
Increases the 'index' variable by 1, priming it for the next loop.
);repeat
Closes the repeat loop.
(princ)
Finish cleanly.
);defun
Closes the function.
(princ)
Clean Loading.
Listed below is another routine that allows you to globally change the height of text without
affecting other entities. As you will see, the only difference is, is that we have added a conditional
filter to the routine.
(defun C:CHGTEXT ( / a ts n index b1 b2 b c d)

(setq a (ssget))
(setq ts (getreal "\nEnter New Text Height : "))
(setq n (sslength a))
(setq index 0)
(repeat n
(setq b1 (entget (ssname a index)))
(setq index (index+ 1))
(setq b (assoc 0 b1))
(if (= "TEXT" (cdr b))
(progn
(setq c (assoc 40 b1))
(setq d (cons (car c) ts))
(setq b2 (subst d c b1))
Into the Database Page II
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(entmod b2)
);progn
);if
);repeat
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

Well I bet your brain hurts after that lot!!!

On the text page we'll have a quick look at Tables.
Page I. Home. Page III.

You are visitor number

If you would like the source coding for this AutoLisp Routine then simply Click Here. Cheers and
keep well......
Page I. Page II. Home.

Into the Database Page III

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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DXF Group Codes
The following table gives the group code or group code range accompanied
by an explanation of the group code value. In the table, "fixed" indicates
that this group code always has the same purpose. The purpose of group codes that aren't fixed can
vary depending on the context.
Entity group codes by number :
Group code Description
-5 APP: persistent reactor chain
-4 APP: conditional operator (used only with ssget)
-3 APP: extended data (XDATA) sentinel (fixed)
-2 APP: entity name reference (fixed)
-1 APP: entity name. This changes each time a drawing is opened.
It is never saved. (fixed)
0 Text string indicating the entity type (fixed)
1 Primary text value for an entity
2 Name (attribute tag, block name, and so on)
3-4 Other textual or name values
5 Entity handle. Text string of up to 16 hexadecimal digits (fixed)
6 Linetype name (fixed)
7 Text style name (fixed)
8 Layer name (fixed)
9 DXF: variable name identifier (used only in HEADER section of the DXF file).
10 Primary point. This is the start point of a line or text entity, center of
a circle, and so on.
DXF: X value of the primary point (followed by Y and Z value codes 20 and 30)
APP: 3D point (list of three reals)
11-18 Other points.
DXF: X value of other points (followed by Y value codes 21-28 and Z value
codes 31-38)
APP: 3D point (list of three reals)
20, 30 DXF: Y and Z values of the primary point
21-28, 31-37 DXF: Y and Z values of other points
38 DXF: entity's elevation if nonzero. Exists only in output from versions
prior to AutoCAD Release 11.
39 Entity's thickness if nonzero (fixed)
40-48 Floating-point values (text height, scale factors, and so on)
48 Linetype scale. Floating-point scalar value. Default value is defined for
all entity types.
49 Repeated floating-point value. Multiple 49 groups may appear in one entity
for variable-length tables (such as the dash lengths in the LTYPE table).
A 7x group always appears before the first 49 group to specify the table
length.
50-58 Angles (output in degrees to DXF files and radians through AutoLISP and
ARX applications).
60 Entity visibility. Integer value. Absence or 0 indicates visibility;
1 indicates invisibility.
62 Color number (fixed)
66 "Entities follow" flag (fixed)
67 Space--that is, model or paper space (fixed)
68 APP: identifies whether viewport is on but fully off screen; is not active
or is off.
69 APP: viewport identification number.
70-78 Integer values, such as repeat counts, flag bits, or modes
90-99 32-bit integer values
100 Subclass data marker (with derived class name as a string). Required for
all objects and entity classes that are derived from another concrete class
to segregate data defined by different classes in the inheritance chain for
the same object.
This is in addition to the requirement for DXF names for each distinct
concrete class derived from ARX (see "Subclass Markers").
102 Control string, followed by "{" or "}". Similar to the
xdata 1002 group code, except that when the string begins with "{", it
can be followed by an arbitrary string whose interpretation is up to the
application.
DXF Group Codes
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The only other allowable control string is "}" as a group terminator.
As noted before, AutoCAD does not interpret these strings except during
drawing audit operations; they are for application use.
105 DIMVAR symbol table entry object handle
210 Extrusion direction (fixed).
DXF: X value of extrusion direction
APP: 3D extrusion direction vector
220, 230 DXF: Y and Z values of the extrusion direction
280-289 8-bit integer values
300-309 Arbitrary text strings
310-319 Arbitrary binary chunks with same representation and limits as 1004 group
codes: hexadecimal strings of up to 254 characters represent data chunks
of up to 127 bytes.
320-329 Arbitrary object handles. Handle values that are taken "as is." They are
not translated during INSERT and XREF operations.
330-339 Soft-pointer handle. Arbitrary soft pointers to other objects within same
DXF file or drawing. Translated during INSERT and XREF operations.
340-349 Hard-pointer handle. Arbitrary hard pointers to other objects within same
DXF file or drawing. Translated during INSERT and XREF operations.
350-359 Soft-owner handle. Arbitrary soft ownership links to other objects within
same DXF file or drawing. Translated during INSERT and XREF operations.
360-369 Hard-owner handle. Arbitrary hard ownership links to other objects within
same DXF file or drawing. Translated during INSERT and XREF operations.
999 DXF: The 999 group code indicates that the line following it is a comment
string. DXFOUT does not include such groups in a DXF output file, but
DXFIN honors them and ignores the comments. You can use the 999 group to
include comments in a DXF file that you've edited.
1000 ASCII string (up to 255 bytes long) in extended data.
1001 Registered application name (ASCII string up to 31 bytes long) for
extended data.
1002 Extended data control string ("{"or "}").
1003 Extended data layer name.
1004 Chunk of bytes (up to 127 bytes long) in extended data.
1005 Entity handle in extended data. Text string of up to 16 hexadecimal digits
1010 A point in extended data
DXF: X value (followed by 1020 and 1030 groups)
APP: 3D point
1020, 1030 DXF: Y and Z values of a point
1011 A 3D world space position in extended data
DXF: X value (followed by 1021 and 1031 groups)
APP: 3D point
1021, 1031 DXF: Y and Z values of a World space position
1012 A 3D world space displacement in extended data
DXF: X value (followed by 1022 and 1032 groups)
APP: 3D vector
1022, 1032 DXF: Y and Z values of a World space displacement
1013 A 3D world space direction in extended data.
DXF: X value (followed by 1022 and 1032 groups)
APP: 3D vector
1023, 1033 DXF: Y and Z values of a World space direction
1040 Extended data floating-point value.
1041 Extended data distance value.
1042 Extended data scale factor.
1070 Extended data 16-bit signed integer.
1071 Extended data 32-bit signed long.

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Selection Set Filters

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Working with Layers & Styles.
I've had a lot of queries from people asking me how to create layers, change layers,
change text styles, etc. using AutoLisp.
This tutorial will take you through the steps of doing just that.
Before you do anything in regards to layers and styles, it's always best to retrieve the current layer,
or text style, so that you can restore it. To retrieve the current layer, use the following coding :
(setq oldlayer (getvar "CLAYER"))
This will retrieve the name of the current layer and store it in variable "oldlayer". To restore the
previous layer is just as simple:
(setvar "CLAYER" oldlayer)
This will set the current layer to the previous layer name stored in variable "oldlayer".
You would use exactly the same syntax for retrieving and restoring the name
of the current Text Style :
(setq oldstyle (getvar "TEXTSTYLE"))
(setvar "TEXTSTYLE" oldstyle)
You might think that this would be a good way of changing layers and style.
The problem here, is that if the layer name you want to change to does not exist your program will
crash.
You can use the "tblsearch" function to test if a layer or style exists :
(tblsearch "LAYER" "TESTLAYER")
(tblsearch "STYLE" "MYSTYLE")
If Layer "TESTLAYER" or Style "MYSTYLE" exists in your drawing, tblsearch will return
"True", otherwise it will return "Nil".
Here's an example that tests if a layer exist, and if it does, sets the current layer to that layer:
(setq oldlayer (getvar "clayer"))
;retrieve the current layer
(setq flag (tblsearch "LAYER" "NEWLAYER"))
;find out if the layer exists

(if flag
;if the layer exists
(setvar "CLAYER" "NEWLAYER")
;set current layer to "NEWLAYER"
);end if
This though, is quite a lot of coding just to check if a layer exists.
A better way, that applies to both Layers and Text Styles is to use the command function:
(command "Layer" "M" "NEWLAYER" "")
(command "Style" "Italict" "Italict.shx" "" "" "" "" "" "")
Both of these examples will change the layer or style, but will also create a new layer or text style if
Working with Layers and Styles
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the layer or style does not exist within the drawing. (The style .shx file must exist and be within the
AutoCad search path.)
I've also been asked that when I want to place text, dimensions, etc. into my drawing, how do I
ensure that they are drawn on a particular layer?
Now, you could modify the AutoCad Menu to achieve this, but I prefer to create
a partial menu with the modified macros in place.
The way to go about this is to simply prefix the menu macro with one that changes to the specific
layer :
[Dtext]^C^C^CLayer;M;5;;_Dtext
This ensures that I am on Layer 5 when I add text to a drawing.
Well, I hope this has helped you. Keep well.....

You are visitor number

There are another two AutoLisp commands that can apply a function to a list.
They are (apply) and (foreach).
Let's have a quick look at them.
(apply)
This function differs from (mapcar) in that it applies a function to the whole list and not to
the individual items in the list.
Here's a couple of examples :
(apply '+ '(1 2 3))
This will return 6
(apply 'strcat '("a" "b" "c"))
This will return "abc"
You can also use (apply) in comjunction with (lambda) :
(apply '(lambda (x y z)
(* x (- y z))
)
'(5 20 14)
)
This will return 30 (20-14*5=30)
(foreach)
The syntax for this is :
Mapcar and Lambda
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(foreach name list expression.....)
This function steps through list, assigning each element to name, and evaluates each expression for
every element in the list.
For example :
(foreach n a (princ n) (terpri))
If you had a list :
(setq a (1 2 3 4 5))
The previous expression would print vertically :
1
2
3
4
5

Right, I don't know about you, but my brain is full.

Time for a couple of beers. Cheers for Now....

You are visitor number

I'll tell you what we'll do next. Let's create our own Drawing AutoSave.
First of all we need a way to check when a certain amount of time has elapsed. One of the simplest ways of
doing this is to use one of the commonest used commands as a trigger. We'll use the 'Line' command.
Add the following coding to Redefs.Lsp :
Firstly we need to undefine the 'Line' command:
(command "UNDEFINE" "LINE")
;undefine the Line command
The we need to redefine it:
(defun C:LINE ()
;define the function
(autosave)
;call the Autosave function
(command ".LINE")
;call the line command
(princ)
);defun
Next we need to write our Autosave function:
(defun AUTOSAVE ( / T1 ECC)
;define the function
(setq ECC (getvar "CMDECHO"))
;get the value of the CMDECHO system variable
(setvar "CMDECHO" 0)
;switch it off
(if (not T3) (setq T3 (getvar "TDUSRTIMER")))
;check if we have the value of the drawing timer
;if we haven't got it, then get it.
(if (not T2) (setq T2 (getreal "\nHow many minute between Saves ??: ")))
;check if we have an AutoSave time.
;if we haven't got it, then get it.
Redefining Commands.
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp46.htm (2 of 3) [23/03/2005 05:52:20 p.m.]
(setq T1 (getvar "TDUSRTIMER"))
;get the drawing timer again for comparison purposes.
(if (> (- T1 T3) (/ T2 60.0 24.0))
;compare the drawing timer values
(progn
;if it is time to save
(prompt "\nAutoSaving Drawing..Please Wait...... ")
;inform the user
(command "QSAVE")
;save the drawing
(setq T3 (getvar "TDUSRTIMER"))
;reset the timer
);progn
);if
(setvar "CMDECHO" ECC)
;reset CMDECHO
(princ)
);defun
The first time you select the Line command, this function will ask you for an interval between saves. From
then on, every time you use the Line command the function will check to see if you have exceeded the time
interval. If you haven't, it will do nothing. But if you have, it will first inform you, and then save your
drawing. Handy little thing, Hey...
To download source coding for Redefs.lsp Click Here. (1Kb)

You are visitor number

Efficient Variables
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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The "Dir" Command
Note: Before proceeding with this tutorial, ensure that the following is set correctly within your
Acad.pgp file (AutoCAD Program Parameters File.)
DIR, DIR, 1,File specification: ,
You will find the "DIR" parameters under the "Examples of external commands for command
windows" section within your Acad.pgp file.
The Acad.pgp file can normally be found within your AutoCAD Support directory.
eg. C:/Program Files/Autocad 2002/Support/Acad.pgp.
You can simply open and edit this file using Notepad.
The "DIR" command is a DOS (remember that dark place) command that displays a list of
a directories files and subdirectories. But did you know that you can use the "DIR"
command from within AutoLisp? This is a great function for obtaining a list of files in a
directory, especially useful for Batch Processing Routines.
Let's have a look at it. Fire up AutoCAD and type this at the Command prompt :
Command: (command "dir" "*.* > Temp.txt")
What this statement is asking for is a directory listing of all the files in the current directory output
to the file Temp.txt.
Now open Temp.txt and you should have something like this :
Volume in drive O has no label
Directory of O:\E51D\E51D1
. <DIR> 09-11-99 3:13p .
.. <DIR> 09-11-99 3:13p ..
9961 DXF 345,167 08-05-99 12:14p 9961.DXF
9962 DXF 8,246,298 08-05-99 12:14p 9962.DXF
Ant exe 701,121 08-05-99 11:36a Ant.exe
batchp1 exe 11,776 01-18-99 11:23a batchp1.exe
BATCHP1 EXE 13,312 01-19-99 8:19a BatchPurge.Exe
DCLTUT GIF 2,635 08-01-99 11:19p DCLTUT.GIF
debex <DIR> 07-28-99 7:04a debex
N1 dxf 245,702 08-02-99 3:23p N1.dxf
NAMDEB DXF 28,320,177 07-30-99 12:29p NAMDEB.DXF
projair dwg 120,055 07-06-99 3:11p projair.dwg
R12K471 DWG 421,118 07-02-99 10:28a R12K47646.dwg
sort dwg 125,471 07-26-99 1:17p sort.dwg
SORTER dwg 27,981 07-27-99 10:35a SORTER.dwg
temp <DIR> 09-11-99 3:13p temp
temp txt 0 09-11-99 3:13p temp.txt
test <DIR> 08-20-99 11:15a test
title dwg 99,381 08-02-99 2:30p title.dwg
truss1 dwg 84,382 07-09-99 11:13a truss1.dwg
truss2 dwg 88,296 07-09-99 11:13a truss2.dwg
uniglide dwg 205,715 07-19-99 9:09a uniglide.dwg
VALVE dwg 24,693 07-29-99 11:31a VALVE.dwg
18 file(s) 39,083,280 bytes
5 dir(s) 2,147,450,880 bytes free
The Dir command
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp56.htm (1 of 3) [23/03/2005 05:52:22 p.m.]
This is a listing of all the files and sub directories contained in your current working directory.
O.K. I know, it's not quite formatted the way we would want it to be.
So, let's use a couple "DIR" switches to format the file list the way that we would like it. Try this :
Command: (command "dir" " /b *.* >temp.txt")
That's better, we've now got just the file names. The /b switch limits the list to only file names.
Temp.txt should now look something like this :
9961.DXF
9962.DXF
Ant.exe
batchp1.exe
BatchPurge.Exe
DCLTUT.GIF
debex
N1.dxf
NAMDEB.DXF
projair.dwg
R12K47646.dwg
sort.dwg
SORTER.dwg
temp
temp.txt
test
title.dwg
truss1.dwg
truss2.dwg
uniglide.dwg
VALVE.dwg
Right, now retrieve just the DWG filenames :
Command: (command "dir" " /b *.dwg > temp.txt")
Temp.txt should now look something like this :
projair.dwg
R12K47646.dwg
sort.dwg
SORTER.dwg
title.dwg
truss1.dwg
truss2.dwg
uniglide.dwg
VALVE.dwg
That's it, we have now got our required file listing in the format that we require. The "DIR"
command has got a lot more switches that you can use to restrict your listings to whatever you
desire. I suggest you dust off one of your old DOS Reference Manuals and look "DIR" up.
Hint :
Would you like a listing of all the files in the current directory AND all sub-directories? Use the /s
switch :
Command: (command "dir" " /b/s *.dwg >temp.txt")
You should get a listing something like this :
O:\E51D\E51D1\projair.dwg
O:\E51D\E51D1\R12K47646.dwg
O:\E51D\E51D1\sort.dwg
O:\E51D\E51D1\SORTER.dwg
O:\E51D\E51D1\title.dwg
O:\E51D\E51D1\truss1.dwg
The Dir command
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O:\E51D\E51D1\truss2.dwg
O:\E51D\E51D1\uniglide.dwg
O:\E51D\E51D1\VALVE.dwg
O:\E51D\E51D1\test\SCANNEX1.dwg
O:\E51D\E51D1\test\SCANNEX2.dwg
O:\E51D\E51D1\test\SCANNEX3.dwg
O:\E51D\E51D1\test\SCANNEX4.dwg

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ItemID: is a unique GUID for that tool type. Every instance of that tool type (e.g. Hatch Tool) will refer to
that stock tool by its GUID.
Properties: is that basic set of data you see when you look at the Tool Editor in the UI. In the above
case I believe the name of the tool type is in a resource dll for easy localization purposes, and then gets
created into the tool name you see for your locale. Of course when you manually rename a tool, that
name is saved instead for that instance. This dll also holds the default image for the tool.
The ComClass value is the GUID in your registry that points AutoCAD to the right dlls to actually run the
code for the tool.
Below is a typical stock tool from ADT. There are some similarities.
Basic Tool System Primer
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<StockTool>
<ItemID idValue="6A56F31F-3F7B-4f8e-B10D-39433621B3C0"/>
<Properties>
<ItemName>Door</ItemName>
<Description>Creates a Door</Description>
</Properties>
<Object>
<ComClass>
<CLSID idValue="6A56F31F-3F7B-4f8e-B10D-39433621B3C0"/>
</ComClass>
</Object>
</StockTool>

Tool Instance
Every tool in the system is unique. When you copy a tool through the UI it will be assigned a unique
GUID, or Item ID. Be careful just blindly cutting and pasting xml to create new tools. Either do it
through the UI or get a hold of a GUID generator program.
As for the Stock Tools, the <Properties/> node contains all the basic tool info that you assign from the
Tool Editor. Only those elements that are actually in use are written out.
Each time you copy a tool through the UI a unique image is created in the form <tool type>_<Tool
GUID>.ext. Since the image is auto-generated from the tool data it is really just a visual expression of
that data. So, if you manually specify several tools to point to the same image, dont be surprised if
deleting one suddenly renders the others with a blank image. J
Image format: We chose to use PNGs because they have an alpha channel to support the tool images
having a transparent background. They are also a lossless compression format.
In the below example you will see how this tool instance refers to the StockTool. This is the same one
from above.
The <Data\> node is just that, all the data that you specify for that tool; in the example below it is all the
data to describe the solid fill Pantone hatch.

<Tool>
<ItemID idValue="{74CC8347-BEA2-46D7-B855-86700A2FD640}"/>
<Properties>
<ItemName>PANTONE 15-0525 TP</ItemName>
<Images>
<Image cx="32" cy="32" src="Images\Hatch
tool_8FC7645E-5F37-4200-8D7A-086354BBFB76.PNG"/>
<Image cx="64" cy="64" src="Images\Hatch
tool_8FC7645E-5F37-4200-8D7A-086354BBFB76 (1).PNG"/>
</Images>
<Description>Creates a solid fill hatch using PANTONE 15-0525 TP</Description>
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<Time createdUniversalDateTime="2002-11-06T04:06:28"
modifiedUniversalDateTime="2002-11-06T04:06:28"/>
</Properties>
<Source/>
<StockToolRef idValue="{AF0F641B-9CCE-4474-8582-EFE0A38410FC}"/>
<Data>
<GeneralProperties>
<Color>
<BasicPropInfo>
<PropValue unspecified="FALSE" valueType="2" value="0"/>
</BasicPropInfo>
<CreateInfo>
<AcCmColor mRGB="3266557304">
<ColorName>PANTONE 15-0525 TP</ColorName>
<BookName>PANTONE(R) a & i-paper</BookName>
</AcCmColor>
</CreateInfo>
</Color>
<Layer>
<BasicPropInfo>
<PropValue unspecified="TRUE" valueType="1"/>
</BasicPropInfo>
</Layer>
<Linetype>
<BasicPropInfo>
<PropValue unspecified="TRUE" valueType="1"/>
</BasicPropInfo>
</Linetype>
<LinetypeScale>
<BasicPropInfo>
<PropValue unspecified="TRUE" valueType="3" value="0"/>
</BasicPropInfo>
</LinetypeScale>
<PlotStyle>
<BasicPropInfo>
<PropValue unspecified="TRUE" valueType="1"/>
</BasicPropInfo>
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</PlotStyle>
<LineWeight>
<BasicPropInfo>
<PropValue unspecified="TRUE" valueType="2" value="0"/>
</BasicPropInfo>
</LineWeight>
</GeneralProperties>
<Hatch>
<HatchType>Predefined</HatchType>
<PatternName>SOLID</PatternName>
<SourceFile>%INSTALL_DIR%\UserDataCache\Support\acad.pat</SourceFile>
<Angle>0</Angle>
<Scale>1</Scale>
<Spacing>1</Spacing>
<PenWidth>100</PenWidth>
<Double>0</Double>
<BlockExtent>0.5</BlockExtent>
</Hatch>
</Data>
</Tool>

Tool Palettes
Tool Palettes essentially have the same structure: a unique ItemID, a Properties node for the name/etc.,
and then all the tools contained on it.
<Palette>
<ItemID idValue="{EAAE2E08-02C4-4ABC-9B91-AF4C209CEAC9}"/>
<Properties>
<ItemName>General Drafting</ItemName>
<Images/>
<Description>This palette contains a sampling of basic 2D drafting tools</Description>
<Time createdUniversalDateTime="2002-11-06T21:45:34"
modifiedUniversalDateTime="2002-11-06T21:45:34"/>
</Properties>
<Source/>
<Tools>
<Tool>
<ItemID idValue="{2DDBB344-97D8-4085-84FD-1552F2F67430}"/>
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<Properties>
<ItemName>PANTONE 8001 C</ItemName>
<Images>
<Image cx="32" cy="32" src="Images\Hatch
tool_FEDCC8B5-B55A-441D-8CA4-4720592B0494.PNG"/>
<Image cx="64" cy="64" src="Images\Hatch
tool_FEDCC8B5-B55A-441D-8CA4-4720592B0494 (1).PNG"/>
</Images>
<Description>Creates a solid fill hatch using PANTONE 8001 C</Description>
<Time createdUniversalDateTime="2002-11-06T04:06:28"
modifiedUniversalDateTime="2002-11-06T04:06:28"/>
</Properties>
<Source/>
<StockToolRef idValue="{AF0F641B-9CCE-4474-8582-EFE0A38410FC}"/>
<Data>
<GeneralProperties>
<Color>
<BasicPropInfo>
<PropValue unspecified="FALSE" valueType="2" value="0"/>
</BasicPropInfo>
<CreateInfo>
<AcCmColor mRGB="3263463287">
<ColorName>PANTONE 8001 C</ColorName>
<BookName>PANTONE(R) metallic coated</BookName>
</AcCmColor>
</CreateInfo>
</Color>
<Layer>
<BasicPropInfo>
<PropValue unspecified="TRUE" valueType="1"/>
</BasicPropInfo>
</Layer>
<Linetype>
<BasicPropInfo>
<PropValue unspecified="TRUE" valueType="1"/>
</BasicPropInfo>
</Linetype>
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<LinetypeScale>
<BasicPropInfo>
<PropValue unspecified="TRUE" valueType="3" value="0"/>
</BasicPropInfo>
</LinetypeScale>
<PlotStyle>
<BasicPropInfo>
<PropValue unspecified="TRUE" valueType="1"/>
</BasicPropInfo>
</PlotStyle>
<LineWeight>
<BasicPropInfo>
<PropValue unspecified="TRUE" valueType="2" value="0"/>
</BasicPropInfo>
</LineWeight>
</GeneralProperties>
<Hatch>
<HatchType>Predefined</HatchType>
<PatternName>SOLID</PatternName>
<SourceFile>%INSTALL_DIR%\UserDataCache\Support\acad.pat</SourceFile>
<Angle>0</Angle>
<Scale>1</Scale>
<Spacing>1</Spacing>
<PenWidth>100</PenWidth>
<Double>0</Double>
<BlockExtent>0.5</BlockExtent>
</Hatch>
</Data>
</Tool>
</Tools>
</Palette>

Profiles and the Internal Workspace Catalog

Each AutoCAD Profile has associated with it an .aws file. This xml file specifies:
- where to store the tools and palettes associated with that profile (WorkspaceCatalogPath)
- all the tool palettes associated with the Tool Palette Set
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- the UI info specific to that user:
- current tab
- palette set transparency
- size and position of the palette set
- title bar justification and docked state
- auto-hide state
- the GUID of each tool palette
- the order of each tool within the palette.
All this allows you to set up Profiles where each user can be pointing to the same tool palettes, but each
user stores their own UI/personal preferences.
In the Options dialog under Files, you will see that you can change the location from which to
store/retrieve tool palettes from. One use-case would be a different profile for different projects, each
pointing to a unique folder in which to store your project-specific tool palettes.

Adding Tools and Tool Palettes from Outside AutoCAD

In AutoCAD, via the Customize dialog you can export out a palette and import it into another profile. An
.xtp file is essentially a tool palette file with the UI info saved with it that was from the workspace
catalog.
You can also import a single tool or tool palette by dropping the .atc file from File Explorer.
Lastly, you can package tools and tool palettes in i-Drop packages and deliver them over the web. The
i-Drop object in your main html file would be something like:
<object name="idrop" classid="clsid:21E0CB95-1198-4945-A3D2-4BF804295F78" width="16"
height="16" align="right">
<param name="background" value="../images/background.jpg">
<param name="proxyrect" value="0,0, 16,16">
<param name="griprect" value="0, 0, 16,16">
<param name="package" value="./Tool Palettes/Idrop-Annotation.xml">
<param name="validate" value="1">
</object>
The i-Drop package that is referred to above (./Tool Palettes/Idrop-Annotation.xml"> would be
something like the following, where the dataset and datafile refers to the actual .atc file for the individual
palette. (For tools the clipformat is:
"CF_IDROP.XML_ACTCUI_TOOL"
<package>

<proxy defaultsrc="../images/iDropButton.gif" />
<dataset defaultsrc="Tool Palettes/Annotation_0656B653-D7C2-41BE-B55B-ADFAFD56E6E3.atc
">
<datasrc clipformat="CF_IDROP.XML_ACTCUI_PALETTE">
<datafile src="Tool
Palettes/Annotation_0656B653-D7C2-41BE-B55B-ADFAFD56E6E3.atc"/>
</datasrc>
</dataset>
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</package>
Adding a New Tool Type
This aspect is probably beyond the main user group here, but there is also functionality in the 3
rd
Party
APIs that will allow 3
rd
Parties to create new tool types, whichcan also be delivered via the web. The
process goes something like this:
1. User drops a tool from a 3
rd
Partys website that is actual new functionality, in other words an
unregistered tool. All that is downloaded is the basic tool properties: name, image, etc. and a link to
an MSIEXEC file back on the vendors website.
2. AutoCAD will inform the user that it is a new tool and do they wish to install now or defer to later.
3. When they choose to install the new tool, the system will go download the MSI installer and install
the tool. Now that tool is registered with the tool system and part of the users stock tool catalog.
Any, thats all. I hope this explains a bit more of the details and gets you all even more excited about
the possibilities ahead. J
Thanks
Chris Yanchar

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Home. Page I.
Getting Started - Page II
OK, tea break over, back to work!!
Copy and paste this into Notepad and save it as "TEST_DCL2.DCL".
//DCL CODING STARTS HERE
test_dcl2
: dialog
{
label = "Test Dialog No 2";

: edit_box
{
label = "Enter Your Name :";
mnemonic = "N";
key = "name";
alignment = centered;
edit_limit = 30;
edit_width = 30;
}
: edit_box
{
label = "Enter Your Age :";
mnemonic = "A";
key = "age";
alignment = centered;
edit_limit = 3;
edit_width = 3;
value = "";
}
: button
{
key = "accept";
label = "OK";
is_default = true;
fixed_width = true;
alignment = centered;
}
: errtile
{
width = 34;
}
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}
//DCL CODING ENDS HERE
And now the AutoLisp coding. Copy and paste this and save it as "TEST_DCL2.LSP" and then load and run it :
;AUTOLISP CODING STARTS HERE
(prompt "\nType TEST_DCL2 to run.....")
(defun C:TEST_DCL2 ( / dcl_id)
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "test_dcl2.dcl"))
(if (not (new_dialog "test_dcl2" dcl_id))
(exit )
);if
(set_tile "name" "Enter Name Here")
(mode_tile "name" 2)
(action_tile "name" "(setq name $value)")
(action_tile "age" "(setq age $value)")
(action_tile "accept" "(val1)")
(start_dialog)
(unload_dialog dcl_id)
(alert (strcat "Your name is " name
"\nand you are " age " years of age."))
(princ)
);defun
-----------------------
(defun val1 ()
(if (= (get_tile "name") "Enter Name Here")
(progn
(set_tile "error" "You must enter a name!")
(mode_tile "name" 2)
);progn
(val2)
);if
);defun
-------------------
(defun val2 ()
(if (< (atoi (get_tile "age")) 1)
(progn
(set_tile "error" "Invalid Age - Please Try Again!!")
(mode_tile "age" 2)
);progn
(done_dialog)
);if
);defun
(princ)
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;AUTOLISP CODING ENDS HERE
The dialog that is displayed contains two edit boxes. One to enter your name into, and one your age. After
entering the relevant information select the "OK" button. An alert box will display showing your details.
Now run the program again, but do not enter your name. An error message will display informing you that you
must enter your name.
Fill in your name but leave your age blank. Press enter again. Another error message will inform you that you
have entered an invalid age.
Try it with a zero or a negative number. The same error message will display until you enter a number equal or
greater than 1. Both of these examples are know as validation.
Let's have a look at the DCL coding.
:edit_box - This is a predefined tile that allows the user to enter or edit a single line of text.
There are a few new attributes defined in this tile :
mnemonic = "A"; - This defines the mnemonic character for the tile.
edit_limit = 3; - This limits the size of the edit box to 3 characters.
edit_width = 3; - This limits the user to typing a maximum of 3 characters.
value = ""; - This sets the intial value of the edit box, in this case nothing.
Now let's have a look at the AutoLisp coding. First the "action expressions".
(set_tile "name" "Enter Name Here") - This sets the runtime (initial) value of a tile who's "key" attribute is "name".
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(mode_tile "name" 2) - This sets the mode of the tile who's "key" attribute is "name". In this example, we have
used a mode of "2" that allows for overwriting of what is already in the edit box.
(action_tile "name" "(setq name $value)") - Associates the specied tile with the action expression or call back
function. In this case we are saying "If the tile who's "key" attribute is "name" is selected, store the value of this
tile in the variable name."
(get_tile "name") - Retrieve the value of the tile who's "key" attribute is "name".
Did you notice that we wrote :
(action_tile "accept" "(val1)")
instead of :
(action_tile "accept" "(done_dialog)")
Instead of closing the dialog when OK is selected, we initiate a subroutine that checks (validates) that the name
information is exceptable. If it is not, the error tile is displayed.
(set_tile "error" "You must enter a name!")
Once the name has been validated, this routine then initiates a second subroutine that validates the age value.
If this not correct, the error tile is again displayed, this time with a different message.
(set_tile "error" "Invalid Age - Please Try Again!!")
If everything is correct, (done_dialog) is called, all values are returned and the alert box is displayed with the
relevant information.
Home. Page II.

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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DCL Tile Attributes
This tutorial will give you a detailed explanation of all attributes used in the design and
implementation of dialogue boxes used within AutoCAD/AutoLisp.
I have provided a sample dialogue image of each of the various aspects of attributes, and
the sample DCL Coding that was used to create the dialogue. The sample AutoLisp
coding required to display each dialogue can be found in the downloadable tutorial.
Attributes in DCL define the layout and functionality of tiles. If you are familiar with Visual Basic,
you will find that they are very similar to properties.
DCL Attributes consist of a name and a value.
Note: The value of certain attributes can change at run-time, with user input or
'set_tile' calls.
The value of a tile's attribute must be one of the following type:
Integer
Numeric Values (integer or real number) that represent distances such as width, or height of
a tile.
G
Real Number
A fractional real number must have a leading digit.
e.g. 0.1 not .1.
G
Quoted String
A quoted string consists of text enclosed in quotation marks (" "). Attribute values are case
sensitive. "RB1" is not the same as "rb1".
G
Reserved Word
A reserved word is an identifier made up of alphanumeric characters, beginning with a letter.
e.g. true or false. Reserved words are case sensitive: True does not equal true.
G
Global Attributes.
Attribute :
alignment G
fixed_height G
fixed_width G
height G
width G
Applies To :
All Tiles G
Attributes Associated with Action Tiles
Attribute :
DCL Tile Attributes
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action G
is_enabled G
is_tab_stop G
key G
mnemonic G
Applies To :
button; edit_box; image_button; list_box; popup_list;
radio_button; slider; toggle; radio_column; radio_row.
G
Attributes Associated with Tile Clusters
Attribute :
children_alignment G
children_fixed_height G
children_fixed_width G
Applies To :
row; column; radio_row; radio_column; boxed_row;
boxed_column; boxed_radio_row; boxed_radio_column.
G
Attributes Associative with Specific Tiles
Attribute :
allow_accept G
Applies To :
edit_box; image_button; list_box G
Attribute :
aspect_ration G
Applies To :
image; image_button. G
Attribute :
big_increment G
Applies To :
slider. G
Attribute :
color G
Applies To :
image; image_button. G
Attribute :
DCL Tile Attributes
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edit_limit G
Applies To :
edit_box. G
Attribute :
edit_width G
Applies To :
edit_box; popup_list. G
Attribute :
fixed_width_font G
Applies To :
edit_box; popup_list. G
Attribute :
initial_focus G
Applies To :
dialog. G
Attribute :
is_cancel G
Applies To :
button. G
Attribute :
is_default G
Applies To :
button. G
Attribute :
label G
Applies To :
boxed_row; boxed_column; boxed_radio_row;
boxed_radio_column; button; dialog; edit_box
list_box; popup_list; radio_button; text; toggle.
G
Attribute :
layout G
Applies To :
slider. G
Attribute :
list G
Applies To :
DCL Tile Attributes
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list_box; popup_list. G
Attribute :
max_value G
Applies To :
slider. G
Attribute :
min_value G
Applies To :
slider. G
Attribute :
multiple_select G
Applies To :
list_box. G
Attribute :
password_char G
Applies To :
edit_box. G
Attribute :
small_increment G
Applies To :
slider. G
Attribute :
tabs G
Applies To :
list_box; popup_list. G
Attribute :
tab_truncate G
Applies To :
list_box; popup_list G
Attribute :
value G
Applies To :
text; all active tiles (except buttons and
image_buttons).
G
To download all DCL and AutoLisp Code samples, stand up, go into the bathroom, look in the
mirror and stick your tongue out. Then return to the computer, place your mouse here, and click as
hard as you can. Enjoy..
DCL Tile Attributes
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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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fixed_height
Fixed_Height Not Set.
Fixed_Height Set to True.
This attribute specifies whether a tiles height is allowed to fill the available white space. If this attribute is
true, the tile will be restricted to it's preset height attribute.
Possible values are: true or false. (default: false)
DCL Code Sample
lisp49b : dialog { //dialog name
label = "fixed_height"; //give it a label
: row { //define a row
: list_box { //define a list box
key = "lb1"; //give it a name
label = "List Box 1"; //give it a label
list = "1\n2\n3\n4\n5\n6\n7\n8\n9"; //make a list
}
DCL Tile Attributes-Fixed_Height
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: list_box { //define a list box
key = "lb2"; //give it a name
label = "List Box 2"; //give it a label
list = "A\nB\nC\nD"; //make a list
height = 5; //set the height
fixed_height = true; //fix the height
alignment = top; //align to top
} //end list box

} //end row
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog

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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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DCL Tile Attributes-Fixed_Width
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height
Height Not Set.
Height Set to 15.
This attribute specifies the height of tile. The height value must be an integer or a real number. The height
of image tiles and image buttons must be specified.
Note: The height of a tile is the MINIMUM value.
Possible values are platform dependent.
DCL Code Sample
lisp49d : dialog { //dialog name
label = "height"; //give it a label
: list_box { //define a list box
key = "lb1"; //give it a name
DCL Tile Attributes-Height
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label = "List Box 1"; //give it a label
list = "1\n2\n3\n4\n5\n6\n7\n8\n9"; //make a list
height = 15; //give it a height
} //end list box
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog

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DCL Code Sample

lisp49f : dialog { //dialog name
label = "action"; //give it a label
: button { //define a button
fixed_width = true; //fix it's width
alignment = centered; //center it
label = "Action Button"; //give it a label
action = "(alert \"Kenny is Great\")"; //Trigger an AutoLisp Function
} //end button
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog

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DCL Tile Attributes-Key

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
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Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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DCL Tile Attributes-Key
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mnemonic
Mnemonic
This attribute specifies a keyboard mnemonic character for a tile. The mnemonic character is underlined in
the tile's label. The value is a quoted string of a single character that must be one of the letters of the tile's
label. (No default).
The character does not have to be unique to the dialogue box. If more that one tile has the same mnemonic,
you press Tab to cycle through the tiles sequentially.
The label attribute can also specify a mnemonic by preceding a character with an ampersand: (&).
DCL Code Sample
lisp49j : dialog { //dialog name
label = "mnemonic"; //give it a label
: button { //define a button
key = "btn1"; //give it a name
label = "Button No 1"; //give it a label
fixed_width = true; //fix it's width
alignment = centered; //centre it
mnemonic = "1"; //the mnemonic
} //end button
: button { //define a button
key = "btn2"; //give it a name
label = "Button No &2"; //give it a label
//and define the
//mnemonic
fixed_width = true; //fix it's width
alignment = centered; //centre it
} //end button

spacer; //add a spacer
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog

DCL Tile Attributes-Mnemonic

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
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DCL Tile Attributes-Mnemonic
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children_alignment
Aligned Center
This attribute specifies the default alignment for all tiles in a cluster.
It does not override a child's alignment attribute if that is set.
Possible values for columns are left; right or centered.
default: left
Possible values for rows are top; bottom or centered.
default: centered
DCL Code Sample
lisp49k : dialog { //dialog name
label = "children_alignment"; //give it a label
: column { //define a column
children_alignment = right; //put tiles on the right
: button { //define a button
key = "btn1"; //give it a name
label = "Button No &1"; //give it a label
fixed_width = true; //fix it's width
} //end button
: button { //define a button
key = "btn2"; //give it a name
label = "Button No &2"; //give it a label
fixed_width = true; //fix it's width
alignment = left; //override default
//alignment
} //end button
: button { //define a button
key = "btn3"; //give it a name
label = "Button No &3"; //give it a label
fixed_width = true; //fix it's width
} //end button
} //end column
DCL Tile Attributes-Children_Alignment
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spacer; //add a spacer
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog

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DCL Tile Attributes-Children_Fixed_Width

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
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DCL Tile Attributes-Children_Fixed_Width
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allow_accept
Allow_Accept.
This attribute specifies whether a particular tile can be double-clicked.
If true and the user double-clicks the tile, the tile who's key is "accept" is selected. (Normally the O.K. tile.)
This attribute defaults to false.
DCL Code Sample
lisp49n : dialog { //dialog name
label = "allow_accept"; //give it a label
: list_box { //define a list box
key = "lb1"; //give it a name
label = "Double Click a Letter:"; //give it a label
list = "A\nB\nC\nD\nE\nF\nG\nH\nI"; //make a list
height = 5; //define height
fixed_height = true; //fix the height
allow_accept = true; //allow double click
} //end list box

spacer; //add a space

ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog

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DCL Tile Attributes-Aspect_Ratio

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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
DCL Tile Attributes-Aspect_Ratio
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big_increment
Big Increment.
This attribute specifies the value that the slider will increase or decrease by, if you click the slider bar. This
value must be between the min_value, and the max_value.
Default value: One-tenth of the total range.
DCL Code Sample
lisp49p : dialog { //dialog name
label = "big_increment" ; //give it a label
: edit_box { //define edit box
key = "eb1" ; //give it a name
label = "Slot &Length (O/All Slot)" ; //give it a label
edit_width = 6 ; //6 characters only
} //end edit box
: slider { //define slider
key = "myslider" ; //give it a name
max_value = 100; //upper value
min_value = 0; //lower value
value = "50"; //initial value
big_increment = 5; //define big increment
} //end slider
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog

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DCL Tile Attributes-Edit_Width

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
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DCL Tile Attributes-Edit_Width
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fixed_width_font
Dialogue with Fixed Width Font.
This attribute specifies whether a 'list_box' or 'popup_list' will display text in a fixed pitch font. This allows
for easier spacing and tab alignment of columns.
This attribute is valid only for Windows/NT.
DCL Code Sample
lisp49ai : dialog { //dialog name
label = "fixed_width_font" ; //give it a label
: list_box { //define a list box
key = "lb1"; //give it a name
label = "Select Bolt Type:"; //give it a label
allow_accept = true; //allow double clicking
tabs = "8 16 24"; //set tabs
list = "M20\t40LG\tGr. 8,8\n
M16\t30LG\tGr. 4,6\n
M30\t60LG\tGr. 8,8\n
M12\t35LG\tGr. 4,6\n
M8\t45LG\tGr. 8,8"; //define the list
height = 6; //give it a height
fixed_height = true; //fix the height
width = 20; //give it a width
fixed_width_font = true; //fix the font width
} //end list box
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog

DCL Tile Attributes-Fixed_Width_Font

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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DCL Tile Attributes-Fixed_Width_Font
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initial_focus
Initial Focus.
This attribute specifies the the key of the tile within the dialogue box that receives the initial focus when the
dialogue is started.
Possible value is a quoted string.
Default: None.
DCL Code Sample
lisp49t : dialog { //dialog name
label = "intial_focus" ; //give it a label
initial_focus = "btn1"; //set focus
: button { //define button
key = "btn1"; //give it a name
label = "Initial Focus"; //give it a label
alignment = centered; //center it
fixed_width = true; //fix the width
} //end button
: button { //define button
key = "btn2"; //give it a name
label = "Not Focused"; //give it a label
alignment = centered; //center it
fixed_width = true; //fix the width
} //end button
spacer; //add a space
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog

DCL Tile Attributes-Initial_Focus

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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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DCL Tile Attributes-Initial_Focus
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is_cancel
Is_Cancel.
This attribute specifies whether the button is selected when the user presses
the cancel key (Esc or Ctrl+C). Possible values are true or false.
Default: false.
Only one button in a dialogue box can have the 'is_cancel' attribute set to true.
DCL Code Sample
lisp49v : dialog { //dialog name
label = "is_cancel" ; //give it a label
: button { //define button
label = "Press Escape"; //give it a label
key = "cancel"; //give it a name
fixed_width = true; //fix the width
is_cancel = true; //make it the cancel key
} //end button
} //end dialog

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DCL Tile Attributes-Label

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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DCL Tile Attributes-Label
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layout
Vertical Layout.
This attribute specifies the orientation of a slider. Possible values are horizontal
or vertical. For horizontal sliders, the value increases from left to right.
For vertical sliders, it increases from bottom to top.
Default : horizontal.
DCL Code Sample
lisp49y : dialog { //dialog name
label = "layout" ; //give it a label
: row { //define row
: list_box { //define list box
key = "lb1"; //give it a name
list = "A\nF\nR\nA\nL\nI\nS\nP"; //the list
height = 8; //give it a height
fixed_height = true; //fix the height
width = 4; //give it a width
fixed_width = true; //fix the width
} //end list box
: column { //define column
: slider { //define slider
layout = vertical; //make it vertical
key = "myslider" ; //give it a name
max_value = 10; //upper value
min_value = 0; //lower value
value = "5"; //initial value
big_increment = 2; //define big increment
alignment = right; //align it right
} //end slider
: edit_box { //define edit box
key = "eb1" ; //give it a name
edit_width = 2 ; //2 characters only
} //end edit box
} //end column
DCL Tile Attributes-Layout
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} //end row
ok_only ; //predefined OK button
} //end dialog

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DCL Tile Attributes-List

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
DCL Tile Attributes-List
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max_value
Maximum Value = 50.
This attribute specifies the upper range of values that a slider returns.
Default: 10000.
This value must be no greater than 32767.
DCL Code Sample
lisp49aa : dialog { //dialog name
label = "max_value" ; //give it a label
: edit_box { //define edit box
key = "eb1" ; //give it a name
label = "Slot &Length (O/All Slot)" ; //give it a label
edit_width = 6 ; //6 characters only
} //end edit box
: slider { //define slider
key = "myslider" ; //give it a name
max_value = 50; //upper value
min_value = -50; //lower value
value = "50"; //initial value
big_increment = 5; //define big increment
} //end slider
: row { //define row

: text { //define text
value = "Min Value"; //give it a value
} //end text
: text { //define text
value = " "; //give it a value
} //end text
: text { //define text
value = "Max Value"; //give it a value
} //end text
} //end row
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
DCL Tile Attributes-Max_Value
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} //end dialog

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DCL Tile Attributes-Small Increment

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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DCL Tile Attributes-Small Increment
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tabs
List Box with Tabs.
This attribute specifies the placement of tabs in character width units.
Possible value is a quoted string containing integers or floating-point numbers separated by spaces.
Default = None.
These values are used for vertically aligning columns of text in a 'popup_list' or 'list_box'.
DCL Code Sample
lisp49af : dialog { //dialog name
label = "tabs" ; //give it a label
: list_box { //define a list box
key = "lb1"; //give it a name
label = "Select Bolt Type:"; //give it a label
allow_accept = true; //allow double clicking
tabs = "8 16 24"; //set tabs
list = "M20\t40LG\tGr. 8,8\n
M16\t30LG\tGr. 4,6\n
M30\t60LG\tGr. 8,8\n
M12\t35LG\tGr. 4,6\n
M8\t45LG\tGr. 8,8"; //define the list
height = 6; //give it a height
fixed_height = true; //fix the height
} //end list box
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog

DCL Tile Attributes-Tabs

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
DCL Tile Attributes-Tabs
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tab_truncate
List Box with Tabs NOT Truncated.
List Box with Tabs Truncated.
This attribute specifies whether the text in a 'list_box' or 'popup_list' is truncated if it is larger than the
associated tab stop.
Possible values are true or false.
Default : false.
DCL Code Sample
lisp49ag : dialog { //dialog name
label = "tab_truncate" ; //give it a label
: list_box { //define a list box
key = "lb1"; //give it a name
label = "Choose Date:"; //give it a label
allow_accept = true; //allow double clicking
tabs = "5 16 24"; //set tabs
list = "Jan\t28th\t1999\n
Feb\t16th\t1997\n
September\t6th\t2000\n
Jul\t14th\t1998\n
Mar\t12th\t1996"; //define list
tab_truncate = true; //truncate
height = 6; //give it a height
fixed_height = true; //fix the height
} //end list box
DCL Tile Attributes-Tab_Truncate
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ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog

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The following coding is a merged version of the three dialog boxes that you have just created:
afralisp : dialog {
label ="Cross Section Level Information" ;
: row {
: boxed_column {
: row {
: text {label ="No";}
: text {label ="Chainage";}
: text {label ="Existing";}
: text {label ="Chainage";}
: text {label ="Proposed";}
}
: row {
: text {label =" 1";}
: edit_box {key =eb1; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb1a; width =7; value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb1b; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb1c; width =7; value ="00.000";}
}
: row {
: text {label =" 2";}
: edit_box {key =eb2; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb2a; width =7; value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb2b; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb2c; width =7; value ="00.000";}
}
: row {
Dialog Box Layout - Page II
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: text {label =" 3";}
: edit_box {key =eb3; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb3a; width =7; value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb3b; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb3c; width =7; value ="00.000";}
}
: row {
: text {label =" 4";}
: edit_box {key =eb4; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb4a; width =7; value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb4b; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb4c; width =7; value ="00.000";}
}
: row {
: text {label =" 5";}
: edit_box {key =eb5; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb5a; width =7; value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb5b; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb5c; width =7; value ="00.000";}
}
: row {
: text {label =" 6";}
: edit_box {key =eb6; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb6a; width =7; value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb6b; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb6c; width =7; value ="00.000";}
}
: row {
: text {label =" 7";}
: edit_box {key =eb7; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb7a; width =7; value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb7b; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb7c; width =7; value ="00.000";}
}
: row {
: text {label =" 8";}
: edit_box {key =eb8; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb8a; width =7; value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb8b; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb8c; width =7; value ="00.000";}
}
: row {
: text {label =" 9";}
: edit_box {key =eb9; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb9a; width =7; value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb9b; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb9c; width =7; value ="00.000";}
}
: row {
: text {label ="10";}
: edit_box {key =eb10; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb10a; width =7; value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb10b; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb10c; width =7; value ="00.000";}
}
: row {
: text {label ="11";}
: edit_box {key =eb11; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb11a; width =7; value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb11b; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb11c; width =7; value ="00.000";}
}
: row {
: text {label ="12";}
: edit_box {key =eb12; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb12a; width =7; value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb12b; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb12c; width =7; value ="00.000";}
}
: row {
: text {label ="13";}
: edit_box {key =eb13; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb13a; width =7; value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb13b; width =7; value ="000.000";}
Dialog Box Layout - Page II
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: edit_box {key =eb13c; width =7; value ="00.000";}
}
: row {
: text {label ="14";}
: edit_box {key =eb14; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb14a; width =7; value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb14b; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb14c; width =7; value ="00.000";}
}
: row {
: text {label ="15";}
: edit_box {key =eb15; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb15a; width =7; value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb15b; width =7; value ="000.000";}
: edit_box {key =eb15c; width =7; value ="00.000";}
}
}

: boxed_column {
: edit_box {key ="eb16"; label ="Base Level";
edit_width =12;value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key ="eb17"; label ="Top Level";
edit_width =12; value ="00.000";}
: edit_box {key ="eb18"; label ="Horizontal Scale 1 :";
edit_width =12; value ="200";}
: edit_box {key ="eb19"; label ="Vertical Scale 1 :";
edit_width =12; value ="50";}
: edit_box {key ="eb20"; label ="Title";
edit_width =20; value ="Chainage";}
: toggle {key ="tg1"; value =1;
label ="Description On/Off";}
: edit_box {key ="eb21"; label ="Path";
edit_width =20; value ="C:\\";}
: edit_box {key ="eb22"; label ="File Name";
edit_width =20; value ="default";}

: row {
: button {label ="OK"; key ="accept"; mnemonic ="O";
alignment =centered; width =12; is_default =true;}
: button {label ="Cancel"; key ="cancel";mnemonic ="C";
alignment =centered; width =12;}
}
: row {
: button {label ="Save"; key ="save";
mnemonic ="S"; alignment =centered; width =12;}
: button {label ="Load";key ="load";
mnemonic ="L"; alignment =centered; width =12;}
}
: row {
: button {label ="Help..."; key ="help";
mnemonic ="H"; alignment =centered; width =12;}
: button {label ="About..."; key ="About";
mnemonic ="H"; alignment =centered; width =12;}
}
}
}
}
Dialog Box Layout - Page II
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Save this as "AfraLisp.dcl".
Your merged dialog will now look like this :
Ok, I admit that it's not exactly the same but it's as close as dammit.
You could, if you are that way inclined, mess around with boxed columns, boxed rows, and spacers, to get
a closer match, and if you feel the need, then go for it!!!
Me, I'm out of here to fetch myself a beer.
Want to download the source coding? Just click here.

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Dialog Boxes III

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Dialog Boxes III
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Page I. Page II. Page III. Home.
Dialogue Boxes - Step by Step - Page IV.
To finish off the box, we'll add an Edit Box so that the user can include some notes, if he so wishes.
The Complete DCL coding :
samp8 : dialog { //dialog name
Dialog Boxes IV
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label = "Structural Holes" ; //give it a label
: row { //define row
:boxed_radio_column { //define radio column
label = "Type" ; //give it a label
: radio_button { //define radion button
key = "rb1" ; //give it a name
label = "Bolt Holes &Site" ; //give it a label
value = "1" ; //switch it on
} //end definition
: radio_button { //define radio button
key = "rb2" ; //give it a name
label = "Bolt Holes Sho&p" ; //give it a label
} //end definition
: radio_button { //define radio button
key = "rb3" ; //give it a name
label = "Bolt Holes &Hidden" ; //give it a label
} //end definition
: radio_button { //define radio button
key = "rb4" ; //give it a name
label = "Bolt Holes &Ctsnk" ; //give it a label
} //end definition
: radio_button { //define radio button
key = "rb5" ; //give it a name
label = "Bolt Holes &Elevation" ; //give it a label
} //end definition
: radio_button { //define radion button
key = "rb6" ; //give it a name
label = "Bolt Holes &Slotted" ; //give it a label
} //end definition
} //end radio column
: boxed_column { //define boxed column
Dialog Boxes IV
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label = "&Size"; //give it a label
: popup_list { //define popup list
key = "selections"; //give it a name
value = "5" ; //initial value
} //end list
} //end boxed column
} //end row
: edit_box { //define edit box
key = "eb1" ; //give it a name
label = "Slot &Length (O/All Slot)" ; //give it a label
edit_width = 6 ; //6 characters only
} //end edit box
: slider { //defin slider
key = "myslider" ; //give it a name
max_value = 100; //upper value
min_value = 0; //lower value
value = "50"; //initial value
} //end slider
:boxed_row { //define boxed row
:toggle { //define toggle
key = "tog1"; //give it a name
label = "Ortho On/Off"; //give it a label
} //end toggle
:toggle { //define toggle
key = "tog2"; //give it a name
label = "Snap On/Off"; //give it a label
} //end definition
} //end boxed row
: edit_box { //*define edit box
key = "eb2" ; //*give it a name
label = "Notes :" ; //*give it a label
Dialog Boxes IV
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edit_width = 30 ; //*30 characters
} //*end edit box
ok_cancel ; //predifined OK/Cancel
: row { //define row
: image { //define image tile
key = "im" ; //give it a name
height = 1.0 ; //and a height
width = 1.0 ; //and now a width
} //end image
: paragraph { //define paragraph
: text_part { //define text
label = "Designed and Created"; //give it some text
} //end text
: text_part { //define more text
label = "by Kenny Ramage"; //some more text
} //end text
} //end paragraph
} //end row

} //end dialog
And Now the Complete AutoLISP coding :
(defun C:samp8 () ;define function
(setq lngth 50.0) ;preset slot length
(setq hole "site") ;preset hole type
(setq siz "M20") ;preset hole size
(setq NAMES '("M6" "M8" "M10" "M12"
"M16" "M20" "M24" "M30") ;define list
);setq
Dialog Boxes IV
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(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "samp8.dcl")) ;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "samp8" dcl_id) ;test for dialog
);not
(exit) ;exit if no dialog
);if
(setq w (dimx_tile "im") ;get image tile width
h (dimy_tile "im") ;get image tile height
);setq
(start_image "im") ;start the image
(fill_image 0 0 w h 5) ;fill it with blue
(end_image) ;end image
(start_list "selections") ;start the list box
(mapcar 'add_list NAMES) ;fill the list box
(end_list) ;end list
(set_tile "eb1" "50") ;put dat into edit box
(mode_tile "eb1" 1) ;disable edit box
(mode_tile "myslider" 1) ;disable slider
(setq orth (itoa (getvar "orthomode"))) ;get orthomode value
(set_tile "tog1" orth) ;switch toggle on or off
(setq sna (itoa (getvar "snapmode"))) ;get snap value
(set_tile "tog2" sna) ;switch toggle on or off
(action_tile "myslider" ;if user moves slider
"(slider_action $value $reason)") ;pass arguments to slider_action
(action_tile "eb1" ;is user enters slot length
"(ebox_action $value $reason)") ;pass arguments to ebox_action
(defun slider_action (val why) ;define function
Dialog Boxes IV
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(if (or (= why 2) (= why 1)) ;check values
(set_tile "eb1" val))) ;update edit box
(defun ebox_action (val why) ;define function
(if (or (= why 2) (= why 1)) ;check values
(set_tile "myslider" val))) ;update slider
(action_tile "tog1" "(setq orth $value)") ;get ortho toggle value
(action_tile "tog2" "(setq sna $value)") ;get snap toggle value
(action_tile "rb1" "(setq hole \"site\")") ;store hole type
(action_tile "rb2" "(setq hole \"shop\")") ;store hole type
(action_tile "rb3" "(setq hole \"hid\")") ;store hole type
(action_tile "rb4" "(setq hole \"ctsk\")") ;store hole type
(action_tile "rb5" "(setq hole \"elev\")") ;store hole type
(action_tile "rb6" "(setq hole \"slot\") ;store hole type
(mode_tile \"eb1\" 0) ;enable edit box
(mode_tile \"myslider\" 0) ;enable slider
(mode_tile \"eb1\" 2)") ;switch focus to edit box
(action_tile
"cancel" ;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)" ;close dialog, set flag
);action_tile
(action_tile
"accept" ;if O.K. pressed
(strcat ;string 'em together
"(progn
(setq SIZ (atof (get_tile \"selections\")))" ;get list selection
"(setq lngth (atof (get_tile \"eb1\")))" ;get slot length
"(setq notes (get_tile \"eb2\"))" ;*get notes
"(setvar \"orthomode\" (atoi orth))" ;ortho on/off
"(setvar \"snapmode\" (atoi sna))" ;snap on/off
" (done_dialog)(setq userclick T))" ;close dialog, set flag
);strcat
);action tile
(start_dialog) ;start dialog
(unload_dialog dcl_id) ;unload
Dialog Boxes IV
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(if userclick ;check O.K. was selected
(progn
(setq SIZ (fix SIZ)) ;convert to integer
(setq SIZ (nth SIZ NAMES)) ;get the size
);progn
);if userclick
(princ)
);defun C:samp
(princ)
I have deliberately left all variables local, so that you can check their values at the command line.
That's it Folks....Enjoy your Dialogue Boxes..........

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Home. Page II.

Nesting and Hiding Dialog Boxes

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Nesting and Hiding Dialog Boxes
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The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
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Home. Page I.
Hiding Dialogue Boxes.
Often you need to make a selection on the screen whilst a dialogue box is active. But, to
do this, you need to be able to hide the dialogue box to allow the user to make a
selection from the screen. You must then restore the dialogue box, along with the values
that the user has selected.
When you end a dialogue box you use the (done_dialog) function. But did you know that
when you call the (done_dialog) function a status argument is returned?
Well it's true!!! Now think about this. When (done_dialog) is called from a tile who's key is
'cancel' (The Cancel button), it returns a status of 0. If a tile who's key is 'accept' is
choosen (The OK button), it returns a status of 1. So, if you use the (done_dialog)
function alongwith a status argument of say 4, you know that the dialogue box has been
hidden and not ended or cancelled.
But how do I retrieve that status argument?
Easy, when you call (start_dialog), it returns the (done_dialog) status value. eg. (setq flag
(start_dialogue).
By testing this value in a loop we can determine whether the dialogue was simply hidden
or ended or cancelled. Below is a sample routine that should, hopefully, I hope and pray,
explain it to you a lot better.
This routine simply displays a dialogue box that asks the user for a point.
If the user choosers the pick point button the dialogue is hidden to allow the user to pick a point on
the screen. The dialogue is then re-displayed and the x, y and z edit boxes are updated to the new
point value. It also allows the user to
enter the point values directly into the edit boxes if he so wishes.
First the DCL Coding:
hidebox : dialog {
label = "Hide Dialogue";
: boxed_column {
label = "Sample Point";
Nesting and Hiding Dialog Boxes
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: button {
label = "Pick Point <";
key = "hide";
width = 12;
fixed_width = true;
mnemonic = "P";
}
: edit_box {
key = "eb1";
label = "&X:";
width = 8;
fixed_width = true;
}
: edit_box {
key = "eb2";
label = "&Y:";
width = 8;
fixed_width = true;
}
: edit_box {
key = "eb3";
label = "&Z:";
width = 8;
fixed_width = true;
}
}
ok_cancel;
}
And now the AutoCAD Coding:
(defun c:hidebox ()
;define the function
(setq ptx "1.000"
pty "0.000"
ptz "0.000"
flag 4
);setq
;set default x,y, and z values
;and set flag to 4
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "hidebox.dcl"))
;load the DCL file
(while (> flag 2)
;check the flag status and carry on looping
;if it is greater than 2
(if (not (new_dialog "hidebox" dcl_id))
;load the dialogue box
(exit)
Nesting and Hiding Dialog Boxes
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;if not loaded exit
)
(set_tile "eb1" ptx)
;display x value
(set_tile "eb2" pty)
;display y value
(set_tile "eb3" ptz)
;display z value
(mode_tile "eb1" 2)
;set focus to x edit box
(mode_tile "eb1" 3)
;select contents
(action_tile
"cancel"
"(done_dialog)
(setq result nil)"
)
;if Cancel button selected, close
;the dialogue. This action sets the
;flag to 0.
(action_tile
"accept"
"(setq ptx (get_tile \"eb1\"))
(setq pty (get_tile \"eb2\"))
(setq ptz (get_tile \"eb3\"))
(done_dialog)
(setq result T)"
)
;if OK button was selected, get the edit box
;point values, close the dialogue. This action
;sets the flag to 1.
(action_tile
"hide"
"(done_dialog 4)"
)
;if pick button selected, hide the dialogue
;and set the flag to 4
(setq flag (start_dialog))
;start the dialogue and set flag
;to value of start dialogue

(if (= flag 4)
;if the pick button was selected
(progn
;do the following

(setq selpoint (getpoint "\nInsertion Point: "))
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;get the insertion point
(setq ptx (rtos (car selpoint) 2 4))
;get the x value
(setq pty (rtos (cadr selpoint) 2 4))
;get the y value
(setq ptz (rtos (caddr selpoint) 2 4))
;get the z value

);progn
);if
);while
(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload the dialogue
(princ)
);defun
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
(princ);load clean

To hide AND nest dialogue boxes is just a case of combining the two.
(I'll leave that up to you to figure out....)
Would you like the coding for these routines? Then put one leg in the air,
close your left eye, scream as loud as you can and click here. Enjoy.......
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Now, create a new AutoLisp file entitled Include1.Lsp with the following coding:
(defun c:include1 ()
;define the function
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "include1.dcl"))
;load the DCL file
(if (not (new_dialog "include1" dcl_id))
;load the dialogue box
(exit)
;if not loaded exit
)
(action_tile
"cancel"
"(done_dialog)
(setq result nil)"
)
;if Cancel button selected, close
;the dialogue.
(action_tile
"accept"
"(done_dialog)
(setq result T)"
)
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;if OK button was selected
(start_dialog)
;start the dialogue
(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload the dialogue
(princ)
);defun
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
(princ);load clean
Open AutoCAD and load and run the routine.
You should have a very simple dialogue box looking like this :
Now, let's say we had a company logo, or something like that, that we wanted
to display on all our custom dialogue boxes. We could put the DCL coding for the logo in all our
DCL files. But what happens, if say our telephone number changes. We would then have to edit all
of our dialogue boxes containing the DCL coding for our logo. Here's a better way. We will create
another DCL file containing the DCL coding for our logo, and include this file in our original DCL
file. By doing it this way, we only have to change the master DCL file if we want to make revisions
to our logo.
Let's create our logo DCL file first.
Create a new DCL file entitled Atitle.Dcl:
atitle : boxed_column {
: paragraph {

: text_part {
label = "Brought To";
}

: text_part {
label = " You By";
}

: text_part {
label = "AfraLisp";
}
: text_part {
label = "063-235837";
}
}

Referencing DCL Files.
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}
Now revise the coding of our original include1.dcl to look like this:
@include "atitle.dcl"
include1 : dialog {
label = "Choose a Point:";
ok_cancel;
atitle;
}
Re-Load and run Include1.Lsp. It should look like this:
O.K I agree, it's not the best looking logo I've ever seen, but I'm sure you get the idea.
You can even include two or more references to DCL Files if you wish.
Let's have a look at another example. First create a new DCL file called gpoint.dcl. Add this coding
to it:
gpoint : boxed_column {
label = "Sample Point";
: button {
label = "Pick Point <";
key = "hide";
width = 12;
fixed_width = true;
mnemonic = "P";
}
: edit_box {
key = "eb1";
label = "&X:";
width = 8;
fixed_width = true;
}
: edit_box {
key = "eb2";
label = "&Y:";
width = 8;
fixed_width = true;
}
: edit_box {
key = "eb3";
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label = "&Z:";
width = 8;
fixed_width = true;
}
}
Now create a new DCL file entitle Include.Dcl and add this coding:
@include "gpoint.dcl"
@include "atitle.dcl"
include : dialog {
label = "Choose a Point:";
gpoint;
ok_cancel;
atitle;
}
The coding for your lisp file, called Include.Lsp will look like this:
(defun c:include ()
;define the function
(setq ptx "1.000"
pty "0.000"
ptz "0.000"
flag 4
);setq
;set default x,y, and z values
;and set flag to 4
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "include.dcl"))
;load the DCL file
(while (> flag 2)
;check the flag status and carry on looping
;if it is greater than 2
(if (not (new_dialog "include" dcl_id))
;load the dialogue box
(exit)
;if not loaded exit
)
(set_tile "eb1" ptx)
;display x value
(set_tile "eb2" pty)
;display y value
(set_tile "eb3" ptz)
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;display z value
(mode_tile "eb1" 2)
;set focus to x edit box
(mode_tile "eb1" 3)
;select contents
(action_tile
"cancel"
"(done_dialog)
(setq result nil)"
)
;if Cancel button selected, close
;the dialogue. This action sets the
;flag to 0.
(action_tile
"accept"
"(setq ptx (get_tile \"eb1\"))
(setq pty (get_tile \"eb2\"))
(setq ptz (get_tile \"eb3\"))
(done_dialog)
(setq result T)"
)
;if OK button was selected, get the edit box
;point values, close the dialogue. This action
;sets the flag to 1.
(action_tile
"hide"
"(done_dialog 4)"
)
;if pick button selected, hide the dialogue
;and set the flag to 4
(setq flag (start_dialog))
;start the dialogue and set flag
;to value of start dialogue

(if (= flag 4)
;if the pick button was selected
(progn
;do the following

(setq selpoint (getpoint "\nInsertion Point: "))
;get the insertion point
(setq ptx (rtos (car selpoint) 2 4))
;get the x value
(setq pty (rtos (cadr selpoint) 2 4))
;get the y value
(setq ptz (rtos (caddr selpoint) 2 4))
;get the z value
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);progn
);if
);while
(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload the dialogue
(princ)
);defun
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
(princ);load clean
Your dialogue box should look like this:
If you wanted, you could create a whole library of DCL files containing customised dialogue
definitions which you could include/reference in all of your DCL files.
To download source coding for this Tutorial (27Kb) Click Here.
Sorry, not there, I mean here.

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Referencing DCL Files.
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AutoLISP Functions for Dialog Control Language (DCL)

(action_tile key action-expression) Assigns an action to evaluate the user selected specif tile in a dialog box
(add_list string) Adds or modifies a string in the currently active dialog box list
(client_data_tile key clientdata) Associates application-managed data with a dialog box tile
(dimx_tile key) and ( dimy_tile key) Retrieves the dimensions of a tile in dialog box units
(done_dialog [status]) Terminates a dialog box. If you specify the optional status argument, it must be
a positive integer, which start_dialog will return instead of returning 1 for OK
or 0 for Cancel. The meaning of any status value greater than 1 depends on
your application.
(end_image) Ends creation of the currently active dialog box image This function is the
complement of (start_image)
(end_list) Ends processing of the currently active dialog box list This function is the
complement of start_list.
(fill_image x1 y1 wid hgt color) Draws a filled rectangle in the currently active dialog box image tile
The fill_image function must be used between start_image and end_image
calls. The color parameter is an AutoCAD color number or one of the logical
color numbers shown in the following table.
Symbolic names for the color attribute
Color number ADI mnemonic Description
-2 BGLCOLOR Current background of the AutoCAD graphics screen
-15 DBGLCOLOR Current dialog box background color
-16 DFGLCOLOR Current dialog box foreground color (text)
-18 LINELCOLOR Current dialog box line color
The first (upper-left) corner of the rectangle is located at (x1,y1) and the second
(lower-right) corner is located the relative distance (wid,hgt) from the first
corner (wid and hgt must be positive values). The origin (0,0) is the upper-left
corner of the image. You can obtain the coordinates of the lower-right corner
by calling the dimension functions dimx_tile and dimy_tile.
AutoLISP Functions for Dialog Control Language (DCL)
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(get_attr key attribute) Retrieves the DCL value of a dialog box attribute
The key argument is a string that specifies the tile and is case sensitive. The
attribute argument specifies the name of the attribute as it appears in the tile's
DCL description. Both the key and attribute arguments are strings. The value
returned is the attribute's initial value as specified in its DCL description; it
does not reflect changes to the state of the tile that come about with user input
or set_tile calls. Returns the attribute value as a string.
(get_tile key) Retrieves the current run-time value of a dialog box tile
The key argument is a string that specifies the tile and is case sensitive. It
returns the tile's value as a string.
(load_dialog dclfile) Loads a DCL file
The dclfile argument is a string that specifies the DCL file to load. If the dclfile
argument does not specify a file extension, .dcl is assumed. Returns a positive
integer value (dcl_id) if successful, and returns a negative integer if it can't
open the file. The dcl_id is used as a handle in subsequent new_dialog and
unload_dialog calls.
The load_dialog function searches for files according to the AutoCAD library
search path.
This function is the complement of unload_dialog. An application can load
multiple DCL files with multiple load_dialog calls.
(mode_tile key mode) Sets the mode of a dialog box tile
The key argument is a string that specifies the tile and is case sensitive. The
mode argument is an integer value. The mode argument values are described
in the following table.
Mode argument values
Value Description
0 Enable tile
1 Disable tile
2 Set focus to tile
3 Select edit box contents
4 Flip image highlighting on or off
AutoLISP Functions for Dialog Control Language (DCL)
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(new_dialog dlgname dcl_id [action
[screen-pt]])
Begins a new dialog box and displays it, and can also specify a default action
The dlgname argument is a string that specifies the dialog box, and dcl_id
identifies the DCL file (you must have obtained its value from the load_dialog
call).
The action argument, which must be specified if you specify screen-pt, is a
string that contains an AutoLISP expression to use as the default action. If you
don't want to define a default action, pass action as the empty string (""). The
screen-pt argument is a 2D point list that specifies the X,Y location of the
dialog box on the screen. The point usually specifies the upper-left corner of
the dialog box, but this is platform dependent, as is the system of units in
which the location is specified. If you pass the point as'(-1 -1), the dialog box is
opened in the default position (the center of the AutoCAD graphics screen).
If new_dialog succeeds, it returns T; otherwise it returns nil.
Your application must call new_dialog before it calls start_dialog. All dialog
box initialization--such as setting tile values, creating images or lists for list
boxes, and associating actions with specific tiles (with the use of
action_tile)--must take place after the new_dialog call and before the
start_dialog call.
The default action is evaluated when the user picks an active tile that doesn't
have an action or callback explicitly assigned to it by action_tile or in DCL.
Note Always check the status new_dialog returns. Calling start_dialog when
the new_dialog call failed can have unpredictable results.
(set_tile key value) Sets the value of a dialog box tile
The key argument is a string that specifies the tile, and value is a string that
names the new value to assign (initially set by the value attribute).
AutoLISP Functions for Dialog Control Language (DCL)
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sldname or libname(sldname) Displays an AutoCAD slide in the currently active dialog box image tile
(slide_image x1 y1 wid hgt sldname)
The slide can be a slide file (.sld) or a slide in a slide library file (.slb): the
sldname argument specifies it as you would specify it for the VSLIDE
command or for a menu file.
The first (upper-left) corner of the slide--its insertion point--is located at (x1,y1),
and the second (lower-right) corner is located at the relative distance (wid,hgt)
from the first (wid and hgt must be positive values). The origin (0,0) is the
upper-left corner of the image. You obtain the coordinates of the lower-right
corner by calling the dimension functions (dimx_tile and dimy_tile).
(start_dialog) Displays a dialog box and begins accepting user input
You must first initialize the dialog box by a previous new_dialog call. The
dialog box remains active until an action expression or callback function calls
done_dialog. Usually done_dialog is associated with the tile whose key is
"accept" (typically the OK button) and the tile whose key is "cancel" (typically
the Cancel button).
The start_dialog function has no arguments. It returns the optional status
passed to done_dialog. The default value is 1 if the user pressed OK, 0 if the
user pressed Cancel, or -1 if all dialog boxes were terminated with term_dialog.
But if done_dialog is passed an integer status greater than 1, start_dialog
returns this value, whose meaning depends on the application.
(start_image key) Starts the creation of an image in the dialog box tile
Subsequent calls to fill_image, slide_image, and vector_image affect this
image until the application calls end_image. The key argument is a string that
specifies the dialog box tile. The key argument is case sensitive.
Note Do not use the set_tile function between start_image and end_image
function calls.
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(start_list key [operation [index]]) Starts the processing of a list in the list box or in the pop-up list dialog box tile
The key argument is a string that specifies the dialog box tile. The key
argument is case sensitive. The operation argument is an integer value whose
meaning is summarized in the following table.
List box codes for start_list
Value Description
1 Change selected list contents
2 Append new list entry
3 Delete old list and create new list (the default)
The index argument is ignored unless the start_list call begins a change
operation (1), in which case index indicates the list item to change by the
subsequent add_list call. The index is zero based. If you don't specify
operation, it defaults to 3 (create new list), and if you specify operation but not
index, the index defaults to 0.
Subsequent calls to add_list affect the list started by start_list until the
application calls end_list.
Note Do not use the set_tile function between start_list and end_list function
calls.
(term_dialog) Terminates all current dialog boxes as if the user had canceled each of them
If an application is terminated while any DCL files are open, AutoCAD
automatically calls term_dialog. This function is used mainly for aborting
nested dialog boxes. The term_dialog function always returns nil.
(unload_dialog dcl_id) Unloads a DCL file
Unloads the DCL file associated with dcl_id (which was obtained from a
previous new_dialog call).
Always returns nil.
AutoLISP Functions for Dialog Control Language (DCL)
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(vector_image x1 y1 x2 y2 color) Draws a vector in the currently active dialog box image
This function draws a vector in the currently active dialog box image (opened
by start_image) from the point (x1,y1) to (x2,y2). The color parameter is an
AutoCAD color number or one of the logical color numbers shown in the
following table.
Symbolic names for the color attribute
Color
number ADI
mnemonic
Description
-2 BGLCOLOR Current background of the AutoCAD graphics screen
-15 DBGLCOLOR Current dialog box background color
-16 DFGLCOLOR Current dialog box foreground color (for text)
-18 LINELCOLOR Current dialog box line color
The origin (0,0) is the upper-left corner of the image. You can obtain the
coordinates of the lower-right corner by calling the dimension functions
(dimx_tile and dimy_tile).

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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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edit_box.
Syntax:
: edit_box {
action alignment allow_accept edit_limit
edit_width fixed_height fixed_width
height is_enabled is_tab_stop key label mnemonic
value width password_char
}
DCL Coding:
lisp48h : dialog { //dialog name
label = "edit_box" ; //give it a label
: edit_box { //define edit box
key = "eb1"; //give it a name
edit_limit = 8; //restrict to 8 letters
label = "Enter Password"; //give it a label
mnemonic = "P"; //define mnemonic
password_char = "*"; //define password character
} //end edit box
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog
AutoLisp Coding:
(defun C:lisp48h ()
;define function
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "lisp48h.dcl"))
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "lisp48h" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
(action_tile
"eb1"
;if a password is entered
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Edit Box.
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"(setq pass $value)"
;store the password in the variable 'pass'
);action_tile
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed

"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T)"
;close dialog, set flag

);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog, lower flag
);action_tile
(start_dialog)
;start dialog

(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;if OK selected
(alert (strcat "Password is: " pass))
;display the password
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
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Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
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image.
Syntax:
: image {
action alignment aspect_ratio color
fixed_height fixed_width height
is_enabled is_tab_stop key label mnemonic
value width
}
DCL Coding:
lisp48o : dialog { //dialog name
label = "image" ; //give it a label

: row { //begin row
: image { //define image tile
key = "im1" ; //give it a name
height = 5.0 ; //and a height
width = 10.0 ; //and now a width
fixed_width = true; //fix the width
fixed_height = true; //fix the height
} //end image
: image { //define image tile
key = "im2" ; //give it a name
height = 5.0 ; //add a height
width = 10.0 ; //and now a width
fixed_width = true; //fix the width
fixed_height = true; //fix the height
} //end image
: image { //define image tile
key = "im3" ; //give it a name
height = 5.0 ; //add a height
width = 10.0 ; //and now a width
fixed_width = true; //fix the width
fixed_height = true; //fix the height
color = graphics_background; //set background color
} //end image
} //end row
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Image.
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ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog
AutoLisp Coding:
(defun C:lisp48o ()
;define function
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "lisp48o.dcl"))
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "lisp48o" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
(setq w (dimx_tile "im1")
;get image tile width
h (dimy_tile "im1")
;get image tile height
);setq
(start_image "im1")
;start the image
(fill_image 0 0 w h 1)
;fill it with red
(end_image)
;end image
(setq w (dimx_tile "im2")
;get image tile width
h (dimy_tile "im2")
;get image tile height
);setq
(start_image "im2")
;start the image
(fill_image 0 0 w h 5)
;fill the image with blue
(setq w1 (/ w 2))
;calculate vector
(setq h1 (/ h 2))
;calculate vector
(vector_image 0 h w1 0 2)
;draw vector
(vector_image w1 0 w h 2)
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Image.
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp48o.htm (2 of 4) [23/03/2005 05:54:26 p.m.]
;draw vector
(vector_image 0 h w1 h1 2)
;draw vector
(vector_image w1 h1 w h 2)
;draw vector
(end_image)
;end image
(setq w (dimx_tile "im3")
;get image tile width
h (dimy_tile "im3")
;get image tile height
);setq
(start_image "im3")
;start the image
(slide_image 0 0 w h "acad(torus)")
;display a slide
(end_image)
;end image
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed

"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T)"
;close dialog, set flag

);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog, lower flag
);action_tile
(start_dialog)
;start dialog

(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;if OK selected
(alert "You selected OK")
;inform the user
(alert "You selected Cancel")
;inform the user
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Image.
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp48o.htm (3 of 4) [23/03/2005 05:54:26 p.m.]
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

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Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Spacer.

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Spacer.
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spacer_0.
Dialogue Without Spacer_0
Dialogue With Spacer_0
Syntax:
spacer_0;
The spacer_0 tile is defined in the Base.Dcl file.
DCL Coding:
lisp48r : dialog { //dialog name
label = "spacer_0" ; //give it a label
: row { //define row
: radio_button { //define radio button
label = "1"; //give it a label
key = "rb1"; //give it a name
value = "1"; //switch it on
} //end radio button
: radio_button { //define radio button
label = "2"; //give it a label
key = "rb2"; //give it a name
} //end radio button
spacer_0; //add spacer_0
: radio_button { //define radio button
label = "3"; //give it a label
key = "rb3"; //give it a name
} //end radio button
} //end row
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Spacer_0.
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp48r.htm (1 of 3) [23/03/2005 05:54:29 p.m.]
AutoLisp Coding:
(defun C:lisp48r ()
;define function
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "lisp48r.dcl"))
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "lisp48r" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed

"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T)"
;close dialog, set flag

);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog, lower flag
);action_tile
(start_dialog)
;start dialog

(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;if OK selected
(alert "You selected OK")
;inform the user
(alert "You selected Cancel")
;inform the user
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Spacer_0.

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Spacer_0.
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spacer_1.
Dialogue Without Spacer_1
Dialogue With Spacer_1
Syntax:
spacer_1;
The spacer_1 tile is defined in the Base.Dcl file.
DCL Coding:
lisp48s : dialog { //dialog name
label = "spacer_1" ; //give it a label
: row { //define row
: radio_button { //define radio button
label = "1"; //give it a label
key = "rb1"; //give it a name
value = "1"; //switch it on
} //end radio button
: radio_button { //define radio button
label = "2"; //give it a label
key = "rb2"; //give it a name
} //end radio button
spacer_1; //add spacer_1
: radio_button { //define radio button
label = "3"; //give it a label
key = "rb3"; //give it a name
} //end radio button
} //end row
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog
AutoLisp Coding:
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Spacer_1.
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp48s.htm (1 of 3) [23/03/2005 05:54:31 p.m.]
(defun C:lisp48s ()
;define function
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "lisp48s.dcl"))
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "lisp48s" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed

"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T)"
;close dialog, set flag

);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog, lower flag
);action_tile
(start_dialog)
;start dialog

(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;if OK selected
(alert "You selected OK")
;inform the user
(alert "You selected Cancel")
;inform the user
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Spacer_1.

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Spacer_1.
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concatenation.
Syntax:
: concatenation {
}
The concatenation tile is defined in the Base.Dcl file.
DCL Coding:
lisp48t : dialog { //dialog name
label = "concatenation" ; //give it a label
: concatenation { //define concatenation
: text_part { //text part
label = "This is a"; //add text
} //end text
: text_part { //text part
label = "concenantation"; //add text
} //end text
: text_part { //text part
label = "of words"; //add text
} //end text
} //end concatenation
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog
AutoLisp Coding:
(defun C:lisp48t ()
;define function
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "lisp48t.dcl"))
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "lisp48t" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Concatenation.
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp48t.htm (1 of 2) [23/03/2005 05:54:32 p.m.]
);if
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed

"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T)"
;close dialog, set flag

);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog, lower flag
);action_tile
(start_dialog)
;start dialog

(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;if OK selected
(alert "You selected OK")
;inform the user
(alert "You selected Cancel")
;inform the user
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

You are visitor number

Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Text_Part.

http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp48v.htm (2 of 3) [23/03/2005 05:54:34 p.m.]
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Text_Part.
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boxed_column.
Syntax:
: boxed_column {
alignment children_alignment children_fixed_height
children_fixed_width fixed_height fixed_width
height label width
}
Note: This Tile Cluster is for display purpose only.
No AutoLisp coding has been included for the Active Children Tiles.
DCL Coding:
lisp48w : dialog { //dialog name
label = "boxed_column" ; //give it a label
: boxed_column { //define boxed column
label = "boxed column"; //give it a label
: toggle { //define a toggle
key = "tog1"; //give it a name
label = "Toggle 1"; //give it a label
value = "1"; //switch it on
} //end toggle
: toggle { //define a toggle
key = "tog2"; //give it a name
label = "Toggle 1"; //give it a label
value = "2"; //switch it off
} //end toggle
: toggle { //define a toggle
key = "tog3"; //give it a name
label = "Toggle 1"; //give it a label
value = "1"; //switch it on
} //end toggle
} //end boxed column
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Boxed_Column.
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp48w.htm (1 of 3) [23/03/2005 05:54:36 p.m.]
} //end dialog
AutoLisp Coding:
(defun C:lisp48w ()
;define function
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "lisp48w.dcl"))
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "lisp48w" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed

"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T)"
;close dialog, set flag

);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog, lower flag
);action_tile
(start_dialog)
;start dialog

(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;if OK selected
(alert "You selected OK")
;inform the user
(alert "You selected Cancel")
;inform the user
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Boxed_Column.

http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp48w.htm (2 of 3) [23/03/2005 05:54:36 p.m.]
You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Boxed_Column.
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boxed_radio_column.
Syntax:
: boxed_radio_column {
alignment children_alignment children_fixed_height
children_fixed_width fixed_height fixed_width
height label width
}
Note: This Tile Cluster is for display purpose only.
No AutoLisp coding has been included for the Active Children Tiles.
DCL Coding:
lisp48x : dialog { //dialog name
label = "boxed_radio_column"; //give it a label
: boxed_radio_column { //define boxed radio column
label = "boxed radio column"; //give it a label
: radio_button { //define a radio button
key = "rad1"; //give it a name
label = "Blonde"; //give it a label
value = "1"; //switch it on
} //end radio button
: radio_button { //define a radio button
key = "rad2"; //give it a name
label = "Brunette"; //give it a label
} //end radio button
: radio_button { //define a radio button
key = "rad3"; //give it a name
label = "Red Head"; //give it a label
} //end radio button
} //end boxed radio column
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Boxed_Radio_Column.
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp48x.htm (1 of 3) [23/03/2005 05:54:37 p.m.]
AutoLisp Coding:
(defun C:lisp48x ()
;define function
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "lisp48x.dcl"))
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "lisp48x" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed

"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T)"
;close dialog, set flag

);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog, lower flag
);action_tile
(start_dialog)
;start dialog

(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;if OK selected
(alert "You selected OK")
;inform the user
(alert "You selected Cancel")
;inform the user
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Boxed_Radio_Column.

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Boxed_Radio_Column.
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boxed_radio_row.
Syntax:
: boxed_radio_row {
alignment children_alignment children_fixed_height
children_fixed_width fixed_height fixed_width
height label width
}
Note: This Tile Cluster is for display purpose only.
No AutoLisp coding has been included for the Active Children Tiles.
DCL Coding:
lisp48y : dialog { //dialog name
label = "boxed_radio_row"; //give it a label
: boxed_radio_row { //define boxed radio row
label = "boxed radio row"; //give it a label
: radio_button { //define a radio button
key = "rad1"; //give it a name
label = "Blonde"; //give it a label
value = "1"; //switch it on
} //end radio button
: radio_button { //define a radio button
key = "rad2"; //give it a name
label = "Brunette"; //give it a label
} //end radio button
: radio_button { //define a radio button
key = "rad3"; //give it a name
label = "Red Head"; //give it a label
} //end radio button
} //end boxed radio row
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog
AutoLisp Coding:
(defun C:lisp48y ()
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Boxed_Radio_Row.
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp48y.htm (1 of 3) [23/03/2005 05:54:38 p.m.]
;define function
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "lisp48y.dcl"))
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "lisp48y" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed

"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T)"
;close dialog, set flag

);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog, lower flag
);action_tile
(start_dialog)
;start dialog

(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;if OK selected
(alert "You selected OK")
;inform the user
(alert "You selected Cancel")
;inform the user
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Boxed_Radio_Row.

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Boxed_Radio_Row.
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boxed_row.
Syntax:
: boxed_row {
alignment children_alignment children_fixed_height
children_fixed_width fixed_height fixed_width
height label width
}
Note: This Tile Cluster is for display purpose only.
No AutoLisp coding has been included for the Active Children Tiles.
DCL Coding:
lisp48z : dialog { //dialog name
label = "boxed_row"; //give it a label
: boxed_row { //define boxed row
label = "boxed row"; //give it a label
: toggle { //define a toggle
key = "tog1"; //give it a name
label = "Whiskey"; //give it a label
value = "1"; //switch it on
} //end toggle
: toggle { //define a toggle
key = "tog2"; //give it a name
label = "Wine"; //give it a label
value = "1"; //switch it on
} //end toggle
: toggle { //define a toggle
key = "tog3"; //give it a name
label = "Beer"; //give it a label
value = "0"; //switch it on
} //end toggle
} //end boxed row
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog
AutoLisp Coding:
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Boxed_Row.
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp48z.htm (1 of 3) [23/03/2005 05:54:39 p.m.]
(defun C:lisp48z ()
;define function
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "lisp48z.dcl"))
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "lisp48z" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed

"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T)"
;close dialog, set flag

);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog, lower flag
);action_tile
(start_dialog)
;start dialog

(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;if OK selected
(alert "You selected OK")
;inform the user
(alert "You selected Cancel")
;inform the user
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Boxed_Row.

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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
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Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Boxed_Row.
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column.
Syntax:
: column {
alignment children_alignment children_fixed_height
children_fixed_width fixed_height fixed_width
height label width
}
Note: This Tile Cluster is for display purpose only.
No AutoLips coding has been included for the Active Children Tiles.
DCL Coding:
lisp48aa : dialog { //dialog name
label = "column" ; //give it a label
: column { //define column
: toggle { //define a toggle
key = "tog1"; //give it a name
label = "Toggle 1"; //give it a label
value = "1"; //switch it on
} //end toggle
: toggle { //define a toggle
key = "tog2"; //give it a name
label = "Toggle 1"; //give it a label
value = "2"; //switch it off
} //end toggle
: toggle { //define a toggle
key = "tog3"; //give it a name
label = "Toggle 1"; //give it a label
value = "1"; //switch it on
} //end toggle
} //end column
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Column.
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp48aa.htm (1 of 3) [23/03/2005 05:54:40 p.m.]
AutoLisp Coding:
(defun C:lisp48aa ()
;define function
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "lisp48aa.dcl"))
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "lisp48aa" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed

"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T)"
;close dialog, set flag

);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog, lower flag
);action_tile
(start_dialog)
;start dialog

(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;if OK selected
(alert "You selected OK")
;inform the user
(alert "You selected Cancel")
;inform the user
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Column.

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Column.
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dialog.
Syntax:
: dialog {
initial_focus label value
}
DCL Coding:
lisp48ab : dialog { //dialog name
label = "dialog" ; //give it a label
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog
AutoLisp Coding:
(defun C:lisp48ab ()
;define function
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "lisp48ab.dcl"))
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "lisp48ab" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed

"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T)"
;close dialog, set flag

);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog, lower flag
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Dialog.
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);action_tile
(start_dialog)
;start dialog

(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;if OK selected
(alert "You selected OK")
;inform the user
(alert "You selected Cancel")
;inform the user
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

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Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Radio_Column.

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Radio_Column.
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radio_row.
Syntax:
: radio_row {
alignment children_alignment children_fixed_height
children_fixed_width fixed_height fixed_width
height label width
}
Note: This Tile Cluster is for display purpose only.
No AutoLisp coding has been included for the Active Children Tiles.
DCL Coding:
lisp48ad : dialog { //dialog name
label = "radio_row"; //give it a label
: radio_row { //define radio row
: radio_button { //define a radio button
key = "rad1"; //give it a name
label = "Blonde"; //give it a label
value = "1"; //switch it on
} //end radio button
: radio_button { //define a radio button
key = "rad2"; //give it a name
label = "Brunette"; //give it a label
} //end radio button
: radio_button { //define a radio button
key = "rad3"; //give it a name
label = "Red Head"; //give it a label
} //end radio button
} //end radio row
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog
AutoLisp Coding:
(defun C:lisp48ad ()
;define function
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "lisp48ad.dcl"))
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Radio_Row.
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp48ad.htm (1 of 3) [23/03/2005 05:54:44 p.m.]
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "lisp48ad" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed

"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T)"
;close dialog, set flag

);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog, lower flag
);action_tile
(start_dialog)
;start dialog

(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;if OK selected
(alert "You selected OK")
;inform the user
(alert "You selected Cancel")
;inform the user
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Radio_Row.

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Radio_Row.
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row.
Syntax:
: row {
alignment children_alignment children_fixed_height
children_fixed_width fixed_height fixed_width
height label width
}
Note: This Tile Cluster is for display purpose only.
No AutoLisp coding has been included for the Active Children Tiles.
DCL Coding:
lisp48ae : dialog { //dialog name
label = "row"; //give it a label
: row { //define row
: toggle { //define a toggle
key = "tog1"; //give it a name
label = "Whiskey"; //give it a label
value = "1"; //switch it on
} //end toggle
: toggle { //define a toggle
key = "tog2"; //give it a name
label = "Wine"; //give it a label
value = "1"; //switch it on
} //end toggle
: toggle { //define a toggle
key = "tog3"; //give it a name
label = "Beer"; //give it a label
value = "0"; //switch it on
} //end toggle
} //end row
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog
AutoLisp Coding:
(defun C:lisp48ae ()
;define function
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Row.
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp48ae.htm (1 of 3) [23/03/2005 05:54:45 p.m.]
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "lisp48ae.dcl"))
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "lisp48ae" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed

"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T)"
;close dialog, set flag

);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog, lower flag
);action_tile
(start_dialog)
;start dialog

(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;if OK selected
(alert "You selected OK")
;inform the user
(alert "You selected Cancel")
;inform the user
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Row.

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Functional Synopsis of DCL Tiles-Row.
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Dialogue Box Default Data
When a user works with a dialogue box he enters the required data and then exits the dialogue box. On
returning to the dialogue box, the data contained in the box should be updated to reflect the users previous
entries. Most users tend to re-use the same set of data time after time, and it can be very frustrating to have to
retype the same data every time you re-open a dialogue box.
To create defaults in a dialogue box is a 5 step process :
Retrieve the global variables containing the default data. G
If they do not exist, create some default data. G
Display the default data to the user. G
Allow the user to change the data. G
When the user exits the dialogue box, store this data as defaults. G
The following application will show you how to do this :
DCL Coding:
test1 : dialog { //dialog name
label = "Dialogue Defaults" ; //give it a label
: row { //define row
: toggle { //define toggle
key = "tog1"; //give it a name
label = "On or Off"; //give it a label
} //end toggle
: toggle { //define toggle
key = "tog2"; //give it a name
label = "Left or Right"; //give it a label
} //end toggle
} //end row
spacer; //put in a space
: edit_box { //define edit box
key = "eb2" ; //give it a name
label = "&Enter a couple of Letters" ; //give it a label
} //end edit box
spacer; //put in a space
: edit_box { //define edit box
Dialog Box Default Data
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key = "eb1" ; //give it a name
label = "&Value of Slider" ; //give it a label
edit_width = 6 ; //6 characters only
} //end edit box
: slider { //define slider
key = "myslider" ; //give it a name
max_value = 100; //upper value
min_value = 0; //lower value
value = "50"; //initial value
small_increment = 2; //define small increment
big_increment = 5; //define big increment
} //end slider
spacer; //put in a space
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog
AutoLISP Coding:
(defun C:test1 ()
;define function
;;;*****************************************************
;;;This section sets up the dialogue box default settings.
(if (not lngth)
;if no default
(setq lngth "50.0")
;set a default value
);if
;slider and slider edit box value
(if (not letters)
;if no default
(setq letters "ABC")
;set default value
);if
(if (not toggle1)
;if no default
(setq toggle1 "1")
;set default value
);if
(if (not toggle2)
;if no default
(setq toggle2 "0")
;set default value
);if
;;;**********************************************************
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "test1.dcl"))
;load dialog
Dialog Box Default Data
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(if (not (new_dialog "test1" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
;;;******************************************************************
;;;This section sets the dialogue box default values
(set_tile "tog1" toggle1)
;set toggle
(set_tile "tog2" toggle2)
;set toggle
(set_tile "eb2" letters)
;put data into edit box
(set_tile "eb1" lngth)
;put data into edit box
(set_tile "myslider" lngth)
;set the slider
;;;*********************************************************************
;;;This section retrieves the dialogue box values
(action_tile "myslider"
;if user moves slider
"(slider_action $value $reason)")
;pass arguments to slider_action
(action_tile "eb1"
;if user enters slot length
"(ebox_action $value $reason)")
;pass arguments to ebox_action
(defun slider_action (val why)
;define function
(if (or (= why 2) (= why 1))
;check values
(set_tile "eb1" val)))
;update edit box
(defun ebox_action (val why)
;define function
(if (or (= why 2) (= why 1))
;check values
(set_tile "myslider" val)))
;update slider
(action_tile "tog1"
;if toggle 1 selected
"(setq toggle1 $value)"
Dialog Box Default Data
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;get the value
);action_tile
(action_tile "tog2"
;if toggle 2 selected
"(setq toggle2 $value)"
;get the value
);action_tile
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed
"(progn
;do the following
(setq lngth (get_tile \"eb1\"))
;get the edit box value
(setq letters (get_tile \"eb2\"))
;get the slider value
(done_dialog) (setq userclick T))"
;close dialog, set flag

);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog and clear flag
);action_tile
;;********************************************************************
(start_dialog)
;start dialog

(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;check O.K. was selected
(alert (strcat "You Selected: " lngth " and " letters))
;display the Data
);if userclick
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
Now load and run this application in AutoCAD. Enter some new data and exit the dialogue box. Run the
application again. You will find that the dialogue box
has 'remembered' your entries.
Now this is fine, but if you start a new drawing, or exit AutoCAD these values will be lost. Let's re-write this
Dialog Box Default Data
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routine to "permanently" remember these values.
To do this we will make use of Application Data. Here's how :
DCL Coding:
test2 : dialog { //dialog name
label = "Dialogue Defaults" ; //give it a label
: row { //define row
: toggle { //define toggle
key = "tog1"; //give it a name
label = "On or Off"; //give it a label
} //end toggle
: toggle { //define toggle
key = "tog2"; //give it a name
label = "Left or Right"; //give it a label
} //end toggle
} //end row
spacer; //put in a space
: edit_box { //define edit box
key = "eb2" ; //give it a name
label = "&Enter a couple of Letters" ; //give it a label
} //end edit box
spacer; //put in a space
: edit_box { //define edit box
key = "eb1" ; //give it a name
label = "&Value of Slider" ; //give it a label
edit_width = 6 ; //6 characters only
} //end edit box
: slider { //define slider
key = "myslider" ; //give it a name
max_value = 100; //upper value
min_value = 0; //lower value
value = "50"; //initial value
small_increment = 2; //define small increment
big_increment = 5; //define big increment
} //end slider
spacer; //put in a space
ok_cancel ; //predefined OK/Cancel button
} //end dialog
AutoLISP Coding:
(defun C:test2 ()
;define function
;;;*****************************************************
;;;This section retrieves the default data from the
;;;ACADR14.CFG file.
(setq lngth (getcfg "AppData/CadKen/default1"))
;get the apllication data
Dialog Box Default Data
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(if (= lngth nil)
;if it is nil
(progn
;do the following

(setcfg "AppData/CadKen/default1" "50.0")
;set the default data
(setq lngth (getcfg "AppData/CadKen/default1"))
;retrieve the default data
);progn
);if
(setq letters (getcfg "AppData/CadKen/default2"))
;get the aplication data
(if (= letters nil)
;if it is nil
(progn
;do the following

(setcfg "AppData/CadKen/default2" "ABC")
;set the default data
(setq letters (getcfg "AppData/CadKen/default2"))
;retrieve the default data
);progn
);if

(setq toggle1 (getcfg "AppData/CadKen/default3"))
;get the apllication data
(if (= toggle1 nil)
;if it is nil
(progn
;do the following

(setcfg "AppData/CadKen/default3" "1")
;set the default data
(setq toggle1 (getcfg "AppData/CadKen/default3"))
;retrieve the default data
);progn
);if
(setq toggle2 (getcfg "AppData/CadKen/default4"))
;get the apllication data
(if (= toggle2 nil)
;if it is nil
(progn
;do the following

Dialog Box Default Data
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(setcfg "AppData/CadKen/default4" "0")
;set the default data
(setq toggle2 (getcfg "AppData/CadKen/default4"))
;retrieve the default data
);progn
);if
;;;**********************************************************
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "test2.dcl"))
;load dialog
(if (not (new_dialog "test2" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
;;;******************************************************************
;;;This section sets the dialogue box default values
(set_tile "tog1" toggle1)
;set toggle
(set_tile "tog2" toggle2)
;set toggle
(set_tile "eb2" letters)
;put data into edit box
(set_tile "eb1" lngth)
;put data into edit box
(set_tile "myslider" lngth)
;set the slider
;;;*********************************************************************
;;;This section retrieves the dialogue box values
(action_tile "myslider"
;if user moves slider
"(slider_action $value $reason)")
;pass arguments to slider_action
(action_tile "eb1"
;if user enters slot length
"(ebox_action $value $reason)")
;pass arguments to ebox_action
(defun slider_action (val why)
;define function
(if (or (= why 2) (= why 1))
;check values
(set_tile "eb1" val)))
Dialog Box Default Data
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;update edit box
(defun ebox_action (val why)
;define function
(if (or (= why 2) (= why 1))
;check values
(set_tile "myslider" val)))
;update slider
(action_tile "tog1"
;if toggle 1 selected
"(setq toggle1 $value)"
;get the value
);action_tile
(action_tile "tog2"
;if toggle 2 selected
"(setq toggle2 $value)"
;get the value
);action_tile
(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed
"(progn
;do the following
(setq lngth (get_tile \"eb1\"))
;get the slider value
(setq letters (get_tile \"eb2\"))
;get the edit box value
(done_dialog) (setq userclick T))"
;close dialog, set flag

);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog and clear flag
);action_tile
;;********************************************************************
(start_dialog)
;start dialog

(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
(if userclick
;check O.K. was selected
;;;*******************************************************************
Dialog Box Default Data
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;;;This section stores the data into the AACDR14.CFG file and displays
;;;them to the user.
(progn
(setcfg "AppData/CadKen/default1" lngth)
;store the data
(setcfg "AppData/CadKen/default2" letters)
;store the data
(setcfg "AppData/CadKen/default3" toggle1)
;store the data
(setcfg "AppData/CadKen/default4" toggle2)
;store the data
(alert (strcat "You Entered: " lngth " and " letters))
;display the Data
);progn
);if userclick
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
Now load and run this application. Again, add some new values and exit the dialogue.
Now exit AutoCAD. Re-enter AutoCAD and load and run the application again.
Your values have been retained....
To download the source coding for this tutorial click here

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DCL Model.
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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Back to Model....
DCL Model - AutoLisp Coding
(defun C:lisp51 ()
;define function - variables have been left as local
;for inspection purposes.
-
;;;**************************************************************
;;;This section assigns all the default values of the dialogue
;;;box into their relevant variables.
(setq names '("50 NB" "60 NB" "70 NB" "80 NB" "90 NB"
"100 NB" "125 NB" "150 NB" "200 NB" "250 NB"))
;default list for pipe diameter list box
(setq rad "Long")
;set default for radius radio buttons
(setq schedule "40")
;set default pipe schedule for edit box
(setq index "3")
;set default pipe size index
;;;**************************************************************
;;;This section loads the relevant DCL file containing the
;;;dialogue box definition.
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "lisp51.dcl"))
;load dialog
;;;**************************************************************
;;;This section loads the particular dialogue box definition
;;;contained within the DCL file. It first checks that the
;;;DCL file has been loaded.
(if (not (new_dialog "lisp51" dcl_id)
;test for dialog
);not
(exit)
;exit if no dialog
);if
;;;**************************************************************
;;;This section initializes the dialogue box tiles.
;;;It fills the list box, pre-selects an item in the
;;;list box, switches on the default radio button and
DCL Model.
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;;;puts a default value into the edit box.
(start_list "lb1")
;open the list box
(mapcar 'add_list names)
;add the names to the list box
(end_list)
;end the list box
(set_tile "lb1" "3")
;select 4th item in list box
(set_tile "rb1" "1")
;switch on radio button No 1
(set_tile "eb1" "40")
;set default pipe schedule
;;;***************************************************************
;;;This section retrieves the values that the user selects
;;;or inputs. In effect, what we are saying here is :
;;;"Remember the coding that is in this section. When start_dialog
;;;is called, and a tile is selected, proceed with the relevant
;;;coding.
(action_tile "rb1"
;if radio button No 1 selected
"(setq rad \"Long\")
;store radius
(mode_tile \"eb1\" 2)"
;set focus to edit box
);action_tile
(action_tile "rb2"
;if radio button No 2 selected
"(setq rad \"Medium\")
;store radius
(mode_tile \"eb1\" 2)"
;set focus to edit box
);action_tile
(action_tile "rb3"
;if radio button No 3 selected
"(setq rad \"Short\")
;store radius
(mode_tile \"eb1\" 2)"
;set focus to edit box
);action_tile
DCL Model.
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(action_tile
"accept"
;if O.K. pressed
"(setq schedule (get_tile \"eb1\"))
;get the schedule entered

(setq index (atof (get_tile \"lb1\")))
;get the index of the pipe diameter entered

(done_dialog) (setq userclick T)"
;close dialog, set flag

);action tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
;if cancel button pressed
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
;close dialog, lower flag
);action_tile
;;;*******************************************************************
;;;This section displays the dialogue box and waits for user input
(start_dialog)
;start dialog
;;;*******************************************************************
;;;done_dialogue has been called, so the dialogue can be unloaded

(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;unload
;;;********************************************************************
;;;If the O.K. tile was selected, process the users input values.
(if userclick
;if OK selected
(progn
;do the following
(setq index (fix index))
;convert index to integer
(setq size (nth index names))
;get the pipe size from the list
(alert (strcat "You Choose a : " size"\n"
rad " : Radius" "\n"
"Sched : " schedule " Pipe Bend"))
;string the results together and display them to the user
);progn
DCL Model.
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);if
;;;*******************************************************************
(princ)
;finish clean
);defun
(princ)
;load clean
;;;********************************************************************

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DCL Model.
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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A DCL Progress Bar Tutorial
(C) 1999 by Nir sullam & anySOFT

Download the code for this example

This short tutorial will teach you how to create a nifty little Progress Bar in your dialog
box. (such as the one in the PLOT dialog box).
This is needed when your program reports the user about its operation and progress
when it usually takes some time.
One example is when you select a large amount of objects and the program makes some
changes to them. If the process consumes time - the program needs to inform the user in
percentage or in numbers.
First we create the DCL box for this example: It will have an EDIT_BOX to enter the MAX
number, and also a "Start" BUTTON to start the loop function. The IMAGE tile is the tile
where the progress bar will show.
dcltut : dialog {
fixed_width = true;
label = "DCL Progress Bar Tutorial 1.0";
key = "br-label";
: row {
: button {
key = "start";
label = "Start";
mnemonic = "S";
}
: edit_box {
key = "max";
label = "Max:";
mnemonic = "M";
}
}
: image {
key = "progbar";
fixed_width = 50;
height = 1;
}
/// This Tile may also be put below the OK_Cancel buttons
: row {
: button {
label = "OK";
mnemonic = "O";
key = "ok";
}
: button {
label = "Cancel";
mnemonic = "C";
key = "cancel";
is_cancel = true;
DCL Progress Bar
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}
}
: row {
: errtile {
label = "";
key = "error";
width = 26;
}
}
}

The resulting DCL is as below: ( the screenshot was taken while running)
The LISP file code is as follows:
;;; DCL Tutorial
;;; Subject: Creating a ProgressBar in DCL.
;;; This Tutorial is CopyRighted by Nir sullam and anySOFT 1999.
;;; It is free to use and free for distrubution

(defun C:PROGRESS (/ loopmax dcltut_dat)

(setq dcltut_dat (load_dialog "c:\\dcltut.dcl")) ;; Put the DCL file where you want but make sure it
is found by AutoCAD!!
(new_dialog "dcltut" dcltut_dat)
;; if no maximum is set -Set the default to 100.
(if (null loopmax)(setq loopmax 100))
;; color the image tile with the background color
(setq fillx (dimx_tile "progbar"))
(setq filly (dimy_tile "progbar"))
(start_image "progbar")
(fill_image 0 0 fillx filly -15)
(end_image)
;; Set the edit_box tile to its value
(set_tile "max" (itoa loopmax))
;; Assign the loopfunc to the start button
(action_tile "start" "(loopfunc)")
(action_tile "ok" "(done_dialog)")
(action_tile "cnacel" "(done_dialog)")
(start_dialog)
(UNLOAD_DIALOG dcltut_dat)
)

;----------------------------------------------
(defun loopfunc (/ fillx filly loopfunc loopmax loop-counter)
DCL Progress Bar
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;; Get the Horizontal length of the "progbar" tile
(setq fillx (dimx_tile "progbar"))
;; Get the Vertical length of the "progbar" tile
(setq filly (dimy_tile "progbar"))
;; Start the tile
(start_image "progbar")
;; Initiate the -15 color as a background (-15 = Dialog Background color)
(fill_image 0 0 fillx filly -15)
;; end the initializing
(end_image)
;; rewind the counter to 0
(setq loop-counter 0)
;; get the value that is used as the maximum limit for the progress bar
;; in your application you may use it to show the progressing of a function that
;; processes a selction set so if your selection set length is 544 - the loopmax will have to
;; be assigned the value 544.(instead of using an edit_box tile as I did in this example.)
(setq loopmax (atoi (get_tile "max")))
;; As long as the counter is smaller than the maximum - fill the tile
(while (<= loop-counter loopmax)
(start_image "progbar")
;; The horizontal length is divided to "loopmax" times slices
;; It is the same as calculating a percent :
;; To get the 115% of 1250 you would do: (/ (* 115 1250) 100) but in this case, the 100% is
;; the MAXIMUM so we use a value other than 100.
(fill_image 0 0 (/ (* loop-counter fillx) loopmax) filly 5)
(end_image)
;; print the advance in the error tile
(set_tile "error" (rtos loop-counter))
;; increment the counter
(setq loop-counter (1+ loop-counter))
)
)

One last note: To create a vertical Progress Bar just modify the FILLY instead of the
FILLX !

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Change any of the values in the edit boxes. Now, whilst still in the edit box, press your "Enter" key. The
dialog closes and the rest of the program runs.
When you press the "Enter" key, because the edit box tiles attribute "allow_accept" is set to "true", the
coding for the tile which has the attribute "is_default" (the "OK" tile) is triggered.

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Macro Recorder.
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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Auto-Breaking Blocks
I've had a lot of request to write a tutorial on creating Auto-Breaking blocks.
These are very handy little objects and can save a draughtsman a lot of time and effort. The only
drawback to them is that they initially take a bit of time to prepare. Let's have a look at what we need
to do to go about creating Auto-Breaking
blocks.
Firstly, we need to find some way of "storing" the break point data within the block.
For this tutorial we are going to use attributes. Fire up AutoCAD and draw a valve similar to the one shown
here.
Now type in "DDATTDEF" at the command prompt. The Attribute definition dialogue box will appear.
In the mode section, switch on the "Invisible" toggle, name the Attribute Tag "BP1" and select Break Point 1 as
the insertion point. Then select O.K.
Repeat the process for Break Point 2 and your valve is ready to be saved as a Wblock. Your valve should look
something like this :
Auto-Breaking Blocks.
http://www.afralisp.com/lispa/lisp52.htm (1 of 4) [23/03/2005 05:55:21 p.m.]
Now WBlock the valve to your hardrive.
O.K. Now we've stored the Break Point values as attributes within our block.
Now comes the difficult part!! How do we retrieve this information? Easy....
First, open a new drawing and insert the Valve drawing. Just select "O.K." when the attribute dialog appears.
Now type this at the command line:
(setq edata (entget (setq en (entlast))))
Lisp should return something like this :
((-1 . ) (0 . "INSERT") (5 . "7AE") (100 . "AcDbEntity")
(67 . 0) (8 . "0") (100 . "AcDbBlockReference") (66 . 1) (2 . "VALVE") (10
508.26 476.045 0.0) (41 . 1.0) (42 . 1.0) (43 . 1.0) (50 . 0.0) (70 . 0) (71 .0)
(44 . 0.0) (45 . 0.0) (210 0.0 0.0 1.0))
O.K. we've got the entity data list, but now we need the attribute data. Type this:
(setq edata (entget (entnext (cdr (assoc -1 edata)))))
You should get something like this:
((-1 . ) (0 . "ATTRIB") (5 . "7AF") (100 . "AcDbEntity")
(67 . 0) (8 . "0") (100 . "AcDbText") (10 518.26 476.045 0.0) (40 . 3.5) (1 ."")
(50 . 0.0) (41 . 1.0) (51 . 0.0872665) (7 . "ITALICT") (71 . 0) (72 . 0)
(11 0.0 0.0 0.0) (210 0.0 0.0 1.0) (100 . "AcDbAttribute") (2 . "IP2") (70 . 1)
(73 . 0) (74 . 0))
Voila, the attribute data list. Now, I just happen to know that the DXF group code for the attribute insertion
point is Code 10. So let's extract it :
(setq ip1 (cdr (assoc 10 edata)))
Lisp should return the attribute insertion point and it should look something like this:
(518.26 476.045 0.0)
We would now simply repeat the process for the second break point.
Well that, is basically the heart of the program. We've inserted our block and we've established our break
points. All we need to do now is break our line.
Here's the full AutoLISP coding for our Auto-Breaking Block:
(defun c:abreak ( / oldsnap bname ip ent1 ent2 ep1 ep2 ang edata ip1 ip2)
(setq oldsnap (getvar "OSMODE"))
;get the current snap
(setvar "OSMODE" 544)
;set snap to intersection and nearest
(setvar "BLIPMODE" 0)
;switch blips off
(setvar "CMDECHO" 0)
;switch command echo off
(setq bname (getfiled "Select Auto-Breaking Block" "" "dwg" 8))
;get the block to insert
Auto-Breaking Blocks.
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(while
;while an insertion point is selected
(setq ip (getpoint "\nInsertion Point: "))
;get the insertion point
(setq ent1 (entsel "\nSelect Line to AutoBreak: "))
;get the line to break
(setvar "OSMODE" 0)
;switch the snap off
(setq ent2 (entget (car ent1)))
;get the entity data of the line
(setq ep1 (cdr (assoc 10 ent2)))
;get the first end point
(setq ep2 (cdr (assoc 11 ent2)))
;get the second end point
(setq ang (angle ep1 ep2))
;get the angle of the line
(setq ang (/ (* ang 180.0) pi))
;convert it to degrees
(setvar "ATTDIA" 0)
;switch off the attribute dialog box
(command "Insert" bname ip "" "" ang "" "")
;insert the block
(setq edata (entget (setq en (entlast))))
;get the block entity data
(setq edata (entget (entnext (dxf -1 edata))))
;get the attribute entity list
(setq ip1 (dxf 10 edata))
;extract the first attribute insertion point
(setq edata (entget (entnext (dxf -1 edata))))
;get the next attribute entity list
(setq ip2 (dxf 10 edata))
;extract the second attribute insertion point
(command "Break" ent1 "f" ip1 ip2)
;break the line
(setvar "OSMODE" 544)
;switch snap back on
);while
(setvar "OSMODE" oldsnap)
;reset snap
(setvar "BLIPMODE" 1)
;switch blips back on
(setvar "CMDECHO" 1)
;switch command echo back on
Auto-Breaking Blocks.
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(setvar "ATTDIA" 1)
;switch attribute dialog boc back on
(princ)
;finish clean
);defun
;;;**********************************************************

(defun dxf (code elist)
(cdr (assoc code elist))
);defun
(princ)

I have created a special folder called "Autobreak" were I store all my Auto-Breaking blocks. I also include this
folder as my default directory in the 'getfiled' function.
If you would like the source coding for this application plus the sample Valve drawing, then just click here.

You are visitor number

You can use this file to cut and paste the variables that you want to declare as Local into your
AutoLisp file.
Now, re-run 'INIT' then load and run Sample1.Lsp.
List Variables/Functions
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Here is the coding for Sample1.Lsp.
(defun c:sample1 ( / L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6)
(setq l1 10.0
l2 20.0
l3 30.0
l4 40.0
l5 50.0
l6 (fDTR 45)
g1 "Global1"
g2 "Global2"
);setq

(princ)
);defun
(defun fDTR (x)
(* PI (/ x 180.0))
);defun
(princ)

As you can see, we have declared all the Local Variables.

Now run 'ListVar' again. The dialogue should now look like this.
Do you see that the Local Variables that we declared are now not listed.
Using this application you can produce a list of all local variables that need to be declared when you
have written a new AutoLisp routine or, you can check your existing routines for variables that you
may have missed.
To download this application including the sample AutoLisp files, then just Click Here. (30 Kb)

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Lisp Help.
When writing any sort of AutoLisp routine, one should supply some kind of Help. An
Information box is also a handy thing to include as it allows you to inform the user of
what version of the routine he is using, as well as giving you a chance to advertise
yourself and your applications.
You can access and integrate custom Help into the Windows Help Files, but this is quite
an involved process and you need the brains of a rocket scientist to accomplish this.
A much simpler way is to call an external Help or Info file from your AutoLisp routine. Using the
following routine, if you click on the Help button, your default browser will open, displaying an
HTML Help file.
Clicking on the Info button, will open Notepad and display an Info Text file.
Note: Please ensure that all files are in your AutoCad search path.
Here's the DCL Coding :
lisphelp : dialog {
label = "Lisp Help Tutorial" ;
ok_cancel_help_info ;
}
And now the AutoLisp Coding :
;;; ----------------------------------------------------------------
(prompt "\n Type LISPHELP to run....")
;;; ----------------------------------------------------------------
(defun C:LISPHELP (/ USERFLAG1 USERFLAG2 USERFLAG3 HE INF DCL_ID)
(setq DCL_ID (load_dialog "lisphelp.dcl")
) ;_ end of setq
(if (not (new_dialog "lisphelp" DCL_ID)
) ;_ end of not
(exit)
) ;_ end of if
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(action_tile
"accept"
"(done_dialog) (setq userflag T)"
) ;_ end of action_tile
(action_tile
"cancel"
"(done_dialog) (setq userflag nil)"
) ;_ end of action_tile
(action_tile
"help"
"(done_dialog) (setq userflag1 T)"
) ;_ end of action_tile
(action_tile
"info"
"(done_dialog) (setq userflag2 T)"
) ;_ end of action_tile
(start_dialog)
(unload_dialog DCL_ID)
(if USERFLAG
(alert "You selected O.K.")
) ;_ end of if
(if USERFLAG1
(HEL)
) ;_ end of if
(IF USERFLAG2
(IN)
) ;_ end of IF
(princ)
) ;_ end of defun
;;; ----------------------------------------------------------------
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(defun hel ()
(if (not
(setq HE (findfile "Help.htm")
) ;_ end of setq
) ;_ end of not
(alert "Sorry - Help File Missing")
(command "Browser" HE)
) ;_ end of if
(princ)
) ;_ end of defun
(defun in ()
(if (not
(setq INF (findfile "Info.txt")
) ;_ end of setq
) ;_ end of not
(alert "Sorry - Info File Missing")
(startapp "notepad.exe" INF)
) ;_ end of if
(princ)
) ;_ end of defun
(princ)
;;;EOF
;;; ----------------------------------------------------------------
To download this Tutorial just Click Here. (16 Kb)

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
DOSLib - DOS Library Programmers Reference
I don't know if you are aware, but there is an application included with AutoCAD that
makes dealing with the operating system a breeze when working with AutoLisp. This is
DOSLib.Arx, designed and distributed by Robert Mcneel and Associates.
DOSLib, or DOS Library, is a library of LISP-callable functions that provide Windows operating
system and DOS command-line functionality to various CAD applications, including AutoCAD and
IntelliCAD.
DOSLib extends their LISP programming languages by providing the following
functionality:

Drive handling functions to change between drives and check disk space. G
Path handling functions to manipulate path specifications. G
Directory handling functions to create, rename, remove, select and change directories. G
File handling functions to copy, delete, move, rename, and select files. Functions for getting
directory listings, searching and finding multiple instances of files, and changing attributes
are provided.
G
Print handling function to get and set default printers, and spool files. G
Initialization file handling functions to manipulate Windows-style initialization (INI) files,
and Windows Registry access functions.
G
Process handling functions to run internal DOS commands or other programs. G
Miscellaneous functions, like changing the system date and time, and displaying Windows
message boxes.
G
In this Tutorial we will have a quick look at how to use some of the various functions available
within DOSLib.
Creating a "Splash Screen"
This is a great way to promote yourself or your company.
DOSLib Function : dos_splash
Syntax : (dos_splash filename duration)
Arguments :
filename - A 256-colour Windows BMP File. G
duration - Duration Time in Seconds. G
DosLib
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Returns : nil if successful or on error.
Example :
(dos_splash "afralisp.bmp" 5)
Getting a Directory Path
This will display a Windows Browse for Folder Dialogue box and will return
a fully qualified path to the selected directory.
DOSLib Function : dos_getdir
Syntax : (dos_getdir title [path])
Arguments :
title - A dialogue box title. G
Options :
path - An existing directory. G
Returns : A qualified path to the current directory selected by the user. nil on cancel or error.
Example :
(setq udir (dos_getdir "Select a Directory" "c:\\"))
Multiple File Selection
DosLib
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Displays a Windows common file open dialogue box that will allow you to select
multiple files.
DOSLib Function : dos_getfilem
Syntax : (dos_getfilem title path filter)
Arguments :
title - A dialogue box title. G
path - An existing directory. G
filter - A filename filter string. The filter string consists of two components: a description (for
example, "Text File"), and a filter pattern (for example, "*.txt"). Multiple filter patterns can
be specified for a single item by separating the filter-pattern strings with a semi-colon (for
example, "*.TXT;*.DOC;*.BAK"). The components must be separated by a pipe character
("|"). The filename filter string can consist of one or more filter strings, each separated by a
pipe character.
G
Returns : A list of filenames. The first element of the list is a qualified path to
the selected directory. nil on cancel or error
Example :
(setq ufiles (dos_getfilem "Select Drawings" "c:\\drawings\\"
"Drawing Files (*.DWG)|*.DWG"))
AutoCAD Message Box
This displays a Windows Message Box. Much more flexible than the standard
AutLisp "Alert" function. Very similar to the VBA Message Box function.
DOSLib Function : dos_msgbox
Syntax : (dos_getfilem text title button icon)
Arguments :
text - The message to be displayed. G
DosLib
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title - The message box title. G
button - The push button format.
The allowable values are :
0 - Abort, Retry and Ignore. H
1 - OK. H
2 - OK and Cancel. H
3 - Retry and Cancel. H
4 - Yes and No. H
5 - Yes, No and Cancel. H
G
icon - The icon.
The allowable values are :
0 - Asterisk. H
1 - Exclamation. H
2 - Hand. H
3 - Information. H
4 - Question. H
5 - Stop. H
G
Returns : The return values of dos_msgbox are as follows :
0 - Abort G
1 - Cancel G
2 - Ignore G
3 - No G
4 - OK G
5 - Retry G
6 - Yes G
nil on error.
Example
(dos_msgbox "Continue Batch Process?" "Batch Purge" 5 4)
These are just a couple of examples of some of the functions available within DOSLib. There are 72
callable functions covering all areas of DOS usage. On the next page we'll have a look at an
AutoLisp application designed using the DOSLib. See you there......
Page II.

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(defun C:Dwf-Html ( / flag thelist thedir nfiles

thefile fn ctr dname flen
len1 shortdname revSlash
f_oldstr f_newstr f_string)

;set the flag
(setq flag T)

;check Doslib is loaded
(if (not (member "doslib2k.arx" (arx)))

(progn

(if (findfile "doslib2k.arx")

(arxload "doslib2k")

(progn

(alert "DosLib not installed")

(setq flag nil)

);progn

);if

);progn

);if

;if DosLib is installed and loaded
(if flag

;do the following
(progn

;select the DWF files
(setq thelist (dos_getfilem "Select Drawings"
"C:\\" "DWF Files (*.dwf)|*.dwf"))

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;retrieve the directory
(setq thedir (car thelist))

;need to reverse the slashes
(setq f_oldstr "\\")
(setq f_newstr "\/")
(setq f_string thedir)
(setq revSlash (replace f_oldstr
f_newstr f_string))

;retrieve the file names
(setq thelist (cdr thelist))

;get the number of files
(setq nfiles (length thelist))

;create the HTML file
(setq thefile (strcat thedir
"Dwf-Html.html"))

;open the HTML file
(setq fn (open thefile "w"))

;set the counter
(setq ctr 0)

;start the loop
(repeat nfiles

;get the drawing name
(setq dname (nth ctr thelist))

;get the length of the drawing name
(setq flen (strlen dname))

;length of drawing name minus .dwf
(setq len1 (- flen 4))

;the drawing name minus .dwf
(setq shortdname (substr dname 1 len1))

;create the HTML link
(write-line (strcat "<a href=# onClick=" "\""
"window.open(" "'" "file:" revSlash dname "'" ",
'modifications','toolbar=no,menubar=no,
status=yes,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,
width=800,height=600'); return false;
" "\"" ">" shortdname "</a><br>") fn)

;increment the counter
(setq ctr (1+ ctr))

);end repeat

;close the file
(close fn)

;inform the user
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(alert (strcat "File saved as" "\n"
thedir "Dwf-Html.html"))

);progn

);if flag

;finish clean
(princ)

);defun
;load clean
(princ)
;the following function was Written By Michel Loftus
(defun replace (f_oldstr f_newstr
f_string / f_cur f_loop)
;like subst but with strings not lists
(if (null (and (stringp f_oldstr)
(stringp f_newstr)
(stringp f_string)
)
)
(exit)
)
(if (> (strlen f_oldstr) (strlen f_string))
(exit)
)
(setq f_loop 1)
(repeat (strlen f_string)
(progn
(setq f_cur (substr f_string f_loop
(strlen f_oldstr)))
(if (= f_cur f_oldstr)
(setq f_string (strcat (substr f_string 1 (- f_loop 1))
f_newstr
(substr f_string
(+ f_loop (strlen f_oldstr))
(strlen f_string)
)
)
)
)
(setq f_loop (1+ f_loop))
)
)
f_string
)
;eg (replace "\t" " " "Line one\tLine two") = "Line one Line two"
;the following function was Written By Michel Loftus
(defun stringp (f_val) ;test if a string
(if (= (type f_val) 'STR)
t
nil
)
)
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;eg (stringp "Hello") = true
Download Source Coding Here

You are visitor number

You could incorporate this into your Acad.lsp file to ensure that all your Support Paths are set correctly.
Irrespective of the user, the correct Support Path will be defined.
Also, to ensure that the correct menu is loaded, have a look at the Acad.lsp Tip found on AfraLisps Tips
'n Tricks page.
Hey, come to think of it, you could also use this in conjunction with Profiles to make life even easier.
Oh, by the way, if you'd like a listing of Environment Variables, pop along here.
(Listing kindly donated by Stig Madsen.)

You are visitor number

;We could reload the Profile if we wish.

;J ust uncomment the next line.
;(vlax-invoke-method acadProfiles 'ResetProfile profilename)
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
And here's a fewmiscellaneous Profile Functions :
;;; profiles.lsp
;;; miscellaneous profile commands
;;; by Jimmy B
;;; 2000-01-25
;;;----------------
(defun getActiveProfile ()
(vla-get-activeprofile
(vla-get-profiles (vla-get-preferences (vlax-get-acad-object)))
)
)
(defun putActiveProfile (profilename)
(vla-put-activeprofile
(vla-get-profiles (vla-get-preferences (vlax-get-acad-object)))
profilename
)
)
(defun getAllProfileNames(/ allprofiles)
(vla-getallprofilenames
(vla-get-profiles (vla-get-preferences (vlax-get-acad-object)))
'allprofiles
)
(vlax-safearray->list allprofiles)
Visual Lisp and Profiles
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)
(defun existProfile (profilename)
(not (not (member
(strcase profilename)
(mapcar '(lambda (x) (strcase x)) (getallprofilenames))
)))
)
(defun c:listProfileNames(/ nr profnames)
(setq nr 0)
(setq profnames (getAllProfileNames))
(repeat (length profnames)
(princ (nth nr profnames))
(print)
(setq nr (1+ nr))
)
(princ)
)
; return T if profile is deleted and nil if not
(defun deleteProfile (profilename)
(if (and
(/= (strcase profilename) (strcase (getActiveProfile)))
(existProfile profilename))
(not (vla-deleteprofile
(vla-get-profiles (vla-get-preferences (vlax-get-acad-object)))
profilename
))
)
)
; return T if profile is reseted and nil if not
(defun resetProfile (profilename)
(if (existProfile profilename)
(not (vla-resetprofile
(vla-get-profiles (vla-get-preferences (vlax-get-acad-object)))
profilename
))
)
)
; return T if profile is renamed and nil if not
; if profilenameNew exist it's substituded with profilenameOld
(defun renameProfile (profilenameOld profilenameNew)
(if (existProfile profilenameOld)
(not (vla-renameprofile
(vla-get-profiles (vla-get-preferences (vlax-get-acad-object)))
profilenameOld
profilenameNew
))
)
)
; return T if profile is copied and nil if not
; if profilename2 exists it's copied
(defun copyProfile (profilename1 profilename2)
(if (existProfile profilename1)
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(not (vla-copyprofile
(vla-get-profiles (vla-get-preferences (vlax-get-acad-object)))
profilename1
profilename2
))
)
)
; (exportProfile "profilename" "C:\\TEMP\\profilename.arg")
; if path is omitted profile is saved in active directory
; overwrites argname if it exists
; return T if profile is exported
(defun exportProfile (profilename argname)
(if (existProfile profilename)
(not (vla-exportprofile
(vla-get-profiles (vla-get-preferences (vlax-get-acad-object)))
profilename
argname
))
)
)
; (importProfile "profilename" "C:\\TEMP\\profilename.arg" 1)
; overwrites profilename if it exists
; if path is omitted profile is imported from active directory
; inclpathinfo=1 The path information in the registry file
; will be preserved.
; inclpathinfo=0 The path information in the registry file
;will not be preserved.
; return T if profile is imported
(defun importProfile (profilename argname inclpathinfo)
(not (vla-importprofile
(vla-get-profiles (vla-get-preferences (vlax-get-acad-object)))
profilename
argname
inclpathinfo
))
)

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And Now the AutoLisp coding. Save this as "Q-Plot.lsp."

Quick Plot
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;;;CODING STARTS HERE
;|To customise this to suit your plotters, you need to do 3 things :
Create a PC3 plot configuration file and replace the value of the
variable "pltyp" with the name of your PC3 file.
eg. Replace "RW-470 PLOTBASE.pc3" with "YOURPLOTTER.pc3"
Create a CTB plot style and replace the value of the variable "plstyle"
with the name of your CTB file.
eg. Replace "acad.ctb" with "your.ctb"
Replace all the "plsize" variables with your sheet sizes.
==============================================|;
(defun C:Q-PLOT ( / userclick userclick1 pltyp plstyle plsize
oldblip oldecho oldsnap dcl_id)
;preset the flags
(setq userclick T)
(setq userclick1 T)
;store system settings
(setq oldblip (getvar "BLIPMODE")
oldecho (getvar "CMDECHO")
oldsnap (getvar "OSMODE"))
;set system variables
(setvar "BLIPMODE" 0)
(setvar "CMDECHO" 0)
(setvar "OSMODE" 32)
;store the default plotter, plot style and plot size
;replace this with your pc3 file
(setq pltyp "RW-470 PLOTBASE.pc3")
;replace this with your ctb file
(setq plstyle "acad.ctb")
;replace this with your default sheet size
(setq plsize "ISO A0 (1189.00 x 841.00 MM)")
;get the plotting area
(setq pt1 (getpoint "\nSelect Lower Left Hand Corner
of Plotting Area: "))
(setq pt2 (getcorner pt1 "\nSelect Upper Right Hand
Corner of Plotting Area: "))
;remember your manners
(prompt "\nThanks.......")

;load the dialog
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "q-plot.dcl"))
(if (not (new_dialog "qplot" dcl_id) ) (exit))
(set_tile "rb1" "1")
(set_tile "rb5" "1")
; set the tiles
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;replace this with your first pc3 file
(action_tile "rb1"
"(setq pltyp \"RW-470.pc3\")")
;replace this with your second pc3 file
(action_tile "rb2"
"(setq pltyp \"DesignJet 700.pc3\")")
;replace all sheet sizes to match yours
(action_tile "rb5"
"(setq plsize \"ISO A0 (1189.00 x 841.00 MM)\")")
(action_tile "rb6"
"(setq plsize \"ISO A1 (841.00 x 594.00 MM)\")")
(action_tile "rb7"
"(setq plsize \"ISO A2 (594.00 x 420.00 MM)\")")
(action_tile "rb8"
"(setq plsize \"ISO A3 (420.00 x 297.00 MM)\")")
(action_tile "rb9"
"(setq plsize \"ISO A4 (297.00 x 210.00 MM)\")")
(action_tile "cancel"
"(done_dialog)(setq userclick nil)")
(action_tile "accept"
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick T)")
;start the dialog
(start_dialog)
;unload the dialog
(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;if OK is selected
(if userclick
;do the following
(progn
;preview the plot
(command "Preview")
;load the "Continue" dialog
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "q-plot.dcl"))
(if (not (new_dialog "choose" dcl_id) ) (exit))
;set up the tiles
(action_tile "cancel"
"(done_dialog)(setq userclick1 nil)")
(action_tile "accept"
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick1 T)")
(start_dialog)
(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;if it's OK to continue
(if userclick1
;plot the drawing
(command "-plot" "Yes" "Model" pltyp plsize "Millimeters"
"Landscape" "No" "Window" pt1 pt2 "Fit" "Center"
"Yes" plstyle "Yes" "No" "No" "Yes" "Yes")
Quick Plot
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;the plot was Cancelled
;return to the main dialog
(c:autoplot)
);if userclick1

);progn
);if userclick
;reset system variables
(setvar "BLIPMODE" oldblip)
(setvar "CMDECHO" oldecho)
(setvar "OSMODE" oldsnap)
(princ)
);defun c:q-plot
;;;*======================================================
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE
If you like, you can download the source coding here.

You are visitor number

DC Tools
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
DC Tools
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
AutoCAD Setup
Let's imagine this scenario.
You've created a complex menu application complete with AutoLisp functions, Library files, Help files,
Hatches, etc, etc. To load it yourself on your system is no problem. You know exactly which support
paths need to be added, and exactly what menu file and pull down menu's need to be defined.
But now, you have 20 machines to load it on, or even worse, you need to send it to a third party to
install on their system and you are not available. Now what? You could try and type the installation
instructions out for them, but the users who will be installing your menu system don't even know where
to find the "Options" dialog, never mind set support paths. This is where the following application will
come in very handy.
It basically sets up a custom profile, adds your support paths, and then finds and loads your custom
pull down menu.
Firstly the program creates a profile called "AfraLisp".
(That is if "AfraLisp" is not already the active profile.)
Don't worry, it retains your current profile so that you can re-set if necessary.
Secondly, it adds your support paths. I have used the following:
"C:/AfraLisp2002"
"C:/AfraLisp2002/Menu"
"C:/AfraLisp2002/CadLisp2k"
"C:/AfraLisp2002/CadLib2k"
"C:/AfraLisp2002/CadMech"
"C:/AfraLisp2002/Hatching"
"C:/AfraLisp2002/Help"
"C:/AfraLisp2002/Profiles"
Just replace the paths with your own. You will need to have these created and populated with your files
on your hard drive.
Lastly, it locates and loads the "AfraLisp" menu file which is stored in "C:/AfraLisp2002/Menu" and
places a pull down menu into the menu bar.
You will need to replace the "AfraLisp" with the name of your own partial menu.
;CODING STARTS HERE
(prompt "\nType \"AfraLisp-Install\" to run......")
(defun C:AfraLisp-Install ( / netpath defpath acadprofiles actprofile temp flag1)
(vl-load-com)
;retrieve the profiles collection
(setq acadprofiles
(vla-get-profiles
(vla-get-preferences
(vlax-get-Acad-Object))))
;get the active profile
(setq actprofile
(vla-get-ActiveProfile acadprofiles))
;check "AfraLisp" is the active profile
(if (not (= actProfile "AfraLisp"))
(progn
;if it's not, copy the existing profile, renaming it "AfraLisp".
(vlax-invoke-method acadProfiles 'CopyProfile actProfile "AfraLisp")
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;then make it the active profile
(vla-put-ActiveProfile acadProfiles "AfraLisp")
);progn
);if
;;;=================================
;;;Set up the AfraLisp Support Paths
;set the path to the AfraLisp subdirectory.
(setq netpath "C:\\AfraLisp2002")
;set the support paths to the AutoCAD default
(setenv "ACAD" "")
;store the default paths
(setq defpath (getenv "ACAD"))
;set up the AfraLisp paths
(setenv "ACAD" (strcat
defpath ";"
netpath ";"
netpath "\\" "Menu;"
netpath "\\" "CadLisp2k;"
netpath "\\" "CadLib2k;"
netpath "\\" "CadMech;"
netpath "\\" "Hatching;"
netpath "\\" "Help;"
netpath "\\" "Profiles;"
))
;set up the custom template path
(setenv "TemplatePath" (strcat netpath "\\" "Templates"))
;inform the user
(prompt "\nAfraLisp Support Paths Defined\n")
;;;================
;;;Now load the AfraLisp Menu
;set the flag
(setq flag1 T)
;check if the "AfraLisp" menu is loaded
(setq loaded (menugroup "AFRALISP"))
;if it's not
(if (= loaded nil)
(progn
;find the menu file
(setq temp (findfile "AFRALISP.MNU"))
;if it's found
(if temp
(progn
(setvar "FILEDIA" 0)
;load the "AfraLisp" menu
(command "menuload" "AFRALISP")
(setvar "FILEDIA" 1)
;load the pulldown menu
(menucmd "P11=+AFRALISP.POP1")
;Inform the user
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(prompt "\nLoading AfraLisp Custom Menu....\n")
);progn
(progn
;if it's NOT found, inform the user
(alert "Cannot Locate AfraLisp Menu.")

;then clear the flag
(setq flag1 nil)
);progn
);if
);progn
);if
;if the menu is loaded
(if flag1
;inform the user
(prompt "\nAfraLisp Custom Menu Loaded....")
);if
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE

You are visitor number

Return Values
nil
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Example
(acet-error-init '(("CMDECHO" 0) 1 (if ename (redraw ename 4)) ) )
(acet-error-restore)
Reset error handling.
This function restores the values saved by the matching call to (acet-error-init). It should be called after
all user input has been completed. This function ends with a (princ) call for a quiet finish.
Return Values
nil
Library: acetutil.fas
File Functions
(acet-file-attr filename [attr])
Gets or sets the protection attributes of a specified file or directory.
Arguments
filename: Name of the file or directory.
attr: If provided, a combination of one or more attribute flags.
Return Values
Returns the new or existing attributes, or -1 on error.
Note:
The following pre-defined constants are provided:
1 = Acet:READONLY
2 = Acet:HIDDEN
4 = Acet:SYSTEM
16 = Acet:DIRECTORY
32 = Acet:ARCHIVE
Library: acetutil.arx
(acet-file-chdir directory)
Changes the current working directory.
Arguments
directory: New directory name.
Return Values
Returns a string containing the expanded name of the new current working directory.
Library: acetutil.arx
(acet-file-copy from to [force])
Copy a file.
Arguments
from: Name of file to copy.
to: Name of new file.
force: If provided and non-nil, forces any existing file to be overwritten.
Return Values
Returns T on success.
Note:
This function will not overwrite read-only files. The read-only flag can be cleared with (acet-file-attr).
Library: acetutil.arx
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(acet-file-cwd)
Returns the current working directory.
Return Values
A string containing the current working directory name.
Library: acetutil.arx
(acet-file-dir pattern [attributes] [starting-directory])
Locate files.
Arguments
pattern: A file specification, which may include wildcards and/or a directory name.
attributes: If provided, contains a bitmap of file attributes to match (see (acet-file-attr).
starting-directory: If provided, this function will also search subdirectories for files that match pattern:
(which can also contain a directory name). Uses the current working directory (see (acet-file-cwd)) if a
relative path is provided.
Return Values
A list of matching file names, or nil if no matching files are found.
Library: acetutil.arx
(acet-file-mkdir directory)
Creates a new directory.
Arguments
directory: New directory name.
Return Values
Returns T on success.
Library: acetutil.arx
(acet-file-move from to)
Moves or renames files.
Arguments
from: Original file name or location.
to: New file name or location.
Return Values
Returns T on success.
Library: acetutil.arx
(acet-file-remove filespec [force])
Deletes one or more files.
Arguments
filespec: File specification, which may include wildcards.
force: If provided and non-nil, indicates that even read-only files should be deleted.
Return Values
The number of files removed.
Library: acetutil.arx
(acet-file-rmdir directory)
Changes the current working directory.
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Arguments
directory: Name of directory to remove.
Return Values
Returns T on success.
Library: acetutil.arx
Help Functions
(acet-help [topic])
Display a help page.
Arguments
topic: A keyword that identifies the help page to display. If not supplied, the Table of Contents will be
displayed.
Return Values
nil
(acet-help-trap command [topic [file]])
Install a F1 key monitor.
Arguments
command: The name of the command to monitor, as would be passed to (setfunhelp).
topic: The topic name in the help file. If this argument is nil or not supplied, any help trap attached to
command will be released.
file: The name of the help file to use. If not provided, acet.chm is used.
Return Values
T if successful.
Initialization File Functions
(acet-ini-get inifile [section [key [default]]])
Retrieve data from INI file.
Arguments
inifile: Name of the INI file to search.
section: Section name within the INI file.
key: Key name within the section.
default: Default value to return if key cannot be located.
Return Values
The return value depends on the parameters provided. If only inifile is given, this function returns a list
of section names (or nil if inifile cannot be opened). If a section name is given, a list of key names will be
returned. If a key is given, returns the value associated with the key (or default, if the key cannot be
located). Returns nil if no information can be found.
(acet-ini-set inifile section [key [value]])
Write data to INI file.
Arguments
inifile: Name of the INI file to modify.
section: A string containing the name of the section for the given data. If the section does not exist, it
will be created.
key: A string containing the name of the key to be associated with a value. If the key does not exist in
the given section, it will be created. If this parameter is not given, the entire section (including all entries
within the section) will be deleted.
value: A string to be assigned to key. If this parameter is not given, the key will be deleted.
Return Values
T on success.
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Registry Functions
(acet-reg-del key [name])
Delete key or value from Registry.
Arguments
key: Key name to delete. Will not delete subkeys.
name: If given, value name to delete.
Return Values
T on success.
(acet-reg-get key [name])
Return value from Registry.
Arguments
key: Key name to retrieve.
name: If given, value name to retrieve.
Return Values
The selected value, or nil if the entry cannot be located.
(acet-reg-prodkey)
Return current product key.
Return Values
The current product key (Registry path for the current installation).
(acet-reg-put key [name value])
Write a Registry key or value.
Arguments
key: Key name to use.
name: If given, value name to write.
value: If given, value to assign to name.
Return Values
T on success.
Selection Set Functions
(acet-ss-drag-move ss pt [prompt] [highlight [cursor]])
Drag a selection set to change location.
Arguments
ss: The selection set to drag.
pt: The base point.
prompt: A message to display before dragging is started.
highlight: If given, causes a rubber-band line to be drawn from pt to the current cursor position while
dragging; this parameter can be nil to draw a rubber-band line in the inverse of the screen color, or
non-nil to draw a highlighted line.
cursor: The cursor form to display while dragging (0=crosshairs, 1=no cursor, 2=target).
Return Values
Normally returns the selected point, but will honor initget settings and can return arbitrary text or
keywords. Returns nil if the dragging operation is aborted.
Note:
The acet-ss-drag-move function does not move the selection set, but allows selection of a new position
while showing how the result will appear.
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(acet-ss-drag-rotate ss pt [prompt] [highlight [cursor]])
Drag a selection set to change rotation.
Arguments
ss: The selection set to drag.
pt: The base point.
prompt: A message to display before dragging is started.
highlight: If given, causes a rubber-band line to be drawn from pt to the current cursor position while
dragging; this parameter can be nil to draw a rubber-band line in the inverse of the screen color, or
non-nil to draw a highlighted line.
cursor: Gives the cursor form to display while dragging (0=crosshairs, 1=no cursor, 2=target).
Return Values
The selected rotation value, or nil if dragging is aborted.
Note:
The acet-ss-drag-rotate function does not rotate the selection set, but allows selection of a rotation
value while showing how the result will appear.
(acet-ss-drag-scale ss pt [prompt] [highlight [cursor]])
Drag a selection set to change scale.
Arguments
ss: The selection set to drag.
pt: The base point.
prompt: A message to display before dragging is started.
highlight: If given, causes a rubber-band line to be drawn from pt to the current cursor position while
dragging; this parameter can be nil to draw a rubber-band line in the inverse of the screen color, or
non-nil to draw a highlighted line.
cursor: Gives the cursor form to display while dragging (0=crosshairs, 1=no cursor, 2=target).
Return Values
The selected scale factor, or nil if dragging is aborted.
Note:
The acet-ss-drag-scale function does not scale the selection set, but allows selection of a scaling factor
while showing how the result will appear.
String Functions
acet-str-collate left right [matchCase])
Compare for sort order.
Arguments
left, right: The two strings to compare.
matchCase: If provided and non-nil, indicates that case sensitive comparison should be used. Normally
case is ignored.
Return Values
Returns -1, 0 or 1 to indicate relative sorting order (left < right, left == right and left > right, respectively).
Displays a usage message if either of the first two arguments are not strings.
Note:
The acet-str-collate function uses multibyte comparison appropriate for the current codepage.
(acet-str-equal left right [matchCase])
Compare strings for equality.
Arguments
left, right: The two strings to compare.
matchCase: If provided and non-nil, indicates that case sensitive comparison should be used. Normally
case is ignored.
Return Values
Returns T if the strings are identical, otherwise nil. Also returns nil if either of the first two arguments
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are not strings. Displays a usage message if less than two arguments are supplied.
Note:
The acet-str-equal function uses multibyte comparison appropriate for the current codepage.
(acet-str-find find string [ignoreCase [useRegExp]])
Find substring in string.
Arguments
find: The substring to locate.
string: The string to search.
ignoreCase: If provided and non-nil, indicates that case insensitive comparisons should be performed.
useRegExp: If provided and non-nil, indicates that regular expressions should be used for searching.
This function uses the following definitions for regular expressions:
. Matches any single character.
* Postfix. Preceeding item 0 or more times.
+ Postfix. Preceeding item 1 or more times.
^ Matches empty string at beginning of text.
$ Matches empty string at end of text.
[chars] Matches any character in the given class. If the first character is ^, match any character not in
the given class. A range of character may be specified by first-last, as in [A-Z] to specify upper case
alphabetic characters.
$ Mark the beginning of a subexpression.
$ Mark the end of a subexpression.
\digit Matches a repeat of the text matched earlier by the subexpression inside the nth opening
parenthesis. Subexpressions may also be referenced in replace strings.
Return Values
The 1-based index if found, or nil if not found.
(acet-str-format format [arg ...])
Format a message with embedded arguments.
Arguments
format: A string containing plain text and argument specifiers. Argument insertions appear in the format
string as the percent (%) character followed by an argument number.
arg ...: A list of argument values to be converted and inserted. Only INT, REAL and STR arguments can
be converted. Other argument types must be converted to one of these three. REAL arguments are
converted using the current LUNITS and LUPREC values; you may wish to first use the (angtos) or (rtos)
functions for proper display.
Return Values
A string with appropriate substitutions.
Example
The call:
(acet-str-format "%1/%2 or %2/%1." "one" "two")
will return the string:
"one/two or two/one."
(acet-str-replace find replace string [ignoreCase [useRegExp [count]]])
Replace one substring with another.
Arguments
find: The substring to locate.
replace: The replacement substring.
string: The string to search.
ignoreCase: If provided and non-nil, indicates that case insensitive comparisons should be performed.
useRegExp: If provided and non-nil, indicates that regular expressions should be used for searching.
count: The number of times to perform the replacement in string. If count is zero or not supplied then all
occurrences are replaced.
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This function uses the following definitions for regular expressions:
. Matches any single character.
* Postfix. Preceeding item 0 or more times.
+ Postfix. Preceeding item 1 or more times.
^ Matches empty string at beginning of text.
$ Matches empty string at end of text.
[chars] Matches any character in the given class. If the first character is ^, match any character not in
the given class. A range of character may be specified by first-last, as in [A-Z] to specify upper case
alphabetic characters.
$ Mark the beginning of a subexpression.
$ Mark the end of a subexpression.
\digit Matches a repeat of the text matched earlier by the subexpression inside the nth opening
parenthesis. Subexpressions may also be referenced in replace strings.
Return Values
Returns the resultant string with replacements (if any) made.
(acet-str-wcmatch string pattern [matchCase])
Performs a wild-card match similar to (wcmatch), but allows control over case sensitivity.
Arguments
string: The string to search.
pattern: The wildcard pattern to match. See (wcmatch) for details.
matchCase: If provided and non-nil, indicates that case sensitive comparison should be used.
Return Values
T if string and pattern match.
System Functions
(acet-sys-beep sound)
Make a noise.
Arguments
sound: A sound selector value. Can be one of:
-1: Standard beep using computer speaker
0: SystemDefault
16: SystemHand
32: SystemQuestion
48: SystemExclamation
64: SystemAsterisk
Return Values
nil
(acet-sys-command shell-command)
Run a command in a shell. Waits for the shell to complete execution before returning.
Arguments
shell-command: A string containing the command to execute.
Return Values
An integer containing the exit code from the shell command, or -1 on error.
(acet-sys-foreground)
Forces AutoCAD's main window to be the topmost window and to receive focus.
Return Values
nil
(acet-sys-keystate keycode)
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Check state of virtual key.
Arguments
keycode: The code for the virtual key to test.
Return Values
The status of the specified virtual key:
If the high-order bit is 1, the key is down; otherwise, it is up.
If the low-order bit is 1, the key is toggled. A key, such as the CAPS LOCK key, is toggled if it is turned
on. The key is off and untoggled if the low-order bit is 0. A toggle key's indicator light (if any) on the
keyboard will be on when the key is toggled, and off when the key is untoggled.
(acet-sys-lasterr)
Report last error.
Return Values
Returns the error code of the last error encountered by routines in the acetutil library.
(acet-sys-procid)
Returns the current process identifier.
Return Values
The current process identifier.
(acet-sys-sleep msecs)
Delay, allowing other processes to run.
Arguments
msecs: The (minimum) number of milliseconds to release control.
Return Values
nil
Note:
The system may delay the current process for more than the requested amount of time.
(acet-sys-spawn flags command [argument ...])
Execute an external program.
Arguments
flags: A bitmap of flags indicating how the external program should be executed. Supported flags:
1 = wait for the program to complete
2 = run program minimized
command: A string containing the name of the external program.
argument ...: A set of arguments to be passed to the external program.
Return Values
If this function waits for program completion the return value is the exit code from the program,
otherwise the return value is the process ID for the new process. See (acet-sys-term) and
(acet-sys-wait).
(acet-sys-term processID)
Terminate the given process.
Arguments
processID: The process ID of the process to terminate.
Return Values
T on success.
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(acet-sys-wait processID [time])
Wait for a process to complete.
Arguments
processID: The process ID for the sub-process.
time If given, the number of milliseconds to wait.
Return Values
The exit code from the given process, or -1 if an error occurred or time expired.
User Interface Functions
(acet-ui-message message [caption [type]])
Displays a message box.
Arguments
message: A text string containing the message to display. Multiple lines may be separated by ' '
characters.
caption: If provided, the caption for the dialog. Defaults to "Error".
type: If provided, a bitmap of various flags used to achieve different effects.
The following type flags are available:
Base types
0 = Acet:OK
1 = Acet:OKCANCEL
2 = Acet:ABORTRETRYIGNORE
3 = Acet:YESNOCANCEL
4 = Acet:YESNO
5 = Acet:RETRYCANCEL
Icons
16 = Acet:ICONSTOP
32 = Acet:ICONQUESTION
48 = Acet:ICONWARNING
64 = Acet:ICONINFORMATION
Default buttons
0 = Acet:DEFBUTTON1
256 = Acet:DEFBUTTON2
512 = Acet:DEFBUTTON3
768 = Acet:DEFBUTTON4
Return Values
Returns one of the following values:
1 = Acet:IDOK
2 = Acet:IDCANCEL
3 = Acet:IDABORT
4 = Acet:IDRETRY
5 = Acet:IDIGNORE
6 = Acet:IDYES
7 = Acet:IDNO
8 = Acet:IDCLOSE
9 = Acet:IDHELP
Library: acetutil.arx
(acet-ui-pickdir [message [startDir [caption]]])
Displays a directory selection dialog.
Arguments
message: If provided, a message to be displayed in the space above the directory tree control.
startDir: If provided, the initial directory to be selected.
caption: If provided, the dialog caption.
Return Values
A string containing the name of the selected directory, or nil if the dialog was canceled.
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Library: acetutil.arx
(acet-ui-progress [label [max]])
(acet-ui-progress current)
Display progress meter.
Arguments
label: If provided, a text string that will appear as a label for the progress meter.
max: If provided, the maximum value in the range to be displayed (starting with 0).
current: If provided, gives the current value, which should be less than max; positive values are
absolute while negative values increment the current position.
If no parameters are provided, the progress meter is removed.
Return Values
The return value depends on the action performed:
Initialize: returns T if successful, otherwise NIL.
Update: returns current.
Restore: returns NIL.
Example:
;; init meter
(acet-ui-progress "Working:" (length theList))
;; process each item
(foreach item theList
;; perform action
(doSomethingTo item)
;; update meter by one item
(acet-ui-progress -1)
)
;; kill meter
(acet-ui-progress)
Library: acetutil.arx
(acet-ui-status [message [caption]])
Displays a modeless status dialog.
Arguments
message: If provided, a text string to be displayed in the dialog.
caption: If provided, a text string to be used as the dialog caption.
If no parameters are provided, the dialog is hidden.
Return Values
nil
Note:
The status dialog may be moved by the user. It will remember it's position and contents during the
current session.
Library: acetutil.arx
(acet-ui-txted [text [caption [note]]])
Display a multi-line text editing dialog.
Arguments
text: If provided, a text string to be displayed as the initial contents. Lines can be separated with "\r\n"
sequences.
caption: If provided, text to be used as the dialog caption.
note: If provided, an additional text string to be displayed above the text editing control.
Return Values
A string containing the text contents if the user presses the OK button, or nil if the user presses the
Cancel button.
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Library: acetutil.arx
Utility Functions
(acet-util-ver)
Identify module version.
Return Values
Returns a REAL value containing the current version number of the acetutil.arx library.

You are visitor number

This is a list of all the Xrefs that are attached to this drawing. To test it, Detach one of the Xrefs from the
drawing and Regen the drawing. The list will update.
Now open up the text file "Notes.txt" within Notepad and make a few changes to the notes. Save the file
and return to the drawing. Again Regen your drawing, and again watch the notes automatically update.

All of these magic tricks were achieved by using the Rtext function along with a few Diesel expressions.
Let's now have a wee bit of a closer look!!
Reactive text (RText) objects are displayed the same way normal Text or MText objects are displayed,
but the source for the text is either an external text file or the value of a DIESEL expression. You can
edit an RText object with the RTEDIT command.
Command: RTEXT
Current text style: STANDARD Text height: 0.2000 Text rotation: 0
Enter an option [Style/Height/Rotation/File/Diesel] <Diesel>: Specify an option
Options
Style Select a text style.
Height Specify a text height.
Rotation Specify a rotation value.
File Use an external text file.
Diesel Use DIESEL code.
Tip:
Once you have created an RText object with the File option, you can identify the associated text file with
the LIST command.
Note:
If a drawing with an RText object is opened on a computer that does not have RTEXT installed, the
proxy object that results displays the bounding box of the RText object. If you plan to send your
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drawing to someone who does not have RTEXT, you can explode the RText objects to MText objects
with the EXPLODE command.
You can use an RText object as a file reference to display text, such as a sheet note or a legal
disclaimer, that is common to several drawings. You can also use it to display larger bodies of text such
as specifications or assembly instructions.
Here are some examples of how RText objects with DIESEL expressions can be used in your drawings.
To display the drawing name:
Drawing file: $(getvar, "dwgname")
Output:
Drawing file: 102-fp12.dwg
To include the directory path with the file name:
Drawing name: $(getvar, "dwgprefix")$(getvar, "dwgname")
Output:
Drawing file: C:\Projects\97-102\Arch\102-fp12.dwg
Note:
If you reference the drawing path or name in a standard title block, it will always display the file name of
the drawing, even if the title block appears in an Xref file.
When you plot a drawing, you may want the hard copy to show the date and the time that the plot was
created. The following DIESEL expression displays this information in your drawing:
$(edtime, 0, MON DD"," YYYY - H:MMam/pm)
Output:
Mar 22, 2000 - 11:12pm
The $(getprop) DIESEL function
RText supports Drawing Properties through a locally defined $(getprop) DIESEL function. With
$(getprop), values from Drawing Properties dialog box tabs can be extracted and displayed in RText
objects.
The syntax for the $(getprop) DIESEL function is:
$(getprop, property name)
where property name; can be any of the following fields from the DWGPROPS command:
Title
Subject
Author
Comments
Keywords
LastSavedBy
Revno
Custom Property the name of a custom property
For example, if the Drawing Properties for a drawing contains the text "Excavated Site"
is the Subject, the DIESEL expression:
Subject: $(getprop, subject)
in an RText object will display as:
Subject: Excavated Site
Note:
The $(getprop) DIESEL function is supported only in RText objects. Unlike arguments supplied to other
DIESEL functions, arguments to $(getprop) cannot be quoted. Arguments are not case sensitive.
If you have a custom property named "Project Name", the following DIESEL expression will display the
value:
Project: $(getprop, %PROJECT NAME)
Note:
Rtext and Drawing Setup
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Errors in using $(getprop), such as improper syntax or bad arguments, will display (GETPROP ERROR).
If a nonexistent custom property name is used, $(getprop) will display an empty string.
The $(xrefs) DIESEL function
RText supports listing Xref files attached to a drawing through the $(xrefs) DIESEL function.
The syntax for the $(xrefs) DIESEL function is:
$(xrefs [, flags [, leader [, trailer]]])
flags A collection of bitflags with the following meanings:
1 = (default) include Xref file name (not exclusive with flag 2)
2 = include Xref block name (not exclusive with flag 1)
4 = don't display file name extension
8 = don't display path
16 = show nesting with additional spacing
leader A text string inserted before each Xref entry.
trailer A text string appended to each Xref entry except the last.
Example:
The RText DIESEL expression:
$(xrefs,3)
displays a list of Xrefs in the following format:
B-ELEC [c:\proj-14\b-elec.dwg]
M-ELEC [c:\proj-14\m-elec.dwg]
R-ELEC [c:\proj-14\r-elec.dwg]
F-ELEC [c:\proj-14\f-elec.dwg]
while the expression:
$(xrefs,2,Includes: )
will list the Xrefs as:
Includes: B-ELEC
Includes: M-ELEC
Includes: R-ELEC
Includes: F-ELEC
The $(images) DIESEL function
RText supports listing images attached to the drawing through the $(images) DIESEL function.
The syntax for the $(images) DIESEL function is:
$(images [, flags [, leader [, trailer]]])
flags A collection of bitflags with the following meanings:
4 = don't display file name extension
8 = don't display path
leader A text string inserted before each Image entry.
trailer A text string added each Image entry except the last one.
Behavior is similar to the $(xrefs) function.
The $(getrec) DIESEL function
RText supports displaying Xrecord data through the $(getrec) DIESEL function.
The syntax for the $(getrec) DIESEL function is:
$(getrec, key, code)
key Entry name in the Named Object Dictionary.
Rtext and Drawing Setup
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code Group code to extract.
The $(getrec) function extracts a value from an Xrecord by looking in the Named Object Dictionary for
key, then for a data value associated with code. Currently, only group codes in the ranges 1-9 (string),
40-59 (real), 60-79 (integer) and 300-309 (string) are supported.

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Visual Lisp Editor - The Beginning
Have you ever wondered where the Visual Lisp Editor came from?
Would you like a copy of the original standalone Visual Lisp Editor?
Are you still using R14 (or even R12 of R13) and don't have the Visual Lisp Extensions?
Then you've come to the right place.
The original Visual Lisp Editor is cracker of an application. Small in size (202KB), easy to use AND you
don't have to have AutoCAD installed to use it.
Find Closed Paren
This command will find the closing parenthesis of any statement in an AutoLISP routine. It will
also tell you if there is no closing parenthesis to the chosen statement.
G
Format Lisp
This command will format an existing document or a document you are working on according to
the depth of nesting you have written.
G
Function Master
Using this command will bring up a dialog box that allows you to have a listing of every AutoLISP
function that was currently available at the time (1993).
G
Variable Master
Using this command will bring up a dialog box that allows you to have a listing of every variable
you have used so far in a program.
G
Download "Visual Lisp - The Beginning"
Don't worry, It's FREE.

Visual Lisp Editor - The Beginning

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Visual Lisp Editor - The Beginning
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Home. Page II.
Using the Visual Lisp Editor
This tutorial is a crash course in using the Visual Lisp Editor, and is not intended to be detailed or
fully comprehensive. The aim is to show you the main functions of the Editor with the intention of
getting you up and running as quickly as possible.
Right, enough waffle, let's get started. Fire up AutoCAD and open a new drawing.
Now choose "TOOLS" - "AUTOLISP" - "VISUAL LISP EDITOR".
The Visual Lisp Editor will open and should look like this :
Let's start off by having a look at the Console Window :
The VLISP Console window is similar in some respects to the AutoCAD Command window, but
has a few extra features. You enter text into the Console window following the Console prompt
Using the Visual Lisp Editor
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which looks like this :
_$
Type this in the Console prompt and then press "Enter" :
_$ (setq a "Test")
Now type this and again press "Enter" :
_$ a
Your Console window should look like this :
To view the value of a variable at the AutoCAD Command prompt, you must precede the variable
name with an exclamation mark. ( ! ) In VLISP, you simply type the variable name.
Unlike the AutoCAD Command window, where pressing SPACEBAR causes expression
evaluation, text input at the VLISP Console prompt is not processed until you press
ENTER. This permits you to do the following in the Console window:
Continue an AutoLISP expression on a new line. To continue entering an
expression on a new line, press CTRL +ENTER at the point you want to continue.
G
Input more than one expression before pressing ENTER. VLISP evaluates each
expression before returning a value to the Console window.
G
If you select text in the Console window (for example, the result of a previous
command or a previously entered expression), then press ENTER, VLISP copies the
selected text at the Console prompt.
G
The VLISP Console window and the AutoCAD Command window differ in the way they
process the SPACEBAR and TAB keys. In the VLISP Console window, a space plays no
special role and serves only as a separator. In the AutoCAD Command window, pressing
the SPACEBAR outside an expression causes AutoCAD to process the text immediately,
as if you had pressed ENTER.
Using the Console Window History
You can retrieve text you previously entered in the Console window by pressing TAB
while at the Console prompt. Each time you press TAB, the previously entered text
replaces the text at the Console prompt. You can repeatedly press TAB until you cycle
through all the text entered at the Console prompt during your VLISP session. After
youve scrolled to the first entered line, VLISP starts again by retrieving the last
command entered in the Console window, and the cycle repeats. Press SHIFT + TAB to
scroll the input history in the opposite direction. For example, assume you entered the
following commands at the Console prompt:
(setq origin (getpoint "\nOrigin of inyn sign: "))
(setq radius (getdist "\nRadius of inyn sign: " origin))
(setq half-r (/ radius 2))
(setq origin-x (car origin))
(command "_.CIRCLE" origin radius)
Using the Visual Lisp Editor
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To retrieve commands entered in the Console window
1 Press TAB once. VLISP retrieves the last command entered and places it at the Console
prompt:
_$ (command "_.CIRCLE" origin radius)
2 Press TAB again. The following command displays at the Console prompt:
_$ (setq origin-x (car origin))
3 Press TAB again. VLISP displays the following command:
_$ (setq half-r (/ radius 2))
4 Now press SHIFT+ TAB . VLISP reverses direction and retrieves the command you
entered after the previous command:
_$ (setq origin-x (car origin))
5 Press SHIFT+ TAB again. VLISP displays the following command:
_$ (command "_.CIRCLE" origin radius)
This was the last command you entered at the Console prompt.
6 Press SHIFT+ TAB again. Because the previous command retrieved was the last
command you entered during this VLISP session, VLISP starts again by retrieving the
first command you entered in the Console window:
_$ (setq origin (getpoint "\nOrigin of inyn sign: "))
Note that if you enter the same expression more than once, it appears only once as you
cycle through the Console window input history. You can perform an associative search
in the input history to retrieve a specific command that you previously entered. To
perform an associative search of the Console input history
1 Enter the text you want to locate. For example, enter (command at the Console prompt:
_$ (command
2 Press TAB. VLISP searches for the last text you entered that began with (command:
_$ (command "_.CIRCLE" origin radius)
If VLISP does not find a match, it does nothing (except possibly emit a beep). Press
SHIFT+ TAB to reverse the direction of the associative search and find progressively
less-recent inputs.
Interrupting Commands and Clearing the Console Input Area
To interrupt a command entered in the Console window, press SHIFT + ESC. For
example, if you enter an invalid function call like the following:
_$ ((setq origin-x (car origin)
((_>
Pressing SHIFT + ESC interrupts the command, and VLISP displays an "input discarded"
message like the following:
((_>; <input discarded>
_$
If you type text at the Console prompt, but do not press ENTER, then pressing ESC
clears the text you typed. If you press SHIFT + ESC, VLISP leaves the text you entered in
the Console window but displays a new prompt without evaluating the text.
If you type part of a command at the Console prompt, but activate the AutoCAD window
Using the Visual Lisp Editor
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before pressing ENTER, VLISP displays a new prompt when you next activate the VLISP
window. The text you typed is visible in the Console window history, so you can copy
and paste it, but you cannot retrieve the text by pressing TAB , because it was not added
to the Console history buffer.

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The Beginning III

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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AutoCAD 2000 Object Model
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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
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AutoCAD 2000 Object Model
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Viewing AutoCAD Objects
Visual Lisp has a great way of letting you view AutoCAD Objects by allowing you to
"walk" through the drawing database. Let's have a wee look at what's on offer. Open
AutoCAD with a blank drawing, and then open the Visual Lisp Editor. Let's set up what
information we would like to see first :
Choose "Tools" - "Environment Options" - "General Options". G
Click the "Diagnostic tab" in the "General Options" window. G
Select "Inspect Drawing Objects Verbosely to view detailed entity information. G
Now choose "View" - "Browse Drawing Database" - "Browse Tables". G
The "Drawing Tables" Inspection window will now open :
That's very nice!! We have a list of the symbol tables in our drawing.
Now, double-click on <Layers> :
Even better! Now we've got a list of all the Layers in our drawing.
Double-click on Layer <2> :
Viewing AutoCAD Objects
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Crikey, now we've got a list of all the Layers attributes "including" the AutoLisp Entity list!!!
Now draw a line, a circle, and some text anywhere in your drawing and then select "View" -
"Browse Drawing Database" - "Browse All Entities". The following Inspect window will
open :
Now double-click on <TEXT> :
Now we've got a list of all the text attributes.
Just one more so that you get the idea. This time choose "View" - "Browse Drawing
Database" - "Browse Selection". The AutoCAD window will appear prompting you to
select objects. Do just that :
A list of all entities contained in your selection set will be displayed. This time
double-click on the <Line> object :
Again a list of the Objects attributes are displayed.
Insert a few more Objects into your drawing such as blocks, blocks with attributes, polylines,
hatches,etc.
Viewing AutoCAD Objects
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This set of tools gives you a good idea of how the AutoCAD Object Model is put together. Play
around the them, you'll learn a lot........

You are visitor number

Let's move the line we've just drawn :

_$ (setq apt2 (getpoint "Specify Base Point: "))
(220.911 526.575 0.0)
_$ (setq pt2 (getpoint "Specify second point: " apt2))
(383.02 617.889 0.0)
_$ (vla-move myline (vlax-3d-point apt2)(vlax-3d-point pt2))

Now let's "dump" the Object, but this time we'll use the "T" flag to display the Objects
Methods as well as it's Properties.
_$ (vlax-dump-object myline T)
; IAcadLine: AutoCAD Line Interface
; Property values:
; Angle (RO) = 5.60729
; Application (RO) = #<VLA-OBJECT IAcadApplication 00adc088>
; Color = 256
; Delta (RO) = (246.112 -197.356 0.0)
; Document (RO) = #<VLA-OBJECT IAcadDocument 00b94e14>
; EndPoint = (629.133 420.533 0.0)
; Handle (RO) = "957"
; HasExtensionDictionary (RO) = 0
; Hyperlinks (RO) = #<VLA-OBJECT IAcadHyperlinks 01e84574>
; Layer = "7"
; Length (RO) = 315.469
; Linetype = "BYLAYER"
; LinetypeScale = 1.0
; Lineweight = -1
; Normal = (0.0 0.0 1.0)
; ObjectID (RO) = 25187832
; ObjectName (RO) = "AcDbLine"
; OwnerID (RO) = 25186496
Properties and Methods
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; PlotStyleName = "ByLayer"
; StartPoint = (383.02 617.889 0.0)
; Thickness = 0.0
; Visible = -1
; Methods supported:
; ArrayPolar (3)
; ArrayRectangular (6)
; Copy ()
; Delete ()
; GetBoundingBox (2)
; GetExtensionDictionary ()
; GetXData (3)
; Highlight (1)
; IntersectWith (2)
; Mirror (2)
; Mirror3D (3)
; Move (2)
; Offset (1)
; Rotate (2)
; Rotate3D (3)
; ScaleEntity (2)
; SetXData (2)
; TransformBy (1)
; Update ()
"But, the syntax of the "Move" method you used in Visual Lisp, is different from the VBA
syntax!! How do I know how to call the function in Visual Lisp?"
Don't worry, we'll be having a look at that on the next page.
Before we go there, here's a little application that will dump all Properties and Methods for
selected Objects :
;coding starts here
(defun C:HaveaDump ( / ent)
(vl-load-com)
(while
(setq ent (entsel))
(vlax-dump-object (vlax-Ename->Vla-Object (car ent)) T)

);while
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;coding ends here
On the next page we'll have a look at how we call Property and Method Functions. See you
there.......

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Properties and Methods

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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
Properties and Methods
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Home. Page I. Page III.
Properties and Methods - Page II.
How to Call a Visual Lisp Function
Right, you've identified the Visual Lisp Property or Method that you need, but you still
need to determine how to call the function. You need to know the arguments to specify
and the data type of those arguments.
Let's look at Properties first.
The syntax for the Layer Property in VBA is as follows :
object.Layer or object.property
object : All Drawing objects, AttributeRef, Group. The object or objects this property applies to.
Layer : String; read-write (write-only for the Group object). The name of the layer.
Remarks
All entities have an associated layer. The document always contains at least one layer (layer 0). As with
linetypes, you can specify a layer for an entity. If you dont specify a layer, the current active layer is
used for a new entity. If a layer is specified for an entity, the current active layer is ignored. Use the
ActiveLayer property to set or query the current active layer.
Each layer has associated properties that can be set and queried through the Layer object.
In VBA you would use
Oldlayer =object.Layer to retrieve the Layer Name, and
object.Layer ="2" to change the Layer Name.
Visual Lisp provides functions for reading and updating Object Properties.
Functions that read Object Properties are named with a vla-get prefix and require the
following syntax :
(vla-get-property object)
For example, "vla-get-layer object" returns the Layer the Object is on.
Enter this in the Visual Lisp Console :
_$ (vl-load-com)
_$ (setq acadDocument (vla-get-activedocument (vlax-get-acad-object)))
#<VLA-OBJECT IAcadDocument 00b94e14>
_$ (setq mspace (vla-get-modelspace acadDocument))
#<VLA-OBJECT IAcadModelSpace 01e42444>
_$ (setq apt (getpoint "Specify First Point: "))
(307.86 539.809 0.0)
_$ (setq pt (getpoint "Specify next point: " apt))
(738.188 479.426 0.0)
_$ (setq myline (vla-addline mspace (vlax-3d-point apt)(vlax-3d-point pt)))
#<VLA-OBJECT IAcadLine 01e81de4>
Properties and Methods II
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_$ (setq oldlayer (vla-get-layer myline))
"7"
The variable "oldLayer" now contains the Layer name of your Line Object.
Functions that update Properties are prefixed with vla-put and use the following syntax :
(vla-put-property object new-value)
For example, "vla-put-layer object new-value" changes the layer of the Object.
Enter this at the Console prompt :
_$ (vla-put-layer myline "4")
nil
Your line will have now changed to Layer "4".
Let's have a look at Methods now.
The syntax for the "Offset" Method in VBA is as follows :
RetVal = object.Offset(Distance) or Return Value = object.Method (arguments)
Object : Arc, Circle, Ellipse, Line, LightweightPolyline, Polyline, Spline, XLine. The object or objects this
method applies to.
Distance : Double; input-only. The distance to offset the object. The offset can be a positive or negative
number, but it cannot equal zero. If the offset is negative, this is interpreted as being an offset to make a
"smaller" curve (that is, for an arc it would offset to a radius that is "Distance less" than the starting
curve's radius). If "smaller" has no meaning, then it would offset in the direction of smaller X, Y, and Z
WCS coordinates.
RetVal : Variant (array of objects). An array of the newly created objects resulting from the offset.
In VBA you would use
offsetObj = object.offset(15.5) to Offset an Object.
The syntax definitions used in the "ActiveX and VBA Reference" were designed for Visual Basic
Users. Consider the VBA Offset Method :
returnvalue = object.Method (arguments)
returnvalue = object.Offset(Distance) or using the names in our example
offLine = myline.Offset(15.5)
The syntax for the same operation in Visual Lisp is :
(setq returnvalue (vla-method object argument)) or using our names
(setq offLine (vla-offset myline 15.5))
Different Objects have different Methods but the same principle applies.
Type this at the Console prompt :
_$ (setq offLine (vla-offset myline 15.5))
#<variant 8201 ...>
The variable "offLine", now contains the data for your newly created line in the form of a
variant array.
So to recap :
vla-get- functions correspond to every ActiveX Property, enabling you to retrieve
the value of that Property (for example, vla-get-Color obtains an Object's Color
Property.
G
Properties and Methods II
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vla-put- functions correspond to every Property, enabling you to update the value
of the Property (for example, vla-put-Color updates an Objects Color Property.
G
vla- functions correspond to every ActiveX Method. Use these functions to invoke
the Method (for example, vla-addCircle invokes the addCircle Method.
G
Visual Lisp also adds a set of ActiveX-related functions whose names are prefixed with
vlax-. These are more general ActiveX functions, each of which can be applied to
numerous Methods, Properties or Objects. For example, with the vlax-get-property
function, you can obtain any Property of any ActiveX Object.
On the next page we'll have a look at how we can determine whether an Object is
available for updating and whether a Method or a Property applies to an Object.
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Properties and Methods III

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Properties and Methods III
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Visual Lisp Methods Reference
Back to the Tutorials

A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A big thank you to the following people for help in compiling this reference :
Stig Madsen; Randall Rath; David Stein, J onathan Trostat, Namibian Breweries.
As you can see, this reference is still far from complete but I'm busy working on it as time permits. If you
feel that you have an example of a method that you would like to contribute, please feel free to mail it to
me. Don't worry if it's a method that has an example already, if yours is different, I will post it as well.
Hey, you'll even get your name at the top of the page.
A
Activate - Makes the specified drawing active.
Add - Creates a member object and adds it to the appropriate collection.
Add3DFace - Creates a 3DFace object given four vertices.
Add3DMesh - Creates a free-form 3D mesh, given the number of points in the M and N directions and the
coordinates of the points in the M and N directions.
Add3DPoly - Creates a 3D polyline from the given array of coordinates.
AddArc - Creates an arc given the center, radius, start angle, and end angle of the arc.
AddAttribute - Creates an attribute definition at the given location with the specified properties.
AddBox - Creates a 3D solid box with edges parallel to the axes of the WCS.
AddCircle - Creates a circle given a center point and radius.
AddCone - Creates a 3D solid cone with the base on the XY plane of the WCS.
AddCustomObject - Creates a Custom object.
AddCylinder - Creates a 3D solid cylinder whose base is on the XY plane of the WCS.
AddDim3PointAngular - Creates an angular dimension using 3 points.
AddDimAligned - Creates an aligned dimension object.
AddDimAngular - Creates an angular dimension for an arc, two lines, or a circle.
AddDimDiametric - Creates a diametric dimension for a circle or arc given the two points on the diameter
and the length of the leader line.
AddDimOrdinate - Creates an ordinate dimension given the definition point, and leader endpoint.
AddDimRadial - Creates a radial dimension for the selected object at the given location.
AddDimRotated - Creates a rotated linear dimension.
AddEllipse - Creates an ellipse in the XY plane of the WCS given the center point, a point on the major
axis, and the radius ratio.
AddEllipticalCone - Creates a 3D solid elliptical cone on the XY plane of the WCS given the Center,
MajorRadius, MinorRadius, and Height.
AddEllipticalCylinder - Creates a 3D solid elliptical cylinder whose base is on the XY plane of the WCS,
given the Center, MajorRadius, MinorRadius, and Height.
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AddExtrudedSolid - Creates an extruded solid given the Profile, Height, and TaperAngle.
AddExtrudedSolidAlongPath - Creates an extruded solid given the profile and an extrusion path.
AddFitPoint - Adds the fit point to the spline at a given index.
AddHatch - Creates a Hatch object.
AddItems - Adds one or more objects to the specified selection set.
AddLeader - Creates a leader line, given the coordinates of the points.
AddLightweightPolyline - Creates a lightweight polyline from a list of vertices.
AddLine - Creates a line passing through two points.
AddMenuItem - Adds a popup menu item to a popup menu.
AddMInsertBlock - Inserts an array of blocks.
AddMLine - Creates multiple lines passing through an array of points.
AddMtext - Creates an MText entity in a rectangle defined by the insertion point and width of the
bounding box.
AddObject - Adds an object to a named dictionary.
AddPoint - Creates a Point object at a given location.
AddPolyfaceMesh - Creates a polyface mesh from a list of vertices.
AddPolyline - Creates a polyline from a list of vertices.
AddPViewport - Adds a paper space viewport, given the center, height, and width.
AddRaster - Creates a new raster image based on an existing image file.
AddRay - Creates a ray passing through two unique points.
AddRegion - Creates a region from a set of entities. The given entities must form a closed coplanar
region.
AddRevolvedSolid - Creates a revolved solid, given the region around an axis.
AddSeparator - Adds a separator to an existing menu or toolbar.
AddShape - Creates a Shape object based on a template identified by name, at the given insertion point,
scale factor, and rotation.
AddSolid - Creates a 2D solid polygon.
AddSphere - Creates a sphere given the center and radius.
AddSpline - Creates a quadratic or cubic NURBS (nonuniform rational B-spline) curve.
AddSubMenu - Adds a submenu to an existing menu.
AddText - Creates a single line of text.
AddTolerance - Creates a tolerance entity.
AddToolbarButton - Adds a toolbar item to a toolbar at a specified position.
AddTorus - Creates a torus at the given location.
AddTrace - Creates a Trace object from an array of points.
AddVertex - Adds a vertex to a lightweight polyline.
AddWedge - Creates a wedge with edges parallel to the axes given the length, width, and height.
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AddXLine - Creates an xline (an infinite line) passing through two specified points.
AddXRecord - Creates an XRecord object in any dictionary.
AngleFromXAxis - Gets the angle of a line from the X axis.
AngleToReal - Converts an angle as a string to a real (double) value.
AngleToString - Converts an angle from a real (double) value to a string.
AppendInnerLoop - Appends an inner loop to the hatch.
AppendItems - Appends one or more entities to the specified group.
AppendOuterLoop - Appends an outer loop to the hatch.
AppendVertex - Appends a vertex to the end of a 3DPolyline , Polyline or PolygonMesh object.
ArrayPolar - Creates a polar array of objects given a NumberOfObjects, AngleToFill, and CenterPoint.
ArrayRectangular - Creates a 2D or 3D rectangular array of objects.
AttachExternalReference - Attaches an external reference (xref) to the drawing.
AttachToolbarToFlyout - Attaches a toolbar to a toolbar button defined as a flyout.
AuditInfo - Evaluates the integrity of the drawing.
B
Bind - Binds an external reference (xref) to a drawing.
Boolean - Performs a boolean operation (union, intersect, or subtract) between the object and another
3DSolid or Region object.
C
CheckInterference - Checks for interference between two solids and, if specified, creates a solid from the
interference.
Clear - Clears the specified selection set of all items.
ClipBoundary - Specifies the clipping boundary for a raster image.
Close - Closes the specified drawing, or all open drawings.
Copy - Duplicates the given object to the same location.
CopyFrom - Copies the settings from the given plot configuration.
CopyObjects - Duplicates multiple objects (deep cloning).
CopyProfile - Copies the specified profile.
CreateTypedArray - Creates a variant that contains an array of typed arguments.
D
Delete - Deletes a specified object or a set of saved layer settings.
DeleteConfiguration - Deletes a viewport configuration.
DeleteFitPoint - Deletes the fit point of a spline at a given index.
DeleteProfile - Deletes the specified profile.
Detach - Detachs an external reference (xref) from a drawing.
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Display - Toggles the display control of the PViewport object on or off.
DisplayPlotPreview - Displays the Plot Preview dialog box with the specified partial or full view preview.
DistanceToReal - Converts a distance from a string to a real (double) value.
Dock - Docks the toolbar to the owning frame window.
E
ElevateOrder - Elevates the order of the spline to the given order.
EndUndoMark - Marks the end of a block of operations.
Erase - Erases all the objects in a selection set.
Eval - Evaluates an Expression in VBA.
Evaluate - Evaluates the given hatch or leader.
Explode - Explodes the compound object into subentities.
Export - Exports a drawing or a group of saved layer settings to a file.
ExportProfile - Exports the active profile so it can be shared with other users.
F
Float - Floats the toolbar.
G
GetAcadState - Gets an AcadState object to monitor the state of AutoCAD from out-of-process
applications.
GetAllProfileNames - Gets all available profiles for the system.
GetAngle - Gets the angle specified. Considers the setting of the ANGBASE system variable.
GetAttributes - Gets the attributes in the block reference.
GetBitmaps - Gets the large and small bitmaps used as icons for the toolbar item.
GetBoundingBox - Gets two points of a box enclosing the specified object.
GetBulge - Gets the bulge value at a given index of the polyline.
GetCanonicalMediaNames - Gets all available canonical media names for the specified plot device.
GetConstantAttributes - Gets the constant attributes in the block or external reference.
GetControlPoint - Gets the coordinates of the control point at a given index.
GetCorner - Gets a corner of a rectangle.
GetCustomScale - Gets the custom scale for a layout or plot configuration.
GetDistance - Gets the distance from the prompt line or a selected set of points on the screen.
GetEntity - Gets an object interactively.
GetExtensionDictionary - Gets the extension dictionary associated with an object.
GetFitPoint - Gets the fit point of a spline at a given index.
GetFont - Gets the definition data of the font for the TextStyle.
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GetGridSpacing - Gets the grid spacing for the viewport.
GetInput - Converts an input string from the user into a keyword index.
GetInteger - Gets an integer value from the user.
GetInterfaceObject - Accepts a program ID and attempts to load it into AutoCAD as an in-process server.
GetInvisibleEdge - Gets the visibility setting for an edge of a 3DFace object at a given index.
GetKeyword - Gets a keyword string from the user.
GetLocaleMediaName - Gets the localized version of the canonical media name.
GetLoopAt - Gets the hatch loop at a given index.
GetName - Gets the name (keyword) of an object in a dictionary.
GetObject - Gets the object in a dictionary, given the name (keyword) of the object.
GetOrientation - Gets the angle specified. Ignores the setting of the ANGBASE system variable.
GetPaperMargins - Gets the margins for the layout or plot configuration.
GetPaperSize - Gets the width and height of the configured paper.
GetPlotDeviceNames - Gets all available plot device names.
GetPlotStyleTableNames - Gets all available plot style table names.
GetPoint - Gets the point selected in AutoCAD.
GetProjectFilePath - Gets the directory in which AutoCAD looks for external reference files.
GetReal - Gets a real (double) value from the user.
GetRemoteFile - Downloads the file specified by a URL.
GetSnapSpacing - Gets the snap spacing for the viewport.
GetString - Gets a string from the user.
GetSubEntity - Gets an object or subentity interactively.
GetUCSMatrix - Gets the transformation matrix consisting of UCS coordinate system data.
GetVariable - Gets the current setting of an AutoCAD system variable.
GetWeight - Gets the weight of the control point at a given index.
GetWidth - Gets the start and end width for a polyline.
GetWindowToPlot - Gets the coordinates that define the portion of the layout to plot.
GetXData - Gets the extended data (XData) associated with an object.
GetXRecordData - Gets the extended record data (XRecordData) associated with a dictionary.
H
HandleToObject - Gets the object that corresponds to the given handle.
Highlight - Sets the highlight status for the given object, or for all objects in a given selection set.
I
Import - Imports a drawing or a group of saved layer settings from a file.
ImportProfile - Imports a profile created by another user.
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InitializeUserInput - Initializes the GetKeyword method.
InsertBlock - Inserts a drawing file or a named block that has been defined in the current drawing.
InsertInMenuBar - Inserts the popup menu into the AutoCAD menu bar at a specified location.
InsertLoopAt - Inserts a loop at a given index of a hatch.
InsertMenuInMenuBar - Inserts a menu into the AutoCAD menu bar.
IntersectWith - Gets the points where one object intersects another object in the drawing.
IsRemoteFile - Returns the URL that a remote file was downloaded from.
IsURL - Validates a given URL.
Item - Gets the member object at a given index in a collection, group, or selection set.
J
K
L
LaunchBrowserDialog - Launches the Web Browser dialog that allows the user to navigate to any URL
and select a URL.
ListARX - Gets the currently loaded AutoCAD ARX applications.
Load - Loads a menu group from a menu file or the definition of a linetype from a library (LIN) file.
LoadARX - Loads the specified AutoCAD ARX application.
LoadDVB - Loads the specified AutoCAD VBA project file.
LoadShapeFile - Loads a shape file (SHX).
M
Mirror - Creates a mirror image copy of a planar object around an axis.
Mirror3D - Creates a mirror image of the given object about a plane.
Move - Moves an object along a vector.
N
New - Creates a new document in SDI mode.
O
ObjectIDToObject - Gets the object that corresponds to the given object ID.
Offset - Creates a new object at a specified offset distance from an existing object.
Open - Opens an existing drawing file (DWG) and makes it the active document.
P
PlotToDevice - Plots a layout to a device.
PlotToFile - Plots a layout to the specified file.
PolarPoint - Gets the point at a specified angle and distance from a given point.
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Prompt - Posts a prompt to the command line.
PurgeAll - Removes unused named references such as unused blocks or layers from the document.
PurgetFitData - Purges the fit data of a spline.
PutRemoteFile - Uploads a file to a remote location specified a URL.
Q
Quit - Closes the drawing file and exits the AutoCAD application.
R
RealToString - Converts a real (double) value to a string.
RefreshPlotDeviceInfo - Updates the plot, canonical media, and plot style table information to reflect the
current system state.
Regen - Regenerates the entire drawing and recomputes the screen coordinates and view resolution for
all objects.
Reload - Reloads the external reference (xref).
Remove - Removes a named object from the dictionary.
RemoveItems - Removes specified items from the group or selection set.
RemoveFromMenuBar - Removes the popup menu from the AutoCAD menu bar.
RemoveMenuFromMenuBar - Removes the popup menu, as specified from the collection, from the
AutoCAD menu bar.
Rename - Renames an item in a dictionary or a set of saved layer settings.
RenameProfile - Renames the specified profile.
Replace - Replaces an item in the dictionary by a given item.
ResetProfile - Resets the value in the specified profile to its default values.
Restore - Restores a group of layer property settings.
Reverse - Reverses the direction of a spline.
Rotate - Rotates an object around a base point.
Rotate3D - Rotates an object around a 3D axis. Point1 and Point2 define the line that becomes the axis of
rotation.
RunMacro - Runs a VBA macro from the Application object.
S
Save - Saves a document, menu group, or group of layer property settings.
SaveAs - Saves the document or menu group to a specified file.
ScaleEntity - Scales an object equally in the X, Y, and Z directions.
SectionSolid - Creates a region that represents the intersection of a plane defined by three points and
the solid.
Select - Selects objects and places them into a selection set.
SelectAtPoint - Selects an object passing through a given point and places it into a selection set.
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SelectByPolygon - Selects entities within a fence and adds them to the selection set.
SelectOnScreen - Prompts the user to pick an object from the screen.
SendCommand - Sends a command string to the document for syncronous processing.
SetBitmaps - Sets the large and small bitmaps used as icons for the toolbar item.
SetBulge - Sets the bulge for the polyline at the given index.
SetControlPoint - Sets the control point of the spline at a given index.
SetCustomScale - Sets the custom scale for a layout or plot configuration.
SetDatabase - Associates an AutoCAD database with the LayerStateManager object.
SetFitPoint - Sets a fit point for the spline.
SetFont - Sets the definition data of the font for the TextStyle.
SetGridSpacing - Sets the grid spacing for the viewport.
SetInvisibleEdge - Sets the visibility state of an edge at a given index.
SetLayoutsToPlot - Specifies the layout or layouts to plot.
SetPattern - Sets the pattern name and pattern type for the hatch.
SetProjectFilePath - Sets the directory in which AutoCAD looks for external reference files.
SetSnapSpacing - Sets the snap spacing for the viewport.
SetVariable - Sets the value of an AutoCAD system variable.
SetView - Sets the view in a viewport to a saved view in the Views Collection object.
SetWeight - Sets the weight of the control point at a given index.
SetWidth - Sets the start and end width of a polyline, given the segment index.
SetWindowToPlot - Sets the coordinates that define the portion of the layout to plot.
SetXData - Sets the extended data (XData) associated with an object.
SetXRecordData - Sets the extended record data (XRecordData) associated with a dictionary.
SliceSolid - Creates a slice of the 3DSolid object given three points that define the plane.
Split - Splits a viewport into the given number of views.
StartBatchMode - Invokes batchmode printing.
StartUndoMark - Marks the beginning of a block of operations.
T
TransformBy - Moves, scales, or rotates an object given a 4x4 transformation matrix.
TranslateCoordinates - Translates a point from one coordinate system to another coordinate system.
U
Unload - Unloads the menu group or external reference.
UnloadARX - Unloads the specified AutoCAD ARX application.
UnloadDVB - Unloads the specified AutoCAD VBA project file.
Update - Updates the object to the drawing screen.
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V
W
WBlock - Writes out the given selection set as a new drawing file.
X
Xmlin - Translates the specified DesignXML file's AcDbXML model channel to objects and inserts them
into the given database.
Xmlout - Translates the entire database or a set of specified objects (and all dependent objects) to a new
DesignXML file using the AcDbXml model channel.
Y
Z
ZoomAll - Zooms the current viewport to display the entire drawing.
ZoomCenter - Zooms the current viewport to a specified center point and magnification.
ZoomExtents - Zooms the current viewport to the drawing extents.
ZoomPickWindow - Zooms the current viewport to a window defined by points picked on the screen.
ZoomPrevious - Zooms the current viewport to its previous extents.
ZoomScaled - Zooms the current viewport to given scale factor.
ZoomWindow - Zooms the current viewport to the area specified by two opposite corners of a rectangle.

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Add3DFace Method
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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
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Add3DFace Method
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Add3DPoly Method
Back to Methods Reference
Creates a 3D polyline from the given array of coordinates.
Signature
VBA : RetVal = object.Add3Dpoly(PointsArray)
VL : RetVal = (vla-Add3Dpoly object PointsArray)
(setq myobj (vla-Add3DPoly mspace tmp))
Object : ModelSpace Collection, PaperSpace Collection, Block
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
PointsArray : Variant (array of doubles); input-only
An array of 3D WCS coordinates. The polyline will be created according to the order of the
coordinates in the array. The number of elements in the array must be a multiple of three. (Three
elements define a single coordinate.)
G
RetVal : 3DPolyline object
The newly created 3DPolyline object.
G
Remarks
To close the polyline, use the Closed property on the 3DPolyline object.
Example :
(defun c:al-Add3DPoly ( / mspace pt ptlist tmp myobj)
(vl-load-com)

(setq mspace (vla-get-modelspace
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object))))
(setq pt (getpoint "\nSpecify start point: "))
; Start by assembling a list of points
(setq ptlist (cons pt ptlist))
(while (setq pt (getpoint "\nSpecify next point: " pt))
(setq ptlist (cons pt ptlist))
);while
; "dissolve" the points into atoms with append:
(setq ptlist (apply 'append ptlist))
; If number of coordinates in point list is not
; a multiple of 3 then a lwpolyline can't be made.
; If it's a multiple of 3 then put the point
; list into an array and pass it on to Add3DPoly:
(if (= (rem (length ptlist) 3) 0)
(progn
(setq
tmp (vlax-make-safearray
vlax-vbDouble
Add3DPoly Method
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(cons 0 (- (length ptlist) 1))
)
)
(vlax-safearray-fill tmp ptlist)
(setq myobj (vla-Add3DPoly mspace tmp))
);progn
(princ "\nError: 3DPoly could not be created")
);if
(princ)
);defun

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AddDim3PointAngular Method
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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
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AddDim3PointAngular Method
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AddDimAligned Method
Back to Methods Reference
Creates an aligned dimension object.
Signature
VBA : RetVal = object.AddDimAligned(ExtLine1Point, ExtLine2Point, TextPosition)
VL : RetVal = (vla-AddDimAligned object ExtLine1Point ExtLine2Point TextPosition)
(vla-AddDimAligned mspace pt1 pt2 pt3)
Object : ModelSpace Collection, PaperSpace Collection, Block
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
ExtLine1Point : Variant (three-element array of doubles); input-only
The 3D WCS coordinates specifying the first endpoint of the extension line.
G
ExtLine2Point : Variant (three-element array of doubles); input-only
The 3D WCS coordinates specifying the second endpoint of the extension line.
G
TextPosition : Variant (three-element array of doubles); input-only
The 3D WCS coordinates specifying the text position.
G
RetVal : DimAligned object
The newly created aligned dimension.
G
Remarks
In aligned dimensions, the dimension line is parallel to the extension line origins. The extension line
origins are specified using the ExtLine1Point and ExtLine2Point properties.
Example :
(defun c:al-adddimaligned ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq thisdrawing (vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object)))
(setq mspace (vla-get-modelspace thisdrawing))
(setq pt1 (vlax-3d-point (setq pt
(getpoint "First alignment point: "))))
(setq pt2 (vlax-3d-point
(getpoint "Second alignment point: " pt)))
(setq pt3 (vlax-3d-point
(getpoint "Text insertion point: ")))
(vla-AddDimAligned mspace pt1 pt2 pt3)
(princ)
);defun

AddDimAligned Method
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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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AddDimAligned Method
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AddLine Method
Back to Methods Reference
Creates a line passing through two points.
Signature :
VBA : RetVal =object.AddLine(StartPoint, EndPoint)
VL : RetVal =vla-AddLine Object StartPoint EndPoint
(setq aLine (vla-AddLine mSpace pt1 pt2))
Object : ModelSpace Collection, PaperSpace Collection, Block
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
StartPoint : Variant (three-element array of doubles); input-only
The 3D WCS coordinates specifying the line start point.
G
EndPoint : Variant (three-element array of doubles); input-only
The 3D WCS coordinates specifying the line endpoint.
G
RetVal : Line object
The newly created Line object.
G
Example :
(defun c:al-addline ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq thisdrawing (vla-get-activedocument (vlax-get-acad-object)))
(setq mspace (vla-get-modelspace thisdrawing))
(setq PT1 (getpoint "\nSpecify First Point: "))
(setq PT2 (getpoint "\nSpecify next point: " PT1))
(setq myline (vla-addline mspace (vlax-3d-point PT1)(vlax-3d-point PT2)))
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;-------------------------------
;alternative method
(defun c:al-addline1 ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq thisdrawing (vla-get-activedocument (vlax-get-acad-object)))
(setq mspace (vla-get-modelspace thisdrawing))
(setq util (vla-get-utility thisdrawing))
(setq PT1 (vla-getpoint util nil "\nSpecify First Point : "))
AddLine Method
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(setq PT2 (vla-getpoint util PT1 "\nSpecify Second Point : "))
(setq myline (vla-addline mspace PT1 PT2))
(princ)
);defun
(princ)
;---------------------------

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AddMtext Method
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the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
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AddMtext Method
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AddPoint Method
Back to Methods Reference
Creates a Point object at a given location.
Signature
VBA : RetVal = object.AddPoint(Point)
VL : RetVal = (vla-AddPoint object Point)
(vla-AddPoint mspace (vlax-3d-point apt))
Object : ModelSpace Collection, PaperSpace Collection, Block
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
Point : Variant (three-element array of doubles); input-only
The coordinates of the point to be created.
G
RetVal : Point object
The newly created Point object.
G
Example :
(defun c:al-addpoint ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq mspace (vla-get-modelspace
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object))))
(while
(setq apt (getpoint "\nInsertion Point: "))
(setq thepoint (vla-AddPoint mspace (vlax-3d-point apt)))
);while
(princ)
);defun

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AddText Method
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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
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AddText Method
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AddXLine Method
Back to Methods Reference
Creates an xline (an infinite line) passing through two specified points.
Signature
VBA : RetVal = object.AddXline(Point1, Point2)
VL : RetVal = (vla-addXLine object Point1 Point2)
(vla-addXline mspace
(vlax-3d-point apt)
(vlax-3d-point pt))
Object : ModelSpace Collection, PaperSpace Collection, Block
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
Point1 : Variant (three-element array of doubles); input-only G
Point2 : Variant (three-element array of doubles); input-only G
RetVal : XLine object
The newly created XLine object.
G
Example :
(defun c:al-addxline ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq mspace (vla-get-modelspace
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object))))
(setq apt (getpoint "\nSpecify First Point: "))
(setq pt (getpoint "\nSpecify Second Point: " apt))
(setq myxline (vla-addXline mspace
(vlax-3d-point apt)
(vlax-3d-point pt)))
(princ)
);defun

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AngleToString Method
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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
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AngleToString Method
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ArrayPolar Method
Back to Methods Reference
Creates a polar array of objects given a NumberOfObjects, AngleToFill, and CenterPoint.
Signature
VBA : RetVal = object.ArrayPolar (NumberOfObjects, AngleToFill, CenterPoint)
VL : RetVal = (vla-ArrayPolar object NumberOfObjects AngleToFill CenterPoint)
(vla-ArrayPolar obj theinteger (dtr theangle) thepoint)
Object : All Drawing Objects
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
NumberOfObjects : Integer; input-only
The number of objects to be created in the polar array. This must be a positive integer greater
than 1.
G
AngleToFill : Double; input-only
The angle to fill in radians. A positive value specifies counterclockwise rotation. A negative
value specifies clockwise rotation. An error is returned for an angle that equals 0.
G
CenterPoint : Variant (three-element array of doubles); input-only
The 3D WCS coordinates specifying the center point for the polar array.
G
RetVal : Variant Array (array of objects)
The array of new objects.
G
Remarks
AutoCAD determines the distance from the array's center point to a reference point on the last object
selected. The reference point used depends on the type of object previously selected. AutoCAD uses
the center point of a circle or arc, the insertion point of a block or shape, the start point of text, and
one endpoint of a line or trace.
Note that this method does not support the Rotate While Copying option of the AutoCAD ARRAY
command.
NOTE! You cannot execute this method while simultaneously iterating through a collection. An
iteration will open the work space for a read-only operation, while this method attempts to perform a
read-write operation. Complete any iteration before you call this method.
AttributeReference: You should not attempt to use this method on AttributeReference objects.
AttributeReference objects inherit this method because they are one of the drawing objects, however,
it is not feasible to perform this operation on an attribute reference.
Example :
(defun c:al-arraypolar ()
(vl-load-com)
(defun dtr (a)
(* pi (/ a 180))
);defun
(setq util (vla-get-utility
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object))))

(vla-getentity util 'obj 'ip "\nSelect Object: ")
(setq thepoint (vla-GetPoint util nil
"\nSpecify center point of array or [Base]: "))
ArrayPolar Method
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(setq theinteger (vla-GetInteger util
"\nEnter the number of items in the array: "))
(setq theangle (vla-GetReal util
"\nSpecify the angle to fill (+=ccw, -=cw): "))
(setq thearray (vla-ArrayPolar obj theinteger
(dtr theangle) thepoint))
(princ)
);defun

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Copy Method
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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
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Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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Copy Method
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CreateTypedArray Method
Back to Methods Reference
Creates a variant that contains an array of typed arguments.
Signature
VBA : Object.CreateTypedArray(VarArr, Type, Value1, [value2, value3, ...valueN])
VL : vla-CreateTypedArray Object VarArr Type Value1 [value2 value3 ...valueN]
(vla-CreateTypedArray util 'thearray vlax-vbDouble 1.2 2.3 0.0)
Object : Utility
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
VarArr : Variant; output-only
The array of values as a variant.
G
Type : Visual Lisp Constant; input-only
The type of values you are supplying.
vbBoolean, vbInteger, vbLong, vbSingle, or vbDouble.
G
Value1 [Value2, ...ValueN.]
Of the type specified in the Type parameter above; input-only
The value(s) to be included in the variant.
G
Remarks
The resulting variant can be passed into any AutoCAD method or property that accepts an array of
numbers as a variant.
Example :
;get a reference to the Utilities Object :
(setq util (vla-get-utility
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object))))
(vla-createtypedarray util 'thearray vlax-vbDouble 1.2 2.3 0.0)
;Your safearray is stored in the variable "thearray"

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EndUndoMark Method
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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
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All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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EndUndoMark Method
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Eval Method
Back to Methods Reference
Evaluates an expression in VBA.
Signature
VBA : object.Eval(Expression)
VL : (val-Eval Expression)
(vla-eval applic (strcat "MsgBox \"Hello Everybody\"" ", " "vbInformation" ", " "\"AfraLisp\""))
Object : Application
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
Expression : String; input-only
The expression to be evaluated.
G
Remarks
This method allows Automation clients to execute a line of VBA code in the context of the current
project without creating modules and functions.
Example :
(defun c:al-eval ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq applic (vlax-get-acad-object))
(vla-eval applic (strcat "MsgBox \"Hello Everybody\"" ", "
"vbInformation" ", " "\"AfraLisp\""))
(vla-eval applic (strcat "MsgBox \"Are You Fine?\"" ", "
"vbQuestion" ", " "\"CAD Encoding\""))
(vla-eval applic (strcat "MsgBox \"Or, are you not Well?\"" ", "
"vbCritical" ", " "\"VBA Expresso\""))
(alert "\nAnd this is the boring\nAutoCAD message box!!")
(princ)
);defun

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Explode Method
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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
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Explode Method
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ExportProfile Method
Back to Methods Reference
Exports the active profile so it can be shared with other users.
Signature
VBA : object.ExportProfile Profile, RegFile
VL : (vla-ExportProfile object Profile RegFile)
(vla-ExportProfile acadprofiles "Afralisp" "c:/afralisp.arg")
Object : PreferencesProfiles
The object or objects this property applies to.
G
Profile : String; input-only
The name of the profile to be exported.
G
RegFile : String; input-only
The name of the file the profile will be exported to. The extension of the file should be arg.
G
Example :
(defun c:al-exportprofile ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq acadprofiles (vla-get-profiles
(vla-get-preferences
(vlax-get-Acad-Object))))
(vla-ExportProfile acadprofiles
"Afralisp" "c:/afralisp.arg")
(princ)
);defun

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GetBoundingBox Method
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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
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GetBoundingBox Method
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GetCorner Method
Back to Methods Reference
Gets a corner of a rectangle.
Signature
VBA : RetVal = object.GetCorner(Point[, Prompt])
VL : RetVal = (vla-GetCorner object Point Prompt)
(vla-GetCorner util pt1 "\nSecond Corner : ")
Object : Utility
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
Point : Variant (three-element array of doubles); input-only
The 3D WCS coordinates specifying the base point of the rectangle.
G
Prompt : Variant (string); input-only; optional
The text used to prompt the user for input.
G
RetVal : Variant (three-element array of doubles)
The 3D WCS coordinates representing the corner of the rectangle.
G
Remarks
AutoCAD pauses for user input of the corner of a rectangle, and sets the return value to the value of
the selected point. The Point parameter specifies the base point of the rectangle in the 3D WCS
coordinates; this parameter is required. The Prompt parameter specifies a string that AutoCAD
displays before it pauses. The prompt is optional.
The AutoCAD user can specify the corner by entering a point in the WCS coordinate format; GetCorner
treats Point as a three-dimensional point. The user can specify the corner also by specifying a location
on the graphics screen. AutoCAD draws a dynamically sized rectangle from Point to the current
crosshair position to help the user visualize the location of the second corner. The rectangle is drawn
in the XY plane of the WCS. When the pointing device is used, GetCorner ignores the Z field of Point
and sets the Z field of result to the current elevation.
Example :
(defun c:al-getcorner ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq util (vla-get-utility
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object))))

(setq pt1 (vla-GetPoint util nil "\nFirst Corner : "))
(setq cnr (vla-GetCorner util pt1 "\nSecond Corner : "))
(princ pt1)
(terpri)
(princ cnr)
(princ)
);defun

GetCorner Method
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GetCorner Method
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GetDistance Method
Back to Methods Reference
Gets the distance from the prompt line or a selected set of points on the screen.
Signature
VBA : RetVal =Object.GetDistance([Point][, Prompt])
VL : RetVal =(vla-GetDistance Object Point Prompt)
(setq dist (vla-GetDistance util pt1 "\nFirst Point"))
Object : Utility
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
Point : Variant (three-element array of doubles); input-only; optional
The 3D WCS coordinates specifying the base point. If this point is not provided, the user must
input two points.
G
Prompt : Variant (string); input-only; optional
The text to display to prompt the user for input.
G
RetVal : Variant (double or array of doubles)
The distance from the prompt line or a selected set of points on the screen.
G
Remarks
AutoCAD pauses for user input of a linear distance and sets the return value to the value of the
selected distance. The Point parameter specifies a base point in WCS coordinates. The Prompt
parameter specifies a string that AutoCAD displays before it pauses. Both Point and Prompt are
optional.
The AutoCAD user can specify the distance by entering a number in the current units format. The user
can also set the distance by specifying two locations on the graphics screen. AutoCAD draws a
rubber-band line from the first point to the current crosshair position to help the user visualize the
distance. If the Point parameter is provided, AutoCAD uses this value as the first of the two points.
By default, GetDistance treats Point and the return value as three-dimensional points. A prior call to
the InitializeUserInput method can force Point to be two-dimensional, ensuring that this method
returns a planar distance.
Regardless of the method used to specify the distance or the current linear units (for example, feet and
inches), this method always sets the return value to a double-precision floating-point value.
Example :
;get a reference to the Utilities Object :
(setq util (vla-get-utility
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object))))

(setq dist (vla-getdistance util nil "\nFirst Point : \n"))
(setq dist (vla-getdistance util PT1 "\nSecond Point : \n"))

GetDistance Method
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GetDistance Method
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GetEntity Method
Back to Methods Reference
Gets an object interactively.
Signature
VBA : object.GetEntity Object, PickedPoint[, Prompt]
VL : (vla-GetEntity Object Object PickedPoint Prompt)
(vla-getentity util 'obj 'ip "\nSelect Object: ")
Object : Utility
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
Object : Object; output-only
The picked object. Can be one of any of the Drawing Objects.
G
PickedPoint : Variant (three-element array of doubles); output-only
A 3D WCS coordinate specifying the point that was selected.
G
Prompt : Variant (string); input-only; optional
The text to display to prompt the user for input.
G
Remarks
This method requires the AutoCAD user to select an object by picking a point on the graphics screen. If an
entity is picked, it is returned in the first parameter and the second parameter will contain the point picked
in WCS coordinates. If the pick point is not on an entity the call will fail.
The pick point returned by GetEntity does not necessarily lie on the selected object. The returned point
represents the location of the crosshairs at the time of selection. The relationship between this point and
the object varies depending on the size of the pickbox and the current zoom scale.
This method can retrieve an entity even if it is not visible on the screen or if it is on a frozen layer.
Example :
;get a reference to the Utilities Object :
(setq util (vla-get-utility
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object))))

(vla-getentity util 'obj 'ip "\nSelect Object: ")
The reference to the Object is stored in the variable "obj"
and the pickpoint is stored in variable "ip" in the form of a safearray.

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GetInteger Method
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GetInteger Method
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GetOrientation Method
Back to Methods Reference
Gets the angle specified. Ignores the setting of the ANGBASE system variable.
Signature
VBA : RetVal = object.GetOrientation([Point][, Prompt])
VL : RetVal = (vla-GetOrientation object Point Prompt)
(vla-GetOrientation util nil "\nBase Point:\n")
Object : Utility
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
Point : Variant (three-element array of doubles); input-only; optional
The 3D WCS coordinates specifying the base point.
G
Prompt : Variant (string); input-only; optional
The text used to prompt the user for input.
G
RetVal : Double
The specified angle.
G
Remarks
AutoCAD pauses for user input of an angle, and sets the return value to the value of the selected
angle. The Point parameter specifies an angle base point in the WCS. The Prompt parameter specifies
a string that AutoCAD displays before it pauses. Both Point and Prompt are optional.
The AutoCAD user can specify the angle by entering a number in the current angular units format. The
user can specify the angle also by specifying two 2D locations on the graphics screen. AutoCAD
draws a rubber-band line from the first point to the current crosshair position to help the user visualize
the angle. If the Point parameter is provided, AutoCAD uses this value as the first of the two points.
The angle is measured in the XY plane of the WCS (this method ignores the Z field of Point). The
direction of angular increase is always counterclockwise.
Regardless of the method used to specify the angle, GetOrientation always sets the return value to a
value expressed in radians.
This method is similar to the GetAngle method, but it ignores the current direction of angle 0, which is
stored in the ANGBASE system variable. The 0 angle employed by GetOrientation is always to the
right: "east" or "three o'clock."
If a keyword is returned instead of an angle AutoCAD will generate the error message "User input
keyword." Use the GetInput method to obtain the keyword from the return value.
Example :
(defun c:al-getorientation ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq util (vla-get-utility
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object))))

(setq ort (vla-GetOrientation util nil "\nBase Point:\n"))
(princ ort)
(princ)
);defun
GetOrientation Method
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GetPoint Method
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the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
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GetPoint Method
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GetReal Method
Back to Methods Reference
Gets a real (double) value from the user.
Signature
VBA : RetVal = object.GetReal([Prompt])
VL : RetVal = (vla-GetReal object Prompt)
(vla-GetReal util "\nEnter Real Number : ")
Object : Utility
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
Prompt : Variant (string); input-only; optional
The text used to prompt the user for input.
G
RetVal : Double
The value returned from the user.
G
Remarks
AutoCAD pauses for user input of a real value, and sets the return value to the value that the user
enters. The Prompt parameter specifies a string that AutoCAD displays before it pauses. The prompt is
optional.
If a keyword is returned instead of a double, AutoCAD will generate the error message "User input
keyword." Use the GetInput method to obtain the keyword from the return value.
Example :
(defun c:al-getreal ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq util (vla-get-utility
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object))))

(setq thereal (vla-GetReal util "\nEnter Real Number : "))
(princ thereal)
(princ)
);defun

GetReal Method
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the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
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GetReal Method
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GetString Method
Back to Methods Reference
Gets a string from the user.
Signature
VLA : RetVal =Object,GetString(HasSpaces[, Prompt])
VL : RetVal =(vla- GetString Object HasSpaces Prompt)
(setq thestring (vla-GetString util 0 "\nEnter your name : "))
Object : Utility G
HasSpaces : Integer; input-only
TRUE: The return string can contain spaces. It is terminated by a carriage return only.
FALSE: The return string may not contain spaces. It is terminated by a carriage return or space.
G
Prompt : Variant (string); input-only; optional
The text used to prompt the user for input.
G
RetVal : String
The string returned from the user.
G
Remarks
AutoCAD pauses for user input of the string, and sets the result to the string that the user enters. The
HasSpaces parameter specifies whether the string can contain spaces. The Prompt parameter
specifies a string that this method displays before AutoCAD pauses.
The AutoCAD user can enter the string from the keyboard. If the HasSpaces parameter is TRUE, the
string can contain blanks and the user must terminate it by entering [Return]. If HasSpaces is False,
entering either a blank or [Return] terminates the string. If the user enters more than 132 characters,
string entry continues until the user enters a blank or carriage return (according to HasSpaces), but
GetString places only the first 132 characters into the return value.
Example :
;get a reference to the Utilities Object :
(setq util (vla-get-utility
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object))))

;no spaces allowed
(setq s (vla-getstring util 0 "Enter String: "))
;spaces allowed
(setq s (vla-getstring util 1 "Enter String: "))

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GetString Method
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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
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Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
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GetString Method
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GetVariable Method
Back to Methods Reference
Gets the current setting of an AutoCAD system variable.
Signature
VBA : RetVal = object.GetVariable(Name)
VL : RetVal = (vla-GetVariable object Name)
(vla-GetVariable thisdrawing "OSMODE")
Object : Document
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
Name : String; input-only
The name of the variable to return. Must contain a valid system variable name (the case of the
characters is not significant).
G
RetVal : Variant
The value of the specified system variable.
G
Remarks
For a list of all the AutoCAD system variables and their types, please refer to System Variables.
Example :
(defun c:al-getvar ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq thisdrawing (vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object)))
(setq thevar (vla-GetVariable thisdrawing "OSMODE"))
(princ thevar)
(princ)
);defun

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RetVal : Variant (array of doubles)

The array of points where one object intersects another object in the drawing.
G
Remarks
If the two objects do not intersect, no data is returned. You can request the point of intersection that
would occur if one or both of the objects were extended to meet the other.
Example :
(defun c:al-intersectwith ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq util (vla-get-utility
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object))))

(vla-getentity util 'obj1 'ip "\nSelect First Object: ")
(vla-getentity util 'obj2 'ip "\nSelect Second Object: ")
(setq int (vla-IntersectWith obj1 obj2 acExtendBoth))
(princ int)
(princ)
);defun

IntersectWith Method
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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
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IntersectWith Method
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IsURL Method
Back to Methods Reference
Validates a given URL.
Signature
VBA : RetVal = object.IsURL(URL)
VL : RetVal = (vla-IsURL object URL)
(vla-IsUrl util "http://www.afralisp.com")
Object : Utility
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
LocalFile : String; input-only
The URL to validate.
G
RetVal : Boolean
TRUE: The string represents a valid URL.
FALSE: The string is not a valid URL.
G
Remarks
The definition of a "valid" URL is application-dependent, in that a given 3rd party application may not
be interested in supporting all Internet protocols. For instance, an application that attempts to connect
users to Web sites would probably not need to provide access to FTP sites. In this hypothetical
application, a FALSE value would be returned if a URL that begins with something other than "http://"
was entered.
The default functionality of this method for AutoCAD supports FTP, HTTP, HTTPS, and FILE protocols.
Example :
(defun c:al-isurl ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq util (vla-get-utility
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object))))

(setq flag (vla-IsUrl util "http://www.afralisp.com"))
(princ flag)
(princ)
);defun

IsURL Method
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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
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Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
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IsURL Method
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LauchBrowserDialog Method
Back to Methods Reference
Launches the Web Browser dialog that allows the user to navigate to any URL and select a URL.
Signature
VBA : RetVal = object.LaunchBrowserDialog (SelectedURL,DialogTitle, OpenButtonCaption,
StartPageURL, RegistryRootKey, OpenButtonAlwaysEnabled)
VL : RetVAL = (vla-LaunchBrowserDialog object SelectedURL DialogTitle OpenButtonCaption
StartPageURL RegistryRootKey OpenButtonAlwaysEnabled)
(vla-LaunchBrowserDialog util 'theurl "AfraLisp Browser"
"Open" "http://www.afralisp.com" "ACADBROWSER" 1)
Object : Utility
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
SelectedURL : String; output-only
The URL selected.
G
DialogTitle : String; input-only
The title to be displayed for the browser dialog.
G
OpenButtonCaption : String; input-only
The caption for the OK/Open button.
G
StartPageURL : String; input-only
The URL that the Web Browser should use as its start page.
G
ReigstryRootKey : String; input-only
Product root key for storing persistent Web Browser dialog information. This key specifies
where information about the size, position, and other preferences information of the dialog can
be stored across sessions. Input an empty string to disregard this functionality.
G
OpenButtonAlwaysEnabled : Boolean; input-only
TRUE: The Open button is enabled, allowing a file or link to be selected.
FALSE: The Open button is disabled and is only enabled when the user selects a file for
download.
G
RetVal : Boolean
TRUE: The Web Browser was opened successfully.
FALSE: The Web Browser did not open successfully.
G
Remarks
The last parameter, OpenButtonAlwaysEnabled, determines whether the user can select HTML links in
addition to files that are "downloadable".
Example :
(defun c:al-launchbrowserdialog ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq util (vla-get-utility
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object))))

(vla-LaunchBrowserDialog util 'theurl "AfraLisp Browser"
"Open" "http://www.afralisp.com" "ACADBROWSER" 1)
(princ theurl)
(princ)
);defun
LaunchBrowserDialog Method
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Move Method
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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
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Move Method
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Offset Method
Back to Methods Reference
Creates a new object at a specified offset distance from an existing object.
Signature
VBA : RetVal = object.Offset(Distance)
VL : RetVal = (vla-offset object Distance)
(vla-Offset myline dist)
Object : Arc, Circle, Ellipse, Line, LightweightPolyline, Polyline, Spline, XLine
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
Distance : Double; input-only
The distance to offset the object. The offset can be a positive or negative number, but it cannot equal zero. If the
offset is negative, this is interpreted as being an offset to make a "smaller" curve (that is, for an arc it would offset
to a radius that is "Distance less" than the starting curve's radius). If "smaller" has no meaning, then it would offset
in the direction of smaller X, Y, and Z WCS coordinates.
G
RetVal : Variant (array of objects)
An array of the newly created objects resulting from the offset.
G
Remarks
For many curves, the result of this operation will be a single new curve (which may not be of the same type as the original
curve). For example, offsetting an ellipse will result in a spline because the result does fit the equation of an ellipse. In
some cases it may be necessary for the offset result to be several curves.
Example :
(defun c:al-offset ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq mspace (vla-get-modelspace (vla-get-activedocument (vlax-get-acad-object))))
(setq apt (getpoint "\nSpecify First Point: "))
(setq pt (getpoint "\nSpecify next point: " apt))
(setq myline (vla-addline mspace (vlax-3d-point apt)(vlax-3d-point pt)))
(setq dist (getdist "\nOffset Distance : "))
(setq offLine (vla-Offset myline dist))
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

Offset Method
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Offset Method
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PolarPoint Method
Back to Methods Reference
Gets the point at a specified angle and distance from a given point.
Signature
VBA : RetVal = object.PolarPoint(Point, Angle, Distance)
VL : RetVal = (vla-PolarPoint object Point Angle Distance)
(vla-polarpoint util P3 0 lg)
Object : Utility
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
Point : Variant (three-element array of doubles); input-only
The 3D WCS coordinates specifying the start point.
G
Angle : Double; input-only
The angle in radians.
G
Distance : Double; input-only
The distance in current units.
G
RetVal : Variant (three-element array of doubles)
The 3D WCS coordinates at the specified angle and distance from a given point.
G
Example :
;CODING STARTS HERE
(defun c:slot ( / acaddoc util mspace ip lg
dia P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7)
;load VL functions
(vl-load-com)
;obtain reference to the Active Document
(setq acaddoc (vla-get-activeDocument (vlax-get-acad-object)))
;obtain reference to Utilities
(setq util (vla-get-utility acaddoc))
;obtain reference to Model Space
(setq mspace (vla-get-modelSpace acaddoc))
;get the insertion point
(setq ip (vla-getpoint util nil "\nInsertion Point: "))
;get the length
(setq lg (vla-getreal util "\nEnter Slot Length: "))
;get the diameter
(setq dia (vla-getreal util "\nEnter Slot Diameter: "))
;calculate all the points
(setq P1 (vla-polarpoint util IP (dtr 270.0) (/ dia 2)))
(setq P2 (vla-polarpoint util P1 (dtr 180.0) (/ lg 2)))
(setq P3 (vla-polarpoint util P2 (dtr 90.0) dia))
(setq P4 (vla-polarpoint util P3 0 lg))
(setq P5 (vla-polarpoint util P4 (dtr 270.0) dia))
(setq P6 (vla-polarpoint util P2 (dtr 90.0) (/ dia 2)))
(setq P7 (vla-polarpoint util P5 (dtr 90.0) (/ dia 2)))
;draw the lines
PolarPoint Method
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(vla-AddLine mspace p2 p5)
(vla-AddLine mspace p3 p4)
;add the arcs
(vla-AddArc mspace p6 (/ dia 2) (dtr 90.0) (dtr 270.0))
(vla-AddArc mspace p7 (/ dia 2) (dtr 270.0) (dtr 90.0))
(princ)
);defun
----------
;convert degrees to radians
(defun DTR (a)
(* pi (/ a 180))
);defun
----------
(princ)
;CODING ENDS HERE

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RealToString Method
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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
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RealToString Method
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Regen Method
Back to Methods Reference
Regenerates the entire drawing and recomputes the screen coordinates and view resolution for all
objects.
Signature
object.Regen WhichViewports
VL : (vla-Regen object WhichViewports
(vla-Regen thisdrawing acAllViewports)
Object : Document
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
WhichViewports : Integer; input-only
acActiveViewport - Regenerates only the active viewport.
acAllViewports - Regenerates all viewports on the document.
G
Remarks
Regen also reindexes the drawing database for optimum display and better object selection
performance.
Example :
(defun c:al-Regen ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq thisdrawing
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object)))
(vla-Regen thisdrawing acAllViewports)
(princ)
);defun

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Rotate 3D Method
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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
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Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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RunMacro Method
Back to Methods Reference
Runs a VBA macro from the Application object.
Signature
VBA : object.RunMacro(MacroPath)
VL : (vl-RunMacro object MacroPath)
(vla-RunMacro applic "test.dvb!Module1.macro")
Object : Application
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
MacroPath : String; input-only
A string representing the calling sequence of the macro to run. The calling sequence must have
the following syntax, where [] represent optional parameters:
[Filename.dvb.][ProjectName.][ModuleName.]MacroName
NOTE: If Filename.dvb is followed by ProjectName, separate the names with an exclamation
point instead of a period, as in the following example:
Filename.dvb!ProjectName
The Filename.dvb specified will be loaded if it is not already loaded. If the path to the
Filename.dvb is not specified, the system will look in the AutoCAD search path to try and locate
the file. If ProjectName is not specified, the system will search all currently loaded projects to
locate the macro.
G
Remarks
To associate a macro with a popup menu or toolbar item, use the Macro property
Example :
(defun c:al-runmacro ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq applic (vlax-get-acad-object))

(vla-RunMacro applic "test.dvb!Module1.macro")
(princ)
);defun

RunMacro Method
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Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
RunMacro Method
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Save Method
Back to Methods Reference
Saves a document, menu group, or group of layer property settings.
Signatures: Overview
Document:
VBA : object.Save
VL : (vla-Save object)
MenuGroup:
VBA : object.Save MenuFileType
VL : (vla-Save object MenuFileType)
Layer Settings:
VBA : object.Save Name, Mask
VL : (vla-Save object Name Mask
VBA : object.Save
VL : (vla-Save object)
(vla-Save thisdrawing)
Object : Document
Saves the specified document.
G
VBA : object.Save MenuFileType
VL : (vla-Save object MenuFileType)
Object : MenuGroup
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
MenuFileType : AcMenuFileType enum; input-only
Saves the menu group as the given menu type.
acMenuFileCompiled - A compiled menu file (MNC file type).
acMenuFileSource - A source menu file (MNS file type).
G
VBA : object.Save Name, Mask
VL : (vla-Save object Name Mask)
Object : LayerStateManager
A LayerStateManager object.
G
Name : String; input-only
The name to be assigned to the saved layer settings.
G
Mask : enum; input-only
A number representing the layer properties to be saved and restored. Use the following
constants to identify layer properties:
G
acLsAll All layer properties
acLsColor Color
acLsFrozen Frozen or thawed
acLsLineType Linetype
acLsLineWeight Lineweight
acLsLocked Locked or unlocked
acLsNewViewport New viewport layers frozen or thawed
acLsNone None
Save Method
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acLsOn On or off
acLsPlot Plotting on or off
acLsPlotStyle Plot style
Remarks
Document: Saving a file to a secure Internet location prompts the user for a password.
Example :
(defun c:al-Save ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq thisdrawing
(vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object)))
(vla-Save thisdrawing)
(princ)
);defun

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;change it's color

(vlax-put-property item 'Color 5)
);if
;increment the counter
(setq ctr (1+ctr))
);repeat
;delete the selection set
(vla-delete (vla-item ssets "SS1"))
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

To select ALL the Circles on Layer "2", We would write this :

;create a 2 element array for the DXF Code
(setq filter_code (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbinteger '(0 . 1)))
;create a 2 element array for the values
(setq filter_value (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbvariant '(0 . 1)))
;DXF Code for Objects and Layer
(vlax-safearray-fill filter_code '(0 8))
;the filter values
(vlax-safearray-fill filter_value '("CIRCLE" "2"))
;select ALL Circles on Layer 2
(vla-select newsset acSelectionSetAll nil nil filter_code filter_value)
This is the equivalent in AutoLisp :
(setq newsset (ssget "x" '((0 . "CIRCLE") (8 . "2"))))
To select ALL Circles OR Text, we would write this :
;create a 4 element array for the DXF codes
(setq filter_code (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbinteger '(0 . 3)))
;create a 4 element array for the names
(setq filter_value (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbvariant '(0 . 3)))
;DXF Codes for OR and Objects
(vlax-safearray-fill filter_code '(-4 0 0 -4))
;the filter values
(vlax-safearray-fill filter_value '("<or" "CIRCLE" "TEXT" "or>"))
;select ALL Circles OR Text
(vla-select newsset acSelectionSetAll nil nil filter_code filter_value)
Selection Sets
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In AutoLisp, this is equivalent to :
(setq newsset (ssget "x" '((-4 . "<or") (0 . "CIRCLE") (0 . "TEXT") (-4 . "or>"))))
Can you see what we are doing?
We are basically "splitting" the AutoLisp dotted pairs into two arrays, one containing the DXF
codes, and the other containing the filter values.
There is another way of filtering the Selection Set itself. Consider this code:
(if (=(vlax-get-property item 'ObjectName) "AcDbCircle")
(vlax-put-property item 'Color 3)
);if
Makes you think doesn't it?
Selection Set Already Exists
Did you notice how, at the end of our routines, we added the line :
(vla-delete (vla-item ssets "SS1"))
If we didn't delete the selection set, next time we ran the routine we would get a "Selection Set Already
Exists" error. Now adding this line is fine if everything runs correctly in our routine, but what happens if
the user Cancels or there is another error that causes our program not to reach this line.
Have a look at this :
(defun selset_test ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq acadDocument (vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object)))
(setq ssets (vla-get-selectionsets acadDocument))
(setq flag nil)
(vlax-for item ssets
(if (= (vla-get-name item) "newsset")
(setq flag T)
);if
);
(if flag
(vla-delete (vla-item ssets "newsset"))

);if
(setq newsset (vla-add ssets "newsset"))
);defun

This routine loops through each selection set in the selection set collection.
If it finds the selection set (newset), it deletes it and then creates it. If it does not find it, it simple creates it.
A better way of achieving the same result, is to make use of the (vl-Catch-All-Apply) function :
Selection Sets
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(defun selset_test1 ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq acadDocument (vla-get-activedocument
(vlax-get-acad-object)))
(setq ssets (vla-get-selectionsets acadDocument))
(if (vl-catch-all-error-p (vl-catch-all-apply 'vla-item (list ssets "$Set")))
(setq newSet (vla-add ssets "$Set"))

(progn

(vla-delete (vla-item ssets "$Set"))

(setq newSet (vla-add ssets "$Set"))

);progn
);if

Have a look at "Visual Lisp and Errors" for a more detailed explanation of the
(vl-Catch-All-Apply) function.
Well, that's about it with "Selecting Objects." Not too bad, hey?
(I can hear you groaning from here in Africa, Hee, hee, hee.)

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Have a look at the "sheet_ type" variable in the Watch window :

This tells us that the Array contains strings, has one dimension and contains 3 elements.
Let's convert it to an AutoLisp List :
_$ (setq alist (vlax-safearray->list sheet_type))
Arrays
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("Sheet1" "Sheet2" "Sheet3")
Did a light just go off in your head? An Array is just a List in a slightly different format. To
create an Array, or safearray as they are know in Visual Lisp, we use the
"vlax-make-safearray" function. To populate a safearray we use the "vlax-safearray-fill"
or the "vlax-safearray-put" functions.
The "vlax-make-safearray" function requires a minimum of two arguments. The first
argument identifies the type of data that will be stored in the array.
One of the following constants must be specified for the data type :
vlax-vbInteger Integer
vlax-vbLong Long Integer
vlax-vbSingle Single-precision floating point number
vlax-vbDouble Double-precision floating point number
vlax-vbString String
vlax-vbObject Object
vlax-vbBoolean Boolean
vlax-vbVariant Variant
The remaining arguments to "vlax-make-safearray" specify the upper and lower bounds
of each dimension of the array. The lower bound for an index can be zero or any positive
or negative number. Have another look at the function we called earlier :
_$ (setq sheet_type (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbString '(0 . 2)))
This function created a single-dimension array consisting of three strings with a starting
index of 0 (element 0, element 1 and element 2).
Consider this :
_$ (setq pt1 (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbDouble '(1 . 3)))
The lower bound specified in this example is one and the upper bound specified is three,
so the array will hold three doubles (element 1, element 2 and element 3).
The "vla-safearray-fill" function requires two arguments: the variable containing the array
you are populating and a list of the values to be assigned to the array elements. You
must specify as many values as there are elements in the array or vla-safearray-fill"
results in an error.
The following code populates a single-dimension array of three doubles:
_$ (vlax-safearray-fill pt1 '(100 100 0))
To convert an array to an AutoLisp list, you can use the (vlax-safearray->list) function.
Try it out :
_$ (vlax-safearray->list pt1)
(100.0 100.0 0.0)
Let's create a Array with two dimensions, each dimension with three elements:
_$ (setq two_dim (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbString '(0 . 1) '(1 . 3)))
#<safearray...>
_$ (vlax-safearray-fill two_dim '(("Sheet1" "Sheet2" "Sheet3") ("a" "b" "c")))
#<safearray...>
_$ (vlax-safearray->list two_dim)
(("Sheet1" "Sheet2" "Sheet3") ("a" "b" "c"))
This is just a list of lists.
Arrays
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The first list, '(0 .1) is the number of dimensions.
The second list, '(1 . 3) is the number of elements
And now a three dimensional Array with two elements in each dimension:
_$ (setq three_dim (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbString '(0 . 2) '(1 . 2)))
#<safearray...>
_$ (vlax-safearray-fill three_dim '(("Sheet1" "Sheet2") ("a" "b") ("d" "e")))
#<safearray...>
_$ (vlax-safearray->list three_dim)
(("Sheet1" "Sheet2") ("a" "b") ("d" "e"))
Here we have a list of three lists.
This time, the first list '(0 . 2) defines three dimensions and the second '(1 . 2) defines 2
elements in each dimension.
One place you will be using "vlax-safearray-fill" is when creating selection sets with
filters. The syntax in ActiveX for "Selecting All with Filters" is as follows "
object.Select Mode[, Point1][, Point2][, Filter_Code][, Filter_Value]
Filter_Code must be an Integer array and Filter_Value a Variant array.
In Visual Lisp, the coding would be written like this :
;create a 2 element integer array for the DXF Codes.
(setq filter_code (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbinteger '(0 . 1)))
;create a 2 element variant array for the values.
(setq filter_value (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbvariant '(0 . 1)))
;DXF Codes for Objects and Layer : " 0" for Object," 8" for Layer.
(vlax-safearray-fill filter_code '(0 8))
;Name of Object and Layer.
(vlax-safearray-fill filter_value '("CIRCLE" "2"))
;select ALL Circles on Layer 2.
(vla-select newsset acSelectionSetAll nil nil filter_code filter_value)
For more information on Selections Sets, pop along to my "Selection Sets" tutorial page
and get yourself even more confused.
The "vlax-safearray-put-element" function can be used to assign values to one or more
elements of a safearray. The number of arguments required by this function depends on
the number of dimensions in the array.
The first argument always names the safearray to which you are assigning a value. G
The next set of arguments identifies index values pointing to the element to which
you are assigning a value. For a single-dimension array, specify one index value:
for a two-dimension array, specify two index values, and so on.
G
The final argument is always the value to be assigned to the safearray element. G
Have a look at the following :
_$ (setq pt1 (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbDouble '(1 . 3)))
#<safearray...>
_$ (vlax-safearray-put-element pt1 1 100)
100
_$ (vlax-safearray-put-element pt1 2 100)
100
_$ (vlax-safearray-put-element pt1 3 75)
75
Arrays
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_$ (vlax-safearray->list pt1)
(100.0 100.0 75.0)
_$ (vlax-safearray-put-element pt1 1 50)
50
_$ (vlax-safearray->list pt1)
(50.0 100.0 75.0)
Now let's populate a two-dimension array of strings :
_$ (setq two_dim (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbString '(0 . 1) '(1 . 3)))
#<safearray...>
_$ (vlax-safearray-put-element two_dim 0 1 "a")
"a"
_$ (vlax-safearray->list two_dim)
(("a" "" "") ("" "" ""))
_$ (vlax-safearray-put-element two_dim 0 2 "b")
"b"
_$ (vlax-safearray-put-element two_dim 0 3 "c")
"c"
_$ (vlax-safearray-put-element two_dim 1 1 "d")
"d"
_$ (vlax-safearray-put-element two_dim 1 2 "e")
"e"
_$ (vlax-safearray-put-element two_dim 1 3 "f")
"f"
_$ (vlax-safearray->list two_dim)
(("a" "b" "c") ("d" "e" "f"))
You can use "vlax-safearray-get-element" to get the value of any element in any array.
Here we'll use "vlax-safearray-get-element" to retrieve the second element in the first
dimension of the array:
_$ (vlax-safearray-get-element matrix 1 2)
"b"
(vlax-safearray-get-l-bound) returns the lower boundary (starting index) of a dimension of
an array :
Get the starting index value of the second dimension of the array:
_$ (vlax-safearray-get-l-bound two_dim 2)
1
The second dimension starts with index 1.
Conversley, "vlax-safearray-get-u-bound" returns the upper boundary (end index) of a
dimension of an array
Get the end index value of the second dimension of the array:
_$ (vlax-safearray-get-u-bound two_dim 2)
3
The second dimension ends with index 3.
You can use "vlax-safearray-get-dim" to get the number of dimensions in a safearray
Arrays
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object :
Get the number of dimensions in "two_dim":
_$ (vlax-safearray-get-dim two_dim)
2
There are 2 dimensions in "two_dim".
Let's have a look at putting some of this to good use :
(vl-load-com)
(defun c:Line_VL ( / acApp acDoc mspace p1 p2 sp ep lineObj)
(setq acApp (vlax-get-acad-object))
(setq acDoc (vla-get-activedocument acApp))
(setq mspace (vla-get-modelspace acDoc))
(setq p1 (getpoint "\nFirst Point : "))
(setq p2 (getpoint p1 "\nSecond Point : "))
(setq sp (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbdouble '(0 . 2)))
(setq ep (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbdouble '(0 . 2)))
(vlax-safearray-fill sp p1)
(vlax-safearray-fill ep p2)
(setq lineObj (vla-addline mspace sp ep))
(princ)
);defun
There is an easier way of writing this routine :
(vl-load-com)
(defun c:Line_VL ( / acApp acDoc mspace p1 p2 lineObj)
(setq acApp (vlax-get-acad-object))
(setq acDoc (vla-get-activedocument acApp))
(setq mspace (vla-get-modelspace acDoc))
(setq p1 (getpoint "\nFirst Point : "))
(setq p2 (getpoint p1 "\nSecond Point : "))
(setq lineObj (vla-addline mspace (vlax-3d-point p1) (vlax-3d-point p2)))
(princ)
);defun
For methods that require you to pass a three-element array of doubles (typically to
specify a point), you can use the "vlax-3d-point" function.
Well, that's it with Arrays. I haven't covered absolutely everything pertaining to Arrays,
but you should now have enough to get you started. I hope that you understood
everything I was warbling on about, and that I didn't confuse you too much!!!!
Adios for now, amigo........
Arrays
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StartUndoMark Method
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
StartUndoMark Method
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Search
UnloadARX Method
Back to Methods Reference
Unloads the specified AutoCAD ARX application.
Signature
VBA : object.UnloadARX Name
VL : (vla-UnloadARX object Name)
(vla-UnLoadARX applic "c:/test.arx")
Object : Application
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
Name : String; input-only
The name of the application to unload.
G
Remarks
If the specified application is locked when this method is called, the method will fail.
NOTE Do not attempt to unload the file acadvba.arx.
Example :
(defun c:al-unloadarx ()
(vl-load-com)
(setq applic (vlax-get-acad-object))

(vla-UnLoadARX applic "c:/test.arx")
(princ)
);defun

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WBlock Method
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
WBlock Method
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Search
ZoomAll Method
Back to Methods Reference
Zooms the current viewport to display the entire drawing.
Signature
VBA : object.ZoomAll ()
VL : (vla-ZoomAll object)
(vla-ZoomAll acadapplic)
Object : Application
The object or objects this method applies to.
Remarks
In a plan view, AutoCAD zooms to the drawing limits or current extents, whichever is greater. In
a 3D view, ZoomAll is equivalent to the ZoomExtents method. The display shows all objects
even if the drawing extends outside the drawing limits.
This method applies only to the current active viewport (paper space viewport or model space
viewport).
G
Example :
;Get a reference to the Application object
(setq acadapplic (vlax-get-acad-object))
(vla-ZoomAll acadapplic)

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ZoomCenter Method
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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
ZoomCenter Method
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ZoomExtents Method
Back to Methods Reference
Zooms the current viewport to the drawing extents.
Signature
VBA : object.ZoomExtents
VL : (vla-ZoomExtents object)
(vla-ZoomExtents acadapplic)
Object : Application
The object or objects this method applies to.
Remarks
This method applies only to the current active viewport (paper space viewport or model space
viewport).
G
Example :
;Get a reference to the Application object
(setq acadapplic (vlax-get-acad-object))
(vla-ZoomExtents acadapplic)

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ZoomScaled Method
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against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
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All rights reserved.
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ZoomWindow Method
Back to Methods Reference
Zooms the current viewport to the area specified by two opposite corners of a rectangle.
Signature
VBA : object.ZoomWindow LowerLeft, UpperRight
VL : (vla-ZoomWindow Lowerleft UpperRight)
(vla-ZoomWindow acadapplic PT1 PT2)
Object : Application
The object or objects this method applies to.
G
LowerLeft Variant (three-element array of doubles); input-only
The 3D WCS coordinates specifying the lower-left corner of the window to display.
G
UpperRight Variant (three-element array of doubles); input-only
The 3D WCS coordinates specifying the upper-right corner of the window to display.
G
Remarks
This method applies to the current active viewport (paper space viewport or model space viewport).
Example :
(defun c:al-zw ()
;get reference to the Application Object
(setq acadapplic (vlax-get-acad-object))
;get reference to the Utility object
(setq util (vla-get-utility (vla-get-activedocument acadapplic)))
;get the first point
(setq PT1 (vla-getpoint util nil "\nFirst Point : "))
;get the second point
(setq PT2 (vla-getcorner util PT1 "\nSecond Point : "))
;zoom window
(vla-ZoomWindow acadapplic PT1 PT2)
(princ)
);defun
(princ)

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Home Page II
Collections
All Objects in AutoCAD are grouped into collections. If you have a look at the AutoCAD
Object Model, you will find all the Layers within the Layers collection, all the Blocks
within the Blocks collection, etc. etc.
This tutorial will show you how to first, create a reference to the required collection,
secondly, extract objects stored within the collection, and last but not least, manipulate
these Objects.
Let's start right at the bottom of the Object Model with the Documents collection. Open
any two drawings in AutoCAD then open the Visual List Editor and enter this :
_$ (vl-load-com)
_$ (setq acadObject (vlax-get-acad-object))
#<VLA-OBJECT IAcadApplication 00adc088>
Let's have a look at the "acadObject" in the Inspect window :
The object that we are interested in at this stage is the Documents object. Let's drill down to it :
_$ (setq acadDocuments (vla-get-documents acadObject))
#<VLA-OBJECT IAcadDocuments 01f585d0>
Have look at the variable "acadDocuments" in the inspect window :
Collections
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As you can see, this collection contains 2 objects. But how do we access these objects? Copy and
paste the following coding and save it as "tempList .lsp" :
(defun tempList (theObject / item dwgName)
(vl-load-com)
(setq theList '())
(vlax-for item theObject
(setq dwgName (vlax-get-property item 'Name))
(setq theList (append (list dwgName) theList))
);
(setq theList (reverse theList))
(princ)
);defun

Don't worry to much at this stage about how this function works. We'll get to that later. Load the
function and then type the following :
_$ (tempList acadDocuments)
Now examine the variable "theList" :
_$ theList
("Kenny.dwg" "is handsome.dwg")
This list now holds the contents of the Documents collection, or in other words, all the drawings you
have open within AutoCAD..
Let's go further in the Object Model and have a look at the Layers collection.
We first get a reference to the "Active Document" :
_$ (vl-load-com)
_$ (setq acadDocument (vla-get-activedocument (vlax-get-acad-object)))
#<VLA-OBJECT IAcadDocument 00ee0f84>
Next, a reference to the Layer's collection :
(setq theLayers (vla-get-layers acadDocument))
#<VLA-OBJECT IAcadLayers 01f5b0a4>
Now, let's extract all the Layer names into a list :
_$(tempList theLayers)
_$ theList
("0" "1" "2" "3" "4" "5" "6" "7" "DEFPOINTS" "8" "9" "10")
Great, we now have a list of all our Layers within the current drawing.
To manipulate objects within a collection, we first need to iterate through the collection and extract
a reference to the object, or objects that we are interested in. Visual Lisp provides us with a few
functions to help us with this task. Let's say for example that we wanted to change all the Layers in
the drawing to Color 3. Consider this :
(defun laycol ()
Collections
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(vl-load-com)

(setq acadDocument (vla-get-activedocument (vlax-get-acad-object)))
(setq theLayers (vla-get-layers acadDocument))
(setq i 0)

(repeat (vla-get-count theLayers)

(setq aLayer (vla-item theLayers i))

(vla-put-color alayer 3)
(setq i (1+ i))

);repeat
(princ)
);defun

Here we've used the standard AutoLisp function "repeat" to loop through the collection. We used
the "vla-get-count" function to count the number of objects in the collection, and the function
"vla-item" function to extract each object from the collection.
On the next page we'll have a look at a few more functions that will make your life a lot easier when
dealing with collections.
Home Page II

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Visual Lisp and Attributes
You can find the VBA equivalent to this application here.
And the AutoLisp version here.
When you want to edit attributes in AutoCAD most of us use the "Attedit" command.
Firstly, we must select the attribute we would like to edit. Then the "Edit Attribute"
dialogue box appears which allows us to add or change the values of our attribute.
Personally, I think this dialogue leaves a lot to be desired. You cannot customise it in any
way, and it displays all attributes whether you want them or not. As well, if you have a lot
of attributes you need to page your way through numerous dialogues before reaching the
attribute you want to edit.
In this tutorial we are going to have a look at extracting attribute data from a block,
displaying the data in a custom dialogue box, and then updating the attribute data on
exit.
Right, what do we need to do?
1. Find the block containing the attribute data. (Why select it when we can get AutoCAD
to find it for us.)
2. Extract the attribute data and display it in a dialogue box.
3. Allow the user to change the data if he so wishes.
4. Update the attribute data with the new information entered into the dialogue box.
O.K. fire up AutoCAD and open the drawing Attab-vl.dwg.
Alright, I admit that it's not much of a title block, but it's enough to give you the general
idea.
Now, at the command prompt type (load "Addat-vl") and then enter.
Now, type "Addat-vl" and press enter again.
This dialogue should appear :
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Change some of the data and then press the "OK" button.
The title block data should be updated. Clever hey?
You can expand on this routine as much as you like using the following coding as a
template.
Hint : You don't have to display all the attribute data stored in a block. Only display what
you want the user to modify. As well, you can split your data over multiple dialogue
boxes. eg. One for title block, one for revisions, one for reference drawings, etc. All the
data though is contained in one attribute.
Here's the coding, DCL code first :
attabvl : dialog {
label = "Drawing Title Block";
: edit_box {
label = "&Drawing Number";
key = "eb1";
edit_width = 30;
}
: edit_box {
label = "&Revision";
key = "eb2";
edit_width = 30;
}
: edit_box {
label = "Drawn &By";
key = "eb3";
edit_width = 30;
}
: edit_box {
label = "D&ate";
key = "eb4";
edit_width = 30;
}
: edit_box {
label = "&Title";
key = "eb5";
edit_width = 30;
}
ok_cancel ;
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:text_part {
label = "AfraLisp - http://www.afralisp.com";
}

}
And now the Visual Lisp coding with plenty of in-line comments to assist you:
;CODING STARTS HERE
;
;All Tutorials and Code are provided "as-is" for purposes of instruction and
;utility and may be used by anyone for any purpose entirely at their own risk.
;Please respect the intellectual rights of others.
;All material provided here is unsupported and without warranty of any kind.
;No responsibility will be taken for any direct or indirect consequences
;resulting from or associated with the use of these Tutorials or Code.
;*******************************************************************************
; AfraLisp
; http://www.afralisp.com
; [email protected]
; [email protected]
;*******************************************************************************
;This application will extract attributes from a block and display them in a
;dialog box. The attributes will then be updated.
;
;Dependencies : Attab-vl.dcl and Attab-vl.dwg are
;required and must be within the AutoCAD search path.
;
;Usage : Open Attab-vl.dwg then load and run Attab-vl.lsp.
;*******************************************************************************
(prompt "\nATTAB-VL Loaded....Type ATTAB-VL to run.....")
(defun c:attab-vl (/)
;load visual lisp extensions
(vl-load-com)
;retrieve reference to the active document
(setq acadDocument (vla-get-activedocument (vlax-get-acad-object)))
;retrieve reference to the selection set collection
(setq ssets (vla-get-selectionsets acadDocument))
;check if the selection set exists - $Set
(if (vl-catch-all-error-p (vl-catch-all-apply 'vla-item (list ssets "$Set")))
;if it doesn't create a new one
(setq newsset (vla-add ssets "$Set"))

;if it does exist

(progn
;delete it
(vla-delete (vla-item ssets "$Set"))

;then create a new one

(setq newsset (vla-add ssets "$Set"))

);progn
);if
;create a single element array - integer
(setq filter_code (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbinteger '(0 . 0)))
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;create a single element array - variant
(setq filter_value (vlax-make-safearray vlax-vbvariant '(0 . 0)))
;filter for name - code 2
(vlax-safearray-fill filter_code '(2))
;filter for block name - attab-info
(vlax-safearray-fill filter_value '("attab-info"))
;filter the drawing for the block
(vla-select newsset acSelectionSetAll nil nil filter_code filter_value)
;if the block is found
(if (>= (vla-get-count newsset) 1)
;display the dialog
(ddisplay)
;if the block is not found
(alert
"\nIncorrect Drawing Sheet
\n Use Manual Edit"
)
);if
;finish clean
(princ)
);defun
;;;**********************************************************
(defun ddisplay (/)
;load the dialog
(setq dcl_id (load_dialog "attab-vl.dcl"))
;check it exists
(if (not (new_dialog "attabvl" dcl_id))
(exit)
);if
;retrieve the block reference
(setq item (vla-item newsset 0))
;retrieve the attributes
(setq theatts (vla-getattributes item))
;convert to a list
(setq attlist (vlax-safearray->list (variant-value theatts)))
;extract the attributes
(mapcar 'set '(theattribute1 theattribute2 theattribute3 theattribute4 theattribute5) attlist)
;extract the text strings from the attributes
(setq eb1 (vla-get-textstring theattribute1)
eb2 (vla-get-textstring theattribute2)
eb3 (vla-get-textstring theattribute3)
eb4 (vla-get-textstring theattribute4)
eb5 (vla-get-textstring theattribute5)
);setq
;put the info into the dialog
(set_tile "eb1" eb1)
(set_tile "eb2" eb2)
(set_tile "eb3" eb3)
(set_tile "eb4" eb4)
(set_tile "eb5" eb5)
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;set the focus to the drawing number
(mode_tile "eb1" 2)
;if cancel selected exit
(action_tile
"cancel"
"(done_dialog) (setq userclick nil)"
)
;if OK selected, retrieve the tile values
(action_tile
"accept"
(strcat
"(progn (setq eb1a (get_tile \"eb1\"))"
"(setq eb2a (get_tile \"eb2\"))"
"(setq eb3a (get_tile \"eb3\"))"
"(setq eb4a (get_tile \"eb4\"))"
"(setq eb5a (get_tile \"eb5\"))"
" (done_dialog)(setq userclick T))"
)
)
;start the dialog
(start_dialog)
;unload the dialog
(unload_dialog dcl_id)
;if OK was selected
(if userclick
;do the following
(progn
;update the attribute textstrings
(vla-put-textstring theattribute1 eb1a)
(vla-put-textstring theattribute2 eb2a)
(vla-put-textstring theattribute3 eb3a)
(vla-put-textstring theattribute4 eb4a)
(vla-put-textstring theattribute5 eb5a)
;update the block
(vla-update newsset)
;regen the drawing
(command "REGEN")
);progn
);if
);defun
;;;***********************************************************
;load clean
(princ)
;;;**********************************************************
;
;CODING ENDS HERE
Please note that there is no error checking in this routine and I have left all variables as
global to assist you in checking their values whilst you are analyzing the code.
If you are too lazy to type, and don't know how to copy and paste, you can download the
coding and sample drawing by very gently placing your cursor here and clicking once.
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"Hey, not so hard!!!!"

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Visual Lisp and Loading VBA Files.

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Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
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Visual Lisp - Directories and Files - Page I
Using plain old AutoLisp, we really only have two functions dealing with files and directories namely,
the (findfile) function, and the (getfiled) function. Both of these functions are useful but limited in there
scope.
Visual Lisp has introduced a whole host of new functions specifically designed to use with files and
directories. In this tutorial we're going to have a look at a few of them. Firstly, we'll have a look at
probably the most powerful Visual Lisp function for dealing with files and directories, the
(vl-directory-files) function. Fire up AutoCAD, open the Visual Lisp Editor, then type this at the console
prompt :
_$ (vl-load-com)
_$ (vl-directory-files)
("." ".." "X3426.dwg" "addshort.dvb" "ADMENU.DVB" "afralispURL.dvb" "afraLOGO.dwg"
"another-dump.lsp" "area.zip" "arrowkeyview.dvb" "ATTAB.DCL" "ATTAB.DWG" "ATTAB.LSP")
This will return a list containing every file and sub-directory within your current directory.
Let's have a look at the syntax of (vl-directory-files) and a few other Visual Lisp File/Directory functions.
VL-DIRECTORY-FILES
Lists all files in a given directory
(vl-directory-files [directory pattern directories])
Arguments :
directory
A string naming the directory to collect files for; if nil or absent, vl-directory-files uses the current
directory.
G
pattern
A string containing a DOS pattern for the file name; if nil or absent, vl-directory-files assumes
"*.*"
G
directories
An integer that indicates whether the returned list should include directory names. Specify one of
the following :
-1 List directories only.
0 List files and directories (the default).
1 List files only.
G
Return Values
A list of file and path names, or nil, if no files match the specified pattern. G
Let's try it again, but this time with some arguments. Type this at the console prompt :
_$ (vl-directory-files "d:/drawings" "*.dwg")
("X3426.dwg" "afraLOGO.dwg" "ATTAB.DWG" "Drawing1.dwg" "Drawing4.dwg" "is handsome.dwg"
"tem5.dwg" "X3374.dwg" "X3375.dwg" "dwgdata.dwg" "Drawing2.dwg" "X3359.dwg" "tblock.dwg"
"kenny.dwg" "Adaptor.dwg" "Drg-1.dwg" "drg-2.dwg" "attab-vl.dwg" "matlist.dwg")
This will return a list of all drawings residing in the directory "d:/drawings".
Let's try something else :
_$ (vl-directory-files "d:/drawings" "*.lsp")
("another-dump.lsp" "ATTAB.LSP" "BAREA.LSP" "bick.lsp" "acad.lsp" "mted.lsp" "circle-react.lsp"
"clay.lsp" "DC-Delete.lsp" "endPlot.lsp")
Visual Lisp - Directories and Files - Page I.
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This, of course, will return a list of all AutoLisp files.
Now let's get clever. Let's try and get a list of just the subdirectories :
_$ (vl-directory-files "d:/drawings1" nil -1)
("." ".." "Purge-Export" "Office" "3D" "Extext" "VBA" "DrawingExfiles")
Easy hey. Now let's have a look at some of the other Visual Lisp file handling functions.
VL-FILE-COPY
Copies or appends the contents of one file to another file
(vl-file-copy source-file destination-file [append])
Copy or append the contents of one file to another file. The vl-file-copy function will not overwrite an
existing file, only append to it.
Arguments :
source-file
A string naming the file to be copied. If you do not specify a full path name, vl-file-copy looks in
the AutoCAD start-up directory.
G
destination-file
A string naming the destination file. If you do not specify a path name, vl-file-copy writes to the
AutoCAD start-up directory.
G
append
If specified and not nil, source-file is appended to destination-file (that is, copied to the end of the
destination file).
G
Return Values
An integer, if the copy was successful, otherwise nil.
Some typical reasons for returning nil are:
source-file is not readable
source-file is a directory
append? is absent or nil and destination-file exists
destination-file cannot be opened for output (that is, it is an illegal file name or a write-protected
file)
source-file is the same as destination-file
G
Examples
Copy autoexec.bat to newauto.bat:
_$ (vl-file-copy "c:/autoexec.bat" "c:/newauto.bat")
1417
Copy test.bat to newauto.bat:
_$ (vl-file-copy "c:/test.bat" "c:/newauto.bat")
nil
The copy fails because newauto.bat already exists, and the append argument was not specified.
Repeat the previous command, but specify append:
_$ (vl-file-copy "c:/test.bat" "c:/newauto.bat" T)
185
The copy is successful because T was specified for the append argument.
VL-FILE-DELETE
Deletes a file
(vl-file-delete filename)
Arguments :
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filename
A string containing the name of the file to be deleted. If you do not specify a full path name,
vl-file-delete searches the AutoCAD start-up directory.
G
Return Values
T, if successful, nil if delete failed. G
Examples
Delete newauto.bat:
_$ (vl-file-delete "newauto.bat")
nil
Nothing was deleted because there is no newauto.bat file in the AutoCAD start-up directory.
Delete the newauto.bat file in the c:\ directory:
_$ (vl-file-delete "c:/newauto.bat")
T
The delete was successful because the full path name identified an existing file.
VL-FILE-DIRECTORY-P
Determines if a file name refers to a directory
(vl-file-directory-p filename)
Arguments :
filename
A string containing a file name. If you do not specify a full path name, vl-file-directory-p searches
only the AutoCAD start-up directory.
G
Return Values
T, if filename is the name of a directory, nil if it is not. G
Examples
_$ (vl-file-directory-p "sample")
T
_$ (vl-file-directory-p "yinyang")
nil
_$ (vl-file-directory-p "c:/program files/acad2000")
T
_$ (vl-file-directory-p "c:/program files/acad2000/vlisp/yinyang.lsp")
nil
VL-FILE-RENAME
Renames a file
(vl-file-rename old-filename new-filename)
Arguments :
old-filename
A string containing the name of the file you want to rename. If you do not specify a full path name,
vl-file-rename looks in the AutoCAD start-up directory.
G
new-filename
A string containing the new name to be assigned to the file.
NOTE If you do not specify a path name, vl-file-rename writes the renamed file to the AutoCAD
start-up directory.
G
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Return Values
T, if renaming completed successfully, nil if renaming failed. G
Examples
_$ (vl-file-rename "c:/newauto.bat" "c:/myauto.bat")
T
VL-FILE-SYSTIME
Returns last modification time of the specified file
(vl-file-systime filename)
Arguments :
filename
A string containing the name of the file to be checked. G
Return Values
A list containing the modification date and time, or nil, if the file is not found.
The list returned contains the following elements :
year
month
day-of-week
day-of-month
hours
minutes
seconds
G
Note that Monday is day 1 of day-of-week, Tuesday is day 2, etc.
Examples
_$ (vl-file-systime "c:/program files/acad2000/sample/visuallisp/yinyang.lsp")
(1998 4 3 8 10 6 52 0)
The returned value shows that the file was last modified in 1998, in the 4th month of the year (April), the
3rd day of the week (Wednesday), on the 10th day of the month, at 6:52:0.
VL-FILENAME-BASE
Returns the name of a file, after stripping out the directory path and extension
(vl-filename-base filename)
Arguments :
filename
A string containing a file name. The vl-filename-base function does not check to see if the file
exists.
G
Return Values
A string containing filename in uppercase, with any directory and extension stripped from the
name.
G
Examples
_$ (vl-filename-base "c:\\acadwin\\acad.exe")
"ACAD"
_$ (vl-filename-base "c:\\acadwin")
"ACADWIN"
VL-FILENAME-DIRECTORY
Returns the directory path of a file, after stripping out the name and extension
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(vl-filename-directory filename)
Arguments :
filename
A string containing a complete file name, including the path. The vl-filename-directory function
does not check to see if the specified file exists. Slashes (/) and backslashes (\) are accepted as
directory delimiters.
G
Return Values
A string containing the directory portion of filename, in uppercase. G
Examples
_$ (vl-filename-directory "c:\\acadwin\\acad.exe")
"C:\\ACADWIN"
_$ (vl-filename-directory "acad.exe")
""
VL-FILENAME-EXTENSION
Returns the extension from a file name, after stripping out the rest of the name

(vl-filename-extension filename)
Arguments :
filename
A string containing a file name, including the extension. The vl-filename-extension function does
not check to see if the specified file exists.
G
Return Values
A string containing the extension of filename. The returned string starts with a period (.) and is in
uppercase. If filename does not contain an extension, vl-filename-extension returns nil.
G
Examples
_$ (vl-filename-extension "c:\\acadwin\\acad.exe")
".EXE"
_$ (vl-filename-extension "c:\\acadwin\\acad")
nil
VL-FILENAME-MAKETEMP
Calculates a unique file name to be used for a temporary file
(vl-filename-mktemp [pattern directory extension])
Arguments :
pattern
A string containing a file name pattern; if nil or absent, vl-filename-mktemp uses "$VL~~". G
directory
A string naming the directory for temporary files; if nil or absent, vl-filename-mktemp chooses a
directory in the following order:
The directory specified in pattern, if any.
The directory specified in the TMP environment variable.
The directory specified in the TEMP environment variable.
The current directory.
G
extension
A string naming the extension to be assigned to the file; if nil or absent, vl-filename-mktemp uses
the extension part of pattern (which may be an empty string).
G
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Return Values
A string containing a file name, in the following format :
directory\base<XXX><.extension>
where:
base is up to 5 characters, taken from pattern
XXX is a 3 character unique combination
All file names generated by vl-filename-mktemp during a VLISP session are deleted when you exit
VLISP.
G
Examples
_$ (vl-filename-mktemp)
"C:\\TMP\\$VL~~004"
_$ (vl-filename-mktemp "myapp.del")
"C:\\TMP\\MYAPP005.DEL"
_$ (vl-filename-mktemp "c:\\acadwin\\myapp.del")
"C:\\ACADWIN\\MYAPP006.DEL"
_$ (vl-filename-mktemp "c:\\acadwin\\myapp.del")
"C:\\ACADWIN\\MYAPP007.DEL"
_$ (vl-filename-mktemp "myapp" "c:\\acadwin")
"C:\\ACADWIN\\MYAPP008"
_$ (vl-filename-mktemp "myapp" "c:\\acadwin" ".del")
"C:\\ACADWIN\\MYAPP00A.DEL"
OK, enough of this theoretical nonsense! Let's do something practical.
How do you fancy creating your own personalised file list box?
You do? Great! I'll see you in Part II.
Page I Page II

You are visitor number

;CODING STARTS HERE

;;Syntax : (fileselect "d:/drawings" '("*.dwg" "*.lsp" "*.dvb"))
(defun FileSelect (Dir Pat)
(setq DH (load_dialog "afrafiles"))
(if (and DH (new_dialog "FILES" DH))
(progn
(setq iExt 0)
(Refresh_Display)
(start_list "EXT")
(mapcar 'add_list Pat)
(end_list)
;
(action_tile "DIR" "(new_dir $value)")
(action_tile "EXT" "(new_mask $value)")
(action_tile "FIL" "(picked $value)")
;
(if (= (start_dialog) 0)
(setq File_List nil)
)
(unload_dialog DH)
)
)
File_List
)
;------------------------------------------------
(defun Refresh_Display ()
(start_list "FIL")
(end_list)
(set_tile "CDIR" "Working...")
(setq FL (VL-Directory-Files
;Dir Pat 1)
Dir (nth iExt Pat) 1)
DR (VL-Directory-Files
Dir nil -1)
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FL (VL-Sort FL 'str_compare)
DR (VL-Sort DR 'str_compare)
)
(start_list "DIR")
(mapcar 'add_list DR)
(end_list)
(start_list "FIL")
(if Show_the_details
(mapcar
'(lambda (F)
(setq Dt (VL-File-SysTime
(strcat Dir F))
F1 (if Dt
(strcat
F
"\t"
(itoa_f (nth 1 Dt) 2)
"/"
(itoa_f (nth 3 Dt) 2)
"/"
(itoa_f (nth 0 Dt) 4)
"\t"
(itoa_f (nth 4 Dt) 2)
":"
(itoa_f (nth 5 Dt) 2)
":"
(itoa_f (nth 6 Dt) 2)
)
(strcat F "\t\t")
)
Sz (VL-File-Size (strcat Dir F))
F1 (strcat
F1
"\t"
(rtos Sz 2 0))
)
(add_list F1))
FL)
(mapcar 'add_list FL)
)
(end_list)
(set_tile "DIRS"
(strcat
"Directories = "
(itoa (length DR))))
(set_tile "FILS"
(strcat
"Files = "
(itoa (length FL))))
(set_tile "CDIR" Dir)
)
(defun New_Dir (Pth)
(setq Pth (nth (atoi Pth) DR))
(cond
((= Pth ".")
nil
)
((= Pth "..") ;;back up a directory
;;remove directory name up one
(setq L (1- (strlen Dir))
Dir (substr Dir 1 L)
)
(while (/= (substr Dir L 1) "/")
(setq L (1- L)))
(setq Dir (substr Dir 1 L))
)
('T
(setq Dir (strcat Dir Pth "/"))
)
)
(Refresh_Display)
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)
;------------------------------------------------
;; Call back function to handle new file mask
;; selection by the user.
;;
(defun New_Mask (II)
(setq iExt (atoi II))
(Refresh_Display)
)
;
;------------------------------------------------
;; Call back function for saving the selected
;; file list in the variable FILE_LIST.
;;
(defun Picked (val / V)
(setq val (read (strcat "(" Val ")"))
File_List
(mapcar '(lambda (V)
(strcat
Dir
(nth V FL)))
Val)
)
)
;;-----------------------------------------------
;; Convert integer to padded ASCII string
;;
(defun Itoa_F (I Digs)
(setq I (itoa I))
(while (< (strlen I) Digs)
(setq I (strcat "0" I)))
I
)
;;-----------------------------------------------
(defun Str_Compare (T1 T2)
(< (strcase T1)
(strcase T2)))
(princ)
;;-----------------------------------------------
;CODING ENDS HERE
I just like to thank Bill Kramer from whom I "stole" a lot of this coding from.
(Shush, don't say anything as he doesn't know yet!!!)
I can just hear you now. "But Kenny, why do we have to copy and paste the coding? Can't you give us a
nice little Zip file to download like you normally do?"
Oh all right then, just click here. Now please stop whining!!!

Page I Page II

You are visitor number

Compiling AutoLisp Files - Page II.

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You are visitor number

Web afralisp.com
Be it hereby known that all the Coding and Tutorials contained on this here site, together with but not excluding all those other parts and utterances thereunto, shall not be warranted
against all defects, failures and malfunctions as shall occur between now and Thursday afternoon shortly before 2:00 am, during which time AfraLisp will maybe, at no charge to you or
the other person who was here before you, send the Coding or Tutorial to our Programmers, who will emerge from their caves and engage in rituals designed to cleanse the Coding or
Tutorial of evil spirits. This warranty does not cover attractive blonde females (not male) who may happen to visit this site or establishment or whatever you would like to call it.
Please respect the intellectual rights of others, or we will hunt you down and perform nasty things upon your body and appendages!!!
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
All rights reserved.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Site created and maintained by Kenny Ramage
Powered by CORBIMITE.com
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Search
The AutoLisp/Visual Lisp/VBA
Resource Website
Copyright 1999-Perpetuity by AfraLisp
Home Lisp Tutors Newsletter EuroTech Rubbish Lisp Tips Links Privacy
VBA Tutors Daily Cartoon Books Downloads VBA Tips CAD Vault IntelliCAD
VLAX Enumeration Constants
Constant Symbol Value
:vlax-false :vlax-false
:vlax-null :vlax-null
:vlax-true :vlax-true
vlax-vbAbort 3
vlax-vbAbortRetryIgnore 2
vlax-vbApplicationModal 0
vlax-vbArchive 32
vlax-vbArray 8192
vlax-vbBoolean 11
vlax-vbCancel 2
vlax-vbCritical 16
vlax-vbCurrency 6
vlax-vbDataObject 13
vlax-vbDate 7
vlax-vbDefaultButton1 0
vlax-vbDefaultButton2 256
vlax-vbDefaultButton3 512
vlax-vbDirectory 16
vlax-vbDouble 5
vlax-vbEmpty 0
vlax-vbError 10
vlax-vbExclamation 48
vlax-vbHidden 2
vlax-vbHiragana 32
vlax-vbIgnore 5
vlax-vbInformation 64
vlax-vbInteger 2
vlax-vbKatakana 16
vlax-vbLong 3
vlax-vbLowerCase 2
vlax-vbNarrow 8
vlax-vbNo 7
vlax-vbNormal 0
vlax-vbNull 1
vlax-vbObject 9
vlax-vbOK 1
vlax-vbOKCancel 1
vlax-vbOKOnly 0
vlax-vbProperCase 3
vlax-vbQuestion 32
vlax-vbReadOnly 1
vlax-vbRetry 4
vlax-vbRetryCancel 5
vlax-vbSingle 4
vlax-vbString 8
vlax-vbSystem 4
vlax-vbSystemModal 4096
VLAX Enumeration Constants
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vlax-vbUpperCase 1
vlax-vbVariant 12
vlax-vbVolume 8
vlax-vbWide 4
vlax-vbYes 6
vlax-vbYesNo 4
vlax-vbYesNoCancel 3

Thanks to David Stein from whom I "borrowed" this listing.

You are visitor number

PolyLines
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_$ (vla-setwidth theobj 3 10.0 0.0)
nil
Let's get the area :
_$ (vla-get-area theobj)
14505.9
Now, we'll make it invisible :
_$ (vla-put-visible theobj :vlax-false)
nil
See it's gone. Let's bring it back :
_$ (vla-put-visible theobj :vlax-true)
nil
Now we'll explode it :

_$ (vla-explode theobj)
#<variant 8201 ...>
And delete the original :

_$ (vla-delete theobj)
nil
We are left with an exploded copy of our polyline :
Right, let's have a look at extracting some information from a polyline.
This program will extract the X and Y coordinates from any polyline.

(prompt "\nType \"VL-POLY\" to run........")

(defun c:vl-poly ( / theobj thelist n xval yval fname fn)
;load the visual lisp extensions
(vl-load-com)
;get the entity and entity name
(setq theobj (car (entsel "\nSelect a Polyline: ")))
;convert to vl object
(setq theobj (vlax-ename->vla-object theobj))
;check if it's a polyline
(if (= (vlax-get-property theobj 'ObjectName) "AcDbPolyline")
;if it is, do the following
(progn
PolyLines
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;retrieve the coordinates
(setq thelist (vlax-get-property theobj 'coordinates))
;convert to a list
(setq thelist (vlax-safearray->list (variant-value thelist)))
;zero the counter
(setq n 0)
;create a text file
(setq fname "coord.txt")
;open it to write
(setq fn (open fname "w"))
;write the header
(write-line "PolyLine X and Y Coordinates" fn)
;underline the header
(write-line "*****************************************" fn)
;start the loop
(repeat (/ (length thelist) 2)
;get the x coordinate
(setq xval (rtos (nth n thelist)))
;increase the counter
(setq n (1+ n))
;get the y coordinate
(setq yval (rtos (nth n thelist)))
;write the x coordinate to the file
(write-line (strcat "X-Value : " xval) fn)
;write the x coordinate to the file
(write-line (strcat "Y-Value : " yval) fn)
;add a seperator
(write-line "-----------------------------" fn)
;increase the counter
(setq n (1+ n))
);repeat
;close the file
(close fn)
);progn
;it's not a polyline, inform the user
(alert "This is not a Polyline!! - Please try again.")
);if
(princ)
);defun
;------------------------
;clean loading
(princ)
;---------------------------
;End of VL-POLY.LSP
;---------------------------

Save this as "VL-Poly.lsp" and then load and run it. Select any polyline.
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The X and Y coordinates of each vertex will be output and written to a file named "Coord.txt"
It should look something like this :
PolyLine X and Y Coordinates
*****************************************
X-Value : 478.6
Y-Value : 622
-----------------------------
X-Value : 815.5
Y-Value : 349.9
-----------------------------
X-Value : 636.7
Y-Value : 291.7
-----------------------------
X-Value : 586.7
Y-Value : 437.1
-----------------------------
X-Value : 516
Y-Value : 310.4
-----------------------------
X-Value : 349.6
Y-Value : 304.2
-----------------------------

In the next section, we'll have a look at creating polylines and adding one or two "bulges".
Home Page II

You are visitor number

Home Page I

You are visitor number

afact.lsp regarx.lsp
drawline.lsp regdump.lsp
drawline-with-errors.lsp sym-exp.lsp
grafun.lsp timestamp.lsp
hello.lsp tmatrix.lsp
image.lsp Unload-VL-app.lsp
LispData1.lsp yinyang.lsp
LispData2.lsp
<your Visual LISP directory>\Sample\ActiveX

al-tst.lsp vla-tst.mkp
vla-tst.lsp vla-tst.prj
vla-tst.mkl
<your Visual LISP directory>\Sample\Reactors

acdbex.lsp a-mtext.lsp aap-reg.lsp

copyself.lsp ctie.lsp dimex.lsp
dumbells.lsp editex.lsp getparm.dcl
linkex.lsp objex.lsp pipe.lsp
sel-reac.lsp rctr.lsp rctr-tst.mkl
rctr-tst.mkp rctr-tst.prj reac-tst.prj
r-info.lsp r-init.lsp rolls.lsp
rsame.lsp rtie.lsp rtrans.lsp
Visual Lisp Sample Files
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rtransl.lsp rutils.lsp same-rcl.lsp
sel-reac.lsp toplevel.lsp getparm.lsp
Each of the following explanations includes a list of the functions in the sample files as well as the
syntax you should use to call them from the Visual LISP Console prompt. However, function names
preceded by a c: can be called from the AutoCAD command line as well. All other functions must be
called from the Visual LISP Console prompt unless you explicitly export them to AutoCAD as native
AutoLISP functions, at which point you could call them from the AutoCAD command line.
The executable function lists that accompany the sample file explanations follow the syntax as
described here:
Example of a non-exported function:
functionA
Executable syntax:
(functionA arg1 arg2 etc) (from the Visual LISP Console only)
Example of an exported function:
c:functionB
Executable syntax:
(c:functionB) (from the Visual LISP Console or AutoCAD command line)
functionB (from the AutoCAD Command Line only) This syntax will not be included later in this
document; it should be understood as a feature of preceding function names with a "c:".
Visual LISP Samples
afact.lsp
This file defines two functions that use recursion to factorize an integer. Each function requires one
argument which should be an integer between 1 and 31. For example, (fact1 5) returns 120 by calling
fact2 which in turn calls fact1, each time decreasing the value of the argument by 1 and multiplying it by
the product from the previous functions return value.
The range of 1 to 31 is based on a limitation of the ability of AutoLISP and Visual LISP to process any
value outside of its Integer data type range, a 32-bit signed value. The range is between -2,147,483,648
and 2,147,483,647 or -231 X (231 - 1).
However, with regard to the practice of recursion, the limitation on the depth of recursion for this
routine is far more lenient. In the AutoLISP environment, these functions can reach a depth of 144; in
the Visual LISP environment, these functions can reach a depth of 983. The maximum attainable depth
varies by the complexity of the routine.
Executable functions:
fact1
fact2
Executable syntax:
(fact1 n)
The argument n is an integer between 1 and 31.
(fact2 n)
The argument n is an integer between 1 and 31.
drawline.lsp
This sample file is used throughout the documentation to demonstrate Visual LISP concepts and
features. It is the corrected version of the drawline-with-errors.lsp file which this document describes
next.
This routine defines a simple function that draws a line with the AutoCAD LINE command using the
Visual Lisp Sample Files
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AutoLISP command function after it asks the user to specify a start point and end point. If the user does
not pass valid coordinate values for the start point and end point prompts, the routine will return a
predefined error message.
Executable functions:
drawline
Executable syntax:
(drawline)
drawline-with-errors.lsp
This file is the same as drawline.lsp, however, it contains deliberate errors. The focus of this routine is
to provide the user with the opportunity to become familiar with Visual LISP debugging tools. This
sample file is referenced in your online Help in:
Developing Programs With Visual LISP
Checking for Syntax Errors
Checking the Balance of Parentheses
Using Color Coding to Detect Syntax Errors
As explained earlier, this routine draws a line with the AutoCAD LINE command using the AutoLISP
command function after it asks the user to specify a start point and end point. The user will first need to
debug the program to make it functional. See Chapter 6 of your on-line Help documentation for
information on Visual LISPs debugging tools.
Executable functions:
drawline
Executable syntax:
(drawline)
grafun.lsp
This file contains two main functions that can be used to compare the speed of calling AutoCAD
commands with the AutoLISP command function verses implementation of ActiveX methods. Both
programs create a 3D mesh and return the time required to complete the task. The al-gf function uses
AutoCAD commands to create the 3D mesh, and the vla-gf function uses ActiveX methods to create the
3D mesh.
You will need to make sure that the User Elapsed Timer is on (see the TIME command in your AutoCAD
on-line Help).
Executable functions:
c:vla-gf (ActiveX methods)
c:al-gf (AutoCAD commands)
Executable syntax:
(c:vla-gf)
(c:al-gf)
Note: The first time an ActiveX function is executed, you may notice less of a speed
improvement than expected because the environment may need to be initialized or
AutoCAD may need to reclaim memory. Subsequent calls using that connection will be
significantly faster than calling AutoCAD commands using the AutoLISP command
function.
hello.lsp
This sample file demonstrates the difference between implicitly and explicitly exporting functions to
AutoCAD and AutoLISP from the Visual LISP environment.
The c:hello command is a Command defined function ("c:") and is therefore implicitly exported to
AutoLISP and can be called from the AutoCAD command line when loaded in Visual LISP.
Visual Lisp Sample Files
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The HELLO function passes an argument to a princ expression as the second part of a string that is
printed at the command line. It is called by the hello-autocad function which is explicitly exported to
AutoLISP using the vl-acad-defun function when loaded in Visual LISP.
A significant point that this routine demonstrates is that functions which are exported to AutoCAD or
AutoLISP from Visual LISP are not functions at all. They are simply references to functions which exist
as USUBR routines in the Visual LISP environment. For example, if you open and load hello.lsp in Visual
LISP and then enter (type hello-autocad) at the AutoCAD command line, it will return EXRXSUBR. This
signifies that hello-autocad is contained in an external ARX subroutine (in this case, vlide.arx).
Therefore, when you call the hello-autocad function, it is not being executed in the AutoLISP
environment; it is being executed in the Visual LISP environment.
Executable functions:
c:hello
hello-autocad
hello
Executable syntax:
(c:hello)
(hello-autocad s)
The s argument is the string the user passes to the function.
(hello s)
The s argument is the string the user passes directly when calling the hello function or indirectly
when calling the hello-autocad function. Note that (hello s) is only available from Visual LISP and
not AutoLISP since it was neither implicitly or explicitly exported to AutoLISP.
image.lsp
This sample file demonstrates a workaround for a limitation involving the AutoCAD IMAGE command
where you are not allowed to pass additional arguments when calling it with the AutoLISP command
function within Visual LISP. As an alternative, this file demonstrates how a user can insert an image
using ActiveX methods. A suggested example of executable syntax is included at the end of the
image.lsp file.
Executable functions:
insert-image
Executable syntax:
(insert-image image_file_name insertion_point scale rotation)
For example:
(insert-image ".\\Textures\\3ds.tga" '(0.0 0.0 0.0) 1 0.0)
LispData1.lsp
This sample file demonstrates two examples of the ability of Visual LISP to add and remove
non-graphical data in a drawing using Visual LISP vlax-ldata-xxx extension functions. These functions
are advanced solutions to the standard procedures for adding and removing dictionary data.
Upon executing the function, the routine runs through two examples using the
vlax-ldata-xxx functions. The first example creates and stores data to key "KEY1" in the named object
dictionary that it also creates called "MY-DICT". It then lists the data contained in the key and finishes
by removing the key, but it does not remove the dictionary entry.
The second example creates a Circle object, associates it with key "KEY2" which the routine stores in
the AutoCAD extension Dictionary (ACAD_XDICTIONARY), and lists the extension data which it stored
in that key using the vlax-ldata-put function. It then proceeds to remove the key and finally deletes the
Circle object.
Executable functions:
c:lispdata-test
Executable syntax:
Visual Lisp Sample Files
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(c:lispdata-test)
LispData2.lsp
Similar to the second section of LispData1.lsp, this sample file demonstrates the use of non-graphical
data in a drawing by allowing the user to add or change the value of key "LDT" associated with a
graphical object and located in the AutoCAD extension dictionary, using the vlax-ldata-xxx functions.
The "LDT" key value is not set on a selected object until you run the routine once. Afterwards, you can
use the routine to change the value associated with key "LDT" for that object.
Executable functions:
c:ldt
Executable syntax:
(c:ldt)
regarx.lsp
Please note that this description supplements the extensive comments contained in the Regarx.lsp file.
Furthermore, it supersedes the comments in the source code on the function arguments which are
incorrect.
The regarx.lsp sample file demonstrates how to register the Visual LISP IDE ARX application for
demand loading by designated commands. It also provides a thorough explanation of the information
necessary to implement this mechanism since the wrong information in any location of the registry can
completely disable AutoCAD and possibly your operating system. Please back up your registry before
running any commands that edit and change your registry entries.
Regarx.lsp also suggests code on how to unregister command demand loading. The register-VL-app
function defined in this routine is a replica of Visual LISPs vlax-reg-app function. With either of these
functions, you will be able to register the Visual LISP IDE ARX application by designating the correct
parameters for instructing AutoCAD to load the application on demand. The vlax-reg-app function is
more general and can be used to register any application. Please see the Visual LISP documentation for
a description of that function.
The register-VL-app function requires three arguments:
1. app-rp - The application name: a key to be entered in the Registry. It will need to look like this:
"SOFTWARE\\your_application_name"
2. cmds - A quoted list of the commands which you designate for the demand loading of Vlide.arx
when invoked (demand loading requires at least the 4 bit-code value to be set in the loadctrls
parameter below).
3. loadctrls - An integer flag that is equal to the sum of any combination of the following
possibilities (from the ObjectARX Developers Guide):
0 No action taken (do not load the application).
1 Load the application upon detection of proxy object.
2 Load the application upon AutoCAD start-up.
4 Load the application upon invocation of a command (defined in your cmds parameter).
8 Load the application upon request by the user or another application.
16 Do not load the application.
At the end of the file, you will find sample code that passes correct parameters to the register-VL-app
function.
Executable functions:
register-vl-app
Executable syntax:
(register-vl-app "SOFTWARE\\your_app_name
'("[command name]" "[command name]" etc)
Visual Lisp Sample Files
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[loadctrls]
)
For example to register Visual Lisp for demand loading:
register-vl-app (strcat "SOFTWARE\\Autodesk\\VisualLISP\\"
(_VLISP-VERSION))
'("Command1" "Command2")
4
)
regdump.lsp
This sample file provides an example of what can be accomplished with Visual LISP registry functions.
The dump-registered-apps function prints out a registry database subtree for every application that is
registered for demand loading in your AutoCAD Release 14 configuration.
One particular expression worth mentioning in the registry-tree-dump function (called by
dump-registered-apps) is the second occurrence of the foreach function which contains a recursive call
to registry-tree-dump. For each application that is registered for demand loading, there are three
subkeys: Commands, Loader, and Name. This particular foreach expression applies the
registry-tree-dump function to the string concatenation of each these three subkeys with the key for
each of the registered applications to build and print out its subtree.
Executable functions:
dump-registered-apps
Executable syntax:
(dump-registered-apps)
sym-exp.lsp
This sample file defines two functions and uses the Visual LISP vl-acad-defun function to explicitly
export them to the AutoLISP environment. Each of these two functions contain only one expression: a
call to one Visual LISP symbol function. These symbol functions, vlisp-import-symbol and
vlisp-export-symbol, are used to copy variables between the Visual LISP environment and the AutoLISP
environment.
It is important to recognize that vl-acad-defun does not actually copy the function to AutoLISP. What it
does is insert a reference to a function which exists as a USUBR routine in the Visual LISP environment.
Therefore, although you call the function in AutoLISP, it is still executed in Visual LISP.
It is also important to notice that the vl-acad-defun expressions appear outside of the defined functions.
If they were inside a non-command line function (no "c:"), it would be impossible to call either of the two
functions in sym-exp.lsp if you compiled it as an ARX routine because the vl-acad-defun expressions
could never be evaluated. Therefore, there are two rules to follow for explicitly exporting functions from
an ARX routine without using a command line function to evaluate vl-acad-defun expressions:
1. The vl-acad-defun expressions must be contained outside of the defined functions.
2. You must select "Initialize in load time" in step 7 of the Application Wizard.
Code is included at the end of the sample file which can be used to test these functions from the
AutoCAD command line.
Executable functions:
vlisp-to-acad-symbol
acad-to-vlisp-symbol
Executable syntax:
(vlisp-to-acad-symbol str)
The str argument represents the name of a variable in quotes.
(acad-to-vlisp-symbol str)
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The str argument represents the name of a variable in quotes.
timestamp.lsp
This program utilizes Editor Reactors to update a "time-stamp" text entity each time the user completes
an instance of the PLOT command. Between the user pressing OK to begin the plotting procedure and
AutoCAD spooling to the plotter, the Editor Reactor fires off the callback function which adds or
updates a time-stamp text entity at a base point of 0,0,0.
This routine ties together several major concepts that other sample files cover individually:
The LDATA functions: Using vlax-ldata-put, it creates a global dictionary named "TIME-STAMP".
This dictionary contains a key named "TEXT-OBJECT" whose value is the "time-stamp" text entity
in the form of a Visual LISP ActiveX Object.
The REGISTRY functions: Using vlax-reg-app, entries are made in the Registry that associates
vlide.arx (the primary Visual LISP module) or whichever ARX application from which you first ran
the Register-Timestamp function in the AutoCAD application. The result is that until you run the
Unregister-Timestamp function, the associated ARX application will automatically be launched
the next time you start AutoCAD regardless of the drawing file that you open.
Furthermore, if you open the drawing in which you registered the Time-Stamp routine without the
associated ARX loaded, you will receive a notification dialog informing you that the required ARX
application is missing.
Please note that if you have already registered other commands to demand load the Visual LISP
IDE, once Register-TimeStamp is run, those commands will no longer demand load the Visual
LISP IDE. To return to other commands for demand loading of vlide.arx, you will have to
re-register your command since the UnRegister-TimeStamp function merely turns off demand
loading but leaves the registered application pointing to TimeStamp.
There is a workaround contained in this sample file which solves an "Object Open for Read" error which
you may receive in connection with associating a callback function with the PLOT command to modify a
graphical entity. The workaround is to add an additional graphical object to the drawing after creating
the object which the callback function modifies. This behavior is documented and explained in the
Visual LISP Readme file.
Executable functions:
c:register-timestamp
c:unregister-timestamp
Executable syntax:
(c:register-timestamp)
(c:unregister-timestamp)
tmatrix.lsp
Upon loading this sample file, it uses ActiveX function calls to draw a line. It then passes the line as a
VLA Object along with a 4 x 4 transformation matrix to the vla-TransformBy function in order to rotate
the line by 90 degrees. The file provides a total of five different matrices which can be used to rotate,
move, or scale the line. To switch to a different matrix, change the variable called in the
vla-TransformBy expression.
The use of matrices can be an excellent shortcut for manipulating graphical objects. Once created, the
code for a matrix can easily be reapplied in other functions. The following documentation can be found
in the Visual LISP online Help in the AutoLISP Function Reference under "nentselp":
The first three columns of the matrix specify scaling and rotation. The fourth column is a translation
vector.
Visual Lisp Sample Files
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The functions that use a matrix of this type treat a point as a column vector of dimension 4. The point is
expressed in homogeneous coordinates, where the fourth element of the point vector is a scale factor
that is normally set to 1.0. The final row of the matrix, the vector [M30 M31 M32 M33], has the nominal
value of [0 0 0 1]; it is currently ignored by the functions that use this matrix format. In this convention,
applying a transformation to a point is a matrix multiplication that appears as follows:
This multiplication gives us the individual coordinates of the point as follows:
As these equations show, the scale factor and the last row of the matrix have no effect and are ignored.
It is also noteworthy to mention a Visual LISP function called vlax-tmatrix which will accept a list of four
lists representing a 4 x 4 transformation matrix (each sub-list contains four numbers). Specifically, it will
process the lists, converting each number to a real and then returns the list in a format that is
compatible with ActiveX requirements. The return can then be passed to the vla-TransformBy function.
Executable functions:
none
Executable syntax:
none - simply open and load the file.
unload-VL-app.lsp
When run from the AutoCAD command line, this program ends your Visual LISP session by unloading
the vlide.arx module. Using Visual LISP functions not available in native AutoLISP, it creates a script file
in the Windows System Temp directory with the Visual LISP application path and name (vlide.arx) along
with the ARXUNLOAD command. It then uses the AutoCAD SCRIPT command to run the script.
Executable functions:
c:unvl
Executable syntax:
(c:unvl)
yinyang.lsp
This sample file is referenced throughout the Visual LISP online documentation. It is used as an
example for debugging in Chapter 6, building applications in Chapter 7, and defining some functions in
the Visual LISP AutoLISP Function Reference.
The routine asks for user input and draws a "Yin-Yang" symbol with basic AutoCAD geometry
commands. Using the vl-acad-defun function, it explicitly exports the yinyang function as a native
AutoLISP function so it can be called from within the AutoLISP environment in addition to the Visual
LISP environment. Please see the section on sym-exp.lsp for more information on the use of the
vl-acad-defun function.
Executable functions:
yinyang
Executable syntax:
(yinyang)
Visual Lisp Sample Files
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Visual LISP ActiveX Sample
vla-tst.prj
The ActiveX enabled sample programs demonstrate and test the speed enhancements with using the
Visual LISP "vla-" function connections to the ActiveX Object Model versus the conventional AutoLISP
function library. The al-tst function draws 2000 circles and changes their properties by means of the
native AutoLISP functions. The vla-tst function completes the same test using Visual LISP VLAX
functions and ActiveX methods and properties. You will need to make sure that the User Elapsed Timer
is on (see the TIME command in your AutoCAD online Help).
To Run the test:
Build the vla-tst.arx application.
Note: Because the contents of MKP files are dependent on the directory structure of the
system on which they originated, using the vla-tst.mkp file may generate error messages. It
is recommended you select the "New Application Wizard" option under File > Make
Application to create a new MKP file for your system.
There are several options for running the test command functions:
Load the resulting vla-tst.arx file in AutoCAD.
Run the ActiveX test using the vla-tst command.
Run the AutoLISP test using the al-tst command.
Run the native AutoLISP (uncompiled) test by unloading vla-tst.arx, loadingal-tst.lsp in AutoCAD
and using the al-tst command.
Load the vla-tst.prj files into Visual LISP, run the uncompiled vla-tst or al-tst functions from the
AutoCAD Command Line (or (c:vla-tst) and (c:al-tst) from the Visual LISP Console).
Each test prints the elapsed time for the procedure.
Executable functions:
c:vla-tst
c:la-tst
Executable syntax:
(c:vla-tst)
(c:la-tst)
Visual LISP Reactor Samples
Both of these reactor projects build upon Visual LISP code that is covered
in the preceding sample files. However, these two sample projects implement
Visual LISPs reactor functions. At this time, the only other way to accomplish
this in AutoCAD drawings is to write ObjectARX C++ applications.
If you are planning on implementing reactors within your Visual LISP code,
there is important documentation you will need to review in addition to the
sample code in these projects. Please carefully study Lessons 6 and 7 of the
Visual LISP Garden Path Tutorial as well as Chapter 9 in the Visual LISP
online Help documentation.
rctr-tst.prj
This project demonstrates how to create circles of equal radii which lie on a given curve,
have an equal step in distance along the curve, and maintain these relationships when
some of the objects are modified. The project also gives you examples of including DCL
files in your compiled applications, registration of LISP defined commands, and self
registration of an application or command.

Visual Lisp Sample Files

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Note: Before loading the Rctr-tst project into Visual LISP, you may need to set the Project
properties Build Options for the FAS directory and TMP directories for the appropriate directory
location on your hard drive. Otherwise you may receive this error when attempting to load the
project: ; *** ERROR: in project RCTR-TST: the FAS Directory does not exist: FAS.
There is one minor change which you will need to make in order for this sample code to work.
Please modify the following line in the Getparm.lsp file from:
(setq radius (get-radius (vlax-curve-getStartPoint aCurve)))
to:
(setq radius (get-radius-from-point (vlax-curve-getStartPoint aCurve)))
After loading the source files using the project file rctr-tst.prj, you can start the program using the
RCTR-TST command. This command will prompt you to choose between dialog or prompt mode.
In both cases, you will first select a circle that you have previously drawn before running this
command. Next, you will be asked to determine the circles initial radius, their number and color,
and finally if the reactors will be persistent. If you choose the persistent option, all reactors will be
restored automatically in subsequent drawing sessions (persistent reactors are saved with the
drawing, transient reactors are not). After the command ends, you can change the radii of the
circles, the parameters of the curve, and move the circles or curve all in a dynamic relationship to
each other.
The Rctr-tst project contains no c:RCTR-TST function defined in any of the source files. Instead, it
uses the vlax-add-cmd function and registers this command in the registry.
Note: If you wish to compile this as an application, it is important to note that because the
contents of MKP files are dependent on the directory structure of the system on which they
originated, using the Rctr-tst.mkp file may generate error messages. It is recommended you
select the "New Application Wizard" option under File Make Application to create a new MKP
file for your system.
Executable functions:
rctr-tst
Executable syntax:
(rctr-tst) (from the Visual LISP console only)
rctr-tst (from the AutoCAD command line only)
reac-tst.prj
This project comprises of a host of different functions which provide examples of what can be
accomplished using Reactors. These examples cover each of the four types of Reactors: Linker,
Editor, Database, and Object. For more information on the different reactor types, see Attaching
Reactors to AutoCAD Drawings in Chapter 9 of your Visual LISP online Help.
After opening the reac-tst.prj project, choose the "Load Source Files" button. This process will
print out the associated functions to the AutoCAD Text Window due to the contents of
toplevel.lsp. As you will see in the text window output after loading the source files (which is
included below), each function is associated with another function that will provide information
on how it works. Text Window contents:

To test: SAME-RCL-TST For information: SAME-RCL-INFO

To test: RTRANSL-TST For information: RTRANSL-INFO
To test: ROLLS-TST For information: ROLLS-INFO
To test: PIPE-TST For information: PIPE-INFO
To test: OBJEX-TST For information: OBJEX-INFO
To test: LINKEX-TST For information: LINKEX-INFO
To stop: STOP-LINKEX-TST
To test: EDITEX-TST For information: EDITEX-INFO
To stop: STOP-EDITEX-TST
To test: DUMBELLS-TST For information: DUMBELLS-INFO
Visual Lisp Sample Files
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To test: DIMEX-TST For information: DIMEX-INFO
To test: COPYSELF-TEST For information: COPYSELF-INFO
To test: ACDBEX-TST For information: ACDBEX-INFO
To stop: STOP-ACDBEX-TST
To test: A-MTEXT-TEST For information: A-MTEXT-INFO
It is important to load the entire project rather than individual source files because some of the
routines call functions that are defined in other files. Review the following table to see where you
can find examples of specific Reactor types.

Reactors: Linker Editor Database Object

a-mtext.lsp x
acdbex.lsp x
copyself.lsp x x
dimex.lsp x
dumbells.lsp x
editex.lsp x
linkex.lsp x
objex.lsp x
pipe.lsp x x
rolls.lsp x
rtransl.lsp x
same-rcl.lsp x

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