AutoCAD .NET
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This request came in a few weeks ago regarding the source code for the recently posted DGN clean-up tool: Would you modify the tool so that it can be processed by the equivalent figure ObjectDBX (of course for AutoCAD, not RealDWG)? I would like to give the Database object to the function, and the tool would have to process them in batch (a tool for loading drawings on my side). It seemed like a reasonable enough request, so I spent some time putting together a version of the code that can be used on non-editor resident drawings. I changed the…
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I'm just back from a relaxing week spent in Ried-Brig and Valsesia, two very interesting – and in many ways similar – Alpine locations in Switzerland and Italy respectively. We were travelling with close friends of ours – she's from Ried-Brig, he's from Valsesia – which meant the week was packed with interesting (and usually "off the beaten track") activities. For instance, here's a panoramic photo I shot from the top of the Sacro Monte in Varallo. Next week I'll be taking some time off to spend with old friends who are visiting from the UK, but in the meantime…
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For those who have (quite understandably) not been following the story unfolding around this tool, here's a quick timeline so far. I've largely pieced this together from emails, as I don't typically tag blog updates with a date (something it seems I ought to consider starting). 12/12/12 – In response to a request from our Product Support team, the original implementation was posted to this blog. 03/28/13 – I posted an update to the original post with a minor fix to handle corrupted drawings a bit better (Update). 06/21/13 – A tool based on the (updated) code was published as…
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I received this question in a blog comment: How to determine the NurbCurve3d center between two NurbCurve3ds? I chose to interpret this in the following way: given two NurbCurve3d objects, create a NurbCurve3d that sits exactly between the two. NurbCurve3d are "AcGe" classes – which means they're non-graphical – so I've broadened the scope to deal with Splines as they have a close relationship with the NurbCurve3d class (in fact there are handy methods to convert between the two classes). Here's some more information on NURBS, for those with an interest. I've also chosen to deal with one fairly specific…
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The first post I had planned for this week was to announce the availability of an officially-supported tool based on the code in this blog post from late last year. The tool was posted to the Autodesk web-site late last week. Over the weekend, Jimmy Bergmark pointed out an issue with the tool that led to me requesting that the tool be removed, for now: for certain linetypes based on DGN linestyles, the DGNPURGE command resulted in the linetypes having missing components when the drawings were reloaded. Jimmy kindly provided a DWG that helped identify the problem: my original code…
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Last week I received the following question from Adam Schilling: I have enjoyed your posts on .net programming for datalinks. I have searched high and low and haven't been able to find answers or any support to help me with a small issue. My code (much of which was based off of your posts from 2007) works fine, except I cannot get it to use a different sheet from the workbook that is select. Since the option to select a specific sheet is available when adding a link manually, I would think that it would be possible to programmatically do…
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I've been beavering away in an attempt to streamline the AutoCAD-Leap Motion integration samples I posted last week. Here's the updated project. This latest set generally gets better results than the last ones, and the LEAPEXT command certainly feels more snappy and accurate. I'm still trying to find out why the controller occasionally stops seeing my fingers – it could well be down to lighting or to the fact I'm using a Plexiglas surface about the device – but I'll keep looking into it. I know it's still likely to be a month or so before most of you get…
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I mentioned a presentation I gave in Singapore a few weeks that talked about integrating Kinect and Leap Motion with AutoCAD. After the session I had a good conversation (in person and then by email) with Nagappan Nachiappan. Nagappan is a talented young software engineer working on AutoCAD's JavaScript API, but has a strong interest in HCI (his final year degree project used computer vision techniques to implement a virtual mouse that moves with your hand). Nagappan was responding to concerns I'd raised about the ergonomic impact of hovering your hand above the device. His primary question was "can the…
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I'm currently in Boston for an internal technical summit where I'll be presenting sessions on Kinect Fusion and Leap Motion (which will the sessions I've submitted - and will hopefully get accepted - for AU 2013). I arrived a day early and rented a bicycle from the hotel, taking the opportunity to cycle through the MIT and Harvard campuses (both of which are in Cambridge, where the summit is taking place) and then on to downtown Boston. It was really great being back in Boston after probably five years - it's still one of my favourite cities in the US.…
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Here's a question I received recently from Dustin Vest, who works as a PDMS administrator at Fluor: I am having a problem with Intergraph's SmartSketch dwg files it exports... I found some code on your site that got me into the blocks, but I can't seem to change the draworder of entities within the block. SmartPlant 3D exports all the symbols as blocks but with wipeouts on top of the rest of the block. Dustin provided some code that was very nearly working – it really didn't need much work to get it in shape – and has kindly allowed…