A commenter had some trouble loading the files. So perhaps the AcCoreConsole is confusing people. So here is a post which will hopefully clarify how to do it.
It’s quite simple:
Have the LISP file ready.
Load the lisp file
Call the command.
It works exactly the same as in AutoCAD – the UI version. But remember you cannot call any commands which make use of Windows forms or WPF. It is strictly command line only. So things like APPLOAD are not going to be very effective in the AcCoreConsole.
When marked to all grid lines, this makes it easy for the folks on the floor to mark out. Don’t make it hard for them!
What is the task at hand?
So I get some phone calls the other day – people complaining. They want changes. Yet again! Why can’t these people make up their minds! That means I have to get off Facebook, go back to my code – which I hopefully haven’t forgotten, and I have to try and make their changes fit in, with the least amount of trouble.
What did they want this time?
They wanted to dimension bolts not just to one grid line, but to every single one. Ok that’s fine. How am I going to select all parallel gridlines, given an input of just one gridline?
First I need the input Gridline. This is given. We have the input gridline because we’ve asked the user to select a relevant gridline.
We need to get the actual grid, using that grid line.
We need to get all pertinent gridlines using the grid – we want to get only the gridlines that are parallel with our originally selected gridline.
Using those filtered gridline points, we need to extract out a pertinent reference point and add that to the set of points used to create the dimensions.
1. The Input Gridline
This has been obtained by selection.
2. Getting the Actual Grid
3. Getting Pertinent Gridlines
Now we extract the relevant points given the above information.
This is the final result:
4. Create the dimensions
We’ve got the bolt dimension (previous post). We have some grid line dimensions (see above code). Add the above points to the bolt positions and then create those dimensions as outlined in the previous post. Voila! We are finished! Now back to WoW!
A demonstration of using a WPF User control to display information pertaining to missing and/or extra items within a panel, using the ComparePanels Command.
While writing the above AutoCAD plug-in, I faced a small conundrum in the below code:
The question for you is: will the transaction be disposed of, and committed given I have returned the bool before it reaches the end of the using statement?
Will it be disposed?
The short answer is yes. The transaction object implements IDisposable. So, finally you can trust that the transaction will be disposed, and that any objects that it opens will also be similarly disposed.
Will the transaction be committed?
I had a peak into the Dispose methods using Reflector. I didn’t see any automatic committing of any transactions – so I am venturing to say that no, the transaction will not be committed. In other words, we’ll have to restructure the above code to ensure that the transaction is committed before we issue the returning statement. Perhaps the AutoDesk team should abort a transaction if it is not committed before a transaction is disposed?
Summary
So the lesson is: (i) always be sure your transaction is being committed, and (ii) a using statement obviates the need to ensure that your transaction is actually being disposed of.
An example of us copying a column from one object, to the rest – to the rest of the beams.
What is the task at hand? We want to make the Copy Object To Object command more efficient
There is a nifty little command – little oft used in Tekla. The “Copy Object To Object” command. It’s handy, but it could be made better: all the model objects have to be selected individually. That can be a little bit of a pain. In this lesson we will create some code, using the Open API, to allow users to select multiple objects (all at once) by which the copy object to object command can be applied to.
Where is the pertinent Call in the API? I’d prefer this type of thing to be a method on the relevant ModelObject. But it’s static method in the Operation class. Here is the hello world example, straight from the documentation:
Copying Object to Object – Hello World Example:
This is fantastic! Now let us outline what we want the command to do:
What do we want our command to do?
We want the user to select an object (or group of objects).
We then want the user to select a “source” object.
We want the user to then select all objects to copy to.
The program should then use the parent object as a source, and use that as a reference to copy everything selected in step #1 to all the objects selected in step #3.
1. Ask the user to select a bunch of model objects – The objects to copy
We can use the Picker class, located in the Tekla.Structures.Model.UI namespace. And there is a handy object which thankfully has been exposed: PickObjects(Picker.PickObjectsEnum, String). This returns a ModelObjectEnumerator which we can iterate over.
2. Ask the user to select the source object:
You can get the source object in the same manner as the above code – except you would use the PickObject method instead of the PickObjects (plural) method.
3. Ask the user to select the objects to copy to:
We can use the same method used in step 1.
4. Copy from Object To Object
The rest is as easy as A-B-C:
5. Finally, we want to Redraw Views after the Copying Operation has completed
What we want to do is to select and dimension all the bolts to a particular grid line. Here’s how it should work:
* The user selects a group of bolts.
* The user selects a gridline.
* Dimensions are drawn from the Bolts to the Gridline.
But quelle surprise – the Tekla API doesn’t expose an object which can select or pick multiple drawing objects.
What are some solutions around this problem?
We’ll we’re gonna have to be a little creative. Thankfully, Trimble have exposed the ability to programmatically obtain drawing objects. Given these objects we need to somehow filter out the stuff we want to dimension. Here are some possible ways:
We could provide a Control where we can choose and filter what objects we want to dimension, after reading/seeing it’s properties in some type of user interface (you could have a WPF application and use its fancy data binding ability + MVVM pattern + Command objects working with Service layers and Messengers) – but that would require considerable effort.
You could just select everything individually. But that would take forever.
You could extend the PickerInputWithinAView abstract method to allow you to select multiple objects.
Or you could find a way to easily filter it all. And I think I’ve found a way.
Deep in the annals of the Tekla API Reference Guide, I found that the Picker type exposes the PickTwoPoints method. And if we can pick two points, then we can certainly filter our selections.
Issues In the Algorithm We Need to Address
User picks two points.
User picks a gridline
We then filter all bolts within the bounding box of the original two picked points, and we create dimensions to the appropriate gridline. We need to understand the Drawing API.
We also need to know about saving and reverting transformation planes.
This is the hello world version of what we are trying to do, but perhaps on a scale that is a little more grand. We need some basic code on how to create dimensions.
How to Programmatically Pick Two Points
How to programmatically select a grid line
Warning – I no longer recommend this approach because it is very, very difficult to actually select a bolt. A better approach would be to select a point, and programmatically filter to get the grid line you want.
Understanding the Tekla Drawing API
Please refer to the below diagram.
An Explanation of how the Tekla API categorises its objects.
The things that you see in the drawing, are not exactly what you can see on the model. They are drawing representations of what you see in the model. If you want specific geometry based information concerning what you see in the drawing you must:
1. First get the drawing object (i.e. the drawing representation you see as a Bolt in the drawing).
2. Then you must get that same Bolt in the model.
3. You must then inquire in the model about the particular attributes or positional properties of that bolt – which is represented as a bolt in the drawing.
4. You must also bear in mind that Views etc have their own coordinate system. So if you may need to translate any differences which exist in the model to the local coordinate system of the particular view you are using. You can set and retrieve the transformation plane like so:
How to Save And Revert Transformation Planes
5. So if you need to create some dimensions, the exact lengths etc must be derived by querying the pertinent model object representations of what you see in the drawing.
How to Create some Dimensions
The diagram provides a handy summary and visual representation of the parameters you need to pass in when creating a set of dimensions using the Tekla Open API.
How to get the drawing objects (in this case bolts) and programmatically filter them out
A Primer on how the Tekla.Structures.Drawing namespace is structured
Firstly you have a Drawing class. There are many types of drawing sub-classes:
Within each drawing is what is called the ConatinerView. A sheet is a container view. A container view is simply – if I were to use an everyday metaphor if you were grocery shopping – a bag which you can use to put: (i) other bags or (ii) shopping items inside. In order to get the ContainerView object, you can use the Drawing.GetSheet method – and you will be returned a ContainerView object.
Inside a container view you can typically:
* GetObjects()
* Or you can GetAllViews
* Or you can GetAllObjects of a certain type.
And within the container view, using some of the above methods you can get all sorts of DrawingObjects:
* DetailMark
* Dimensions etc
* Drawing representations of ModelObjects – like: Bolts, Connections, Grids, Gridlines, Parts, Welds etc.
Put all the elements together
If you put all the elements together, you can create some powerful little Plugins. I can’t post the full code because my boss will murder me, so I’ve done my best to teach you the key elements so you can create something powerful yourselves.
We’ve been noticing an increasing problem in that certain items are clashing with BubbleDeck Panel outlines. In order to eliminate these types of errors we’ve instituted a new check in our procedures. Everyone is now required to specifically check for this type of situation. This adds to our check list which is already quite long. I go into further explanations below in a video.
Fire Collar Clash Check with Panel Outline. This is becoming a problem so it is now a check against it.
It’s a common problem apparently. There are far too many block references placed a little too close to those pesky shear lig points. It takes discipline, but when you have 5-10 people all working on the same drawing, with different practices, it’s something that’s really easy to miss, but really expensive to discover.
Demonstrates the output of Tek1 Order forms – in precast projects.
Counting Items is difficult
Ordering parts in precast panel projects is tricky. You need a BOM (Bill of Materials). You need to know what you need and how much. When there are thousands upon thousands of parts – that can be a very tricky endeavour.
Why should you bother counting inventory?
It all comes down to money. And how much of it you tie up in your inventory. And how quickly you’re gonna use it. Financial liquidity is like blood and oxygen. Without it, no organisation can survive. And you can maximise your liquidity (and profits too) if you manage your inventory well. You should be able to answer these questions:
How much inventory did you pay for?
How much inventory is in your shop?
How much did you use up in your projects?
How Tek1 solves inventory problems: Demo Video
We give you accurate numbers about what you’ve ordered. And what you need to order. This is how we come up with a Bill of Materials:
