Through the Interface

Flashing messages to the screen from AutoCAD using .NET

The implementation in this recent post to display a “Help!” message to the screen was well received by the person requesting it, but they ended up also wanting a command to display a message in the case that the user has help to offer other members of the class. Which basically meant a great opportunity to refactor the previous implementation, so that it could be used more generally. :-) Here’s the updated C# code which now implements a generalised “flash message” capability that is used by both the original HELPME and the new HELPYOU commands: using Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices; using Autodesk.AutoCAD.Runtime;... Read more →

Creating a custom PaletteSet class exposing a close event inside AutoCAD using .NET (take 2)

Thanks, once again, to Scott McFarlane for working his magic and finding a simple way to make an approach work that I’d convinced myself wasn’t workable. (He took the implementation in my last post and adjusted it to work via a non-static event – something I had tried to do myself, but had somehow failed… I can probably blame it on post-DevDays fatigue… time for a week off, indeed. :-) Here’s the adjusted PaletteSet2 implementation, with the event no longer defined as static and the trigger happening via an instance rather than being fired statically: using Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices; using Autodesk.AutoCAD.Runtime;... Read more →

Creating a custom PaletteSet class exposing a close event inside AutoCAD using .NET

In the last post, we saw some code that provided a relatively crude mechanism for finding out when a particular custom palette set gets closed by the user. In this post, we encapsulate this technique in a new class – which I’ve called PaletteSet2, for the want of a better name – that can be used to apply it to a number of custom palette sets at once. Here’s the C# code for the new PaletteSet2 implementation: using Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices; using Autodesk.AutoCAD.Runtime; using Autodesk.AutoCAD.Windows; using System; [assembly: CommandClass(typeof(PaletteSet2))] namespace Autodesk.AutoCAD.Windows { public class PaletteSet2 : PaletteSet { // Hold a... Read more →

Finding out when a custom PaletteSet is closed in AutoCAD using .NET

I’ve just come back from the last of the European DevDays in the UK. It was fun being back in my home country so close to Christmas, and the event itself seemed to go well. It was great to catch up with some developers I’ve known since my early years at Autodesk, some of whom stayed on for dinner and then the DevLab we held yesterday in the brand new office Autodesk Ltd. has just moved into in Farnborough. A really interesting question came up during the DevLab, and it’s one that has been asked before: how do you... Read more →

Implementing an AutoCAD command to print graphics to the screen using .NET

This recent request came into my inbox from our discussion group support team: I know that this is not strictly an AutoCAD 2012 issue, BUT as her CAD teacher it’s my job to do the best I can for all of my students so I’m reaching out and asking for help. I have a severely disabled student; she can only move her head (and that is severely limited). She has a head mouse to point with. She can left and right click her mouse by using a puffer tube in her mouth. But she can’t scroll or pan easily,... Read more →

Moving on (and yet not)

As hinted in my last post, I have some news to share with you all. After sixteen and a half years with the ADN team (and for a reminder of my various jobs, check out this previous post or you might also watch the video on my about page), I’m moving on to pastures new. I have deeply loved my current role – working with an incredibly talented team and getting exposure to a broad range of issues experienced by development partners across our various products – so this was not an easy decision to make. To answer some... Read more →

Back in Munich

I’m here, once again, for our annual Developer Day and DevLab, in between Paris (on Friday) and Farnborough (Monday and Tuesday). Others in the team are doing many more dates, so I have it easier, in many ways. Just as I did, last year, I ended up flying from GVA –> ZRH –> MUC to get here, mainly from a cost perspective (I fly back directly, MUC –> GVA). This time, though, I took the train from Neuchâtel to Geneva and flew back across to Zürich’s new airport only to find my onwards flight to Munich had been cancelled.... Read more →

Chamfering the selected edge of an AutoCAD solid using .NET

Another piece of code culled from an email from Balaji Ramamoorthy, from DevTech India. I did a little refactoring and formatting, to fit the blog. Thanks, Balaji! :-) The below C# code demonstrates how to use Solid3d.ChamferEdges() with a user-selected edge and face. Balaji has also provided code to determine the edge and face programmatically – without the user needing to select anything – using the Brep API. I expect to show that approach in a subsequent post. using Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices; using Autodesk.AutoCAD.DatabaseServices; using Autodesk.AutoCAD.EditorInput; using Autodesk.AutoCAD.Runtime; using System; namespace SolidEditing { public class Commands { [CommandMethod("EC")] public void EdgeChamfer()... Read more →

Adding an ObjectOverrule to stop AutoCAD objects from being erased using .NET

As a follow-on from the last post, today we’re going to see how to actually stop the erase operation from happening for a certain type of object (in this case we’re going to focus on Lines). Thanks for Stephen Preston for showing us the way in his comment on that post: inspired by his suggestion I ended up coding this before breakfast (although I do recommend taking care when throwing exceptions on an empty stomach ;-). Here’s the C# code implementing the PER (Prevent Erasure) command: using Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices; using Autodesk.AutoCAD.DatabaseServices; using Autodesk.AutoCAD.EditorInput; using Autodesk.AutoCAD.Runtime; namespace WeLikeToBlock { public class... Read more →

Adding an ObjectOverrule to watch for erasure of AutoCAD objects using .NET

I started looking into the ObjectOverrule class, this week, to see if I could use it to prevent erasure of certain objects. My thinking was that overruling Erase() would allow me to control whether an object was erased or not, simply by my decision whether or not to super-message to the base implementation. That doesn’t appear to be the case, as whether I call the base implementation or not the object gets erased. I’ll have to confirm that this is expected behaviour, but in the meantime I thought I’d share a version of my code which adds a simple... Read more →

AU 2011 Unconference Notes: AutoCAD® .NET Development: Tools and Best Practices

On the day I left AU, I facilitated an unconference session (CP4459-U) on AutoCAD .NET development, focusing on tools and best practices. It was a really good session: well attended with plenty of participation. As promised during the session, I’m posting the notes to this blog even though they may not make a great deal of sense to anyone who didn’t attend. We didn’t complete all the topics we brainstormed at the start of the session, but I’ve nonetheless left those at the end of the notes. Source editing Main tools LISP: Notepad++, Multi-edit, Vi, Textpad, Crimson Editor .NET:... Read more →

Inventory: heading home from AU

What a great week! The highlight – and that’s from a lot of great moments – was probably the AutoCAD + Kinect session: the demos were clearly fun to do, but there was a high degree of audience participation and we all laughed a lot. For those who weren’t able to attend in person, I’m going to try to find some time to record the demos and upload them to YouTube. Watch this space. I’m now about to head home to Switzerland. For lots of very good reasons, I’m currently carrying the following electronic devices: MacBook Pro This is... Read more →