broken dimcontinue

Hi everyone.

I made a VB6 dll which amongst other things
places dimensiones on a specified layer.

In the application begin_command event I store the dimcommand name
Later, in the end_command event, I check to see if the ending command is
the one I stored, if so, I move the recently added object(s) to the proper
layer.

This works fine for all dims

But, if DIMSCALE is < 1 then the DIMCONTINUE command fails
with a "Extension line origins cannot be equal" error message.

My app does not change any dimvars or any other setting anywhere else
and the only change is made AFTER the command ends, and it's just a layer
change.

If I uninstall my app, dimcontinue works fine.

Any ideas ??

 

This is really strange !!

If my app was messing up the DIMCONTINUE it would
fail all the time but,
doing further testing, the problem happens when DIMSCALE = 0.8
but NOT when DIMSCALE = 0.5.

Also, the problem happens when DIMSCALE = 1.8
but NOT when is equal to 1.5 or 2.0

How about that for a riddle !!!

 

Jorge,

Try running the DIMSTYLE command (dialog version, not the command line one)
before you execute your code. You don't have to actually do anything in the
Dimension Style Manager dialog...just open and close it. I had a similar
problem with continuous dimensions misbehaving after executing some LISP
code. Initializing the Dimension Style Manager seemed to correct the
problem. Good luck.

Wayne



Dimension Style Manager must initialize a

 

Thanks for the advice Wayne.
I tried it, but it didn't make a difference.

The dimcontinue seems to be unable
to hook to an existing dimension
so it visually shows it's starting point
to be equal to it's ending point
even before I can click anywhere.

Funny thing, if I use the undo option
inside the DIMCONTINUE command
it automatically hooks to the last dimension
and it shows the correct distance to the point
where the cursor is, but as soon as I move
the mouse it unhooks and goes back
to showing a zero distance as I move the mouse.

 

Jorge,

That looks to be about the same behavior that I have seen. Have you tried
the Dimension Style Manager *after* your routine runs?

Wayne

 

Yes I did.
It didn't make any difference.

The dll is loaded at the beginning of the AutoCAD session
and released when AutoCAD closes.
This is because it includes plot logging and dwg open and close logging

I have debugged the dll and nothing else is going when the dimcontinues
starts and stops.
I have even disabled the begin and end command events, and still dimcontinue
does not work.

 

If you completely disable your BeginCommand and EndCommand handler subs and
recompile and save the dll, shutdown Acad , then start back up - does it still
screw up the same way as before?

Are there other application events that you are handling besides BeginCommand
and EndCommand?

It's hard to imagine how, as you stated, "the problem happens when DIMSCALE =
0.8 but NOT when DIMSCALE = 0.5.
Also, the problem happens when DIMSCALE = 1.8 but NOT when is equal to 1.5 or
2.0" This is really weird!

Is that the symptom even when you've disabled the two event handlers?

Perion

 

If you completely disable your BeginCommand and EndCommand handler subs
and

YES, completely disabled, all code comented, nothing is touching the dim
commands or any other command.
Even went as fas as dimming Public MyAcadDoc as AutoCAD.AcadDocument instead
of Public WithEvents MyAcadDoc as AutoCAD.AcadDocument
This leaves only the application object events, EndOpen and NewDrawing which
add the drawings to a document array class (this is where MyAcadDoc is
declared), and SysvarChanged which monitors changes to "clayer" variable in
the middle of a dimcommand and sets a global variable to true.
Still, the dimcontinue fails.
I start a new drawing. Set dimscale (through the dimstyle dialog) to 1.8
make a Linear Dimension just fine. Then use the DIMCONTINUE and it fails
Sometimes it behaves fine in a first drawing, but if I open a new one
(second document) the DIMCONTINUE will fail, and if I switch to the first
drawing, the DIMCONTINUE will now fail on the drawing where it had worked
fine at the beginning. From then on, the dimcontinue will remain broken for
the rest of the acad session.
Now, if I change the dimscale back to 1 or 2, the dimcontinue command works
just fine in all drawings.

YES, those explained above.

Yeah, you bet it's weird ! I have seen many weird stuff in my time, but this
tops it all !!!
Why only with dimcontinue ?? Why not with any value of dimscale ??

YES

 

Another interesting thing thats happening:
While I'm debugging the dll, the dimcontinue command seems to behave
correctly
If I compile and install, and start AutoCAD (without the dll running in the
ide), the dimcontinue fails.

 

Some dll compiler setting kicking in the compilation process?

Suppose you create a new dll (using the same compiler settings) that just
displays a MsgBox (maybe saying "Now in my Test Sub" or something like that) and
trigger it on the AppActivate event. This event fires when the AutoCAD
application receives focus. To trigger the event just switch focus from AutoCAD
to another Windows application and then back again. If dimcontinue works its
probably not a compiler setting. If dimcontinue works try changing it from being
an AppActivate handler to a BeginCommand handler - same MsgBox, recompiling with
the same settings. Just trying to narrow in on which parts of either the code or
compiler settings is screwing Acad. [I wouldn't be suprised if there isn't a bug
in Acad. There was a bug in a previous Acad version where DIMCONTINUE and
DIMBASELINE would not recognize a previous dimension after a UCS change. They
also wouldn't reference a previously deleted dimension. That was fixed and it
was a long time ago.

Anyway, if it messes up with the new, simpler dll then maybe play with the
compiler settings.
???? I dunno. Interesting problem though.

Perion

 

I'll try your suggestions and let you know.
Thanks for the help.

--
Saludos, Ing. Jorge Jimenez, SICAD S.A., Costa Rica
(sorry, phony e-mail, SPAM made me do it)