AutoCAD Platform Customization

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Ambrosius Lee. AutoCAD Platform Customization

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Introduction

About This Book

Customization in AutoCAD

AutoLISP in AutoCAD

VBA in AutoCAD

What to Expect

Other Information

Styles and Conventions of This Book

Contacting the Author

Part I. AutoCAD Customization: Increasing Productivity through Personalization

Chapter 1. Establishing the Foundation for Drawing Standards

Naming Standards for Projects and Files

Managing Standards with Drawing Templates

Choosing a File Format for Your Drawings

Defining Plotter Configurations and Plot Styles

Enforcing CAD Standards

Chapter 2. Working with Nongraphical Objects

Standardizing the Names of Nongraphical Objects

Managing Object Properties with Layers

Creating and Managing Annotation Styles

Defining and Managing Other Nongraphical Objects

Removing Unused Nongraphical Objects

Chapter 3. Building the Real World One Block at a Time

Defining and Editing a Block Definition

Using and Managing Block Definitions

Embedding Information in a Block Definition with Attributes

Adding Dynamic Properties to a Block Definition

Extracting Properties and Values from a Block Reference

Chapter 4. Manipulating the Drawing Environment

Getting Started with Drawing-Environment Customization

Customizing the AutoCAD Startup Process

Specifying Application Preferences

Customizing the Elements in the Drawing Window

Configuring Command and Dynamic Input

Creating and Modifying Command Aliases

Working with System and Environment Variables

Chapter 5. Customizing the AutoCAD User Interface for Windows

Getting Started with the CUI Editor

Creating Commands and Defining Command Macros

Customizing User-Interface Elements

Setting Up Rollover Tooltips and the Quick Properties Palette

Organizing the User Interface with Workspaces

Working with Customization Files

Controlling the Tools on the Status Bars

Chapter 6. Customizing the AutoCAD User Interface for Mac

Getting Started with the Customize Dialog Box

Creating Commands and Defining Command Macros

Customizing User-Interface Elements

Controlling the Tools on the Status Bar

Chapter 7. Creating Tools and Tool Palettes

What Is a Tool Palette?

Using the Tool Palettes Window

Defining Tool Palettes

Adding and Modifying Tools

Organizing Tool Palettes with Tool-Palette Groups

Sharing Tool Palettes and Tool-Palette Groups

Chapter 8. Automating Repetitive Tasks

Creating and Running Scripts

Recording Action Macros (Windows Only)

Chapter 9. Defining Shapes, Linetypes, and Hatch Patterns

Creating and Compiling Shapes

Creating and Using Custom Linetypes

Creating and Applying Custom Hatch Patterns

Chapter 10. Using, Loading, and Managing Custom Files

Deploying Your Custom Files

Using and Loading Custom Programs

Backing Up and Migrating Customization

Part II. AutoLISP: Productivity through Programming

Chapter 11. Quick Start for New AutoLISP Programmers

Working with AutoLISP Expressions

Storing and Loading AutoLISP Expressions

Chapter 12. Understanding AutoLISP

Getting Started with AutoLISP

Storing and Retrieving Values

Exploring Data Types

Leveraging AutoCAD and Third-Party Commands

Defining and Using Custom Functions

Example: Drawing a Rectangle

Chapter 13. Calculating and Working with Values

Calculating Values with Math Functions

Manipulating Strings

Converting Data Types

Returning a Value from a Custom Function

Exercise: Drawing a Rectangle (Revisited)

Chapter 14. Working with Lists

What Are Lists?

Creating a List

Getting an Element from a List

Appending, Substituting, and Removing Elements

Determining Whether an Item Exists in a List

Sorting the Elements of a List

Using Point Lists to Calculate Geometric Values

Converting Lists to Strings and Strings to Lists

Exercise: Adding Holes to the Plate

Chapter 15. Requesting Input and Using Conditional and Looping Expressions

Interacting with the User

Conditionalizing and Branching Expressions

Repeating and Looping Expressions

Exercise: Getting Input from the User to Draw the Plate

Chapter 16. Creating and Modifying Graphical Objects

Working with Entity Names and Dotted Pairs

Adding Objects to a Drawing

Selecting Objects

Modifying Objects

Working with Complex Objects

Extending an Object's Information

Exercise: Creating, Querying, and Modifying Objects

Chapter 17. Creating and Modifying Nongraphical Objects

Working with Symbol Tables

Working with Dictionaries

Exercise: Creating and Incrementing Room Labels

Chapter 18. Working with the Operating System and External Files

Storing Information in the Windows Registry or a Plist File

Accessing Data from External Files

Working with Directories and Files in the Operating System

Exercise: Reading and Writing Data

Chapter 19. Catching and Handling Errors

Identifying and Tracking Down Errors

Catching Errors in a Program

Defining and Using a Custom Error Handler

Grouping Functions into a Single Undo Action

Exercise: Handling Errors in the drawplate Function

Chapter 20. Authoring, Managing, and Loading AutoLISP Programs

Storing AutoLISP Expressions

Writing Modular Code

Adding Comments

Undefining and Redefining Standard AutoCAD Commands

Defining a Startup Function

Loading AutoLISP Files

Managing the Locations of AutoLISP Files

Deploying AutoLISP Files

Exercise: Deploying the drawplate Function

Chapter 21. Using the Visual LISP Editor (Windows only)

Accessing the Visual LISP Editor

Managing AutoLISP Files with the Visual LISP Editor

Formatting an AutoLISP File

Validating and Debugging Code

Creating a Visual LISP Project

Compiling LSP and PRJ Files into a VLX File

Exercise: Working with the Visual LISP Editor

Chapter 22. Working with ActiveX/COM Libraries (Windows only)

Understanding the Basics of ActiveX

Importing COM Libraries

Using the AutoCAD COM Library

Leveraging the Windows and Microsoft Office COM Libraries

Chapter 23. Implementing Dialog Boxes (Windows only)

What Is Dialog Control Language?

Defining and Laying Out a Dialog Box

Loading and Displaying a Dialog Box

Interacting with and Responding to a User

Exercise: Implementing a Dialog Box for the drawplate Function

Part III. AutoCAD VBA: Programming with VBA and ActiveX (Windows only)

Chapter 24. Understanding the AutoCAD VBA Environment

What Makes Up an AutoCAD VBA Project?

What You'll Need to Start

Getting Started with the VBA Editor

Managing VBA Programs

Executing VBA Macros

Accessing the AutoCAD VBA Documentation

Chapter 25. Understanding Visual Basic for Applications

Learning the Fundamentals of the VBA Language

Exploring Data Types

Comparing Values

Conditionalizing and Branching Statements

Repeating and Looping Expressions

Chapter 26. Interacting with the Application and Documents Objects

Working with the Application

Managing Documents

Working with System Variables

Querying and Setting Application and Document Preferences

Executing Commands

Exercise: Setting Up a Project

Chapter 27. Creating and Modifying Drawing Objects

Understanding the Basics of a Drawing-Based Object

Accessing Objects in a Drawing

Working with Model or Paper Space

Creating Graphical Objects

Getting an Object in the Drawing

Modifying Objects

Changing Object Properties

Exercise: Creating, Querying, and Modifying Objects

Chapter 28. Interacting with the User and Controlling the Current View

Interacting with the User

Selecting Objects

Performing Geometric Calculations

Changing the Current View

Exercise: Getting Input from the User to Draw the Plate

Chapter 29. Annotating Objects

Working with Text

Dimensioning Objects

Creating and Modifying Geometric Tolerances

Adding Leaders

Organizing Data with Tables

Creating Fields

Exercise: Adding a Label to the Plate

Chapter 30. Working with Blocks and External References

Managing Block Definitions

Inserting and Working with Block References

Managing External References

Listing File Dependencies

Exercise: Creating and Querying Blocks

Chapter 31. Outputting Drawings

Creating and Managing Layouts

Displaying Model Space Objects with Viewports

Controlling the Output of a Layout

Plotting and Previewing a Layout

Exporting and Importing File Formats

Exercise: Adding a Layout to Create a Check Plot

Chapter 32. Storing and Retrieving Custom Data

Extending Object Information

Creating and Modifying a Custom Dictionary

Storing Information in the Windows Registry

Exercise: Storing Custom Values for the Room Labels Program

Chapter 33. Modifying the Application and Working with Events

Manipulating the AutoCAD User Interface

Using External Custom Programs

Working with Events

Exercise: Extending the User Interface and Using Events

Chapter 34. Creating and Displaying User Forms

Adding and Designing a User Form

Placing and Arranging Controls on a User Form

Changing the Appearance of a User Form or Control

Defining the Behavior of a User Form or Control

Displaying and Loading a User Form

Exercise: Implementing a User Form for the DrawPlate Project

Chapter 35. Communicating with Other Applications

Referencing a Programming Library

Creating and Getting an Instance of an Object

Accessing a Drawing File from outside of AutoCAD

Working with Microsoft Windows

Reading and Writing Text Files

Parsing Content in an XML File

Working with Microsoft Office Applications

Exercise: Reading and Writing Data

Chapter 36. Handling Errors and Deploying VBA Projects

Catching and Identifying Errors

Debugging a VBA Project

Deploying a VBA Project

Exercise: Deploying the DrawPlate VBA Project

Отрывок из книги

To my wife, who is also my best friend: It is hard to imagine that I would be writing this book if it were not for you. It was you, all those years ago, who encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone and share what I knew with others. Thank you for the push I needed and for coming along on this journey with me.

To my friend K athy Enderby: You were one of the fi rst people to encourage me to follow my passion for programming and sharing what I had learned with others. Thank you for believing in me all those years ago and for being there when I needed someone to bounce ideas off – especially during those late-night scrambles right before deploying a new software release.

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1. Click the Application button ➢ Print ➢ Manage Plotters.

2. In the Plotters window, double-click the PC3 file that contains the nonsystem printer configuration you want to edit. The Plotter Configuration Editor (see Figure 1.4) is displayed.

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