Tree Symbol Plug-in

[Clive Thomas]

I would like to create a Plug-in object that would represent a tree in plan view. This would consist of a number of elements-a. Tree trunk - diameter can be specifiedb. Axes - North, South, East, and West - lengths of which can be specified from the centre point of the tree trunkc. A canopy which could be one of five classes eg. Class A, Class B etc.. and would be drawn to join the ends of each axis with a polyline by cubic spline.

I work on a lot tree surveys and this feature would save a lot of time and may be of use to many Landscape Architects.Have you any tips on how to start.

Many thanksClive

P.S. The automation of renaming classes script you posted previously has already saved me many hours of repetitive work.

[Guest]

Start with drawing a trunk, circle or whatever. Then, add a branch or two. At this point you should probably think about the various paramenter that you want to control from the oiPalette. Add them in and start hooking them up one at a time.

I just finished a similar survey tree object for a project. All I had to make was the dripline and trunk, though. I also put in a simple 3D element so the client could visualize it.

Let me know how it goes...

[Guest]

One way to get started would be to actually draw a Tree using the tools (not a script) and then use the "Export VectorScript..." menu command to convert the drawing into a script. Open the exported script file in a text editor and tweak it. Decide which values will be your parameters (diameter, foliage, etc) and then put variables in place of those values in the script. Paste it into the VectorScript Editor when you are ready to try it.