Topic: reading Blocks from the table

[S.Langhammer]

Hello there everyone!
I'm currently working on a Lisp script to read out entity information out of a drawing. Suddenly a colleague of mine notices: wait a moment there aren't enough entities in your exported file!
After a little research we found the problem: the entities i didn't find were block references! The actual entities turn out to be tricky little bastards, hiding in the block table.
Now I'm asking, is there a way to get the entity names (dxf group code -1) of those blocks? Best possible is someone knew a routine to list themright away, then i should be able to get the rest on my own.

For info: I'm using BricsCAD, so a lot of AutoCAD commands wont work.

Thanks a lot for every bit of help I get!

[irneb]

tblnext and tblobjname to get the block definitions. From that using entnext would get their internal entities.

If you mean you didn't find the block references in the DWG (not inside other blocks), then how did you step through the DWG? Using ssget or entnext or ActiveX?

[S.Langhammer]

Well up until now I only stepped through the model space via entnext.
Actually I make a filtered list of entities within the modelspace first  and read the entity Information from that list.

Code - Auto/Visual Lisp: [Select]

1. (defun getMSpList(/ en enlist eset cntr)        ;makes a list of all relevant entities within the drawing
2.         (setq mSpList(list))
3.         (setq eset (ssget "X"))
4.         (if (/= eset nil)
5.                 (progn
6.                         (setq cntr 0)
7.                         (setq en (ssname eset cntr))
8.                         (setq enlist(entget en))
9.                         (while (< cntr (sslength eset))
10.                                 (if (/= en nil)
11.                                         (progn
12.                                                 (setq enlist(entget en))
13.                                                 (setq en (entnext en))
14.                                                 (if (/= (cdr(assoc 0 enlist)) "VIEWPORT") ;;; ignore viewports
15.                                                         (if (/= (cdr(assoc 0 enlist)) "OLE2FRAME") ;;; ignore ole2frames
16.                                                                 (if (/= (cdr(assoc 0 enlist)) "OLEFRAME") ;;; ignore oleframes
17.                                                                         (setq mSpList(append mSpList(list enlist)))
18.                                                                 )
19.                                                         )
20.                                                 )       ;;; end exclusion if
21.                                         )       ;;; end if-progn
22.                                 )       ;;; end nil-if
23.                                 (setq cntr (+ cntr 1))
24.                         )       ;;;end while
25.                 )       ;;; end if-progn
26.                 (princ "!!!No ENTITIES WITHIN THE DRAWING!!!\n")
27.         )       ;;; end if
28.         mSpList
29. )       ;;; end getMSpList
30.  

[S.Langhammer]

Does this look like it could work to anyone of you?

Code - Auto/Visual Lisp: [Select]

1. (defun getBlockList(/ en  cntr listBlock subList)
2.         (while (setq listBlock (tblnext "BLOCK" T))
3.                 (getBlkRefData listBlock)
4.         )
5. );;; ende getBlockList
6. ;;;
7.  
8. (defun C:Block_EnameListNested (blockName / ename ret) ; Return value: List of enames of block nested entities from Block Definition
9.         (setq ename (tblobjname "block" blockName)
10.                 ret(list))
11.         (if ename
12.                 (while (setq ename (entnext ename))
13.                         (setq ret (append ret (list (entget ename))))
14.                 )
15.         )
16.         ret
17. )
18. ;;;
19. (defun getBlkRefData(inBlock / entTyp entLyr dstr entHan entPt entPtStr entFla entNam entNam2 subList dTabs entFlaStr) ;;;Blockreferenz
20.         (setq blkRefCntr (+ blkRefCntr 1))
21.         (setq dataList(list))
22.         (setq subList(list))
23.  
24.         (setq entTyp(cdr(assoc 0 inBlock)))
25.         (setq entHan(cdr(assoc 5 inBlock)))
26.         (setq entLyr(cdr(assoc 8 inBlock)))
27.         (setq entNam(cdr(assoc 2 inBlock)))    
28.         (setq entPt(cdr(assoc 10 inBlock)))
29.         (setq entPtStr(strcat (rtos(car entPt)2 4)spcr(rtos(cadr entPt)2 4)spcr(rtos(caddr entPt)2 4)))
30.         (if (assoc 70 inBlock)
31.                 (progn
32.                         (setq entFla(cdr(assoc 70 inBlock)))
33.                         (setq entFlaStr(itoa entFla))
34.                 )
35.         )
36.         ;
37.         (depthTabs)
38.         (setq dStr "")
39.         (setq dStr (strcat dStr entTyp spcr))
40.         (setq dStr (strcat dStr entHan spcr))
41.         (setq dStr (strcat dStr entLyr spcr
42.         (setq dStr (strcat dStr entNam spcr))  
43.         (setq dStr (strcat dStr entPtStr spcr))
44.         (if entFlaStr
45.                 (setq dStr (strcat dStr entFlaStr spcr))
46.                 (setq dStr (strcat dStr "" spcr))
47.         )
48.         (setq dStr (strcat dTabs dStr "\n"))
49.         (setq dataList(append dataList(list (strcat dStr))))   
50.         (setq subList(append(Block_EnameListNested (cdr (assoc 2 inBlock))) inBlock ) )
51.         (setq deep (+ deep 1))
52.         (getinfoWithInsert subList)
53.         (setq deep (- deep 1))
54.         (setq endMark(list))
55.         (depthTabs)
56.         (setq endMark(append endMark(list (strcat dTabs "End of " entHan "\n"))))
57.         (setq dataList(append dataList endMark))
58.         (fileWrite dataList)
59.         (princ)
60. )       ;;; ende getBlkRRefData
61. ;;;
62.  

Assuming getBlockList is called by the main program. Please tell me if you see any Major misstakes.

[roy_043]

If I were you I would consider exploding all inserts in the selection instead of digging through all the (nested) blocks. I have read some of your posts on this forum and on the BricsCAD forum and I still don't understand what you are trying to do. If you are trying to create a dxf-type file you should look into the DXFOUT command. With this command you can specify a selection and a precision.

If you decide to explode all inserts you will have to create some kind of loop to also explode the nested inserts.

If you don't explode the inserts you may have to 'translate' nested entities to the coordinate systems of the successive parent blocks. I have mentioned this on the BricsCAD forum. But judging from this post you have misunderstood. For example a circle in a block definition can look like an ellipse if an insert of that block is scaled unevenly.

[S.Langhammer]

The file I aim to create isn't exactly a dxf-file. You could say its a reduced and formated version of a dxf. The Thing is, that our DXF import doesn't work properly (I wasn't told what the exact problem is), so we had to come up with something different. In the end my export writes the file about this way:

Code: [Select]

BLOCK,RIPPEN,0,0,0,0,
LINE,17D47,A_HEIZKOERPER,-.07,0,0,-.07,.75,0,.75,
LINE,17D48,A_HEIZKOERPER,-.07,0,0,-.07,-.75,0,.75,
LINE,17D49,A_HEIZKOERPER,-.145,.75,0,-.145,-.75,0,1.5,
LINE,17D4A,A_HEIZKOERPER,-.145,.75,0,-.145,.95,0,.2,
LINE,17D4B,A_HEIZKOERPER,-.145,-.75,0,-.145,-.95,0,.2,
LINE,17D4C,A_HEIZKOERPER,-.07,-.75,0,-.22,-.75,0,.15,
LINE,17D4D,A_HEIZKOERPER,-.22,-.75,0,-.22,.75,0,1.5,
LINE,17D4E,A_HEIZKOERPER,-.22,.75,0,-.07,.75,0,.15,
End of RIPPEN,


[roy_043]

our DXF import doesn't work properly (I wasn't told what the exact problem is)

This may be a version issue. Using the SAVEAS command you can create DXF files for different CAD versions. Versions 'AutoCAD Release 9' (very old) up to 'AutoCAD 2010' are supported by BricsCAD. Version 'AutoCAD Release 11/12 ASCII DXF' may work for you.

[CAB]

Have you seen this routine?
http://www.theswamp.org/index.php?topic=29953.msg355214#msg355214

[CAB]

Also this routine?
http://www.theswamp.org/index.php?topic=31145