Class off tool

[Thom]

Is anyone aware of a tool that allows an object to be selected and turned off without having to go the navigation box.

[Petri]

VectorDepot? VectorBits?

[Thom]

looked

[Cris with no H]

Making a class visibility toggle script shouldn't be that hard, from what I hear.

If you posted more on why you want this, maybe we could suggest other helpful hints.

Cris

[billtheia]

It would be nice if there were two additional options in the right-click menu - Turn Off Class & Turn Off Layer - to go with the Activate Layer & Activate Class items. Ultimately it would be nice to be able to change layers and classes to gray so perhaps Layer and Class items with Activate, On, Gray fly-out items under each would be better.

This kind of tool would greatly speed visibility control. Rather than having to identify the layer or class and then using the navigation palette or organization dialog to turn off a layer that is in the way or that I simply want off (or gray,) I could simply right click on the "offending" item and turn it off or gray.

[Petri]

the right-click menu

?

Is there a wrong-click menu, too?

[ccroft]

Thom,

I have a rather crude tool that might fit the bill. Some caveats:

Never used it in anything beyond 11.5 so behaviour is unknown in newer versions.

Even if you turn off a class the objects in that class stay visible if the class is active.

The visibility widgets in class dropdown don't update immediately.

It could be more sophisticated and able to do more.

Despite all that I use it quite a bit. It's replaced a bunch of saved views I used to use.

Script looks like:

Procedure classWork;

Var

pickit :Handle;

x,y, :Real;

Procedure ShowAllClass;

Var

i: integer;

Begin

FOR i:=1 to ClassNum DO

ShowClass(ClassList(i));

End;

Begin

GetPt(x,y);

pickit:=PickObject(x,y);

IF pickit=NIL THEN ShowAllClass

ELSE HideClass(GetClass(pickit));

End;

Run(classWork);

Clicking in empty space shows all classes.

Works best from a tool palette for continuous clicking.

Works on objects regardless of their selection state.

If you (or anyone) would like a "fully-formed" plug-in send me a private message with your email and I'll mail it. Then you just drop it in plugin folder and add to workspace.

Charles

[ccroft]

Petri

There's only wrong-click if you have more than one mouse button. Are you, like me, one of a dying breed of single button mouse users? I've always felt that the 100+ buttons on the keyboard is more than enough. I think foot-pedals might be more useful than more finger-buttons. Maybe a steering wheel as well.

c

[propstuff]

I think foot-pedals might be more useful than more finger-buttons. c

Charles,

I'm picturing a full church organ style interface, with 3 tiers of keys, 20-30 stops to the sides, and 2 tiers of foot pedals underneath.

.....but maybe that would be too much...

N.

[ccroft]

That's good Nick. You must be a keyboardist. As an ex-electric guitar god, I was thinking more of a wah-wah type zoom pedal. At one point years ago there was one that went up and down and side to side. Can't remember what it did, but it'd be an awesome pan and scroll interface. Or maybe a large trackball kickwheel sort of thing.

Also, I could really use a brake-pedal escape key that would hopefully release me from the infinite loops I sometimes script before they crash my computer.

One thing for sure....the potential of foot-control for CAD is going totally unused.

I also happen to think that the sailboat interface has some merit. Maybe a tiller and a mainsheet for scroll and zoom? That'd solve the problem of the steering wheel getting in the way of the other controls.

Prepare to come about!

Edit: Apologies to the forum for hi-jacking this thread. The last few entries should really be posted to the Wish List.

Edited October 7, 2007 by ccroft

[Thom]

My reasoning for this tool is that often I need to identify and turn off up to 30+ classes that are turned on from files that I get from Architects and Engineers. They (no offence) are hard to train.

thks

[ccroft]

Thom

The script I posted above should be perfect for this if made into a tool, rather than a menu command or document script. You can just keep clicking objects continuously until you're done. As far as I know you should have no problem running it in V13.

Maybe you missed that post in all the goofing around? Hope you realize that I'm taking you seriously, and my offer stands to email you the plug-in.

c

[Jonathan Pickup]

I have a script that will turn off the class of objects that you click on

[Jonathan Pickup]

my script was originally a tool, but i think I?ll change it to a menu command

[Petri]

Good thinking, Batman! The good old object-verb syntax is more appropriate than modal editing with a tool or a loopy script.

[Thom]

Jonathan

Is this something by itself or part of one of your packages?

[Jonathan Pickup]

the tool version of this script is on the CD in the back of the Architect Tutorial manual if you have that. If you don?t have it, you can order it from:

http://www.archoncad.com

[Benson Shaw]

Thom, et al: Sounds like risky business to just turn off a whole class without examining it first. I have found that not all CAD operators manage to properly and consistently classify all objects in a file. Switching off a whole class by selecting an offending object may toggle off something you need. It may be worth the extra steps to isolate a class and make it invisible. Your call.

The scripting and tool proposals in this thread would accomplish the desired task, but would add yet another separate and redundant tool/function to the existing lists and palettes. In this case, we are trying to work faster by eliminating some of the 6 or 7 steps for each class toggle: Right click object. Drag/release to activate class. Mouse to Nav Pal. Click to open if nec. Move/click to toggle class visibility. Move back to drawing area for next action. Note: this can also be done with a left click to select and several NP moves skipping the contextual menu. As always, there are lots of ways to do things in VW.

To me, the clicks are not the problem, it's the mousing about and having the big Nav Palette obscuring the drawing area. I suggest that the limited right-click-contextual-menu could contain an item for the full Nav Palette, and perhaps other palettes.

And/Or a user assignable KEY Click or voice command opens any pallet as a cursor contextual menu. Think of it - you could say or press "oi!" and your object info pal would open at the cursor - positioned to be fully visible, poofs away when you release the click.

Or the new VW Hardware department should release betas of the top secret WaWa pedal and sewing machine knee lever controller.

I have heard ACAD users complain that when they get ACAD files from other firms, even they often end up spending several hours sorting out which layers they need visible for their work. This is not exclusively a VW issue.

-B

[Thom]

Benson

I agree it is not just a VW problem. I also understand the issues of not all the data being on certain layers/classes.

It would be nice to be able to highlight a class to see all that is represented and then make the decision. In my case, I usually want a pretty striped down file, so it is usually easy to identify if something is missing.

I do have certain firms that I work with that I will add extra time to the proposal just to get the dwg. straightened out.

[Cris with no H]

Talk to Dobson Organ... they use Vectorworks!

Cris Dopher