dimstyles/autolayer

Hi there....

My office is about to change procedures upon my recommendation.
They used to put all annotations and dimensions in paper space sheets.
That way, if something was changed in the x-ref base floor plan, you had to
go into numerous other drawings to update the annotations and dimensions.

We are now considering placing everything in the xref base drawing.
It's simple to set up a few layer states to make it easy to work on just the
floor
plan, or the ceiling plan, or the enlarged floor plans.

We have to set up a few more layers to duplicate dimensions and annotations
at different scales etc.

Is there a way to force these dimensions and annotations etc. onto their
correct
layers set up for the various scales. At the moment we are using auto-layer
dvb
but that only works to force dimensions or notes to the specific layer.


Having to use more than one dimension or text/note layer, how would one
go about this ? Anyone have a similar set-up that works ?

T.I.A.

Leo the builder

 

The only way I know is with visual lisp reactors, the other one is that if you are using AutoCAD 2005, set the pre-defined layers for the dimensions and inside the command icon define each command with your desired layer, maybe from there you can have different palettes for each dimstyle you going to use.... have not done myself.

LE.

 

<<We are now considering placing everything in the xref base drawing. It's simple to set up a few layer states to make it easy to work on just the floor plan, or the ceiling plan, or the enlarged floor plans. >>

Bad move, IMO, unless you're planning on NEVER going to 3D. But if you may someday consider 3D, annotation in PS goes a long way in reducing the abundance of annotation layers required.

But to your question. Before the days of reactors, we built a couple of sub-functions for layer and style control and prefixed every button and menu selection and every lisp shorthand with them. Something like this:

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;; Set Current Layer to TEXTSTYLE name
(defun txstla ()(SETVAR "CMDECHO" 0)
(setq txst (strcat "txt" (rtos (getvar "dimscale") 2 0))) ;;;;;Create the name
;;;;;;;Make the style
(if (/= (tblsearch "style" txst) nil)
(command "textstyle" txst)
(command ".style" txst "romans" (* (getvar "dimscale") 0.1) "0.7" "" "" "" "")
)
;;;;;;;Make the layer
(if (= (tblsearch "layer" txst) nil)
(command "_layer" "m" txst "")
(command "_layer" "t" txst "s" txst "")
)
)
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;; Set Current Layer to DIMSTYLE name
(defun dmstla ()(SETVAR "CMDECHO" 0)
(setq dmst (strcat "dim" (rtos (getvar "dimscale") 2 0))) ;;;;;Create the name
;;;;;;;Make the layer
(if (= (tblsearch "layer" dmst) nil)
(command "_layer" "m" dmst "")
(command "_layer" "t" dmst "s" dmst "")
)
)
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;; Set Current DIMSCALE and DIMSTYLE name
(defun CSC ()
(command ".undo" "begin")
(setq dscale (getvar "dimscale"))
(if (setq ndscale (getdist (strcat "Enter New DIMSCALE <" (rtos dscale) ">: ")))
(setq dscale ndscale))
(command ".dim1" "dimscale" dscale)
(txstla)(dmstla) ;;;;;Make the layers and style names
(command "dimtxsty" txst) ;;;;;Set DIM text to text style
(command "dim1" "save" dmst "y") ;;;;;Save the DIMSTYLE
(command ".undo" "end")
(princ)
)
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

EVERY place in the menu where TEXT/MTEXT commands can be issued is prefixed with (TXSTLA) and EVERY place where a dim can be placed is prefixed with (DMSTLA). Using the function DSC above to set the dimscale, creates the associated styles and layers.

 

But to your question. Before the days of reactors,

What are you guys using, today?

 

Currently we're using a method similar to the one posted. Until just recently, we still had contracts working in R14, and rather than have two totally different setups, I chose to leave it as alone as possible. We are currently rebuilding many of our older routines to take advantage of reactors, ActiveX control, Vlisp and many other whiz-bang features.

 

I quit on trying to sell software.... and I wrote a program named
"drawhelp".... and is a shame to let it die just like that.... if you want a
copy at least just to see what can be done.... let me know, no compromise at
all.... [it is made with vlisp reactors, odcl and some arx and it is
compiled as a vlx]

LE.

recently, we still had contracts working in R14, and rather than have two
totally different setups, I chose to leave it as alone as possible. We are
currently rebuilding many of our older routines to take advantage of
reactors, ActiveX control, Vlisp and many other whiz-bang features.

 

You could set up a Screen Menu in separate sections for each scale you would
use. Users would pick a scale from an initial list, and that would call up
a sub-menu (with a label at the top for the chosen scale), in which each
annotation or dimension menu item could start with a layer setting, and call
for a text or dimension style, appropriate to the scale. Each item would
end with a call to return that scale-specific screen sub-menu, so the
choices would all be there again, rather than the sub-menu appropriate to
the last command that happened along the way. And each sub-menu would have
an item to return you to the scale-selection list for changing to work on
annotations for a different scale. This would be better than pull-downs,
since the sub-menus would not disappear when you've picked something, so you
wouldn't have to navigate through layers to get back to the right list for
each annotation.

If the number of annotation types isn't too large (for example, if you don't
need ALL the dimensioning possibilities), you make a separate toolbar for
each scale, again with each button starting with a layer and style setting.

 

We will be moving to R2006 sometime later this year and are currently in R2002. Will the compilation work in R2002? If so, I'd love to see it.
Email:
rculp*at*CBIepc*dot*com

 

I am interested in it.
I liked your door routine. Have not tried your other programs.

--
Gary Fowler - Architect

 

I am interested in it.

Let me see what can I do....

 

Thanks for all the replies.

I will have to read them all more carefully and absorb the info you
guys gave me.

The one from Kent sounds good, because it looks to me reasonably
easy to set up and maintain.
All we are looking for is probably two dimstyles and layers and two
text styles and layers.

Old Cadaver....I will look more into your suggestion too...
And no...in what we do 3d will be out of the question for some time,
so no problem there...

And Luis...I would very much like to see your program too...and if
I can implement or use it I will be happy to offer some compensation
for your time...

Leo the builder

 

I am interested in it.

Sent....

 

Sent....

 

And Luis...I would very much like to see your program

Post here your e-mail....

 

Thanks.......

 

Played with it last night. Luis good job, I like the overall design, and
functionallity
of your program. I was really impressed in how you got your tool bar icon
image
to change back and forth....how did you do that?

 

Sorry Luis, I haven't yet rec'd the email. Is the attachment and EXE? Our office firewall prohibits the recpt of EXE's and file larger than 1Mb.

 

Aslo, will the arx files work for 2006?

 

oh...

it is an exe and 1.33MB it is inside of a zip

can I change the extension and that would work?

 

will the arx files work for 2006?


I guess so, they mentioned that is no change on that.

As soon I got my AutoCAD 2006, will verify...


LE