Counting Block references

[amaser]

I have a quick form set up with some common commands.
I am trying to get one to count blocks by name on a particular layer.

(IE count all the proposed fire hydrants, proposed manholes, etc)

if i use a for each block in thisdocument.blocks
then layer isnt a valid choice to filter on.

if i try to count block references, i cant get anything to run at all.

if i use the block.count property, i get all of them, regardless of layer

can anyone help?

let me know if more information is needed.



Dim intHyd As Integer
Dim intBbox As Integer
Dim cadBlock As AcadBlock
Dim cadBlocks As AcadBlocks
Set cadBlocks = ThisDrawing.Blocks
For Each cadBlock In cadBlocks
If cadBlock.Name = "HYD" Then
intHyd = intHyd + 1
End If
If cadBlock.Name = "BBOX" Then
intBbox = cadBlock.Count
End If
Next cadBlock

is what i have so far, then i use a msgbox to display it, but it doesnt work

[Ed Jobe]

That's a mistake made by many. For some reason, when it comes to programming, people tend to forget everything they know about blocks. The Blocks collection holds block definitions (AcadBlock). You have to search ps or ms for block insertions (AcadBlockReference) to get a count. There are two methods. You can either use a filtered selectionset for specific block names or iterate ms/ps searching for AcadBlockReference objects. Search this forum for Blocks and you should find plenty of code samples.

[amaser]

i made a slight modification to some code that i found here in the forums, but how do i specify which blk name to count? I assume it has something to do with the grpCode and dataCode, but i dont know how to modify that section.

Public Function cntBlocks(layName As String, blkName As String) As Integer
  'this counts the number of blocks with the given name and on the given layer
  
  'declare variables
  Dim blkSelSet As AcadSelectionSet
  Dim blkRef As AcadEntity
  Dim grpCode(0 To 3) As Integer
  Dim dataCode(0 To 3) As Variant
  
  'set initial values
  grpCode(0) = -4
  grpCode(1) = 0
  grpCode(2) = 8
  grpCode(3) = -4
  dataCode(0) = "<AND"
  dataCode(1) = "INSERT"
  dataCode(2) = layName
  dataCode(3) = "AND>"
  
  'clear existing selection sets
  For Each blkSelSet In ThisDrawing.SelectionSets
    If blkSelSet.Name = "Sel_Blocks" Then
      blkSelSet.Delete
      Exit For
    End If
  Next blkSelSet
  
  'get new selection set
  Set blkSelSet = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Add("Sel_Blocks")
  blkSelSet.Select acSelectionSetAll, , , grpCode, dataCode
  
  'return results
  cntBlocks = blkSelSet.Count
  
End Function

[Ed Jobe]

Correct. You need to expand the array to include a filter item for names. That's dxf group code 2.

ps. It helps to use code tags in your posts. They are available from the advanced editor. See the difference in your last post from the first one. It doesn't show as well in this case, because you already lost it, but code formatting is better preserved.

[amaser]

it seems to be mostly working, but now i have a different but related problem:

one of my block references has a name of *U535 instead of "HYD" which its supposed to have, and i cant figure out why. i removed the object, and used the insert command to do it, but i still cant figure out why its not using the correct name.
any ideas?

(The count worked for one of the other blocks, so it apears to work okay, not the problem is in the block insertion in LDD)

[Ed Jobe]

Is "HYD" a dynamic block? If it is, search this forum for EffectiveName.

[amaser]

it is a dynamic block, but the 3 other blocks where the count is working are also dynamic.
is there a different function for counting dynamic blocks?

[Ed Jobe]

DB's work like dims. They rename component blocks using unamed block convention "*Uxxx" and then use the EffectiveName property to tie them together. Just use the filter to find any block on that layer. Once you have your ss, examine each block's EffectiveName prop to increment a count.

[zoomharis]

Once you finished experimenting with your code, follow the 'Block Counter' link in my signature area. You can compare the code with yours and develop a better application. Remember...., the more you code yourself, the more you learn about the subject.