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July 24, 2010
July 20, 2010
Insertion Point of an AEC Object in AutoLISP
If you have ever tried to use AutoLISP to automate a task involving an AEC Object, you may have found that the ENTGET function does not return as much information for an AEC Object as it does for an AutoCAD object. A question posted to the Autodesk AutoCAD Architecture Customization Discussion Group, asking how the insertion point of a Multi-View Block might be obtained in AutoLISP, prompted me to see if I could figure out how to do just that. I knew that the Visual LISP ActiveX (VLAX) functions allowed for direct access to an object's properties. Unfortunately, the amount of time I have available for fun* things like writing AutoLISP code shrank significantly right around the time that the VL/VLAX/VLR functions were introduced, so I have never become proficient with them. Since this task was fairly simple, I thought I would take a shot at it anyway.
Using the 2010 Help (the 2011 Help no longer appears to have the AutoCAD Architecture ActiveX Reference section), I was able to determine that Multi-View Blocks (as well as a number of other AEC Objects) have a Location property that holds the "insertion point" as a variant three-element array of doubles. That means that the value is not pre-declared as a specific data type ("variant") and that it contains an array of three, double-precision real numbers ("doubles"), which is what you would expect to describe a 3D point. From previous experince, however, I knew that I would not be able to just assign that property value to an AutoLISP variable and use it with AutoLISP functions. I scanned through the VLAX functions, and saw the VLAX-VARIANT-VALUE function, the description of which indicated that it would return the value of a variant. That sounded like it was just what I wanted, but I found that for a variant containing an array, the return value was a "safearray", and that was not the simple list of three real numbers I needed. Fortunately, I also found the VLAX-SAFEARRAY->LIST function, which converts a "safearray" to an AutoLISP-style list of three real numbers. This may be less "safe", but it is far more useful when using AutoLISP functions.
The following code is what I posted in reply in the Discussion Group. There is no error checking in the subroutine, so it will crash if the entity name passed belongs to an object of a type that does not have a Location property. I am assuming that the calling routine will only pass entity names of objects that have a Location property; if that is not possible, then the subroutine would need to verify that the passed entity name belongs to a appropriate object type before trying to obtain the Location property. If the subroutine tests for appropriate object type, then a special "alert" return value should be included to inform the calling routine that an inappropriate entity name was passed.
* - Yes, I suppose it is sad that I find writing AutoLISP code "fun".
Using the 2010 Help (the 2011 Help no longer appears to have the AutoCAD Architecture ActiveX Reference section), I was able to determine that Multi-View Blocks (as well as a number of other AEC Objects) have a Location property that holds the "insertion point" as a variant three-element array of doubles. That means that the value is not pre-declared as a specific data type ("variant") and that it contains an array of three, double-precision real numbers ("doubles"), which is what you would expect to describe a 3D point. From previous experince, however, I knew that I would not be able to just assign that property value to an AutoLISP variable and use it with AutoLISP functions. I scanned through the VLAX functions, and saw the VLAX-VARIANT-VALUE function, the description of which indicated that it would return the value of a variant. That sounded like it was just what I wanted, but I found that for a variant containing an array, the return value was a "safearray", and that was not the simple list of three real numbers I needed. Fortunately, I also found the VLAX-SAFEARRAY->LIST function, which converts a "safearray" to an AutoLISP-style list of three real numbers. This may be less "safe", but it is far more useful when using AutoLISP functions.
The following code is what I posted in reply in the Discussion Group. There is no error checking in the subroutine, so it will crash if the entity name passed belongs to an object of a type that does not have a Location property. I am assuming that the calling routine will only pass entity names of objects that have a Location property; if that is not possible, then the subroutine would need to verify that the passed entity name belongs to a appropriate object type before trying to obtain the Location property. If the subroutine tests for appropriate object type, then a special "alert" return value should be included to inform the calling routine that an inappropriate entity name was passed.
(defun AECINS (ename / ob ptarray ptins)
(setq ob (vlax-ename->vla-object ename))
(setq ptarray (vlax-get-property ob 'Location))
(setq ptins (vlax-safearray->list (vlax-variant-value ptarray)))
)* - Yes, I suppose it is sad that I find writing AutoLISP code "fun".
June 27, 2010
Selection Cycling
As mentioned in the AutoCAD Improvements section of my AutoCAD Architecture 2011 Overview post, I found the Selection Cycling feature quite handy. Here is a look at how it works.
Activation of the Selection Cycling feature is controled by a new toggle on the Application Status Bar, and the SELECTIONCYCLING system variable. SELECTIONCYCLING is stored in the registry (so is not drawing-dependent) and has three main values, as noted in the online Help:
0 - Off
1 - On (the list dialog does not display)
2 - On (the list dialog displays the selected objects that you can cycle through)
What the Help fails to mention is that the Application Status Bar toggle can introduce two other values:
-1 - Off, but previous value was "1" and, when toggled back on, will reset to "1"
-2 - Off, but previous value was "2" and, when toggled back on, will reset to "2"
If you manually set SELECTIONCYCLING to "0" to turn it off, clicking on the Application Status Bar toggle will set the value to "2".
With selction cycling active, when your cursor hovers over a spot where there are multiple objects, you will see an overlapping rectangle icon adjacent to the cursor.
With SELECTIONCYCLING set to 1, you will get the legacy behavior for cycling through multiple items near your pick point. As indicated in the online Help:
1. At the Select Objects prompt, hold down Shift + Spacebar. Click as near as possible to the object you want.
2. Keep clicking until the object you want is highlighted.
3. Press Enter to select the object.
Note: If selection preview is turned on, you can cycle through the objects by rolling over the object on top to highlight it, and pressing and holding Shift and then pressing Spacebar continuously. When the required object is highlighted, left-click to select it.
With SELECTIONCYCLING set to 2, a left click will call up the Selection dialog, listing all of the objects that are selectable at the click point, by object type. If you move your cursor over to the dialog and hover over an item on the list, it will be highlighted both on the list and in the drawing.
When the object you want is highlighted, a left click on the item in the dialog dismisses the dialog and selects that item. If you decide against selecting any of the offered items, choose None at the bottom of the list.
You will probably not want to have this turned on all of the time, but for those times when you need to select an item in heavy traffic, toggling Selection Cycling on can be quite effective.
Activation of the Selection Cycling feature is controled by a new toggle on the Application Status Bar, and the SELECTIONCYCLING system variable. SELECTIONCYCLING is stored in the registry (so is not drawing-dependent) and has three main values, as noted in the online Help:
0 - Off
1 - On (the list dialog does not display)
2 - On (the list dialog displays the selected objects that you can cycle through)
What the Help fails to mention is that the Application Status Bar toggle can introduce two other values:
-1 - Off, but previous value was "1" and, when toggled back on, will reset to "1"
-2 - Off, but previous value was "2" and, when toggled back on, will reset to "2"
If you manually set SELECTIONCYCLING to "0" to turn it off, clicking on the Application Status Bar toggle will set the value to "2".
With selction cycling active, when your cursor hovers over a spot where there are multiple objects, you will see an overlapping rectangle icon adjacent to the cursor.
With SELECTIONCYCLING set to 1, you will get the legacy behavior for cycling through multiple items near your pick point. As indicated in the online Help:1. At the Select Objects prompt, hold down Shift + Spacebar. Click as near as possible to the object you want.
2. Keep clicking until the object you want is highlighted.
3. Press Enter to select the object.
Note: If selection preview is turned on, you can cycle through the objects by rolling over the object on top to highlight it, and pressing and holding Shift and then pressing Spacebar continuously. When the required object is highlighted, left-click to select it.
With SELECTIONCYCLING set to 2, a left click will call up the Selection dialog, listing all of the objects that are selectable at the click point, by object type. If you move your cursor over to the dialog and hover over an item on the list, it will be highlighted both on the list and in the drawing.
When the object you want is highlighted, a left click on the item in the dialog dismisses the dialog and selects that item. If you decide against selecting any of the offered items, choose None at the bottom of the list.You will probably not want to have this turned on all of the time, but for those times when you need to select an item in heavy traffic, toggling Selection Cycling on can be quite effective.
May 30, 2010
ACA 2011 CUI Glitch
I found a minor problem with the ACA.cuix file that ships with the 2011 release. On the View ribbon tab, on the Navigate panel, the 2010 release had a single command on the expanded panel, to toggle the ViewCube on and off. The 2011 View ribbon added a User Interface drop-down button to the View tab, on the Windows panel that provides an equivalent. While the View Cube control that the 2010 command on the Navigate panel ran has apparently been removed from the 2011 CUI, the Navigate panel still has the non-functional command listed, so the Navigate panel still indicates that the panel can be expanded to show more commands, as evidenced by the triangle icon next to the panel name.
Unfortunately, when you expand the panel in 2011, there are no additional commands displayed.
If this bothers you and you have editing rights to the ACA.cuix file, you can fix this by running the CUI command. (I usually just type CUI and press ENTER, but you can also find the CUI command on the Manage ribbon tab, on the Customization panel.) On the Customize tab, under the ACA customization file, expand the Ribbon and Panels nodes...
...and then scroll down and expand the View Navigate - ACA panel node. If you simply want to eliminate the expandability of the Navigation panel, then delete the Row 2 item below the SLIDEOUT listed under View Navigate - ACA. If you want to keep the panel expandable, and add the ViewCube toggle back to the panel, find the ViewCube Display command in the Command List pane (lower left of the Customize User Interface dialog) and drag it up under the Row 2 listing. (I left the old View Cube command - you could delete this.) The out-of-the-box ViewCube Display command shows only a Small icon, with no text. I chose to add a name (ViewCube Display) and change the display to SmallWithText, as shown in step "2" below.
The result, shown in the Panel Preview above and in the actual ribbon below, is that the expanded panel once again has a ViewCube toggle command.
Unfortunately, when you expand the panel in 2011, there are no additional commands displayed.
If this bothers you and you have editing rights to the ACA.cuix file, you can fix this by running the CUI command. (I usually just type CUI and press ENTER, but you can also find the CUI command on the Manage ribbon tab, on the Customization panel.) On the Customize tab, under the ACA customization file, expand the Ribbon and Panels nodes...
...and then scroll down and expand the View Navigate - ACA panel node. If you simply want to eliminate the expandability of the Navigation panel, then delete the Row 2 item below the SLIDEOUT listed under View Navigate - ACA. If you want to keep the panel expandable, and add the ViewCube toggle back to the panel, find the ViewCube Display command in the Command List pane (lower left of the Customize User Interface dialog) and drag it up under the Row 2 listing. (I left the old View Cube command - you could delete this.) The out-of-the-box ViewCube Display command shows only a Small icon, with no text. I chose to add a name (ViewCube Display) and change the display to SmallWithText, as shown in step "2" below.
The result, shown in the Panel Preview above and in the actual ribbon below, is that the expanded panel once again has a ViewCube toggle command.
May 17, 2010
ACA 2010 Update 2 Now Available
Update 2 for AutoCAD Architecture 2010 (yes, 2010, not 2011) is now available from the Autodesk website. Update 2 includes Update 1, so if you have not yet installed Update 1 (like me), you can just install Update 2.
According to the AutoCAD Architecture 2010 Update 2 Readme, the following defects have been fixed (list includes both Update 1 and Update 2):
AEC Dimensions
Update 1
API
Update 1
Doors/Windows/Openings
Update 2
Drawing Management
Update 2
Export to AutoCAD
Update 2
External References
Update 1
GBXML
Update 2
General UI
Update 2
IFC
Update 1
Layers
Update 1
Multiview Blocks
Update 2
Performance
Update 1
Property Palette
Update 1
Save
Update 2
Schedules
Update 1
Sections
Update 1
Structural Members
Update 1
Spaces
Update 2
Wall Objects
Update 1
According to the AutoCAD Architecture 2010 Update 2 Readme, the following defects have been fixed (list includes both Update 1 and Update 2):
AEC Dimensions
Update 1
- Multiple overlapping windows may lead to incorrect dimensions.
API
Update 1
- AutoCAD Architecture might crash when trying to define a Display Theme style using .NET API.
Doors/Windows/Openings
Update 2
- When a custom block is applied to a door, window, or door-window assembly, the block will be visible even if it is not within the cut plane range.
- Sometimes, you cannot insert an opening in a wall in a certain cleanup group.
Drawing Management
Update 2
- AutoCAD Architecture may crash when you repath certain projects with no drawings open.
- Renaming items in the Project Navigator, and repathing the project may cause AutoCAD Architecture to crash.
Export to AutoCAD
Update 2
- Export to Autocad sometimes causes AutoCAD Architecture to crash.
External References
Update 1
- Openings in external references with negative Z value are placed at an incorrect position.
- When you execute UNDO command after binding an external reference, AutoCAD Architecture may become unresponsive.
- AutoCAD Architecture may crash if you unload an external reference, attach it again, and then execute an UNDO.
GBXML
Update 2
- Duplicate openings are created in gbXML output when walls are slightly off from being perpendicular to each other.
General UI
Update 2
- Checkboxes are not displayed correctly on the Object Snap tab of the Drafting Settings dialog on Windows 7.
IFC
Update 1
- Slabs may have the wrong elevation when imported from an IFC file due to an incorrect thickness offset.
- Exporting a drawing to IFC may create incorrect IFC GUIDs for AEC objects.
- Importing IFC files that contain certain material settings may crash.
- Space exported to IFC have the IFC type of IFCTYPEOBJECT instead of IFCSPACETYPE.
- When you import an IFC file, containing a space that uses a negative value for extrusion, the extrusion is in the wrong direction.
- Importing an IFC file fails if it contains a 3D vector for True North direction.
Layers
Update 1
- The "New layer from Standard" button doesn't work in localized versions.
- Layer description fields are not automatically populated in all cases.
- When the Layer Properties Manager is open, opening a drawing sometimes causes AutoCAD Architecture to crash.
Multiview Blocks
Update 2
- When AutoCAD Architecture and Civil 3D are installed side by side, AutoCAD Architecture crashes on executing MVBLOCKADD command.
Performance
Update 1
- Response is very slow when using Dynamic UCS and objects are Isolated.
- Sometimes, it takes a long time to complete an UNDO after a COPY.
Property Palette
Update 1
- Changing an entry to one that is the first characters of the previous entry will not work in some fields.
Save
Update 2
- When you save a drawing to a previous version, sometimes, you are not warned about possible data loss.
Schedules
Update 1
- Schedules are not sorted as expected when values are a combination of numeric and alphabetic characters.
- Sometimes, schedule table data is not rounded off as specificed in the property data format.
Sections
Update 1
- Some objects imported from Inventor display as points in 2D Sections.
- When a window or door window assembly is sectioned, some linework may be missing in the section.
Structural Members
Update 1
- Custom block based on 3D Solids using Boolean operations are always placed at the start point.
Spaces
Update 2
- AutoCAD Architecture may crash when a spaced update is triggered for a large number of spaces within an external reference.
Wall Objects
Update 1
- AutoCAD Architecture might hang when opening certain drawings that contain modified Wall Endcaps.
- Window openings may not be created due to Wall Plan Modifiers.
- Using Refedit on a block containing Wall Object may cause a crash.
- When working on a project located on a slow network, the wall and curtain wall tools are slow to respond.
- Some walls in an external reference display solution tips when the units of the host drawing are different from that of the external reference.
- AutoCAD Architecture will crash when you delete a component of a wall which is on a locked layer.
April 05, 2010
ACA: Annotative Content and Named Layout Views
I ran into this recently and thought I would document/pass on the observation:
If you set up a named Layout View, and then try to restore that Layout View when you are in Model Space of a Viewport, the program will automatically switch to Paper Space and restore the requested view, leaving you in Paper Space, without making any change to the drawing extents visible within the Viewport, even if the Viewport is unlocked. That is quite nice and the way it should be. Unfortunately, there is a potential problem.
If the Viewport in which you started had a drawing scale other than 1'-0" = 1'-0" (1:1), which is probably the case for most Viewports, and there is annotative content in that Viewport, the content does not have 1'-0" = 1'-0" (1:1) as an added scale and Annotation Visibility is set to show only the current scale, you may be surprised to find that the annotative content is no longer visible.
You can find the reason for this by unlocking the Viewport (if locked) and clicking on the Annotation Scale Synchronization button (located just to the right of the drawing scale control on the Drawing Window Status Bar when in Model Space of a Layout Viewport - or when in Paper Space and the Viewport is selected). Unfortunately, it is hard to tell the difference between when this button is active or inactive. Even more unfortunate is the fact that using this button to synchronize the viewport annotation scale and the viewport drawing scale means that the viewport drawing scale will be changed to the viewport annotation scale (which is why the Viewport needs to be unlocked for it to work when in Model Space; from Paper Space, the Viewport will rescale even if the Viewport is locked). You will find that the drawing scale changes to 1'-0" = 1'-0" (1:1), so it seems that when you asked ACA to restore the Layout View from Model Space on a Layout, before it switches to Paper Space, it applies the annotation scale of the Layout View (1:1) to the viewport - even if the Viewport is locked! That is why the annotative content disappears (or, should 1'-0" = 1'-0" (1:1) be an assigned scale, changes size).
Rather than selecting the Annotation Scale Synchronization button (unless you want to change the Viewport scale to 1:1), unlock the viewport (if locked) and then use the Viewport Scale control to reselect the same drawing scale. This will reset the annotation scale to match the Viewport scale and your annotative content should leap back into view (or resume the proper size).
An alternate solution (and another way to see that the annotation scale has been changed to 1'-0" = 1'-0" (1:1)) would be to select the Viewport while in Paper Space and on the Design tab of the Properties palette, under the Misc category, reset the Annotation scale property to the same scale as the Viewport scale. You will need to unlock the Viewport to do so, but you can do that with the Display locked property, which is conveniently located just above the Annotation scale property.
Or, you could just remember to switch to Paper Space before restoring the named Layout View, which avoids the problem altogether. That is easier said than done - even after I figured out why the annotation was disappearing, there have been times where I forget to change to Paper Space first. At least now I know why the annotation disappeared and what to do to restore it.
If you set up a named Layout View, and then try to restore that Layout View when you are in Model Space of a Viewport, the program will automatically switch to Paper Space and restore the requested view, leaving you in Paper Space, without making any change to the drawing extents visible within the Viewport, even if the Viewport is unlocked. That is quite nice and the way it should be. Unfortunately, there is a potential problem.
If the Viewport in which you started had a drawing scale other than 1'-0" = 1'-0" (1:1), which is probably the case for most Viewports, and there is annotative content in that Viewport, the content does not have 1'-0" = 1'-0" (1:1) as an added scale and Annotation Visibility is set to show only the current scale, you may be surprised to find that the annotative content is no longer visible.
You can find the reason for this by unlocking the Viewport (if locked) and clicking on the Annotation Scale Synchronization button (located just to the right of the drawing scale control on the Drawing Window Status Bar when in Model Space of a Layout Viewport - or when in Paper Space and the Viewport is selected). Unfortunately, it is hard to tell the difference between when this button is active or inactive. Even more unfortunate is the fact that using this button to synchronize the viewport annotation scale and the viewport drawing scale means that the viewport drawing scale will be changed to the viewport annotation scale (which is why the Viewport needs to be unlocked for it to work when in Model Space; from Paper Space, the Viewport will rescale even if the Viewport is locked). You will find that the drawing scale changes to 1'-0" = 1'-0" (1:1), so it seems that when you asked ACA to restore the Layout View from Model Space on a Layout, before it switches to Paper Space, it applies the annotation scale of the Layout View (1:1) to the viewport - even if the Viewport is locked! That is why the annotative content disappears (or, should 1'-0" = 1'-0" (1:1) be an assigned scale, changes size).
Rather than selecting the Annotation Scale Synchronization button (unless you want to change the Viewport scale to 1:1), unlock the viewport (if locked) and then use the Viewport Scale control to reselect the same drawing scale. This will reset the annotation scale to match the Viewport scale and your annotative content should leap back into view (or resume the proper size).
An alternate solution (and another way to see that the annotation scale has been changed to 1'-0" = 1'-0" (1:1)) would be to select the Viewport while in Paper Space and on the Design tab of the Properties palette, under the Misc category, reset the Annotation scale property to the same scale as the Viewport scale. You will need to unlock the Viewport to do so, but you can do that with the Display locked property, which is conveniently located just above the Annotation scale property.
Or, you could just remember to switch to Paper Space before restoring the named Layout View, which avoids the problem altogether. That is easier said than done - even after I figured out why the annotation was disappearing, there have been times where I forget to change to Paper Space first. At least now I know why the annotation disappeared and what to do to restore it.
March 25, 2010
AutoCAD® Architecture 2011 Overview
The NDA on discussing the features in the soon-to-be-released AutoCAD® Architecture 2011 has been lifted, and once again I find myself very busy (a good thing!). I will try to summarize the new features and improvements in this post, with the hope that I will find some time to put together some future posts with more detail (and screen captures) on some of the significant items.
User Interface
The good news (for some) is that there are no radical changes to the User Interface in 2011. There are some tweaks to the ribbons and the panels and tools thereon (to support added features, add user-requested editing tools to contextual ribbon tabs, etc.), but the basic setup remains as it was in 2010. Toolbars and pull-down menus have not been restored to the out-of-the-box CUIX files (other than the Express Tools pulldown, if you install the Express Tools).
One nice addition is that the View Cube is now available in 2D Wireframe. One consequence of that is that the grid in 2D Wireframe is now like the grids in the other visual styles – a grid of lines, rather than the old dots. I found the grid change somewhat annoying, but like having the View Cube available in 2D Wireframe, so I am willing to live with the grid (which I have generally turned off).
One new interface item is the Navigation Bar, a floating “mini palette” (I hesitate to use the term toolbar) that provides quick access to navigation commands like the steering wheels, pan, zoom and orbit. You can turn this on or off; when on, you can choose to have it free-floating or tie its position to the view cube.
There is also a minor change to the options for displaying the ribbon. You can now minimize to “panel buttons”. This is similar to the previously available minimize to panel titles, but provides a graphic icon along with the panel title. A dropdown menu has been added to the “cycle” button located at the right of the ribbon tab names, which allows you to directly pick a ribbon display state, rather than having to cycle through to the one you want.
Wall Cleanup
The Wall cleanup improvements that have been introduced in the past two releases are now “completed” with the 2011 release. While editing Wall cleanup “in place,” you now have access to Fillet and Chamfer tools to aid in creating the cleanup condition you need. (These had been previously added to the Wall Endcap edit-in-place feature.)
When using the in-place-editing feature, the Add/Remove Vertex option now displays a dynamic preview of the result should you click at the current cursor location. If you edit a Wall cleanup from an isometric view, the cleanup height is now dynamically displayed.
The “L” and “T” cleanup commands have been combined into the new “intelligent cleanup” command. You can use the intelligent cleanup command in much the same way as you previously used the “L” and “T” cleanups, or, if you have a large number of poorly drawn Walls, you can select them all and “intelligent cleanup” will go to work and do its best to clean them all up in one step, including the adjustment of cleanup radii when necessary.
I generally try to avoid non-zero cleanup radii whenever possible, but for those occasions where one must be set, if you do so by grip editing (with justification line display toggled on), a dynamic preview of the cleaned up condition (just component lines, no hatches) will display within the cleanup circle.
Constraints
A limited number of AutoCAD Architecture objects can now be used with the constraints feature that was added to AutoCAD in the 2010 release. You can apply constraints to Walls, Column Grids, Columns, Beams, Curtain Walls, Multi-View Blocks and Mass Elements. For example, a Wall can be constrained to a Grid line, so that it always remains a fixed distance from the Grid line, or two Walls, such as the opposite Walls of a corridor, can be constrained to remain a fixed distance apart.
Renovation
First included in a subscription extension for 2010, the Renovation feature is now integrated into the shipping product. The renovation feature is intended to make renovation projects done with AutoCAD Architecture easier for the user. While I have not had an opportunity to try this feature under real-world-project conditions, it does appear to be worth investigating. It makes use of the AutoCAD Architecture Display System, layers and object visibility, using rules and settings that you can customize, to allow the user to transform objects between new, existing-to-remain and existing-to-be-demolished. Once you have things set up, a click of a ribbon tool is all that is needed to toggle between a demolition plan display and a new work plan display. Any objects already drawing when renovation mode is activated become “existing” objects. If you demolish an existing Door, not only does the Door get transformed to "demolition", but the hole in the Wall will be filled with one or more Mass Elements (one per visible component) that will be visible as "new" infill when the new work drawing is displayed.
For those using the US National CAD Standard layering, it appears to work best if your “new work” layers do NOT have a status field (“-N”) specified, which would be something of a deal breaker for my office, as we do use the “-N” status field on our new work layers to make managing new work layers easier.
Demolished items can be easily excluded from Schedule Tables by setting a new property added to Schedule Tables on the Design tab of the Properties palette.
Enhanced Custom Grid
Also part of the 2010 subscription extension, the Enhanced Custom Grid allows you to create column grids where at least one column line does not run all the way across the entire building as a single object that can have column bubble tags added all at once and which supports primary and secondary levels of column line numbering (for example: 1, 1.3, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 4.2, 4.7, 4.9, 5). This should reduce the need for converting linework and avoid the tedium of having to tag each column line of a linework-converted grid individually.
Custom Column
The Custom Column tool, from the 2010 subscription extension, provides a quick way to transform a closed shape (closed polyline, spline, ellipse, or circle) into a structural member shape, structural member style and an instance of that style in a few, easy steps. If you do not need the separate graphics for low, medium and high detail that using the MemberShape command affords, this is a great way to create a custom column shape that is not available through either the Structural Member Catalog or the Structural Member Wizard.
Placement of Openings in Walls
Yet another 2010 subscription extension item, the placement of openings in Walls (Doors, Door/Window Assemblies, Windows and Openings) has been enhanced. You can now place multiple, evenly spaced objects in one operation, and the boundaries of the spacing can now include grid lines, in addition to intersecting Walls. One consequence of this is that Center and Offset are now two separate placement modes, rather than one combined Center/Offset mode.
Miscellaneous
Structural Member Placement
When placing a Structural member that is not related to other, already existing objects, in previous releases you had to use the CTRL toggle to get to a state in which you can specify exact endpoints. In 2011, this process is greatly simplified by adding an “On object” property to the Design tab of the Properties palette, under the General category (only at the time of object placement).
Drawing Management and Windows Explorer
The Project Browser and Project Navigator dialogs can now interact with Windows Explorer. Files can be sent to the Recycle Bin (DELETE key) or permanently deleted (SHIFT+DELETE) from the Project Navigator palette. Windows Explorer can be opened directly to a project folder, category folder or single drawing by right-clicking and choosing “Show in Windows Explorer from the context menu.
IFC
A number of IFC Enhancements have been made. I have not had to use IFC to date, so I will leave the explanation of what has been added to others who have.
Web-based Help
The Help is now Web-based. If you have a live Internet connection, you will access the Help via the Autodesk website, giving you access to more frequent updates and improved search ability. This is also claimed to be the first step in providing AutoCAD Architecture help that is better integrated with the AutoCAD help. A toggle on the System tab of the Options dialog allows you to disable the over-the-Internet help, in which case a local version is used. The local version is still viewed and searched through a web browser window, however.
AutoCAD Improvements
Selection Cycling
When you click on overlapping objects, you now get a selection dialog listing all of the objects beneath the pick point, from which you can choose the one you want (or none). As you pass your cursor over the list of objects in the dialog, the object associated with the item under your cursor highlights to aid in determining which object you want. I found this quite handy.
”Borrowed” from AutoCAD Architecture
A number of “new” AutoCAD features will be familiar to AutoCAD Architecture users: Isolate Objects, Select Similar and Add Selected have made their way into the main AutoCAD product.
Polyline Grip Editing
New midpoint grips have been added, and all grips offer right click editing options, similar to what AutoCAD Architecture users have had when editing various AEC objects.
Transparency
Transparency has been added as a property that can be applied to layers and objects in the same way that color, linetype, lineweight and plot style have previously been applied. A toggle button has been added to the application status bar to toggle transparency on and off. While that toggle does not affect plotting, the Plot and Page Setup dialogs now have a checkbox for enabling/disabling transparency when plotting. Note that for AEC objects, transparency has not been added to the display settings of components, the General Properties tab of the Object Display dialog or on the Design or Display tabs of the Properties palette. You can, however, assign transparency to an AEC object’s layer. New AutoCAD features often take an extra release to work their way to AEC objects, so perhaps this will show up in 2012 or 2013.
Hatching
Hatch Creation and Hatch Editor contextual ribbon tabs avoid the need for a dialog box to display when using the Hatch tool or editing an existing hatch. When using the pick points method, as you move your cursor, a preview of the hatch that would be created if you clicked at the current cursor location is displayed.
There are many other AutoCAD changes that will, no doubt, be covered in greater detail by others; those are just a few that caught my eye.
User Interface
The good news (for some) is that there are no radical changes to the User Interface in 2011. There are some tweaks to the ribbons and the panels and tools thereon (to support added features, add user-requested editing tools to contextual ribbon tabs, etc.), but the basic setup remains as it was in 2010. Toolbars and pull-down menus have not been restored to the out-of-the-box CUIX files (other than the Express Tools pulldown, if you install the Express Tools).
One nice addition is that the View Cube is now available in 2D Wireframe. One consequence of that is that the grid in 2D Wireframe is now like the grids in the other visual styles – a grid of lines, rather than the old dots. I found the grid change somewhat annoying, but like having the View Cube available in 2D Wireframe, so I am willing to live with the grid (which I have generally turned off).
One new interface item is the Navigation Bar, a floating “mini palette” (I hesitate to use the term toolbar) that provides quick access to navigation commands like the steering wheels, pan, zoom and orbit. You can turn this on or off; when on, you can choose to have it free-floating or tie its position to the view cube.
There is also a minor change to the options for displaying the ribbon. You can now minimize to “panel buttons”. This is similar to the previously available minimize to panel titles, but provides a graphic icon along with the panel title. A dropdown menu has been added to the “cycle” button located at the right of the ribbon tab names, which allows you to directly pick a ribbon display state, rather than having to cycle through to the one you want.
Wall Cleanup
The Wall cleanup improvements that have been introduced in the past two releases are now “completed” with the 2011 release. While editing Wall cleanup “in place,” you now have access to Fillet and Chamfer tools to aid in creating the cleanup condition you need. (These had been previously added to the Wall Endcap edit-in-place feature.)
When using the in-place-editing feature, the Add/Remove Vertex option now displays a dynamic preview of the result should you click at the current cursor location. If you edit a Wall cleanup from an isometric view, the cleanup height is now dynamically displayed.
The “L” and “T” cleanup commands have been combined into the new “intelligent cleanup” command. You can use the intelligent cleanup command in much the same way as you previously used the “L” and “T” cleanups, or, if you have a large number of poorly drawn Walls, you can select them all and “intelligent cleanup” will go to work and do its best to clean them all up in one step, including the adjustment of cleanup radii when necessary.
I generally try to avoid non-zero cleanup radii whenever possible, but for those occasions where one must be set, if you do so by grip editing (with justification line display toggled on), a dynamic preview of the cleaned up condition (just component lines, no hatches) will display within the cleanup circle.
Constraints
A limited number of AutoCAD Architecture objects can now be used with the constraints feature that was added to AutoCAD in the 2010 release. You can apply constraints to Walls, Column Grids, Columns, Beams, Curtain Walls, Multi-View Blocks and Mass Elements. For example, a Wall can be constrained to a Grid line, so that it always remains a fixed distance from the Grid line, or two Walls, such as the opposite Walls of a corridor, can be constrained to remain a fixed distance apart.
Renovation
First included in a subscription extension for 2010, the Renovation feature is now integrated into the shipping product. The renovation feature is intended to make renovation projects done with AutoCAD Architecture easier for the user. While I have not had an opportunity to try this feature under real-world-project conditions, it does appear to be worth investigating. It makes use of the AutoCAD Architecture Display System, layers and object visibility, using rules and settings that you can customize, to allow the user to transform objects between new, existing-to-remain and existing-to-be-demolished. Once you have things set up, a click of a ribbon tool is all that is needed to toggle between a demolition plan display and a new work plan display. Any objects already drawing when renovation mode is activated become “existing” objects. If you demolish an existing Door, not only does the Door get transformed to "demolition", but the hole in the Wall will be filled with one or more Mass Elements (one per visible component) that will be visible as "new" infill when the new work drawing is displayed.
For those using the US National CAD Standard layering, it appears to work best if your “new work” layers do NOT have a status field (“-N”) specified, which would be something of a deal breaker for my office, as we do use the “-N” status field on our new work layers to make managing new work layers easier.
Demolished items can be easily excluded from Schedule Tables by setting a new property added to Schedule Tables on the Design tab of the Properties palette.
Enhanced Custom Grid
Also part of the 2010 subscription extension, the Enhanced Custom Grid allows you to create column grids where at least one column line does not run all the way across the entire building as a single object that can have column bubble tags added all at once and which supports primary and secondary levels of column line numbering (for example: 1, 1.3, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 4.2, 4.7, 4.9, 5). This should reduce the need for converting linework and avoid the tedium of having to tag each column line of a linework-converted grid individually.
Custom Column
The Custom Column tool, from the 2010 subscription extension, provides a quick way to transform a closed shape (closed polyline, spline, ellipse, or circle) into a structural member shape, structural member style and an instance of that style in a few, easy steps. If you do not need the separate graphics for low, medium and high detail that using the MemberShape command affords, this is a great way to create a custom column shape that is not available through either the Structural Member Catalog or the Structural Member Wizard.
Placement of Openings in Walls
Yet another 2010 subscription extension item, the placement of openings in Walls (Doors, Door/Window Assemblies, Windows and Openings) has been enhanced. You can now place multiple, evenly spaced objects in one operation, and the boundaries of the spacing can now include grid lines, in addition to intersecting Walls. One consequence of this is that Center and Offset are now two separate placement modes, rather than one combined Center/Offset mode.
Miscellaneous
Structural Member Placement
When placing a Structural member that is not related to other, already existing objects, in previous releases you had to use the CTRL toggle to get to a state in which you can specify exact endpoints. In 2011, this process is greatly simplified by adding an “On object” property to the Design tab of the Properties palette, under the General category (only at the time of object placement).
Drawing Management and Windows Explorer
The Project Browser and Project Navigator dialogs can now interact with Windows Explorer. Files can be sent to the Recycle Bin (DELETE key) or permanently deleted (SHIFT+DELETE) from the Project Navigator palette. Windows Explorer can be opened directly to a project folder, category folder or single drawing by right-clicking and choosing “Show in Windows Explorer from the context menu.
IFC
A number of IFC Enhancements have been made. I have not had to use IFC to date, so I will leave the explanation of what has been added to others who have.
Web-based Help
The Help is now Web-based. If you have a live Internet connection, you will access the Help via the Autodesk website, giving you access to more frequent updates and improved search ability. This is also claimed to be the first step in providing AutoCAD Architecture help that is better integrated with the AutoCAD help. A toggle on the System tab of the Options dialog allows you to disable the over-the-Internet help, in which case a local version is used. The local version is still viewed and searched through a web browser window, however.
AutoCAD Improvements
Selection Cycling
When you click on overlapping objects, you now get a selection dialog listing all of the objects beneath the pick point, from which you can choose the one you want (or none). As you pass your cursor over the list of objects in the dialog, the object associated with the item under your cursor highlights to aid in determining which object you want. I found this quite handy.
”Borrowed” from AutoCAD Architecture
A number of “new” AutoCAD features will be familiar to AutoCAD Architecture users: Isolate Objects, Select Similar and Add Selected have made their way into the main AutoCAD product.
Polyline Grip Editing
New midpoint grips have been added, and all grips offer right click editing options, similar to what AutoCAD Architecture users have had when editing various AEC objects.
Transparency
Transparency has been added as a property that can be applied to layers and objects in the same way that color, linetype, lineweight and plot style have previously been applied. A toggle button has been added to the application status bar to toggle transparency on and off. While that toggle does not affect plotting, the Plot and Page Setup dialogs now have a checkbox for enabling/disabling transparency when plotting. Note that for AEC objects, transparency has not been added to the display settings of components, the General Properties tab of the Object Display dialog or on the Design or Display tabs of the Properties palette. You can, however, assign transparency to an AEC object’s layer. New AutoCAD features often take an extra release to work their way to AEC objects, so perhaps this will show up in 2012 or 2013.
Hatching
Hatch Creation and Hatch Editor contextual ribbon tabs avoid the need for a dialog box to display when using the Hatch tool or editing an existing hatch. When using the pick points method, as you move your cursor, a preview of the hatch that would be created if you clicked at the current cursor location is displayed.
There are many other AutoCAD changes that will, no doubt, be covered in greater detail by others; those are just a few that caught my eye.
March 10, 2010
AutoCAD® Architecture 2010 - UI Changes, Part 8 - The Ribbon, Manage Tab
Manage Tab
The Manage tab is the sixth static (always available) tab provided in the out-of-the-box ACA CUI. The image below and all screen captures in this article are based on the shipping version.
Navigate Panel
The Action Recorder Panel contains commands related to using the Action Recorder to save, edit and play back command sequences.
The Record command button starts the Action Recorder (ACTRECORD command). The Insert message command button allows you to insert a message in the Action tree, which will then be displayed during playback (ACTUSERMESSAGE command). The Insert Base Point command button is used to establish a point using absolute coordinates, for use by the prompts that follow in the macro (ACTBASEPOINT command). The Pause for User Input command button allows you to insert a request for user input in the macro (ACTUSERINPUT command). The Play command button plays back the macro selected in the Action Macro drop-down list. The Preference command button allows you to determine the behavior of the Action Recorder panel during recording and playback as well as indicate whether or not you want to be prompted for a macro name when recording is stopped. The Manage Action Macros command button allows you to copy, rename, modify or delete action macro files (ACTMANAGER). The Available Action Macro drop-down list allows you to choose from a list of available macros. The chosen macro is available for playback and is displayed in the Action Tree. The ACTMANAGER command can also be launched from the last item on the list.
Click on the Action Recorder title bar to expand the panel and reveal the action tree. The contents of the macro chosen on the drop-down list will be displayed in the Action Tree.
CAD Standards Panel
The CAD Standards Panel contains commands related to the AutoCAD® CAD Standards feature.
The Check command button runs the CHECKSTANDARDS command to check the current drawing for standards violations. The Configure command button allows you to associate the current drawing with one or more standards files (STANDARDS command). The Batch Checker command button allows you to specify one or more drawings to be checked (BATCHSTANDARDSCHECKER command). The Layer Translator command button runs the LAYTRANS command, allowing you to map the layers in the current drawing to layer names and properties in another drawing file or in a standards file, and then convert the layers in the current drawing based on that mapping.
Project Standards Panel
The Project Standards Panel contains commands related to the AutoCAD Architecture Project Standards feature. You must be working in an AutoCAD Architecture project (using Project Browser and Project Navigator) in order to make use of these tools.
The Synchronize DWG command button will update the current drawing using the styles and settings defined in the project standards drawing(s) for the current project (SYNCHRONIZEPROJECTDRAWING command). The Configure command button allows you to indicate the project standards with which the current drawing will synchronize (PROJECTSTANDARDS command). The Synchronize Project command button runs the SYNCHRONIZEPROJECT command, which will synchronize all of the drawings in a project to the styles and settings in the project standards drawing(s). The Update command button will update the project standards check file (AutoCAD standards) for each file in the project. Select the Project Standards title bar to expand the panel and reveal additional command buttons related to Project Standards: Apply Versioning to Current Drawing (VERSIONMODIFIEDOBJECTS), Update Standards from Drawing (UPDATESTANDARDS), Synchronize Project Standards (SYNCHRONIZESTANDARDS), Setup Report (PROJECTSTANDARDSSETUPREPORT), Audit Report (AUDITPROJECT) and Audit Project Drawing (AUDITPROJECTDRAWING).
Style & Display Panel
The Style & Display Panel offers commands related to AutoCAD Architecture styles and display system.
The Style Manager command button opens the Style Manager, allowing you to create, edit and/or delete styles and definitions (STYLEMANAGER). The Display Manager command button opens the Display Manager, so that you can create and/or edit drawing default settings for Display Representations, create and/or edit Display Representation Sets and create and/or edit Display Configurations (DISPLAYMANAGER). Click on the Style & Display title bar to expand the panel and reveal seven additional command buttons. The Dimension Style Wizard command button opens the AEC Dimension Display Wizard, allowing you to change the display properties of AEC Dimension Styles (DIMWIZARD). The Profile Definitions command button opens the Style Manager, filtered for Profile Definitions (PROFILEDEFINE). The Member Shape command button opens the Insert Member Shapes dialog, which allows you to insert one of the structural member shapes defined in the drawing (MEMBERSHAPEINSERT). The Insert as Polyline command button allows you to insert a profile defined in the current drawing as a polyline (PROFILEASPOLYLINE). The Structural Member Catalog command button opens the Structural Member Catalog dialog, which allows you to create Structural Member Styles (and the associated Structural Member Shapes) from a listing of predefined, industry-standard shapes (MEMBERCATALOG). The Structural Member Wizard command button opens the Structural Member Style Wizard dialog, which allows you to create Structural Member Styles based on user-input dimensions for a variety of basic shapes (MEMBERSTYLEWIZARD). The Show Display Overrides command button (SHOWDISPLAYOVERRIDES) allows you to easily identify objects that have an object-level display override by highlighting and/or listing them.
Applications Panel
The Applications Panel has commands related to custom applications that can be run in AutoCAD Architecture, such as AutoLISP or VBA routines.
The Load Application command button runs the APPLOAD command, allowing you to load and unload custom applications and to add customizations to the Startup Suite, which will then be loaded each time you start AutoCAD Architecture. The Run Script command button allows you to execute script file (SCRIPT command). The Visual Basic Editor command button displays the Visual Basic Editor, allowing you to edit VBA projects (VBAIDE). The Visual LISP Editor command button runs the VLISP command, calling up the Visual LISP Integrated Development Environment window, where you can create and edit LISP routines. The Run VBA Macro allows you to run, edit or delete a VBA macro (VBARUN). Click on the Applications title bar to expand the panel and reveal two additional command buttons: Load Project, to load a global VBA project into the current work session (VBALOAD) and VBA Manager, to manage your VBA projects in a dialog box (VBAMAN). Note that in the 2010 release, Microsoft® Visual Basic® for Applications software is not installed when AutoCAD Architecture is installed. You can download the files needed to use VBA in AutoCAD at http://www.autodesk.com/vba-download.
Customization Panel
The Customization Panel has commands related to customizing the AutoCAD Architecture user interface.
The User Interface command button opens the Customize User Interface dialog, which gives you full access to customizing most aspects of the user interface (CUI command). The Tool Palettes command button opens the Customize dialog, allowing you to customize the organization of tool palettes and tool palette groups, the one part of the interface not covered by the CUI dialog (Customize command). Click on the Customization title bar to expand the panel and reveal four additional command buttons. The Import CUI command button opens the Customize User Interface dialog, with the Transfer tab current, ready to transfer items from an enterprise or partial CUIX file to the main CUIX file (CUIIMPORT command). The Export CUI command button also opens the Customize User Interface dialog to the Transfer tab and allows you to export items from the main customization file to an enterprise or partial CUIX file (CUIEXPORT command). In fact, you can use either of those tools to move files between the main CUIX file and any other CUIX file you choose to open. The only difference is the Import CUI command button puts the main CUIX file on the right side, and the Export CUI command button puts the main CUIX file on the left side. The Edit PGP command button opens the first ACAD.pgp file found in the search path for editing (on my computer, in Notepad). The Generate Tool Catalog command button opens the Populate Tool Catalog from Content Drawings dialog, which allows you to create tools for selected ACA object types from a selected source file and place the tools in a new or existing tool catalog (AECTOOLCATALOGGENERATOR command). The tools can be created in Categories or in Palettes.
The Manage tab is the sixth static (always available) tab provided in the out-of-the-box ACA CUI. The image below and all screen captures in this article are based on the shipping version.
Navigate Panel
The Action Recorder Panel contains commands related to using the Action Recorder to save, edit and play back command sequences.
The Record command button starts the Action Recorder (ACTRECORD command). The Insert message command button allows you to insert a message in the Action tree, which will then be displayed during playback (ACTUSERMESSAGE command). The Insert Base Point command button is used to establish a point using absolute coordinates, for use by the prompts that follow in the macro (ACTBASEPOINT command). The Pause for User Input command button allows you to insert a request for user input in the macro (ACTUSERINPUT command). The Play command button plays back the macro selected in the Action Macro drop-down list. The Preference command button allows you to determine the behavior of the Action Recorder panel during recording and playback as well as indicate whether or not you want to be prompted for a macro name when recording is stopped. The Manage Action Macros command button allows you to copy, rename, modify or delete action macro files (ACTMANAGER). The Available Action Macro drop-down list allows you to choose from a list of available macros. The chosen macro is available for playback and is displayed in the Action Tree. The ACTMANAGER command can also be launched from the last item on the list.
Click on the Action Recorder title bar to expand the panel and reveal the action tree. The contents of the macro chosen on the drop-down list will be displayed in the Action Tree.
CAD Standards Panel
The CAD Standards Panel contains commands related to the AutoCAD® CAD Standards feature.
The Check command button runs the CHECKSTANDARDS command to check the current drawing for standards violations. The Configure command button allows you to associate the current drawing with one or more standards files (STANDARDS command). The Batch Checker command button allows you to specify one or more drawings to be checked (BATCHSTANDARDSCHECKER command). The Layer Translator command button runs the LAYTRANS command, allowing you to map the layers in the current drawing to layer names and properties in another drawing file or in a standards file, and then convert the layers in the current drawing based on that mapping.Project Standards Panel
The Project Standards Panel contains commands related to the AutoCAD Architecture Project Standards feature. You must be working in an AutoCAD Architecture project (using Project Browser and Project Navigator) in order to make use of these tools.
The Synchronize DWG command button will update the current drawing using the styles and settings defined in the project standards drawing(s) for the current project (SYNCHRONIZEPROJECTDRAWING command). The Configure command button allows you to indicate the project standards with which the current drawing will synchronize (PROJECTSTANDARDS command). The Synchronize Project command button runs the SYNCHRONIZEPROJECT command, which will synchronize all of the drawings in a project to the styles and settings in the project standards drawing(s). The Update command button will update the project standards check file (AutoCAD standards) for each file in the project. Select the Project Standards title bar to expand the panel and reveal additional command buttons related to Project Standards: Apply Versioning to Current Drawing (VERSIONMODIFIEDOBJECTS), Update Standards from Drawing (UPDATESTANDARDS), Synchronize Project Standards (SYNCHRONIZESTANDARDS), Setup Report (PROJECTSTANDARDSSETUPREPORT), Audit Report (AUDITPROJECT) and Audit Project Drawing (AUDITPROJECTDRAWING).Style & Display Panel
The Style & Display Panel offers commands related to AutoCAD Architecture styles and display system.
The Style Manager command button opens the Style Manager, allowing you to create, edit and/or delete styles and definitions (STYLEMANAGER). The Display Manager command button opens the Display Manager, so that you can create and/or edit drawing default settings for Display Representations, create and/or edit Display Representation Sets and create and/or edit Display Configurations (DISPLAYMANAGER). Click on the Style & Display title bar to expand the panel and reveal seven additional command buttons. The Dimension Style Wizard command button opens the AEC Dimension Display Wizard, allowing you to change the display properties of AEC Dimension Styles (DIMWIZARD). The Profile Definitions command button opens the Style Manager, filtered for Profile Definitions (PROFILEDEFINE). The Member Shape command button opens the Insert Member Shapes dialog, which allows you to insert one of the structural member shapes defined in the drawing (MEMBERSHAPEINSERT). The Insert as Polyline command button allows you to insert a profile defined in the current drawing as a polyline (PROFILEASPOLYLINE). The Structural Member Catalog command button opens the Structural Member Catalog dialog, which allows you to create Structural Member Styles (and the associated Structural Member Shapes) from a listing of predefined, industry-standard shapes (MEMBERCATALOG). The Structural Member Wizard command button opens the Structural Member Style Wizard dialog, which allows you to create Structural Member Styles based on user-input dimensions for a variety of basic shapes (MEMBERSTYLEWIZARD). The Show Display Overrides command button (SHOWDISPLAYOVERRIDES) allows you to easily identify objects that have an object-level display override by highlighting and/or listing them.Applications Panel
The Applications Panel has commands related to custom applications that can be run in AutoCAD Architecture, such as AutoLISP or VBA routines.
The Load Application command button runs the APPLOAD command, allowing you to load and unload custom applications and to add customizations to the Startup Suite, which will then be loaded each time you start AutoCAD Architecture. The Run Script command button allows you to execute script file (SCRIPT command). The Visual Basic Editor command button displays the Visual Basic Editor, allowing you to edit VBA projects (VBAIDE). The Visual LISP Editor command button runs the VLISP command, calling up the Visual LISP Integrated Development Environment window, where you can create and edit LISP routines. The Run VBA Macro allows you to run, edit or delete a VBA macro (VBARUN). Click on the Applications title bar to expand the panel and reveal two additional command buttons: Load Project, to load a global VBA project into the current work session (VBALOAD) and VBA Manager, to manage your VBA projects in a dialog box (VBAMAN). Note that in the 2010 release, Microsoft® Visual Basic® for Applications software is not installed when AutoCAD Architecture is installed. You can download the files needed to use VBA in AutoCAD at http://www.autodesk.com/vba-download.Customization Panel
The Customization Panel has commands related to customizing the AutoCAD Architecture user interface.
The User Interface command button opens the Customize User Interface dialog, which gives you full access to customizing most aspects of the user interface (CUI command). The Tool Palettes command button opens the Customize dialog, allowing you to customize the organization of tool palettes and tool palette groups, the one part of the interface not covered by the CUI dialog (Customize command). Click on the Customization title bar to expand the panel and reveal four additional command buttons. The Import CUI command button opens the Customize User Interface dialog, with the Transfer tab current, ready to transfer items from an enterprise or partial CUIX file to the main CUIX file (CUIIMPORT command). The Export CUI command button also opens the Customize User Interface dialog to the Transfer tab and allows you to export items from the main customization file to an enterprise or partial CUIX file (CUIEXPORT command). In fact, you can use either of those tools to move files between the main CUIX file and any other CUIX file you choose to open. The only difference is the Import CUI command button puts the main CUIX file on the right side, and the Export CUI command button puts the main CUIX file on the left side. The Edit PGP command button opens the first ACAD.pgp file found in the search path for editing (on my computer, in Notepad). The Generate Tool Catalog command button opens the Populate Tool Catalog from Content Drawings dialog, which allows you to create tools for selected ACA object types from a selected source file and place the tools in a new or existing tool catalog (AECTOOLCATALOGGENERATOR command). The tools can be created in Categories or in Palettes.
February 16, 2010
AutoCAD® Architecture 2010 - UI Changes, Part 7 - The Ribbon, View Tab
View Tab
The View tab is the fifth static (always available) tab provided in the out-of-the-box ACA CUI. The image below and all screen captures in this article are based on the shipping version.
Navigate Panel
The Navigate Panel contains commands related to navigating within a drawing.
The Steering Wheels split button allows you to activate the Steering Wheel and choose the desired type.
The drop-down list offers a choice between the Full Navigation Steering Wheel and three “mini” steering wheels; the main button initially defaults to Full Navigation, but will change to the most recently selected item from the list. The Pan Realtime command button executes the PAN command. The Orbit split button allows you to initiate one of three orbit types.
The drop-down includes the Orbit (3DORBIT), Free Orbit (3DFORBIT) and Continuous Orbit (3DCORBIT) commands. The last one chosen becomes the one activated by the main command button. The Zoom split button allows you to perform various ZOOM command options.
These are the same options available from the Zoom split button on the View panel (floating/Home tab), with the exception of omitting the Pan Realtime button, which is available separately on the Navigate panel. Click on the Navigate panel title bar to expand the panel and reveal the View Cube command button. This will only be active when your visual style is set to something other than 2D Wireframe; when active, it toggles the display of the View Cube on and off in all locations (main drawing window as well as other windows, such as the Object Viewer).
Appearance Panel
The Appearance Panel contains commands related to the drawing view and the appearance of objects.
The View drop-down button displays a list of defined Views in the current drawing and allows you to restore one by selecting it.
Use the up and down arrows at the right to scroll the list or use the drop-down button at the bottom right to see the defined Views in a drop-down list and expose the View Manager button, which opens the View Manager dialog (VIEW command). The Previous View command button runs the Previous option of the VIEW command. The Regenerate split button offers a choice of three regeneration-related commands: Regenerate Drawing (REGEN command), Regenerate Drawing and Viewports (REGENALL command) and AutoCAD-Architecture-specific Regenerate Model (OBJRELUPDATE command).
The main button always runs the Regenerate Drawing (REGEN) command. The Visual Styles drop-down button allows you to choose one of the currently defined visual styles in the drawing from an icon list (choice runs VSCURRENT command), save the current visual display as a named style (VSSAVE command) – provided that 2D Wireframe is not the current setting or open the Visual Styles Manager palette (VISUALSTYLES command).
Expanding the panel by selecting the Appearance title bar provides access to four additional buttons. The 3D Walk & Fly Settings button opens the Walk and Fly Settings dialog (WALKFLYSETTINGS). The 3D Adjust Clip Planes button (3DCLIP) opens the Adjust Clippling Planes dialog. The Point Style button opens the Point Style dialog (DDPTYPE), allowing you to specify how Point objects appear on the screen. The Theme – Fire Rating drop-down button allows you to activate one of seven out-of-the-box Display Themes (DISPLAYTHEMEADD command).
Each of the buttons on the drop-down runs a ribbon tool.
Coordinates Panel
The Coordinates Panel contains commands related to the User Coordinate System (UCS) and the UCS Icon.
The World command button sets the UCS to “World,” aligning it with the World Coordinate System (WCS) (UCS command, World option). The X, Y and Z command buttons (left buttons on top, middle and bottom rows of the main panel) allow you to rotate the current UCS about the X-, Y- and Z-axes, respectively (UCS command; X, Y and Z options). The Named command button (top row, right button) opens the UCS dialog to the Named UCSs tab, allowing you to manage the defined user coordinate systems in the current drawing (UCSMAN). The Previous command button (middle row, right button) restores the previously current UCS for the current space (model or paper) – the last 10 in each space are retained (UCS command, Previous option). The Face command button aligns the UCS to a selected face on a 3D Solid (ALIGNUCSTOFACE). Selecting the Coordinates title bar expands the panel to reveal ten additional command buttons. The Z-Axis Vector command button moves the UCS origin to the first point selected and then rotates the UCS to have the Z-axis pass through the second point selected (UCS command, ZAxis option). The Origin command button moves the UCS origin point to a specified point (UCS command, Origin option). The 3-Point command button allows the user to establish a UCS by specifying an origin point, a point on the positive X-axis and a point on the positive Y-axis. (UCS command, 3point option). The Display UCS Icon command button toggles the visibility of the UCS icon in the current viewport (UCSICON command, ON and OFF options). The Apply command button applies the current UCS to a selected viewport (UCS command, Apply option). The Move command button moves a defined UCS (UCS command, Move option). The difference between the Origin and Move options is that Origin creates a new UCS with the specified origin point while Move redefines the current UCS, possibly affecting other viewports (unless the WCS is current, in which case Move also creates a new, unnamed UCS). The Icon Origin command button toggles between the two possible locations for the display of the UCS Icon – at the UCS Origin, if the current view permits, or always in the lower-left corner, even if the current view would permit (UCSICON command, Noorigin and Origin options). The Icon Properties command button opens the UCS Icon dialog, which allows you to control the appearance of the UCS Icon, including style, size and color.
Viewports Panel
The Viewports Panel contains commands related to both tiled (Model tab) and floating (Layout tab) viewports.
The Set Viewports drop-down button, only active when the Model tab is active, allows you to choose from a list of pre-defined tiled viewport configurations (VPORTS command).
The Create Viewport split button, only active when a Layout tab is active, has two command buttons on the drop-down list: Create Polygonal, allowing you to draw a polygonal viewport by selecting vertex points (-VPORTS command, Polygonal option) and Create from Object, which allows you to select a closed polyline or a circle and create a viewport in that shape (-VPORTS command, Object option).
The last button selected on the drop-down list becomes the command executed by the main button. The Named command button opens the Viewports dialog to the Named tab, where saved viewport configurations can be selected (VPORTS). The New command button opens the Viewports dialog to the New Viewports tab and allows you to create a new named viewport configuration, or edit existing ones (VPORTS). The Clip command button, which can only be used in a Layout tab (TileMode 0), runs the VPCLIP command, which allows you to clip an existing floating viewport, either using an existing closed object (polyline or circle) as the clipping boundary or allowing you to draw a polygonal boundary on the fly. The Join command button, only active when the Model tab is current, allows you to join two adjacent tiled viewports, provided that the end result is a rectangle (-VPORTS command, Join option).
Face Effects Panel
The Face Effects Panel contains commands related to the way faces of 3D objects display.
The VSFaceStyle split button allows you to choose type of shading used on the faces, no shading, realistic or gooch.
The Color split button allows you to set a new value for VSColorMode: 0 (regular), 1 (monochrome), 2 (tint) or 3 (desaturate).
The Lighting split button allows you to set a value for VSLightingQuality: 0 (facet), 1 (smooth) or 2 (smoothest).
The main command button will change to the last option selected from the drop-down for all three of these split buttons. The X-Ray Effect command button toggles the sign of the value of VSFaceOpacity, turning the x-ray effect on and off. When it is on, the Opacity slider control allows you to change the level of transparency, from 0 to 100. On my computer, both 0 shows with full opacity, 1 is the most transparent and 100 is full opacity. For this to be effective, the current visual style needs to be a type that hides and face shading must be turned on.
Edge Effects Panel
The Edge Effects Panel contains commands related to the way edges of 3D objects display.
The VSEdges drop-down button allows you to select an edge display type: No Edges, Isolines or Facet Edges (VSEDGES). Supported edge types varies between the available visual style types.
The Edge Overhang command button toggles on and off the effect that extends the edge lines of 3D solids and Mass Elements beyond the end of the edge (VSEDGEOVERHANG). The adjacent slider control allows you to control the amount of the overhang (VSEDGEOVERHANG). The Edge Jitter command button toggles on and off the effect that makes the edges of 3D Solids and Mass Elements “wavy” (VSEDGEJITTER). The adjacent slider control allows you to control the degree of waviness. The Silhouette Edges command button toggles on and off the display of a silhouette around the outer edges of 3D Solids and Mass Elements (VSSILHEDGES). The adjacent slider control allows you to control the width of the silhouette. Selecting the Edge Effects title bar expands the panel to reveal two toggles and three drop-down lists command buttons. When VSEdges is set to Facet Edges, the Obscurred Edges (VSOBSCUREDEDGES) and Intersection Edges (VSINTERSECTIONEDGES) become active, allowing you to toggle the display of obscurred (hidden) edges and the edges at the intersection of two 3D Solids or Mass Elements. When toggled on, the adjacent drop-down list becomes active, allowing you to set the color of obscured edges (VSOBSCUREDCOLOR) or intersection edges (VSINTERSECTIONCOLOR). The bottom drop-down allows you to set the color of visible edges of 3D Solids or Mass Elements (VSEDGECOLOR).
Windows Panel
The Windows Panel contains commands related to drawing and other interface windows.
The Switch Windows drop-down button allows you to make any of the currently open drawings active, by selecting it from a list.
The Tile Horizontally, Tile Vertically and Cascade command buttons allow you to control the display of the currently open drawing windows (SYSWINDOWS). The Status Bar Options drop-down list allows you to control the display of icons and notifications on the Application Status Bar.
The Drawing Status Bar command button toggles the display of the Drawing Window Status Bar (STATUSBAR). The Text Window command button toggles the display of the AutoCAD Text Window (TXTSCR). The Command Line command button toggles the display of the Command Line Window (COMMANDLINE). Clicking on the arrow icon at the far right of the Windows title bar executes the OPTIONS command, opening the Options dialog to the Display tab.
The View tab is the fifth static (always available) tab provided in the out-of-the-box ACA CUI. The image below and all screen captures in this article are based on the shipping version.
Navigate Panel
The Navigate Panel contains commands related to navigating within a drawing.
The Steering Wheels split button allows you to activate the Steering Wheel and choose the desired type.
The drop-down list offers a choice between the Full Navigation Steering Wheel and three “mini” steering wheels; the main button initially defaults to Full Navigation, but will change to the most recently selected item from the list. The Pan Realtime command button executes the PAN command. The Orbit split button allows you to initiate one of three orbit types.
The drop-down includes the Orbit (3DORBIT), Free Orbit (3DFORBIT) and Continuous Orbit (3DCORBIT) commands. The last one chosen becomes the one activated by the main command button. The Zoom split button allows you to perform various ZOOM command options.
These are the same options available from the Zoom split button on the View panel (floating/Home tab), with the exception of omitting the Pan Realtime button, which is available separately on the Navigate panel. Click on the Navigate panel title bar to expand the panel and reveal the View Cube command button. This will only be active when your visual style is set to something other than 2D Wireframe; when active, it toggles the display of the View Cube on and off in all locations (main drawing window as well as other windows, such as the Object Viewer).Appearance Panel
The Appearance Panel contains commands related to the drawing view and the appearance of objects.
The View drop-down button displays a list of defined Views in the current drawing and allows you to restore one by selecting it.
Use the up and down arrows at the right to scroll the list or use the drop-down button at the bottom right to see the defined Views in a drop-down list and expose the View Manager button, which opens the View Manager dialog (VIEW command). The Previous View command button runs the Previous option of the VIEW command. The Regenerate split button offers a choice of three regeneration-related commands: Regenerate Drawing (REGEN command), Regenerate Drawing and Viewports (REGENALL command) and AutoCAD-Architecture-specific Regenerate Model (OBJRELUPDATE command).
The main button always runs the Regenerate Drawing (REGEN) command. The Visual Styles drop-down button allows you to choose one of the currently defined visual styles in the drawing from an icon list (choice runs VSCURRENT command), save the current visual display as a named style (VSSAVE command) – provided that 2D Wireframe is not the current setting or open the Visual Styles Manager palette (VISUALSTYLES command).
Expanding the panel by selecting the Appearance title bar provides access to four additional buttons. The 3D Walk & Fly Settings button opens the Walk and Fly Settings dialog (WALKFLYSETTINGS). The 3D Adjust Clip Planes button (3DCLIP) opens the Adjust Clippling Planes dialog. The Point Style button opens the Point Style dialog (DDPTYPE), allowing you to specify how Point objects appear on the screen. The Theme – Fire Rating drop-down button allows you to activate one of seven out-of-the-box Display Themes (DISPLAYTHEMEADD command).
Each of the buttons on the drop-down runs a ribbon tool.Coordinates Panel
The Coordinates Panel contains commands related to the User Coordinate System (UCS) and the UCS Icon.
The World command button sets the UCS to “World,” aligning it with the World Coordinate System (WCS) (UCS command, World option). The X, Y and Z command buttons (left buttons on top, middle and bottom rows of the main panel) allow you to rotate the current UCS about the X-, Y- and Z-axes, respectively (UCS command; X, Y and Z options). The Named command button (top row, right button) opens the UCS dialog to the Named UCSs tab, allowing you to manage the defined user coordinate systems in the current drawing (UCSMAN). The Previous command button (middle row, right button) restores the previously current UCS for the current space (model or paper) – the last 10 in each space are retained (UCS command, Previous option). The Face command button aligns the UCS to a selected face on a 3D Solid (ALIGNUCSTOFACE). Selecting the Coordinates title bar expands the panel to reveal ten additional command buttons. The Z-Axis Vector command button moves the UCS origin to the first point selected and then rotates the UCS to have the Z-axis pass through the second point selected (UCS command, ZAxis option). The Origin command button moves the UCS origin point to a specified point (UCS command, Origin option). The 3-Point command button allows the user to establish a UCS by specifying an origin point, a point on the positive X-axis and a point on the positive Y-axis. (UCS command, 3point option). The Display UCS Icon command button toggles the visibility of the UCS icon in the current viewport (UCSICON command, ON and OFF options). The Apply command button applies the current UCS to a selected viewport (UCS command, Apply option). The Move command button moves a defined UCS (UCS command, Move option). The difference between the Origin and Move options is that Origin creates a new UCS with the specified origin point while Move redefines the current UCS, possibly affecting other viewports (unless the WCS is current, in which case Move also creates a new, unnamed UCS). The Icon Origin command button toggles between the two possible locations for the display of the UCS Icon – at the UCS Origin, if the current view permits, or always in the lower-left corner, even if the current view would permit (UCSICON command, Noorigin and Origin options). The Icon Properties command button opens the UCS Icon dialog, which allows you to control the appearance of the UCS Icon, including style, size and color.Viewports Panel
The Viewports Panel contains commands related to both tiled (Model tab) and floating (Layout tab) viewports.
The Set Viewports drop-down button, only active when the Model tab is active, allows you to choose from a list of pre-defined tiled viewport configurations (VPORTS command).
The Create Viewport split button, only active when a Layout tab is active, has two command buttons on the drop-down list: Create Polygonal, allowing you to draw a polygonal viewport by selecting vertex points (-VPORTS command, Polygonal option) and Create from Object, which allows you to select a closed polyline or a circle and create a viewport in that shape (-VPORTS command, Object option).
The last button selected on the drop-down list becomes the command executed by the main button. The Named command button opens the Viewports dialog to the Named tab, where saved viewport configurations can be selected (VPORTS). The New command button opens the Viewports dialog to the New Viewports tab and allows you to create a new named viewport configuration, or edit existing ones (VPORTS). The Clip command button, which can only be used in a Layout tab (TileMode 0), runs the VPCLIP command, which allows you to clip an existing floating viewport, either using an existing closed object (polyline or circle) as the clipping boundary or allowing you to draw a polygonal boundary on the fly. The Join command button, only active when the Model tab is current, allows you to join two adjacent tiled viewports, provided that the end result is a rectangle (-VPORTS command, Join option).Face Effects Panel
The Face Effects Panel contains commands related to the way faces of 3D objects display.
The VSFaceStyle split button allows you to choose type of shading used on the faces, no shading, realistic or gooch.
The Color split button allows you to set a new value for VSColorMode: 0 (regular), 1 (monochrome), 2 (tint) or 3 (desaturate).
The Lighting split button allows you to set a value for VSLightingQuality: 0 (facet), 1 (smooth) or 2 (smoothest).
The main command button will change to the last option selected from the drop-down for all three of these split buttons. The X-Ray Effect command button toggles the sign of the value of VSFaceOpacity, turning the x-ray effect on and off. When it is on, the Opacity slider control allows you to change the level of transparency, from 0 to 100. On my computer, both 0 shows with full opacity, 1 is the most transparent and 100 is full opacity. For this to be effective, the current visual style needs to be a type that hides and face shading must be turned on.Edge Effects Panel
The Edge Effects Panel contains commands related to the way edges of 3D objects display.
The VSEdges drop-down button allows you to select an edge display type: No Edges, Isolines or Facet Edges (VSEDGES). Supported edge types varies between the available visual style types.
The Edge Overhang command button toggles on and off the effect that extends the edge lines of 3D solids and Mass Elements beyond the end of the edge (VSEDGEOVERHANG). The adjacent slider control allows you to control the amount of the overhang (VSEDGEOVERHANG). The Edge Jitter command button toggles on and off the effect that makes the edges of 3D Solids and Mass Elements “wavy” (VSEDGEJITTER). The adjacent slider control allows you to control the degree of waviness. The Silhouette Edges command button toggles on and off the display of a silhouette around the outer edges of 3D Solids and Mass Elements (VSSILHEDGES). The adjacent slider control allows you to control the width of the silhouette. Selecting the Edge Effects title bar expands the panel to reveal two toggles and three drop-down lists command buttons. When VSEdges is set to Facet Edges, the Obscurred Edges (VSOBSCUREDEDGES) and Intersection Edges (VSINTERSECTIONEDGES) become active, allowing you to toggle the display of obscurred (hidden) edges and the edges at the intersection of two 3D Solids or Mass Elements. When toggled on, the adjacent drop-down list becomes active, allowing you to set the color of obscured edges (VSOBSCUREDCOLOR) or intersection edges (VSINTERSECTIONCOLOR). The bottom drop-down allows you to set the color of visible edges of 3D Solids or Mass Elements (VSEDGECOLOR).
Windows Panel
The Windows Panel contains commands related to drawing and other interface windows.
The Switch Windows drop-down button allows you to make any of the currently open drawings active, by selecting it from a list.
The Tile Horizontally, Tile Vertically and Cascade command buttons allow you to control the display of the currently open drawing windows (SYSWINDOWS). The Status Bar Options drop-down list allows you to control the display of icons and notifications on the Application Status Bar.
The Drawing Status Bar command button toggles the display of the Drawing Window Status Bar (STATUSBAR). The Text Window command button toggles the display of the AutoCAD Text Window (TXTSCR). The Command Line command button toggles the display of the Command Line Window (COMMANDLINE). Clicking on the arrow icon at the far right of the Windows title bar executes the OPTIONS command, opening the Options dialog to the Display tab.
January 09, 2010
Unexpected Automatic Offsets?
If you have ever used the out-of-the-box Door or Window tools with the Offset/Center option current, and wondered why the offset amount always defaults to 6" (Imperial tools), read on. My office's standard offset for Doors is 6" and that is usually the default value for me, so I would not have noticed. But thanks to this post in the Autodesk AutoCAD® Architecture Discussion Group, I discovered that the Door and Window tools on the Imperial Doors and Windows palettes in the Design Tool Palette Group have a "hidden" offset setting of 6". So even if your default offset is set to something else, when using the tool the value will be set to 6".
At first glance, it does not appear that there is any such setting. As shown below, the properties of the Hinged - Single Door Tool do not appear to include a preset offset value.
The Position along wall property is set to "--", which means that the current default value for that property (check the Properties palette after executing the tool to see what that is) will be used. If it is Offset/Center, then the value of the Automatic offset property will control what the offset value will be. But that property does not show up unless Position along wall is set to Offset/Center, in either the Properties palette or the Tool properties. So set the Position along wall property to Offset/Center in the Tool's properties, and the "hidden" Automatic offset property value will appear.
If you do not want this set to 6", set it to a different value, or use the dropdown list to choose "--" to allow the current default value to be the initial value after executing the tool. If you do not want Offset/Center to be the initial value for Position along wall, then reset that to "--" and click OK.
You will need to do that for all of the tools on the Doors and Windows palettes, if you do not want to have the 6" Automatic offset value. The good news is that the tools in the Design Tool Catalog - Imperial do not appear to have a hidden preset value assigned to them. I checked all of the Door tools, and a few of the Window and Door/Window Assembly tools, and the Automatic offset property was set to "--" in each. The generic tools on the Design tab also do not have a preset value.
Users of the US Metric out-of-the-box profile should not feel left out; there is a 125 mm preset offset on the Window tools and all of the Door tools except for the Overhead Sectional tool. I spot checked a few of the Design Tool Catalog - Metric and all of those did not have a preset Automatic offset. I spot checked a few of the out-of-the-box Door tools for the AutoCAD Architecture (UK) profile and none of those had a preset value.
At first glance, it does not appear that there is any such setting. As shown below, the properties of the Hinged - Single Door Tool do not appear to include a preset offset value.
The Position along wall property is set to "--", which means that the current default value for that property (check the Properties palette after executing the tool to see what that is) will be used. If it is Offset/Center, then the value of the Automatic offset property will control what the offset value will be. But that property does not show up unless Position along wall is set to Offset/Center, in either the Properties palette or the Tool properties. So set the Position along wall property to Offset/Center in the Tool's properties, and the "hidden" Automatic offset property value will appear.
If you do not want this set to 6", set it to a different value, or use the dropdown list to choose "--" to allow the current default value to be the initial value after executing the tool. If you do not want Offset/Center to be the initial value for Position along wall, then reset that to "--" and click OK.
You will need to do that for all of the tools on the Doors and Windows palettes, if you do not want to have the 6" Automatic offset value. The good news is that the tools in the Design Tool Catalog - Imperial do not appear to have a hidden preset value assigned to them. I checked all of the Door tools, and a few of the Window and Door/Window Assembly tools, and the Automatic offset property was set to "--" in each. The generic tools on the Design tab also do not have a preset value.
Users of the US Metric out-of-the-box profile should not feel left out; there is a 125 mm preset offset on the Window tools and all of the Door tools except for the Overhead Sectional tool. I spot checked a few of the Design Tool Catalog - Metric and all of those did not have a preset Automatic offset. I spot checked a few of the out-of-the-box Door tools for the AutoCAD Architecture (UK) profile and none of those had a preset value.
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