Cadalyst - April 2008 - (Page 46)

hottipharry By Bill Kramer Tips Rain Down on Harry From a bountiful batch of routines, Harry praises a robust set of command functions for breaking all selected objects. F resh from the AutoCAD user community, the following power tools and tricks recently rained down on our programming guru. Customization has many beneﬁts — not the least of which is a cool T-shirt — when you share your handiwork with us by sending the code to harry@cadalyst.com. Come on, Harry’s waiting! viewports. After loading the LISP code, select the viewport you want all the others to match and type ZV at the command line. The program will match all other viewport centers and sizes to the current viewport. Tip 2280: External Block without Xrefs External Block without Xrefs comes to us courtesy of Tommy Teague. This robust set of four LISP modules provides an alternative to external references and includes a text file to describe their use. Now you can jump from your main drawing into a block drawing for edits and then back with an update — without using external references. the area and places the result in the drawing for you. Place the DCL file in a folder that AutoCAD will search and then load the LISP code. Type AA at the Command line to activate the dialog box for text control, the type of area calculation desired (total or net), and the units of choice (square feet or square meters). Tip 2278: Change Xref Layer Color Change Xref Layer Color is a utility from frequent contributor Raymond Rizkallah. In this variation of the layer-color edit, you can select multiple objects before assigning a new layer-color code. Using this tip involves loading the LISP code and typing the command XRC. As you select entity objects, a list of layers is constructed and displayed at the command prompt. When finished selecting objects, you will be asked for the integer color code to use for all the layers selected. This approach lets you change layer-color relationships in an externally created drawing to match your preferences. Tip 2283: Pop Menu Primer Pop Menu Primer from Michel Chayer is a Microsoft Word document that explains how to implement a POP menu–based Yes/No interface into AutoLISP routines. Also called a shortcut menu, the POP menu can be used in your custom programs to pop up near the cursor, assisting the operator in selecting options. Such customization can be tricky, but Michel’s pointers will light the way. Tip 2281: Start Polyline in Arc Mode The Start Polyline in Arc Mode utility from Sabash Babu Podichetty shows us that it all starts with a basic macro. Load the LISP code and type SPL to start AutoCAD’s Polyline command in arc mode. This macro demonstrates just how easy it is for beginners to customize the AutoCAD commands. Tip 2284: Break All Selected Objects Alan Butler submitted this month’s top tip, Break All Selected Objects, a robust set of command functions for breaking lines, lwplines, plines, splines, ellipses, circles, or arcs. Load the LISP code to find the following new commands available: MyBreak, a dialog box–based interface to several of the routines; BreakAll, the seed for all the rest; BreakwObjects, which breaks multiple objects with a single object selection; and BreakObject, which breaks a single object with other objects. Nice programming, Alan! Cadalyst contributing editor Bill Kramer has been programming AutoCAD solutions, writing magazine articles and books, and teaching CAD/CAM/CAE customization for more than 20 years. Bill wrote the first article about AutoLISP in Cadalyst back in 1986. www.cadalyst.com cadalyst April 2008 Tip 2279: Viewport Synchronizer Joel Harris submitted Viewport Synchronizer, a very useful utility for cleaning up or resetting a group of Tip 2282: Area Calculation and Output Theodorus Winata sent in Area Calculation and Output, a very useful tool for those involved in mapping or Download Harry’s April 2008 code at www.cadalyst.com/code. facilities manageDownloads are free, provided as is without warranty or supment. Comprisport. Tips included in “Hot Tip Harry” are tested with AutoCAD ing a LISP and a 2008, unless otherwise noted. Review tip submission guidelines at www.cadalyst.com/tips and then submit your AutoCAD tip to DCL dialog box, harry@cadalyst.com. this utility allows Authors of all published tips will receive a Cadalyst T-shirt. you to select an The author of Harry’s Top Tip each month will win a $100 cash outside boundprize, and all published authors will be entered in the Hot Tip ary and inside Harry 2008 Hot Code Contest random drawing for a chance boundaries, and to win a trip to Autodesk University 2008. then it computes 46 Get the Code! http://www.cadalyst.com/code http://www.cadalyst.com/tips http://www.cadalyst.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cadalyst - April 2008

Cadalyst - April 2008 Contents Editor's Window Cad Central The Summer of BIM Thin Is In — Large LCD Monitors Caligari trueSpace 7.5 — 3D Modeling Software HP Compaq 8710w — Mobile Workstation Autodesk Design Review 2009 — Design Viewing and Collaboration Software Getting Better — What Should You Learn? Technical Uses for Nontechnical Software AEC on Macs Cad Cartoon Issue Indexes Tips Rain Down on Harry

Cadalyst - April 2008

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