LISP routine to overwrite layer descriptions...

[BlackBox]

(defun c:dwt ()

; Layers
(command "layer" "m" "purlin" "lt" "continuous" "" "c" "7" "" "")
(command "layer" "m" "wp" "lt" "center" "" "c" "8" "" "") 
(command "layer" "m" "bolt" "lt" "continuous" "" "c" "6" "" "")
(command "layer" "m" "bracing" "lt" "continuous" "" "c" "3" "" "")
(command "layer" "m" "endwall" "lt" "continuous" "" "c" "1" "" "")
(command "layer" "m" "mezzanine" "lt" "continuous" "" "c" "2" "" "")
(command "layer" "m" "steel" "lt" "continuous" "" "c" "5" "" "")
(command "-linetype" "load" "hidden" "" "yes" "" "")


)

I also found this link which has tons of options...
http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Visual...p/td-p/3560508

FWIW -

Multiple COMMAND calls at startup is about the worst thing you can do for performance at drawing open (aside from an endless loop). You should be accessing the LayerTable Object instead.

[dortega4269]

FWIW -

Multiple COMMAND calls at startup is about the worst thing you can do for performance at drawing open (aside from an endless loop). You should be accessing the LayerTable Object instead.

Since I'm not too savvy with LISP I can't complain too much, it works.

[tedg]

*Someone* didn't read the fine, red print in the OP.

Well I stand behind my original suggestion then...

[tedg]

See post #7 of this thread for a routine that does exactly this.

Hey BB, that's pretty sweet.
I have written old-school routines for creating layers, which have the "dreaded" command calls.
I would like to try out your routine.

I can't open/download the txt(csv) file for the reference layers in your link (becuase I'm not a CadTutor member), any way you can post it here or send it to me?

Thanks dude!

[BlackBox]

Since I'm not too savvy with LISP I can't complain too much, it works.

We all start somewhere; perhaps one day (soon?), you'll come to see the significant difference for yourself.

Cheers

[BlackBox]

Hey BB, that's pretty sweet.
I have written old-school routines for creating layers, which have the "dreaded" command calls.
I would like to try out your routine.

I can't open/download the txt(csv) file for the reference layers in your link (becuase I'm not a CadTutor member), any way you can post it here or send it to me?

Cheers, tedg; to demonstrate, here's a quick speed test creating 256 layers each, with undo marks of Command calls vs. LayerTable Object....



Sample functions:

;;; See "foo.lsp" attached, code is too long for this post

Sample .CSV file:

;;; See "foo.csv.txt" attached, code is too long for this post, and rename as "foo.csv"

Speed test:

(bench '(_Command1) '() 1)

(command "._undo" 1)                                                    ; undo the command calls; no cheating ;o)

(bench '(_CSV->Layers) '() 1)

Results from console...
Tested on a Dell Precision T3600, Win8.1 Pro 64-bit OS, Hex-Core Intel Xeon 3.2 Ghz, 32 GB RAM, 3 GB NVIDIA Quadro K4000 using IDSP 2015

_COMMAND1
Elapsed: 1812
Average: 1812.0000

_CSV->LAYERS
Elapsed: 172
Average: 172.0000

... That's +/- 1.8 seconds for Command calls, and 0.17 seconds for LayerTable... And here's the important bit... Each-and-every-single-time you open a drawing when being loaded via AcadDoc.[lsp[fas[vlx]]].



The latter can also be modified to support ObjectDBX batch processing, and paired with Reactors, etc.

Cheers

[BlackBox]

... That's +/- 1.8 seconds for Command calls, and 0.17 seconds for LayerTable... And here's the important bit... Each-and-every-single-time you open a drawing when being loaded via AcadDoc.[lsp[fas[vlx]]].

Put another way, if one only opens 5 drawings each day via the Command call method (@1.8 Sec*5==9 Sec/Day), that equates to 37.5 Hours per year, per person (estimating 50, 5 Day work weeks).

Now compare that against the latter in the same scenario, (@0.17 Sec*5==0.85 Sec/Day), that equates to only 3.54 Hours per year, per person.



Also worthy of note, is that these processing times are significantly reduced when you step up into the .NET API:

ADN DevBlog - The Right Tools for the Job – AutoCAD Part 3

by Fenton Webb

...

... So the real question is, how many users do you have?

Cheers

[dortega4269]

See post #7 of this thread for a routine that does exactly this.

Thank you BB. I used your routine with the variations fixo and waders made and it works

Thank you tedg also for your time and effort, you idea is being thought out further to find the ideal scenario of implementing it during startup.

If I wanted to take this a step further and only insert/overwrite specific category of layers instead of all layers (example: Casework only), what could I do to create a prompt to apply a selected category of layers? My simple thinking is to break the routine and csv file up into several routines and csv files.

Previously I used the following routine to insert my layer templates (.dwg), however, they wouldn't overwrite any existing layers, hence the start of this thread...

(defun c:LayerCat (/ ip ans sel1)

  (setq ip (list 0 0 0))

  (initget "C F EQ")
  (setq ans (getkword "\nSelect Layer Category to Insert [Casework/Furniture/Equipment]: "))
ib
  (cond	((= (strcase ans nil) "C")
	 (progn
	   (command "insert" "Casework" ip nil nil nil)
	   (setq
	     sel1 (ssget "x" '((0 . "insert") (2 . "Casework")))
	  )
	 )
	)
	((= (strcase ans nil) "F")
	 (progn
	   (command "insert" "Furniture" ip nil nil nil)
	   (setq
	     sel1 (ssget "x" '((0 . "insert") (2 . "Furniture")))
	  )
	 )
	)
	((= (strcase ans nil) "EQ")
	 (progn
	   (command "insert" "Equipment" ip nil nil nil)
	   (setq
	     sel1 (ssget "x" '((0 . "insert") (2 . "Equipment")))
	  )
	 )
	)
  )
  (princ)
)

[BlackBox]

If I wanted to take this a step further and only insert/overwrite specific category of layers instead of all layers (example: Casework only), what could I do to create a prompt to apply a selected category of layers? My simple thinking is to break the routine and csv file up into several routines and csv files.

Adding/Correcting layers at drawing open is very different from implementing a user Command that prompts for import.

Correct; you only need the one sub-function, but you'd need to split your .CSV data accordingly, otherwise you'd need to modify the sub-function so that it can evaluate a WCMATCH, etc. comparison to only Add the desired layers.

Decide which is best for your needs, and let us know where you get hung up.

Cheers

[dortega4269]

Again, Thanks BB. I'll explore your recommendations further and see which is more feasible.