Insert Line

I am building a library of standard blocks to insert in my drawings. At
the end I extract the atributes and create a parts list of all elements
(blocks) in the drawing. The different blocks are connected with lines.
One of the elements I am strugling with is this simple line. I want to
attach a block name to line unit line (1 unit) and when I insert it I
should be able to snap to start point and snap to an end point under
any angle. When I extract the attibutes I would than like to get the
length of each line instead in the drawing.
Any body who can help me on my way. I have been reading up on dynamic
blocks and I have been doing some excercises with desks and chairs and
phones etc. Althoug useful, this is not exactly what I am looking for.
Maybe I can do something similar with a line but I could not get this
to work exactly as I need.
Thanks for your time.

 

Assuming it HAS to be a block, and I'm not sure it does, can't you scale a
"line" block between the required points, and then write a routine to insert
the line block and enter the scale of the block and into the block's
attribute? That one sounds really easy...

 

The line needs to carry a part number like R99903120 (or given this
number as an attribute while inserting it) and at the end of the ride
when I extract the attributes it need to see how many lines with part
number R99903120 there are and the length of each line.
Can you help me a bit further with this routine and how to enter (by
snapping to begin and end point) the length into the blocks attributes?
Thanks for your time.

 

If the line block has a base length of one unit, your routine can ask for a
From Point and a To Point. The distance between them is your scale factor,
and the value for your length attribute. The angle between them is your
rotation for the block insertion. The first point could be your inset. With
all that your block insertion is done. All that's left is the attribute
entry, and there are a couple of ways to do that.

 

Thanks Michael,
I think I can handle insert from...to.
Next question is how do I get/read/collect the scale factor?.. in some
kind of variable that I than use to write the atribute data?
.......
.......
By the way, I've spend some time exploring your website... Most
impressive. I feel humbled.

Thanks,
Daniel

 

I suggest that you input it as part of your line insertion routine. Through
prompts, you request the information, and then feed it to other parts of the
routine as required. First one might be the line block insertion. Second one
might be the attribute assignment. After the attribute is assigned the value
you, presumably, will use your current method for extracting it. You don't
have to have the length as an attribute value, of course. It would be
simpler to just extract the scale of the block form the entity data, but you
would need to create a way of linking the length to the part number. That
can't be too hard, but if you already have something that extracts
attributes beautifully, jumping through the extra hoops for the lines might
be worth it. It's your application.

Thanks about the site. I just took down the picture of me on the front page
(messy hair, holding two glasses of chardonnay in the countryside). People
keep telling me I should play it safer, and as I get older I find myself
starting to listen to them....sometimes....

 

HiHo;
"xdat" will work also.