Request: Polyline for Structural Beams

[TC_ESHinc]

I've searched for this type of lisp, but haven't been able to find it. Hoping someone here may have it already.

First Lisp goes like this:
1.) Command is "Beam1"
2.) First pick is mid point of a line (post)
3.) Second pick mid point of a line (post)
4.) Polyline is drawn with given width and each end REDUCES by a given distance (3" in this case)
5.) Mtext is placed above the centerline of the beam with Mid-Center justification

Second Lisp:
1.) Command is "Beam2"
2.) First pick is mid point of a line (wall)
3.) Second pick mid point of a line (wall)
4.) Polyline is drawn with given width and each end EXTENDS by a given distance (3" in this case)
5.) Mtext is placed above the centerline of the beam with Mid-Center justification

The text is not that critical. Is this doable or does anyone have a routine to share?

Thanks - I really appreciate any help you pros can give.

-Tom
PLINE_LISP_REQUEST.JPG

[Opie]

The text is not that critical. Is this doable or does anyone have a routine to share?

Is this doable? Yes.

Are you looking for someone to step up and write the entire thing, or do you want to learn along the way so you can do these quick routines on your own?

To start, you will need to first ask the user for a point. You can use the getpoint function to retrieve that information. You would then ask for the second point. Once the two points are specified, you could use the distance AutoLISP function to determine the distance between the two points. You also need to find out the angle between these two points.

After you have discovered the necessary information, you could then calculate the new points for your new beam using the polar function. Once you have the new points, you would supply that information to the proper AutoCAD commands to draw the lines and place the text.

This is a minor routine which I am certain you could work up. Why not give it a shot and post back here for further guidance?

[TC_ESHinc]

Thanks for the reply Opie. I guess I was hoping that someone would simply share a routine that I could tweak. I don't mind learning along the way ( which I have), but it's usually been from a "here's a routine that's similar - you can tweak it all you want". I'll figure something out.

[Opie]

That helps. Thanks.

So let's start learning along the way. I will get you started. We can then add to it as needed.

We now need to know what points the user wants to place a beam in. So, let's ask the user for the info.

(setq StartPoint (getpoint "Specify first point: "))
(setq EndPoint (getpoint "Specify second point: "))

Here we have received the two points the user wants to work with. Now we can draw the line using the AutoCAD LINE command.

(command "LINE"
	 (polar StartPoint (angle StartPoint EndPoint) extension)
	 (polar EndPoint (angle EndPoint StartPoint) extension)
)

Now, let's put this all together.

(defun c:beam1 ()
  (setq StartPoint (getpoint "Specify first point: "))
  (setq EndPoint (getpoint "Specify second point: "))
  (command "LINE"
	   (polar StartPoint (angle StartPoint EndPoint) 3.0)
	   (polar EndPoint (angle EndPoint StartPoint) 3.0)
	   "" ;_We need to end the line command
  )
)

Depending on your running osnap settings, this may be in the correct location. Let's clean that up a bit to make certain any running osnaps do not hinder the routine. We can do that by specifying the NONE osnap when we are drawing our line. So, let's change change these two lines as noted in red.

	   "non" (polar StartPoint (angle StartPoint EndPoint) extension)
	   "non" (polar EndPoint (angle EndPoint StartPoint) extension)

Now, the code should draw a line. We can change the line to a pline by changing the command we call. Do you want to try it?

[TC_ESHinc]

Nice! Thanks a lot Opie - really appreciate the help and Lisp lesson. I'm going to play around with it at tweak a bit. I'll repost when I get it running how I want.

[Opie]

If you tweak it right, you can combine the two routines into one sub-routine. You would then supply the sub-routine the appropriate arguments to extend or trim the desired distance. My initial code handled that, but I wanted to get you started on understanding the code.