Filter selection tool

[MarcelP102]

Right now when you select a lot of different objects there is no way to filter the selected objects. The info object palette only shows the total number of selected objects. Revit has a built in selection filter option, but lacks some functionality. One of the best selection filter plugin for Revit is OneFilter. FilterMore is a bit more basic but also nice. Note the requested tool is not similar to the magic wand tool. I'm asking for a tool that can filter the selection after you selected a bunch of objects.

 

It would be awesome if Vectorworks could get a similar selection filter as mentioned examples:

 

 

Must have functionalities:

-          Shows list of all selected objects. First grouped by main category (wall/roof/door etc.) than by objecttype/style and last by item (Like FilterMore)

-          Selection mark button to add or de-select item from the list

-          Button to reverse checked items / select all / select none

 

Nice to have functionalities:

-          Filter selection by class/layer

-          Filter selection by parameters

-          Save filter rules for later use

 

Maybe this can already be realized with a plugin/vectorscript? I'm more than happy to donate some money to the person that comes up with this tool.

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited May 24, 2022 by MarcelP102

[Jesse Cogswell]

@MarcelP102 This took me a lot longer than expected, but here's a tool for you.

 

 

This will sort objects into a variety of data sets, letting you quickly locate objects based on object type, class, or layer and select them or deselect them.  Some quick notes about the plug-in:

• This command will work on any version of Vectorworks from 2019 onward.  It has been thoroughly tested in VW2019 and lightly tested in VW2022.
• If nothing is selected when you run the tool, it will open with the "Show" mode set to Visible Objects.  If no objects are selected, the Selected Objects radio button will be disabled.
• What visible refers to in this context is objects that are selectable at the time of running the command.  This is determined by whether you're on a design or sheet layer, your current layer view options,  inside a group or symbol editor, or inside a viewport.  There is currently no great way in Vectorscript to find whether or not an object is inside the view window.
• If no objects are able to be selected (IE you're on an empty layer with layer options set to Show/Snap), the dialog will not launch and you will get an alert.
• Any time you press one of the radio buttons at the top, the selected objects will be recalculated.  This means that if you are in the Show-Selected Objects mode, changing any of the sorting methods will also remove anything not currently selected.
• The command generates arrays containing all of the object data before drawing the dialog box.  If you run the command on a drawing with thousands of selectable objects, it can take a little while before the dialog populates.
• The browser will always be sorted by Object Type, the Class and Layer sort buttons will sort by class or layer first, then by object type.
• Object types are designated by the names found in the Vectorscript Appendix D.  Any PIOs will be named based on their internal record format.  If an object is named, its name will appear in the dialog, otherwise it will display the UUID of the object.
• Because of various quarks with hierarchical list browsers, if you have a lot of objects selected, the tool will start to bog down significantly.  Be patient.
• If you run this tool on a particularly large drawing and click the Show - All Objects radio button, it can take a very long time to populate the browser.  I programmed it to warn you if you have more than 5000 objects and ask if you want to continue.  If you get the warning, I very much recommend that you hit Cancel.
• As if with all of my commands, it can be localized in any language by changing the Strings after clicking the Customize button on the Plug-in Manager.  Just be mindful when changing the Item Types that the numbers are consistent.  Also, do not change the Misc Strings-7000 or 7001 unless you want the checkmark to go away permanently in the browser.

Please do let me know if you see anything funny.  I saw that you are getting into scripting.  My recommendation is to skip trying to use hierarchical list browsers unless you absolutely need them.  They are a huge pain to deal with, as are list browsers in general.  If you cannot help yourself and find yourself in need of a list browser, I cannot recommend enough @_c_'s incredible guide on how these work, found here.

 

One HUGE potential caveat to this tool:

• Hierarchical list browsers use the hyphen character ("-") to determine the nesting.  This cannot be changed.  So it becomes a problem when things like classes, layers, and object names contain hyphens.  So I wrote a function that replaces hyphen characters with an alternative hyphen character so that you won't get unnecessary nesting in the list browser.  I wrote this on a Windows machine and don't have a Mac to test it on and have had problems in the past with character mismatch between platforms before, but used the UniCh function anytime I did the conversion, so I'm hoping everything works.  If you see weird nesting, shoot me a screenshot and I will see what I can do to get it fixed.  Also, I would greatly appreciate it if a Mac user could let me know that it works properly.

I understand that you also wanted to filter by an additional level (like symbol name, style, or subtype), but there's not a real feasible way to do this without writing custom scripting for each object type as there are no consistent parameters between types.  My best recommendation is to get comfortable naming items.

 

Plug-in is attached.  Please let me know if you need any help getting it installed.

Filter Selection.vsm

[MarcelP102]

Wow this is awesome! Thank you so much! This is exactly like I hoped it would be! I understand the difficulty that filtering additional level brings. Perhaps if I'm more comfortable with scripting I can enhance the script with code to get symbol names/wall types etc. I will donate some beers for your hard work, keep an eye on your paypal wallet 😉 Thanks again!

[Andy Broomell]

Jesse, this is amazing, thank you!!

 

 

 

12 hours ago, Jesse Cogswell said:

Also, I would greatly appreciate it if a Mac user could let me know that it works properly.

 

No weird nesting, but hyphens are completely omitted:

[Jesse Cogswell]

@Andy Broomell Thank you for running the test.  If you could please do an additional favor for me, below is script that will generate a character map.  On Windows, Vectorworks uses character 45 as the nesting hyphen, so I replace it with character 173 which has the same appearance but doesn't create the nesting behavior.  If you could please run the script and let me know what an equivalent character is, I'll add a line to detect the platform and replace accordingly.

 

 

PROCEDURE MapCharacters;

{*	Builds a worksheet mapping characters with both Chr() and UniChr()
	Developed by: Jesse Cogswell
	Date: 6/2/2022
*}

CONST

	kNumChrs = 255;
	
VAR

	uniChrs,chrs:ARRAY[1..kNumChrs] OF CHAR;
	workHd:HANDLE;
	
PROCEDURE BuildArrays(VAR uniArr, arr:ARRAY[1..kNumChrs] OF CHAR);

	VAR
	
		i:INTEGER;
		
	BEGIN
		FOR i:=1 TO kNumChrs DO
			BEGIN
				uniArr[i]:=UniChr(i);
				arr[i]:=Chr(i);
			END;
	END;

FUNCTION BuildWorksheet(uniArr,arr:ARRAY[1..kNumChrs] OF CHAR) : HANDLE;

	VAR
	
		h:HANDLE;
		i:INTEGER;

	BEGIN
		h:=GetObject('Character Map Worksheet');
		IF(h<>NIL) THEN DelObject(h);
		
		h:=CreateWS('Character Map Worksheet',kNumChrs+1,3);
		
		SetWSCellFormula(h,1,1,1,1,'Number');
		SetWSCellFormula(h,1,2,1,2,'UniChr');
		SetWSCellFormula(h,1,3,1,3,'Chr');
		
		SetWSCellAlignment(h,1,1,kNumChrs+1,3,2);
		SetWSCellTextFormat(h,1,1,1,3,GetFontID('Arial'),10,1);
		SetWSCellTextFormat(h,2,1,kNumChrs+1,3,GetFontID('Arial'),18,0);
		
		FOR i:=1 TO kNumChrs DO
			BEGIN
				SetWSCellFormula(h,i+1,1,i+1,1,Num2Str(0,i));
				SetWSCellFormula(h,i+1,2,i+1,2,uniArr[i]);
				SetWSCellFormula(h,i+1,3,i+1,3,arr[i]);
			END;
		
		BuildWorksheet:=h;
	END;

BEGIN
	BuildArrays(uniChrs,chrs);
	
	workHd:=BuildWorksheet(uniChrs,chrs);
	ShowWS(workHd,TRUE);
END;

Run(MapCharacters);

 

[Andy Broomell]

Hmm. Character 45 is the only hyphen-like option in the entire worksheet. There are many blank lines. And no en dashes or em dashes.

 

Here's a file with the result:

CharactersMac_2022.vwx

[Pat Stanford]

Or

 

https://www.lookuptables.com/text/html-character-codes

 

should help.

 

Anything over 127 is going to be OS and Font dependent.

[Jesse Cogswell]

Thanks for the link @Pat Stanford.  I think I got this solved.  Try running the script:

Message(UniChr(8211));

If it returns the n-dash, that's what I'll put in the script.

 

Also, @MarcelP102 I looked into what it would take to do sub-types and think I have it pretty well worked out.  It wouldn't add to the nesting behavior (since most objects don't have a sub-type or style), I'll just add a column to the list browser with it.

 

I'm also going to add a fourth Show option for architectural wall objects (doors, windows, wall features) since they have very different selection behavior.  This option will show all architectural objects visible and will not be sortable by class and layer, jut object type (but will have columns for them in the browser).

 

I'll implement the changes and reupload tonight or early tomorrow.

[Pat Stanford]

Yes, the UniChr seems to work.

 

[Jesse Cogswell]

I have revised the Filter Selection plug-in.  For some reason, I can't edit the above post to change the attachment to make sure no one downloads the out of date version, but the newer one is attached to this post.  Changes are listed below:

1. Fixed bug with hyphens on Mac operating systems.  Hyphens will now be replaced with n-dash unicode characters for both Mac and Windows operating systems.
2. Added a count of all objects in drawing next to all the Show radio buttons to help gauge how long it will take populate.
3. Added a Sub-Type column to the list browser for all show and sort modes.  This column will be populated with symbol definition names, wall styles, and plug-in styles.
4. Added a fourth show mode, Show - Objects in Walls.  Because objects embedded in walls follow different selection rules than other objects, this button will restrict the List Browser to objects currently selectable at the time of running the tool.  If no wall embedded objects are selectable when running the tool, the radio button will be disabled.  When switching to this mode, the items currently selected in the list browser will be lost.

 

 

Filter Selection.vsm

Edited June 3, 2022 by Jesse Cogswell

[MarcelP102]

Amazing upgrade, really nice that it also shows the Sub-Type. After a quick test I'm only missing the Roof style ('RST' selector code) and slab style ('SLST' selector code). I can see those codes are not on the Function Reference list, perhaps someone with permission can add those to the WIKI?

Edited June 3, 2022 by MarcelP102

[Jesse Cogswell]

@MarcelP102 I have added code to allow for Roof Styles and Slab Styles to be placed in the Sub-Type column.  I also made sure that the type called "Column, Floor, Roof Face" would not populate since they are not selectable as objects.  Updated command attached.  Let me know if anything else pops up.

Filter Selection.vsm

[rebu1985]

Hi guys,
 I dont know why it is showing this message when i am using the scrip. 

 

 

Edited June 14, 2022 by rebu1985

[Jesse Cogswell]

@rebu1985 That's an odd message.  Not the error that it's showing, but odd in that the line number doesn't make any sense and makes it hard to tell which part of the script is fouling up.  The script is 1700 lines of code and uses a dozen or so different arrays to store and sort different pieces of data, so it's tricky to figure out which one is not working.

 

What would help me a lot is to have more information.  What exactly were you doing when the message popped up?  Did it pop up immediately after running or was it after using the GUI?  Does this happen with every drawing?  If not, could you send me a copy of the drawing that it does happen on so I can see what's causing it?

 

Also, any information about which version of Vectorworks you are running (year, workspace) would also be helpful.

Edited June 14, 2022 by Jesse Cogswell

[rebu1985]

Hi Jesse,
I have attached some images.

The first and second images show the script working properly, all the elements are located in a one layer and the script works.

The third and fourth images show the script without working. I have copied all the elements to others layers and it doesnt work.
I am using Vectoworks 2020 and i am using a personal workspace but i have the same problem when i am working on the architect workspace. When i am working on personal drawings with a lot of information it doesnt work either.

 

[Jesse Cogswell]

Can you send me the Vectorworks file where it doesn't work?  I need to know which array is not populating correctly to fix this bug.  What exactly changed between the two images of it working and the two images of it not working?  Moving the objects to a different layer?  By workspace, I meant which VW product are you using?  Fundamentals, Spotlight, Architect, Landmark, or Designer?

 

When it fails, is your active layer a Design Layer or Sheet Layer?  Are you in any kind of group/symbol/viewport edit window?

Edited June 14, 2022 by Jesse Cogswell

[rebu1985]

Hi Jesse,

I was checking the differents files and i checked that when you activate the visible mode on the layer on the navigation menu the script works. 

[Jesse Cogswell]

@rebu1985 I have been unable to recreate your issue, even after building a duplicate scenario as you have in your images above.  Please answer the following questions, and be as clear and specific as you can be.  The more information you provide, the faster I can get this bug fixed.

1. Do you get the error when you run the menu command or after interacting with the dialog box?
2. If it happens after interacting with the dialog, what specific actions did you do between the dialog box popping up and the error message?
3. In the four images above, what specifically changed between the first two images and the second two images?
4. In the second two images, what is your active layer?  Are there objects on that layer?  I can see that you have three design layers but that all of the objects are on Design Layer-1 in the images where the script is working.
5. Can you confirm that you are using the "most current" version of this tool?  It would be the one found in the June 3rd post above which DOES NOT have a screen shot image.

I did a lot of testing on this plug-in to try to eliminate the chances of these types of errors, and I have folded the tool into my general workflow (it's completely replaced Custom Selection for me, as I find it much easier to use compared to the reworked command in VW2022) and have not seen this error.  @MarcelP102 or any other users, have you run into any errors or issues with the tool?

 

MODERATORS: would it be possible to remove the attachments to my messages that contain earlier versions of the tool?  I used to be able to edit my posts to swap the attached script with the most current version, but it seems that I am no longer able to edit any of my posts that have an attachment.

[Pat Stanford]

@Jesse CogswellIt is possible for a moderator to edit your posts. But I just usually post the newest version and tell everyone to read to the bottom and use the most current version.

 

But if there is something you specifically want removed DM me and I will help.

 

I think there is now a 1 hour limit on editing posts as one of the new spam techniques is to post and then come back a day or so later and add in spam links.

[MarcelP102]

@Jesse Cogswell Somehow I got the same error as @rebu1985. I could swear it was working before.. really weird. Also sometimes I got the "No objects able to be selected' error, but there are selectable items.

 

EDIT: After a restart everything works as expected till I try to use it with a 'broken' project. After that I got the errors till I restart. I can't find what inside that project makes it break.

 

EDIT 2: I managed to fix the broken project by deleting all the layers and remake them. Copied over some objects from the old file. Everything working so far. It's a project started some versions ago. All other projects work fine

Edited June 17, 2022 by MarcelP102

[MarcelP102]

Hi Jesse,

 

I did some more testing and found some missing subtypes and have some idea's for improvement. See attached file. Up to you if you want to add those. It's already working great as it is.

 

Thanks!

Feedback filter selection.vwx