Topic: I want to create a list of all visibility states of a dynamic block

[Prickle Farmer]

Hi All

I have searched this forum for a solution but as yet "no banana".  I sure what I ask is simple but my limited Vlisp and active x leaves me high and dry.  I can get the current visibility state and even change it using Lee Macs wonderful functions (thanks again Lee, magic) but I have not been able to find code to  extract anything other than the current vis state.

I just want a list to do a (foreach ....) on it.

Cheers

Phil

[kpblc]

What exactly do you want to extract? Attribute values? Dynamic properties?

[Prickle Farmer]

I want to create a list of the visibility state names eg   (list "vis_state1" "vis_state2" "vis_state3" "vis_state4" )  then I can do this (foreach vis vis_statelist process)

[Kerry]

May help if you could attach a simple drawing with the block inserted.

[Prickle Farmer]

Thanks Kerry.  It is not just one block.  I want to write a function for any dynamic block which will be called like this (getvislist obj)  which would return a list of all the visibility states in obj like ("vis1" "vis2" ...."visn")

[Prickle Farmer]

Maybe to clarify.....I have written a program to quantify the instances of visibility states of a dynamic block in a given drawing (or layer).  It is working beautifully except that I have to hard code the visibility state list.  I would like to automate that bit, so that if the user creates a new dyn block it will be quantified without the need to modify the code.

[kpblc]

I think something like this:

Code - Auto/Visual Lisp: [Select]

1. (defun test (/ ent)
2.   (if (and (setq ent (car (entsel "\nSelect block <Cancel> : ")))
3.            (= (cdr (assoc 0 (entget ent))) "INSERT")
4.            (setq ent (vlax-ename->vla-object ent))
5.            (vlax-property-available-p ent 'effectivename)
6.            (equal (vla-get-isdynamicblock
7.                     (vla-item (vla-get-blocks (vla-get-activedocument (vlax-get-acad-object)))
8.                               (vla-get-effectivename ent)
9.                               ) ;_ end of vla-item
10.                     ) ;_ end of vla-get-IsDynamicBlock
11.                   :vlax-true
12.                   ) ;_ end of equal
13.            ) ;_ end of and
14.     (mapcar
15.       (function
16.         (lambda (x)
17.           (list (cons "name" (vla-get-propertyname x))
18.                 (cons "values"
19.                       (mapcar (function vlax-variant-value)
20.                               (vlax-safearray->list (vlax-variant-value (vla-get-allowedvalues x)))
21.                               ) ;_ end of mapcar
22.                       ) ;_ end of cons
23.                 ) ;_ end of list
24.           ) ;_ end of lambda
25.         ) ;_ end of function
26.       (vl-remove-if-not
27.         (function
28.           (lambda (x)
29.             (and (= (vla-get-unitstype x) 0)
30.                  (vlax-property-available-p x 'allowedvalues)
31.                  ) ;_ end of and
32.             ) ;_ end of lambda
33.           ) ;_ end of function
34.         (vlax-safearray->list (vlax-variant-value (vla-getdynamicblockproperties ent)))
35.         ) ;_ end of vl-remove-if-not
36.       ) ;_ end of vl-remove-if-not
37.     ) ;_ end of if
38.   ) ;_ end of defun
39.  

[Kerry]

I think something like this:

Code - Auto/Visual Lisp: [Select]

1. (defun test (/ ent)
2. ;;............
3.  

Yes, I use something similar.

[kpblc]

Could you show your code? Just for education

[Prickle Farmer]

Thanks kpblc.  I have just run that and it returns a list with what I want.  This is the bit I couldn't work out. (vlax-safearray->list (vlax-variant-value (vla-get-allowedvalues x)))

I will post my code when I have rewritten to include the new function and have removed the hard code list tomorrow. I will also need to compile it with a few other external functions that it calls. 

My wife has just rung the dinner bell!!!!

Thanks again.

[Kerry]

Could you show your code? Just for education

You won't learn anything from mine ... it's no where near as pretty as your code
... and a bit more modular,
... and I have a client who would be upset if he saw it here.

[Kerry]

[off topic]

Phil,
I wish you'd stop sending your weather our way. 3° C overnight up here ... that is definitely more your normal than ours
 
[/resume]

[roy_043]

I have tested kpblc's code on a block with a visibility state and a flip state.
The function returns:

Code: [Select]

(
  (("name" . "Flip state1") ("values" 0 1))
  (("name" . "Origin") ("values"))
  (("name" . "Visibility1") ("values" "Dyn_deur_VAR" "Dyn_deur_90" "Dyn_deur_20"))
)Perhaps the function should check for a list-of-strings as allowed values? I can't be sure: being a BricsCAD user I have little experience with dynamic blocks. The 'show' property of "Origin" is false. Filtering for that may also be useful.

[Lee Mac]

Here's another way, using my Dynamic Block Functions:

Code - Auto/Visual Lisp: [Select]

1. (defun c:test ( / obj prp )
2.     (if (and (setq obj (car (entsel "\nSelect dynamic block: ")))
3.              (= "AcDbBlockReference" (vla-get-objectname (setq obj (vlax-ename->vla-object obj))))
4.         )
5.         (if (setq prp (LM:getvisibilityparametername obj))
6.             (print (LM:getdynpropallowedvalues obj prp))
7.             (princ "\nSelected block does not contain a visibility parameter.")
8.         )
9.     )
10.     (princ)
11. )

EDIT: fixed variable typo.

[Prickle Farmer]

Hi Lee

Once again you are awesome but..........I got to debug your code (yahoo, yippee etc etc)

 (= "AcDbBlockReference" (vla-get-objectname (setq obj (vlax-ename->vla-object obj))));ent

but seriously, thanks.

[Lee Mac]

Hi Lee

Once again you are awesome but..........I got to debug your code (yahoo, yippee etc etc)

 (= "AcDbBlockReference" (vla-get-objectname (setq obj (vlax-ename->vla-object obj))));ent

but seriously, thanks.

Thanks Prickle Farmer - that'll teach me for writing code in the forum post box! 

(updated the above)

[Prickle Farmer]

Kerry , not my weather......suck it up (lol).  But seriously v.cold here too. I used to be near Canberra so even colder.

kpblc, your solution was spot on but I will go with Lee's.  Why? I already pre-load his Dynamic Block Functions for other stuff that I have written. (Thanks Lee.........again)  I only come here when I get stuck.  What a fab forum.  This post has 80+ hits already and I'm done.  Back to my code........

[Prickle Farmer]

Lee  that will be Prickle Farmer 1 Lee Mac 1,000,000+.  I am in awe, so don't be humble.

[kpblc]

That's ok. I think there are not too many people who can make some competition with Lee

[Prickle Farmer]

I think you are right kpblc, Lee is the biz.

[Lee Mac]

You're too kind 

Though, as far as programming goes, I'm still just a small fish in a very big pond Swamp