Bill Kramer - John Gibb - Bill Kramer AutoCAD VBA Programming Tools and Techniques - Exploiting The Po

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Page i
AutoCAD VBA Programming

Tools and Techniques
John Gibb and Bill Kramer
Page ii
Disclaimer:
This netLibrary eBook does not include the ancillary media that was packaged with
the original printed version of the book.
Published by Miller Freeman Books
55 Hawthorne, Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94105
Copyright © 1999 by John Gibb and Bill Kramer. All rights reserved. No part of this
book covered by copyrights hereon may be reproduced or copied in any manner
whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in articles and reviews. For information contact the publishers.
Distributed to the book trade in the U.S. and Canada by
Publishers Group West, 1700 Fourth Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
Cover Art: Robert Ward
Cover Design: The Visual Group
Interior Design and Composition: Brad Greene
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gibb, John W.
AutoCAD VBA programming: tools and techniques / by John Gibb and Bill Kramer.
p. cm
ISBN 0-87930-574-6 (alk.paper)
1. Computer graphics. 2. AutoCAD. 3. Microsoft Visual Basic for applications.
I. Kramer, Bill, 1958. II. Title
T385.G5217 1999
620'.0042'02855369dc21 99-43360
CIP
Printed in the United States of America
99 00 01 02 03 04 54321
Page iii
Dedication
My Dad always taught me to look at things in a different way. That has

helped me all through my programming career and as a consequence, I'd
like to dedicate this work to his memory. I will always feel his presence.
Bill Kramer
I wish to dedicate this book to the memory of my friend John Keith and
my cousin Christopher Etheridge. Thanks to John for his humor and cre-
ative talent and Christopher for his youthful enthusiasm. Both left us
much too soon.
John Gibb
Page iv
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my girlfriend Margaret, her sons Brian and
Bob and my mother for their unwavering support despite my
frequent lapses of memory during the writing of the book.
Sometimes focus is good for writing but hard on the ones you love.
Thanks for your patience.
I would also like to thank Application Developers, Andy Baron and
Mike Gunderloy for the use of their command line material as the
basis for the command line workaround material. A special thanks
to Bob Verdun and my colleagues at CFI for their patience during
the time it took to write this book.
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifJOHN GIBB
My heartfelt thanks go to my family and friends for continuing to

put up with my eccentric hobbies and interests. Without their
support I would not be able to do many of the things I enjoy doing
including the writing of books and articles about computer
programming. I'd also like to thank the readers of books like this
since it is because of them I must learn more and am ever
challenged to come up with new ideas. You all have no idea how
much energy and contagious enthusiasm that provides!
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifBILL KRAMER
Page v
Preface
Search though you may, you won't find two more qualified people
to co-author a book on VBA and AutoCAD than Bill Kramer and
John Gibb. Both have written several books plumbing the depths of
programming as a science and an art. Both have explored
AutoCAD and AutoLISP since their inception and both are much
sought-after programmer-consultants by a wide range of science
and engineering firms.
When issue No. 1 of CADENCE was published in 1986, Bill
Kramer launched a column titled ''AutoLISP Concepts," that over
the years has transformed into his current "Programmer's Toolbox"
and that stands as the longest running column in CADENCE's 14-
year history. With the advent of VBA capabilities in AutoCAD
Release 14, Kramer expanded his "how to" programming tutorials
to include frequent explorations of the intricacies of Visual Basic
for Applications. John Gibb, too, has been a frequent contributor to
CADENCE and both have helped countless programmers boost
their knowledge of AutoCAD, AutoLISP and VBA through
courses at Autodesk University, among other venues.
A graduate of Ohio State University's College of Engineering
where he studied computer science and astronomy, Kramer first
"got into" computers with a DEC PDP-8 in 1975 teaching himself
assembler code. He programmed his first microcomputer, a Z-80-
based system with 32K RAM and two 160K disk drives, using
BASIC and assembler languages. In 1985
Page vi
he launched Kramer Consulting and began developing applications
for general CAD systems and AutoCAD in particular, including an
NC programming system called NC-AUTO-CODE that he has
supported ever since its first customer ship in 1986. Kramer has
taught AutoCAD as an adjunct professor at Franklin University for
several years and frequently offers sold-out classes in programming
through Autodesk University.
As an Autodesk certified instructor, John Gibb has himself spent a
fair amount of time sharing his vast programming knowledge with
students at the Moraine Valley Autodesk Training Center. With a
background in topology and utility mapping, space planning and
facilities management systems, he has devoted 12 of his 15 years as
a programmer to AutoCAD-related applications. An author of three
books and numerous journal articles related to AutoCAD, Gibb is
currently a senior applications developer with Computerized
Facility Integration.
Gibb and Kramer share a keen ability to comprehend the black art
of programming science and render it palatable. Both are noted for
their sense of humor. But you can tell them apart in a crowd. Bill is
the tall onea former basketball player and current eclipse chaser
who almost doesn't need a telescope to practice his craft. John's the
one with the pony tail.
As a team, Gibb and Kramer bring unparalleled programming
knowledge and experience to customizing AutoCAD with VBA.
Updated to include capabilities introduced with AutoCAD 2000,
this book is destined to become a de facto standard for AutoCAD
programmers. Although aimed at those with advanced-intermediate
and expert-level ability, there is much here as well for others who
are new to programming science who would like to use VBA to
maximize their AutoCAD productivity.
As authors, lecturers and consultants, Gibb and Kramer are best of
class. They are also decent human beings. Read this bookyou won't
be sorry you did. And when you attend the next Autodesk
University, take a class with them, or just stop them in the hallway
to chat. They'll love it and likely keep you just a bit longer than you
may have planned. But when you're done, you'll be all the richer
for it.
ARNIE WILLIAMS,
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEDITOR IN CHIEF,
CADENCE MAGAZINE
Page vii
Table of Contents
Introduction xiii
Chapter 1 1
The AutoCAD VBA Environment
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AutoCAD 1
gif Programming
Solutions
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. How AutoLISP 3
gif Differs from VBA
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Visual BASIC versus 7

gif Visual BASIC for
Applications
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Essential VBA 8

gif Vocabulary and
Concepts
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Getting Comfortable 12
gif with the IDE
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g Starting the VBA 13
if IDE
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifWhat's in the IDE? 14
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
gif
Developing 17
Applications with
VBA inside AutoCad
Chapter 2 20
VBA Application Jump-Start
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Description of the 20
gif Application
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifStart Your IDE 21
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDesign the Form 21
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. First Lines of 23
gif Program Code
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifForm Properties 24
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Add a List Box 25
gif Control
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Programming the 26
gif Starting Sequence
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Global Variable 27
gif Declarations
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Counting Blocks 28
gif Macro
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Test Run the Main 33
gif Macro
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. List Box Reactor 34
gif Function
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifTest the Program 37
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFinal Test 38
Chapter 3 39
Understanding the AutoCAD Object-Oriented Database
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Object-Oriented 39
gif Programming
Introduction
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifWhat's an Object? 41
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The Management 42
gif Features of Objects
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Object Concept 43
gif Example
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Computer Science 46

gif Description of
Objects
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. How Objects Are 47
gif Stored in a Computer
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. About Creating New 49
gif Objects
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The AutoCAD Object 49
gif Tree
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g The Document 52
if Object
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifCollection Objects 53
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The Block Collection 53
gif Object
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEntity Objects 54
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Learning about 56
gif Objects in VBA
Page viii
Chapter 4 59
The AutoCAD Object Model
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Methods, Properties, 59
gif and Events
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Exploration of the 60

gif AutoCAD Object
Tree
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Getting to the 61
gif Application Object
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The Application 62
gif Object
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Accessing the 66

gif Document Object in
VB
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The Documents 67
gif Collection
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Document Object 70
gif Methods
gif Properties
gif Events
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Event Programming 77
gif Example
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Utility Object 78
gif Functions
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Collections of 83
gif Objects
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEntity Objects 85
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Curved Entity 89
gif Objects
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifText Entity Objects 93
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifPreferences 94
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifExample Sequence 96
Chapter 5 102
Working with Entity Collection Objects
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g The Collection 102
if Object
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Selection Sets 103
gif Collection
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Building a Collection 104
gif of Entity Objects
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Accessing Selection 106
gif Set Members
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. More Selection Set 107

gif Methods and
Properties
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Selection Set 108
gif Collection Iterations
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. ModelSpace and 111
gif PaperSpace
Collections
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Even More Selection 112
gif Set Methods
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Filtering the 117
gif Selection Set
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Refining the Filters 120
gif Numeric Tests
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g String Tests in 123
if Filters
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Combining Multiple 124
gif Tests
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Selection Set 128
gif Maintenance Issues
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Working with 130
gif Collections
Chapter 6 131
Drawing Tables
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AutoCAD Drawing 131
gif Tables
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Tables Are 132
gif Collections
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The Dictionary 133
gif Collection
Page ix
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The DimStyles 134

gif Collection
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The Groups 136
gif Collection
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Groups versus 138
gif Dictionaries
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g The Layer 139
if Collection
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The Linetypes 142
gif Collection
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The Registered Apps 143
gif Collection
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The Text Styles 143
gif Collection
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi
f The UCS Collection145
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g The Views 147
if Collection
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The View Ports 148
gif Collection
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifView Port Object 150
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The Paper Space 152
gif View Port Object
The Blocks 154
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Collection
gif
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Creating a New 155
gif Block Definition
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Reading a Block 156
gif Definition
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Working with 162

gif Attribute Objects in a
Block
Chapter 7 167
Working with Other Applications
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifObject Models 167
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Interface to Microsoft 169
gif Excel
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Excel Application 170
gif 1Simple Database
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLink to Excel 171
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g Variable 172
if Declarations
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Excel Linkage 173
gif Function
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Closing the 175
gif Workbook
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Searching the 176
gif Worksheet
Another Example 179
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Interface to Microsoft
gif Excel
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifUsing Handles 184
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Object ID versus 186
gif Handle
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Linking with Other 187
gif Applications
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Storing Data in 188
gif AutoCAD
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDictionary Object 188
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifXrecord Objects 189
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Accessing a 189
gif Dictionary
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifXrecord Contents 190
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifReading Xrecords 192
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Group Codes in 193
gif Xrecords
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifExtended Data 194
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Simple Xdata 196
gif Example
Page x
Chapter 8 201
Managing Multiple Projects
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Putting Complete 201

gif Applications
Together
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Loading Projects to 204
gif Run
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEmbedded Projects 205
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifProjects on Disk 205
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifRe-Using Code 207
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Running a Macro 208
gif from Another Project
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Sharing Data between210
gif Projects
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Late and Early 211
gif Binding in VBA
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Multiple Projects in 212
gif Release 14
Chapter 9 214
API Calls from VBA
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifWhat's an API? 214
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifThe API Viewer 216
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifINI File Calls 217
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. How the 218
gif PrivateProfileString
APIs Work
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifRegistry Calls 225
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifThe Registry Editor 226
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The VBA Registry 227

gif Functions
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSystem Calls 230
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifComputer Name 232
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifUser's Login Name 232
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. System and Local 233

gif Time
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The Windows 234
gif Temporary Directory
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. System 234

gif Environmental
Variable
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFree Disk Space 235
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifConclusion 236
Chapter 10 237
VBA Toolbox Routines
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDefinition of Terms 238
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifToolbox Overview 238

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
gif
Acquiring Data Items 239
from a Data String
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Add Back Slashes 240

gif Result to a Path
String
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Add Trailing Back 241
gif Slash to a String Path
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Convert an Object's 242

gif Entity Type to
English
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Count the Number of 243

gif Occurrences of a
Delimiter in a String
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Create a Directory 244
gif Path
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Determine the Tense 245
gif of a Word
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Display a Fatal Error 246
gif Message
Page xi
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFind a File 247

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Find a Line in a List 248
gif Box Control
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Find an Application 249
gif Window
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Format a Point in a 250
gif String
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Get the Current 251
gif View's Corner Points
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Get the Extension 252
gif from a String
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Get the Left 253

gif Substring from a
String
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Get the Path from a 254
gif String
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Get the Right 255

gif Substring from a
String
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Pad a String with 256
gif Spaces
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Remove a String's 257
gif Null Terminator
Replace All 258
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Requested Characters
gif in a String with
Another Character
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Retrieve the System's 259
gif Windows Directory
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Show a Progress 260
gif Spinner
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Strip an Extension 262
gif from a String
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Strip the Path from a 263
gif String
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Verify a Control 264
gif Exists on a Form
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Verify a File's 265
gif Existence
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Verify a Listbox Item 266
gif Exists
Chapter 11 267
VB versus VBA
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Quick Comparison of 268
gif VB and VBA
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Which Language for 272
gif Which Situation?
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Differences at the 273
gif System Level
Porting Issues from 273
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. VB to VBA
gif
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Porting Issues from 274
gif VBA to VB
Attaching Your VB 274
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Application to the
gif AutoCAD Object
Model
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifVB and VBA Help 276
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. VB and VBA Help 287

gif Conclusion
Chapter 12 288
Gotcha's and Tips
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Divergent Data Type 289
gif Comparison
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Using Control Keys 291
gif to Maneuver in VBA
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Class Modules in 293
gif VBA
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The Special 295

gif Character for Date
and Format
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Named and Optional 296
gif Arguments
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
gif Using an Array of 298
Doubles versus a
Variant as an Array
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Passing an Array to 300
gif an Object's Methods
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Collections and 300
gif Procedures
Page xii
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Short Circuit 302

gif Evaluation
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Accessing Objects on 303

gif the Same Level as
Your Current Object
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifListbox Columns 305
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Multiselect in a 308
gif Listbox
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Variable Name 309
gif Shortcuts
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Command Line 309
gif Workaround
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Passing Forms and 311

gif Controls as
Parameters
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Multipage Form 312
gif Controls
Chapter 13 313
Programming Style
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Commenting Your 314
gif Code
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
gif
Keeping Code 316
Concise and Simple
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Proper Use of 318
gif Subroutines and
Functions
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Scope, Precedence, 319
gif and Life of Variables
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifError Trapping 322
Do You Need to 323
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Change Your
gif Programming Style
for VBA?
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Event-Driven versus 324

gif Procedural-Driven
Language
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The Hungarian 326
gif Naming Convention
Chapter 14 331
Class Modules and Objects
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Not All Objects Are 331
gif Equal
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The VBA Class 332
gif Module
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Objects Example 1: 334

gif Extended Data
Manipulations
Making a Class 335
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Module
gif
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifProperties 337
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMethods 341
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The Extended Data 345
gif Example Project
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Extended Data Object348
gif Conclusion
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Objects Example 2: 349
gif Hole Chart
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. An Object in an 350
gif Object
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifThe Inner Object 352
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The Hole Charting 355
gif Example Project
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Hole Chart 357

gif Application
Conclusion
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Creating Your Own 357
gif Object
Page xiii
Introduction
Why another book about VBA? John and I first started talking
about writing a book together some time ago. As programmers and
teachers of others how to program, we found that we had many
similar experiences. One of which is that you can never have
enough examples of how to do various things. Both of us used
books written by others as well as ourselves as sources for
examples in both writing new code as well as teaching others to
program. Another thing we felt that many books provided was a
variable perspective on how to get the job done. That is, different
ways to think about how to solve problems with programs and
obtain improved productivity.
And while we were discussing the merits of books and the logistics
of writing one together, an opportunity was presented by Miller
Freeman Inc to author one about VBA Visual Basic for
Applications. Both of us had extensive experience in BASIC and
programming in general thus we thought it would be fun to put one
together. We were right. It was fun and we both learned a lot from
each other along the way. And to increase the amount of pleasure,
we switched systems along the way. We started working with VBA
in AutoCAD Release 14 and ended up in AutoCAD 2000 by the
time we finished. The book is written for both versions however
there are features in the newer AutoCAD VBA that will not
Page xiv
work in the earlier one. We tried to point those out when we
reworked the chapters after getting the newer AutoCAD release.
Writing a book about a subject as broad as VBA means that we
jumped around a little here and there between chapters. We tried to
build on knowledge learned from earlier chapters as the book
progresses but at times it may seem like we shifted subjects in an
extreme manner. That was so we could fill in more of the
foundation of knowledge needed for the next step. The following
paragraphs demonstrate this fact as they briefly explain the
chapters in the book.
In chapter 1, we start with a basic introduction of what VBA is and
how it fits into AutoCAD. Because many readers of this book are
new to VBA, we wanted to get the terms defined that make up the
''VBA Talk". We also wanted to help clarify the differences
between VBA, AutoLISP, and Visual BASIC from Microsoft.
Chapter 2 jumps feet first into a simple project. This chapter was
intended for those readers who prefer to take a look around the
software first and then learn more about the details. The VBA
environment is explored in a hands-on fashion to provide a feel for
what it is like to write programs using this tool.
From our experiences in teaching VBA, both of us have learned
that it is important to understand what objects are all about and
how they relate to programming. Although simple in concept,
object-oriented-programming is a new notion to many just learning
VBA and other newer programming systems. In chapter 3 we
introduce objects and how the AutoCAD object database is
connected together. This chapter serves as a foundation for further
details into the objects VBA programmers manipulate.
Chapter 4 drills into the AutoCAD object looking at the way
everything is connected and introducing the main features found in
the model. In chapter 5 we take a detailed look at manipulating
collections of objects such as selection sets or groups of entities in
a drawing. Chapter 6 explores the tables found in the drawing such
as layers, line types, dictionaries, and so forth. These chapters
combine to provide a look at
Page xv
the entire AutoCAD VBA object system and how you work with it
from a general point view.
Many books about VBA finish after explaining the object model,
but since this book is focused towards AutoCAD application
developers we wanted to go further into some of the areas students
have wanted to see.
In chapter 7 there is a discussion about how to interface with other
automation servers such as Microsoft Excel. Examples are
provided that show how easy it is to interface with these other tools
in the computer system. We also look at extended data and how one
can use that feature of AutoCAD's customization to yield
tremendous benefits.
Project management for programming is important and chapter 8
provides information about how to work with more than one
project at a time to save time in the development effort. And while
on the subject of saving time, chapter 9 shows how to make use of
the tools provided in the Windows environment itself. Virtually all
of the time saving, operator friendly, aspects of Windows of that
you want to use are available through the Windows API library.
The only problem is that you have to find them and this chapter
shows you how to do just that.
A list of samples, examples, and useful utilities is found in chapter
10 where John provides a long list of routines from his personal
toolbox. John's earlier books on AutoLISP contained many of these
utilities and he translated them to VBA making them available with
this work.
In chapter 11 we took a more serious look at VB versus VBA.
They are not the same, but they share a lot of the same attributes.
For programmers looking to export their knowledge of VBA to VB
this chapter serves as a guiding light to what can be done. At the
same time, those programmers experienced with VB but wanting to
learn about VBA will find useful information in this chapter as
well. And as long as we are talking about experienced, we chose to
share some of our experiences in chapter 12 where we investigate
several possible pitfalls and provide tips we have learned along our
journey. That leads into chapter 13 with a discussion of
programming style to make your programs easier to read and work
with in the future.
Page xvi
In the last chapter we look at creating your own objects through
two examples. Most beginner VBA programmers do not venture
this far and that's why we saved it for the last chapter. If you are
serious about doing wonderful things with AutoCAD VBA, then
defining your own objects is a very powerful tool to use. And the
best way to explain it is to show two useful examples.
You should not think of this book as your only reference for VBA,
there is an extensive help library included in the system. This book
will help you understand that help library even better by having a
strong foundation of VBA know-how behind you. In addition, the
attached CD has more examples and even more information about
other aspects of the AutoCAD system such as plotting.
We hope you are able to learn about VBA and enjoy it as much as
we do through this book. The fun of getting the computer to do
something special that you programmed is tremendous. It is also
contagious as you learn new tricks and tidbits along the way. Keep
on programmin'!
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. BILL KRAMER AND

gif JOHN GIBB,
NOVEMBER 1999
Page 1
Chapter One
The AutoCAD VBA Environment
Intended for programmers new to Visual BASIC for Applications
(VBA), this chapter explores how VBA relates to other
programming solutions inside AutoCAD. We will present a
comparison of VBA, Visual LISP, and AutoLISP for readers
familiar with the AutoLISP language and associated methods of
AutoCAD customization. We will also introduce the various
components of the VBA programming environment and give an
explanation of how to start VBA inside AutoCAD.
AutoCAD Programming Solutions

AutoCAD is one of the most open architecture-designed
CAD/CAE/CAM systems with a large variety of programming
options on the market. The base AutoCAD package (not AutoCAD
LT, but regular AutoCAD) comes with five interpretive
programming languages that can be used to customize the system.
There are also libraries for use with other programming systems
that will create new objects and interfaces with the system.
The five programming languages found inside AutoCAD are as
follows:
a script file option containing AutoCAD commands that are played
into AutoCAD in the order typed in the file;
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a menu programming system that allows users to select commands
with optional user input.
a menu statement language containing variables and elementary
logic called DIESEL.
a complete language system based on the LISP language;
a complete language system that is an implementation of the
BASIC language.
All of these programming options are provided with the standard
AutoCAD package. They are not all provided with AutoCAD
LTonly scripts, menus, and DIESEL can be found in that
environment.
The LISP-based language called AutoLISP (and Visual LISP)
allows you to develop new commands that you can easily integrate
into menus. This permits the operator to incorporate advanced
program logic of his or her own design into the custom menu
system. The operator may also enter these new commands at the
command line. AutoLISP has been available to AutoCAD
developers for a number of years and contains multiple options for
accomplishing the various tasks involved. Input options for
AutoLISP include the command line as well as a dialog boxbased
interface. The dialog box interface must be programmed in a
separate text file called a Dialog Control Language (DCL) file. The
DCL file structure is simple to work with and does not provide as
complete control over the dialog box layout as found in the Visual
Developer Environments from Microsoft and other developers.
AutoCAD 2000 enhances AutoLISP considerably in the form of
Visual LISP. Visual LISP provides greatly enhanced routines for
accessing the drawing system. It also provides a vehicle for
distributing applications in a compiled format that runs up to four
times faster than AutoLISP. There are some differences between
AutoLISP and Visual LISP in regards to ActiveX support and other
systems related features, but for the most part if you know
AutoLISP, you know Visual LISP. The ''Visual" part comes from
the full-screen text editor provided with Visual LISP that makes
programming in AutoLISP much easier. Visual LISP is a
significant
Page 3
improvement over AutoLISP and brings more power to that
language than ever before.
The BASIC language system found inside AutoCAD is Visual
BASIC for Applications. VBA is provided through a cooperation
between Autodesk and Microsoft: it's a Microsoft product that
Autodesk has licensed for use. The reasons for this generous
gesture on Autodesk's behalf is that Visual BASIC is a very
popular programming language and it better provides for an
integrated programming environment. Of course, Microsoft is also
quite interested in this venture as well since Microsoft makes the
easiest to integrate tasks for VBA to work with. Developers and
users of AutoCAD will find that this joint development tool
represents a powerful feature for the creation of enhanced
productivity utilities.
VBA is a superior development tool for creating dialog boxbased
interfaces. The Visual Development Environment is very flexible
and provides the type of tools needed to create good-looking
applications. There are several other features, covered later in this
chapter that make it a powerful choice for developers.
How AutoLISP Differs from VBA
The primary difference, other than language structure, between
AutoLISP (including Visual LISP) and the VBA language option is
that AutoLISP runs from the command line or menu system.
Solutions based on VBA are more interactive in nature and make
extensive use of dialog boxes. Even though AutoLISP is capable of
working with dialog boxes, VBA is far superior in that regard.
Using the dialog box editor, you can quickly design new dialogs.
The code window is just a click away from the dialog box editor
window, so you can develop user interfaces quickly. Lastly, the
controls or dialog box components found in VBA are better than
those found in the AutoLISP DCL. Each of these components
(controls in VBA terms) has many properties that the programmer
can control during both run and design time. Programmers who use
Visual BASIC will be able to build dialog-based interfaces
significantly faster and better than those who build with AutoLISP.
Page 4
Another primary difference between the two languages has to do
with how they interface with other programs in a computer. VBA is
simply much better at talking to other Windows programs than
AutoLISP. Through a standardized process-to-process
communications system, VBA is able to initiate other programs,
control the programs, and pass data back and forth. Of course, the
other programs must be able to respond to the requests from VBA,
and not all Windows-based programs are capable of this task. To
find out if a particular program can be interfaced through VBA,
check for VBA automation support or ActiveX support in the
product description. All of the Microsoft Office 97 products
respond very well to VBA automation. Visual LISP supports
ActiveX type interfacing as well, but not as elegantly as VBA
automation and certainly not as well documented as in many
references. You can learn more about ActiveX and how to use it to
control word processing as well as spreadsheet applications in
other texts. Some examples of interfaces to other programs are
presented in later sections and on the associated media of this book.
It is important to note that you can expand AutoLISP through the
ObjectARX (AutoCAD Runtime eXtension) to provide interfaces
to other Windows programs. However, this involves using
compilers and other system development tools that are not
provided with AutoCAD. This sort of expansion is more for
advanced programmers who are comfortable working with more
than one computer language at a time. It is not recommended for
developers who want to get the job done quickly so they can return
to the design work that creates real income. In addition, more
coding may be required to make the interfaces work. And this
involves not only more time, but more effort on behalf of the
programmer. On the plus side, expanding AutoLISP in this manner
does open the door to working with products that do not directly
support VBA automation but offer some other interface options.
VBA provides a fast, easy-to-program solution for interfacing
AutoCAD with other programs such as the Microsoft Office 97
productivity suite. From these you can integrate a word processor,
spreadsheet system, or database directly with the AutoCAD
drawing. And you do not
Page 5
need to purchase any additional compilers to get the job done:
VBA is more than capable of working with these other packages.
You just have to spend the time to program it the way you want it.
Another area where VBA is different from AutoLISP is in file
handling. VBA provides a greater array of options for reading and
writing data files. VBA's file input and output options include
sequential text, random access records, and binary data. Through
interfaces to Access 97 it can work with a variety of database
structures. AutoLISP works with sequential text files, and through
a library of functions it can also work with a variety of database
systems. Thus VBA provides more options for file accessing,
which can be an important aspect in building integrated
applications from tasks that have traditionally been independent.
An example would be a coordinate geometry system that stores
data about points in a direct access binary data file. AutoLISP
would have a difficult time (except through ObjectARX expansion)
working with this data, while there is a chance that VBA could
read and work with the numeric data stored in the file.
AutoLISP and VBA programming styles differ greatly when it
comes to object manipulation and creation. VBA programs use
functions that are related to the entity object definitions in order to
perform the edit operations on a particular entity. AutoLISP can
either use the command system of AutoCAD or directly change the
data found in the entity objects based on programmatic control.
Visual LISP provides a library of functions that also access the
objects in the same manner as VBA through the ObjectARX
interface. VBA also provides a pipeline to the command processor
of AutoCADhowever, there are some good reasons not to use it.
It's a good idea to avoid using AutoCAD's COMMAND system for
manipulating objects in the drawing. The simple reason is speed of
execution and application control. A classic example of the speed
is found in the Explode function that is associated with the block
reference and other complex objects. Instead of using the
EXPLODE command in AutoCAD to explode a block insert, VBA
would first get the block refer-
Page 6
ence object and then run the associated Explode function. This
executes significantly faster than sending the object entity name to
the command processor following the EXPLODE command.
AutoCAD must first interpret the command name just sent, then
check the object to make sure it is of the correct type to explode,
and then call the same function being called when the Explode
method is called for the object.
Using methods instead of commands may sound complicated at
first, but it really isn't when applied in a programming context.
Both VBA and AutoLISP applications programmers must decide
whether to use the familiar COMMAND-based sequences or to
gain the speed to execution by accessing the objects directly.
We have presented a comparison table of VBA and AutoLISP data
types below. As seen in the table there are numerous data types in
VBA that are not supported in AutoLISP. At the same time, there
are several AutoLISP data types specific to AutoCAD entity
handling that are handled as objects and collections of objects in
the VBA environment. It is through this use of objects that VBA is
different from AutoLISP when working with AutoCAD data. All
other data manipulation in AutoLISP is supported in VBA, plus a
lot more. VBA is better suited to data processing applications than
AutoLISP as a result of this expanded data type support.
While AutoLISP provides a data type specific to working with the
AutoCAD database such as entity names and pick sets, VBA works
through the object system. Objects in AutoCAD are exposed to
VBA, and that makes their properties and methods available for
manipulation. This calls for some different thinking when it comes
to working with AutoCAD customization in VBA as compared
with AutoLISP. Again, it cannot be stressed enough: although VBA
is a powerful tool in the customization of AutoCAD, it is not
always going to be the best solution. Sometimes just a simple menu
macro can be more productive to an operator than a fancy dialog
boxbased application. It is always important to maintain the
perspective of the operator when writing software that customizes a
package such as AutoCAD.
Page 7
Table 1.1: Comparison of data types between AutoLISP and VBA
Data type AutoLISP VBA
Boolean Nil or non-nil binding Boolean 1 byte binary data
2 byte integer Integer Integer
4 byte integer None Long integer
4 byte floating point None Single precision real
8 byte floating point Real Double precision real
Currency, money counting None Currency
Date and Time Julian days as real numbers Date/Time 8 byte value
String of characters String String
Entity name Ename data type Object
Selection set Pickset data type Collection
List List Array, Collection, Object
Point List List Array of real numbers
Visual BASIC versus Visual BASIC for Applications

Just what are the differences between Visual BASIC and Visual BASIC
for Applications? For the most part, not too many. If you already know
VB, then working with VBA is easy with just a few adjustments. For now,
the important difference to keep in mind is that VBA runs inside
AutoCAD while VB runs outside AutoCAD. This means they
communicate with the AutoCAD system in different waysand more
importantly for many programmers, at different speeds. VBA is faster
than VB when it comes to manipulating entities inside AutoCAD.
So does that mean you should not consider purchasing Visual BASIC?
The answer to that question is really up to you and where you plan to go
with the language.
Page 8
If you intend to use VBA as a primary development engine, then
we highly recommend purchasing one of the Visual BASIC
editions. When you install any of the Visual BASIC editions
(Standard or Professional), you get more controls available to your
applications development. In addition, the programming talents
learned from VBA can be applied in Visual BASIC to develop
applications completely outside of AutoCAD to solve other design
and engineering problems.
On the other hand, if your intent is to use VBA only when it is the
''best" solution to the problem at hand, then purchasing Visual
BASIC is not really called for. Perhaps the only exception would
be to gain the use of a control that is not provided in VBA such as
the communications module opening the door to RS-232 serial
communications via a modem. This control is provided in the
Professional edition of Visual BASIC and is not found in the VBA
environment. Of course, not everyone will need that control, either!
Chapter 11 is devoted to the subject as well as the issues involved
in porting applications from one environment to the other. VBA
and VB are not identical in the way they work. For instance, they
have different approaches to starting a form due in part to the fact
that they use different forms development and management
systems.
Essential VBA Vocabulary and Concepts
As with any computer language system, the VBA environment has
unique terminology. These terms will be used freely throughout
this book. Thus, if you are new to the visual development
environment or new to Visual BASIC, you will need to become
familiar with these terms.
These first terms relate to general Windows programming. They
are used frequently to describe how something takes place in the
computer environment or how a program can talk to some other
program.
Windows: The rectangular areas on the display where you
communicate with the user. Each window will have an ID that
identifies it to the system, and it is through that ID that you talk to a
specific Windows
Page 9
task. AutoCAD typically has two windows: the graphics window
and the text window. If you run more than one copy of AutoCAD
at a time, then there may be more than the two windows in the
system. Note that VBA talks only to the first one found, and this
can be a problem when you open multiple windows of AutoCAD at
once.
Events: The variable processes that take place as the computer
runs. Events include actions such as keyboard input, mouse clicks,
interface requests, process messages, and so forth. Anything that
can happen in the computer is essentially an event. Most of the
programming done in VBA is in response to events that the user
initiates. When the user clicks the mouse while it is pointing to a
button in one of your programs, an event-related task of your
design is started. You program just what this event does, and it is
through a series of event handling tasks that an application is
created. Programs can cause events to happen that make other
programs respond in some way. These messaging events are how
VBA communicates with other programs, including AutoCAD.
Messages: When an event occurs, messages are used to relay
information about the event to the various processes that might be
interested. Most incoming messages relate to the operating system
such as the changing of a window's disposition. Depending on the
application, user-initiated and system-initiated messages may be
the only messages a program needs to handle. Other messages are
from one program to another. For most applications you will write,
these messages are outgoing, as your program is making a request
of another program to do something. Messages are typically in the
form of code numbers. About the only exceptions occur when user
input is involved and strings are passed as part of the message. As
such, message transmission tends to be quick in the computer and
is not as encumbering as it may sound.
IDE: This stands for the Integrated Development Environment and
is used to reference the editor, project explorer, object browser,
properties window, and other programmer information windows.
The IDE is a rendition of the Microsoft Developer Studio that is
used for other language
Page 10
systems such as C++ and FORTRAN. If you already program in
the studio environment then you already are familiar with many of
the windows in the IDE.
The next few terms relate to the VBA IDE.
Forms: The windows designed by your programming efforts are
forms, and you will use the form editor to develop the appearance
of your forms. For the majority of VBA applications there will be a
primary form that the user will interface with by selecting button
options and other items. Applications can have multiple forms or
multiple dialog boxes, and your program controls which ones are
active or visible at any given time.
Controls: The individual items in a dialog box are called controls.
There are several types of controls available in VBA, including
buttons, text displays, icon or bitmap buttons, lists, pop-up lists,
and so forth. All the most common items found in a dialog box are
available to VBA developers. When you are in the form editor, the
control toolbox should be visible. This toolbox contains buttons for
each of the primary controls. To use one, select the button, then
locate on the form where you want the control to be placed.
Properties: This term is used to describe the set of data associated
with an object such as a form or a control or some other program
object. In VBA program development, you manipulate the
properties of the controls in a dialog box where you can change
their values as needed by an application. When we are talking
about objects, the properties are the data elements associated with
them. For example, an Arc object in AutoCAD would have
properties for the center point, radius, and angles. By changing the
properties, you change the way the object will be displayed or will
work with the system.
Project: A program in VBA is a project, and the project window
will display all of the components in a given project. When VBA
inside AutoCAD is first started, the only component in the project
is the AutoCAD drawing that is currently active. As forms and
modules are added to the
Page 11
project, they appear in the project window display. Projects are
stored in DVB files in the hard drive of the computer.
Module: Projects contain forms and modules. The forms are the
dialog box and associated code while modules are just code with
no dialog boxes. Modules are typically used to house standard
routines from a productivity library or to hold code and data that is
accessed by more than one form.
Objects: Objects are containers that house both program code and
data. Generally, the data elements are called properties, and the
program code elements are called methods. The best way to think
of objects is as a set of data that uses routines to manipulate that
data. Other programs can use some of the routines while others are
privately held inside the object for internal use only. Objects are
capable of being cloned into new objects that share the same
properties and methods. Software libraries often make use of the
cloning or inheritance aspect of objects to build a tree of different
yet related objects. Because of this cloning, objects can also use the
same name as other objects to reference information or routines
that are unique inside that object. The subject of object-oriented
programming can fill a book by itself and is beyond the scope of
this text. However, you will become familiar with the concept of
object-oriented programming just because that is how things are
accomplished in VBA as far as working with AutoCAD. In VBA,
the object browser is used to explore the objects available. When
an object is selected, its properties and methods are displayed for
further reference. This makes programming in objects very easy,
and as we explore the development environment further you will
see that object programming can be quite easy.
Methods: This term is applied to the subroutines and functions that
are inside an object. When looking for a particular function that
performs a particular activity, you start by looking for the object
that controls those aspects of the system. Once you identify the
proper object, the method can be found along with the properties.
For example, to change the start point of a Line object in
AutoCAD, the StartPoint method is
Page 12
used. This method can be found in the object definition for a Line
entity called acLine. AutoCAD methods and objects tend to start
with the characters ac, making them easy to identify in the code as
well as when searching the object browser.
Collections: A collection is a group of common objects that can be
referenced as a singular item. For example, a project contains
collections of modules and user forms. More important to the task
of customizing AutoCAD is the fact that groups of drawing objects
are manipulated as collections. When working with a selection set
in VBA, you are working with a collection.
Getting Comfortable with the IDE

The first thing you will encounter as you learn VBA is the IDE.
The IDE is a collection of windows that combine to form a
complete programming system, including an editor for the program
text, a forms or dialog box editor to build the interface, a project
component browser, and other tools to make the programming task
easy. For some, their first impression of the IDE is that it is a bit
overwhelming because so much information is presented at once. It
appears to be a very complex tool to use, but that is far from the
truth. All you need is to spend a little time working within the
environment to become comfortable with the elements inside.
The situation is not unlike learning to drive a car for the first time.
At first, the controls are foreign, and you're not sure which are
important and which are not important. But after spending a little
time behind the wheel in driver education, you become comfortable
with the feel of the vehicle, and you learn how to scan the
dashboard for critical information. The VBA IDE is much the
same. There are windows displayed that you may not need to use in
your programming efforts, at least not all the time. But because
they are presented when you first start the system, most think they
must be important and become concerned when they don't
understand what they see. Because of the complex display, many
beginners get the feeling that the system is complex and difficult to
use.
Page 13
These windows can be hidden most of the time, brought forward
when needed, and pushed to the background when not. So, like
learning that the battery gauge in a car does not require constant
checking, there are windows that you do not need to see all the
time as you write programs in VBA.
Starting the VBA IDE

The start-up procedure for the IDE inside AutoCAD varies slightly
depending on which version of AutoCAD you are running. As of
the writing of this book, there are two approaches to starting the
IDE. The different approaches depend on the exact version of
AutoCAD in use.
VBA first appeared in AutoCAD Release 14 as a preview edition.
Installation of the preview edition was optional, so not all
AutoCAD R14 installations will have VBA installed. You need to
make sure you have VBA installed if you are still running the
original Release 14 product of AutoCAD. To install VBA from that
version, get the original AutoCAD distribution CD and use the
Windows Explorer program to locate the VBA setup program.
When loaded, VBA will appear as a pull-down menu entry.
Selecting the editor option from that menu entry starts the IDE.
An updated version of AutoCAD Release 14 (called Release 14.01)
and AutoCAD 2000 both contain VBA as a normal part of the
system installation. In order to have VBA not installed, you must
select a custom installation and remove the mark for the VBA
components. As a consequence, most AutoCAD Release 14.01
installations contain VBA. Start the IDE in this environment by
typing the command VBAIDE at the command line of AutoCAD.
The difference between VBA in AutoCAD R14 and AutoCAD
2000 is that the newer version (AutoCAD 2000) contains many
more methods and properties that allow access deep into the
AutoCAD system. There are also more objects available in the
newer version.
Another way to start the IDE is when you're loading a VBA project
into memory. The VBALOAD command is used to load a project,
and
Page 14
there is a toggle on the dialog box for file selection that indicates
whether the editor should be started after the project has been
loaded. The existing project will be displayed when the IDE starts
up.
Figure 1.1
VBAIDE in AutoCAD
When started with a project already loaded, the IDE will present a
full-screen development environment containing multiple windows
as seen in figure 1.1. Select the one you want to work with by
picking it from the Windows pull-down menu or by selecting the
proper icon in the toolbar menus shown. When starting with no
existing VBA program in memory, the IDE presents a blank work
area with the project explorer and properties windows visible. Use
the menu Insert options to start the definition of a code module or
input form. The next chapter contains a tutorial walk-through to
create a simple program in VBA and can be used to learn the basics
behind programming in this environment.
What's in the IDE?
As we mentioned before, there are numerous windows in the IDE,
and at first they may not appear all that friendly. But it does not
take long
Page 15
before you will be comfortable navigating your way through
complex programs of your own design. The IDE was written by
programmers, for programmers, and as such it serves as a very
powerful tool in the development of applications. So let's look at
the various components in the IDE and get a general feeling as to
what they are for and how to use them.
Project Explorer: (Figure 1.2) This window presents a tree diagram
showing the modules and forms that are part of the current project.
The Project Explorer provides one method for getting around in
your program code. To get to a particular module, select it in the
hierarchy, then select the view code or form button. When you're
writing code, you won't use the Project Explorer too often, so it can
be hidden to make more space for the code window.
The Project Explorer becomes more and more useful as your
projects grow in complexity through the addition of more forms
and code sections. As the need comes up, you can restore it to the
screen for navigating about your project.
Figure 1.2
Project Explorer
User Form Windows: The dialog boxes of an application are
defined in user form windows. Generally you start development of
a new application by opening a new user form window and then
placing the controls for that window into the grid displayed. You
can quickly jump to the code window and the code specific to an
event by double clicking on a control while in the user form
window. Designing new forms is very easy, and it is tempting to
get ''creative" in how you present something. Chapter 13 has been
devoted to programming style, and we recommend that you adopt
standard styles for a variety of reasons.
Properties Window: (Figure 1.3) The details about whatever object
is currently highlighted will be shown in the Properties window.
Details
Page 16
include the name of the object, the color or display disposition of
controls and forms, captions, and numerous other features. You'll
use the Properties window the most when you are working on the
design of a form for user input. During coding it will seldom be
referenced, except to see what possible values a property might
take. Like the Project Explorer, it can be removed from view to
make more room for the code window.
Each object on a form has a variable number of properties, and the
list will change as you select the different controls. These represent
the control properties that can be set at design time when you are
creating the program for the first time. For some controls, there are
additional properties that can be added while the program is
running. When referencing a property in the help system, make
sure to note if it is run time changeable.
Figure 1.3
Properties window
Code Window: Program entry and review takes place in the code
windows: there is a code window for each user form that has code
associated with it. Entering code into a new program is aided in the
code window by the system. When you reference an object such as
a control in a form or an AutoCAD data entity, the editor will
prompt you through the various levels of the object to get to the
property or method you need. And as you debug your programs the
system will show you the code that caused a problem in the code
window related to the user form or module in which the problem
occurred.
The Object Browser: (Figure 1.4) Start the Object Browser window
by selecting the Object Browser button, by selecting it from the
View menu, or by pressing the function key 2. The Object Browser
is a tree structure display that shows all the objects known by the
VBA system. This is
Page 17
where you go ''shopping" for an object when you are not sure of the
name or when you are looking for a method (function) to perform a
particular task. The Object Browser links to the help system
through the function key 1 that facilitates the learning of the object
library. Although there are many objects in the library it does not
take too long to learn the important ones.
Figure 1.4
Object Browser
Developing Applications with VBA inside AutoCAD

The steps involved in developing applications using VBA start
with properly identifying that VBA is a proper, if not the best,
solution for the job. Although VBA is a very flexible programming
solution, it does not provide a method for adding new commands to
AutoCAD, and this may present a problem for the developer.
Instead, VBA applications revolve around dialog boxes and
interfaces to AutoCAD and other programs. So the first step in
developing a VBA application is to develop the user interface.
The user forms editor and toolbox are used to define the dialog box
or user form. Select a control from the toolbox, then locate on the
form grid where you want it to be and how big you want it to be.
You'll then reference the properties window to change the captions
or colors or whatever other properties need to be modified to fit the
application. As you define the controls, you can enter the code
window to define what happens when the control object is picked,
clicked, changed, or some other event takes place related to the
control object.
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A key aspect to keep in mind when writing programs in VBA is
that the programs are event oriented. That means you program
modules that respond to events. The events your modules will
respond to are usually user drivencaused by a mouse click or
keyboard activity. Hence most of the code you write will be to
respond to these events and to process the input values when
instructed to do so by the user. Unlike other programming
environments you may be used to working in, there is no main
program that controls the flow of events. At least there is no main
program you have to write. When you run your program, you
actually run a dialog box manager that looks at the form design,
paints it on the screen, and handles the essential program setup
sequences. You are responsible for programming the setup and
processing modules that pertain only to the data you are
manipulating. The remaining activities that take place in the
Windows environment are controlled by the VBA processing
system. If you have ever programmed or looked at the process
involved in developing a Windows application the hard way, you
will greatly appreciate all that VBA does to aid in your application
development.
The common structure of a VBA program is to simply collect data
in a dialog box and then process the data when a button is pressed.
Generally, there is a dialog box setup stage where default data is
placed into the controls. Keeping the data in the controls is a great
way to store the data in your program. When the user changes the
value, your program can test to see if the data change is proper in
the context of the application. That way, the data in the control is
always something that can be used, and no more code may be
needed to check the value for accuracy and usability. If a module
needs to know what the value of a particular user input variable is,
the control is accessed to get the current data value.
In most VBA applications there is at least one button that performs
a process with the input data. There may be more than one button
for more complex applications, but there will be at least one. That
way the user can input all data, review it on the screen, then press
the activation button to process the data into output. There should
also be an abort or
Page 19
exit button in case the user needs to run some other task inside
AutoCAD and return to your program.
The next chapter will walk you through the process of how to write
a simple program in VBA that actually does something useful. If
some of these concepts in programming seem difficult to you, go
through the next chapter carefully and observe how easy
programming in VBA is once you get used to it. The hardest thing
for most programmers learning VBA is the idea of saving data in
the input dialog, even though the dialog may not be visible on the
screen. But this is a natural way of programming, once you become
familiar with objects and the tactics involved in object-oriented
programming.
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Chapter Two
VBA Application Jump-Start
In this chapter we are going to jump right into the VBA
programming environment and develop an application program.
The program is not advanced, but it does serve as a good example
of the power of VBA inside AutoCAD. It also gives programmers
who are learning the VBA system a chance to try out the features
in the programming environment by following the step-by-step
procedures.
Description of the Application

The program to be developed is the start of a bill of material
counting routine. Specifically, it will count block references in the
drawing and report them in a list box as seen in Figure 2.1. When
the list members are selected, the block references are highlighted
in the drawing.
This application demonstrates a number of aspects of how VBA
applications handle things inside AutoCAD. It also shows the true
power of VBA inside AutoCAD and how objects can be used to
keep the coding at a reasonable level. The application shows
objects of all kinds in use, ranging from dialog box objects to
AutoCAD objects.
As a teaching tool, this program involves a form for user reporting
and input. It also involves blocks and the manipulation of the block
table.
Page 21
Selection sets, filters, basic user input, and string handling are also
demonstrated in this simple example. Programmers learning how to
develop applications using VBA should attempt to build the same
problem by following the instructions below.
Figure 2.1
Block Counter macro running
Start Your IDE

Get started by loading AutoCAD 2000 into the computer, then
starting the VBA developer environment with the command
VBAIDE. When using AutoCAD R14, you will be required to first
install the VBA system before the VBAIDE command environment
will be available. VBA is not supported under earlier releases of
AutoCAD.
Design the Form
The development of many VBA applications will start with a
dialog box or form. Forms are easy to build inside VBA using the
visual tools provided. A form is an object, and the items that go
inside the form are also objects, but they are called components
more often than not.
Using the pull-down menus, go to Insert then select the UserForm
option.
A rectangle will appear on the screen that contains grid points.
There will also be a toolbar shown of control options as in figure
2.2.
Figure 2.2
Toolbox controls
The toolbox contains the components that can make up a screen.
As you move your mouse over each and
Page 22
hesitate, a highlight box (tool tip) will appear telling you the name
of the object as in figure 2.3.
Figure 2.3
CommandButton selection
The dialog box in Figure 2.1 contains two controls (objects). The
button is a control, and so is the listbox.
Select the CommandButton option from the toolbox controls.
Locate a point on the grid to place the button as in Figure 2.4.
Figure 2.4
Placing CommandButton in grid
If you make a mistake or want to move the button on the grid, just
select it and drag it to a new location. You can also resize it and
change the corners as needed by your application. The control just
inserted will behave like most Windows objects do. You can
change its location and size with the pointing device only. Now
let's change the information inside the control object. That is, we
will change some of the properties of the CommandButton to suit
our needs. You cannot change these properties with a mouse alone,
so you will have to do some keyboard work.
Select the properties dialog box as in figure 2.5.
Pick the Caption property within the list shown. You may have to
scroll the list to get to the property you want.
Using the keyboard, type a new caption value''Return to
AutoCAD."
Figure 2.5
Properties dialog
Notice that as you type the command button will change as well.
The text you are typing will appear in the CommandButton in the
form design window. You can resize the CommandButton as
needed so that the text fits.
Page 23
The components of a dialog box are considered objects. We will
discuss objects in the next chapter, but an important thing to keep
in mind when programming them is that they contain properties.
Another term might be variables, but it really goes much beyond
that notion.
First Lines of Program Code

Now let's add the program code for the CommandButton object.
Although the button is fairly smart about being a button, it does not
know what we want when the button is selected. That is where
coding comes into the game. We are going to write a routine that
reacts to the button being pressed. To do that, we need to define the
program sequence and tell the system about the linkage to the
button. Sounds complicated, and it is inside the computer, but not
at the VBA development level.
Double click the CommandButton we just created in the grid
screen.
A text editor window (see Figure 2.6) should open up with the
subroutine CommandButton1_Click( ) already started.
Start a new line before the End Sub statement and type ''End" so
that the source code matches the listing below.
Private Sub CommandButton1_Click()
End
End Sub
Figure 2.6
Text Editor Window
That's it for this button command. All we want it to do is terminate
the program and return to AutoCAD.
Page 24
Jumping from forms directly to the text editor is one of the features
of VBA (and VB) that make them an easy programming
environment for dialog box (form-) based applications. Double
clicking the form component will open the text editor window at
the click event routine for that component. The name of the
function is predetermined by VBA for linking purposes. If you
change the name, the function will not run when the button is
clicked. The function and control names are linked so that a change
to either one must be reflected in both to maintain the linkage. But
the VBA editor makes it easy to keep everything straight as it
writes that part of the code for you. That helps prevent typographic
errors that keep a routine from functioning properly.
Now we shall return to the forms editor to change some more
properties and add some more controls. You can ''hack" together an
application quickly in VBA by defining a control, then defining the
primary event reacting code associated with that control.
Form Properties
Properties in the various objects provide a great deal of
programmability to the system without writing any code. The
dialog box (form) and controls have a large number of variable
properties associated with them that make customization a breeze
for an applications programmer. The next step in our programming
tour will be to change the form properties so that the appearance of
the form is more of what we need for the application. Specifically,
we are going to change the name of the form object to be more
meaningful to our application, and we are going to change the title
text that appears at the top of the dialog box.
Now return to the form design by selecting the pull-down menu
item Window.
Next select the UserForm option.
You can also select the View Object icon in VBA to bring the
forms editor to the front.
Page 25
It is time to give our form a name and a better title. We can do that
by changing the properties of the form object.
To view the properties, if they are not already visible on the screen,
select anywhere on the form (grid or title bar), then press the right
mouse button. The Properties window option is in the list. Select
on the formnot on the CommandButtonto make sure the properties
showing are for the UserForm as in figure 2.7.
In the Properties window, select the (name) property at the start of
the list.
Type in the name, ''BlockCount." This is now the name of the form
object.
Select the Caption property.
Type in the new caption, "Block Counter."
Figure 2.7
Properties for UserForm
Add a List Box Control

The form for the application we are building requires one more
control to be inserteda list box. A list box is a control in which we
can insert a list of text that will be displayed on the screen. List
boxes have some interesting properties that we will explore later in
Chapter 12. They are worth investigating with some additional
experiments on your own, too.
Select the ListBox icon from the control toolbox as in figure 2.8.
Show a point by locating the upper left corner. You can resize the
list box as needed to match the needs of the application.
Figure 2.8
Selecting a list box control
You can manipulate both control objects in the form using the
pointing device. By picking the object (with a single click), you
can
Page 26
move and resize the control into position. This is the most visual
feature of building a visual interface and can be a lot of fun as you
see what different controls look like together.
Checklist
At this point in our program design, we have the following defined:
1. A form named BlockCount
2. Two controls on the form, a button, and a list box.
3. The controls are named CommandButton1 and ListBox1. These
are the default names assigned when the objects were defined.
4. A function named CommandButton1_Click that is attached to
the BlockCount form.
Programming the Starting Sequence

The next step in the program is to write the code that manipulates
all these objects. We have already done a substantial amount of
programming, but by using VBA, all that work is in the
background, and we simply defined objects using the pointing
device. Because objects know how to handle themselves, this is
surprisingly easy. But there are a couple of concepts to understand
before we get too much further.
When a typical VB program starts, a form is loaded and the
Form_Load function is generally the first one run. That's because a
user typically starts a VB program at the operating systems level.
As such, the user expects the program to do something on the
screen as a result. Rarely will you develop a VB program that does
not involve a dialog box.
VBA is different in that regard. You start macros when you run a
VBA program. There can be any number of macros defined in a
module that you load and start. Every VBA program will contain at
least one macro in a module. The macro is what you run from
AutoCAD, and it is not expected to always have a dialog box or
form. The Form_Load function does not exist in VBA as a
consequence.
Page 27
When you run a VBA macro, the form or dialog box (if any; there
does not have to be one) is initially hidden from view. You must
transfer control to the form from the macro before it becomes
visible and the user can input and output. The form is an object,
and as such there is a method or subroutine that you can run to
activate the object. In the case of a form it is the Show method.
The Show method will cause the form to be displayed on the screen
in front of the AutoCAD window (and all others). Computer
control is transferred to the form until it is closed via the Hide
method or it ends through some other method. Your application
must provide some place to do these things in order to end. Never-
ending programs can be a nuisance to the operator.
Global Variable Declarations

With all this in mind, let's code the macro for the block counting
application.
Select the Insert pull-down menu.
Pick the Module option.
A text editor window with the new module will be displayed.
Type the code shown in the following listing. It should go into
GeneralDeclarations.
Figure 2.8
Text editor banner
Global SS As AcadSelectionSet
Global BLKS As AcadBlocks
Global BLK As AcadBlock
Global Grps(0 To 1) As Integer
Global Dats(0 To 1) As Variant
Global Filter1, Filter2 As Variant
Page 28
This code sets up some variables that will be used in the program.
We are declaring these variables as global so we can re-use them in
various subroutines within our application. The variable ''SS" is
declared as a selection set object. We will use this object to locate
the block inserts inside the drawing. We will use BLKS as a pointer
to the blocks collection where the block table can be found. BLK is
a block object, which contains information such as the name of the
block, base point, and much more. Two arrays are defined, Grps
and Dats, to hold the filter information for building the selection
set. Because of the way variables are passed to AutoCAD from
VBA (and VB), variants are used for the filters. Filter1 and Filter2
are the variants used.
Note how VBA tries to help you along when you're typing in the
program code above. Although some may question the value of this
feature, when you are typing long AutoCAD names, it's a real time
saver. To select the highlighted item from the automatic pop-up list,
just press the Tab or Enter key. You can use the pointing device to
highlight the name desired.
We will discuss table collections, selection sets, filters, and other
details in much more detail in subsequent chapters. This example is
meant to give you a flavor of the programming environment.
Counting Blocks Macro
Now it is time to write the macro that starts the entire process. The
macro is to be titled BlockCounterthis is where we'll find some
more program code typing.
While still in the text editor, after typing the Filter1 and Filter2
variant declaration, type Sub BlockCounter ( ) and press the Enter
key.
The End Sub statement will automatically be added and the header
above the code should be changed to GeneralBlockCounter.
Now type in the code that appears in the following listing. Be
careful to get it right! Program code must be exact, as computers
do only what we tell them to do.
Page 29
Sub BlockCounter()
Grps(0) = 0: Dats(0) = ''INSERT"
Grps(1) = 2: Dats(1) = ""
On Error Resume Next
Set SS = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Add("SS")
If Err.Number <> 0 Then
Set SS = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Item("SS")
End If
SS.Clear
Set BLKS = ThisDrawing.Blocks
Dim J As Integer
J = BLKS.Count 1
For I = 2 To J
Set BLK = BLKS.Item(I)
Dats(1) = BLK.Name
Filter1 = Grps
Filter2 = Dats
SS.Select acSelectionSetAll, , , Filter1, Filter2
Out$ = BLK.Name & " " & Str$(SS.Count)
BlockCount.ListBox1.AddItem Out$
SS.Clear
Next I
While 1 = 1
BlockCount.Show
Wend
End Sub
Let's look at each line, one at a time, to understand what is going on

here. All the variables we are going to be using have been defined as
global in the previous section. The goal of the routine at this point is to
Page 30
build a list of all the blocks in the drawing. That list is to be
displayed, along with the count of the number of insertions for each
block.
Grps(0) = 0: Dats(0) = "INSERT"
Grps(1) = 2: Dats(1) = ''"
In order to obtain a count of the number of insertions for each

block, we will build a selection set. In VBA a selection set is a
collection of entity objects. When creating selection sets, a filter
can be applied that will cause only specific objects to be selected.
In this application we are looking for "INSERT" objects. The first
two lines of the function establish the group codes and string
settings for the filter. The name of the block (associated with group
code 2) will be filled in as we loop through the block table in the
drawing.
We construct filters by using two arrays that must be dimensioned
to the exact size that will be required to house the filter elements.
These two arrays are passed to the selection set function in
AutoCAD via a pair of variant variables. Variants are multiple byte
pointer variables that specify data type and other contents. They
make it easier for the receiving program to decipher what has been
sent as a parameter. As a result, we use variants quite often when
passing information between applications written in different
programming languages.
Set SS = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Add("SS")
Set SS = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Item("SS")
End If
SS.Clear
The next step in the program is to define a selection set object. This
operation merely sets the room aside for a selection named "SS".
The variable name of the object (SS) matches the name of the
selection set for our own convenienceit is not a requirement of the
system. Since we don't know if that selection set has anything in it,
the next operation
Page 31
is to clear it just to make sure. The add( ) method will add a new
name to the selection sets collection if it does not already exist in
the list. If the name already exists, an error will result. By setting
the error recovery mode active in the program the error will not
cause the program to fail. Instead, the object is opened using the
item( ) method. The Clear method of the selection set object clears
out any entity object references that may have been in the selection
set.
Set BLKS = ThisDrawing.Blocks
J = BLKS.Count - 1
For I = 2 To J
The next step in the program is to start into a loop to look at all
blocks stored in the drawing. The block table is stored in what is
called the blocks collection, which is accessed through the current
drawing object. The first statement above obtains the blocks
collection object. ThisDrawing is the current drawing, and the dot
following it symbolizes a property or method. The property being
used is Blocks.
Notice how the BLKS variable now can be used to obtain
information about the blocks collection. In the second statement
above, the BLKS. Count reference obtains the count property. The
count is the number of block objects in the blocks collection.
We start a For loop to iterate through the collection. Access into the
collection is by index, meaning that it is zero-based. Index 0 gets
the first element, 1 gets the second, and so forth. The loop starts
with the third element in the blocks collection. The first two blocks
are Model Space and Paper Space, and these blocks are not inserted
into the drawingthey are the drawing. The For loop will iterate until
the number of blocks in the table minus one has been reached. The
minus-one portion of the loop control is for the index value of the
last element in the block table. To illustrate, if there are five blocks
in the table, including Model and Paper Space, the loop will iterate
three times (index values 2, 3, 4).
Set BLK = BLKS.Item(I)
Dats(1) = BLK.Name
Page 32
The BLKS object is the table or collection of block names. To get
the details on a particular block we can access this table by name or
by index number. The result of accessing the table is a block object
(BLK). The name of the block is a property of the block object, and
the program assigns it into the data array for the filter.
Filter1 = Grps
Filter2 = Dats
The variants Filter1 and Filter2 are assigned to the arrays (Grps and
Dats). This must be done after any changes to the arrays, as the
variant linkage needs to be refreshed before they are used in the
parameter call to the selection set building functions.
SS.Select will build a selection set. In this case, it has been
instructed to look at all objects in the drawing and use the filters to
determine which ones are of interest. The filter used in our example
looks for ''INSERT" objects with a specific name.
Out$ = BLK.Name & " " & Str$(SS.Count)
BlockCount.ListBox1.AddItem Out$
We obtain the value to be added to the list box by taking the name
of the block and concatenating it to a string created from the size of
the selection set just created. The property name Count was used
for the selection set collection as well as the blocks collection. This
is a feature of object-oriented programming called polymorphism,
and it is used extensively in VBA object control inside AutoCAD.
The name of the list box is derived from the name of the object that
houses it. The form we created is called BlockCount. Inside that
form we created a list box object named ListBox1. To get to the list
box, we have to declare this hierarchy to VBA through the
mechanism demonstrated above. AddItem is a method (subroutine)
associated with list box objects. It will add a new string item to the
end of the list box.
List boxes in VBA are different from list boxes in other AutoCAD
programming systems using DCL. The list boxes of VBA retain the
data so
Page 33
that they can be retrieved directly from the list box itself. List
boxes and other controls serve as data containers for applications,
even when they are not on the screen as in this case. The
BlockCount form is still hidden, as far as the system is concerned,
while this section of code is running. We are simply loading up the
contents, and when we are ready, we will turn on the form for the
user to see.
SS.Clear
Next I
Before going on to the next block in the block table, the selection
set (SS) is cleared. The Select( ) method will add objects to the
selection set each time it is run. Existing objects in the selection set
remain while the new ones are added; hence it is important to
remember to clear the selection set with each iteration.
At the completion of the loop we are ready to start the dialog box
(form) to display the blocks and their respective counts. The list
box contents have been loaded, and all that remains is to set the
computer focus to the dialog box.
While 1 = 1
BlockCount.Show
Wend
A While loop with an always true test of 1 = 1 (one equals one)

inside of which the BlockCount form is activated via the Show
method. When Show is run for a dialog box, the program calling
Show is stopped and will not continue until the dialog box is
hidden or unloaded. When you want a dialog box to go back and
forth to the AutoCAD screen there are a couple of tactics you can
employ. This is only one example.
Test Run the Main Macro

The test macro is now ready to test run. Create a drawing with
some block inserts in it. The size of the drawing should not
matterjust make sure you save any critical drawings before testing
new program code.
Page 34
Point to any part of the macro just typed in.
Select the Run pull-down menu.
Pick the Run macro option.
A list box should appear with the block names and countsas long as
everything has been typed in correctly.
VBA allows for modular testing of the program code, which is
what just happened in the test run. The application has not yet been
completed, as there is still more programming to do. But the ability
to test code in modules is very handy for programmers who work
in busy environmentslike most.
List Box Reactor Function

The next step is to add the program response to the operator
selecting one of the blocks in the list box. Our program is going to
highlight the block inserts for the list box member selected by the
operator.
In order to do that, we need to build a response function for the list
box. Like the function created for the CommandButton, the code
for the list box response will be located in the form.
Select the Window pull-down menu option.
Pick the BlockCount UserForm option.
The BlockCount form should be displayed along with the control
toolbox and properties windows.
Double click anywhere inside of the list box.
The code editor should now be shown with the function name
ListBox1_Click ready to be filled in.
Type in the code as seen in the following listing. Lines that start
with a single quote (') do not need to be typed as they are
comments to help you understand what the program code is doing.
Page 35
Private Sub ListBox1_Click()
LL$ = ListBox1.List(ListBox1.ListIndex)
While Mid$(LL$, Len(LL$), 1) <> " "
LL$ = Mid$(LL$, 1, Len(LL$) - 1)
Wend
While Mid$(LL$, Len(LL$), 1) = " "
LL$ = Mid$(LL$, 1, Len(LL$) - 1)
Wend
Dats(1) = LL$: Filter1 = Grps: Filter2 = Dats
SS.Clear
BlockCount.Hide
SS.HighLight True
LL$ = ThisDrawing.Utility.GetString(0, "Press Enter")
SS.HighLight False
End Sub
This program module contains some code that is a little tricky for most
beginners. The module starts when the operator clicks on or selects one
of the list box members. Our goal is to display the block insertions for
that member by highlighting them.
LL$ = ListBox1.List(ListBox1.ListIndex)
This line of code extracts the highlighted selection from the list box.
ListBox1 is the name of the control (object) in the form. There are two
properties we are going to use from the list box. The first accessed is the
ListIndex, which is the integer index (base 0) into the list of the currently
selected item in the list. The second property of interest is the List
property that contains the list in the form of an array of strings. By
obtaining the list index first, then passing that to the list access property,
we obtain the value of the selected member in the list. The selected
member is stored as a string in variable LL$.
Page 36
While Mid$(LL$, Len(LL$), 1) <> " "
LL$ = Mid$(LL$, 1, Len(LL$) - 1)
Wend
While Mid$(LL$, Len(LL$), 1) = " "
LL$ = Mid$(LL$, 1, Len(LL$) - 1)
Wend
Our list box contents consist of the block name followed by a count
of the number of insertions found in the drawing. This section of
code removes the count and trailing spaces from the string (LL$).
Suppose we have a block named WIDGET and it has been inserted
twelve times in the drawing. The value in LL$ would be WIDGET
12.
Because block names can have embedded spaces in them, we must
start at the back of the string (LL$) and remove the numeric
characters, then the spaces. We cannot start at the front of the string
and work our way forward until we encounter a blank. The first
While loop in the code segment will iterate until a blank is found;
thus, it would remove the 12 from the example cited. The second
While loop then removes characters until a nonblank character is
encountered. The string manipulation going on inside the loops is
standard Visual BASIC string manipulation making use of the
Mid$ (middle or partial string) and Len (length of string) functions.
Dats(1) = LL$: Filter1 = Grps: Filter2 = Dats
SS.Clear
As in the initial block counting function, a select set is created

given the name of the block in a filter. Because the group code and
data list has already been created, and is defined as a global
variable, this module can simply fill in the missing data for what it
wants. The string (LL$) is placed in the data list and then both the
filter variants (FILTER1 and FILTER2) are re-established. The
selection set is cleared of any residual objects and rebuilt using the
Select function (method).
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BlockCount.Hide
This statement causes the form (dialog box) to be hidden. When the
current function finishes, control will be returned to the macro that
performed the Show function for the dialog box. If the Hide function
were not present, control would return to the dialog box system when
the function terminates. The use of Show and Hide is a slick way to
control dialog boxes in VBA. A calling program starts the dialog box
with a Show, and when the dialog box wants to return to the calling
program, one of the call back functions performs a Hide operation.
Note that in the Button1_Click (above) function the End statement
was used. This resulted in both the dialog box being hidden and the
program terminating. Control was not returned to the macro
containing the Show function call.
SS.HighLight True
LL$ = ThisDrawing.Utility.GetString(0, "Press Enter")
SS.HighLight False
The block inserts found for the particular block name are highlighted
with the Highlight method. This method contains a single parameter,
true or false. When true the objects are highlighted. When false the
highlight mode is turned off for the objects.
Between the two highlight statements, our program pauses for the
user. You can think of the utility object as a set of functions for
performing user input and output at the AutoCAD command level,
thereby providing access to the traditional interfaces for users.
Test the Program

Now it is time to run the program again. Let's hope everything has
been typed in correctly and the program will run without syntax
errors. If a problem is encountered, use the VBA debug option to
highlight the offending statement and check it carefully. If it is okay,
check the preceding statements to see if one of the variable references
is fouled up in
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some way. Lastly, check the global definition and make sure the
names are all the same. Otherwise, know that it worked for us and
proceed with confidence in that fact when testing it.
In order to test the full functionality of the routine, create a simple
drawing containing a few insertions of several different blocks. To
run the macro inside the VBAIDE, select the module source code
for display using the window options or project browser and place
the cursor inside the macro BlockCounter. Then type F5 or select
the run option from the pull-down menu.
Save the program by selecting the diskette icon or by picking the
File/Save option in the pull-down menu system. Use a name like
Block-Counter to save the file so you can pick it out easily when
reloading.
Final Test
As a final test of the code, leave the current drawing and start or
load another. Then type the VBALOAD command and load your
macro (named BlockCounter). Next type the command VBARUN
and select the block counter macro from the available list. The
function should run without any difficulties inside the drawing. If
problems are encountered or you want to make revisions, use the
VBAIDE command to view the program code again.
There are better ways to load and run a VBA program. You can
automate the task in a menu selection or bury the start-up process
in an AutoLISP routine. We discuss handling multiple projects and
program start-up considerations later in this book. For now, you
have written your first VBA program and are well on your way to
learning how to fully automate your design system.
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Chapter Three
Understanding the AutoCAD Object-Oriented
Database
Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a buzzword in computer
programming circles. In this chapter we will discuss what it means
and how you use it in relation to AutoCAD customization. We will
devote the beginning sections of the chapter to objects and object-
oriented programming practices. Toward the end of the chapter we
will pay specific attention to how to use VBA to accomplish the
interface.
Object-Oriented Programming Introduction

Object-oriented programming provides a tool by which
applications developers can exploit complete software mechanisms
already written and fully tested by other programmers. In VBA, we
use tools provided by the programmers at Autodesk who created
AutoCAD. The primary advantage of this module-based
programming is that once a module is written and fully tested, we
can use it with the knowledge that the component is fully
functional in its own way. The key to successfully developing such
modules for use by others is to identify the confines of the
activities it performs. That iswhat the module does, can do, wants
to do, should do, and so forth.
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An applications programmer can use these software mechanisms,
called objects, to accomplish tasks inside a software environment
such as AutoCAD. AutoCAD provides an extensive interface
system that allows programmers to directly access the drawing
database and drawing editor environment. A computer application
such as AutoCAD can offer various depths of access into itself.
The depths of access are often referenced as the amount of
exposure that a program provides to an environment. The
ActiveX/VBA interface grants very good exposure into AutoCAD's
objects, especially into the database, which is exactly where the
majority of industry-specific applications want to concentrate.
At first glance, an object as viewed by a programmer is a set of
related functions that can be called from a program. These
functions make something happen inside the related system. For
AutoCAD objects, that something in the system may be as
mundane as changing the color of an entity objector it may be as
complex as calculating intersections between two curved entity
objects. The manufacturer of the objects, such as Autodesk, defines
the functions in an object. The functions that are found inside an
object are called methods and events. We will be discussing these
in greater detail as we explore the AutoCAD object system.
Not only do objects consist of functions, they also contain data
items called properties. Every object has properties, and AutoCAD
operator/programmers will find most of the entity object properties
pretty obvious. AutoCAD entity objects all have a layer property as
well as an optional color and linetype property. As you get more
specific and look at a particular entity object, you will find
additional properties available, such as points, sizes, angles, and
scaling factors.
Many experienced programmers will recognize the object concept
as being the same as libraries of related functions. These functions
share a common variable space that contains detailed information
about the object. Although object-oriented programming and the
use of objects go a lot deeper than this notion, the general idea is a
good starting place conceptually.
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The good side is that object-oriented programming is powerful, and
if the systems are set up correctly for the developer, they can
greatly reduce application development time.
What's an Object?
Let's start by getting a handle on the term object and what it means
in relationship to computer program development. We also need to
get comfortable with some terms related to objects and object-
oriented programming.
So exactly what is an object? Technically speaking, an object is a
software container package that holds both properties (data) and
methods (functions). Objects are container packages in that the data
and functions all exist together. You cannot get at a piece of the
object without having the whole object available. How the
computer keeps track of everything is not that important at this
point. What is important to realize is that although this may seem
like a terrible burden, it is actually not too bad for modern
computers. And besides, these tools are meant to make the
programmer more efficient! One thing that experienced
programmers will notice immediately is that an object can be
referenced in whole with a single variable. When dealing with
complex objects, that can be very nice indeed.
An important feature of objects is that you can rely on them. By
having an entire object together in the system, it can keep track of
itself. What this means is that an object can have integrity. Integrity
in this case includes allowing only specific changes within a set of
rules as defined for the object. This way you don't end up with a
circle without a radius value or a line with only one data point.
When you create one of these graphical objects successfully, they
contain all the elements needed to be functional in the context of
AutoCAD. The integrity features of objects can impact the amount
of time it takes to program an application. An object will not let
you put bad data in or do something that it doesn't want to do.
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The concepts behind objects are not new in computer science. In
fact, they have been around for several decades, and several
variations on the concept can be found in most modern computer
systems such as the Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows.
Until recently the problem has been that computers need a lot of
memory to work with large object-based systems. Modern
computers sport more main memory than the disk drives of
machines a decade ago, so object-style programming has become
the norm. With the advent of CD distribution for larger media (no
more installing twenty-plus diskettes for a larger application),
objects have really become the popular way to develop advanced
programs.
The Management Features of Objects
Object programming is attractive to computer programmers and
managers because it re-uses working code. And should that piece
of code stop functioning for whatever reason, it can be modified to
work properly once again. This preserves past work in a better
fashion and allows newer applications to be built on solid
foundations.
Not too long ago it was discovered that entire applications had to
be rewritten as the technology evolved. Programs changed from
having no user input except from a card reader to being interactive.
Then they changed again from being sequentially interactive to
being event driven. This happened because computers got better
and faster. Thirty years ago it was a dream to have a video system
capable of what is found in a typical home computer on the market
today. The problem is that it costs a lot of money to have working
programs rewritten to take advantage of the improved technology.
And that is considering only the input aspect of the applicationit
does not incorporate the evolution of output devices and
processors.
From a management point of view, objects provide a nice way to
preserve your work through multiple generations of hardware.
Applications based on objects will be portable so long as the
objects are available. A rebuild of the application based on the
improved or modified object
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libraries is all that will be needed in many cases. The key to
identifying the items that would make good objects is
understanding what objects are all about.
Object Concept Example

Objects were invented to model real things, so we will use a real
world example to explain the theory of objects. Take a public
transportation system such as a bus or train. There is a lot going on
here. First, someone has to build buses and trains. Then someone
has to learn how to drive them. And, of course, someone else
develops a schedule to keep track of them. Drivers need to be
dispatched, the engines maintained, and so forth. Fortunately, as
users of the public transportation ''object," we don't need to be
concerned about all this. We have a completely different viewpoint
of public transportation. We simply pay for the right to ride, get on
board, then get off at the desired destination.
Now here are some interesting things about the public
transportation object. From the users' point of view, there are
common terms, such as the fact that you "ride" in both objects. The
idea of a ride is the same for both: you sit (or stand) and are
conveyed from one location to another. If you had never been on a
train, but had been on a bus, you might learn about train riding in
terms of bus riding and hence be able to accomplish the task with
little instruction. That is one of the principles behind objects. To
the user of a group of common objects, the terminology remains
the same.
As you learn the AutoCAD database in terms of objects, this will
become an important feature since all the objects use common
terminology to get things done. For example, there is one function
name used to set the layer name for any object that has a layer
property. There is also a single function name used to calculate the
intersection of one object with another.
Should the train system become obsolete due to an improved
technology, such as airplanes, the usage of the object can be
substituted. Instead
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of getting a train ticket and taking a train ride, you would get an
airplane ticket and take an airplane ride. The fact that the
technology got you to a destination farther away or got you there
faster than the previous version is a benefit to using the newer
technology. If you were writing computer programs directing
people to take public transportation, you need only replace the
object ''train" with "airplane," and the system is updated to use the
newest stuff.
Another way of using objects for new technology is simply to
rebuild the object around the newer ideas, such as when jet aircraft
replaces propeller airplanes. The term airplane is used for both, so
from a user point of view, taking an airplane ride could result in
being in either a jet or a propeller airplane. As newer technology is
adopted, the names can be the same and the functionality and
features change. In a computer, this could be the same as having
data on the local drive or out on a fast network. Data is still
accessed in the same manner, but behind the scenes the amount of
work for the computer has changed considerably.
The use of the public transportation object includes buying a ticket,
boarding, riding, and disembarking. These are the public functions
of the object and are available to all members of the public. As
mentioned before, there is a lot involved in setup, maintenance, and
ongoing operations of the public transportation system. The
functions that happen behind the scenes, such as driving,
scheduling, and making repairs, are the private functions of the
object. Users have no access to the private functions of the object,
which serves to protect all the other users who use the same object.
After all, would you want one of your fellow passengers to
announce that he or she is going to fly the plane? Unless that
passenger was a pilot, that could be a disaster! Private functions
and data control help maintain the integrity of the objects. When
riding the bus or airplane you trust the integrity of the system. The
same is true in using computer objects such as the AutoCAD object
libraryyour application trusts that certain things will happen.
Grouping all of the different transportation options as a single
object, the transportation object, allows us to work with their
common proper-
Page 45
ties and methods. Each transportation option supports the common
concepts of getting a ticket, embarking, riding, and disembarking.
The differences that exist in the implementation of the different
options are of no consequence to the user. The details that are
different, such as the cost of the ticket, the speed of travel, number
of fellow passengers, and so forth are unique to each individual
transportation object. Objects borrow from other objects in a tree
growthlike fashion. In other words, an object shares all of the same
features as an object located closer to the trunk or roots of the tree.
Figure 3.1
Public transportation object
In Figure 3.1, all the objects share the features of the public
transportation object. That means you can buy a ticket, take a ride,
and so forth. In addition, the Propeller and Jet objects share similar
properties because they are both airplanes. That is, they both fly,
and it's required to get a special license to operate the airplane.
Having an operator license for a plane does not qualify one for
operation of a bullet train, however. Similar objects on the same
tree branch can often trade features, but you cannot trade features
across different branches.
There are many reasons why objects are attractive to the people
who use computers. Managers of large computer systems like them
because they allow for growth and migration to different
technology. The supplier of the objects has to update only the
system-related objects to upgrade the system. And they are of
interest to the users because they allow them to move to the same
new technology in a comfortable fashion, using language with
which they are already comfortable. The public transportation
object shows that object-level thinking allows for easy migration to
newer technologies and helps keep code up-to-date.
Because objects are models of real world ideas and concepts,
operators can use them at a further distance from the systems
aspects of the computer. They don't have to be computer scientists
to work with the
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computer in creative ways. Instead, using objects that model the
way a designer works allows the same designer the opportunity to
create new applications without being an expert computer
programmer. That is not to say that VBA objects can be used by
nonprogrammers to create advanced applications, but it does say
that the level of technical knowledge required of the programmer is
not that great.
Here is another quick example of an object and associated
functions. The PLOT command in AutoCAD outputs the drawing
to the output device. The output device can vary tremendously
from a pen plotter to an ink jet printer to some other technology. As
output devises have improved, the command has still been to
PLOT the drawing. Should you be a CAD operator who has
stepped through a time warp from ten years ago you will still know
how to PLOT a drawing in AutoCAD. You might be surprised at
how many things have improved in the meantime, but you would
also find those things you are familiar with from the older version
of the software.
Computer Science Description of Objects

Objects have specific meanings in computer science, so we will
now take a quick look at the concepts underlying objects and
object-oriented programming from that perspective. For the most
part, there are three features that make up an object-oriented
programming system:
encapsulation of properties and methods;
inheritance of properties and methods; and
polymorphism across objects.
These terms sound very impressive and complicated, but they are
very straightforward.
Encapsulation of properties and methods means that an object
combines both data items (properties) and subroutines (methods).
In addition, objects can contain references to other objects.
Encapsulation means that all these related items could be
referenced using a single
Page 47
name. It also means that data in an object is maintained by the
object and that external program modules cannot access the
information in an object without the entire object being available.
Inheritance of properties and methods means that objects that are
derived from parent objects contain the same elements as the parent
objects. This is seen in the airplane object in which both the
propeller and jet airplanes inherit the ability to fly because they are
of the airplane object class. Inheritance helps save programming
time by sharing program features between similar modules. It also
aids in establishing and maintaining a hierarchy of objects.
Polymorphism, which means many forms, is applied to
programming in the messaging system. To a programmer, it means
that objects that share similar characteristics also share similar
messaging formats. That is, you can send the same message to
different objects to get the results unique to that object. Using the
airplane example again, both propeller and jet airplanes will fly.
Hence you could issue the order from the control tower for a plane
to take off, and it doesn't make any difference as to what mode of
propulsion it used. Through polymorphism, objects use the same
name to accomplish related tasks such as obtaining the layer name
of an entity object or computing the intersection between two
objects.
How Objects Are Stored in a Computer
The next question often pondered by experienced programmers is
how an object exists in the computer. Without getting too technical,
it works as follows: Inside the system, an object is defined as a
pointer to a block of memory. The block of memory can be any
reasonable size and as a user of the object, you generally have no
control over the actual details. The developer of the object defines
the majority of the contents of this block of memory, including the
properties for the object along with pointers to the functions that
handle the properties. These functions are specific to the object at
the detail level required.
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There are some functions found in the object library that the system
requires and uses to manage the object. These required functions
include a description of what the object is in terms of a general
classification. That classification is used to determine which
additional sets of functions are available for a given object.
Classifications are objects, so they are blocks of memory
containing pointers to functions, object definitions, and so forth.
When a program is running, it finds the object code for these object
functions in a Dynamic Link Library (DLL) for that object. DLL
files are another form of executable code for a computer to use.
DLL program files are created using languages such as C++ and
Pascal and are binary files containing computer codes ready to run
through the processor system. A DLL file can contain multiple
object library definitions: they are typically grouped by common
usage. Most of AutoCAD is made up of DLL files that are brought
in and out of memory as needed by your drawing and edit session.
So, objects work in a program by tracing down through these
object chains to find the location of the function to run. (We are
obviously skipping a lot to provide an overview of how objects
work inside a computer, but a general understanding of the
concepts is all that matters to really work with them. Creating them
is another book altogether.)
To access an object, programmers commonly provide the highest
level object first with a connector (a decimal point in the case of
VBA) to the next part of the object chain. For example, if we have
an object that is a line in the current drawing, we would reference it
by first getting the AutoCAD drawing object, then an AutoCAD
table object (block definition, paper space, model space), then the
instance of the particular entity. This may seem like a lot to go
through just to reference a line, and it is. Fortunately, VBA
provides a shortcut for getting this done by knowing that we are
working with the current drawing and thus not requiring a specific
reference to that item. Additionally, the VBA language provides
fast ways to access objects that are all part of the same table with
keywords such as ''Use". There are more shortcuts regarding entity
objects manipulations that we will discuss in later chapters.
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About Creating New Objects

VBA has access to objects as defined by other systems such as
AutoCAD. However, it does not provide a facility to create a new
object type based on the objects in the other system. This does not
mean that you cannot create new entity objects in a drawing or a
spreadsheet. You can create new entity objects based on existing
objects inside AutoCAD with ease, then manipulate or access them
with a powerful set of methods (functions).
What the restriction does mean is that you cannot define a new type
of entity object such as a hybrid circle with a line through the
middle of it. Suppose you wanted to name this new object a CirLin
and allow normal AutoCAD manipulation of the object via grip
points and property changes for color and layers. VBA does not
supply the required tools to create a new object in that manner.
Instead, AutoCAD supplies a facility for VBA developers to do
such things through the block mechanism, where combinations of
existing graphic objects can be defined and then manipulated
together.
Defining new object classes may not be important to the majority
of AutoCAD applications developers. But it bears mentioning at
this time as we introduce the notion of objects. Should you find
yourself in a situation in which you need to define new objects
from the existing objects in AutoCAD, your best choice is to
investigate the ObjectARX and Visual LISP development systems
from Autodesk. ObjectARX is a C++ language library that permits
even more extensions to be added to AutoCAD and is the primary
development tool for new features inside AutoCAD at Autodesk.
Visual LISP is a greatly improved version of AutoLISP with
ObjectARX support built in.
The AutoCAD Object Tree

Like the public transportation object, AutoCAD is an object in the
eyes of the VBA programmer. There is a tree structure that defines
all of the primary items needed by programmers when working
with AutoCAD
Page 50
drawings. The tree trunk is the AutoCAD application object, which
defines a single instance of the AutoCAD drawing system in the
computer. There are properties in this object, including the location
of the window on the screen and other items of importance to the
running of the program. If you are working with more than one
instance of AutoCAD at a time in the computer, the application
object can be used to help identify which one you are running
inside.
AutoCAD works with one active drawing at a time. In VBA
programming terms, that is the active document property of the
application object. The document object contains numerous
properties and methods that relate to the drawing. If you want to
perform activities that occur across the entire drawing, such as
purging unused blocks and layers, the document object is the area
where such functionality can be located.
Figure 3.2 shows a general view of the AutoCAD object tree. A
complete diagram is available online while running VBA inside
AutoCAD via the help mechanism. The Object Model display in
the help file for ActiveX automation contains hyper links to
detailed descriptions of the contents of the various objects found in
an AutoCAD drawing. Figure 3.2 shows a highly simplified
version of this diagram, but it is helpful in showing the hierarchy of
the AutoCAD object system.
The AutoCAD application object is where it all starts. The next
level up the tree trunk is the document object collection, then onto
the current or active document. The active document contains all
the objects that make up the drawing, including the tables
(collections) and entity definitions. There is a direct connection
between the document object and the Paper Space and Model
Space objects. This direct link bypasses the block table, allowing
faster access into the Model and Paper Space objects. That linkage
exists to save time when accessing these two entity collections
since they contain the majority of the drawing detail information.
The block collection contains the references to the entity groups
where the individual entities can be discovered for a given block.
This structure may appear complicated, but it is very simple to
navigate. The next pages introduce each of the major levels
involved in
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Figure 3.2
AutoCAD object tree
the AutoCAD object tree. With a little practice, getting to what you
want in the object tree will be simple. Most of the time application
programs need to access the entities in Paper and Model Space, or
they need to get to the tables. When other tasks are required, the
object tree can be referenced to find the details involved. Because
of the way objects are addressed in VBA, it is best to have an
understanding of the object tree for whatever system you are
interfacing into. Other programming system interfaces (such as
Word and Excel) will have their own object model that will also be
tree-based. Once you have worked your way through any one of
them you will see how they are all very similar in structure.
Page 52
The Document Object

AutoCAD as an application works with multiple drawings at a
time, and those drawings are called documents. Generally we are
concerned only with the active document or the one that the user is
currently manipulating. Inside the object tree, the applications
object connects to the document collection that contains individual
document objects. Document objects consist of the details about
the drawing such as the file name, directory path, and so forth.
There are methods (subroutines) at the document object level for
saving that drawing as well as importing DXF, BMP, and EPS files
into the drawing. In general, anything you can think of that relates
to a drawing in relationship to the operating system is defined as a
method in either the document object or documents collection.
The two areas of interest that programmers most often reference at
the document level have to do with obtaining pointers to the
collection objects and drawing file manipulations. But there is also
a set of functions available in the document object that are of
interest to programmers writing highly interactive solutions. These
are called events.
The document object is where we first encounter events in the
object model of AutoCAD. An event is a function you define that
is called by AutoCAD when something of interest is happening.
For AutoLISP programmers who have used dialog boxes in the
past, these are just like the call back functions that are invoked by
the dialog box manager when the user performs an activity on the
linked dialog box components. For experienced VB programmers,
these events are just like the ones programmed for handling the
various conditions of a dialog box.
The event functions are notified when the specific event is taking
place inside the computer. Your VBA program can be aware of
events such as the saving of the drawing or the start and end of a
command sequence. You cannot stop the event from happening,
you can only react to it in some fashion. We will be discussing
events in more detail in later chapters. VBA has extensive event
exposure inside AutoCAD and can be programmed to handle the
majority of application issues. But it is not
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quite as sophisticated as ObjectARX, in which new object classes
can be defined and reactors attached to them as well.
Collection Objects
Within the document object one finds a host of collection objects.
Collections are all of the tables used in an AutoCAD drawing.
Tables include information such as layers, blocks, dictionaries,
styles, extended data application names, and so forth. New items
are added to the collections (tables), and specific members selected
at this level in the object database. Once a specific member has
been selected, it can be manipulated or removed from the
collection.
From the document object, an object pointer is obtained to the
collection of interest. Given the object pointer of the collection, the
Count property will tell our application how many members are in
the collection, and the Item( ) method can be used to go to a
specific block by name or index number. There are several
examples of scanning and reading the AutoCAD drawing tables
that will appear in later chapters.
In the multiple document interface mode of AutoCAD, the various
documents that are open are stored in a collection accessed through
the application object. In VBA there is a faster way to get to the
current document object that we will see in the next chapter.
The Block Collection Object
Let's focus on one particular collection object, the block collection.
The block collection is where you will find the block definitions. A
block definition is a collection of entity objects that detail the
individual entities that comprise the block. To get to the entities in
a block, start at the document level and go to the collection level.
Next, select the specific block instance you are interested in
viewing, then use a loop to step through the objects in the
collection. New entity objects can be added by using the
appropriate Add method for the type of entity object involved. The
Add methods are found associated with the block object.
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To remove a block description from the collection of blocks, the
Delete method is used at the block level. You add new blocks with
the Add method at the block collections level. Sometimes this
confuses programmers who feel the delete function should be at the
collections level. The reason it is not located there is so that
AutoCAD can check the usage flags of the block definition before
attempting to purge it from the drawing.
There are two special entity collections that can be accessed from
either the block collection or directly from the document object.
These are Model Space and Paper Space. As new entity objects are
added to a drawing, they are added either to Model Space, Paper
Space, or to a block definition. Nothing is drawn on the screen until
it has been added to either Model or Paper Space. Entity objects
added to a block will not become visible until the block is inserted
into one of the two display spaces. Many of the example programs
found in this book demonstrate the techniques involved in adding
entities to drawings and block definitions. It can look a bit odd at
first, but once you get used to the object tree hierarchy, it is pretty
easy to get the job done.
Entity Objects
Last in the AutoCAD object tree are the entity objects. Entity
objects are the specific entities such as a line or an arc. Each entity
object houses the specific data and methods required when working
with the entity. The line object contains data for the start and
ending points, arcs contain center points, radius and angle values,
and so forth. You can modify these object properties through
methods that will check the input for validity before making any
assignments.
The entity objects contain several methods that do not change or
manipulate the properties of the object but are intended for use
with other entity objects. These methods provide very useful
computations such as determining the intersections between two
objects or performing system tasks such as making copies of the
current object. Because the polymorphism concept is at work in all
of these entity objects, the meth-
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ods all have the same name, making it easy to learn the complete
library with a little effort.
If you are familiar with the AutoLISP language and how it works
with entities, you will find the object methods of VBA to be much
better. As an example, instead of digging through entity lists
looking for extended data or a specific group code, you can use a
method to access or set the specific data. The method GetXdata is a
great example of this feature. With a single call, an array
containing all the Xdata for an object or just the specific Xdata
related to an application can be retrieved and stored into an array
for easy processing by a VBA program. Compare the two code
segments below that demonstrate accessing a line object and
changing the starting point to a value of 1, 1, 0.
In the AutoLISP version, given an entity name as a symbol EN, the
following expression will retrieve the starting point of a line.
(setq PT (cdr (assoc 10 (entget EN))))
While the above example looks simple enough, look at the opposite
situation, in which we want to update the starting point given a new
point in the symbol PT. Once again, the entity name is provided in
the symbol EN.
(setq EL (entget EN)
EL (subst (cons 10 PT) (assoc 10 EL) EL))
(entmod EL)
Although this code is not long, it is confusing. We are substituting

the value of the starting point using a group code to get the data we
want. As a consequence, unless you use this format every day, you
will most likely spend a lot of time referencing the group code lists
and so forth when reading programs that have multiple entity
changes going on.
Now let's look at the same situation in VBA. This time, the entity
name is supplied as an object referenced by the variable EN.
Dim PT as Variant
PT = EN.StartPoint
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It is that simple. And there is little doubt as to what we are
retrieving with this statement. Unlike the AutoLISP code, for
which one must know that group code 10 is associated with a point,
this version uses the natural language name StartPoint. It is just as
easy to set a new start point. The following line of code will set a
new start point for the same entity and give a variant containing a
point list.
EN.StartPoint = PT
As seen, the object level interface found in VBA is much more

readable and offers programmers a common language to work with
when developing custom AutoCAD applications. Note how the
names used are the same; they just appear on different sides of the
equal sign. This makes the VBA interface very easy to learn as
many of the entities use the same names and structures to work
within the objects.
Learning about Objects in VBA

The object browser (Figure 3.3) provides a tool in the VBA IDE
for learning about the various objects in the AutoCAD database as
well as objects in other attached libraries. Start the object browser
inside the VBA IDE by selecting the Object Browser button, by
pressing the function key F2, or by selecting it from the View pull-
down menu.
The object browser presents a list of all the objects defined to the
system. It provides a visual key as to the different types of objects
and what they are made of. At the top of the display window is a
pop-up list that contains all of the libraries that are currently
attached to your project. You can select the class with the list box
on the left, then see a listing of all the mem-
Figure 3.3
Object Browser
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bers of the class in the list box to the right. This is the fastest way
to view all the elements that a library has to offer.
The object browser makes use of various icons or glyphs to aid you
in identifying the components found in a library. Once you learn
these icons you can navigate the object browser faster as you begin
to look for a specific type of information. The glyphs that appear in
the object browser window are described below:
Figure 3.4
Class Symbol
Figure 3.4 is the symbol for class definition. A class is another term
for an object. Objects contain both methods and properties. Classes
appear in the left list box along with enumerated lists and modules.
When you look at the object browser, you will notice that all of the
classes and components defined for AutoCAD start with the letters
acad. For the most part, we are interested in classes (objects) when
programming VBA solutions. The classes are where we find the
individual objects that make up the entities our applications will
want to manipulate.
Figure 3.5
Module
Definition
Symbol
Figure 3.5 is the symbol for a module. A module is typically a
collection of constants that are global to a library. The names for
the constants can be used instead of the values to make your code
more readable. In other cases a module will be just a set of
subroutines that are not tied into an object but exist for general
usage. An example of a module group would be a series of
functions for converting strings and numbers. Modules of
subroutines tend to be general purpose in nature.
Figure 3.6
Enumerated
Object
Symbol
Figure 3.6 is the symbol for an enumerated object list of numbers.
Essentially, this is a list of whole numbers (integers) where each
entry is unique and has an associated name by which it may also be
referenced. Enumerated objects are often employed to define a
selection of options such as the style of the mouse cursor or options
for the display of a form.
Figure 3.7
Method
Symbol
Figure 3.7 is the symbol for a method within an object. Methods
are subroutines and functions. To use one you must include the
name of the object (unless it is impliedmore on that later) before
the method name and separated by a decimal point. You will notice
as you explore the various objects in the object browser that many
of the AutoCAD objects share the same name. This is
polymorphism at work!
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Figure 3.8
Data
Property
Symbol
Figure 3.8 is the symbol representing a data property. Properties are
the variable values associated with an object. For example, the start
and end points of a line are properties, as is the layer name.
Property values in a class (object) can be declared as public or
private. Only the public properties can be changed in an object
through programmatic control. Private properties do not show up in
the browser under normal circumstance. The only time you will see
private properties is when your program creates them for a custom
object of your own design.
Figure 3.9
Read Only
Property
Symbol
Figure 3.9 is the symbol representing a property that is read-only
and cannot be changed. These properties are for reference only and
contain data such as the area of an enclosed geometry object
(circle, ellipse, polyline, and so forth). Not all of the read-only
properties are marked in this manner, however, and this can lead to
occasional confusion. For example, the ObjectID property is read-
only, but is not marked with this glyph.
Figure 3.10
Event
Function
Symbol
Figure 3.10 is the symbol for an event function. Events are
functions called by AutoCAD when something of interest happens
inside the system that directly affects the object. Events use a
standardized naming system allowing AutoCAD to keep track of
those applications that need to be notified when something occurs.
Events are found at several levels inside the AutoCAD object
system and can be used by VBA applications to seamlessly
integrate into the AutoCAD environment.
The object browser represents a very powerful development tool
for programmers who are learning a new system. As you begin to
explore other environments such as the Microsoft Office
productivity suite or an updated AutoCAD library, the object
browser becomes a valuable tool to learn what is inside the library.
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Chapter Four
The AutoCAD Object Model
In this chapter we will introduce and explore the AutoCAD object
model as seen from the perspective of VBA. The object model is
structured to allow a program to navigate easily through the entity
objects and groupings of data. Starting at the topmost object level,
this chapter examines the AutoCAD object system, looking at the
important objectsincluding their methods and propertiesalong the
way. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the complete
AutoCAD object hierarchy in terms of how VBA sees it.
Methods, Properties, and Events

In VBA there are three aspects of any object that are of interest:
methods, properties, and events. Learning a new object library can
be somewhat daunting, especially one as robust as the AutoCAD
object library. Online help files and the object browser are valuable
tools for finding more information about objects and what they
have in them. As the AutoCAD VBA object library evolves, new
objects and new methods and properties for existing objects can be
found in the object browser.
Let's start by getting some terminology straight regarding object
libraries. As mentioned before, objects have methods, properties,
and
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events. An understanding of these terms is important as we explore
the library contents.
All objects will have some methods with which an application
program can manipulate the object. Other words often associated
with method are subroutine or function. Methods will accomplish a
variety of tasks ranging from the extremely simple to the complex.
Many of the methods are for manipulating or changing the object
properties.
All objects will have some properties or data elements that can be
accessed to learn about the details of the object. Another word
often associated with properties is variables. Some objects contain
properties that are actually other objects or collections of objects.
Several AutoCAD objects also have events associated with them.
Events are functions tied to an object that will be called by
AutoCAD when something of interest takes place. There are events
for when the drawing is changed, saved, or opened; when a
command starts or ends; or when a specific object is changed.
Events are closely tied to AutoCAD, so the names are specifically
defined by the system. There are also special programming
procedures associated with events that we will explain in more
detail later in this chapter.
As we walk through the AutoCAD object library we will be
introducing the methods and properties of the various objects and
collections.
Exploration of the AutoCAD Object Tree
As we drill down into the object tree of AutoCAD, we will present
an abridged list of the methods and properties for each of the
primary objects. It is not feasible to list them all in this book, as the
list is extensive and is still being appended with future releases of
VBA. A complete list is available in the online help system for
AutoCAD VBA, and we strongly recommend exploring that tool
further to learn more or to search for a specific item of interest to
your application. The names of the objects in the tables will help in
locating more related objects. We will focus on the objects that are
most commonly employed in applica-
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tions development based on our experiences in developing
programs for a wide variety of clients.
Figure 4.1
Exploring the object tree
We are now going to explore the AutoCAD object tree (refer to
figure 4.1) in the following order. Starting with the application
object, we will quickly move down to the active document object.
The next step is into the utility object, where a library of very
useful functions can be found. Also within the document objects
are the collection objects. The collection objects contain all the
tables for the drawing, such as the layer and block tables. Chapter 5
explores collections in more detail: this chapter exposes only the
basic operations of collections. Within collections are the entity
objects, and they are explored next in the chain. After looking at
some specific entity objects to learn how they are structured, the
next step is back to the root of the tree and on to the preference
object. This object contains the drawing setup and controls
information for the edit session.
Getting to the Application Object
We will start off with a confusing notion as to accessing the
information. The application object, although closer to the root of
the AutoCAD object tree, is accessed through the document object.
You might think, when working with an object tree structure, that
you would start at the root of the tree. But that is not the case in
VBA, and the reason makes sense when you step back and think
about it for a minute. Because VBA applications run inside
AutoCAD, with an open drawing, there is always a current drawing
available. That drawing or document object is known as
ThisDrawing to the VBA system. ThisDrawing is a library symbol
in VBA.
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To get to the application object, access the application property of the
document object. This may seem repetitive because the words application
and object are used twice, but they refer to two different things that
happen to have the same name. One way to think about this is that the
application property is just a pointer to another area in memory. The
application object is what is stored in that area of memory. Remember that
objects are containers of both data and procedures. The data elements are
called properties when discussed in terms of objects.
ThisDrawing.Application 'the application object
The Application Object

From the application object a program can control several aspects of
AutoCAD, including the loading and unloading of other drawings, ARX
modules, and control elements of the Windows display screen as related to
the AutoCAD application object.
Let's take a look at some of the methods and properties of the application
object. Remember that at this level we are controlling the AutoCAD
application, and many of the changes will be reflected in all documents
that are currently attached (open) to the application.
Method n What it does
GetInterfaceObjectConnects to other ActiveX servers. Given a name of the server
such as AutoCAD Application, this method will return a pointer
to the application object of interfaced application.
ListARX Provides ARX application support from VBA.
LoadARX A program can load and unload ARX modules as well as check
UnloadARX a list to see exactly which ARX modules are currently loaded.
RunMacro Runs a VBA macro. Can be used to load and run another VBA
project from within the current project.
Quit Exits the drawing and drawing editor. This function will run
properly only when the operator is not in the middle of another
command.
(table continued on next page)
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(table continued from previous page)
Method n What it does
StartUndoMark Groups operations by setting undo markers in the active
EndUndoMark drawing. The AutoCAD undo mechanism will treat all
operations that occur between the two function calls as a single
operation.
Update Updates the object on the display. This method can be used with
a singular entity object or applied to the entire drawing. It is the
same as a redraw or regeneration of the object when applied to
drawing objects.
ZoomAll Provide display control in the current view port of the current
ZoomCenter drawing. Only one drawing is considered the current or active
ZoomExtents drawing even though multiple drawings may be open at one
ZoomScaled time. It would be wasteful to duplicate the actions of these
ZoomPickWindowmethods for each document object.
ZoomWindow
Most of the properties associated with the application object relate to the
Windows operating system and how the application appears on the screen.
Although you can adjust some of these settings, we recommend that they
be used for reference purposes only. Many of the properties are read-only
to keep the system integrity level high.
Property What it does
ActiveDocumentPoints to the document object that is the current open drawing.
Also pointed at with the name ThisDrawing in the VBA
environment.
Caption Displays the caption above the primary window of AutoCAD.
This is a read-only property that you cannot change.
Documents Access to a collection of documents currently available for access
in the AutoCAD application. The currently active document will
be included in this list. Your application can open more than one
drawing at a time and obtain information in one for another by
traversing the documents collection.
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FullName FullName returns the complete path and file name where ACAD.EXE
Name is located. Path returns only the path value and is used most often
Path when seeking other files that are located relative to the AutoCAD
program files. Name provides just the drawing name without the
directory information. These properties are useful when seeking the
AutoCAD main program for other directory-related activities.
Height Gives the height and width of the main application window in pixels.
Width
Left Gives the distance from the left or top edge of the display to the left
Top or top edge of the application window in pixels.
LocaleID Identifies the current AutoCAD application when talking with other
Windows applications.
MenuBar Links to the menu objects for pop-up menus and the menu bar. Pop-
MenuGroups up menus are part of the menu groups. In a typical application, menu
groups are first loaded and then the individual menu pop-up is
accessed for insertion into the menu bar.
Preferences Provides access to the various drawing setup and access preferences.
There are several levels of preferences in the application object that
access all of the same data that is found in the Preferences tabbed
menu.
VBE Provides access to the VBAIDE object and its data values. The most
common use of this property is to see if a project (VBA program) is
currently loaded in the VBAIDE.
Version Gives the current AutoCAD version as a string. This is the same value
found in the ACADVER system variable of AutoCAD.
WindowStateControls whether or not the AutoCAD application object is visible on
the display. The settings of this property are acMin, acMax, and
acNorm, which stand for minimized, maximize, or normal.
Many of the properties just listed are object points or collections. The
application object is the root of the tree, so most of the connected data
elements are objects. You'll use the application object to get to other
objects inside the system that are of specific interest to a program.
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The other properties are used to communicate to other programs
inside Windows, including the operating system. These values are
accessed if you need to interface with another program that is
outside of the AutoCAD, such as a word processor or spreadsheet
software system.
The following is a VBA program example that shows how to
traverse the object tree to get at one of the Preferences settings. In
this case, we want to see if the screen menu is being displayed. If
so, we will send a quick message to the user asking why it is on.
(Using this property, you can turn the screen menu on and off,
although that would not be recommended except in cases where it
was absolutely required. The MenuBar and MenuGroups objects
provide a much better way of dynamically manipulating menus for
the operator's selection.)
Dim prefs As AcadPreferences
Set prefs = ThisDrawing.Application.Preferences
If prefs.Display.DisplayScreenMenu then
MsgBox ''Why do you have screen menus on?"
End if
The first step is to establish the variable prefs as an object. The

type of object it is mapped to is the AcadPreferences object. A
value is then set into prefs that is a link to the Preferences object
off the application object. Note that we use ThisDrawing to get the
application object; from there we go down to the preferences.
DisplayScreenMenu is a property of the Display preference object
and is a Boolean. It will return true if the screen menu is active.
Figure 4.2
Automatic Typing by Visual Basic
Page 66
If you are just learning VBA, don't worry that there is a lot of
typing involved in creating programs. The editor (VBAIDE)
provides a fast typing mechanism for object trees. When you
properly dimension (Dim) an object type, the system will display
the properties and methods in a pop-up list for quick selection as
seen in figure 4.2.
After typing the first character or two of the property or method
you are after, the menu scrolls down to the area you are looking for.
You can then select the remainder of the word with the mouse.
Portable computer users with the pointing device near the keyboard
report that this is a really great feature. You can use keyboard
strokes to select the value desired as well and press the Tab key
when you're satisfied with your selection. This method of code
input greatly enhances the speed and accuracy of the coding.
Accessing the Document Object in VB

VBA runs inside AutoCAD; when the AutoCAD drawing editor is
active, there is always a current drawing. The current drawing (or
document) is defined as an object with the name ThisDrawing in
the VBA environment. ThisDrawing is essentially the trunk of the
object tree with the application object being the root. Programs can
control opening, saving, and other file-based operations of the
AutoCAD system using the associated methods. This is not the
case when writing applications in Visual BASIC (VB) and using
the ActiveX interface options.
When programming in VB (not VBA), which is running outside of
AutoCAD, the program must first establish a link to the AutoCAD
application, and from there to the active document. In VB, you
must first reference the AutoCAD object model before your
program can make use of the AutoCAD objects. Under the Projects
menu you can find the References option. Inside the References
command is where the reference to AutoCAD's object model is
defined.
The following code example demonstrates how VB can interface to
the drawing by setting a global variable for the document object
(acadDOC) after the AutoCAD object library has been referenced
into
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the project. This variable has been dimensioned as an object in a global section of the
program. After you have made this assignment, you can explore the object tree by
referencing that object variable in the same manner that ThisDrawing would be used
in a VBA program.
Set acadAPP = GetObject(, ''AutoCAD.Application")
If Err Then
MsgBox "AutoCAD not running"
Err.Clear
'your program should launch AutoCAD now or simply terminate
Else
'AutoCAD is running
'Variable acadDOC is an object dimensioned in a global module
Set acadDOC = acadAPP.ActiveDocument 'same as ThisDrawing
End If
Note that most program samples provided in this book are for VBA. If you want to
take advantage of the interface through ActiveX only with VB, the appropriate
object assignments must be made to link with the active document and application.
The Documents Collection

The majority of applications deal with the currently active document. For that
reason, the shortcut to ThisDrawing is provided in VBA. If an application needs to
get to another document that is open in the multiple document mode of AutoCAD
2000, the documents collection is accessed. Drawings in the documents collection
are accessed by an index value (zero-based) or the name of the drawing (including
the extension .DWG).
Programming for multiple document mode requires that you know which open
drawing is of interest. You access open drawings in the documents collection by
using an index number or the name of the drawing. The name of the drawing is the
same as the one that appears in the
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Name property of the document object. This property contains the
file name without the path name attached.
For example, if a drawing is open and in the drawings collection,
the following code would access it and make it the active drawing.
Dim DWGS As AcadDocuments
Set DWGS = ThisDrawing.Application.Documents
Dim ADWG As AcadDocument
Err.Clear
Set ADWG = DWGS.Item(DrawingName)
If Err.Number <> 0 then
'drawing name not in collection
Else
If ADWG.Active = False Then ADWG.Activate
End If
In the code segment above, the first step is to establish a link to the
AutoCAD documents collection. Variable DWGS is defined as an
instance of the documents collection and then set to the actual
value. This process of defining an object and setting it will be
repeated for the majority of linkages you will be building in VBA.
Given the documents collection object, the Item method is
employed to obtain the document. The name of the document is
used as the index into the collection. In the next chapter we will
explore collections in more detail. The code contains an error trap
to test if the Item method was successful. If it is not, an error will
result, and if the error trap is not enabled, the program will crash.
After clearing the error buffer, the Item method is run and the result
placed in the DWG variable. DWG had been dimensioned earlier
as a document object. An IF test immediately follows to see if the
error handler ran into something undesirable. If so, the drawing
requested was not in the open documents list. Otherwise, the active
property of the document is checked to see if this is the
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active document. If not, the activate method is used to make the
current document.
The document object is explained in greater detail in the following
section. Let's get back to the document collection object and how we
would use it. In a commercial or extensively implemented application,
a program needs to operate in both single and multiple document
modes. In order to learn this we must check the AutoCAD application
preference settings.
The following code segment shows how to check for multiple
document mode, then how to open a drawing in multiple document
mode under VBA control.
Dim APS As AcadPreferences
Set APS = ThisDrawing.Application.Preferences
If APS.System.SingleDocumentMode = False Then
Dim DWG As AcadDocument
Set DWG = ThisDrawing.Application.ActiveDocument
ThisDrawing.Application.Documents.Open (Nam)
ThisDrawing.Application.ActiveDocument = DWG
End If
The AutoCAD preferences are obtained to check the

SingleDocumentMode property. When this property is true, single
document mode is active and the document collection object contains
only the current drawing. When it is false, the default state for
AutoCAD 2000, multiple drawings can be opened.
The code module saves the current drawing information in variable
DWG and opens the drawing supplied in variable Nam. Nam is a
string containing the name of the drawing to be opened. We are saving
the current drawing object so that we can reset the active drawing
after opening the new one. To open a drawing under the control of
VBA, the Open method is used from the documents collection. Open
will get the drawing from the disk and create a new window for
displaying it inside
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AutoCAD. It will then set that drawing as the current drawing. The
next line of code then sets the current drawing back to the one
saved in DWG.
Once a program has obtained a document object it can manipulate
the components of that object. Components from one drawing can
be copied or compared with components from other drawings if
needed by the application.
Drawings are opened in a different fashion in single document
mode. To open a drawing in single document mode, the open
method is still used, but this time with the current document object
and not the documents collection. The difference is important. The
current document object will be replaced when the Open method is
applied. If you attempt to add a new member to the documents
collection when in single document mode, the request will not be
completed. Lastly, it is recommended that the current drawing be
saved before a new one is opened, as any changes since the last
save of the current drawing will be lost when the new drawing is
loaded.
Most applications involving VBA and AutoCAD 2000 will operate
in the multiple document mode. It is unlikely that single document
mode will be encountered except when working with third-party
software that has not been updated to work properly under the
latest platforms.
Document Object Methods
From the document object, all other objects inside a drawing are
accessed. For example, if you were interested in getting to the layer
table, you would use the ThisDrawing.Layers property to obtain
the link to the layer collection object. The individual layer names
and their respective properties are each found inside the layer
collection.
The following is a partial list of methods that you can access with
the document object. File accessing and global drawing settings are
the primary activities that take place within these methods.
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Method What it does
Activate Makes This Drawing the current document when in multiple
document mode.
Close Closes the drawing.
Export Outputs and inputs drawing information in DXF, WMF, BMP,
Import SAT, or EPS type files. These file formats are used by other
applications for storing graphic data.
GetVariable Retrieve or set the value of a specified AutoCAD system variable.
SetVariable
HandleToObjectConverts a handle (string) into an object reference. When you're
reading handles from an external database and want to locate the
associated object, you will use this function extensively.
LoadShapeFile Loads a shape file into the current drawing. Shape files are used in
custom linetypes and as a possible substitute for blocks. This
method loads the entire shape file for access by other commands.
New Starts a new drawing based on a template drawing in single
document mode. For multiple document mode, the Add method
should be used from the documents collection.
Open Opens an existing drawing in single document mode. For multiple
document mode, use the Open method in the documents collection.
PurgeAll Purges the tables in the current drawing.
Regen Regenerates the current drawing in the graphics window.
Save Saves the drawing to the disk using the current name or another
SaveAs name.
SendCommand Sends an AutoCAD or AutoLISP command to the command
processor for that document. The document will be made the
current document if it is not already when this method is run.
Wblock Writes the contents of a block definition to the disk.
Document Object Properties

The following table lists some of the properties or data elements that are
defined at the document level. Not all of the properties are in this table.
Page 72
These are simply the most popular ones used among applications
developers. You can find a complete list in the online help files supplied
with AutoCAD for VBA ActiveX automation. The properties of the
drawing object contain a varied set of information. Data ranges from file
naming of the current drawing to collection linkages, allowing the
programmer to dig deeper inside the drawing to get at information such as
layer names, entity details, and block definitions.
Active Flags to indicate if this is the active document in multiple
document mode.
ActiveLayer Pointers to the objects that are the current settings for the
ActiveLinetype drawing system.
ActiveSpace
ActiveTextStyle
ActiveUCS
ActiveSelectionSetThe active selection set in the drawing is one currently being
built by a command in progress or as a result of selecting
objects as in the use of grips. This is a reference to a collection
of entities.
Application Controls the AutoCAD windows. This is a read-only value that
provides a bridge to the upper level of the program. All objects
in the ActiveX/VBA interface have an application property. The
application object is actually higher in the AutoCAD object tree
than the document object and this property provides a link back
to it.
Blocks Returns the blocks collection object for the drawing. This is a
read-only value that is used to get at the block table objects.
Dictionaries Returns the dictionaries collection object for the drawing. This
is a read-only value that accesses the user-defined dictionary
table.
DimStyles Returns the dimension styles collection object for the current
drawing. This is a read-only value that is used to access the
dimension style table.
FullName Gives the complete name, just the drawing name, or just the
Name path name of the drawing with directory path. You can set the
Path value of FullName prior to using the SAVE method.

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Groups Returns the groups collection object for the current drawing.
This is a read-only value that is used to get at the group objects.
Layers Returns the layers collection object for the current drawing. This
is a read-only value that is used to get at the layer table objects.
Limits Controls the display of the drawing grid and zooms all options.
The drawing limits can be set and referenced as a variant
containing the upper and lower corners as 2D points.
Linetypes Returns the linetypes collection object for the current drawing.
This is a read-only value that is used to get at the linetype table
objects.
ModelSpace Returns the model space collection for the current drawing. This
is a read-only value that is used to get at the entity objects in
model space.
PaperSpace Returns the paper space collection for the current drawing. This
is a read-only value that is used to get at the entity objects in
paper space.
Plot The Plot object contains the methods for generating the output
PlotConfigurations while the PlotConfigurations object contains the details of what
to plot. Access to the plotter information is related to the
drawing.
ReadOnly Tells an application if the current drawing is read-only or not.
This is a read-only property.
Saved Tells an application if the current drawing has any unsaved
changes. This is a read-only property flag.
TextStyles Returns the text style collection object for the current drawing.
This is a read-only value that is used to get at the text style table
objects.
Utility Returns the utility object for the drawing. The utility object
contains a library of useful functions for communicating with
the AutoCAD user. We will explore this object in detail at the
end of this chapter.
There are many more properties associated with the document object;
these are just a few of the more commonly used ones. The document level
contains the methods and properties that apply to the entire document as
well as the collection objects that contain the details of the drawing.
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Document Object Events

Events are functions that AutoCAD calls when something of
interest to a particular object is taking place. The document object
is where the majority of events take place that relate to the
command system and the drawing database itself. Programming
events do require that you follow specific procedures; if you are
not careful, it is easy to cause AutoCAD to enter into an infinite
loopmeaning that the system is locked up from the user's
perspective.
Let's start into events by looking at how you code an event related
to the document object. Because there are specific naming
requirements associated with these events, there is an easy way to
access them in the VBA development editor (VBAIDE).
Event functions are defined in the ThisDrawing object. To access
the code window for the event functions, take the following steps
in the VBAIDE window for an active project.
Double click on the ThisDrawing object reference in the Projects
window.
The code window should be displayed for the ThisDrawing object.
Select the left side pop-up list (objects) at the top and pick the
AcadDocument choice.
The right side pop-up list now contains the names of the events that
can be defined. Select the name of the event function you want to
program and that subroutine will be started in the code window.
The names of the events cannot be changed and must be used as
supplied. This is how AutoCAD knows what module to run as a
particular event happens. There are functions for a wide variety of
events inside AutoCAD at the document level.
Note that multiple projects may be responding to a single event and
that the order of the projects being called by AutoCAD is not
always the same. The calling sequence is based on who was loaded
first; if your program needs to control that aspect of the event
system, it must also
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control the loading procedure of any projects that may contain
events. The developer should consider the fact that multiple
projects may be running when creating a new application project
and create the code accordingly.
One aspect to keep in mind when programming event routines is
that an application program is only notified of the event. An
application does not have the option of terminating the event.
Sometimes that is referred to as No Veto Power. What an
application program can do is perform some action counter to the
activity just taking place.
For example, suppose there are some entity objects that cannot be
changed in the drawing for your application to function properly.
You could then program the document-related ObjectModified
event to check if the entity being changed is one of interest to the
application. If it is, then a copy of the entity can be made that stays
in place, and the entity being changed can be further changed to
remove any indicators that may have been stored with the object.
To do this, you must keep a copy of the object data somewhere in
the program. When the ObjectModified event takes place, the
object has already been changed, and saving the object pointer will
get you the new data. If you want to change it back, you must
retrieve those values from a saved location.
One thing to watch for when coding applications that make
extensive use of object manipulations inside of events is that the
actions cause the events to be called again. In the earlier example,
changing the objects back to the saved values would result in the
ObjectModified event being called again with the same object. This
is how infinite loops get started inside AutoCAD's reactorsyour
program changes the object that the system is reporting has been
changed. Unless you are careful, you will have to shut down
AutoCADand maybe even the computerto recover.
The following list contains some of the more popular events
associated with the document object in VBA. There are quite a few
event triggers in AutoCAD VBA, and you can use the object
browser to locate others that may be of interest to a given
application.
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Function What it means
Activate Called when the document has been activated or deactivated as the
Deactivate current document.
BeginClose The Close operation has just started for this drawing. Now is the
time to save any global variables that may need saving.
BeginCommand AutoCAD has just started or finished a command. The command
EndCommand name is supplied as a parameter to these functions. When using
these, remember that transparent commands may get in the middle.
BeginLisp An AutoLISP expression is about to be evaluated, has just finished
EndLisp evaluation, or has finished due to a cancel request. Happens only
LispCancelled when the expression is started from the AutoCAD command level
(typed in or activated by a menu).
BeginOpen A drawing is being opened into the drawing editor. If your program
EndOpen uses an external data file for variable information, it should be
loaded at the same time the drawing is being loaded. The EndOpen
is called after the drawing has been opened and the editor is ready.
BeginPlot The PLOT command is about to start or has just finished for this
EndPlot document.
BeginQuit The operator has selected an exit option and the drawing editor is
terminating. Your program should clean up anything left open at
this point.
BeginSave The operator has selected a save option and the drawing is in the
EndSave process of being written to disk. These events are handy if you
want to have your program save its data to disk at the same time
AutoCAD saves the drawing.
ObjectAdded A new database object has been inserted into the drawing. Anytime
any kind of entity object is added to the drawing, this event
function will run.
ObjectErased An entity object has been erased in the drawing. This event will be
called for each entity object that is to be erased. The object ID
number (a long integer) is supplied as a parameter to the event
function. You cannot do much with this number, as it no longer
represents a valid object. However, you can compare it with a
saved value to determine if the object just erased was critical to
your application.
ObjectModified An entity object has been changed in some manner. The parameter
to the event is the entity object so that an application can check the
values or update associated information. Be careful not to end up
in an infinite loop by modifying the object back to some other
state!
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Event-based programming is much stronger in the ObjectARX
environment, in which event reactor functions can be set up for a much
larger set of possibilities. However, by using the document level events,
you can do a surprising number of applications.
Event Programming Example
The following is a simple example of event programming. The application
is to keep track of the time spent working in a window. When the window
is no longer active, the system will report how much time was spent there.
Dim Time_Start
Dim Dwg_Name As String
'
Private Sub AcadDocument_Activate()
Time_Start = Timer
Dwg_Name = ThisDrawing.FullName
End Sub
'
Private Sub AcadDocument_Deactivate()
MsgBox ''Time Spent in " & Dwg_Name & " was " & Timer -
Time_Start
End Sub
There are two functions involved here: the Activate and Deactivate events.
When the window is activated, the Activate event will be called. At this
time, we will save the current value of Timer, a VBA function that returns
the number of seconds since midnight. We will also save the drawing name
for future reference in the program. The drawing name is saved in the
variable Dwg_Name. The full name of the drawing is obtained from full
name property of the current drawing object.
The second function in this example is the Deactivate event. This function
is called when the current drawing window is no longer
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current. This event will occur when the user selects a different
drawing in the AutoCAD MDI environment. (Note that when you
are working in the VBAIDE, leaving AutoCAD to return to the
editor seems to trigger this event too.)
As just seen, event-based programming can offer some powerful
tools in the development of AutoCAD utilities to fill in the holes
missing for your specific application. Event-based programs tend
to be small so that they don't get too much in the way. In fact, the
use of a message box in an event that occurs frequently can really
slow down an applicationmaking them perfect for programmers to
use when debugging advanced projects!
Utility Object Functions

Now let's look at some more useful programmer functions that can
be found inside the document object. These methods are associated
with the Utility object of a document. The Utility object houses the
functions and does not contain any data properties of interest.
To get to the utility functions, you'll access the Utility property of
the current drawing, ThisDrawing. The functions in the utility
object include user input via the graphics system as well as
conversion of data not available in VBA. These functions will
seem like old favorites for AutoLISP programmers, as they are
almost identical in both languages. For those programmers just
learning AutoCAD and VBA, these functions allow direct access to
the AutoCAD interface for point selection, command line input
(instead of using forms), and for converting AutoCAD data from
one format to another.
Because AutoCAD is an interactive CAD system, all programming
interfaces for the system must be able to communicate with the
AutoCAD input and output system directly. The Utility object's
methods provide the tools needed to talk to the user through the
traditional AutoCAD interface methodologies from VBA. That is,
the user can select a point, pick an
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object, or type in a response to a question appearing in the command line
area of the display.
The functions shown in the table below are for converting data from one
format to another. Most of the conversion utilities deal with angles and
points in ways that normal BASIC does not.
Function What it does
AngleFromXAxis Accepts two points and calculates the angle relative to the X-
axis of AutoCAD.
AngleToReal Conversion utility: takes strings containing angular values and
turns them into real numbers. The resulting value is in radians.
AngleToString Conversion utility: takes real numbers representing angular
values in radians and creates strings.
CreateTypedArray Conversion utility: takes a set of values, all of the same data
type, and creates a variant array. This utility is used to prepare
data for some of the other methods in VBA that may want a
variant array typed argument.
DistanceToReal Conversion utility: takes strings containing distance values
and converts them to real numbers.
PolarPoint Calculation routine: returns a point variant that has been
determined relative to an existing point. The distance and
angle to the new point are supplied as parameters.
RealToString Conversion utility: takes real numbers and converts them to
strings.
TranslateCoordinatesUtility: converts points in one system of coordinates to
another system of coordinates. This function is very useful
when working with objects that have been defined on an
alternative UCS (user coordinate system). The points from
those objects can be run through the translation function to
obtain points in the world coordinate system.
Although the functions just listed are very handy when you need them, the
majority of application developers moving from AutoLISP to VBA will
find the following functions to be essential in developing interactive
programs.
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Function What it does
GetAngle User input function: prompts the operator for the input of an
angle value. The result is a real number containing the angle
input in radians.
GetCorner User input function: prompts the operator the input of a point
relative to another point. The second point is meant to be the
opposite corner of a bounding box. This function is used to
accept user input when rectangular selection windows are
involved.
GetDistance User input function: prompts the operator for the input of a
distance value. The result is a real number.
GetEntity User input function: prompts the operator to select an entity
object on the screen. Two different variables that are supplied as
parameters to the function will return with the entity object and
point variant where it was selected. A third parameter is the
optional prompt.
GetInput Retrieves the actual value input when optional input is enabled
through the use of the InitializeUserInput method.
GetInteger User input function: prompts the operator for an integer value.
The result is an integer.
GetKeyword User input function: prompts the operator for input from a set of
possible values defined in the InitializeUserInput method.
GetOrientation User input function: accepts an angle and returns the value as a
real number containing radians. The difference between
GetAngle and GetOrientation is that the latter does not pay any
attention to the ANGBASE system variable setting in AutoCAD
while the former does.
GetPoint User input function: accepts a point and returns a variant array.
GetReal User input function: prompts the operator for input of a real
number value. The result is a real number.
GetString User input function: prompts the operator for input of a string.
The result is a string.
InitializeUserInputFunction: prepares the user input system enabling features such
as keyword options and the setting of input flags. Input flag
options include settings for not accepting negative numbers,
zero values, points outside the limits, no null input, and the
acceptance of strings for traditionally non-string input functions.
Prompt Outputs a string to the command line of AutoCAD.
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To use the utility functions you must first connect to the utility object. You'll do
this through the document object. For example, to request a real number from the
operator using GetReal( ) the following statement could be used.
Dim MyVal as Double
MyVal = ThisDrawing.Utility.GetReal(''Enter a real number: ")
When the code above is run, the prompt "Enter a real number:" appears at the
AutoCAD command line and the user is given the option to enter a numeric
value.
The required format to call this routine may seem a bit odd to AutoLISP
programmers who are used to simply running the (getreal) subr to achieve the
same results. The difference is in the language environment. VBA typically uses
forms or dialog boxes for user input and for reporting information to the user.
AutoCAD VBA goes a step further by allowing interfaces to take place at the
command line and on the graphics screen. Consequently, the function GetReal( )
is not a normal VBA command that would also be found in other
implementations of Visual Basic. GetReal( ) is something that is supported only
by AutoCAD. You'll add this to VBA by adding an object with supporting
methods. As such, the object tree must be defined to direct VBA where the
function is residing in the system.
The With statement can be used to reduce the amount of coding involved in the
utility object. The following example demonstrates the With statement in use
with the utility object for a series of user input.
With ThisDrawing.Utility
Dim myVal As Double
myVal = .GetReal("Enter a real number")
Dim MyStr As String
MyStr = .GetString(1, "Enter a string")
Dim MyInt As Integer
MyInt = .GetInteger("Enter an integer")
End With
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The With statement comes from Visual BASIC and is used to reduce
the amount of typing required when working with the same object over
and over again. In the example code above, the With statement
establishes a reference to the Utility object of the current drawing.
Thereafter, any methods called from the Utility object will have to
include only the dot (.) at the front to be associated with the object
already linked. This practice can save a lot of typing when dealing with
a series of accesses into the same object.
You'll choose the Utility object for input in VBA depending on the type
of input you are requesting from the user. Sometimes a dialog box is
best, and sometimes it is not. Generally, when you are looking for point
or entity object related input, the Utility object functions are better than
having the user type in the object or point related data. A good example
would be a function that requests the operator to select two objects and
then supply a numeric value. There is no reason to display a dialog box
for just the numeric value and the selection of the objects (via a
command button). Such an interface simply gets in the way of the user,
and a series of simple Utility function calls are all that is needed.
If your application has a dialog box showing when the utility object
function is referenced, the user will possibly be confused. The dialog
box should go away for the time that the graphical input is taking place.
Dialog box objects (forms) have a method called Hide that can be used
to turn off the dialog box. When Hide is executed, the dialog box will
no longer be visible on the screen until the Show method is used.
The following code segment demonstrates the basic principle of hiding
the input form and getting point input. After the point input, the dialog
box is restored. In this example, the dialog box form is named
MyInput-Form. The X and Y values from the point selected will be
placed in two text box controls named PtX and PtY.
MyInputForm.Hide
Dim Pnt As Variant
Pnt = ThisDrawing.Utility.Getpoint(,''Select a point")
MyInputForm.PtX.Value = Pnt(0)
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MyInputForm.PtY.Value = Pnt(1)
MyInputForm.Show
Collections of Objects
A collection is defined as an ordered set of data items that can be
referenced as a singular unit. From an AutoLISP programmer's
perspective, a collection is a lot like a list. There are several
collections used in the AutoCAD automation interface. Although
collections do not have to contain all the same data types for each
member, the AutoCAD collections tend to be made up of object
references. For example, the blocks collection contains only block
objects, and the text styles collection contains only text style
objects. Another way to think of a collection is that it is an array of
references to other data containers.
Something many programmers just learning VBA and AutoCAD
find confusing at first is that many of the collections and objects
have the same name. The only difference is that collections are the
plural version of the name. Thus, the Blocks collection contains
Block object references. In the multiple document interface (MDI)
of AutoCAD 2000, the documents that are open are stored in the
Documents collection. Each member of the document collection is
a Document object reference. The concept of collections in Visual
Basic is important to understand since the majority of the
AutoCAD object model consists of collections.
All of the table items in AutoCAD are stored as collections of
objects. This includes the blocks, layers, linetypes, views, view
ports, dimension styles, registered application names, text styles,
and dictionaries. When you want to programmatically add a new
member to a collection, use the collection object method Add to
add the object to the set. The Add method has a single parameter
that is the name of the object to add.
For example, the following code snippet will add a new layer
named MyLayer to the current drawing. When adding MyLayer, it
will set the color to blue and the linetypes to ''DASHED". The
linetypes must be loaded before this code will function properly. If
not, the linetypes change will cause an error.
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Dim MyLayer As AcadLayer
Set MyLayer = ThisDrawing.Layers.Add(''MyLayer")
MyLayer.Color = acBlue
MyLayer.Linetype = "DASHED"
Note the use of the constant acBlue to designate the color value. A
complete list of constants can be found in the <globals> class
inside the Object Browser. In most cases, you can figure out what
the name of the constant will be once you learn the basic method
behind the naming scheme. To illustrate, the remaining color codes
are acRed, acYellow, acCyan, and so forth.
The uses of most of the named constants found in the object
browser are pretty obvious. But if you are not sure, select the
member item: at the bottom of the object browser, the value of the
constant will be shown along with a quick description of how it is
intended to be used. Press the F1 key for even more information
about the constant and how to use it.
Returning to the collectionscollections are used in AutoCAD for
more than just tables of common information. They are also used
when working with groups of entity objects such as those found in
the block references, Model Space, Paper Space, selection sets, and
entity groups. The same basic strategies are employed in these
cases as well. Entity objects are added to the Model Space
collection or Paper Space collection or to a block definition
collection. When an application wants to access an entity, it can do
so through the collection methods as applied to any of the entity
collections.
The following tables are available for all collections in the
AutoCAD VBA environment. There are not as many methods and
properties associated with collection objects as there are with the
objects we've looked at thus far. The reason is that collection
objects are a general object used to house other objects that will
have more properties and methods as you drill deeper. Think of
collections as a list containing reference pointers to the individual
items that in turn contain all the details about themselves.
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MethodWhat it does
Add Adds a new member to the collection of choice. Remove a member using
either the Delete or RemoveItems methods defined in the object members.
Delete Deletes a member from the collection. This is available only in the view
ports collection. In all other AutoCAD collections, the delete function is
found in the data objects. That is, to delete a layer, you first access the
specific layer object, then the delete( ) method applied to that object. This
will remove it from the collection.
Item Retrieves a member given its index value, which can be a number or a
string.
PropertiesWhat it's for

Count An integer containing a count of the objects in the collection. This value
is read-only.
The Item method is used to retrieve collection members. It works on all

manners of collections, ranging from tables to selection sets. When
referencing an item from a collection, you can use either an index value
(an integer) or the name of the collection member being sought. Names
are applied only when working with objects that have names such as the
block table or text style table. On the other hand, a selection set collection
does not contain names and can be referenced only by an index number.
We will explore collections in much greater detail in Chapters 5 and 6.
The important thing to keep in mind right now is that you use collections
to drill deeper in the object hierarchy.
Entity Objects
Each entity in the AutoCAD database is an object and has a set of
methods and properties that are specific to the control of that object. There
are many methods and properties that share the same name and
accomplish the same feats from one entity to the next (this is
polymorphism at
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work). There are additional methods and properties that are unique
to each object.
As with any object in VBA, gaining access to the methods and
properties of an entity object requires that a pointer be established
to that particular item. A pointer to an entity object can be obtained
in a number of fashions as seen in the following quick examples.
When an entity is created through the appropriate add method, the
result returned is an entity object pointer. The first code example
creates a line object from (1,1,0) to (5,1,0), saving the entity object
pointer in the variable (Obj).
Dim Obj As AcadLine
Dim P1(0 To 2) As Double
P1(0) = 1#: P1(1) = 1#: P1(2) = 0#
P2(0) = 5#: P1(1) = 1#: P1(2) = 0#
Set Obj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace.AddLine(P1, P2)
'Variable (Obj) now contains line object.
In the example above the first step is to define the data elements.
There are three variables defined. Obj is defined as an AutoCAD
Line object. The variables P1 and P2 are defined as arrays of
double precision numbers. After placing the initial values into the
P1 and P2 arrays, the AddLine method is used to create a new line
object in model space. Afterward, the variable Obj can be used to
access the line object just added to the drawing database.
Moving on to another way of obtaining entity objects, a selection
set is a collection of entity objects. The same is true of block
definitions as well as Model Space and PaperSpace. This means
that an entity object can be obtained using the Item method and the
index or offset into the collection where the object of interest can
be found. The following code shows how to obtain an entity object
from the ModelSpace collection. The first member is at offset 0.
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Dim Obj As Object
Set Obj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace.Item(0)
Another way to obtain an entity object is to have the user show it on the
screen. The following code segment requests that the user ''Pick an object"
from the drawing. Note that as user activity increases, so must the error-
checking in the program code. If the user does not pick an object and the error
handler is not enabled, the program will crash. By enabling the error handler
as shown below, your program can respond as required when user input does
not follow what was expected.
Dim Uobj As Object
Dim Pnt(0 To 2) As Double
ThisDrawing.Utility.GetEntity Uobj, Pnt, "Pick an object: "
Err.Clear
MsgBox "Entity not selected."
Else
'Entity object now in variable (Uobj).
End If
Another way to get an object is to have the handle (a string) or Object ID (a

number) and convert it to an object. These two approaches work best when
interfacing with external databases (handles) and when conversing with some
ObjectARX modules.
Given the object pointer, an application program can use the associated
methods and properties to manipulate the entities.
Because entity objects are all derived from the same general object handling
system, there are many methods and properties that are common to all entity
objects. The following tables list those that are common.
The first table contains those methods that are related to performed edit type
operations on the entity objects.
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Method What it does
ArrayPolar Copies the object multiple times or a single time.
ArrayRectangular
Copy
Erase Erases the object.
GetXData Retrieves and sets extended data attached to an object.
SetXData
Highlight Highlights the object.
Mirror Creates a mirrored image of the object given two points that
Mirror3D define the axis of reflection.
Move Moves the object to a new location.
Rotate Rotates the object.
Rotate3D
ScaleEntity Scales the entity given a base point and scaling factor.
Update Regenerates the object in the display.
Geometry methods associated with entities are very powerful tools for
application developers. These are the same routines used inside AutoCAD
to solve the basic problems of CAD manipulation.
Method What it does
GetBoundingBoxReturns two points describing a rectangular boundary around the
object that is parallel to the world coordinate system.
IntersectWith Determines the points where the current object intersects with
another object.
TransformBy Applies a transformation matrix to the object to combine rotation,
axis shift, and scaling operations.
Many of the methods have parameters associated with them that you can
quickly learn while typing them into the VBAIDE. As a properly
dimensioned object is filled in with the IDE, the parameters of the
methods are prompted for as needed. Even more information is available
via the online help too. Programming has never been so programmer
friendly!
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Property What it's for
Color Entity object color value as an integer.
EntityName Same as the class name of the object. This value contains a
descriptive type name used to identify what kind of object is in use.
The result is stored in a string and can be used when accessing
custom objects. For most AutoCAD objects, the EntityType property
should be referenced instead.
EntityType Integer code value indicating what type of AutoCAD object this
reference represents. The integer code values have named constants
that can be used in VBA. The entity name (in English) has the
characters a and c appended at the front. For example, the constant
for a circle entity can be referenced in the VBA code as acCircle.
Handle The entity handle that can be used to interface with external
databases. Each entity object is assigned a handle that remains
unique from one drawing session to the next making this string value
perfect for indexing from other databases back into AutoCAD.
Layer The layer name for the object.
Linetype The linetypes name for the object.
LinetypeScaleScale factor for the linetypes.
ObjectID Like the handle, but a long integer instead of a string. Used when
communicating with ARX applications.
Visible Controls the visibility of the entity object. Setting an object to visible
means that the layer controls whether the operator can see it or not.
When set to not visible, the object does not appear on the display.
Curved Entity Objects

Certain entities are considered curved objects in AutoCAD. These objects
include lines, arcs, circles, polylines, lightweight polylines, ellipses,
leaders, rays, splines, and xlines. All of them describe objects that involve
curvilinear geometry. This means that they have many common properties
and methods that two or more will share. Keep in mind that these
common items are the result of polymorphism, and as a consequence they
are really different routines for each type of object. But from the VBA
programmer's perspective they are the same because they essentially solve
the same problem.
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The list presented below is by no means complete. There are methods and
properties that exist for specific entities. In addition, not all curved objects
will support all of the methods and properties presented.
Method What it does
AddVertex Adds a new vertex to a lightweight polyline.
AppendVertexAppends a new vertex point to a polyline object.
GetBulge Gets the current bulge value at a given index in a lightweight or
traditional polyline.
GetWidth Gets the starting and ending width value at a given index in a
polyline.
Offset Calculates an offset and creates a new object that is the result of that
offset.
SetBulge Sets the bulge factor at a given index location.
SetWidth Sets the starting and ending width value at a given index.
Property What it's for

Area The area enclosed by the object. Not applicable on objects without
area, such as lines.
Center Center point for arcs, circles, and ellipses.
Closed Indicates if a polyline or lightweight polyline object is closed or open.
CoordinatesThe points of a polyline or lightweight polyline object.
EndAngle End angle for an arc or ellipse.
EndPoint End point for an arc, line, or ellipse.
StartAngle Start angle for an arc or ellipse.
StartPoint Start point for an arc, line, or ellipse.
Thickness Extrusion thickness of 2D objects. Also included in the text, solid,
shape, and other objects.
Each of the entity objects will have some methods and properties that are
unique to that particular entity object. Working with lines and other
simpler objects in VBA is pretty easy once you get a feel for the naming
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Figure 4.3
LWPOLYLINE example output
systems used in the AutoCAD object library. Remember that
because of polymorphism, most of the names are the same, which
makes learning the system that much easier.
The lightweight polyline object in Figure 4.3 is a 2D polyline. A
polyline is a series of connected coordinates with optional bulge
factors. Bulge factors describe arcs. You calculate them by taking
the included angle of the arc (in radians), dividing it by 4 and then
computing the tangent value. The resulting tangent value is set to a
negative value if the arc direction is clockwise. The result is called
the bulge factor and is found in both lightweight and regular
polylines. Although this mechanism may seem complicated, it is
elegant in that only a single number is needed, in addition to the
two points to define an arc. An arc of any size (up to, but not
including a full circle) can be stored in this manner. When
accessing a polyline object and obtaining the bulge factor, the
included angle is found by computing the arc tangent of the
absolute value of the bulge factor and multiplying that result by 4.
If the bulge factor is negative, the arc's direction is clockwise. If
the bulge factor is nonnegative, the arc is counterclockwise.
The next program segment shows how to create a lightweight
polyline object and apply bulges to it. The code will generate the
triangular-like shape shown in Figure 4.3. In the listing, note the
use of the colon character (:) to allow more than one logical line of
code to appear on the same physical line in the source file. This
sort of programming style can improve readability of the source
code by shortening the number of lines to read. More about
programming styles for source code layout will be covered in
Chapter 13.
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Dim Obj As AcadLWPolyline
P1(0) = 1#: P1(1) = 1# 'Vertex 0
P1(2) = 1#: P1(3) = 5# 'Vertex 1
P1(4) = 4#: P1(5) = 1# 'Vertex 2
P1(6) = 2.5: P1(7) = 0.75 'Vertex 3
Set Obj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace.AddLightWeightPolyline(P1)
Obj.Closed = True
'add 35 degree included angle at 2nd to last segment
Obj.SetBulge 2, 0.15
'add 45 degree included angle at closing segment
Obj.SetBulge 3, 0.2
When creating a polyline or lightweight polyline object, the initial points are
supplied in a single array. For a lightweight polyline, this array must be a
multiple of 2 in size. Each two real numbers represent an X,Y coordinate.
Regular polyline objects use an array with a size that is a multiple of 3, as the
Z ordinate value is also included in the points.
Complex objects such as polylines require more than just the Add method to
fill in the object with the remaining details. The Add method simply gets the
object started. Additional properties are then set and other methods run to
complete the details for the complex entity object. The entity will be
generated on the screen whenever the Update( ) method is run for the object
(or a parent to the object).
In the case of a new object (like the above code), the object will also
regenerate whenever the AutoCAD graphics screen gets the focus. This is
important to remember when you are writing code and wondering why the
graphics don't show up as they are created. When that sort of interaction is
required of an application, the focus needs to be forced back to AutoCAD
each time you want the graphics displayed. This will greatly slow down a
function that is creating many entity objects, so we don't recommend it in the
majority of cases.
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Text Entity Objects

There are three basic text objects in AutoCAD drawings. Basic text,
multiple line text (MLINE), and attributes. The text objects contain
properties specific to the text information as seen in the following table.
Setting these properties will cause the text to change in appearance the
next time the object is updated on the screen.
Property What it is
Height The height of the text object characters in drawing units.
HorizontalAlignmentThe text horizontal alignment generation flag. One of the
following values (constants in AutoCAD VBA):
acHorizontalAlignmentLeft, acHorizontalAlignmentCenter,
acHorizontalAlignmentRight,
acHorizontalAlignmentAligned,
acHorizontalAlignmentMiddle, acHorizontalAlignmentFit.
InsertionPoint The base point of the text.
ObliqueAngle Text generation slanting angle in radians.
Rotation Text object rotation about the insertion point in radians.
ScaleFactor Text generation scale factor for the width scaling. Does not
change the text height, only the character's scale along the X-
axis.
StyleName The text style name for the object. Text styles contain the font
and other text generation assignments.
TextAlignmentPoint Depending on the alignment used, the text alignment point
will take on different values. If aligned right, this point is the
anchor point on the right side. If centered, the point is the
center text.
TextGenerationFlag Integer code0 if no special generation flags are set. Other
optional settings are the constants, AcTextFlagBackward, and
acTextFlagUpsideDown.
TextString The text string.
VerticalAlignment Specification of the vertical alignment generation flags for the
object. The vertical options are much like the horizontal ones
but they specify the vertical aspects of the text generation.
The options are acVerticalAlignmentBaseline,
acVerticalAlignmentBottom, acVerticalAlignmentMiddle, or
acVerticalAlignmentTop.
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Text manipulation in VBA is very easy. The following example code
segment will retrieve the system date and file name, building a single
string that is output in the drawing at the set position (1,1). The text
height is set at 0.2, completing the required input to the AddLine
method. Each of the Add methods will have specific parameter
requirements that represent the barest essentials required to create the
object. For the text object, that includes the text string, an insertion
point, and a text height value.
Dim Atext As AcadText
S$ = ThisDrawing.FullName & " " & Now
Dim Pt(2) As Double
Pt(0) = 1#: Pt(1) = 1#: Pt(2) = 0#
Dim Ht As Double
Ht = 0.2
Set Atext = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace.AddText(S$, Pt, Ht)
Atext.Layer = "TEMP"
After the object is created, you can manipulate it by changing the

properties as shown above. In this case, the layer name of the object
was changed to be "TEMP" which must exist in the drawing when the
program module is run. If you attempt to use a named item such as a
layer or linetypes name that has not been loaded or defined to the
drawing, an error will result. In most cases, your application will have
created layers and loaded linetypes before creating new objects. Error
checking under these circumstances is not requiredhowever, it is not a
bad idea. After all, the user could have purged the specific layer you are
using between execution of the layer create and initial layer usage in
the modules. Your application environment will dictate what level of
error checking is required.
Preferences
Now let's shift back to the Application object at the root and go to the
Preferences object. The Preferences object deals with system settings
that
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are not saved in a drawing but may be specific to an individual user or edit
session. Applications will reference the preference settings to find things
out about the system, such as whether multiple document mode is enabled
or the screen menu is turned on. Other information in the preferences
section includes file search directories, locations for fonts and other
support files, and display controls for the cursor and screen colors. Any
changes made to the preferences by a program should be undone when the
application finishes or is un-installed from the system.
The information in the Preference object can be saved to disk in the form
of a profile file. Normally a profile is attached to a particular user's
preference setting. Profile files are used when the same user is logged on
to AutoCAD but a different setup is required due to the application or
preferences of another operator. They are also a handy way to save the
existing profile for restoration when an application is about to make
changes to the settings.
The Preferences object is divided into multiple objects. When you run the
Preferences command inside AutoCAD, a dialog box will appear. Each
object inside the Preferences object corresponds to a tab in the Preferences
dialog box inside AutoCAD.
Property What it is
Drafting All of the auto snap features and onscreen tracking tools.
Display All data associated with the display system, colors, fonts, cursor, and so
forth.
Files All data associated with files and directory paths used by AutoCAD.
OpenSaveAdd data associated with the Open and Save operations of drawing files.
Output Plot control options including the default plotting device selection.
Profiles Settings for save and load profiles to disk.
Selection Settings related to object selection such as grip box size and so forth.
System Systems-related settings, such as the single document mode indicator.
User User configuration settings for keyboard style, units defaults, and content
explorer settings.
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In the majority of cases the preferences are accessed only to determine if a particular
feature has been enabled in AutoCAD or not. Users of AutoCAD R14 VBA will find that
the preferences object is very different from what is described above. AutoCAD 2000
organized the Preferences information in a better fashion than R14, which simply
contained a large set of parameters, all of which were associated with the base.
Example Sequence
The tables presented in this chapter are extensive: there appears to be a lot to learn in
order to become productive with the VBA interface. The reality is that programming in
VBA is very simple and with a little practice, it is easy to recall the proper objects and
associated methods and properties.
Let's turn to a couple of simple examples to illustrate how the object functions operate for
AutoCAD. For those readers new to reading VBA code, a single quote mark (') is used to
note that the remainder of the line is a comment. The pound sign (#) following a number
signifies a real number or one that contains a decimal point. The pound is used for whole
numbers only, such as 1#, 2#, and 3#.
'Draw a line from the point (2, 3, 0) to the point (5, 2, 1).
'Use BASIC Dim statement to declare variables.
Dim P1(0 to 2) as Double 'Define array of double precision.
Dim P2(0 to 2) as Double 'Array of numbers for point 2.
Dim Obj as AcadLine 'Define line object variable.
P1(0) = 2# : P1(1) = 3#: P1(2) = 0# 'Set the value of point 1.
P2(0) = 5#: P2(1) = 2#: P2(2) = 1# 'Set the value of point 2.
'The next statement creates the line object from P1 to P2

Set Obj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace.AddLine(P1,P2) 'Create the new line
The line created in the code above was on the current layer and with the current linetypes
assignments for style and scale. To change these
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values to something new, we need to use the line object reference.
The next code example takes the existing line object reference in
the variable Obj and changes the layer to ''A2A". The layer name is
a property that can be set directly with the name of the layer
desired. The layer should already exist in the drawing for proper
execution of this assignment.
Obj.Layer = "A2A"
As seen, object manipulation is pretty easy once you know the

names associated with the methods and properties. One question
that often comes up at this point in time is how to access a generic
object. The problem arises when accessing objects for general edits
such as changing the layer names for each one selected.
The following code example asks the user to select an object; when
one is selected, the layer is reset to the value "NEWLAYER". The
first step is to create the new layer name. In Chapter 5 we will see
how to check if it exists and then add it.
ThisDrawing.Layers.Add "NEWLAYER"
The next few lines declare the variables used for the entity
selection function.
Dim Uobj as Object
Dim Pnt as Variant
Whenever file or user input and output are involved, the error
handling system of VBA should be enabled and given some
consideration. In this case we are going to ask the user to select an
object. If successful, the variable object Err will have a null or 0
value. If not successful, the variable object Err will have a non-zero
value.
It is recommended to perform error trapping using the Resume
Next option instead of the Goto option for the On Error statement.
The reason is that your error recovery will be easier to program,
and it will be easier to determine exactly where things are going
wrong. When the Goto option is used, you will need to set an
additional variable indicating where the jump originated.
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With the error handler ready, the program is now ready to ask the user for
some input. The next statement accomplishes this using the utility object
method called GetEntity. For AutoLISP programmers, this is the same as the
(ENTSEL) function.
ThisDrawing.Utility.GetEntity Uobj, Pnt, "Pick an object:"
When the Resume Next option is used, program flow continues after the
statement that caused the error. The next statement after a potentially
offending command should deal with the basic error condition check.
If Err <> 0 then
Err.Clear
MsgBox ''You didn't pick an object!"
Else
Uobj.Layer = "NEWLAYER"
End If
In the previous example we used the layer property since it is common to all
entities. When you want to make changes to specific entity types only, you
need to check the type of object to make sure it matches what you are
changing. For example, the following code will continue working with the
Uobj entity object. It will test to see if it is an arc and if so, the radius will be
changed to a value of 1.5 units.
If (Uobj.EntityType = acArc) Then
Uobj.Radius = 1.5
Uobj.Update
End If
The nicest feature of the object-oriented approach to AutoCAD

programming is that many of the tools used by Autodesk are available to the
applications programmer. A good case of this exists with the IntersectWith
method that allows our programs to compute object intersections with ease.
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The coding example continues by asking the operator to select another object, then places
a circle at the intersection points.
The first step is to set up the variables to be used when obtaining the entity object to
intersect with. This code is identical, except for the variable names, to the code seen
already.
Dim Vobj as Object
Dim Pnt2(0 to 2) as Double
Next we ask the operator to select another entity. Note that the error object must be
reinstated since we have already passed one instance of using it for input. Each time a
program is going to perform input from the user, it is a good idea to include an error trap.
ThisDrawing.Utility.GetEntity Vobj, Pnt2, ''Select another object: "
If Err <> 0 Then
Err.Clear
MsgBox "You didn't pick an object!"
Else
At this point in the program we have two valid AutoCAD entity objects. The intersection
method can now be used to find any and all intersections between the two. IntersectWith
returns a variant array of real numbers where every three numbers represent a point. The
point information is in X, Y, Z order, however, there is no delineation between the points
themselves. If two intersecting points were found, the array would return with them stored
as (X1, Y1, Z1, X2, Y2, Z2). If there are no intersections found, the variant array is set to
empty.
The program code first sets up a variant array, then calls the Intersection method. The
return array is then tested to see what its value is. If it is not empty, the program proceeds
to report the intersection points found.
Dim Pnts as Variant
Pnts = Vobj.IntersectWith(Uobj, acExtendNone)
If VarType(Pnts) <> vbEmpty then
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The VBA LBound and UBound functions provide the required
information as to how many values can be found in the array. These
values are used to define the limits to be used in a For-Next loop that
will go through each value in the list.
Note how the point values themselves are accessed from the array.
The X value is found at position (I) while the Y value is found at
(I+1) and Z at (I+2). In order to advance a whole point at a time in
the For-Next loop, the loop counter variable (I) is incremented by
two during each pass of the loop. It will automatically be
incremented by a value of 1 because of the For-Next loop.
Dim I as Integer
For I = LBound(Pnts) to UBound(Pnts)
S$ = Pnts(I) & ", " & Pnts(I+1) & ", " & Pnts(I+2)
MsgBox "Found intersection at " & S$
I = I + 2
Next I
If the resulting Pnts array was empty, the following code is executed.
The user is told via a message box that there are no intersections
between the two objects. The second End If statement closes the
earlier test to see if the second object was selected properly.
Else
MsgBox "No intersections found"
End If
End If
It does not take long to get used to working in the VBA environment.
In fact, with the programming tools native in the VBA IDE, you will
spend less time learning the objects than might be expected. This has
to do with the automatic typing feature that accompanies all objects
known to the system. With the easy access of the online help facility,
you can quickly find the object details in question. Perhaps the only
difficulty with the online help system is that the VBA files have
some information,
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and the AutoCAD help files have more. For example, if you are
searching the AutoCAD help files for ActiveX, you will find no
direct references to the Err object. That information is found in the
VBA specific help files.
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Chapter Five
Working with Entity Collection Objects
A collection object is a set of things all collected into one object. A
group of entity objects can be considered a collection as can a list
of text styles. This chapter explores the basic concepts behind
collections and how to work with them. We will give specific
attention to entity collections.
The Collection Object
A collection object provides a mechanism by which several items,
data or other objects, can be linked together and referenced as a
singular item. The easiest way to view a collection is to think of a
selection or pick set. A selection set results when you are picking
entity objects such as in the COPY or MOVE commands. A
selection set can have any number of entity objects in it, and these
objects can be of any typeranging from lines to block
insertionsreferencing even more objects. The collection of objects
can then be referenced as a single item. Say the AutoCAD operator
wants to both move and rotate a set of objects. For the first
command, he or she needs to select the objects to be manipulated
but in the second command, he or she can use the ''previous"
selection set. Obviously, this reduces the amount of work since the
operator can reference the entire collection of objects as a single
item.
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In Visual BASIC, a collection object is like an array or a list. The
main difference is that every element does not have to be of the
same data type. In some applications that involve collections, the
data type may be standardized for each object. This situation will
occur when interfacing to programs such as AutoCAD because
only through the standardization of the information is data
transferred without any problems. An example of this in AutoCAD
is the layer table that is treated as a collection of layer objects.
Generally, there are three methods associated with collections. The
methods provide the basic functions needed to add new items,
remove existing items, and access the items in the collection.
AutoCAD collections are not general-purpose collections but are
collection-like objects. You can think of them as being created
from the collection object, but with their own special traits. As a
result, special collections in AutoCAD such as selection sets tend
to have more methods specific to the type of collection in question.
Selection Sets Collection
In the AutoCAD drawing object model there is a collection called
the Selection Sets Collection. This collection is a storage place for
all of the selection sets in the drawing. When you want to create or
access a selection set, it will be from this collection. Selection sets
are referenced by name inside the collection. The name can be
anything that fits your application; we recommend that you use the
same naming structure as applied to the variable names to avoid
conflicts with existing collections. Selection sets collection
member names are strings.
As a drawing edit session is started, the selection sets collection
object is created and is ready for use. There can be any number of
selection set objects within the selection sets collection. Each
selection set object is a special type of collection in that it contains
none or many entity object references. So the hierarchy starts from
the current drawing object and then goes to the selection sets object
(figure 5.1). There can be multiple
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Figure 5.1
Selection Set Collection Hierarchy
selection sets defined as members of the selection sets object. Each
selection set can then have multiple entity objects as members.
In order to use a selection set in a program, it must first be created.
Adding a new member to the selection sets collection creates a new
selection set as in the following code segment.
Dim S1 as AcadSelectionSet
Set S1 = thisDrawing.SelectionSets.Add(''S1")
In the code just shown, the variable S1 is defined as being of the

type AcadSelectionSet. Dimensioning it gives it a structure, while
the Set statement gives it a value. In this case the new selection set
added to the selection sets collection is named "S1". The name
string does not have to match the name of the variable used, but it
does help to keep things straight. Adding an existing selection set
name to the collection will result in an error, meaning that you have
to add the name only once. We will cover how to reuse the same
selection set reference later in this chapter.
Building a Collection of Entity Objects
After the code to create the storage location of the selection is
completed, an empty selection set exists by the name "S1".
Because of the special nature of selection sets, there are several
methods unique to the class for manipulating entity objects. Instead
of just a single Add method to append new members, there are
several methods available to add objects to the selection set. The
one to use is based on the application at hand. There are options for
user input as well as for programmatic creation of a selection set.
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Entities can now be added to the selection using any of the following
methods. They can be executed in any order; however, you should be
cautious when merging automatic and user-driven selections.
Method What it does
AddItems Appends an entity object to the selection set.
Select Adds entity objects using any of the valid selection mechanisms
such as the previous selection set or all entity objects in the
drawing, in a box, in a fence, and so forth.
SelectAtPoint Adds any entity objects found at a given point to the selection set.
SelectByPolygonAdds entity objects found inside a polygon area (fence).
SelectOnScreen Operator selection of objects to add to the selection set.
The following example demonstrates how to have the operator select

objects and add them to a new selection set named ''S2". First the
selection set object is created as a member of the selection sets collection.
Then the SelectOnScreen method is run to allow the operator to pick the
objects to place into the selection set. Between the two is the AppActivate
statement. This function brings the AutoCAD window to the foreground
so that the operator may select the objects. The only time this is an issue is
when you are using a form for user input or are testing your macros from
within the development environment.
Dim S2 as AcadSelectionSet
Set S2 = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Add("S2")
AppActivate ThisDrawing.Application.Caption
S2.SelectOnScreen
The following code expands on our example by creating a point object

and adding it to the selection set S2. This example demonstrates the
AddItems method. Since the program created the object, it knows the
name of it and can add the new object directly. The entity object is stored
as variable Apoint. It is first dimensioned as a point object and
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then set to the value returning from the AddPoint( ) method. Note
that the point object is added to Model Space. Now we can add it to
the selection set. The addItems( ) method requires that we supply
an array of object references, and it will not accept just a single
object. An array with one element is defined named varApoint and
that element is assigned the value of the Apoint. The last statement
in this block of code adds the new object to the select set object S2.
Dim Apoint as AcadPoint
Dim PNT(0 to 2) as Double
PNT(0) = 0# : PNT(1) = 0# : PNT(2) = 0#
Set Apoint = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace.AddPoint(PNT)
Dim varApoint(0) As AcadPoint
Set varApoint(0) = Apoint
S2.AddItems(varApoint)
Accessing Selection Set Members

Retrieving selection set members in a random access manner is
done using an offset value into the selection set. The first member
of the selection set is at an offset of 0, and the last member is at an
offset that is computed as the number of objects in the set minus 1.
In most cases the selection set was created in a random order and
you will be accessing the set sequentially within a loop.
There is one method, item, which is used to retrieve the members
of a selection set. The value returned is an object of a type
unknown to your program until you interrogate the EntityType
property. You can accomplish many object manipulations such as
layer changes without knowing the exact type of entity.
Because a selection set is a collection, a For-Each-Next loop can
also be used to iterate through the selection set and work with each
entity one at a time. This is generally the preferred mechanism to
use when working with the entity objects in a selection set one at a
time. The loop
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will extract an entity object each time the loop iterates. That object
is placed in a variable that is defined in the For-Each-Next sections
of the loop as seen in the example below.
The next section of code demonstrates the item and the For-Next-
Loop versions of working with entity objects in the example S2
selection set. The program will get the entity type and layer of the
first object in the entity list. It will then change the layers of
matching entity types in the remainder of the selection set.
Dim MatchIt as Object
Dim Ent as Object
Set MatchIt = S2.Item(0)
For each Ent in S2
If ((MatchIt.EntityType = Ent.EntityType) And _
(MatchIt.Layer <> Ent.Layer)) Then
Ent.Layer = MatchIt.Layer
Ent.Update
End If
Next Ent
When iterating through a selection set, the easiest programming

strategy is to use the For-Each-Next loop structure. If you know
exactly where in a selection set the object in question resides, the
item( ) method is best. Between the two you have access to
selection sets built by whatever mechanism.
More Selection Set Methods and Properties
In addition to the selection set building methods and the item( )
method for accessing the selection set contents, there are several
maintenance methods that are also associated with the object
definition. The following tables summarize the methods and
properties for maintaining the selection set object.
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Method What it does
Clear Clears the selection set. The result of running this method is that the
selection set still exists but with no entity objects in it.
Delete Deletes the selection set from the selection sets collection. The
linkage to the selection set object is broken, and any references to the
selection set will result in an error.
Erase Deletes the items from the drawing. The selection will still exist but
will no longer have any entity objects in it. The entity objects are
removed from the drawing as in the AutoCAD ERASE command.
Highlight Highlights the objects in the selection set. The method is used when
your application has automatically started the creation of a selection
set and you are now going to show the operator what has been
selected. Transparent zoom and pan of the display will cause the
highlighting to disappear. To prevent that, use the command reactors
and highlight the objects again inside that call-back function. In order
to do this, the selection set object will have to be defined in the global
declarations.
RemoveItemsRemoves one or more entity objects from the selection set. The
objects will remain in the drawing; they just will no longer be a
member of the selection set.
Update Regenerates the entity objects on the screen.
PropertyWhat it's for

Count Number of entity objects in the selection set. To get the last object in the
selection set using the Count, remember to subtract 1 from the value to
compute the offset in the collection.
Name Name of the selection set. When iterating through the selection sets
collection the name property can be compared for whatever purposes your
application requires.
Selection Set Collection Iterations

There are times when iterating through a selection set that the For-Each-
Next loop structure may not be the best solution. A classic situation is
when you're selectively removing objects from the selection set. Even
though you can use filters to selectively build the set, there are times
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when additional programmatic filters may be required by an
application. In those cases, we will need to remove objects from a
selection set based on our own criteria. Because the For-Each-Next
loops starts at the beginning of the list and works its way to the end
of the list, the removal of an object from the list inside the loop will
cause the loop to skip one.
There are two ways to solve this problem, as seen in the following
two listings that contain complete subroutines. There are two
parameters to each of the routines: a selection set and an entity. The
routines test to see if the members of the selection set are of the same
entity type as the entity. Those members that do not match are
removed from the selection set.
In the first listing an array is built containing the object references to
the items to be removed from the selection set. After the loop is
finished, the items are all removed with the RemoveItems method. In
the second version, the items are removed as found but this time it is
within a While loop that is starting at the back of the collection and
working forward. Both approaches are equally validit's just a matter
of style.
' Version 1 of a selection set filter.
Sub My_Filter1(SS As AcadSelectionSet, ET As Object)
Dim Ents() As Object
Dim Ent As Object
I = 0
For Each Ent In SS
If Ent.EntityType <> ET.EntityType Then
ReDim Preserve Ents(0 To I)
Set Ents(I) = Ent
I = I + 1
End If
Next Ent
If I > 0 Then
SS.RemoveItems (Ents)
End If
End Sub
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' Version 2 of a selection set filter
Sub My_Filter2(SS As AcadSelectionSet, ET As Object)
Dim Ent(0) As Object
I = SS.Count
While (I > 0)
I = I 1
Set Ent(0) = SS.Item(I)
If Ent(0).EntityType <> ET.EntityType Then
SS.RemoveItems (Ents)
End If
Wend
End Sub
There are a couple of items of note for beginning VBA programmers

in the listings above. Both of these subroutines work with selection
set collections and entity objects, but you will notice that the variable
references are to general-purpose objects. The reason is that in most
cases, we do not know what we will be working with other than to
say that it is an object.
Listing 1 contains an array named Ents that is initially defined as
being empty. The ReDim statement in VBA allows our application to
add more space to the array on the fly. But ReDim by itself will
destroy the current contents of the array, which we certainly do not
want to have happen. The keyword Preserve will maintain the values
in the array as it is expanded. The reason we have to build the array
in this manner is that we do not know how many elements we will be
putting in it, if any. The RemoveItems method is finicky in regards to
accepting arrays of objects. If you supply an array that has ten
elements defined for it but place only five objects in the array; the
function will not operate properly and will result in an error with the
AutoCAD Release 14 implementation of VBA.
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Listing 2 demonstrates a short way of coding for the same problem.
In this case, a While loop is used to loop through the selection set.
The variable I is set to the count of the number of items in the
selection set, and so long as it is greater than 0, the While loop
iterates.
ModelSpace and PaperSpace Collections

Entity objects in the drawing are stored in either Model Space or
Paper Space. From the VBA perspective, these two spaces are
collections of entity objects and are processed in the same manner
as a selection set. That is why one or the other must be specified
when adding new objects to the drawing. Adding entity objects to
these spaces is how drawings are built.
Using collections for holding the Model and Paper Space objects
provides an easy mechanism for accessing the entities in the
drawing. You can employ the same techniques when working with
selection sets as with the entity objects in the drawing. To get the
last entity in the database, access the count property, then use it to
compute the offset into the space collection desired. The first entity
object would be at an offset of 0. The following code demonstrates
how to access the first and last objects in the drawing.
Dim EntFirst, EntLast, MdlSpc as Object
Set MdlSpc = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace
Set EntFirst = MdlSpc.Item(0)
I = MdlSpc.Count - 1
Set EntLast = MdlSpc.Item(I)
Note the technique of setting a variable to the ModelSpace object.

The variable MdlSpc is set to an instance of the ModelSpace
object. This is done to save typing requirements, as the remainder
of the routine accesses ModelSpace. In most cases, a reference to
the Model (and/or Paper) Space object is established in the global
memory of the VBA application so that all routines and modules
can share it. As the applica-
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tion is loaded, the set statement can be executed to establish the
link between the variable reference and the actual space of interest.
As you create larger applications, the savings in time and typing
resulting from the use of global references, as just described, can
be considerable.
The Model and Paper Space collections are different from selection
set collections. There are a larger number of methods supported by
these collection objects for the purpose of creating new object
instances. In other words, there are functions for adding new entity
objects to the drawing. At the same time, there are no methods for
removing objects from these collections. Instead, you'll use the
erase method for the object.
Thus, even though both selection set and the space collections are
indeed collections, they are different in how they work within the
context of the drawing system. Selection set collections work with
existing entity objects in the drawing. They are a duplicate
reference mechanism for our own purpose. There can be any
number of selection sets created and maintained within a drawing.
When the drawing is saved and the edit session finished, the
selection set collections are discarded, as they are no longer in use.
The space collections, on the other hand, are the drawing database.
As such there can be only one instance of the model space and
paper space collections. Each time the drawing is loaded, the model
and paper space collections are rebuilt given the information in the
drawing data file. Even an empty drawing contains these collection
references ready to receive new entity objects.
Even More Selection Set Methods
The following tables are the methods and properties associated
with the model and paper space collection objects. All of these
methods and properties are also applicable when building a block
definition. Block collections are essentially the same as the paper
and model space collections. That is, they have the same properties
and methods. They are different in how they are created; we will
discuss blocks in Chapter 6.
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Method What it does
Add3Dface Adds a 3D face object given three or four 3D points.
Add3Dmesh Adds a 3D mesh object given a matrix array of vertex points and
the size of the rectangular region (number of rows and columns).
Add3Dpoly Adds a 3D polyline object to the drawing given an array of
variants. Every three values in the array are treated as a point, so
the array length must be a multiple of 3.
AddArc Adds arc objects to the drawing given the center, radius, starting
angle, and ending angle.
AddAttribute Adds an attribute definition to the drawing given the text height,
display mode, insert point, prompt, tag name, and default value.
AddBox Adds a 3D solid object in the shape of a box given the center,
length, width, and height.
AddCircle Adds circle objects to the drawing given the center and radius
values.
AddCone Adds a 3D solid object in the shape of a 3D cone object given
the center point, height, and radius at the base.
AddCustomObjectAdds a custom object as defined in an ObjectARX program.
This method will add the object to the database given the class
name (rxClassName from the ObjectARX program).
AddCylinder Adds a 3D solid object in the shape of a solid cylinder given the
center point, height, and radius.
AddDimAligned Adds an aligned dimension object to the drawing given the
extension line points and text location point. Dimension objects
are created using the current dimension style and settings. To
change these values or any other property of the dimension
object, reference the object values after it has been created.
AddDimAngular Adds an angular dimension object to the drawing given the
center, extension points, and text location. You can create
dimension objects using the current dimension style and settings.
To change these values or any other property of the dimension
object, reference the object values after it has been created.
AddDimDiametricAdds a diameter dimension object to the drawing given the
chord points and extension line length. You can create dimension
objects using the current dimension style and settings. To change
these values or any other property of the dimension object,
reference the object values after it has been created.

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Method What it does
AddDimOrdinate Adds an ordinate dimension object to the drawing given the
base point, leader end point, and whether this is an X or Y
value being generated. You can create dimension objects
using the current dimension style and settings. To change
these values or any other property of the dimension object,
reference the object values after it has been created.
AddDimRadial Adds a radius dimension object to the drawing given the
center point, leader start point, and length. You can create
dimension objects using the current dimension style and
settings. To change these values or any other property of the
dimension object, reference the object values after it has been
created.
AddDimRotated Adds a rotated or skewed dimension object to the drawing
given the extension points, text point, and rotation. You can
create dimension objects using the current dimension style
and settings. To change these values or any other property of
the dimension object, reference the object values after it has
been created.
AddEllipse Adds an ellipse object to the drawing given the center point,
major axis diameter, and ratio between the major and minor
axes.
AddEllipticalCone Adds a 3D solid object in the shape of an elliptical cone
given the center point, height of the cone, and the length of
both the major and minor axes.
AddEllipticalCylinderAdds a 3D solid object in the shape of an elliptical cylinder
given the center point, height of the cylinder, and the length
of both the major and minor axes.
AddExtrudedSolid Adds a 3D solid object that is created as an extrusion from an
existing region object. The height and taper angle are
supplied as parameters when using this function.
AddExtrudedSolid Adds a 3D solid object that is created as an extrusion of an
AlongPath existing region object along a profile path.
AddHatch Adds a crosshatch pattern to the drawing. The crosshatch
does not have any boundaries defined during the initial
creation. There are two methods used to define the
boundaries to the hatch object called AppendOuterLoop and
AppendInnerLoop. Use these methods after the hatch object
has been created using AddHatch with the pattern name.
AddLeader Adds a leader object to the drawing given an array of points,
a leader annotation object, and a flag indicating the leader
style. The annotation object is any one of an Mtext,
Tolerance, or BlockRef object.

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Method What it does
AddLightweight Adds a lightweight polyline object to the drawing given an array
Polyline of points. Bulge factors are added after the initial lightweight
polyline object has been defined. Use the SetBulge method for
the lightweight polyline object to add bulge factors for arcs at
particular vertices. Note that all point values in the input array
are considered 2D, so the array must contain an even number of
elements.
AddLine Adds a line object to the drawing given the start and end points.
AddMText Adds an Mtext object to the drawing given the insertion point,
width of the box area, and the text. The text information can
contain format data specific to the Mtext object.
AddPoint Adds a point object to the drawing given the point array.
AddPolyline Adds a polyline object to the drawing given an array of 3D
points. The array of variants must have a length that is a
multiple of 3. Bulge factors are added after the initial polyline
object has been created. The SetBulge method defined in the
polyline object is used to set the bulge factor for individual
vertices.
AddRaster Inserts a raster image object from a raster image file. The
parameters include the file name, insertion point, scaling factor,
and rotational angle.
AddRay Adds a ray object to the drawing given two 3D points.
AddRegion Adds a region object to the drawing given a series of objects
such as lines, arcs, and polylines that define a closed region.
AddRevolvedSolidAdds a 3D solid object that is the result of revolving a profile
about an axis. The parameters are the profile object, a base
point, a directional point, and angle of rotation.
AddShape Adds a shape object reference to the drawing given the insert
point and shape name.
AddSolid Adds a 3D solid polygon object to the drawing. The first two
point array parameters define a base line, and the next two
describe a diagonally opposite line to form the solid polygon.
AddSphere Adds a 3D solid object that is in the shape of a sphere given the
center point and radius.
AddSpline Adds a spline object to the drawing given an array of points and
the starting and ending tangents.
AddText Adds a text object to the drawing given the text string, insert
point, and text height. All other text parameters are adjusted
after the text object has been initially created, or are established
in the current style. Alignment points and rotations are applied
after the initial text object has been defined.

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Method What it does
AddToleranceAdds a tolerance object to the drawing given the text string, insertion
point, and rotation. All the remaining tolerance parameters are set
after the initial object has been created.
AddTorus Adds a 3D solid object in the shape of a torus (doughnut) given the
center point, radius, and radius of the tube.
AddTrace Adds a trace object to the drawing given the four points in an array
(total length of variant array should be sixteen elements).
AddWedge Adds a 3D solid object that looks like a wedge to the drawing given
the face center point, width, length, and height.
AddXLine Adds an Xline object to the drawing given two 3D points.
InsertBlock Adds an insertion (BlockRef) object to the drawing given the
insertion point, name of the block, X scale, Y scale, and rotation
factor.
Item Retrieves the object at a given offset position. This is the only routine
you'll use to get information from the collections directly into a
program.
There are numerous methods in this set that create objects using only partial information.
The object's specific methods and properties are then used to set any of the remaining data
to the value needed by the application. The following code section demonstrates this simple
principle at work when you're creating text objects. The program will create a new text
object with a string value of ''This is a test", height of 0.2 units, rotation of 90 degrees, an
oblique angle of 22.5 degrees, and an insertion point at (5,10).
Dim MyObj as AcadText
Dim IP(0 to 2) as Double
IP(0) = 5#: IP(1) = 10#: IP(2) = 0.0
Set MyObj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace.AddText("This is a test", IP, 0.2)
' Text object is created, and can now be updated to what we need
MyObj.Rotation = D2R(90#) 'D2R defined below..
MyObj.ObliqueAngle = D2R(22.5#) 'Angles must be in radians
' The text object now exists in the drawing as desired.
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' The function D2R does not exist in the VBA library,
' you must create it as follows.
Function D2R (D as Double) as Double
D2R = D * 3.141592653590 / 180#
End Function
For the more complex entities, your programs will have to update the
properties after the initial object has been created. Further examples
include bulge factors in polylines; Mtext, Text, and Attrib properties;
and partial ellipses. Use the online help when programming these
objects to find the name of the appropriate property or method.
Filtering the Selection Set
When selecting entity objects in an application, you may want to work
with just a specific subset of the entity objects in the drawing.
Selection sets are subsets of the entity objects in the drawing. When
building a selection set, you may want to select only certain types of
objects or objects that share specific property traits. An example
would be a program that counts how many bolt holes are in a design.
Such a program would search for just circles. You can use a filter
when you're building a selection set based on such criteria.
A filter is a set of properties that the entity objects need to match in
order to be included in the selection set. The properties can be specific
object types as well as ranges of valuessuch as selecting all circles
with radii between 1 and 2 drawing units.
In VBA, a filter is constructed as two arrays of variants. The two
arrays contain related information that consists of group codes and
data values. The first array contains group codes only. Group codes
are integer values that indicate the type of data being referenced. The
data itself resides in the other array. The index value links the two
arrays. The first value in the group codes array corresponds with the
first value in the data array.
Group codes that are used the most frequently in applications
programming are listed in the following table. There are lots more. A
com-
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plete list is documented in the DXF section of the AutoCAD reference
information. The group codes listed here are those most frequently used in
an application.
Group code Contents
0 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif Object type string such as LINE,
ARC, or CIRCLE
1 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif String value in Text, Mtext
2 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif Object name string needed only
for Block names and, Table names
8 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif Layer name string
10 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif Primary point
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Secondary points for text
11 . . .
gif alignments, line endpoints, traces,
and so forth
40 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif Arc and circle radius
62 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif Color number (integer)
67 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif Model/paper space integer flag. A
value of 1 indicates the object is in
paper space.
-4 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif Grouping operator string or
relational test
The second array contains the data elements associated with the group
codes. The data elements will be of different data types that correspond to
the integer codes. A group code 40 will have an associated real number
while a group code 2 will have a string.
These two arrays must then be assigned to variant variables that are
passed to the selection set function. Beginning VBA programmers may
find that the variant passing system is somewhat awkward; however, it is
a common practice when sending information from BASIC to other
programming environments. The reason is that the variant data type is a
container holding a description of the data type and a pointer to where the
data is stored. Instead of sending a complete array through the parameter
list, a pointer is sent to its location in the computer. Another reason for
using variants is that inside the computer, arrays are stored differently in
the two languages. A variant data structure provides a link-
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age mechanism that tells the C++ component all about the array
and helps to set up the conversions required.
An example of using a filtered selection, the following code
segment builds a selection set from the entire drawing that will
contain only CIRCLE entity objects with a radius of 5 drawing
units.
Dim Ftyp(1) As Integer
Dim Fval(1) As Variant
Dim Filter1, Filter2 As Variant
Ftyp(0) = 0: Fval(0) = ''CIRCLE"
Ftyp(1) = 40: Fval(1) = 5#
Dim S1 As AcadSelectionSet.
Filter1 = Ftyp: Filter2 = Fval
S1.Select acSelectionSetAll, , , Filter1, Filter2
The arrays must be dimensioned to the proper size for the filters. If
you are using only two filter items, the array length should be
exactly 2, meaning that the dimension statement should call out a
dimension size that is 1 less than the number of elements that will
appear in the array. VBA arrays start indexing at a value of 0,
hence the need to subtract 1 from the dimensioned size. There are
two ways to dimension these arrays, and it is a matter of style as to
which you will use in your programming. You can specify the
lower and upper bounds of the array or simply specify the upper
bound and let the 0 value default. Both approaches work fine, but
we happen to find the version that declares the range to be more
readable. Programmers who work in multiple languages where
array declarations are not based on bound definitions will find the
range more readable as the other looks like an array that is defined
too small.
Dim AnArray(0 to 1) as Variant
Dim AnArray(1) as Variant

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Whichever style you select, we strongly recommend that you
remain consistent throughout the application. Future programmers
may have to read your code!
Refining the FiltersNumeric Tests

There are times when an application may need to build a selection
set based on specific criteria. Suppose you wanted a selection set
that contained all circles with a radius value less than or equal to 5
drawing units. You can use filter in conjunction with a relation test
to accomplish what is needed. It would not be necessary for the
program to look at each and every circle entity in the drawingthe
filter would accomplish this testing instead.
The following code example is a variation of the routine just
presented. Instead of checking for an exact match of 5 drawing
units, this version looks for circles that have a radius value of 5
units or less.
Dim Ftyp1(2) As Integer: Dim Fvar1(2) As Variant
Ftyp1(0) = 0: Fvar1(0) = ''CIRCLE"
Ftyp1(1) = 4: Fvar1(1) = "<="
Ftyp1(2) = 40: Fvar1(2) = 5#
Filter1 = Ftyp1: Filter2 = Fvar1
Dim S1 As AcadSelectionSet
The filter in the code above uses the (4) group code. When a
comparison test is used in the filter, it is applied to the values that
follow. In this case, the radius value is used for the relational test.
Numeric relational tests are as follows. These tests are typically
applied against real numbers found in the entity object properties.
They can also be applied for points.
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= Equal to
< Less than
> Greater than
<= Less than or equal to
>= Greater than or equal to
!= or Not equal to
/=
* Always-true returns true every time. Used
when testing point values.
When your program is testing point values, the point value tests are
combined with commas separating them. You can test the X, Y, Z
components of the point independently of each other. That means
that you can have the filter look for points that have an X
component greater than a value and have a Y component that is
less than another value. If the Z component is not supplied, it is
assumed to contain an always-true test associated with it.
The following example program tests for objects that are located in
the first quadrant (that is, they have X and Y values that are greater
than or equal to 0). This version tests the primary point value of all
objects in the drawing. The primary point value is group code 10.
The test to be used is written as ''>=,>=,*" which means that we
want X and Y values that are greater than the test value and that we
don't care what the Z value is.
Dim Pnt(0 to 2) As Double
Dim Ftyp(1) As Integer: Dim Fval(1) As Variant
Pnt(0) = 0#: Pnt(1) = 0#: Pnt(2) = 0#
Ftyp(0) = -4: Fval(0) = ">=,>=,*"
Ftyp(1) = 10: Fval(1) = Pnt
Filter1 = Ftyp: Filter2 = Fval
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In the code segment above, a point (Pnt) is defined as an array of double
precision numbers. Then that array is set into the variant array (Fval), which in
turn is set into the variant variable (Filter2) for passing into the Select function
that builds a new selection set. At first glance, this seems like a lot of extra
work to have to do in order to get what you want. That is one of the trade-offs
in object-oriented programming when you're working with more complex
objects; you can either have a lot of methods or you can have a lot of options
available in a smaller set of methods. The Select function is one of those that
have a lot of options. The empty parameters in the examples presented thus far
are there in case you want to send point constraints as required when using
window-based selections.
The following example looks for small arc objects (radius less than 1.0) in the
drawing. It uses a window-based selection method and supplies two points
along with a filter. The window is from (0, 0, 0) to (15, 15, 0). The point
arguments are supplied as arrays of numbers.
Dim Pnt1(0 to 2) As Double
Dim Pnt2(0 to 2) As Double
Pnt1(0) = 0#: Pnt1(1) = 0#: Pnt1(2) = 0#
Pnt2(0) = 15#: Pnt2(1) = 15#: Pnt2(2) = 0#
Ftyp1(0) = 0: Fvar1(0) = ''ARC"
Ftyp1(1) = -4: Fvar1(1) = "<"
Ftyp1(2) = 40: Fvar1(2) = 1#
Filter1 = Ftyp1: Filter2 = Fvar1
S1.Select acSelectionSetWindow, Pnt1, Pnt2, Filter1, Filter2
The value you're testing must be of a data type that makes sense for the test.
Numbers can be tested greater or less than relationships, but strings cannot.
After all, one string cannot be greater than another string
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in a form that makes sense for such a test. Wild cards can be used for
string testing in a filter instead.
String Tests in Filters
Wild cards are characters that symbolize a test. The most common wild
card used is the asterisk (*). We use an asterisk when we mean ''anything."
The other wild card characters used in testing strings are defined in the
table that follows.
* Anything
? Any single character
# Any single digit
@ Any single character
. Any non-alphanumeric character (such as a dash)
' Escape character, use the next character as is (as in '*to look for
asterisk)
[] Match any of the characters inside the brackets
[~]Match when the characters inside are not found
~ First character in search pattern means "NOT". This causes a match
when the pattern is not matched.
' Separate more than pattern such as in LYR*, LAYER* to look for a
match starting with either LYR or LAYER.
You do not need a relational test group code (-4) when you're doing string
pattern matches. As an example, the following code builds a selection set
of objects that are on any layer starting with the characters AA or AB. In
this example, the variables Filter1, Filter2, and S1 are already
dimensioned to the proper data types. They should match the previous
examples in this chapter for the same variable names.
Dim Ft(0) As Integer: Dim Fv(0) As Variant
Ft(0) = 8: Fv(0) = "AA*, AB*"
Filter1 = Ft: Filter2 = Fv
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The example just shown tests the entity objects for two different
layer name groups, those that start with AA and those that start
with AB. The two tests are combined into a single test separated by
the comma character. This forms an implicit OR test, which means
that a true result will come back if either or both of the tests turn
out true. When you consider an entire filter, each of the individual
matches are combined together in the form of an AND test. An
AND test is true only when all of the sub-tests are true. In some of
the previous examples we tested for multiple items such as circles
with a specific radius value. Because the AND test combines all the
parts of the filter, we do not get objects that match only one or two
of the tests. That means we cannot build a filter that would look for
both circle and arc objects since one or the other would cause the
selection to skip an entity. For example, if the object is an arc then
the circle test will fail.
Combining Multiple Tests

To combine tests that would otherwise cancel each other out, such
as looking for two types of entities, use the logical combination
tests. There is an implied AND condition for all elements in a filter,
but a set of -4 group code options can be used to establish a
different testing logic. Tests can be constructed using more
advanced logicsuch as looking for arcs and circles or looking for
radius values within a particular range to assemble the selection set
desired. The table entries that follow contain the combination tests
available when building a filter. When the test result indicated is
true, then the entity being questioned will be added to the selection
set (provided any other tests also prove to be true).
ANDWill return true if all grouped tests are true.
OR Will return true if any of the grouped tests are
true.
XORWill return true if any one of the grouped tests
are true.
NOT Will return true if the next test is false.
The combinations are defined by using a group code (-4) followed

by one of the options above. When the option is typed, place a less-
than
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sign (<) in front of it. At the end of the group of tests the
combination is used again with a (-4) group code and a greater than
sign at the end. If you wanted to perform an OR combination test,
the first (-4) group code would be ''<OR"; after giving the
individual tests, another (-4) group code is used with "OR>". By
using the less-than and greater-than signs in this manner, tests can
be nested within each other.
In the following example, an OR combination test is used to obtain
entity objects that are of different types. The OR combination test
in the filter causes the selection set building routine in which it is
employed to return objects that are of the type CIRCLE, ARC, or
ELLIPSE.
Ftyp4(0) = -4: Fvar4(0) = "<OR"
Ftyp4(1) = 0: Fvar4(1) = "CIRCLE"
Ftyp4(2) = 0: Fvar4(2) = "ARC"
Ftyp4(3) = 0: Fvar4(3) = "ELLIPSE"
Ftyp4(4) = -4: Fvar4(4) = "OR>"
You can accomplish testing by just laying out the testing sequence
in a logical manner. The first step is to attempt to state the test in
the terms supplied. Suppose our application was looking for either
CIRCLE entities with a radius greater than 0.25 but less than 0.75
as well as ARC entities on layer "PART" with a radius less than 1.
In this case, we would set up the filter list to contain an OR test
looking for either entity type; within each OR test there are
additional tests. For the circle, the radius must be between the
values specified, and for the arc it must be on a specific layer and
with a radius less than 1. The diagram that follows shows the tests
combined by boxes. There are two AND boxes and one OR box.
Now let's look at the code required to create this filter. The
Figure 5.2
Combined Logic in a Filter
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arrays are much longer than the ones shown thus far. When your program is using
filters containing logical combination tests, the number of elements in the array will
increase due to the (-4) group code additions.
Dim Ftyp14(14) As Integer
Dim Fvar14(14) As Variant
Ftyp14(0) = -4: Fvar14(0) = ''<OR" 'Start the overall OR test
Ftyp14(1) = -4: Fvar14(1) = "<AND" 'Start the AND test for ARC
Ftyp14(2) = 0: Fvar14(2) = "ARC"
Ftyp14(3) = 8: Fvar14(3) = "PART"
Ftyp14(4) = -4: Fvar14(4) = "<="
Ftyp14(5) = 40: Fvar14(5) = 1#
Ftyp14(6) = -4: Fvar14(6) = "AND>" 'End the AND test for ARC
Ftyp14(7) = -4: Fvar14(7) = "<AND" 'Start the AND test for CIRCLE
Ftyp14(8) = 0: Fvar14(8) = "CIRCLE"
Ftyp14(9) = -4: Fvar14(9) = ">="
Ftyp14(10) = 40: Fvar14(10) = 0.25
Ftyp14(11) = -4: Fvar14(11) = "<="
Ftyp14(12) = 40: Fvar14(12) = 0.75
Ftyp14(13) = -4: Fvar14(13) = "AND>" 'End the AND test for CIRCLE
Ftyp14(14) = -4: Fvar14(14) = "OR>" 'End the overall OR test
Virtually any selection criteria can be defined using the combination tests. Here are
some more examples presented in a tabular form for readability. The values would be
assigned as presented to the two arrays.
The first example shows a filter to test for objects that are not circles and arcs and that
are on layer "ABC". This filter uses the fact that there is an implicit AND by starting
with the layer test. The next part then informs the filter processing system that we are
NOT interested in circles OR arcs.
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Group code Value
8 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif ''ABC"
-4 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif "<NOT"
-4 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif "<OR"
0 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif "CIRCLE"
0 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif "ARC"
-4 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif "OR>
-4 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif "NOT>
As another example, here is a filter to test for text objects that are
not on either layer TITLE or BORDER. Text objects include the
Text, Attrib, and Mtext entity objects. An OR test is required to test
for each possible entity object. The portion of the filter that tests
whether or not the objects are not on a layer is accomplished with a
pair of (8) group codes containing the layer names preceded by the
tilde (~) character. When that character is present, the test is
reversed. Instead of being an equal test, it is a not-equal test. The
two individual tests are required and cannot be combined into a
single test with the command as in ~BORDER, ~TITLE since the
comma acts an OR combination which would always return true in
this case. After all, if an object is on layer BORDER, it is not on
layer TITLE, and the OR combination would result in a true result.
An AND combination is required, and that is why two separate (8)
group codes are involved.
Group code Value
-4 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif "<OR"
0 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif "TEXT"
0 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif "ATTRIB"
0 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif "MTEXT"
-4 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif "OR>
8 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif ~TITLE
8 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif ~BORDER
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Selection Set Maintenance Issues

Once a selection set has been created via the ADD method in the
SelectionSets collection, it is up to the application to keep track of the
selection set object. It is not a good idea to simply create selection sets
on the fly, then leave them behind. When you create one, you should
delete when you are finished. That is why it is a good idea to use your
own naming strategy for selection sets. When your application is
finished, you can clean out the selection sets. The following code
snippet demonstrates a clean way to get your own selection sets for the
drawing. The function below shows a new selection set object created
in the Selection-Sets collection.
Function SS_Create() As AcadSelectionSet
Dim SS1 As Double
Do
SS1 = ThisDrawing.GetVariable(''DATE")
S$ = "SS" & Str$(Fix(1000000# * (SS1 - Fix(SS1))))
Err.Clear
Set SS_Create = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Item(S$)
Loop Until (Err.Number <> 0)
Set SS_Create = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Add(S$)
End Function
SS_Create uses the system date and time information in AutoCAD to

create a unique integer value. Since selection sets are transientthat is,
they are not intended to survive more than a single edit sessionthe
names will repeat on a daily basis. The key is that they don't collide too
often, and you will always get a unique selection set object when
asking for one.
This function works by taking the system date value and subtracting the
day portion. What is left is a fraction of a day. Multiplying that number
by 1,000,000 provides unique (but incrementing) numbers every
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tenth of a second. That number is concatenated onto the string ''SS"
to form a new string. The string is in turn used by the selection sets
collection Item( ) function to see if it already exists. If the selection
set is already in the collection, the error number will be 0. The loop
tests to see if the error number is non-zero, meaning that the name
was not in the collection and that we are free to add it. When the
loop finishes, the Add( ) method is used to add the new name found
to the selection sets collection.
The error handler is required because we are accessing a collection
to look for something. Using the "On Error Resume Next" structure
will allow an error to take place, but then it is our responsibility as
application programmers to test it in our programs.
When you are done with a selection set but are planning to use the
name again later in the application, you should clear it. To clear the
selection set, you'll have to remove the entity object names from
the set; they are not removed from the drawing. The Clear( )
method is used with the selection set object.
You can purge the selection sets collection using the Delete( )
method, which is associated with the selection set objects. The
Delete( ) method will remove the selection set name from the sets
collection and free up the name for others to use. If you are
planning to use a selection set frequently, as most AutoCAD
applications programmers tend to, you should set up standard
selection set names for your applications. You can assign these
names in a global module and access them in each routine as
needed. It is more efficient to do this than to create new selection
sets all the time, even if you remember to delete them when done.
You should clear the selection sets before each use. Either establish
the practice of clearing the set immediately after it is used or before
you make any new attempts at it.
When selecting objects for a selection set using one of the select
methods, the new entities selected will be appended to the selection
set. Entities that were already in the set will remain in the set, and
the new ones selected will be added at the end of the set.
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Set S1 = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Add("NewOne")
Dim Filter1, Filter2 as Variant
Dim Gcodes(1) as Integer: Dim Dvals(1) As Variant
Gcodes(0) = 0: Dvals(0) = ''CIRCLE"
Gcodes(1) = 8: Dvals(1) = "0"
Filter1 = Gcodes: Filter2 = Dvals
S1.Select AcSelectionSetAll, , , Filter1, Filter2
' Selection set contains all the circles in the drawing
Dvals(0) = "LINE"
Filter2 = Dvals 'variant MUST be reassigned after change.
S1.Select AcSelectionSetAll, , , Filter1, Filter2
' Now S1 has all the lines added after the circles.
Working with Collections

Collections of objects are an important part of Visual Basic programming,
and except for the specialized nature of the AutoCAD user interface, they
are not too difficult to use in AutoCAD VBA development. The selection
set collection is the most interesting, not only because of its potential power
but also in the way it is manipulated. Because selection sets contain
variable entity objects, they are treated differently, as seen in this chapter.
The key item to keep in mind when working with selection sets is that a
named selection set needs to be added to the collection of sets only once.
Once that name is on the set, you must use the item( ) method to reuse it.
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Chapter Six
Drawing Tables
This chapter explores the tables in AutoCAD. AutoCAD tables
include layers, linetypes, blocks, dictionaries, views, view ports,
dimension styles, text styles, groups, registered applications,
layouts, and plot configurations. Tables are stored as collections of
specific objects and follow most of the standard methods of
collections with some notable exceptions. In this chapter we will
discuss how to manipulate tables in general, then we'll focus on
some of the specific table details. We finish the chapter with an in-
depth study of the blocks table and an explanation of how to
manipulate blocks in VBA.
AutoCAD Drawing Tables

AutoCAD drawing tables consist of information referenced by
multiple objects. They exist primarily to conserve space in the
entity objects by providing a common area where information may
be accessed. Consider layers as an example. Every entity object in
AutoCAD has a layer, and it would greatly inflate the database to
have the layer information (such as color and linetype selections)
attached to each and every entity.
Although you can assign specific linetype and color selections to
individ-
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ual entity objects, most production-oriented CAD operators are
advised to use layers.
Tables also allow you to directly manipulate multiple objects as a
common group. Changing the color property of a layer will cause
entity objects on that layer to change to that color (unless they have
specific entity color overrides in effect). This is why operators are
advised to use the tables. A single change in a table can result in
many entity objects being updated.
Tables Are Collections

AutoCAD tables are stored as collections referenced from the
Document object. Once you have a drawing selected (such as
ThisDrawing), you can access the tables for that drawing. For each
collection there is a property in the document object that is used to
access the table.
Each table collection is made up of the same object type. The
Layers collection contains Layer objects, the DimStyles collection
contains DimStyle objects, and so forth. Each of the objects in the
collection will have its own associated properties and methods.
Table collections are different from normal collections in VBA. A
normal collection can have any type of data associated with it.
Additionally, every collection in VBA supports the methods Add(
), Item( ), and Remove( ). Because of the special nature of the
collections that are used as tables in AutoCAD, only the Add( ) and
Item( ) methods are supported.
Add( ) is used to append a new member to the collection (table).
Item( ) is used to retrieve a specific member of the collection given
either the index number in the collection or the name of the specific
object being sought after.
The Remove( ) method does not exist for table collections inside
AutoCAD. Instead, the individual objects contain a method to
remove the object from the collection. The reason behind this is
that removing table object entries can sometimes involve more than
simply taking it out of the collection. Before being removed, the
drawing is checked to make sure there are no more references to
the table object. If there were still
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references to the object (such as a layer name) and the object did
not exist in the layer table, then the drawing is corrupted. Thus the
table objects contain specific removal functions, all named Delete(
). This ensures that the proper checks can be done inside the
drawing. It would be very difficult to implement a Remove( )
function for all drawing table collections that worked at the table
level.
The properties that are found in an AutoCAD table collections
include a count of the number of objects in the table. The count
property is accessed to determine how many objects are in the
collection.
The individual objects inside the tables contain more properties and
methods that allow you to manipulate specific objects. These are
described in the following sections.
The Dictionary Collection
A dictionary is a housing place for custom objects and non-
graphical collections. Although it is easy to think that this is where
the special additions to the spelling dictionary are placed, that is
not the case. (If you are looking for the linkage to the spelling
dictionary, see the Preferences object in the online help.)
In the AutoCAD dictionaries are collections of anything you want
them to be. A dictionary can contain any type of object, including
entity object references and other dictionary object references.
Most often, dictionaries are used to house collections of data
objects specific to a custom object or application. As such, they are
wide open for access and manipulation and perform no data type
checks to speak of when you use them.
A blank drawing contains two dictionaries automatically. They are
ACAD_GROUP and ACAD_MLINESTYLE. The
ACAD_GROUP dictionary contains the group collection data.
Groups in AutoCAD are actually dictionary object entries, but it's
better to access them through the GROUP collection. The
ACAD_MLINESTYLE dictionary is used to define the multiline
objects used in the drawing. Even if none are used, there are
several predefined for immediate use.
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Your own application uses dictionaries, most frequently when working
with Xrecords and custom objects created by ObjectARX.
The following table contains the methods available with the dictionary
object. Most involve accessing specific object references in the dictionary
or manipulating the key value.
Method What it does
AddObjectAdds a new member to the dictionary.
Delete Deletes the dictionary entry from the dictionaries collection.
GetName Returns the key name of an object that is an entry in the dictionary.
GetObject Returns the object given the key name from the dictionary.
GetXData Retrieves extended data if it's attached to the dictionary object.
Remove Removes a named entry from the dictionary. This method removes
individual members of a dictionary, not the entire dictionary.
Rename Renames a named entry in the dictionary. Allows keys to be changed.
Replace Replaces the object for a named entry in the dictionary.
SetXdata Sets the extended data for a dictionary object.
The DimStyles Collection

Control over the dimensioning of AutoCAD is controlled by system
variable settings. The system has the ability to store multiple instances of
the dimension variable set using a named approach for later retrieval. This
allows an operator or a programmer to reset the entire dimensioning
variable collection by selecting a dimension style name instead of
changing each property one at a time.
The DimStyles collection contains the names of the dimensioning styles
known to the system. An application can query the dimension style table
(collection) and learn if a particular name has been used in the drawing. If
not, a new name can be added using the dimension style properties of the
currently active dimension style. To make modifications
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to the dimension style settings, set the active dimension style to the style
to be changed, then modify the AutoCAD system variables associated
with dimensioning. Changes from the standard will be automatically
stored with the currently active dimension style only. Unfortunately, this is
the most that the ActiveX interface for AutoCAD currently allows as far
as changing dimensioning styles. You can edit the system variables only
for the current dimensioning style. In order to have your changes saved,
the user must run the DDIM command and save the new, modified style.
This means that you can change only one dimension style in a VBA
macro. Do not switch to another dimensioning style in the middle of a
macro, as the changes will not be saved with the dimensioning style just
edited.
The following program section will define a new dimensioning style if
one does not exist with the name ''MY_STYLE1". This new style will
then have the units changed. Remember that these changes will not be
saved until the operator runs the DDIM command and saves the style
changes.
Dim STD_Style, New_Style As AcadDimStyle
Err.Clear
Set New_Style = ThisDrawing.DimStyles.Item("MY_STYLE1")
Err.Clear
Set New_Style = ThisDrawing.DimStyles.Add("MY_STYLE1")
End If
ThisDrawing.ActiveDimStyle = New_Style
ThisDrawing.SetVariable "DIMTOL", 1
ThisDrawing.SetVariable "DIMUNIT", 1
There are no special properties or methods for the DimStyles collection

other than the Add( ) and Item( ) methods as found in all the tables. To
remove a dimensioning style, first get the object reference, then use the
Delete method found in the dimension style object. Note that this
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will work only if the style being referenced is not the current dimension
style. Otherwise an error will result, stating that the object cannot be
deleted because it is referenced by another object, the drawing.
Set New_Style = ThisDrawing.DimStyles.Item("MY_STYLE1")
New_Style.Delete
The Groups Collection

A group is a collection of AutoCAD entity objects combined together. A
group is not a block; it is a grouping of independent entities as defined by
some application or user. Grouping entities allows you to address them as
a singular item when you're performing commands that move or change
the objects. Groups are permanent selection sets from a programming
point of view. They are saved in the dictionary information of a drawing
and are carried from one edit session to the next.
Group objects are referenced in the groups collection. Given the name of a
group, you start at the groups collection and use item( ) to locate the group
object. The following methods and properties are associated with group
objects.
Method What it does
AppendItems Adds objects to the group.
Delete Deletes the group from the collection. Removes the name of the
group.
GetXData Retrieves extended data attached to the group.
Highlight Highlights all of the objects in the group.
Item Retrieves a member of the group using an index ranging from 0 to
count minus 1.
RemoveItemsRemoves entity objects from the group.
SetXData Stores extended data in the group.
Update Regenerates the members of the group on the display.
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Properties What it is
Count Number of entity objects in the group.
There are more properties for the group object, but they are not of any real use to most
applications. The primary operations are adding and removing objects from the group. The
following code example creates a new group from a selection set of objects. The selection set
and group name are supplied as parameters to the function. The value returned from the
function is the new group object with the entities from the selection set as members. If the
group already exists, the selection set objects are added to any other entity objects that are
already in the group. If the group does not exist, it is created.
Function SS_2_Group(SS As AcadSelectionSet, Nm As String) As AcadGroup
Err.Clear
Set SS_2_Group = ThisDrawing.Groups.Item(Nm)
Err.Clear
Set SS_2_Group = ThisDrawing.Groups.Add(Nm)
End If
Dim I, J As Integer
J = SS.Count - 1
ReDim Items(0 to J) As Object
For I = 0 To SS.Count - 1
Set Items(I) = SS.Item(I)
Next I
SS_2_Group.AppendItems (Items)
End Function
Note that the items are defined as generic objects, then assigned to the individual entity
objects in the selection set. The array is then passed to the AppendItems( ) method to add
these objects to the group.
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Note also the use of the Err object when you're accessing the group
collection. If the group name is not a member of the groups
collection, an error will result when attempting to locate it via the
Item( ) method. An error code that is non-zero means there was a
problem accessing the name in the collection, thus the program
proceeds into adding a new member to the collection. The result of
creating a new member is the same as accessing an existing
member with Item( ): an object reference is created to the group.
Perhaps the most confusing aspect of using groups is that the Item(
) method is used in two different places. It is used when accessing
the groups collection to obtain a group, and it is used again inside
the group to access the individual entity objects that are members
of the group.
Groups versus Dictionaries

At first it may appear that dictionaries and groups are the same.
They are stored in the same manner but treated differently by the
system. There are differences both in the way the operator
perceives them and in the way the programmer can work with
them.
The operators can manipulate a group. They can change the name
and modify the members. When an operator selects an object that is
a member of a group, the remainder of the group is also selected.
Dictionaries are not like that. Instead, when an operator selects a
member of a dictionary, the remainder of the dictionary remains
unchanged. If the operator deletes a selected member from the
drawing, the dictionary is updated to reflect the change, but that is
all. Unless the members of a group are selectable, the operator
cannot individually delete or change them.
For the programmers, dictionaries are protected from user
interference as well as other meddling programmers. A dictionary
requires you to know the key name of the object in order to get at
it. It also requires you to know a programming language to access
it. The latter requirement keeps most users at bay, while the naming
requirement slows most programmers.
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The group mechanism is preferred for most applications in which you
want to save a selection set from one edit session to the next or need to
provide a singular selection method for a group of independent objects.
Dictionaries work best when using ObjectARX and the C++ programming
interfaces.
The Layer Collection

The layers of a drawing are where most color and linetype settings are
located for the entity objects. Although each entity object can have its
own color and linetype setting, most simply use the layer name to
reference the layer table. In VBA, the layers are stored as a collection that
is accessed from the document object. Each member of the collection is a
layer object that contains the details about the layer itself.
The following tables are the methods and properties of the layer object.
New layers are added using the Add( ) method associated with the Layers
collection. To obtain an individual layer object, the Item( ) method is
used, as will be seen in the examples that follow.
Method What it does
Delete Removes the object from the Layers collection.
GetXData Retrieves extended data that has been attached to the object.
SetXData Saves extended data with the object.
Property What it is for

Color Color number for entities drawn on this layer.
Freeze True if the layer is frozen, false if the layer is thawed. The default state is
false.
LayerOnTrue is the layer is on, false if the layer is off. The default state is true.
LinetypeName of the linetype for entities drawn on this layer.
Lock True if the layer is locked, false if the layer is unlocked. The default state
is false.
Name The name of the layer.
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The following is a quick example showing how to manipulate the
layer collection. The layer table is read sequentially, and any layers
discovered to have a color assignment that is not white (7) will
have their color property value changed to white.
Dim L1 As AcadLayer
For Each L1 In ThisDrawing.Layers
If L1.Color <> acWhite Then
L1.Color = acWhite
End If
Next L1
The next example code sequence shows how easy it is to access a

layer given the name. The Item( ) method of the layers collection is
used to search for the layer object. Remember to include the On
Error test for cases in which the layer might not exist.
Dim LYR As AcadLayer
Dim ABC As String
' ABC contains a layer name of interest
Err.Clear: On Error Resume Next
Set LYR = ThisDrawing.Layers.Item(ABC)
' Layer did not exist
Err.Clear
Else
' Layer found okay
End If
The following code shows how to create a new layer. Before

creating a new layer, you should check to see if it already exists.
One way is to use the error handler as in the example above. If we
wanted to add the ABC layer to the drawing when not found, the
Add( ) method is inserted into the clause after the If test when an
error is found. Another
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way is to loop through the collection looking for a match, and that is shown next.
Sub MakeLayer(NewLayer As String, Clr As Integer, LT As String)
Dim L1 As AcadLayer: Dim I As Integer
I = ThisDrawing.Layers.Count - 1
While (I >= 0)
Set L1 = ThisDrawing.Layers.Item(I)
If L1.Name = NewLayer Then
I = -1
End If
I = I - 1
Wend
If I <> -2 Then 'Was not found.
Set L1 = ThisDrawing.Layers.Add(NewLayer)
L1.Color = Clr
MsgBox ''Color number is invalid in MakeLayer function."
End If
L1.Linetype = LT
MsgBox "Line type name invalid in MakeLayer function."
End If
End If
End Sub
The color number and linetype name must also be valid, or an error will result. In
the previous example the error system is used to trap this situation. Alternatives
would be to test the range or see if the linetype specified is in the linetype table
before making the assignment.
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Regardless, it should be obvious to the new VBA programmer by
now that the error handling system in VBA can be extremely useful
when manipulating AutoCAD objects. This can be crucial when
you're building a library of functions that you intend to use over
and over again in future projects.
The Linetypes Collection

The Linetypes collection houses all the linetypes known to an
AutoCAD drawing. All drawings recognize the continuous linetype
by default. Other linetype definitions must be loaded or defined
before being used. There are three methods associated with the
linetypes collection: Add( ), Item( ), and Load( ). The Add( ) and
Item( ) methods behave in the same manner as already seen in all
collections. Item( ) can be used to access linetype objects by name
or by index into the table. Add( ) allows a new name to be added to
the table. VBA does not allow you to define or access the
generation properties of the linetype objects. That means that you
cannot create a new linetype of your own design and simply add it
as a new member to the collection. Instead, you will need to define
the linetype in a linetype file (.LIN) and load it into the editor.
The Load( ) method is used to load linetype definitions from a file.
Typically, linetypes are stored in an ASCII text file that contains
multiple linetype definitions. For example, all the standard
linetypes can be found in the ACAD.LIN file. If you are using one
of the existing linetypes or a linetype that is defined in an LIN file,
you can employ the Load( ) method to bring that linetype into the
collection. Note that you do not have to use the Add( ) method to
add the name first: Load( ) will add it automatically.
You can access the description of a linetype and change it, but you
cannot access the definition of the linetype directly. Thus, the only
way to define your own is to create a linetype definition file, then
load it. Once loaded, your program has no way of knowing what
the linetype actually looks like.
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The following code demonstrates how a custom linetype can be
created and loaded into the current drawing. Once loaded, it is a
member of the linetypes collection and can be referenced in layer
and entity objects.
Open "MY_LIN.LIN" For Output As #1
Print #1, ''*MY_LIN,My line-type experiment"
Print #1, "A,0.5,-0.25,0.25,-0.25"
Close #1
Dim LTs As AcadLineTypes
Set LTs = ThisDrawing.Linetypes
LTs.Load "MY_LIN", "MY_LIN.LIN"
The Registered Apps Collection

Registered application names are the names associated with
extended data that can be attached to the drawing objects.
Registered application names are defined by the applications that
use them; once defined, they can be used over and over again in the
application. Extended data cannot be saved with drawing objects
until the application name is registered.
To register an application name, you add a new name to the
collection, as demonstrated in the following code segment. You do
not have to include the error object checks for registered
applications unless you're checking to see if one already exists
using the methods demonstrated for other collections. When adding
a new application name the request is simply ignored if the name is
already on the list.
ThisDrawing.RegisteredApplications.Add "MYAPP"
The Text Styles Collection
Text style collections house the information pertaining to fonts and
text generation defaults. Stored as objects, text styles influence the
generation of Text, Mtext, and attribute text objects. You'll create
new text style objects by first adding them to the collection, then
setting the prop-
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erties. You must declare the new text style as the active text style by
setting the document's ActiveTextStyle property to the name of the text
style. All new text objects created will have the properties of the active
text style.
A text style can be applied to a text object by setting the style name
property for the object. When used in this manner, the text object will be
generated with the text style defined. The active text style setting is used
when no specific style name property has been assigned during the new
text object creation.
If you change the properties of a text style object, the drawing will not
immediately reflect the modifications. You'll need to regenerate the
current document object after completing all text style object changes.
Using the Regen( ) method with the current document will force all of the
graphics to be redrawn on the screen, which will incorporate all of the text
style object changes.
As in all other collections, you'll use the Add( ) method to add a new text
style. To access a text style, use the Item( ) method with either the name
of the style you are after or the index into the collection where it is stored.
To remove a text style object from the collection use the Delete( ) method
associated with the object. You can delete text styles only if there are no
other references to them in the drawing. If a text object is using the style,
even in a block definition that is not inserted but present in the drawing,
the text style cannot be purged from the list.
The following tables are for the text style object properties.
Property What it contains
BigFontFileThe name of the big font file to be used when generating the text. Big
fonts are used for Asian language fonts that contain a significantly
greater number of characters than other language styles. Big font files
are always of the type SHX.
FontFile The name of the font file. Font files supported in AutoCAD can come
from a variety of sources. File formats supported include AutoCAD
Shape (SHX), Windows True type fonts (TTF), and Adobe Postscript
(PFA, PFB).

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Property What it contains
Height The fixed height of new text objects. When the height is
specified, the operator will not be asked for a text height.
LastHeight The last height used when creating text in this style. This value
is the default setting for future text objects created while the
text style is active.
Name Name of the text style.
ObliqueAngle Default setting of the oblique angle for the text. New text
objects will use this oblique angle when generating the
characters. The oblique angle is stored with the text objects;
you can change it to a different value if needed by modifying
the properties of the text objects.
TextGenerationFlagThe text style generation flag controls whether the text is drawn
backward or upside down. There are two constants,
acTextFlagBackward and acTextFlagUpsideDown, that you can
use to control this property. Add the two together if the
application requires both features or set the flag to 0 to disable
both.
Width The text width factor for character generation. The width
controls the spacing between the characters. This value is a
factor, and a setting of 1.0 will use the text as defined. Make it
smaller to condense the text spacing and larger to spread it out.
The UCS Collection

User coordinate systems (UCS) are stored as objects in a collection. The
UCS collection is the list of named coordinate systems known to the
drawing. UCS objects are used to define the relationship of coordinates
entered (or shown) and 3D space. Using a properly defined coordinate
system, you can render 2D objects such as arcs and circles in a plane other
than normal. When working with complex 3D drawings it is not
uncommon to encounter many named UCS objects in the collection.
UCS objects are accessed by name or index number in the collection via
the Item( ) method. A new UCS object can be added to the collection
using the Add( ) method. To remove a named UCS object, first access the
object, then use the Delete( ) method associated with it. Since entity
objects are created using what is called an Object Coordinate System
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(OCS) derived from the input data and current UCS, the UCS objects can
be removed from the collection at any time.
The following tables are some of the methods and properties associated
with the UCS object.
Method What it does
Delete Removes the UCS object from the UCS collection.
GetUCSMatrixReturns a variant that is a 4-by-4 transformation matrix to be
applied to the coordinates of entity objects. When the
transformation is applied, the object is rotated and repositioned
relative to the UCS.
GetXData Returns extended data that is attached to the UCS object.
SetXData Attaches extended data to the UCS object.
PropertyWhat it is
Name UCS object name for referencing purposes. This is the same name used by
the Item( ) method in the collection to get to the UCS object.
Origin An array with three elements representing the origin of the UCS object in
the WCS. When obtained from the object, it is returned as a variant.
Xvector An array with three elements representing the direction in the WCS of the
UCS object's X-axis. Returned as a variant when accessed.
Yvector An array with three elements representing the direction in the WCS of the
UCS object's Y-axis. Returned as a variant when accessed.
UCS objects can be very useful when creating objects in 3D space. The
reason is that new objects are always drawn in the UCS and have an OCS
applied to them. When you're creating an object in the World Coordinate
System (WCS) that is to be placed relative to a UCS, you can use the
TransformBy( ) method to correct the entity object by applying an OCS.
The transformation method uses a transformation matrix which you can
create by defining a 4-by-4 array of double precision numbers or by
obtaining one from the GetUCSMatrix( ) method of the UCS object to be
used.
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The following code example shows how to apply the transformation matrix from a
UCS object. The example uses a coordinate system previously created and saved
with the name ''MY_UCS". A circle is defined in the WCS, then rotated relative to
the stored UCS. The center point of the circle is reset after the transformation so
that the selected point remains the center point of the object. The transformation
will most likely change the circle object center point value thus making this
operation a requirement.
' Current UCS is expected to the World Coordinate System (WCS)
Dim UCS_Mine As AcadUCS 'get UCS info from table
Set UCS_Mine = ThisDrawing.UserCoordinateSystems.Item("MY_UCS")
Dim p1 As Variant 'user input of a point
p1 = ThisDrawing.Utility.GetPoint(, "Center point")
Dim Obj As AcadCircle 'draw the circle, radius is one
Set Obj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace.AddCircle(p1, 1#)
Dim TrnsMtx As Variant 'get the transformation matrix
TrnsMtx = UCS_Mine.GetUCSMatrix
Obj.TransformBy (TrnsMtx) 'apply transformation
Obj.Center = p1 'reset center point to original
Obj.Update 'regenerate the object on the screen
If you modify an existing UCS, you must update the document object after all
modifications are completed. To update the current UCS, simply set the active UCS
to be the UCS name once again. Any changes made to the UCS object will now be
applied.
The Views Collection

The various 3D views that have been saved with names using the VIEW command
in a drawing are stored in the views collection. This collection consists only of view
objects, the properties that define the view. To create a new view, use the Add( )
method in the Views collection. The views
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collection is also where views are referenced by name or index. To
remove a named view from the collection, the Delete( ) method is used.
Like most other AutoCAD special object collections, the Delete( ) method
is found in the view object and not in the collection.
The following table lists the primary properties used to manipulate view
objects.
Property What it is
Center Where the view originates. This can be thought of as the location of the
observer.
DirectionVector describing the direction of the view.
Height Height (Y) of the view in the drawing.
Name Name of the view.
Target Target point. This can be thought of as the location the observer is looking
toward.
Width Width (X) of the view in the drawing.
The View Ports Collection

The view ports collection is where named view ports are stored for the
drawing. The user creates a named view port with the VPORTS command
while in model space. Programmers can create named view ports by
adding new names to the view ports collection with the Add( ) method. It
is important to note at this time that view ports, as used in this context, are
not the same as paper space view ports, and they are not the same as
named views.
A view port is a rectangular area that defines a region of the display where
a portion or all of the drawing can be shown. View ports are not the same
as views. A view simply describes how the observer is oriented relative to
the objects in either model or paper space. A view port not only describes
that orientation; it also describes the area or region where the view is
displayed relative to the display device. Paper space view
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ports, which we will explore in the next section, define a
rectangular display area that is relative to paper space.
New view ports that have been added to the Viewports collection
can be retrieved using the Item( ) method. Item( ) will accept either
a view name or a number. Please note that multiple views can share
the same name, so accessing the collection with the name value
may not always return what you expect. For example, suppose you
create a display containing three view ports in model space, then
save that view port using the name ''FUN". When looking at the
view ports collection, you will find three view ports that share the
name "FUN", but each will have different property values.
There can be multiple tiles (view ports) visible in a drawing at the
same time (the maximum is based on the display system and can be
found in the AutoCAD system variable MAXACTVP). An
important thing to realize when working with view ports is that
there can be only one active view port at any one time. The active
view port is where the operator conducts all edit work. Switching
the active view port as a user is simply a matter of picking the view
port with the pointing device. In programming, the ActiveViewport
property of the document object is set to the view port object you
want to work within. This sort of control is used in model space
(when the view ports are visible) to enable your program to adjust
the zoom and rotation of each view port area.
To add a new view port to the view port collection, the collection is
first accessed so that the Add( ) method may be used. In this case, a
Viewport object is created. You can gain access to existing view
ports by name or index using Item( ), and you can use the Delete( )
method to remove view ports from the collection. (Note: it's a rare
case in AutoCAD VBA when a specialized collection supports the
Delete( ) method at the collection level.)
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View Port Object

Method What it does
GetGridSpacingGets the X and Y grid spacing values.
GetSnapSpacingGets the X and Y snap spacing values.
SetGridSpacingSets the X and Y grid spacing values.
SetSnapSpacingSets the X and Y snap spacing values.
SetView Sets the view port to matching properties given the name of a
saved view.
Split An integer code: signifies how to split up the graphic display.
There are a series of constants defined that can be used such as
acViewport3Right.
ZoomAll Performs a ZOOM to the limits of the model in the view port.
ZoomCenter Performs a ZOOM with a center point and a magnification
factor.
ZoomExtents Performs a ZOOM to the limits of the model in the view port.
ZoomPickWindowPerforms a ZOOM based on two input points supplied by the
operator when the method is run.
ZoomScaled Performs a ZOOM based on a scaling factor that is relative to
the current window, current drawing extents, or the paper space
units.
ZoomWindow Performs a ZOOM based on two points supplied as parameters.
Center The location of the viewer's eye relative to the view port.
Direction A vector describing the direction from the center point to the
observer. The vector is a line from which the observer is looking
back toward the origin (0,0,0) of the view port.
GridOn Boolean indicating whether or not the grid is being displayed.
Height The height of the view port along the Y-axis.
LowerLeftCornerThe coordinates of the lower left corner of the view port.
Name Name of the view port.

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OrthoOn Boolean indicating whether or not the orthographic drawing
mode is on.
SnapBasePoint Base point for the snap grid.
SnapOn Boolean indicating whether or not the snap grid is enabled.
SnapRotationAngleRotation angle for the snap grid.
StatusID Boolean that is true if this view port is the current view port.
Target Point that is the target location for the observer. The observer is
at the center point looking towards the target point. The
relationship between the target and observer point provides
perspective views of 3D models.
UCSIconAtOrigin Boolean indicating if the UCS icon is to be displayed at the
origin point.
UCSIconOn Boolean indicating if the UCS icon is to be displayed at all.
UpperRightCorner The coordinates of the upper right corner of the view port.
Width Size of the view port along the X-axis.
The upper and lower corners of a view port are expressed in ratios. A
value of 1 indicates that it is at the maximum upper level, while a 0 value
is used to indicate the lowest possible level. Thus a corner at (0.5,1.0) is
halfway across the view port in the X-axis and at the top in the Y-axis.
You'll use these values to determine which window to use when you have
saved the view port using the VPORTS command in AutoCAD.
Only one view port is considered the active view port, and that one is
defined in the drawing property ActiveViewport. The active view port is
where drawing edits take place from the operator's perspective.
Programmers use the ActiveViewport property to cause changes made to
the view port properties to be reflected in the display. When you are
changing view port properties, nothing will change on the display until the
view port is established as the active view port. Even if the view port is
already the active view port in the drawing, it must be re-established as
such before any of the changes made will be visible.
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The Paper Space View Port Object

When the paper space system was developed at Autodesk, the view port
object concept was expanded from providing just a split screen in the
traditional display system to what are called Paper Space view port
objects. A paper space view port (PViewport) object is a rectangular area
that is defined relative to the base point of paper space as opposed to the
display screen. Most applications that deal with view ports deal with
paper space view ports by providing automated routines to set up the
drawing environment. An example would be a utility that takes a
completed 3D model and generates the four standard views for front, side,
top, and isometric.
PViewport objects are stored in paper space as entity objects and are not
part of a collection (unless you construct a selection set of the objects).
Most of the methods and properties associated with the Viewport object
are also found in the PViewport object. But because this object is part of
the entity objects, it also contains methods associated with the editing of
the object such as Copy( ) and Move( ).
The following tables list some of the methods and properties that are
associated with the paper space view port object (PViewport).
Method What it does
Display Causes the view port to be displayed in paper space. A single Boolean
parameter indicates if the view port is to be displayed or not. After
creating a new view port object, this method must be run to see it, as the
default property is off.
Erase Removes the view port from paper space so you can no longer see or
access it.
Zoom . . .Performs a zoom operation of choice within the view port. This function
will work only when the current mode is for model space editing.
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Property What it is
Center The center of the view port in paper space coordinates.
Direction The viewing vector from the origin toward the observer.
Height The Y-axis size of the view port in paper space units.
TwistAngleThe view is rotated by the amount in this property that is always
measured counterclockwise and in radians. The display contents are
rotated, not the view port rectangle.
Width The X-axis size of the view port in paper space units.
Using paper space view ports is not difficult. You create a new paper space view port
object through the AddPViewport( ) method found in the paper space object. A new
view port requires three parameters: the center point and the size of the view port along
both the X-axis and Y-axis. The following code creates a new paper space view port
centered at (7,9) that is 12 units wide and 16 units high.
'switch to paper space
ThisDrawing.ActiveSpace = acPaperSpace
Dim PT(0 To 2) As Double
PT(0) = 7#: PT(1) = 9#: PT(2) = 0#
Dim NVP As AcadPViewport 'create new paper space view port object
Set NVP = ThisDrawing.PaperSpace.AddPViewport(PT, 6#, 8#)
PT(0) = 1#: PT(1) = 1#: PT(2) = 1#
NVP.Direction = PT 'point is (1,1,1) for isometric view
NVP.Display True 'force display update
ThisDrawing.MSpace = True ' switch to model space
ThisDrawing.ActivePViewport = NVP 'set the active paper space port
ZoomAll
ThisDrawing.MSpace = False ' switch back to paper space
ZoomAll
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Most applications that use paper space also make use of view ports.
A couple of basic rules that must be followed when programming
view ports in paper space:
Changes can be applied to only view ports when they are not the
active paper space view port and have been turned off. What this
means is that you can make adjustments to the view port properties
only when first creating it or by setting another view port as active
while the changes are applied. The Display( ) method must be used
to turn the view port off if it is currently on.
The view port must be turned on via the Display( ) method before
it can be named as the active paper space view port for the
drawing.
The model space edit features cannot be activated for a view port
unless the display mode has been turned on via the Display( )
method for that view port.
The Blocks Collection
The block table for a drawing is stored in the blocks collection.
Each member of the blocks collection is a block object. Block
objects are collections of entity objects just like paper space and
model space. Block objects contain the same methods as found in
the model and paper space objects for adding new objects to the
block definition. The previous chapter lists the methods and
properties that exist for entity collections such as blocks, model
space, and paper space. A block is used in a drawing when
referenced by a BlockRef object.
Blocks save storage in a drawing and represent the easiest form of
programming available to the AutoCAD operator. Blocks are
sequences of entity objects that can be used over and over again.
Simple transformations can be applied to blocks such as scaling
and rotation, making them valuable tools for experienced
AutoCAD operators.
From a programmer's perspective, blocks are complex objects, but
that's only because there are multiple, variable steps involved in the
cre-
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ation of the blocks. They are really quite simple to create and manipulate in
a programming environment such as VBA.
Creating a New Block Definition

Creating a new block definition starts in the same manner as creating a new
entry for the layer or style tables: you must add a name to the collection.
The blocks collection object is first obtained from the drawing object. The
collection is then queried to see if the block already exists. If it does, then
the program must decide what to do next. The choices are to make up a new
name, ask the operator for a new name, or give up the creation process as
the block in question is ready for use. The result of successfully adding a
new name to the blocks collection is a block object. The block object can
be thought of as the same as model or paper space. New entity objects are
added to the drawing database, but instead of attaching them to one of the
space options, the block object reference is used instead.
Dim B1 As AcadBlock
Dim PT(0 To 2) As Double
PT(0) = 0#: PT(1) = 0#: PT(2) = 0#
Set B1 = ThisDrawing.Blocks.Add(PT, ''MYBLOCK")
'Block object is B1, we can now add entity objects to it.
'This example draws a 1×1 square with a cross
'connecting opposite corners
P1(0) = 0#: P1(1) = 0#: P1(2) = 0#
P2(0) = 1#: P2(1) = 0#: P2(2) = 0#
P3(0) = 1#: P3(1) = 1#: P3(2) = 0#
P4(0) = 0#: P4(1) = 1#: P4(2) = 0#
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'Draw the 1×1 square as four lines
B1.AddLine P1, P2
B1.AddLine P2, P3
B1.AddLine P3, P4
B1.AddLine P4, P1
'Draw the crossing lines from corner to corner
B1.AddLine P1, P3
B1.AddLine P2, P4
Any number of entity objects can be added to a block definition. You can
also add to a block definition well after it has been defined. In fact, you can
edit the block programmatically to alter the contents at any time. All you
have to do is open the existing block object using the Item( ) method of the
blocks collection.
The following example opens an existing block for access by VBA. The
block object (stored in variable B1) is set with the result of the Item( )
access. Note the use of the Error object to trap the potential situation that
the block does not exist.
Dim B1 As AcadBlock
Set B1 = ThisDrawing.Blocks.Item(''MYBLOCK")
'The block does not exist in the drawing
Else
'The block exists, B1 is a collection of entity objects
End If
Reading a Block Definition

The fact that blocks are collections allows programs to sequentially access
the entity objects contained inside the block. To read through a block
definition you'll use the Item( ) method again, only this time with the
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block object. The Item( ) method for block collections uses the
index number only as there are no names to search for specifically.
Although it may seem confusing to have Item( ) used over and over
again, it really isn't. It actually makes the coding easier because
you know that every collection uses Item( ) to iterate through it or
to provide access by name.
Figure 6.1 shows the relationship of the block object within the
scope of the drawing object. The entities of a block definition are
attached to a block object, which is in turn attached to the blocks
collection. The blocks collection is a property of the drawing
object. In the case of the block objects, the programmer can either
access them by name or an index number. Most of the time a name
will be used; however, there are applications that need to
sequentially search the blocks table. In those cases, the index value
can be used to step through each block member. Access to the
entity objects within the block objects is by index number (zero-
based) only. Entity object IDs and handles cannot be used as keys
into the block collections.
To help illustrate the methods involved in block manipulations, the
following subroutine shows how to iterate through a block
definition. The block object is obtained from the blocks collection
using the Item( ) method with the block name as a string. The block
object returned from the Item( ) method is then used to iterate
through the block definition. Using the Count property of the block
object we get a loop counter to use so that each object can be
accessed directly.
Figure 6.1
Relationship of the block object within the scope of
the drawing object
Inside the loop, the GetBoundingBox( ) method returns a pair of
points indicating the minimum and maximum points surrounding
the object. Since our function seeks to find out what the bounding
size of all the objects are in the block definition, we need to iterate
through the entire collection and look at each object. The result of
the bounding box
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is a pair of variants that can be accessed directly to see if they are greater or less than the
maximum and minimum stored values. At the end of the loop, the values saved for the
minimum and maximum are saved into the variant parameters MinPnt and MaxPnt. Note
how variants are assigned point values. First build an array of doubles, then simply assign
that array to the variant variable.
Sub Block_Extreme(Nam As String, MinPnt As Variant, MaxPnt As Variant)
Dim B1 As AcadBlock
Set B1 = ThisDrawing.Blocks.Item(Nam)
Dim XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax As Double
XMin = 999999.9: YMin = 999999.9
XMax = 99999.9: YMax = 99999.9
Dim E1 As Object
Dim P1, P2 As Variant
J = B1.Count 1
For I = 0 To J
Set E1 = B1.Item(I)
E1.GetBoundingBox P1, P2
If P2(0) > XMax Then XMax = P2(0)
If P2(1) > YMax Then YMax = P2(1)
If P1(0) < XMin Then XMin = P1(0)
If P1(1) < YMin Then YMin = P1(1)
Next I
P1(0) = XMin: P1(1) = YMin: MinPnt = P1
P1(0) = XMax: P1(1) = YMax: MaxPnt = P1
End Sub
In most applications involving blocks, the programs work with block references or insertions
into the drawing. The Name properties of the BlockRef objects (block reference) will return
the name of a particular instance of the block object. The name can then be used to get the
block
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definition from the blocks collection, and from there the block can be
accessed directly.
The following code example demonstrates how to access a block from a
selection on the screen. The operator is asked to pick an object using the
GetPoint( ) utility function. This function returns a variant that can be used
to define a selection set built using the SelectAtPoint( ) method. One item
of note in the code is that after declaring our selection set, we clear it just to
make sure no one else has used the same name. That includes us testing the
code.
Dim PP1, PP2 As Variant
Dim PP0 As Variant
PP0 = ThisDrawing.Utility.GetPoint(, ''Pick an object: ")
Set S1 = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Add("SS1")
Set S1 = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Item("SS1")
End If
S1.Clear
S1.SelectAtPoint (PP0) Dim E1 As Object
Set E1 = S1.Item(0)
If E1.EntityType = acBlockReference Then
MsgBox "Found a block reference! - " & E1.Name
Call Block_Extreme(E1.Name, PP1, PP2)
' . . .
The primitive example just shown tests the entity type property to see if it
matches a particular entities number. Specifically, the AutoCAD constant
acBlockReference was used to test for a block insert. This constant, along
with others, can be used when accessing entities under operator
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control to test exactly what was selected. It is up to your program to perform
adequate error checking when operator input is involved, as the operator will not
always input or select something you want.
AutoLISP programmers who are learning VBA must learn to think in terms of
what the objects can do for the application. There are different tools available for
solving some problems that in the past have taken a great deal of time.
The next example code section expands on the previous example by using the
selected entity object to build a selection set of objects that potentially intersect
with the block. Using the IntersectWith( ) method from the entity objects, the
application looks for intersection points, and when they are found, they are noted
as point objects. The PDMODE system variable can be changed to see the points
created with this example after it is run.
Dim PP0, IPs, PP1, PP2 As Variant
Dim E1, E2, E1S(0) As Object
Dim IP(2) As Double
Dim I, J, K As Integer
'
PP0 = ThisDrawing.Utility.GetPoint(, ''Pick a block insert: ")
Set S1 = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Add("SS1")
If Error.Number <> 0 Then
Set S1 = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Item("SS1")
End If
S1.Clear
S1.SelectAtPoint (PP0)
Set E1 = S1.Item(0)
'only work with block reference (insert) objects
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'Get limits of inserted block
E1.GetBoundingBox PP1, PP2
'Build selection set of objects crossing the bounding box
S1.Clear
S1.Select acSelectionSetCrossing, PP1, PP2
'Remove block reference from selection set
Set E1S(0) = E1
S1.RemoveItems E1S
'Loop through selection set
J = S1.Count - 1
For I = 0 To J
'Compute the intersection points
Set E2 = S1.Item(I)
IPs = E1.IntersectWith(E2, acExtendNone)
'Go through the intersections found
For K = LBound(IPs) To UBound(IPs)
IP(0) = IPs(K): IP(1) = IPs(K + 1): IP(2) = IPs(K + 2)
K = K + 2
'draw a point at the intersection location.
ThisDrawing.ModelSpace.AddPoint IP
Next K
Next I
Else
MsgBox ''You selected the wrong type of entity!"
End If
A block can contain any type of entity, including other block references. The only
thing a block definition cannot contain is a block reference back to itself, which
will cause a problem, as the block can never finish drawing itself. Most entity
objects behave as normal when inside a block, but there is one important
exception: attribute objects.
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Working with Attribute Objects in a Block

When an attribute definition object is part of a block definition it will modify itself
when the block is inserted and will create an attribute object. The attribute objects
normally follow the block reference in the drawing database (as you see when you run
the DBLIST command inside AutoCAD). Things are different when working in the
ActiveX/VBA interface. The attribute objects do not appear in the model and paper
space collections when iterating through them using the Item( ) method. Instead, you
use a specialized method of the BlockRef object to retrieve the attribute objects for
that particular block reference.
Attribute definition objects will appear when iterating through a collection such as a
block, model, or paper space. But these are definition objects and not data-carrying
attributes. You use the GetAttributes( ) method of the block reference object to access
attributes that have data assigned.
When the GetAttributes( ) method is run, a variant is returned. This variant contains
an array of object references in which each reference is to an attribute object. To find
out how many attributes a particular block reference has attached to it, use the
Ubound( )function of VBA. Ubound( ) will tell you how many members the variant
array has, and you can use it as a loop counter to iterate through each of the attributes.
The following code is a quick example of how to access attributes that have been
inserted with a block. In this case, we are going to assume that the variable E1 points
to an already opened block reference object. The GetAttributes( ) method is used to
return a variant (ATS) containing the attributes that are attached to the block reference
object (E1). Since there can be any number of attributes, most applications loop
through them using the upper bound of the variant array (ATS).
' E1 is either type Object or AcadBlockReference and has a value.
Dim ATS As Variant
ATS = E1.GetAttributes
Dim EA As AcadAttributeReference
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For I = 0 To UBound(ATS)
Set EA = ATS(I)
' Variable (EA) now contains the attribute reference object
Next I
The object(s) that are returned when you use the GetAttributes( ) method are
attribute references. Attribute references are different from attribute definitions. An
attribute definition contains the default value, prompt string, tag name, and all the
default generation parameters of the attribute text. An attribute reference, on the
other hand, contains an instance of the attribute with the text value, location, sizing,
and tag.
For the most part they are easy to keep straight. You will encounter attribute
definitions while sequentially scanning the drawing or a block. Attribute references,
on the other hand, are found associated only with a block reference.
If you make a request to get the attributes for a block that does not have any
attributes, the resulting value in the variant will be an array of length 0. Thus the
Ubound( ) function will return minus 1 (-1) when the array is empty, meaning that
there are no attributes to be found for that block reference.
The following subroutine demonstrates the basics of accessing attributes by reading
through model space and looking for any entity objects that are blocks. When a
block is found the GetAttributes( ) method is called to build the variant array (ATS).
The upper bound (Ubound) value is incremented to form a count of the number of
attributes (variable K). When a block is found that contains attribute references, it is
reported to the operator using a message box. The output string (S$) for the message
box is built from the various properties of the block reference and attribute
references. Specifically, it contains the block name followed by the count of the
number of attributes found. Also included in the output string are the tag names and
values of the attribute references associated with the block. This function will report
on each individual block it locates in model space.
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Sub ViewAttribs()
Dim E1 As Object
Dim ATS As Variant
Dim EA As AcadAttributeReference
Dim MS As AcadModelSpace
Set MS = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace
I = MS.Count - 1
For J = 0 To I
Set E1 = MS.Item(J)
ATS = E1.GetAttributes
K = UBound(ATS) + 1
If K > 0 Then
S$ = "Found block - " & E1.Name & _
" - with " & Str$(K) & " attributes { "
For L = 0 To K - 1
Set EA = ATS(L)
S$ = S$ + EA.TagString & "/" & EA.TextString & " "
Next L
S$ = S$ & "}"
MsgBox S$
End If
End If
Next J
End Sub
You create attribute definitions with the AddAttribute( ) method just like adding
other entities into the drawing database. You can use AddAttribute( )with
model space, paper space, or with a block definition object. Adding attributes to
model and paper space is not as common when working in VBA. When
creating new attribute definitions it will most likely be in a block reference.
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The parameters to the AddAttribute( ) method are the text height, attribute
generation mode, prompt string, insert point, tag string, and default value
string. The insert point is supplied as an array of three double precision
real numbers. The attribute generation mode is an integer code number
from the following table.
Mode What it means
AcAttributeModeInvisibleAttribute is invisible and cannot be seen by operator.
AcAttributeModeConstantAttribute value is constant and cannot be changed.
AcAttributeModeVerify Operator will be requested to verify entry of attribute
data.
AcAttributeModePreset Sets the value of the attribute to the default value
automatically on insert.
If the application requires that the attribute take on more than one mode,
simply add these constants together. Mixing some of the codes will not
make much sense (such as verify and constant modes); however, there are
many cases in which constant or preset attributes are expected to be
invisible, requiring a combination of mode settings.
Attribute definition and references contain many of the same properties.
The most important ones are listed in the table below; most of the others
match the basic text object in their usage and names. Like other entities,
there are methods for computing intersections and other edit
manipulations; however, you will not use them when manipulating
attribute references as often as the ones listed below.
Property What it is
Height Text height of the attribute.
InsertionPointThe point where the text starts.
Mode This is the integer mode value as described in the previous table. Use
these constants to preserve your code from one release of AutoCAD
to the next. This value is only in the attribute definition and does not
appear in the reference.
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Property What it is
PromptStringThis is the prompt string the user sees when the attribute is being
referenced inside AutoCAD. This string is only in the attribute
definition and does not appear in the attribute reference.
TagString The tag for the attribute. The tag is used when referencing the
attribute in the attribute extract.
TextString In an attribute reference, this value is the text entered by the user (or
application). For an attribute definition, this string is the default value
of the attribute.
Working with attributes is quite easy inside of VBA. You can add and
manipulate them within block object definitions, and when you use them
in a drawing, you'll find them only when you're accessing the block
reference objects specifically. Compared with the techniques you use to
get at attributes inside of the AutoLISP environment, this is a vast
improvement.
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Chapter Seven
Working with Other Applications
The primary feature of VB is that it is capable of working with
other programs that support automation inside of Windows. Some
of the programs that support automation include the Microsoft
Office 97 programs Word, Excel, and Access. This chapter
demonstrates the basic strategies of interfacing AutoCAD VBA
with these tools. In particular, we will pay attention to interfacing
AutoCAD VBA with Microsoft Excel. This chapter is merely an
introduction to using automation tools with these other packages.
There are other books available that deal with the interfaces into
the packages in much more detail. This chapter continues with an
exploration of the techniques involved in building links between
AutoCAD and external data systems using extended data (Xdata).
We also cover the Dictionary and Xrecord objects in how they can
be used in relation with external interfaces.
Object Models
Every program that supports ActiveX automation has an object tree
that is similar to the AutoCAD object tree. The difference is that
the tree for the other application will be specific to that application
just as the AutoCAD object library is dedicated to AutoCAD.
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The object model in the other applications will follow the basic
strategy (figure 7.1) of having the application at the root. There
will be various properties, methods, and events associated with the
application that may interest you, but normally your first step is
into the documents. Inside the collection of documents will be the
one document the application wants to access.
Figure 7.1
Generic object tree
Each of the applications in Office 97 has specific names for each of
the levels just described. In Microsoft Excel, a single spreadsheet
document is a work sheet. Work sheets are contained inside of
workbooks. Thus, workbooks are at the documents object level,
and work sheets are at the document level. Inside the work sheets
are cells that are the individual data items.
When you're talking to a spreadsheet or some other automation
interface system you will have to navigate through the object tree
to get at what you want. This is not as difficult as it may sound: it
is just a matter of learning the various branches and what they can
do for you. The online help and object browser can be very helpful
in locating these items.
Before you can use the online browser to locate the items of
interest, you must first attach the object models you want to use.
You link to an object library through the references setting located
in the Tools pulldown menu of VBAIDE. Selecting the References
option in the Tools menu brings up a menu of the available object
references. You might be surprised at the selection available. It's
generally pretty obvious which reference library to use when it
comes to specific applications. For example, if you want to link in
with Microsoft Excel, page through the list to the Microsoft Excel
option, then pick it. The selected object library will now become
available to your application. If more than one option is available,
pick the most recent edition (highest release number).
To manipulate the objects from the other environments, you should
have a good idea of what you want to do and how. That is, if you
don't
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know how to use the Excel spreadsheet system, you will have
difficulty understanding all that you can do with the objects that are
available. It will be worth your while to spend time learning how to
manipulate the system in its native mode in order to gain an
appreciation of what the tool can do for an application. The objects
and manipulation tools available to ActiveX are generally quite
extensive, and your application programs can take advantage of
virtually every feature of the other software system.
For you to have access to these tools they must be installed on the
computer you are using. That is, you cannot possibly access the
object model of Excel without Excel first being installed. For
object models to work, the parent task or host must be available to
service the requests. The same is true of AutoCAD and any other
program of such sophistication. The term automation means just
that automation of the tasks on your computer so it does them more
quickly and efficiently.
Interface to Microsoft Excel
This section will show you how to interface to the Microsoft Excel
spreadsheet system of Office 97. Excel is a spreadsheet system, so
it is exceptional at manipulating tabular data. AutoCAD-based
applications can take advantage of Excel to build reports based on
information found in the drawing. At first it may seem like magic
to run a program from another program, but once you get used to
object-oriented programming of this nature it seems primitive to do
it any other way.
The Excel object tree starts at the Excel application (figure 7.2).
Given an object pointer to the application, you access the
workbook object to get to the worksheets level. From there you
select
Figure 7.2
Excel object tree
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an individual worksheet and a range manipulated inside of that
sheet. A range can be a single cell or multiple cells inside the sheet.
There are numerous methods, events, and properties associated
with each of these levels in the system that you can explore using
the online help and object browser systems. We will now turn our
attention to the details involved when interfacing Excel and
AutoCAD using VBA.
Interfacing Excel to AutoCAD can result in elegant solutions to
common problems found in the design and drafting field. Using the
strengths of each system you could construct a bill of materials
system that counts blocks or other tagged objects in a drawing by
building a spreadsheet detailing what was found. The spreadsheet
can then be further instructed to calculate the costs associated with
the values found. The next step would be to read the spreadsheet
contents back into the drawing to create a bill of material table
inside the drawing. A variation of the same idea would be the
construction of hole charts in a spreadsheet based on the locations
of circles found in the drawing. Once in the spreadsheet, locations
can be sorted and other data appended to the report to finish it
quickly. Even if you're not an advanced systems programmer, you
can enhance productivity by merging the power of a graphics
system such as AutoCAD and a data table manipulation tool such
as Excel.
Excel Application 1 Simple Database

Let's start with a simple application example. Excel serves
excellently as a simple database for information based on tables of
properties. That is, you use Excel to keep track of various constants
indexed by a key name. This is a simple spreadsheet of the most
basic nature, in which each row in the spreadsheet represents a
record associated with the key name stored in one of the columns
(typically the first column, but it doesn't have to be). We will use a
simple spreadsheet of this style to demonstrate how to obtain
information from Excel via a VBA program running inside
AutoCAD. Obviously, the main advantage of doing this is that the
end
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user can maintain the table of data using a table-editing tool
(Excel) and does not have to work in a text editor or in the source
code of an AutoLISP routine.
The following is an example spreadsheet that has the first column
as a key name and the next two entries as scalar values. These
scalars could represent dimensions, tolerances, physical properties,
or some other data of interest to our application. The goal of this
example is to access them by name and retrieve the values from the
spreadsheet, thereby demonstrating the basic strategies of opening
a spreadsheet and obtaining information from one via VBA.
In the following spreadsheet (figure 7.3), columns are labeled with
letters (A,B,C) and rows are numbered (1,2,3,4,5) just as found in
Excel.
EXAMPLE1.XLS spreadsheet contents
A B C
1 Name Dim1 Dim2
2 AA-1 1.5 1.5
3 AA-2 2.5 1.75
4 AA-3 3.5 1.85
5 AA-4 4.0 2.0
Figure 7.3
Example 1XLSspread sheet contents
You will create the XLS file ahead of time using normal Excel
operations. The file name to use for our example is
''EXAMPLE1.XLS" and the sheet name will be "Sheet 1", the
default. You can use normal Excel operations to define this table in
the system if you want to try it yourself.
Link to Excel
The remainder of the programming takes place inside VBA in
AutoCAD. When you're starting a new project, the first step is to
link the Excel object library using the Tools-Resources menu
selection with the project. The specific library to select will vary
depending on what version of Excel you have installed. For
example, the name may appear as Microsoft Excel
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8.0 Object Library if you have Office 97 installed. Now our VBA
program will know how to talk with Excel. (Remember that you
must have Excel installed on your computer to access the library.)
Variable Declarations
After adding the linkage references for Excel, the next step is to
start coding the interface. After inserting a new module into the
project, we type in the following declarations.
Dim ExL As Object
Dim XLWorkBook as Object
Dim excelSheet As Object
We use generic object containers for these values when interfacing

to Microsoft Excel. You can use the object types from the Excel
library as well (when available). When used as shown, the objects
are bound to the Excel objects at run time. This is called late
binding in programming. If you use the definitions of specific
objects from the Excel class, the object types are considered early
bound. Early binding helps applications run faster, as the system
does not do the binding work when the user is at the helm. Instead,
in early binding the linkage is done when the application is built,
hence the system knows how to manipulate the references right
away. The problem with early binding is that the variables defined
in this manner cannot be used to hold any other types of objects if
that was desired later in the program. Since this application does
not vary the types of objects held in the object references, we could
also have coded the declarations as follows.
Dim ExL As Excel.Application
Dim XlWorkBook As Excel.Workbook
Dim excelSheet As Excel.Worksheet
The primary advantage of using early binding is that the system

can assist you in typing in object references. As you type the
variable name used, a list box of available selections will appear.
When the generic
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object definition (late binding) is used, the system doesn't know
what kind of object you are referencing during the coding and
cannot possibly assist in the typing.
These definitions are global to our module, and you can access
them by any of the subroutines or functions we include in that
module. If we wanted to make these variables available to other
modules, we would change the Private statement to Public. This
allows the variables to be addressed as part of our module (named
Module1 by default) by other source code modules. The visibility,
or scope, of variables from one module to another is covered in
more detail in a later chapter.
If speed of execution is an issue, and it normally is, be aware that
running Excel from inside AutoCAD will not be as fast as if the
same VBA module were running inside Excel. Within larger
applications, you may want to have the VBA in Excel handle the
Excel side of the problem and have the VBA in AutoCAD simply
launch the macro in Excel. The reason is that the VBA code inside
Excel is tightly coupled to Excel while the VBA code running
inside AutoCAD is bound at runtime with Excel. That means that
every transaction that takes place between AutoCAD and Excel
must go through a series of interfaces before getting to the other
application. For simple manipulations this will not be an issue, but
when working with more advanced applications the time savings
could be significant.
Excel Linkage Function
Now we need a function that will start Excel and assign the object
to the variables dimensioned above. Staying in the code window
for the module just started, we type the following line of code.
Sub Set_Up_Excel
VBA fills in the rest for us, adding in a new subroutine definition
to the module. The parentheses are added, as is the End Sub
statement. All we have to do is fill in the middle part. When you
type in the Sub statement with the name of a new function, the
code editor will contain the following after you press the Enter key.
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Sub Set_Up_Excel ()
End Sub
The following is what we filled in for the function. This function will start
Microsoft Excel with the ''EXAMPLE1.XLS" workbook (must be located in
the default Excel document directory) and "Sheet1" worksheet loaded and
ready to go. Each line of the code is explained in the text that follows. All
the code is presented together for those just scanning for examples.
Sub Set_Up_Excel()
Set ExL = GetObject("", "Excel.Application")
ExL.Visible = True
If (Err.Number <> 0) Then
Err.Clear
MsgBox "You must have Excel loaded on your computer!"
Exit Sub
End If
Set XLWorkBook = Workbooks.Open("EXAMPLE1.XLS")
Sheets("Sheet1").Select
Set excelSheet = ExL.ActiveWorkbook.Sheets("Sheet1")
End Sub
The first part of the program will attach the Excel application object.
GetObject( ) is a VBA function that retrieves an application object given the
executable file name or the class name of the application. If Excel is running,
the class name "Excel.Application" will find a link and return the application
object for our program to use. If Excel is not running, the GetObject( )
function will start Excel. If Excel is not available on the computer, the
program will fail. That's why the error handler is turned on before the call to
GetObject( ). If the error handler was not enabled and Excel was not
available, the program would crash in an ugly manner.
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This way we can control the exit situation and issue a proper error
message that makes sense to the user.
By including the empty string as the first parameter to the
getObject( ) function, we are instructing VBA to run Excel if it is
not already running in the computer. Leaving the first parameter
blank will cause an error if an instance of Excel does not already
exist in the machine.
Another way to access the workbook object is through the create-
Object( ) function. This function behaves just like getObject( )
except that it will start the application. If your application knows it
will be starting Excel when it is going to run, then the
createObject( ) function is a better choice.
The next step is to open the workbook using the Open method of
the Workbooks object in Excel. You'll supply the complete file
name, with extension, to the Open function. No directory was
specified in the example routine. The file is assumed to be in the
Excel or system search path. If it's not in the search path, you'll
need to provide a complete path name. The extension XLS will not
be appended automatically, which means that your application can
use alternative extensions as a minimal form of data security. The
result of a successful open call is a workbook object.
Workbooks contain worksheets, so the next level into the object
tree takes our application to the specific sheet we wish to have
available. The example program selects ''Sheet1", the default sheet
name in a new workbook. The worksheet object is then assigned to
the variable excelSheet.
The result of running this function is that the workbook and
worksheet are opened and their respective object references are
stored in the variables defined in the declaration section.
Closing the Workbook

Something to remember for later coding is that after you have
opened and manipulated a workbook, you should close it using the
Close method. The workbook object close method releases the
workbook for
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other applications (including Excel) to access. The following
subroutine shows how to close a workbook.
Sub Close_book ()
XlWorkBook.Close
End Sub
Searching the Worksheet

The function we need now is one that searches the worksheet to
find a match. Specifically, we are interested in searching for
something in one of the columns. In this application we want to
search the spreadsheet for a match with a key name in column one.
That means that the application will look for matches with values
like ''AA-1", "AA-2", and so forth. When a match is found, we
want the values from the next two columns.
To locate a particular cell in a spreadsheet we can use the Find( )
method that is associated with a range object in Excel. A range
object defines a section of the worksheet. Worksheet ranges are
defined by row and column location such as A1, which represents
that single cell located at column A, row 1. A range can specify
more than one cell, such as a column of cells in the spreadsheet
designated as A1:A10 for column A, rows 1 through 10. Ranges
are typically rectangular and can span multiple rows and columns
as in A1:B3, which represents the cells found within columns A
and B from row 1 through 3.
Given a range of cells, you can apply the Find( ) method to look for
a matching value. The find method will return a range of cells that
match the find requirements. The resulting range can be a single
cell or a group of cells. When an application is dealing with a list
of unique key names, there should be only one match. If there is a
situation in which Find( ) could locate more than one, then a range
is returned that you can traverse using subsequent calls to the
FindNext( ) method. Each call to FindNext( ) will return the next
cell found to match the search criteria. When there are no more
selections, FindNext( ) is null. Our application example expects the
key names to be unique, meaning that no key is repeated, so the
FindNext( ) loop is not required.
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The value returned from the find method is a Range object. The
address method of the Range object is used to obtain the location of
the cell that was located and is returned as a string. When the
address method is used, a dollar sign will proceed each part of the
address so that if a match was made with column A and row 3, the
result would be $A$3. You can change the response of the address
method by using the variable parameters; however, the default
approach is good enough for our purposes.
When you are searching a table using a specific column, you know
the column value and can remove it from the result string to extract
just the row number where the match was made. In our example,
we are searching the A column for a key name match and can thus
remove the first three characters of the resulting address (the "$A$"
part) to obtain only the row number (3). Now if our application
wants to obtain the value of a particular column member of that
row, it can access the Cells( ). Value directly.
The following code segment searches the open worksheet saved in
the object variable excelSheet. It searches column A between rows
1 and 10 to find a match with the value "AA-3". When the match is
found, the data value found in column B is accessed and placed in
the variable Resulting_Value.
Dim Fnd As Excel.Range
Set Fnd = excelSheet.Range("A1:A10").Find("AA-3")
R$ = Fnd.Address
Rw = Val(Mid$(R$, 4))
Resulting_Value = excelSheet.Cells(Rw, 2).Value
To search the entire column labeled as A, you can specify the range
as ("A:A") instead of limiting the range search to rows 1 through
10 as in the code above. In Excel, this format is considered "A1"
notation. Most spreadsheet users are used to denoting areas or
ranges in the document with "A1" notation. "A1" notation uses
letters to represent the columns and numbers to represent the rows.
In this notation the value B5 would refer to the fifth entry in the
second column.
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When using the ''A1" notation, you can shortcut the code entry by
just specifying the desired range inside of square brackets as in
[A1:A10] instead of Range("A1:A10"). Note that the quotation
marks are not needed when defining the range using the shortcut
approach.
There are other ways to denote ranges of cells inside Excel from
VBA. An easy alternative is to use the Rows and Columns
properties of a worksheet. You can use these properties to define a
range based on an entire row or column. Using the column
property, you would rewrite the code as follows.
Set Fnd = excelSheet.Columns(1).Find("AA-3")
The entire first column of the spreadsheet is searched to locate the

desired match. The Columns( ) property of the worksheet returns a
range and that satisfies the Find method.
There is another way to search a spreadsheet for some information:
you can use the Cells( ) property with index values of the row and
column. You could change the example search to read as follows.
R$ = ""
For I = 1 To 10
If excelSheet.Cells(I,1).Value = "AA-3" Then
R$ = excelSheet.Cells(I,2).Value
I = 11 'break out of the loop
End If
Next I
At the end of the loop, the variable R$ would either hold the value
from the second column of the row in which the "AA-3" match was
made or it will be an empty string.
So which style should your application use? Use whatever makes
sense for the application at hand. The Find( ) method will locate a
match inside of a range faster than a direct iteration loop; however,
it is limited to finding exact matches. If you need to test values to
see if they fit a particular range for a selection to be made, then the
direct iteration approach will
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probably work better for the application. An example is a program
that searches a database of available sizes and selects the one
nearest in size (but larger than) a theoretically calculated size. In
this case, there may not be an exact match, and some logic must be
applied to the spreadsheet data in order to make a selection.
For most applications, you apply a specified range and an exact
value (often called a key) for the search. In those cases, the ''A1"
notation style will work nicely in conjunction with a Find( ). The
range to search could be hard coded as in these examples, or it
could be supplied in the form of a range variable. And because
strings can also be stored inside a spreadsheet, there is nothing that
would stop an application from obtaining the range value to use
from some other cell in the spreadsheet.
When you're searching through a spreadsheet, the best solution for
any given application to use is the one that reads in a logical
manner. For example, if someone said to search the first column,
then the Columns( ) property seems to make the most sense. On the
other hand, if someone specified that the application should search
through a specific set of rows and columns, then the "A1" notation
works best. And if there is a need to perform calculations or
comparisons with the values, a direct iteration is the only way to
get the job done.
Another Example Interface to Microsoft Excel
Simple examples demonstrate how easily you can use Excel to
create reports from AutoCAD drawing information. This function
will create a hole chart from all the circles found in the drawing. A
hole chart is a table that lists holes found in the drawing along with
their X-Y location. The hole chart is typically used for drill
programming or for locating bolted attachments in an assembly.
This simple function set will create a chart with sequential hole
number, X, Y location of center point, and the radius of the hole.
The hole number will then be written back into the drawing at the
center point of the circle using the current default text height. This
example demon-
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strates just how simple it is to build a powerful reporting tool for
AutoCAD with Excel.
The application is broken down into small modules to make the
code easier to read. The first listing contains the global variable
declarations for the module. There are two variables that we will
declare as global (available to all functions and subroutines in the
module), and they are a link to the active Excel spreadsheet and an
AutoCAD selection set collection.
Dim excelSheet As Object
Dim SS As AcadSelectionSet
The main program macro is called Holes and it is defined in the

following listing. The Holes function calls other functions that
perform the detail operations. First the Excel object is found and
linked. (Note that we have removed the normal error checking from
this example to keep the code simple and brief.) Once the link has
been established with Excel, the function Get_Circles is called to
obtain a selection set collection of all the circles found in the
drawing. The collection is then used by the subroutine
Send_Holes_To_Excel that reads each object and places the
coordinates and radius in a spreadsheet.
We sort the spreadsheet using the Sort( ) method of Excel. The
Sort( ) method implements the standard sorting available in the
Excel system. In this application we will sort by the X, Y, and
Radius values in ascending order. After the sort, the spreadsheet
data is read back into the program in sorted order. A text note is
then placed at each hole indicating its position in the sorted list, and
the handle is replaced with the hole number in the spreadsheet.
When this function is completed, the holes will be labeled in
AutoCAD and a supporting report is ready to be finished in Excel.
Sub holes()
Dim Excell As Object
Set Excell = GetObject(, ''Excel.Application")
Set excelSheet = Excell.ActiveWorkbook.Sheets.Add
Set SS = Get_Circles
Send_Holes_To_Excel
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excelSheet.Range("A1").Sort _
key1:=excelSheet.Range(''B1"), _
key2:=excelSheet.Range("C1"), _
key3:=excelSheet.Range("D1")
Set_Hole_Numbers
End Sub
The Sort( ) method can be a tad confusing at a quick glance. From the
example above, it appears as though the sort would do only a single
cellcertainly not the desired operation. Actually, the value supplied is either a
range or the first cell of a region. In this case, we are sorting a region that is
designated as starting at "A1". The sort fields are defined by assigning the
parameter variables Key1, Key2, and so forth to the first sort fields in the
spreadsheet. For our example we are sorting by the X, then Y, then the radius
values. You can sort the fields in ascending (the default) order or in
descending order. To have a field, such as the Y values, sort in descending
order, use the Order2 parameter variable and set it to a value of
xlDescending. Order1 will change the sort order of the first key field, and
Order3 will change the order of the third set. There are up to three sort fields
that can be defined in the Sort( ) method.
Let's turn our attention to the first of the subroutines called from the main
function. The Get_Circles function will build a selection set collection of
circles found in the drawing.
Function Get_Circles() As AcadSelectionSet
Dim Cir1, Cir2 As Variant
Dim CirA(0 To 0) As Integer
Dim CirB(0 To 0) As Variant
CirA(0) = 0
CirB(0) = "CIRCLE"
Cir1 = CirA: Cir2 = CirB
Set Get_Circles = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Add("HOLES")
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Err.Clear
Set Get_Circles = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Item(''HOLES")
End If
Get_Circles.Clear
Get_Circles.Select acSelectionSetAll, , , Cir1, Cir2
End Function
The value that will be returned from the Get_Circles function is a selection set
collection. The function is defined as being of the type selection set, and we can use
the name in our program as a variable to house the selection set collection while it
is being constructed. Get_Circles uses a filter to construct the selection set
collection. The filter is to look for circles only and can be expanded to include layer
names and other criteria as well.
Given the selection set collection, the next step is to write the values out to Excel in
the worksheet already started. At the beginning of this subroutine, the worksheet is
expected to be empty.
Sub Send_Holes_To_Excel()
Dim Ent As AcadCircle
CN = 1: CX = 2: CY = 3: CR = 4
R = 1
Dim PTV As Variant
For Each Ent In SS
excelSheet.Cells(R, CN).Value = Ent.Handle
PTV = Ent.Center
excelSheet.Cells(R, CX).Value = PTV(0)
excelSheet.Cells(R, CY).Value = PTV(1)
excelSheet.Cells(R, CR).Value = Ent.Radius
R = R + 1
Next Ent
End Sub
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This function loops through the selection set collection (stored in
global variable SS, which was set in the main program as the result
of calling Get_Circles). Each entity is assumed to be a circle object,
meaning that certain values are known to be available such as the
center point and radius. As this subroutine reads through the
selection set collection each entity is placed in the variable Ent for
processing. The first column of the spreadsheet is set to the entity
handle. Handles are the best way to link entity objects with external
data structures; we will be discussing them in more detail later in this
chapter. The second and third columns of the spreadsheet are then set
to the X and Y values of the circle center point. The fourth column is
set to the radius value found in the circle object.
The variable R holds the row number as the program adds each hole
location to the spreadsheet. After the user writes the hole location
and size information to the spreadsheet, the subroutine ends and
control is returned back to the main program.
The main program then sorts the spreadsheet as already discussed.
The sorted spreadsheet contains the data sequenced by X, Y, and
Radius values. The next subroutine will read the spreadsheet and
place hole numbers at each circle location. There are two operations
that will take place as this function iterates through the spreadsheet.
The first is to place the hole number in the drawing. The second is to
replace the handle entry in the spreadsheet with the sequential hole
number.
Sub Set_Hole_Numbers()
Dim PTV As Variant
Dim PTC(0 To 2) As Double
I = 1
TH = ThisDrawing.GetVariable(''TEXTSIZE")
While excelSheet.Cells(I, 1).Value <> ""
PTC(0) = excelSheet.Cells(I, 2).Value
PTC(1) = excelSheet.Cells(I, 3).Value
PTC(2) = 0#
ThisDrawing.ModelSpace.AddText Str$(I), PTC, TH
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I = I + 1
Wend
End Sub
The function begins by obtaining the current default text size for
the drawing. This value will be used when adding the text objects
for the hole number. A While loop is started that will iterate so long
as the cell in the first column of the current row number (in
variable I) has a non-blank entry. Handles are never blank, thus
when the program encounters a blank cell, it has hit the end of the
list. This version of the function doesn't do anything with the
handle other than test to see if one is there.
The X and Y values for the center of the circle are retrieved from
the spreadsheet and placed into an array of doubles. This array is
set into the variant variable PTV which is needed by the addCircle(
) function. You must use variants when sending and getting points
from objects. The reason has to do with the way the BASIC
language (as implemented in VBA) passes parameters internally
and the fact that array references are handled better using a variant
pointer.
The row number is incremented, and the loop continues until the
last hole has been read and the text placed in the drawing, at which
point the subroutine finishes.
This function set demonstrates the basics and performs a very
useful operation as well (should you need hole charts and a
numbering system for holes). VBA provides a powerful way to tie
various tools together so that each can be used in its own way to
make the application dream a reality.
Using Handles
The last example used handles but didn't really do anything with
them other than look for a blank handle indicating the end of the
list in the spreadsheet. Handles are strings that uniquely identify
each object in a drawing. AutoCAD assigns handles as the objects
are created and never reuses the same handle in the drawing. There
are tools in AutoCAD's
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programming systems for converting handles to entity objects. As such,
handles present a way that entity object references can be moved to an
external system such as a spreadsheet for later reference.
In VBA, a handle is converted to an entity object through the Handle-
ToObject( ) method. This method is associated with the document object and
can return values only when that document is the current document. That is,
you can get handles converted into objects only in the currently opened
drawing.
Using this conversion utility you can update the drawing based on the values
in the spreadsheet as in the following example, which looks at the same
spreadsheet. In this subroutine, the values in the spreadsheet are read one at a
time and the radius values checked against the original drawing objects. If
changed, the drawing object is updated and the layer changed to layer
''CHANGED". The layer is assumed to exist before the macro is run.
Sub update_radii()
Dim Excell As Object
Set Excell = GetObject(, "Excel.Application")
Set excelSheet = Excell.ActiveWorkbook.Sheets("Sheet32")
Dim Ent As AcadCircle
I = 1
While excelSheet.Cells(I, 1).Value <> ""
HN$ = excelSheet.Cells(I, 1).Value
Set Ent = ThisDrawing.HandleToObject(HN$)
If Ent.Radius <> excelSheet.Cells(I, 4) Then
Ent.Radius = excelSheet.Cells(I, 4)
Ent.Layer = "CHANGED"
End If
I = I + 1
Wend
End Sub
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Object ID versus Handle

An alternative to handles are Object ID values. Object ID values
use less storage space compared with handles (in medium and
larger drawings). An Object ID is a long integer value instead of a
string. Thus, once the entity handle names exceed four characters
in length, the length of a handle is longer than the object ID storage
space. Another attractive feature of Object ID values is that they
are integers and can be compared more quickly than character
strings.
Object ID values are mostly used in ObjectARX applications and
are available to VBA programmers for that purpose. ObjectARX
applications use the object ID values when connecting with the
various objects in the drawing database. Some of the VBA utilities
and event handling functions supply or require object ID values as
well.
To get an object ID value from an existing object, use the ObjectID
property of the object. If we have an entity object stored in the
object variable Ent, then the expression Ent.ObjectID will return
the object ID value. Object ID values are read-only and cannot be
set by an application.
You can convert object ID values to objects via the utility method
ObjectIDtoObject( ) available in the current drawing database. This
method is used in a manner just like the handle conversion utility to
obtain the object. Also, like the handle conversion utility, the object
ID conversion utility can be used only in the current drawing to
obtain an entity object. That is, if you have another drawing open
(from the documents collection) you cannot access the objects
inside with just an object ID value.
The problem with object ID values is that they will change as the
drawing is saved and reloaded. That is, they are not persistent
inside the drawing file. Handles never change in a drawing file;
once used, a handle is never repeated. This makes handles the ideal
tool for linking AutoCAD drawing objects with outside
applications. Object IDs are not well suited for that sort of interface
unless the application will not exit the drawing during the life span
of the external data.
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Linking with Other Applications

Linking graphic data in AutoCAD with parameters and associated
databases requires you to think carefully about the tools involved
and which one does which job best. AutoCAD is obviously
superior in graphics manipulations when compared with
applications such as Word or Excel. On the other hand, these other
applications manipulate words and data charts much better than
AutoCAD.
At first it would appear that the delineation between the different
applications is pretty cut and dried. This is not the case. Excel is
very good at making charts as well as manipulating tables. At the
same time, AutoCAD includes custom dictionary objects for
storing tables of data internal to the drawing. And Word provides
table-generating features that make for very good charts and
material lists.
So how do you know what way to turn when looking at integrated
applications of this nature? Generally, the best answer is to
consider what needs manipulating and what tool is best at that
manipulation. Consider an application in which a data table
containing a set of standard sizes is referenced. Storing that table
inside each and every AutoCAD drawing may seem ludicrous at
first glance. If someone needs to change the standard values, he or
she might have to change them in every drawing. It would be much
easier to change them in a spreadsheet or database, then have the
newer values available for all drawings. However, suppose that the
standards are changed every so often but that an associated
application must work with the standards that applied when the
drawing was created. Under those circumstances, it might be better
to store the data table inside the drawing or at least in a database
closely associated with just that drawing.
The circumstances of the application and how the data will be
needed will greatly influence what tool is used to accomplish the
job. For most applications, the clear delineation between AutoCAD
as the graphics engine, Excel as the table engine, and Word as the
reporting engine is enough to get started. In general, the more you
know about a particular
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application, the more you will be able to exploit its abilities when
interfacing AutoCAD with it. The reason is that the same software
that services the operator commands processes the automation tools
you can use. Objects are a powerful way for one application to link
up with another.
Storing Data in AutoCAD

So far we've looked at handles as a way to store a reference to an
AutoCAD entity object in another database. But what about linking
some other database's key in an AutoCAD drawing? Since a key is
typically text, it could be stored as a very small text object in the
drawing. But keys are not graphic objects, and it is not desirable to
have text objects cluttering up the drawing. To aid applications
facing this dilemma, AutoCAD has some other mechanisms for
storing non-graphical information in a drawing.
There are two tools that can be used to store non-graphical
information inside a drawing. The first is a dictionary, which can
house lists of objects. The second is extended data. The primary
difference is that extended data is attached to existing objects in a
drawing, so it is limited in the amount of data that can be added.
Dictionaries can contain independent objects, and these objects can
be of any size.
Dictionary Object
A dictionary is a collection of objects; it can contain any objects
the application requires. Dictionary objects are members of the
dictionaries collection, as we discussed in Chapter 6. The objects
that make up a dictionary can be of our own custom design (you
must use ObjectARX to create a truly custom object). Dictionary
objects can also be other AutoCAD drawing objects such as lines,
arcs, and circles. In this manner, a dictionary can be used to store a
selection set between edit sessions, much like a group but without
any operator control options. Lastly, there is an object available in
AutoCAD that is found only in dictionaries
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called an Xrecord. Dictionaries can be made up of Xrecords or any
combination of entity objects.
Xrecord Objects
When interfacing with external systems or using custom design software,
Xrecords present an interesting method of storing data inside a drawing that
is not directly attached to an entity object. An Xrecord is a non-graphical
object that can contain any number of parameters, just like a graphic object.
That means you can store points, strings, integers, real numbers, and so forth.
Xrecords are located using a dictionary and a key name. The key name is a
string that is stored with the Xrecord inside the dictionary. Since your
application stores the key name, it should also know how to retrieve it for
later use.
Xrecords provide a way to store the values of various variables that might be
used in an application. A program can write Xrecords containing the values
of key variables in response to a save-event taking place. That way, when the
program is started again in the same drawing at a later time, the variable
values can be retrieved.
Accessing a Dictionary
Creating a dictionary object in VBA is simply a matter of adding a new
member to the dictionary collection of the drawing. When the drawing is
saved, the dictionary is saved with it. The following code segment will create
a new dictionary object in the current drawing.
Dim Dict As AcadDictionary
Set Dict = ThisDrawing.Dictionaries.Add( ''My Dictionary")
You need to create a dictionary object only once; doing so a second time will
result in an error trigger. If a particular dictionary object already exists in the
drawing, you'll access it using the Item( ) method. The following code will
access the dictionary object named "My Dictionary" and if it is not found,
will create it.
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' Dictionary objects should be global
Dim Dict As AcadDictionary
'
Set Dict = ThisDrawing.Dictionaries.Item ( ''My Dictionary")
Err.Clear
Set Dict = ThisDrawing.Dictionaries.Add("My Dictionary")
End If
The dictionary object can be used to reference the objects within the dictionary.
What you will find in a dictionary is entirely up to the application that
maintains the dictionary. In most cases, the dictionary will contain object
references. The objects in the dictionary are accessed just like a collection in
that you use names or the index number to obtain the reference.
For most applications the dictionary serves as a wonderful place to store
variable values and parametric data. A dictionary can also be used to store
tables of data reflecting standards in effect when the drawing was created. As a
result, the most common member of a custom dictionary is the Xrecord.
Because Xrecords can contain any data and make use of the same numbering
system as AutoCAD objects, they are very easy for most AutoCAD
programmers to use.
Xrecord Contents
An Xrecord contains variable data: one Xrecord does not have to look like the
next in the dictionary collection. The data for an Xrecord is supplied in two
arrays. The first array contains integer group codes that specify the kind of data
that will be found at the same offset in the second array. The second array is of
type variant, meaning that it can contain anything. When accessing or writing
an Xrecord, these two arrays are used. They must be the same size, and the data
contents are entirely up to the appli-
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cation. The only integer codes not permitted are 5 and 105, as these are reserved for AutoCAD
handles. New Xrecords will have handles added automatically when they are first created. All
of the remaining group codes are at the disposal of the application. That is, you can use group
code 40 over and over again for a sequence of real numbers, or you can use 40, 41, and so
forth. Whatever works best for the application.
To add an Xrecord object to a dictionary, first open the dictionary. We recommend that you
dimension objects such as dictionaries in global memory so that they may be accessed by all
modules in the application that need to get at them. With the dictionary already open, the next
step is to add the Xrecord object to it with the AddXRecord( ) method. The AddXrecord( )
method creates an Xrecord object that is attached to the dictionary collection. The Xrecord
data is then written to the object using the SetXRecordData method.
To learn how an Xrecord object is created, consider the following code. A new Xrecord object
is attached to an already open dictionary object referenced by the variable Dict as in the
previous code segment. The subroutine will store a real number, an integer, and a string,
which are all provided as parameters to the function. The key parameter is the key name that
will be used for accessing the Xrecord in the dictionary at some time in the future.
Sub WriteXrecord(Key As String, R As Double, I As Integer, S As String)
Dim Xtyp(2) As Integer
Dim Xvar(2) As Variant
Xtyp(0) = 40: Xvar(0) = R
Xtyp(1) = 60: Xvar(1) = I
Xtyp(2) = 1: Xvar(2) = S
Dim Xrec As AcadXRecord
Set Xrec = Dict.AddXRecord(Key)
Xrec.SetXRecordData Xtyp, Xvar
End Sub
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The function just provided might be used by an application that has three variables to be stored
for future referencing. This function could be part of a module that reacts to the begin-save
event. The first step would be to open the dictionary object by accessing an existing one or
creating a new one. Next you'll write the variables. That would end the begin-save event
reactor. You'll need to do additional programming for the drawing-open reactor, in which a
module would open the dictionary and read the three variables back into the application.
Reading Xrecords
To read an Xrecord you must first know the key name it was stored under. The only alternative
is to loop through the dictionary one item at a time and examine the contents of each. In either
case, the Item( ) method is used with the dictionary object to obtain the Xrecord object. From
there, you'll use the GetXRecordData( ) method to get at the group codes and data stored inside.
<XrecordObject>.GetXRecordData( ) uses two variant parameters. When the function returns,
these two will reference arrays of data. The first will contain an array of integer values, and the
second will be an array of variants.
The next code example will read the Xrecord created in the previous example given the key
name as a parameter. The values read from the Xrecord are put back into the parameter
variables to be used by the calling program. You'll use the function GetXRecordData( ) method
to return the Xrecord contents given the Xrecord object reference. To obtain the Xrecord object
reference, the Item( ) method is applied against the already open dictionary object Dict.
Sub ReadMyXrecord(Key As String, R As Double, I As Integer, S As String)
Dim Xtyp, XVar As Variant
Dim XR As AcadXRecord
Set XR = Dict.Item(Key)
XR.GetXRecordData Xtyp, XVar
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For J = LBound(Xtyp) To UBound(Xtyp)
If Xtyp(J) = 1 Then S = XVar(J)
If Xtyp(J) = 40 Then R = XVar(J)
If Xtyp(J) = 70 Then I = XVar(J)
Next J
End Sub
In this function, the values returned from the Xrecord read are processed
into variables that are passed back to the calling function. They could just
as easily been placed into global variable locations for the application or
returned as a result of a function instead. The key item to remember is that
Xrecords are under the control of the application program manipulating
them. They can contain any type of data desired and can be of any length.
Note that they are not protected from other programmers who understand
how to navigate the object system of AutoCAD, but they are well
protected from the normal AutoCAD user.
Group Codes in Xrecords

Using group codes in an application is entirely up to the applications
developer who is working with Xrecord objects. However, we strongly
recommend that the following standards be followed in order to remain
consistent with the AutoCAD drawing database. There are other group
codes that can be used: these are merely suggestions.
Codes What they are
1-9 Strings. Do not use code 5, it is for the entity handles!
10-29 Point lists.
30-39 Z values. Sometimes these are also used for point lists.
40-49 Real number scalar values. Typically used for sizes and scale factors.
50-59 Real number angular values. Typically used for angles.
60-69 Integer numbers, counters, and values for numeric coded items.
70-79 Integer numbers, bit coded flags combined into single integers.
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In the previous examples, the group codes used were I for the string, 40
for the real number, and 60 for the integer. They could just as well have
been 1, 2, 3 if the application creating them wanted the codes in that order.
Xrecords may use group code numbers 1 through 369. You should not use
group codes 5 and 105, as they are for AutoCAD. AutoCAD will add the
entity handle information required to these codes. You may use all other
codes in any manner you desire.
Extended Data
The other way to attach data that is non-graphical to a drawing is to use
extended data. You attach extended data directly to objects in the drawing
database; these can contain numbers, points, and strings. The only real
limit to keep in mind with extended data is that an object can have only
about 16 kilobytes of data attached to it. Now, that is a lot of data to attach
to an object in a drawing, and it would not be good to attach even half that
amount to objects throughout the database. Operators will most definitely
complain about the excessive disk space being consumed.
When setting up extended data, you'll use a group code system much like
the Xrecord objects with the exception that extended data group codes are
all numbered in the 1000 series. Extended data attachments must use these
group codes when attaching data to an entity object.
CodeExtended data type
1000 String.
1001 Application name.
1002 Control string for nested information. Open bracket for start of the nest, close
bracket for the end of it.
1003 Layer name. If the layer name is changed in the drawing, this field will be
updated to reflect that change.
1004 Binary data storage. Data cannot be accessed by AutoLISP and is used
primarily by ObjectARX applications.
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Code Extended data type
1005 Handle to another object. Can be used to link one object to another.
1010 Point.
1040 Real number.
1041 Distance will be scaled with the parent object.
1042 Scale factor will be scaled with the parent object.
1070 Integer.
1071 Long integer.
Every object in the AutoCAD drawing database can have extended data
attached to it. But before you can use extended data, the application ID
must first be added to the registered applications collection. The Add( )
method is used to add the name of your application to the registered
applications collection object in the current drawing, as in the following
line of code.
ThisDrawing.RegisteredApplications.Add "MyApplication"
An application name needs to be added only once to a document. Once it

has been added, it will be saved with the drawing and can be used when
addressing extended data for objects.
There are two methods associated with all AutoCAD objects that you use
to access the extended data. They are SetXdata( ) and GetXdata( ). The
SetXdata( ) method is used to add extended data to an object. The
registered application name must be supplied with the data provided to
SetXdata( ). If there is already data attached to the entity with the same
name, it is overwritten. When writing extended data to an object, you
must update all the information associated with the application, or some
data may be lost. If the application name is not supplied or has not been
registered with the drawing, the extended data will not be attached to the
object.
The extended data itself is supplied in two variables. The first variable is
an array of integer group codes. The second is a variant array of whatever
data is needed and matches the group codes. You must use the
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group code with the data type that matches the data being
suppliedotherwise, the extended data will not be written properly.
When retrieving extended data from an object, you'll use two
variant objects. These objects are actually arrays containing the
extended data in the same fashion as it was supplied to the object in
the first place. Applications can rely on the order of group codes
being preserved in extended data, unless some other application
changes them because it used the same name.
Simple Xdata Example

The example presented will create a line, then add extended data
indicating the date and time the object was added to the drawing.
The AutoCAD system variable ''CDATE" is used for this purpose.
"CDATE" contains the current date and time stored as a real
number that can be preserved with the entity object. The format of
the "CDATE" variable is thus: the year, month, and day value are
concatenated into the front part of the number (before the decimal
point), and the time of day values make up the part that appears to
the right of the decimal point.
The first step is to create the line object. You'll create a new line
from (1,1) to (2,1). It is left on the current layer and no other
changes are made to it. The line is then added to the model space of
the current drawing and the line object variable saved in variable
Lin.
Dim Lin As AcadLine
Dim PV1 As Variant, PV2 As Variant
Dim PT1(0 To 2) As Double
Dim PT2(0 To 2) As Double
PT1(0) = 1#: PT1(1) = 1#: PT1(2) = 0#
PT2(0) = 2#: PT2(1) = 1#: PT1(2) = 0#
PV1 = PT1: PV2 = PT2
Set Lin = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace.AddLine(PV1, PV2)
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As in Xrecords, extended data records use two arrays that contain
the integer group codes and variant data values that comprise the
extended data. The next section of code initializes the arrays,
retrieves the ''CDATE" value, adds the registered application name
to the drawing, and places the extended data onto the line object.
Dim PT(1) As Integer
Dim PV(1) As Variant
Dim RR As Double
RR = ThisDrawing.GetVariable("CDATE")
PT(0) = 1001: PV(0) = "CREATED"
PT(1) = 1040: PV(1) = RR
ThisDrawing.RegisteredApplications.Add "CREATED"
Lin.SetXData PT, PV
The SetXData method is used with the line object to add the
extended data arrays to the object. Group codes 1001 and 1040
were used to hold the registered application name and the real
number value for the CDATE system variable. If you need to store
an additional real number, the group code 1040 is used again. One
problem that can come up is if multiple applications are working
with the same extended data. In those cases, it is possible that the
order of the data elements could get confused. We highly
recommend that you keep extended data grouped in small data
packs if there is a requirement for multiple applications to be
messing with the data. Each of the data packs is assigned a
registered application name, making it easy to retrieve just the data
sought after.
This next section of code will locate the line with the "CREATED"
extended data and read the saved value for the CDATE system
variable. In order to accomplish the task, the function must first
locate the line. This is done with the selection set utility function.
The function Getdate( ) is presented in pieces, followed by a
description of each section of code.
Function Getdate()As Double
Dim SS As AcadSelectionSet
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Set SS = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Add(''TEMP")
Set SS = ThisDrawing.SelectionSets.Item("TEMP")
Err.Clear
SS.Clear
End If
'function continues
The function starts by defining a selection set object named SS.

When you add the selection set "TEMP" to the selection set
collection of the drawing, an error will result if it is already in
there. Thus we enable the On Error trap to force VBA to continue
in the event an error is reported.
If the error number is not 0, then VBA had a problem adding the
name "TEMP" to the selection set collection. That means it is
already in there, and we must use the Item( ) method to get it.
Because selection set is already defined, it may also contain
objects. The Clear method is employed to clear out any objects that
may be in the selection set named "TEMP".
At this point in the code, the variable SS is a selection set object
with nothing in it. The next step is to locate the "LINE" object that
contains the extended data.
'function continues
Dim FT(1) As Integer, FV(1) As Variant
Dim vFT As Variant, vFV As Variant
FT(0) = 0: FV(0) = "LINE"
FT(1) = 1001: FV(1) = "CREATED"
vFT = FT: vFV = FV
SS.Select acSelectionSetAll, , , vFT, vFV
'function continues
You'll use the Select method from the selection set object to locate
the desired graphics. We are interested in finding a "LINE" object
that has extended data attached to it. The technique involved in
building the filter
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for extended data is somewhat different in VBA compared with
AutoLISP/Visual LISP. Instead of searching for a 3 group code, it
searches for the 1001 group code. The 1001 group code contains
the application name that will be exactly the same as the
application name supplied in the function that wrote the extended
data in the first place. For our application, that name is
''CREATED".
The filter list is built by first defining two arrays. The first array
contains the integer group codes for the data we are filtering. In
this example we are looking for a "LINE", thus group code 0 is
used. Entity names are always associated with group code 0. The
extended data application name is represented by the 1001 value.
In the second array, the values for these variables are set. The
second array is of the type Variant so that it can hold any type of
data: string, double, or integer.
Due to the way variants are stored in the VBA system, a second
assignment is made for the arrays to another pair of Variant
variables (vFT, vFV). All the input elements for the selection set
building function are ready, and Select( ) is called on to put entities
into the selection set SS. The acSelectSetAll is an AutoCAD
constant that tells the select method to search the entire drawing
database.
At the end of this section of code, the selection set variable SS now
contains a "LINE" object that has the extended data attached to it.
If the "LINE" object is not found in the drawing, the selection set
will be empty.
'function continues
If SS.Count > 0 Then
Dim Ent As AcadLine
Set Ent = SS.Item(0)
Ent.GetXData "CREATED", vFT, vFV
GetSavedDate = vFV(1)
Else
GetSavedDate = 0#
End If
End Function
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The selection set Count property tells us how many objects were
found matching the filter description we just used. If the Count is
greater than 0, then the Select( ) method was successful in locating
objects that fit our criteria.
We know that the object we want is a line, so we define an
AcadLine object. If the extended data had been attached to any
AutoCAD object, a better choice would have been to use the
AcadObject definition instead. However, due to the way VBA
works with libraries and objects, the general rule of thumb is that
when you know exactly what object type will be encountered, use
that definition. This will improve the performance of the
applications.
The application looks at the first line in the selection set with
Item(0). The GetXData( ) method is used with that entity object to
retrieve two variants that are arrays containing the extended data.
Since our application wrote only two pieces of data to the extended
data, the name of the application and the data value, we know for
certain that the value saved can be found in the second element.
Thus, use vFV(1) to get the saved value and place it in the return
value of the function.
If the selection set count was 0, the function didn't find any ''LINE"
objects with the extended data attached. At this point, the return
result of the function is set to 0.
A more advanced look at extended data manipulations is presented
in a later chapter. Extended data provides a powerful way to
associate non-graphical data to existing graphical objects. There
are other techniques that can be used as well, including Xrecords
with hard ownership relationships. However, these are more
difficult to manage under VBA, and most applications will find
extended data to suffice.
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Chapter Eight
Managing Multiple Projects
The macro system in VBA is excellent for creating small
applications that solve specific problems in AutoCAD. Using VBA
macros, you can greatly enhance the way AutoCAD works for a
particular discipline. In this chapter we are going to explore how to
keep track of the VBA macros and how to integrate them into
normal AutoCAD operations. We are also going to be looking at
the different ways to store VBA macros in AutoCAD drawings or
as projects.
Putting Complete Applications Together

Building a complete application in VBA requires bringing together
different pieces of code and dialog boxes into something the
operator can initiate. It is not reasonable, or in most cases desirable,
to have operators enter the VBA development system in order to
start the application. Not only does this expose the application to
possible changes by unqualified individuals, it also is a
cumbersome way for CAD operators to interface with the system.
The goal when developing an application for AutoCAD is to make
the new tool integrate seamlessly into the environment. That means
having the application start when someone makes a menu selection
or types a command at the keyboard.
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As we will see in this chapter, it's best to start an application based
on VBA through the AutoCAD menu system. VBA is not well
suited for the AutoCAD command line and does not provide a
facility for defining new command names as in AutoLISP or
ObjectARX/ADS. Only veteran AutoCAD users who learned how
to draw by using the keyboard will find this aspect of VBA to be
difficult, and for them there is a solution that involves using
AutoLISP to load and start the program. Thus you can write VBA
applications that behave like AutoCAD commands, are started like
normal AutoCAD commands, and can significantly impact the
productivity of AutoCAD operators.
Complete applications in VBA are called projects. In VBA, a
project is what we call the collection of modules that make up a
program. Inside a project you'll find code modules, dialog boxes,
references to other objects, and specific object definitions. In all
VBA projects running inside AutoCAD you will find the
ThisDrawing object. The remaining contents of a project are
entirely up to you, the applications developer. The contents of a
project are viewed with the Project window of the VBAIDE (figure
8.1).
Figure 8.1
Project Window
If a project has a dialog boxbased interface, there will be at least
one form connected to the project. Add a dialog box to the
interface by selecting the Insert - Form option from the pull-down
menu or by picking the Insert Form icon. Forms are the combined
definition of a dialog box and all of the callback functions
associated with the dialog box. In other words, there are always
two parts to a form. The first is the dialog box definition that is
shown graphically to the programmer when the user form is
visible. The other is a code window that contains all of the callback
functions and associated code components for the dialog box
contents. To switch between the code and dialog box views, use the
window pull-down menu or the icons at the
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top of the Project window. When starting a form both the form
window and code window will be blank and ready to accept your
definitions.
Forms are optional; if a project does not contain any dialog box
interfaces, they will not be found in the project tree. Sometimes a
complete application can be written with a single form. In that
case, only one dialog box appears associated with the application.
When a project needs more than one dialog box, there will be a
form entry for each of the dialog boxes. And each form entry will
have code associated with it. Applications that involve multiple
forms are not difficult to manage with the tools provided in VBA.
There will generally be at least one module inside any project that
can be started outside of the VBAIDE. A module is a connected
group of subroutines and functions. Inside the module, there should
be at least one subroutine that is public. That public subroutine will
be used to start the application; it is often called a macro. It is
important that you declare the macro as public so it is visible
outside of the module and project. As functions and subroutines are
defined, you can declare them as public or private. If you make no
declaration, the definition is considered public. Private functions
and subroutines cannot be seen or initiated outside of the project
module.
To add a code module to the project, select the InsertModule option
from the pull-down menu or use the icon option from the toolbar.
The code module will be initially blank and waiting for your input.
To help keep things under control, there should be only one public
subroutine definition for an application. That way, your program is
always started at the same place. Your program can then call other
private functions inside the same module and control the various
forms attached to the project.
An operator can start any public subroutine defined in a code
module. These macros are considered exposed to the operator.
Operators can start a macro by using the ToolsMacros pull-down
menu option. Once they load the project, the exposed macros are
listed in the Macros dialog box. This is one way in which users can
start an application. He or she selects one of the exposed macros
from the Macros dialog box to run.
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Loading Projects to Run

If the project is not loaded, the Macros dialog box has a button that
takes the operator to the VBA Manager dialog box. The VBA
Manager dialog box is where you can load projects stored on disk,
thereby making the exposed macros visible for selection back in
the Macros dialog box.
You can store projects either on disk or inside the drawing. When a
project is stored inside a drawing it is considered embedded in the
drawing. This makes the project immediately available whenever
the drawing is open. Perhaps the most intriguing feature of an
embedded project comes through the use of VBA reactors that are
associated with the ThisDrawing object. Suppose you want a
program that will request a user ID whenever the drawing is
opened. You can provide the event routine
AcadDocument_Activate with the code required to start a form that
in turn requests the user ID. Only an embedded project can make
use of such an event trigger with any degree of reliability. You
must load and initiate externally stored projects first before event
triggers can be enabled.
A project that uses event triggers only may not have any code
modules or any forms attached to it. The code for such a project
would all be found under the AutoCAD Objects member
ThisDrawing. There are numerous event functions that can be
programmed at the Objects level in the drawing and many
applications that can be built around these triggers. For the most
part, event triggers provide an excellent method of monitoring what
is going on in the AutoCAD system.
We should mention to programmers who are considering the use of
VBA for such applications work that ObjectARX provides a much
greater level of control over the systems operations of AutoCAD
compared with VBA. Not only is the ObjectARX runtime code
more efficient, but the ObjectARX system provides greater
flexibility when you're monitoring or controlling AutoCAD at that
level. VBA can be used to test out ideas in regards to event-
triggered applications, but we don't recommend using this tool as
the foundation for any significant applications along these lines.
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Embedded Projects
An embedded project is one that is stored inside the AutoCAD
drawing. When the drawing is loaded, the operator will be given
the opportunity to enable the embedded project. A stern warning
about viruses is issued as the default in AutoCAD, so users may be
a bit shy about allowing the macros to be loaded. You can disable
the virus warning for future loads at the particular workstation, but
this will let any drawing that has attached macros enter the system
as well. The choice of using embedded projects is up to the
environment. It does increase the drawing size, but depending on
the application, that may not be by very much.
To embed a project in a drawing, load the drawing, then either
define or load the project. In the VBA Project Manager program
dialog, select the project, then select the Embed button. The project
is now embedded into the drawing and will be saved with the
drawing.
The next time the drawing is loaded, the project is immediately
available. The AcadDocument_Activate function will then be run.
You can use this function to load a dialog box (form.show)
immediately to ask the user a question or two. You can create a
time management system for each drawing using this simple
approach.
There can be only one project embedded in the drawing at a time,
however. That project can reference other projects stored on disk.
To have an embedded project reference a stored project, load both
into the VBAIDE. With the embedded project as the active project,
select the ToolsReferences pull-down menu option. Find the object
name of the other project in the list and select it. Save the project
and drawing. The next time the drawing is loaded, the embedded
project will be loaded automatically and the referenced project will
be loaded at the same time.
Projects on Disk
Projects that are not embedded are stored on disk as DVB files. A
DVB project file can be locked, thereby protecting it from changes
by the user. A project is stored on disk when the Save project is
used and the project
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is not considered embedded. A project contains all the modules,
forms, and object reference information needed to run the project
the next time it is loaded. If the project has public subroutines
defined, they are listed in the macros list.
To load a project, you can use the VBALOAD command. You can
also load VBA projects by entering the VBA Manager dialog box
(command VBAMAN). The VBARUN command will display a
dialog box for running the macros that are exposed in any of the
projects loaded.
In AutoCAD 2000 you can have more than one project loaded and
available at once. In AutoCAD Release 14's version of VBA, only
one project can be open and available at a time. Thus the entire
idea of referencing other projects is not something that can be
explored with AutoCAD Release 14: it requires AutoCAD 2000.
You can load the project manager without the dialog box. This is
how you place project load and start-up sequences into AutoCAD
menus and AutoLISP macros. When you put a dash character (-) in
front of the command, AutoCAD does not display the dialog box
but instead prompts for the parameters required.
To illustrate, the following code segment is from a menu macro
that will load the VBA project stored as MYPROJ.DVB, then start
a macro named MYMACRO that is a public subroutine in the
project. This menu macro can be added as a new toolbar entry or
can be part of a larger menu source file.
[Run my macro]^C^C^C^P-
VBALOAD MYPROJ.DVB VBARUN MYMACRO
When the DVB file does not exist in the search path for AutoCAD,
the entire path name must be provided to properly load it. If the
project is already loaded, the VBALOAD command will just exit,
and the VBARUN command can then run the macro.
You can supply this same sequence in an AutoLISP program
module to start a VBA macro. And you can employ the
COMMAND subr to send the command stream to AutoCAD to
launch the program.
(command "-VBALOAD" "MYPROJ.DVB" "-
VBARUN" "MYMACRO")
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Using the AutoLISP launch version, you can set up the ACAD.LSP
files to contain a function that will load and start the VBA
application. Note that in AutoCAD 2000 the usage of the
ACAD.LSP file has changed, and it may not load for every
drawing according to the AutoCAD system variable setting
ACADLSPASDOC. When this variable is true, the default,
ACAD.LSP, is loaded for each new drawing. When false,
ACAD.LSP will be loaded once at the beginning of the AutoCAD
session.
Both VBA program launch mechanisms can result in dialog box
interruptions. The first is the Macro Virus warning. A stern
warning is displayed in a dialog box stating that macros may
contain viruses and that the user can disable the macros to make
sure no viruses infect the system. Of course, this could result in the
VBA macro not running at all. When running from a menu or from
AutoLISP, that is not the desired result. Macro Virus warnings can
be turned off by toggling the ''Always ask before opening projects
with macros" to the off position (not checked). Future warnings
will not be issued until the feature is turned back on. Another
dialog error that will result from using the load and launch will
result when you're attempting to perform the same function a
second time in the same drawing. Since the macro set is already
loaded, an error message will result stating that the file is already
loaded. There is no way presently to test if a VBA project is loaded
from inside an AutoLISP routine or from a menu macro.
Thus the best way to load and launch VBA programs is using the
menu system of AutoCAD. Inside the menu you can explicitly
request the VBA application by name or force the load of the
supporting AutoLISP code that runs the project. Once the menu
macro has run the first time, it can be replaced with a simple macro
that just reruns the VBA program. The user makes a single pick of
the menu item and the program starts running. What could be
simpler?
Re-Using Code
As you develop applications with VBA, you will begin to build a
toolbox of useful utilities. We are getting you started with a host of
functions
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that will be introduced in Chapter 10. These utilities can be
imported into your current projects by saving the individual
modules as they are developed. Modules are saved as BAS files. To
build a BAS file from inside the VBAIDE, select the FilesExport
pull-down menu option. Modules are exported as ASCII text files
with a default extension of BAS.
The same is true with forms. They can be exported to FRM and
FRX files that contain the essential information related to the
dialog box and associated code. The FRM file is an ASCII header
file that points to the FRX file. The FRX file is a binary file that
contains the actual dialog box definition and its associated code
segments.
In a future project where the same program code or input form may
be used again, you can import the saved components using the
FilesImport pull-down menu option. Once you have imported the
entire module or form, you can keep those sections that are of
interest while you remove the remainder using the editors in
VBAIDE.
Sometimes it is better to have a copy of another text editor (such as
Notepad) running to load code modules (BAS files). You can copy
the needed code to the clipboard, then paste it back into the
VBAIDE in the module where the code will be used. This approach
works great when you are working with a large library (like that
provided with this book) and want to pull in fragments of the code
to save yourself the typing.
Running a Macro from Another Project
Another choice available to the VBA developer for re-using code
already developed is to load the project that contains the module
desired and run it. AutoCAD VBA provides the tools needed to
accomplish this task in AutoCAD 2000. There are three methods
associated with the application object that can be used to load, run,
and unload projects.
The LoadDVB method will load a project file (extension DVB). If
the project is already open, an error will result, so it is best to
invoke the error handler when using this method unless you know
for sure that the project is not loaded and that you will be
unloading it when you are
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done with it. LoadDVB has one parameter: the name of the project
file as a string. You should provide the complete path name and
extension DVB if the file is not in the current search directory.
When the load operation is completed, the project is now available
to the user as well as to your application.
After loading a project into the current application environment,
you can use the RunMacro method to run a public subroutine from
the project. You must define the subroutine as public since your
application will enjoy only the same rights into the project as a user
does. If the macro is not available for whatever reason, an error
will result.
The only parameter to the RunMacro method is the name of the
macro to run. When supplying a name for this function, the
complete macro location must be specified. That is, you need to
supply the module name plus the name of the subroutine.
RunMacro is associated with the application object that has just
opened the project file. If you have a macro and module of the
same name in your program set, they will not be run. The
difference is the way you call on a macro in your own program
versus in an external one, as we are discussing. When you call a
macro in your own program you supply the name directly, and
VBA finds the links right away. When you call a macro in a loaded
DVB project file, you supply the macro name as a string parameter.
The string is then used in a search of the project to locate the macro
intended. At that time the macro executes.
If you want to run macros from multiple DVB files, it is best to
close each one as soon as you are done with it. To close the project,
use the UnloadDVB method. Once again, you must supply the
name of the DVB project in order to ensure that the correct project
is closed.
The following simple example will load a DVB project called
CoolStuf that is saved in the \MyCoolStuff directory. Once the
project is loaded, the macro VeryNeat is run from the module
named Module1. Then the project is unloaded.
Dim ACADApp As AcadApplication
Set ACADApp = GetObject(, ''AutoCAD.Application")
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ACADApp.LoadDVB "C:\MyCoolStuff\CoolStuf.DVB"
ACADApp.RunMacro ''Module1.VeryNeat"
ACADApp.UnloadDVB "C:\MyCoolStuff\CoolStuf.DVB"
This approach to running other projects should be used only if

another programming group has denied you access into the internal
routines or if the project is rarely used. When working with other
projects on a more frequent basis, you should directly reference the
project into the current project so it is readily available.
Sharing Data between Projects

Sharing data between VBA projects is a matter of using public,
global variables that you can address directly in the same manner
as used to address modules in another project. You must reference
the variables using the complete project and module location as
well as the variable name when you're putting values in or getting
them out.
Another way to perform this activity is to make an import method
(function) available for the project module. This function would
have multiple parameters required and would be public. The
parameters would be the values to change or obtain, and the
function could then interface with the local variables directly, as it
is part of the same project. Of course, this approach exposes the
function to the user; however, because of the required variable
parameters, it will be all but useless from the Macro start dialog
box.
A third alternative is to store the data to be passed between
applications in the drawing, on the disk, or in another ActiveX
application such as Excel. The use of this style of data transfer will
depend on the applications that are interfacing with each other. For
example, the Excel option would be somewhat odd as a choice
when the applications do not use Excel for any reason themselves.
And a file transfer system may be excessive when all that needs to
be shared is a string or two. The applications, as well as the tools
used to create them, will dictate which solution is the best one to
pursue.
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The file or drawing option is also the only one available for sharing
AutoLISP or ObjectARX variable data with VBA applications.
You cannot pass variables to and from these other environments
with VBA. If your application in VBA needs to obtain information
from an AutoLISP program, that program must either save the data
in the drawing at some known location (such as a User system
variable) or write it to a file. The file name will have to be agreed
on in advance by both the AutoLISP and VBA modules to effect
the data transfer. These situations are rare and generally involve
applications migrating from one environment to the other. In those
cases, you can port and test modules using minimal project-to-
project communications until the entire system is running in one
programming environment.
If you want to interface from VBA with an application written in
the AutoLISP or ARX environments, you must contact the vendor
of the other products to see what options may exist. You can run
commands created by these tools, but you cannot run functions or
individual utilities unless they support a command linebased start
option.
As mentioned earlier, you can use AutoLISP to start a VBA
project. When you use the VBARUN command in this manner, the
AutoLISP system is suspended until the VBA application is
finished. Thus, if you need to send information from AutoLISP to
the VBA program, you need to set up the transfer before starting
the macro via VBARUN. Also, returning data from the VBA
macro will be available immediately after the macro has finished
and control has been returned to AutoLISP. Your host AutoLISP
program will have no direct way of knowing if the VBA run was a
success. That's why the VBARUN launch method is recommended
only for menu usage or to allow a veteran AutoCAD user the
luxury of starting your VBA macro from the command line.
Late and Early Binding in VBA
One factor that can greatly increase the speed of execution of a
VBA project that uses multiple projects or involves objects from
other ActiveX
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applications is when you make the binding between the various
objects. Binding is the computer term that means the objects are
connecting with each other. When a VBA program loads another
project, it is binding with the project. When a VBA program
attaches to the Excel spreadsheet system, it is binding with Excel.
An object reference in your program will not know anything about
what it is referencing until that binding is made. And that can take
a while in some environments. For example, if Excel is used and is
not loaded, it must be loaded first before your program can
continue.
In early binding, the program knows about the objects it will be
working with in the course of the application. When a library is
referenced into a project, the early binding is available for use as
you write the program code. In other words, your application can
be made ready to work with the objects and know quite a bit about
them even though the complete linkage is not fully enabled. To
illustrate, you can define an object variable using the general-
purpose type object, or you can define it as the exact type of data
you will be manipulating. When your program is run, the object
will have to be evaluated and set up to work with the object
assignment. If the object type is already known, then the object is
ready to go as soon as the linkage is available and no further
processing is required by VBA at run time in regards to the type of
object being manipulated.
For most ActiveX application interfaces, and when you're dealing
with other projects with custom object definitions, using early
binding in your coding will impact the run time. You can test this
by trying to do everything with general object definitions and time
the difference when the same objects are defined as being the target
object type right away.
Multiple Projects in Release 14

It's easy to manage multiple projects in VBA through the use of the
project manager utility provided in AutoCAD 2000. In AutoCAD
Release 14, VBA is not able to manipulate multiple projects at the
same time, and
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borrowing code between them requires that you make modules
(BAS files) that can be attached to each of the projects. You should
implement tighter programming controls at sites that use this
approach, as a change to a BAS module may cause problems with
other projects already built and working fine.
Data sharing is not relevant in Release 14, either, as two projects
cannot coexist in the system at the same time. If your application
requires that sort of power, it is time to upgrade the platform on
which it is to run.
The differences between AutoCAD Release 14 and AutoCAD 2000
in terms of VBA are tremendous. VBA is much more powerful in
AutoCAD 2000 than in AutoCAD Release 14. That's why most of
the applications and examples in this book have dealt with
AutoCAD 2000 specifically and not with both releases.
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Chapter Nine
API Calls from VBA
Although VBA programs run inside of AutoCAD, they also run
inside of Windows, and there are times when an application needs
to perform tasks related to the operating system. This is where
VBA greatly exceeds the abilities of AutoLISP. You can talk to
Windows by calling functions that are available as objects and
utilities to your program.
What's an API?
API is an acronym for Application Programmer's Interface. The
Windows Application Programmer's Interface is a set of functions
built into Windows that allow you to access the system's registry
and INI files. Microsoft has included a robust set of information
about the system in the registry, and you can write more exotic
applications using this information. You can write sound generator
programs or programs that animate the desktop or draw on it.
Windows API is a whole world unto itself, and many a career has
been made learning and using it.
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AutoLISP programmers have not been able to access the Windows
registry and therefore have limited or no experience with this rich
environment. You can access any information stored in the registry
through the API calls. This includes ActiveX information about
other applications or even information about your printer or plotter.
It all depends on the vendor setting up the information in the
registry.
An example is AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT. AutoCAD is an
ActiveX client and server. It can make calls to other applications,
or it can receive calls from other applications. It has a switch that
can be used to tell it that it is being used as a server (/Automation).
When you use an API in a language such as VB to GetObject and
tell it you want the AutoCAD application, the function searches the
Windows registry to see if AutoCAD is registered as an ActiveX
application and uses the information, when found, to find
AutoCAD and attach it to the object. An application like AutoCAD
LT (the AutoCAD engine stripped down) is not directly
programmable from VB because the hook inside the registry is
missing and the switch has been turned off inside the application.
By now, you're probably saying to yourself, ''Great, but what's that
got to do with VBA?" Simple: VBA supports the API calls
necessary to access the system registry. You won't want to use it for
attaching and manipulating AutoCAD because you're already
inside AutoCAD, but you can still use it to access other
applications that are ActiveX compliant. You can also use it to
access INI files, directory information, file information, and printer
information. It's great for querying the system to find out how
much space you have left on a drive or how much memory is
available. The list goes on and on. This chapter looks at only a few
of the more common API calls you might regularly use. For more
extensive reading on Windows APIs, we suggest that you pick up
one of the many books on the subject. We recommend PC
Magazine's Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to the Win32 API by
Daniel Appleman (published by Ziff-Davis Press) for its coverage
of topics such as directory and file APIs and system information.
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The API Viewer

The API viewer is a handy little tool. Unfortunately, the program
does not ship with AutoCAD VBA. You must purchase a separate
language package such as VB or C++ to get it. We cover it here for
those who might want to explore this tool further. If you are going
to use API calls, then you must either buy a book that covers them
in depth or get access to this program and its support data. We
suggest doing both. For those of you who need to do it on the
cheap, get your hands on just the Win32api.txt file and use any
ASCII text editor as your search engine.
The viewer is a program that allows access to a text file or database
containing all of the Declares, Constants, and Types for the
Windows API calls. You can search either a text API file or a Jet
database for a call and find its declaration. When you select a list of
items you are going to use, it copies them into the Windows
clipboard, allowing you to then paste them into your application's
declaration section. This is certainly much easier than purchasing a
book, then typing in each declare, constant, or type.
Once you declare an API declaration in your program, it is
available in the program's procedures (depending on the scope of
the declaration). Some API calls return strings, integers, or longs.
Others might or might not return information, but they place the
data in a buffer that is defined in the calling parameters. The latter
is a little tricky to work with since you must then strip off the end
of the line character and trim the string to get just the information
you want.
Using the viewer program is very simple. When you launch the
program, a dialog interface is shown as in Figure 9.1.
Figure 9.1
API Viewer interface
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Load a text or database file into the program by using the File/Load
Text File menu item. Several are shipped with the program but the
one you will use most is the Win32api.txt file (or its database
equivalent should you use the Convert text to database menu item
to convert it into a Jet database). Once the file is loaded into the
program a list appears in the Available Items list box. You can
change from a list of Declarations to a list of Types or Constants by
using the pull-down list labeled API Type, as shown in Figure 9.2.
The Search button allows you to search for a specific item while
the Add button allows you to add the item to the Selected Items list
box. The Remove button allows you to remove an item from the
Selected Items list box, and the Copy button allows you to place
the items in the Selected Items list box into the clipboard for
pasting into your program's declaration area.
Figure 9.2
API Types pull-down menu
The problem with this program is that it expects you to already
know the declaration you are looking for. The search engine is
keyed on the declaration names. You can use the slide bar on the
list box window to scan all of the items, but that is very time
consuming, and not all declaration names are intuitive. That's why
we suggest that you purchase a book that explains what each
declaration can do, then use the program to go find them instead of
having to type them in by hand.
INI File Calls
INI files are simply ASCII text files in a set format that allows the
programmer access to information to be used by the program.
Opening, closing, reading, and writing in VBA is straightforward
even though the
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reading and writing functions have many options. Simple ASCII
text file manipulation does not require API calls. To experiment
with examples of this type of file manipulation, load the project
called FileIO.dvb provided on the accompanying CD and run the
macro IOEXAMPLE from the immediate window. Simple input
and output operations are provided as an example of ASCII file
manipulation without API calls.
Many AutoLISP programmers have had to create their own
routines for accessing INI files because the AutoLISP language
does not have access to the API calls. Routines that segregate the
sections, keys, and items into lists that allow the programmer to
process the item data are not part of that language. You can build
the same routines in VB and VBA, but you don't need to because
those languages have access to the API calls for accessing INI files.
There are two API calls that are used to retrieve and write item data
in an INI file. They are
GetPrivateProfileString; and
WritePrivateProfileString.
Both of these API calls return a long telling you how many
characters were placed in their string buffers. You can use this
information to authenticate that you have written the number of
characters back to the file when using the WritePrivateProfileString
API call and you must use it to trim unwanted and unused space in
the string buffer returned from the GetPrivateProfileString API
call.
How the PrivateProfileString APIs Work
It is important to understand how API calls work in general. Both
of these calls return information in the traditional way (passing
back a long data type that tells you how many characters were in
the buffer), but they also use the string buffer in their argument list
to hold returned information. In fact, it is the string buffer argument
that has the information you really want to process! The returned
long is just the character count of the actual data in the buffer. This
is typical of many
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API calls, so a more detailed analysis of the API declaration will help in understanding API calls in
general.
API Declaration Breakdown
Let's start with the GetPrivateProfileString API call declaration and break down what it is doing.
This is the function declaration that is placed in your declaration section. It is as follows on one line
of code:
Declare Function
GetPrivateProfileString
Lib ''kernel32" Alias
"GetPrivateProfileStringA"
(ByVal lpApplicationName
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. As String, ByVal 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
gif lpKeyName As Any, gif
ByVal lpDefault As String,
ByVal lpReturnedString As
String, ByVal nSize As
Long, ByVal lpFileName
As String) As Long
This is lengthy and worthy of understanding. Here is each piece broken down as to what it does:
Declare tells VBA that you are starting the declaration (works like Dim, Public, or Private).
Function is the type of procedure. A function returns a value while a subroutine would simply
perform an action.
GetPrivateProfileString is the name of the function.
Lib "kernel32" is the name of the Windows library containing the function.
Alias "GetPrivateProfileStringA" defines which internal function name in the library you want
assigned to your function name. This is necessary because many API functions have different
internal definitions for 16- or 32-bit functions, and many times a version works with only ASCII or
Unicode. The A at the end of this alias means that it works on ASCII code.
ByVal lpApplicationName As String is the section header name as the data type string.
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ByVal lpKeyName As Any is the key name as either a string or a
Null value. The Any data type means that you are deferring the
data type to when you use the call. Then the VBA interpreter will
determine the data type of the data you pass in and act accordingly.
ByVal lpDefault As String is a default return value placed in the
result string buffer should the call fail to find any data.
ByVal lpReturnedString As String is the string buffer that is filled
with the data you are requesting.
ByVal nSize As Long is the specified length of the string buffer
that is returned.
ByVal lpFileName As String is the name of the INI file you wish to
access. Full path and extension are necessary.
As Long is the returned number of characters in the string buffer.
There are a few items here that are very important to consider when
you are declaring your API call:
1. It really doesn't matter what you name the arguments in the
declaration. Even Microsoft changes them in the examples from
version to version. Since you are using them in your program, you
can call them what you want. Only the alias name must remain the
same to ensure that you are getting the correct function from the
library.
2. The alias function name for the library specifies which library
function to use. If you forget the A at the end of the alias function
name, your function will not work properly with ASCII text files.
3. A data type of Any (used for the lpKeyName argument) allows
you to pass either a string to search for or a string having a value of
0 (vbNullString). A vbNullString being passed in tells the function
to return a list of all keys in the INI file, separated by a Null
character, in the string buffer. Just the keys are returned in this
situation, not their items. You can then spin through the string
buffer with your handy dandy parser function (see Chapter 10) and
check out each key in the
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file. This option is often used to gather a list of all keys in a file for
examination. It should be noted that some programmers prefer to
use two declarations, with different names, when they are dealing
with an argument that has the Any data type. The thought process
behind this is that it is clearer to have two slightly different
declarations to keep track of, each one declaring specifically the
data type to be used for the argument. Then they just use the proper
one for the job rather than trust to memory that the one argument
can be either data type.
4. The default string can be a zero-length string.
5. The returned string is a fixed-length string buffer that you must
set up before the call. The returned value always ends in a Null
string character [chr$(0)]. You must remove the Null string and any
trailing characters before processing the string, or functions such as
Len will report back erroneous information. For functions such as
the PrivateProfileString function that returns a long telling you how
many characters were put into the string buffer, the matter is
simple. Use the Left function to parse out your data from the
buffer. Other API functions don't report back how many characters
are in the buffer, and that can be a small problem. For those
situations you must find the length of the data, then parse it out.
This is not all that difficult; the function you need to do it is
supplied in Chapter 10: it is called StripTerminator.
6. The size argument must be large enough to hold all of the data.
If it is not, the data is truncated.
7. If no filename is supplied, the default value is returned in the
string buffer.
There are a few words of caution that we must share regarding the
use of these API calls. To show them we need to use a code
example as follows. This code shows a typical use of the API
function. The string variables strSection, strKey, strDefault, and
strIniFile and the global constant gintMAX_SIZE are assumed to
have been already defined.
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Dim strBuffer As String
Dim strResult As String
Dim lngPos As Long
strBuffer = Space$(gintMAX_SIZE)
lngPos = GetPrivateProfileString (strSection, strKey, strDefault, _
strBuffer, gintMAX_SIZE, strIniFile)
There are some subtle nuisances to the code shown in the above figure. First is the use of
separate declarations for the strBuffer and strResult strings.
Many experienced VBA programmers prefer to use the handy shortcut of declaring like
variables on the same line. A single-line declaration for the two variables follows.
Dim strBuffer, strResult As String
The code looks good and does not cause a compile (to pcode) or runtime error. But it
does not work! The reason is that the strBuffer variable must be a string, and the
declaration is actually setting it to a Variant type. This is because VBA assigns a default
data type of Variant when no data type is specified, and the shortcut shown in the above
code only assigns the string data type to the second (strResult) variable, not the first
variable listed. In most situations the shortcut works because VBA is very forgiving but
in this situation it does not work. To make sure that the data type you want for each
variable is assigned to each variable listed in a shortcut, you must declare the data type
for each variable as shown in the code below.
Dim strBuffer as String, strResult As String
Once the strBuffer variable is properly declared the string must be initialized to spaces.
The line of code strBuffer = Space$(gintMAX_SIZE) places the specified amount of
spaces defined in the global integer gintMAX_SIZE into the string. For clarity,
gintMAX_SIZE is defined elsewhere in our program module and has an integer value
specifying the size of the strings to be used.
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If the size is too small for the returning data, the API truncates the
returned data. We must also point out that you must initiate the
buffer before giving it to the API as an argument. Should you not
do so, the program will fail. When calling the API functions, VBA
is really calling into a library of modules that have different
specific requirements. In addition, they were written in different
computer languages that have alternative ways of representing
string variable data. The problem is that the API function called has
no way of knowing how long a string you declared for the
argument. You must define the length of the string so as not to
overwrite any other variables in your memory pool. Finding this
sort of error tracing and debugging can consume a lot of time.
Another important thing to remember about the resulting string
data is that it is terminated with the Null string character chr$(0).
The null string terminator is typically used in C/C++ programming,
which should give you some idea as to what languages are used to
create the API functions in the first place.
There is another technique for dealing with the string buffer's
return argument size:
1. Initialize the string buffer to just one character and call the API
function.
2. Examine the returned counter of the characters that should be in
the buffer.
3. Use the returned number to reinitialize the string buffer and call
the API again.
This involves some extra coding but it ensures that the returned
buffer is exactly the length you need, so you don't need to strip it of
trailing characters. The following code demonstrates the alternative
way of getting the data.
Dim strBuffer As String
Dim strResult As String
Dim intPos As Integer
strBuffer = Space$(1)
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intPos = GetPrivateProfileString(strSection, strKey, ''default",
If intPos > 1 then
strBuffer = Space$(intPos)
intPos = GetPrivateProfileString(strSection, strKey, "default",
End If
WritePrivateProfileString API Call

The WritePrivateProfileString API call declaration behaves much the same as its opposite, Get API
call. The only difference is that there is no default argument. The returned long is a counter of how
many characters were written to the file. The function always checks to see if the key you wish to
write to is present in the section you requested. When the key is found, the function replaces the item
information that is there with what you supply. When it is not found it writes the new key and item
information at the end of the section. This is the function declaration on one line of code that is placed
in your declaration section for the writing of INI file information:
Declare Function
WritePrivateProfileString
Lib "kernel32" Alias
"WritePrivateProfileStringA"
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. (ByVal lpApplicationName 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
gif As String, ByVal gif
lpKeyName As Any, ByVal
lpString As Any, ByVal
lpFileName As String) As
Long
For a detailed breakdown of the arguments and their behavior, refer to the section on the
GetPrivateProfileString function covered earlier in this chapter.
This section was designed to give you a better feel for API calls and the one used most commonly for
INI files. There are several other API functions for dealing with INI files in general, including:
GetPrivateProfileSection
GetPrivateProfileInt
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There are others that are specifically built for working with the Win.ini
file. For more information on these and many other INI file API calls see
the API viewer program or a good book on APIs.
Experiment with INI file manipulation by loading the project called
INIFileIO.dvb supplied on the CD with this book and run the macro
INIEXAMPLE from the immediate window from inside AutoCAD.
Registry Calls
Microsoft introduced the registry in Windows 95 and NT. It essentially
replaced INI files (although you can still find many system INI files
hanging around the Windows system directory for backward compatibility
issues). The registry is made up of three binary files that you access
through API calls. It is important to know how it works: It is set up along
the lines of the INI file. You can have an Application name (which
corresponds to the INI file name), a Section header (the same as in the INI
file), and a key and item (again the same as in an INI file). A program for
navigating the registry is supplied by Microsoft and called Regedit.exe. It
represents the registry as a hierarchy of folders stemming from 'My
Computer'. All application names, section headers, keys, and items are
located under the 'folder' VB and VBA Program Settings. The location of
the VB and VBA Program Settings folder differs depending upon the
operating system of the computer. They are as follows:
Windows 95
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VB and VBA Program Settings
HKEY_USERS\.Default\Software\VB and VBA Program Settings
Windows NT
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VB and VBA Program Settings
An NT box will also mirror the settings in your personal profile area of
the registry. Notice that the one common location on both systems is the
HKEY_CURRENT_USER area. You can use the Regedit program to
view your program's results when saving to the registry. Figure 9.3 shows
the
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register editor open to the VBA Book's General key.
The sample project (RegistryIO) supplied with this book creates,
reads, and removes the VBA Book registry entry shown above to
show you how the VBA registry functions work. We will cover
more on how it does that later in this chapter.
Figure 9.3
Windows 95 Program Settings location
The Registry Editor

The program name for both Windows platforms is Regedit.exe, and
it is found in your Windows folder. Windows NT has a 32-bit
version (called Regedt32.exe) that separates each section into its
own window. This is located in the Windows System32 directory.
They both allow access to the registry for creating, editing, and
removing registry items. They just organize the viewing of the
registry differently.
You can start the program by double clicking on it in Explorer or
by using the Run program menu item on the Start menu of
Windows. Figure 9.4 shows how the registry looks when first
opened using the Regedit program.
Each key of the registry is used for organizing the system. Most of
your work will be with the HKEY_CURRENT_USER root key as
stated earlier in this chapter. All registry root keys are described in
Table 9.1.
Figure 9.4
Regedit dialog box
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Table 9.1: Registry root keys
Root Key Description
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT Stores information about classes of files and objects,
associations between document types and
applications, and class identifiers used by OLE
objects.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER Contains current configuration information for the
current user.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Contains in-depth information about hardware and
software configuration on the system.
HKEY_USERS Contains software and system configuration
information that is unique to a particular user.
HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIGUsed to store general system configuration
information. Used by Windows 95.
HKEY_DYN_DATA Used to hold temporary data about current session.
Windows 95 only.
The program has an import and export feature. The export feature takes
whatever key you're on and stores it, along with its whole hierarchy all of
the way up to the root key, into an ASCII file with a .REG extension that
the import feature can use to recreate the registry on your system or any
other. Another feature is the edit menu. With it, you can add a new key or
section header and edit any existing keys.
While checking and working with the registry, you can refresh the view at
any time with the function key F5. This is handy for verifying when your
program deletes or adds items to the registry.
A final warning: Be careful in the registry. You can delete or change
information about your computer that will totally cripple it! You should be
safe if you stay in the VB and VBA Program Settings area under the root
key HKEY_CURRENT_USER.
The VBA Registry Functions

There are more than twenty API calls built for dealing with various
aspects of the registry. They include functions for retrieving values from
keys, saving to the registry, dealing with registry information saved to a
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file, loading registry information, and dealing with a remote
system's registry. The most commonly used functions for accessing
the registry are not even API calls but are included with VBA.
They are methods of the Interaction module in VBA. They are as
follows:
GetSetting
SaveSetting
DeleteSetting
The setting modules are used to get key information from a
registry, save information to a key in the registry, and delete
registry items. They are able to access only the special location in
the registry under VBA and VBA Program Settings. Figure 9.5
shows the results of writing to the registry using the sample project
supplied with the book.
Notice that the VBA Book is hanging directly off the VB and VBA
Program Settings folder. This is a matter of programming style
because there are no formal conventions for the VBA section of the
registry. Some programmers will place a folder called Software
under the VB and VBA Program Settings folder, then place all of
their registry settings under that folder (you can see in Figure 9.5
that it has been done on our system in the past). This is done by
placing a multiple folder name in the application name of the
SaveSetting function. This is something we could not do with INI
files. We have only the one
Figure 9.5
Sample project results
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name we can use with INI files. Here you can specify as many levels deep as you like for
the application name (very much like a directory structure). The original function call to
create the registry entry seen in Figure 9.5 was
Call SaveSetting("VBA Book", "General", "My File", "test")
You could move the whole thing under the Software folder by changing the line to:
Call SaveSetting("Software\VBA Book", "General", "My File", "test")
This is a very straightforward method and simple to use. You can have as many levels
deep as you like in the first argument. They will all hang under the VB and VBA
Program Settings folder in the registry, and section, key, and item will hang under them.
Reading the information is the reverse of saving it. You use the GetSetting function and
give it the exact same parameters, except it does not need the item argument. It returns
the item information in string format.
Removing the registry entry is just as simple with the DeleteSetting function. You can
remove data at any level just by supplying the name in the correct position of the
function call's argument list.
To remove a key:
DeleteSetting "VBA Book", "General", "My File"
To remove a section header:

DeleteSetting "VBA Book", "General"
To remove the application name:

DeleteSetting "VBA Book"
The setting functions are all you really need to do most of the registry work you might
want. You can store a dialog box's position on screen for later use or program settings for
the next time the program runs. All of the things you did with INI files can be done with
the registry. For more exotic registry applications read up on the registry API functions
in the
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API viewer and relating books. They're easy to find because they
all have the Reg prefix. To see an example of the setting functions
in action, load the RegistryIO.dvb project file and run the
Regaccess form. The form, shown in Figure 9.6, is set up to default
to the application name, section, and key shown in the registry
examples earlier in the chapter.
You can use the Regedit program to examine the results for your
computer and experiment with keys and item data. Step through the
code one line at a time to get a feel for how the functions work.
Figure 9.6
Registry Access example form
System Calls
VBA has a robust set of functions for dealing with the system's
data on the hard drive, the date, and the time. You can find out
information about the functions, manipulate their files and
directories, and get the current time and date. What VBA doesn't
supply is functions for querying the system's environment for
information (other than time and date). API functions also have a
robust set of function calls for the hard drive, but it is easier for
most programmers to use the built-in VBA functions. Most
programmers don't bother with the API calls for files and
directories unless they have a feature that the VBA function
doesn'tor they just like using the API calls better. Table 9.2 shows a
comparison of the VBA functions with the API function calls.
Blank spaces mean that the function doesn't exist for that
environment.
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Table 9.2: VBA and API function call comparison
Function description VBA function name API function name
Directory information Dir GetCurrentDirectory
Remove a file Kill DeleteFile
Copy a file FileCopy CopyFile
Retrieve a file's length FileLen GetFileSize
Retrieve a file's date and time FileDateTime GetFileTime
Set a file's date and time SetFileTime
Retrieve a file's attribute settings GetAttr GetFileAttributes
Set a file's attribute settings SetAttr SetFileAttributes
System date Date GetSystemTime
Local time Time GetLocalTime
Computer's name GetComputerName
User's login name GetUserName
System time GetSystemTime
Window's temporary directory GetTempPath
Free hard drive space GetDiskFreeSpace
System environmental variable GetEnvironmentVariable
Format time and date data GetTimeFormat
As the above table shows, some of the system API calls that VBA doesn't
mimic are
retrieving the computer name;
retrieving the user's login name;
retrieving the true system time;
retrieving the Windows temporary directory;
retrieving a hard drive's free space;
retrieving a system environmental variable; and
formatting the time and date.
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We have supplied a sample project called WindowsOS.dvb to
illustrate these API functions. We discuss each function call below
in detail. You can load the project and run the MyComputer
subroutine to see the functions in action. Step through the code to
see how each one works as the routine builds a message box with
all of the answers.
Computer Name
The API function call GetComputerName is used to access the
computer's name stored in the registry. This function accepts a
string buffer and its length and returns a long telling you how many
characters are stored in the string buffer that is returned. A sample
call to the function is shown in the following listing.
Dim CompName As String
CompName = Space$(50)
LngResult = GetComputerName(CompName, 50)
This API is an example of the type that stores data in the argument
and returns the number of characters there.
User's Login Name
You can use the API function call GetUserName to access the
user's login name stored in the registry. This function accepts a
string buffer and its length and returns a long telling you how many
characters are stored in the string buffer that is returned. A sample
call to the function is shown in the next lines of code.
Dim UserName As String
UserName = Space$(50)
LngResult = GetUserName(UserName, 50)
and returns the number of characters there.
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System and Local Time

The API function call GetLocalTime is used to access the system's time and date. This
function accepts a structure object that must be defined in the user's declaration area
since VBA knows nothing of API data structures. Below is the data structure
definition.
Type SYSTEMTIME
wYear As Integer
wMonth As Integer
wDayOfWeek As Integer
wDay As Integer
wHour As Integer
wMinute As Integer
wSecond As Integer
wMilliseconds As Integer
End Type
The API function call fills out all of the fields in the structure; you can then process
the data any way you like. A sample call to the function follows.
Dim sysTime As SYSTEMTIME
GetSystemTime sysTime
This API is an example of the type that stores data in a structure (object). Once you
have retrieved the data structure, you need to format the data into the form you want.
The API function call GetTimeFormat is built explicitly for that purpose. You pass it
the filled data structure with a few parameters on how you want the returned data to
look, and the function converts the raw data into the format you specified. It then
returns it in a string buffer that you pass in.
strBuffer$ = String$(255, Chr$(0))
lngResult& = GetTimeFormat(LOCALE_SYSTEM_DEFAULT, 0, sysTime, 0,_
strBuffer$, 254)
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The GetSystemTime API function call performs exactly like the
local time function except that it returns the actual system time
used by the computer not the local time using the time zone (there
is an API function call for getting time zone information called
GetTimeZoneInformation). You must also use the GetTimeFormat
API function call to get the returned data into the format you want,
just like with the local time data. A sample project called
WindowsOS.dvb is supplied to illustrate these API functions. Load
it and run (stepping through it one line at a time) the macro
MyComputer.
The Windows Temporary Directory
You can use the API function call GetTempPath to access the
Window's Temporary directory stored in the registry. This function
accepts a string buffer and its length and returns a long telling you
how many characters are stored in the string buffer that is returned.
A sample call to the function is shown as follows.
Dim strTempDir As String
strTempDir = Space$(50)
lngResult = GetTempPath(50, strTempDir)
and returns the number of characters that are there. Notice how this
function call's syntax is backward from the GetComputerName and
GetUserName functions. Its string length is first, and the string
buffer is second.
System Environmental Variable
You can use the API function call GetEnvironmentVariable to
access the system's variables stored in the registry. This function
accepts the environmental variable name, a string buffer, and its
length, and it returns a long telling you how many characters are
stored in the string buffer that is returned. A sample call to the
function getting the Path variable from the system environment is
shown next.
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Dim strVarContents As String
strVarContents = Space$(255)
lngResult = GetEnvironmentVariable(''PATH", strVarContents, 255)
This API is an example of the type that stores data in the argument and returns the
number of characters there.
Free Disk Space

The API function call GetDiskFreeSpace is used to access the system's hard drive
information. This function accepts the hard drive designation to check long buffers
for returned sectors per cluster, bytes per sector, number of free clusters, and the total
number of clusters. We show a sample call to the function getting the information for
the C drive.
Dim SectorsPerCluster As Long
Dim BytesPerSector As Long
Dim NumberOfFreeClusters As Long
Dim TotalNumberOfClusters As Long
lngResult& = GetDiskFreeSpace("C:\", SectorsPerCluster,
BytesPerSector, NumberOfFreeClusters, TotalNumberOfClusters)
In the example above, you have more information than you really wanted, and
nowhere is the number of free bytes for the drive. This is because the number of
bytes available on a hard drive depends upon such variable factors as the size of a
cluster and sector. For you purists out there, you might say that it is another level
deeper at the hardware level and you would be right. There you need to consider
such factors as cylinders, heads, physical sectors, bad block mapping, and so on.
Thankfully, most programmers do not need to concern themselves with these issues
unless they are working on device drivers (not a domain for VBA programmers).
These numbers are good enough to work with in VBA. Once you have these
numbers, it is easy to get the actual free bytes on the drive. The following code
fragment shows what is needed to extract that information from the returned
information.
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TotalBytes = TotalNumberOfClusters * SectorsPerCluster * BytesPer-
Sector
FreeBytes = NumberOfFreeClusters * SectorsPerCluster *
BytesPerSector
While the API call doesn't give you back the exact number you want, it does give you
back the numbers you need to determine the number you want. Like they say, do the
math.
Conclusion
The API function calls covered in this chapter are just a tip of the iceberg. The six or
seven API function calls we covered are the ones you might use on a regular basis, but
there are literally hundreds of these calls into various corners of the Windows system.
As your applications become more and more sophisticated, you may find that the
investment in an API book is well worth your while.
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Chapter Ten
VBA Toolbox Routines
While VBA has many built-in functions for manipulating strings
and other data types, it's still up to the programmer to create
support functions for those situations that the VBA language does
not support. A VBA programmer must develop his or her own
toolbox routines that are best suited to the application being
developed. Using the basic functions supplied in VBA, the
programmer creates new utilities to speed up the process of
creating reports on screen or in a file, stripping information out of a
string for other uses, dealing with directories and paths, and many
other situations. This chapter covers several of the routines
necessary for working in the AutoCAD environment. Many of the
routines in this chapter are VBA versions of AutoLISP toolbox
routines created for The AutoLISP Programmer's Toolbox (MIS
Press). A special thanks to the management of MIS press is in
order for granting permission to use some of the same material for
this chapter.
The test functions that are supplied with this chapter on the CD
show how to use the functions. We have placed a stop breakpoint in
each test function so you can use the step next debug feature to
walk through the toolbox functions to see how they work. Many
programmers won't care:
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it's enough to know that you pass in some data and the function passes out
what you wantand this chapter is structured around that principle. We
have documented each function as to what the syntax of the function call
is and what data is returned. We have covered example situations, but they
are by no means the only way you can use these toolbox functions.
Definition of Terms
character A string with a length of one character.
control data string A string of data passed as an argument to the routine.
data item A string, substring, integer, or a real number.
substring A group of characters inside a string.
control A form control.
Toolbox Overview
The toolbox functions presented here are from actual projects and may or
may not be of use to you specifically. These functions solve a variety of
simple problems, and, like objects, are re-usable. That is, you can copy
them into your current project and use them to help in your programming
should you find a need for the same functionality.
For each toolbox entry, we have provided a description of the syntax for
that function including its parameter list. We have then described the
arguments supplied as parameters in more detail and have detailed
conditions under which the utility is expected to function. We have also
itemized the returning value or resulting action. Next, we have described,
in general terms, the situation in which the utility might be used and have
provided the examples on the CD that is supplied with the book.
The selections on the opposite page are presented in alphabetical order by
each function's description header.
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Acquiring Data Items from a Data String

Syntax: parse (string, character, integer)
Arguments: Where the string is the control data string to be searched.
Where the character is the delimiter between data items.
Where the integer is the position of the data item in the string.
Conditions:The string must be in string form.
The character can be any legal ASCII character in string form.
The integer must be a positive value.
Returns: A string containing the data between the delimiters or the end
of the string.
Situation:
A common way of transferring data into a routine from a data file is to
place the data on a line with a delimiter between each piece of data. The
delimiter can be any legal ASCII character, but you want to use a
character that would not normally appear in the data. Many programmers
use a comma or the pipe symbol ( | ). Once you read in the line of data to a
text string you can extract a specific data item from the string using the
position in the string record. This means you must know what each
position in the string is used for. The routine will return the string data
item from the requested position in the form of a string.
CD Example:
To test the function, open any drawing, load the Toolbox project, and type
PARSE_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor.
CD Example Result:
A series of message boxes showing the position and the content of each of
the sub-strings being parsed.
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Add Back Slashes Result to a Path String

Syntax: add_backslashes (string)
Arguments: Where the string is the directory path that might need extra
back slashes.
Returns: A string with two back slashes in place of each single one
found.
Situation:
Both the AutoLISP and BaseLISP (Cyco Workflow) languages view the
single back slash as a flag to treat the next character literally instead of as
a special character. This means that if you are creating a line that is going
to one of these languages for processing, you need to fix it with double
back slashes. A common situation is the string path for a file name. In
VBA, it needs only single back slashes, but in the other languages, it
needs two. This function takes a string and doubles its back slashes. You
can then use it by jamming it down to AutoLISP or to BaseLISP through a
DDE connection to Cyco's Workflow.
CD Example:
BACK2_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor.
CD Example Result:
A message box showing the results of processing both types of strings
(one without any back slashes and one with).
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Add Trailing Back Slash to a String Path

Syntax: adddirsep (string)
Arguments: Where the string is the directory path that might need a back
slash at the end.
Returns: A string containing the original path with a back slash added
at the end. When the original string already has a back slash at
the end, the original string is returned.
Situation:
When you have a string that you know has a path in it but you're not sure
that the path ends in a directory separator, this function takes the string
and returns it with the separator added. This is typical when you have a
directory path in an INI file or the registry and you need to make sure you
can use it with a file name.
CD Example:
BACKSLASH_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic
Editor.
CD Example Result:
A message box showing the results of processing both types of strings.
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Convert an Object's Entity Type to English

Syntax: enttype (object)
Arguments: Where the object is a VBA generic object.
Conditions: The object must contain a legal AutoCAD entity object.
Returns: A string containing the English translation of the object type.
Situation:
Each AutoCAD object in the object model has an entity type number
associated with it. Autodesk has supplied a slightly English version of the
number using enumeration but each type has the characters ac as a prefix.
This function takes the entity object and translates the entity type into
plain English. Instead of acCircle, you would get Circle for a circle entity
object. This makes checking in your code a little easier to read and debug.
CD Example:
ENT_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor. The
main work is being done in the form's btnGetObj_Click procedure. We
have provided no stop in this example because it would leave you in the
VBE window when AutoCAD wants a response on the AutoCAD
graphics screen. It's too confusing unless you want to try it yourself.
CD Example Result:
A message box stating the entity object's entity type in plain English.
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Count the Number of Occurences of a Delimiter in a String

Syntax: count_occurrences (string, character)
Syntax:
Arguments: Where the string is any string.
Where the character is any character that is to be checked.
Conditions: The string must be in string form.
The character can be any legal ASCII character in string
form.
Returns: A long number containing the number of delimiters found in
the string.
Situation:
Many times you will need to determine that a path is present in a file
name. Checking to see if a colon or back slash is present in the string is
one way of doing it. The function can also be used to determine that a
string is in the correct format for parsing. It is always a good idea to check
your data before processing it. You almost never have full control of data
being read into your routine. When you expect a string with five items
separated by delimiters, you can use this function to double check that the
line you are about to process has the correct number of delimiters in it.
Then you can make a programmatic decision on what to do with
erroneous data lines.
CD Example:
COUNT_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor.
CD Example Result:
A message box appears telling you the results of the test.
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Create a Directory Path

Syntax: Create_path (string)
Arguments: Where the string is the path to be created.
Conditions:The string must be in string form. It should be noted that this
function will not create a path that uses the UNC. This is due
to the limitation of the MkDir function in VBA.
Returns: True unless the last part of the path caused an error.
Situation:
When you're manipulating files on the system it is sometimes necessary to
move or copy a file to a directory you are not sure exists. There are
functions to determine the existence of a path, and the MkDir function
will create a new directory but only when the parent directory of the new
directory already exists. This function allows you to give the whole path
you want created, and it will create the whole path for you whether part of
it already exists or not.
CD Example:
PATH_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor.
CD Example Result:
The path C:\TEMP\VBA is created on your hard drive whether you
already had a C:\TEMP or not.
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Determine the Tense of a Word

Syntax: chk_plural (integer1, integer2)
Arguments: Where integer1 is a count of the number of items in a list or
some other count of items in the form of 0 or a positive
number.
Where integer2 is a word code, in the numeric form of 1, 2, 3,
or 4, containing the requested output to be returned.
Conditions:Both integers must be in numeric form.
Returns: A string containing a singular or plural word that corresponds
to the requested word code.
Situation:
The cosmetics of your program's interface with the user counts more than
you might guess. A program that gets the jobs done but does not present
the solution to the user in a professional format often is judged as an
inferior program. Making your program intelligent when it goes to print
out a sentence can make the program seem superior. Legal word codes are
as follows:
_1 returns ''s" or nothing ("")
_2 returns "are" or "is"
_3 returns "were" or "was"
_4 returns "have" or "has"
CD Example:
PLURAL_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor.
CD Example Result:
A message box showing the sentence using proper tense on the words that
relate to the number of items found.
Page 246
Display a Fatal Error Message

Syntax: fatal_error (integer, string)
Arguments: Where the integer is a number from 1 to 4 representing the
error message to display in an alert box.
Where the string contains the data to display in the alert box
message.
Conditions:The integer argument must be in the form of a number from 1
to 4.
The string argument must be in the form of a string.
Returns: An alert dialog box containing the error code number and a
message about the data. An exit function is then issued to stop
processing.
Situation:
Certain situations must stop the process of your program. Many a program
depends upon data from an ini, cfg, or dat file. This function issues a
message box for four of those situations dealing with files and has a trap
for unknown error codes. You can add your own to the function. The
supplied errors are
1 - A missing file.
2 - The file could not be opened.
3 - A missing section header in an INI file.
4 - A missing key in an INI file.
CD Example:
FATAL_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor.
CD Example Result:
Message boxes showing whether the specified files were found. The file
not found calls the fatal error subroutine and ends the program.
Page 247
Find a File
Syntax: Findfile (string).
Arguments: Where the string is a file name and extension (with or without
an explicit path).
Returns: The file, extension, and path in one string when found or
NULL when not found.
Situation:
This function mimics the Findfile function in the AutoLISP language,
which searches down the AutoCAD search hierarchy looking for the first
occurrence of the file it finds. The only difference between it and its
AutoLISP cousin is that a NULL is returned instead of a nil when the file
is not found. This allows you to use the IsNull function to test the returned
value.
CD Example:
FINDFILE_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor.
CD Example Result:
Message boxes showing whether the specified files were found.
Page 248
Find a Line in a List Box Control

Syntax: Lst_Memb_Pos (string, control)
Where the control is the listbox control.
The control must be a listbox form control.
Returns: The index number of the string in the list box when found.
Zero is returned when the string is not found in the listbox.
Situation:
When loading a listbox control with data, many programmers want to then
display a default item in the listbox. You can accomplish this by storing
the default line (usually stored in an INI file or in the registry) and then
matching it in the listbox data once it is loaded. Should the line be missing
from the listbox data, a 0 ensures that the first item in the list is displayed.
This function accomplishes the task of determining what the index
number of the item is or returning the default 0 when it can't find it. The
more data in the listbox, the slower the search.
CD Example:
There is no example for this function. The toolbox also has a VB version
of this function called LST_MEMB_IDX. To build your own example,
create a form and give it a listbox control. In the UserForm_Initialize
subroutine, load the list and call this function giving it a default line item.
Take the returned value and use it in the Setfocus method for the listbox.
Page 249
Find an Application Window

Syntax: findwindow (string)
Arguments: Where the string is the name found in the application window.
Returns: A long integer representing the handle of the application
window when found. A 0 is returned when the application
window is not found.
Situation:
When working with other applications from VBA in AutoCAD, it's a
good idea to check to see if the other application is already launched
before you send information to it. That way, you can launch the
application when it is missing and not have your program crash. This
function uses Windows APIs to search for the application's caption in its
application window. There are many windows in the background, so the
function has to churn though them all checking their captions for a match.
The example searches for the AutoCAD Text window because it must be
there for VBA to be running. You can substitute any application's caption
and search for it instead. API functions were discussed in more detail in
Chapter 9.
CD Example:
FIND_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor.
CD Example Result:
A message box stating the results of the search (in this case, it found the
application window).
Page 250
Format a Point in a String

Syntax: FormatPnt (string, integer)
Arguments: Where the string is a part of a point (a real number) in a
string.
Where the integer is the current LUPREC setting of the
drawing.
Returns: The point string conforming to the supplied units setting.
Situation:
Many times you will wish to show the user a selected point on the dialog
box. You must break up the point into its X, Y, and Z components, convert
them to strings, then build the new string point for display. These steps are
straightforward enough, but it is always nice to display the point in the
current drawing precision format. This function takes the string containing
the partial point and returns the point in the current drawing precision
format (assuming that you supplied it to the function). The precision is
supplied as an argument instead of being coded into the function to give
the function more flexibility. This way you can force a precision that is
not the current drawing precision.
CD Example:
FORMATPNT_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic
Editor.
CD Example Result:
The point string is built and displayed in a message box. See the test
routine to view how the point was assembled.
Page 251
Get the Current View's Corner Points

Syntax: View_Corners
Arguments: None.
Conditions:None.
Returns: An array containing the X, Y, and Z of the lower left corner
and the upper right corner of the current view.
Situation:
Forget zoom previous. This function allows you to save the current view
corner points for later use with the zoom command. This is handy for
situations in which you zoom around, do some other work, then decide to
undo the work but leave the zoom display in the new position. Simply
grab the current view corners before working, then use the points to
restore the view at any time.
CD Example:
VIEWCORNERS_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic
Editor.
CD Example Result:
A dialog showing the lower left and upper right corner points. This test
routine shows you how to build string points from arrays and how the
Format function comes in handy.
Page 252
Get the Extension from a String

Syntax: Get_Extension (string)
Arguments: Where the string is the control data string to be searched for
an extension.
Returns: The extension parsed out of the string. When no extension is
present, Null is returned.
Situation:
Sometimes you need to grab just the extension from a string and use it to
build another file. This function gets the extension for you. This function
(unlike the RightToken function) returns an extension without the period.
CD Example:
GETEXTENSION_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic
Editor.
CD Example Result:
A dialog box showing the returned extension.
Page 253
Get the Left Substring from a String

Syntax: token (string1, string2)
Arguments: Where the string1 is the whole string to search.
Where the string2 is a character or string.
Conditions:Both strings must be in string form.
Returns: A string from the beginning of string1 to the start of string2
(when string2 is present in string1) or the whole string
(string1) when string2 is not present.
Situation:
There are many ways of getting a path from a file name. This is one of
them. In many situations you already have a string containing a file name
(or it's easy to obtain), but you want to get the path to the file name from
another string. This function was designed for exactly that situation. One
important note here is that you must assume a back slash is in the path
string. There is one situation that can occur in legal data but this function
can't trap. That situation is when you have a path in a string such as
'C:Autoexec.bat'. There is no back slash in the string path, but DOS will
accept this path and use it (in certain situations). The simplest function for
retrieving paths that covers this situation is the Get_Path function, which
is covered later in this chapter.
CD Example:
GETSUBSTR_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor.
CD Example Result:
A message box showing the path.
Page 254
Get the Path from a String

Syntax: Get_Path (string)
Arguments: Where the string is the control data string to be searched for a
path.
Returns: The path parsed out of the string. When no path is present, a
zero-length string is returned.
Situation:
Sometimes you need to grab just the path from a string and use it to build
another file. This function gets the path for you. This function (unlike the
Token function) always returns a path even when there is no back slash in
it. For example, C:TEMP.DAT).
CD Example:
GETPATH_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor.
CD Example Result:
A dialog box showing the returned path.
Page 255
Get the Right Substring from a String

Syntax: righttoken (string1, string2)
Arguments: Where the string1 is the whole string to search.
Where the string2 is a character or string.
Conditions:Both strings must be in string form.
Returns: A string from the beginning of string2 to the end of string1
(when string2 is present in string1) or the whole string
(string1) when string2 is not present.
Situation:
This is another way of stripping the path off a string. The difference
between this function and the Token function is that this function returns
everything in the string starting from the string2 substring (a file name) to
the end of the string. In this case, you know that the file name might have
a path on it, and you want to remove the path and keep the file name and
extension. This function was designed for exactly that situation.
CD Example:
GETRSUBSTR_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic
Editor.
CD Example Result:
A message box showing the file name.
Page 256
Pad a String with Spaces

Syntax: Pad (string, integer)
Arguments: Where the string is the control data string to be padded.
Where the integer is how many characters the final string
should be.
Returns: A string with extra spaces totaling the integer argument you
supplied. If the string to be padded is smaller than the
requested length, it will be passed back with no changes.
Situation:
Used to create columns in single column list boxes. It's kind of crude
compared with using multiple columns but handy for those times you
choose to be different.
CD Example:
PAN_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor.
CD Example Result:
A dialog box showing the string before and after the padding. Try
changing the second parameter to a number smaller than the length of the
string and see the results.
Page 257
Remove a String's Null Terminator

Syntax: StripTerminator (string)
Arguments: Where the string is the control data string to be transformed.
Returns: The string minus the null terminator and any trailing
characters. If no null terminator is present in the string, the
string is returned in the same form.
Situation:
Many API calls need a predefined string buffer. They take the string
buffer and place the data into it with a null character [chr$(0)] terminator
at the end of the data. Many of the string functions cannot deal with a null
terminated string. This function lets you pass in the string buffer with the
null terminator, and it returns a string that the string functions can work
with.
CD Example:
To test the function, open any drawing, load the WindowsOS project, and
type MYCOMPUTER in the immediate window of the Visual Basic
Editor.
CD Example Result:
A dialog box showing your computer's settings. This example is part of
Chapter 9. Try stepping through the subroutine and viewing the string
buffers for each setting. Watch how they change from a fixed-length string
buffer to a smaller string once they have been sent to the StripTerminator
function.
Page 258
Replace All Requested Characters in a String with Another Character

Syntax: Replace_Chr (string, character, character)
Where the first character is the character to be replaced.
Where the second character is the replacement character.
Both characters must be any legal ASCII character in string
form.
Returns: A new line with all of the requested characters changed to the
new character. If no occurrences are found in the line, the line
is returned unchanged.
Situation:
Handy for replacing delimiters with different ones. Replaces all
occurrences of the search character with the replacement character in the
line and returns the line.
CD Example:
REPLACECHR_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic
Editor.
CD Example Result:
Commas in a string are replaced with pipe symbols. This is shown in the
message box that appears in the test routine.
Page 259
Retrieve the System's Windows Directory

Syntax: GetWindowsDir
Arguments: None.
Conditions: None.
Returns: A string containing the system's Windows directory.
Situation:
Used for accessing data in the Windows directory from your project. This
function is actually a wrapper function for the API call
GetWindowsDirectory. For more API call information see Chapter 9
CD Example:
GETWINDOWSDIR_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic
Editor.
CD Example Result:
The Windows directory string that is returned to the test routines is
displayed in a message box.
Page 260
Show a Progress Spinner

Syntax: spin (character)
Arguments: Where character is the control
character shown by the spinner.
Legal arguments include:
Zero-length string or a space
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
-
gif
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
|
gif
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
/
gif
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
\
gif
Conditions: The character argument must be in
the form of a single character
string or nil.
Returns: A one-character string containing
the next character the spinner
routine should print to the screen.
Situation:
Whether you're in VBA or AutoLISP or any other programming language,
it is a good idea to entertain the users whenever the program leaves them
to do some lengthy computations. This practice lets the user know that
something is indeed happening and that he or she should let the program
keep running. Besides giving a message before you leave, it is a common
practice in AutoLISP to leave a spinner spinning at the command line.
You can't do that in VBA, and the spinner control for the dialog box is
used for incrementing countersnot showing a spinner. This routine takes a
character and shows it on a label of the form with the word ''working"
before the character. The routine passes back the next character that
makes it look like it is spinning. Passing the routine nil starts the routine
with the default character.
Note: Most processing that needs a spinner occurs in a loop of some kind.
Try to space the spinner routine so that the spinning characters appear to
be evenly spinning. This sometimes means that you need to space the
spinner routine in the program unevenly in the code flow to get an even
look on the display.
Page 261
CD Example:
To test the function, open any drawing, load the Toolbox project,
and type SPIN_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic
Editor.
CD Example Result:
A label on a form that shows the word ''Working . . . " with a
spinner on the end.
You can check out the code in the start_click procedure of the form
to see how to use the spinner in a loop.
Page 262
Strip an Extension from a String

Syntax: strip_extension (string)
Arguments: Where String is a file name containing an extension.
Conditions:The string argument must be in the form of a string.
Returns: A string that has the extension removed. The path will remain
when a path is included in the argument string.
Situation:
You might frequently want to process data from a file or table and write a
report or some other data using the file name with your own extension
attached. This function takes the path, file name, and extension and
returns just the path and file name. The path is an optional part of the
string. Only the period needs to be present for the function to find the
extension. This function is used most when processing block table
information. Autodesk stores the extension on external references when
the Xref is selected using the dialog box. Since you cannot presume that
the extension is not there, it is best to run each Xref obtained from the
table through this function to make sure that the extension is stripped off
the file name.
CD Example:
EXTENSION_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor.
CD Example Result:
The new file name is returned without the extension. The test routine
shows a message box with the original drawing name and the name
missing the extension.
Page 263
Strip the Path from a String

Syntax: split_path (string)
Arguments: Where the string is a string possibly containing a directory
path and file name.
Conditions:A string must be in string form.
Returns: A string containing just the file name. When no path is
present, the whole string is returned.
Situation:
This is perhaps the easiest way of stripping the path off a string. The
difference between this function and the others documented in this chapter
is that you do not have to know the file name or path to get the file name
back.
CD Example:
SPLIT_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor.
CD Example Result:
A message box showing the file name.
Page 264
Verify a Control Exists on a Form

Syntax: DoesControlExist (form, string)
Arguments: Where the form is the form object containing controls to
check.
Where the string is the control name to check for.
Conditions:The form must be a legal form object.
The string must be in string form.
Returns: True when the control is present on the form or False when it
is not present.
Situation:
It is always a good idea to check to see if a control exists before you try to
initialize it. If it doesn't exist, you will get an error. VBA lets you create or
remove controls on the fly as the program runs. This function allows you
to check before you try anything with the control.
CD Example:
CONTROL_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor.
CD Example Result:
A True result causes the test routine to show a message box.
Page 265
Verify a File's Existence

Syntax: IsFile (string)
Arguments: Where the string is a file name including complete path and
extension.
Returns: True when the file is found or False when it isn't found.
Situation:
It's always nice to know that a file you want to open is out there before
you go to open it. You must explicitly supply the path and extension along
with the file name to the function. There is no extended search.
CD Example:
ISFILE_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor.
CD Example Result:
Message boxes showing whether the specified files were or weren't found.
Page 266
Verify a Listbox Item Exists

Syntax: lst_memb_vb (string, control)
Arguments: Where the string is the string to be searched for in the listbox
control.
Where the control is the form's listbox control to search.
The control must be a valid userform listbox control.
Returns: True when the string is an item in the listbox or nil when it is
not found in the listbox.
Situation:
At times you will need to manipulate data strings from one listbox control
to another. Many times you will want to verify if the string is already in
the listbox's list so you can avoid placing duplicates on the list. This
function allows you to check the listbox first before adding a string and
determine whether you should add it. Naturally, as the list grows, the
speed decreases. Therefore, you should avoid using this function with
very large lists unless you are willing to take the speed penalty.
CD Example:
LIST_TEST in the immediate window of the Visual Basic Editor. Try
both a lowercase b then an uppercase B to see the differences.
CD Example Result:
A lowercase b gets a message box stating that it is not in the list (it isn't
because the search is case sensitive). The uppercase B gets a message box
stating that it was found in the list.
Page 267
Chapter Eleven
VB versus VBA
How does VBA stack up against VB? Remember that VBA is a
subset of VB (actually VB is an add-on to the VBA core). As a
consequence, VBA does not have all of the abilities of VB. In this
chapter, we will explore those differences and explain how VBA
fits into the AutoCAD development scheme of things. We will then
turn our attention to building help files for your applications. Help
files are often the best way to avoid technical support phone calls
for sophisticated applications. We will discuss the differences
between the help systems of VB and VBA along with how to create
help files.
As you've already seen, VBA is a powerful tool, but there are
others that are even more powerful, such as VB and ObjectARX.
These tools are not supplied with AutoCAD; you'll have to
purchase additional software and learn more skills for them to work
properly.
Page 268
Quick Comparison of VB and VBA

Table 11.1 illustrates some of the pros and cons of both languages.
Table 11.1 VB versus VBA
VB VBA
Pros Cons Pros Cons
Runs outside AutoCAD Runs outside Runs inside AutoCAD Runs inside
AutoCAD AutoCAD
Easy database Shared footprint Limited database
connectivity connectivity
Complied In-process application Not compiled
performance
Sophisticated UI Sophisticated UI
features features
Database support Purchased Included with host
(Enterprise Edition) separately application
DAO 3.5 support Project file encryption
All languages have limitations and strengths. The fact that VB

applications run outside the AutoCAD memory pool is both a positive and
a negative. It's a negative because it is slower than VBA programs running
inside the AutoCAD memory pool. But it's a positive because you can't
run a VBA program interactively with the AutoCAD command line
though you can with a VB program. The reverse is true for the VBA
application: it's faster because it is inside the AutoCAD memory pool, but
you can't use it with the AutoCAD command line because AutoCAD
won't process your commands until the VBA application is finished. We
cover this subject in detail in the command line workaround section of
Chapter 12.
Page 269
VB has data controls included with it to make it very easy to
connect to a database. VBA also has data controls included, but
they are more limited than in VB, and it's not as easy to connect
and manipulate the data from your application.
By default, dialog boxes in VBA are modal, whereas the default in
stand-alone Visual Basic is modeless. This means that a dialog box
will not remain interactive with AutoCAD during the execution of
a VBA program. The dialog must be dismissed before AutoCAD
can respond. This limitation is imposed by VBA and will require
you to rethink user interface interactions when designing programs
to run in both environments.
VBA is an in-process controller, translating to better application
performance and throughput for AutoCAD Release 14. AutoCAD
VBA shares AutoCAD's memory and process space, significantly
improving performance.
When AutoCAD is being controlled by an external VBA hosted
application (such as Microsoft Excel or Visual Basic program),
performance is compromised. The external application must
communicate to AutoCAD through the Windows message loop
using remote procedure calls (RPC). Using VBA as an ActiveX
automation controller delivers performance levels bested only by
native ObjectARX-compiled executables.
Multiple projects are not supported in the AutoCAD Release 14
version of VBA. However, you can have multiple modules, forms,
and object files. They are supported in the VBA implementation
found in AutoCAD 2000.
Visual Basic packages contain various features (at an escalating
cost) that better enable you to create complex programs. Table 11.2
shows those packages and their features.
Page 270
Table 11.2 Visual Basic Edition
Feature Enterprise Professional
IntelliSense ¨ ¨
File I/O, OS Access ¨ ¨
Project Templates ¨ ¨
Add-in Support ¨ ¨
Multiple Projects ¨ ¨
Visual Inheritance ¨ ¨
ActiveX Creation ¨ ¨
Standard Controls ¨ ¨
Application Creation ¨ ¨
Learning Tools
Database Access ¨ ¨
Native Compiler ¨ ¨
Active Document Creation ¨ ¨
ActiveX Server Components ¨ ¨
Transaction Server ¨
Remote Data Objects ¨
SQL Debugger ¨
SQL Server ¨
Visual SourceSafe ¨
Application Performance Explorer ¨
Microsoft Repository ¨ ¨
Microsoft Visual Database Tools ¨

Page 271
Feature Learning Application Control Creation Scripting
IntelliSense ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨
File I/O, OS Access ¨ ¨
Project Templates ¨ ¨ ¨
Add-in Support ¨ ¨
Multiple Projects ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨
Visual Inheritance ¨ ¨ ¨
ActiveX Creation ¨ ¨
Standard Controls ¨ ¨
Application Creation ¨
Learning Tools ¨
Database Access ¨
Native Compiler
Active Document Creation
ActiveX Server Components
Transaction Server
Remote Data Objects
SQL Debugger
SQL Server
Visual SourceSafe
Application Performance Explorer
Microsoft Repository
Microsoft Visual Database Tools
Page 272
Which Language for Which Situation?

What does this comparison really mean? It all comes down to when
should you use a given language for a particular job. Since
AutoLISP is widely used, it will probably remain the most
commonly used language for a while. The new VisualLISP
environment will lengthen the life of AutoLISP, but as AutoCAD
grows and leaves AutoLISP behind, it will be more important for
even the casual user to know VBA. Getting a jump on this trend
will enable you to be ready to make the switch seamlessly. The
question will be whether to use VB or VBA. VB will most likely
remain the language of choice for database integration because
VBA does not fully support the necessary database controls and
will probably be limited even in the future. VBA will be a strong
contender for those jobs that are dialog-box driven and need lots of
speed. VB will be the language that hovers on the edge of full-
blown application development (where ObjectArx takes over). Its
relative ease (compared with C++) of use will allow the casual
programmer to develop very complex products without learning the
more complex C++. You are now given a wide choice of languages
to manipulate AutoCAD. Figure 11.1 shows the languages and
their relative position on the complexity chart.
Figure 11.1
Language complexity chart
Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut division between the lower- and
middle-level languages, except maybe their database connectivity.
You could even argue that AutoLISP has simple database
connectivity with ASE and ASI. The short-term answer is to
continue to use AutoLISP (assuming you already know it) and pick
up the new VisualLISP as you develop your VBA skills. Use
AutoLISP or VisualLISP when you have limited time (and it is
appropriate) to get the job done, and VBA when you have the time
to experiment.
Page 273
Differences at the System Level

There are only a couple of differences between VB and VBA at the
system level. The first is obvious: how they use memory. VB
works outside the AutoCAD memory pool, while VBA works
inside it. Remember that AutoCAD will use all of the memory you
have available. That means that it will take up as much as
necessary when it uses VBA. The speed of execution is faster
because there is no need to communicate with the application
through the Windows pipeline. Figure 11.2 shows the differences in
the memory pool.
The other difference is slightly subtler. VBA does not have a forms
load procedure, while VB does. This means that you have only the
form's initialization procedure to use in VBA for preloading your
form.
Figure 11.2
Memory differences
Porting Issuesfrom VB to VBA
Moving code from VB to VBA can be very simple or incredibly
difficult. It all depends on what the program does. If it has a form
with data controls for database integration, then it will be difficult.
VBA is missing some of the more robust data controls for database
integration. That means that you will need to try to reference the
ActiveX controls inside VBA. Not all controls will import into
VBA. Another stumbling block is the form itself. A VB form will
sometimes transfer to a VBA user form, but the controls will have
only VBA properties and methods associated with them. This
means that a control such as a text box will lose all of its DDE
linkage methods going from VB to VBA because VBA does not
support those methods. You need to check each control on the VB
form before transferring to make sure that you are not using some
method or property that is not supported in VBA.
Page 274
The two languages' terminology are slightly different and can cause
some problems. VB calls its forms by the name Form while VBA
calls its form a Userform. This means that any procedure that
passes a form in VB must be adjusted accordingly in VBA.
Porting Issuesfrom VBA to VB

The same terminology problems occur when you're moving code
from VBA to VB as from the other direction. The same forms issue
applies to porting forms from VBA to VB as from the other
direction. Going from VBA to VB is not as dramatic a change as
the other direction: since VBA is a subset of VB, most of the
properties and methods of a control in VBA will be present in VB.
Simple database connections done in VBA will move over to VB
without any problems.
Attaching Your VB Application to the AutoCAD Object Model
Should you decide to move your code over to VB from the VBA
environment, you must take a few steps to ensure that the code will
work in the new environment. The first step is to get the code and
forms into VB. That can be difficult for certain controls. You can
try to import the Userform from VBAyou might get lucky and it
will import. If not, you can try to isolate the control that won't
import and remove it to try again. Another alternative would be to
recreate the form in VB using VB controls. Sometimes this is
easier and quicker.
Once you have the code and all necessary forms, you must then
reference the AutoCAD object model. You can accomplish this by
attaching the AutoCAD Object Library using the References dialog
in VB. The file is called Acad.tlb and is located in the AutoCAD
executable's directory. Next you must have four lines of code that
will attach the AutoCAD application and the current active
document. Using the VBA reserved word ThisDrawing for the
current active document allows any existing
Page 275
code that comes over from VBA that uses the word to work in VB. The following code shows
no error trapping.
Dim Application As AcadApplication
Set Application = GetObject(, ''AutoCAD.application")
Dim ThisDrawing As AcadDocument
Set ThisDrawing = Application.ActiveDocument
Remember that you will not have the implied reserved word ThisDrawing in VB. You will
need to always use it in front of the model object. Once you use these lines of code in VB, the
AutoCAD object model is exposed to you and you can use VB code just as if you were in
VBA. This gives you an advantage when you need to interact with the command line or use
sophisticated database controls.
The above example uses no error trapping and assumes that the AutoCAD application is
already running. This would cause an error if AutoCAD were not already running. The code
below shows the proper way to check first, then try to recover before proceeding. We have
shown a simple print to the debug window to illustrate that the code behaves the same in VB
as in VBA once the connection is made.
Public Sub Attaching ()
Dim Application As AcadApplication 'declare the application object
Set Application = GetObject(, "AutoCAD.application")'set it to AutoCAD
If Err.Number <> 0 Then ' Was AutoCAD running?
Err.Clear ' No, clear the error
Set Application = CreateObject("AutoCAD.application") ' Try to launch
If Err.Number Then ' Did it launch?
MsgBox "Unable to launch AutoCAD session." ' No - tell the user
End ' bail out
End If
End If
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Dim ThisDrawing As AcadDocument ' declare the active document object
Set ThisDrawing = Application.ActiveDocument ' set the active document
Dim olay As AcadLayer ' declare an active layer object
Set olay = ThisDrawing.ActiveLayer ' set it
Debug.Print olay.Name ' display various properties
Debug.Print olay.Color
End Sub
A VB 5.0 project for testing if you like. It is called Attach.vbp. Load it into VB 5.0 and test
run it from the immediate window by running the macro called Attaching.
VB and VBA Help
The Windows help engine has been available for AutoLISP programmers since Autodesk
tapped into it late in the life cycle of Release 12. VB and VBA can also access the Windows
help engine with the addition of context-sensitive help for a form's controls. Each language
has a slightly different way of accessing the help engine, but they all use a Windows help file
that you can create. You also have the ability, should you need it, to tap into Autodesk's
ACAD.HLP file. This section covers accessing help in VBA, along with a few techniques you
can use in VB or VBA. We have defined a project to illustrate the techniques and supply a
detailed listing of all projects included on the companion CD-ROM.
VB Help versus VBA Help
Both languages use the WinHelp API call to deliver help. Both have context-sensitive help for
controls and forms and both can use a control's HelpControlId property to directly access a
topic via the function key {F1}. The only basic difference between them is that VB has an
extra control property for accessing Win95's What's This help tips, which VBA does not have
on its controls. We have documented the WinHelp API call here in the same manner as the
API calls in the API chapter.
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Accessing VBA and VB Help
You can define a default help file for your project in both VB and VBA. You can define
VB's default project help file from a dialog called from the Project/Project Properties
menu item. The dialog is shown in Figure 11.3.
Figure 11.3
ProjectProject Properties window
The VBA project's property dialog box is almost the same and it is also used to set the
default help file for your project. The dialog is shown in Figure 11.4.
Figure 11.4
HelpProject Properties window
In both languages, you must select a default help file for use with the function key
{F1} help, and you can set a default Context ID for the help file. This allows your
application to default to a Table of Contents page should you call for help from a
control that doesn't have a context ID set or has an invalid ID set.
Whether you use the context-sensitive help feature or you just want to call help, you
need to use the WinHelp API. This API takes a help file name and a topic and displays
the help on the subject. Should the topic be missing or misspelled, you will get the
default subject. This is the function declaration on one line of code that is placed in
your declaration section.
Declare
Function
WinHelp
Lib ''user32"
Alias
"WinHelpA"
(ByVal
hwnd As
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Long, ByVal 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
gif lpHelpFile gif
As String,
ByVal
wCommand
As Long,
ByVal
dwData As
Long) As
Long
The four parameters control what kind of help you are requesting from the WinHelp
engine. Those arguments are shown in Table 11.3, below.
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Table 11.3
hwnd The window handle of the application requesting the help or the ID
control or window about which help is requested when the wCommand
parameter is either HELP_CONTEXTMENU OR HELP_WM_HELP.
lpHelpFile The application's HLP file name. May have a greater than sign (>) and
a window name specified after it. If so, the help is displayed in a
secondary window. The secondary window name must be specified in
the Windows section of the HPJ file.
wCommandThe Windows help system command. See Table 11.4, below, for
details.
dwData Additional data provided for the wCommand parameter.
The wCommand parameter tells Windows help which help command you
want to use. These commands must be defined in your declaration section
as global constants. They are shown in the command column used by the
help system table.
Table 11.4
Command Value Description
HELP_COMMAND &H102&Executes the help topic. The dwData parameter
is used to point to the requested topic in the
file.
HELP_CONTENTS &H3& Windows 3.x command: displays a Contents
page in your HJP file.
HELP_CONTEXT &H1 Displays the topic that is associated with the
context ID specified by the dwData parameter.
HELP_CONTEXTPOPUP&H8& Uses the topic that is associated with the
context ID specified by the dwData parameter.
HELP_FINDER Windows 95 and NT command: displays a
Contents page in your HJP file.
HELP_FORCEFILE &H9& Ensures that the proper help file is being
displayed.
HELP_HELPONHELP &H4 Windows 3.x command: accesses the Windows
help file on Windows help. Win 95 and NT
users should use the HELP_FINDER
command instead.

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Command Value
Description
HELP_INDEX &H3
Windows 3.x command: accesses the Windows
help file index. Win 95 and NT users should use
the HELP_FINDER command instead.
HELP_KEY &H101 Searches the help file for a matching keyword
supplied in the dwData parameter. A list is
supplied in a dialog when more than one match
occurs.
HELP_MULTIKEY &H201&Searches the help file for a matching keyword
supplied in the dwData parameter. Uses a pointer
in the dwData parameter to point to a
MULTIKEYHELP structure that contains the
keyword table to search and the keyword string.
HELP_PARTIALKEY &H105&Searches the help file for a matching keyword
supplied in the dwData parameter. The index tab
is displayed when more than one topic is
matched. You can force the index to be displayed
by supplying an empty string as the keyword.
HELP_QUIT &H2 Lets the Windows help system know that your
application is finished with the help and closes
the file and help window.
HELP_SETCONTENTS&H5& Sets the context ID for the topic that Windows
help will display in response to the
HELP_CONTENTS command or when the
Contents button is selected. The dwData
parameter specifies the context ID that will
become the context ID for the topic.
HELP_SETINDEX &H5 Specifies which keyword table is to be displayed
in the Hlpe topic dialog box.
HELP_SETWINPOS &H203&Sets the size and position of the main or
secondary help window. The dwData parameter
is used to point to a HELPWININFO structure.
Daunting, is it? Well, the good news is that VBA does all of the work
when it comes to context-sensitive help (once you've set up the context ID
for the control) and you need to use only the HELP_COMMAND
command and the jumpid option for your online help. We explain other
techniques in detail later in this chapter.
Much of the diverse material presented above is used in writing help for C++ applications; you need no
yourself with it since the context-sensitive help and the HELP command with the jumpid can handle an
might want to supply to the user. The additional material is presented only so you can get a feel for the r
environment that exists on the next level of development.
On-Line Help
You usually initiate this type of help by selecting a button or menu item. You write your code to use the
API using the HELP_COMMAND option with the jumpid topic. The jumpid is simply a mechanism th
HELP_COMMAND uses to find a topic in your help file. The topic is a string with no spaces that you s
your help file. An example for a call to help using this syntax is below:
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. WinHelp 0, ''MyHelpFile.hlp", 2042015b45d2b5416108e4
gif HELP_COMMAND,_"jumpid("MyTopic")" gif
What does it mean in English?

WinHelp is the API call.
A 0 is supplied as a marker for the window handle argument since the HELP_COMMAND option does
The MyHelpFile.hlp argument is the name of the help file.
The HELP_COMMAND argument is a constant you must define in your program. It is a long equal to &
is the only one you need to use for any help topic.
The jumpid("MyTopic") argument is a mechanism that will find the MyTopic header string in the help f
return a long id that the HELP_COMMAND argument uses to find the topic and display it. This is the t
because you must use the jumpid method to get the topics id back to the API for it to find anything. It's
around, but it does work.
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A help project is supplied for you to play with the two kinds of help. To experiment with the online
help, open the Help project and run the form. Use the poplist on the form to select a topic and the Help
button to see help on the topic. The poplist contains several AutoCAD topics and several topics
covered by this book. The list actually has two columns. The first is the one seen by the user (the
topic), the second is the name of the help file that the topic is in. When the Help button is selected, the
program gets the topic and associated help file name and uses the WinHelp API to display help on the
topic. Typically, you would build the topic behind the Help button and display it without any user
intervention. The jumpid is built from a variable containing the topic as shown below.
param = ''jumpid(" &
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. strSubject &")" WinHelp 0, 2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
gif strPath & strFile, gif
basHelp.HELP_COMMAND,
param
You can use the Projects poplist item List of Projects to get a list of all of the project files built for this
book and descriptions on each project. Information on each project is built to illustrate how things
work, and many tips on the code fragments that make up the projects are included in the help file.
Note: You will need to change the path for the help files in the supplied Help project to match where
your AutoCAD and VBA help files are located. See the Help Project section later in this chapter for
more details about this and other features of the supplied VBA Help project.
Context-Sensitive Help
Context-sensitive help does not use the HELP_COMMAND and jumpid topic. You register the help
file with the VBA project and assign an ID (HelpContextId) to a control on the form. In the help file,
you create a help topic with an associated context ID that matches the one on the control. Whenever a
user sets the focus on a control with a context-sensitive help ID attached and hits the {F1} key, the
help is displayed for that specific control. Since the form is considered a control, it also can
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have a context-sensitive help ID attached. Many programmers
simply set the initial focus on a form to the Help button and allow
its context-sensitive help ID to give general help about the dialog
box. Controls such as buttons (other than the Help button) usually
don't have a context-sensitive help ID attached since the button is
supposed to do something other than call for help when it is
selected. Controls like lists, poplists, edit boxes, radio buttons, and
check boxes are prime candidates for HelpContextId.
Setting the help file name and location is done at design time in the
VBA IDE. You must select the Help Properties . . . menu item from
the Tools pull-down menu. The Help Project Properties dialog box
appears as shown in Figure 11.5.
Figure 11.5
HelpProject dialog box
You then fill out the location and help file name in the Help File
Name field and give the project context ID default number in the
Project Help Context ID field. This default is used whenever help
is called for a subject that is not present in the help file. Usually the
default is the table of contents for the help file, but you can set it to
anything you wish. Unfortunately, you can do this only at design
time. There is no mechanism to set the program's help file at
runtime. This means that you must select the location and help file
at design time, and you can't change it at runtime. Another problem
is that your VBA program does not use the search hierarchy or the
help file registry setting to find your help file. This means that you
must explicitly give the path along with the file name in the
project. That means having a standard setup for all machines in the
organization to keep maintenance simple. The Help project
supplied with the book has context-sensitive help IDs attached to
the poplist and Help button. Actually, all of the buttons have
context-sensitive help IDs of 0 (meaning the table of
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contents for the project help file). This is the default ID for any newly created control on the form.
By creating a table of contents in the help file with an ID of 0, you automatically set up the default
for any new control on your form.
Accessing AutoCAD Online Help
Autodesk states that it does not use context-sensitive help IDs in its AutoCAD help file
(ACAD.HLP). This means that you cannot tie into its help file using a context-sensitive help ID from
your form, but you can still tie in using the jumpid with the HELP_COMMAND method. The Help
project supplied with the book has examples of this method of accessing AutoCAD help. You must
build your API call using the correct path and help file name along with the correct topic for the
jumpid. We have shown an example of this method in the following listing.
param = "jumpid(Plot)"
WinHelp 0,''D:\PROGRAM FILES\AUTOCAD R14\HELP\ACAD.HLP", HELP_COMMAND, param
The code shown above calls the help illustrated in figure 11.6. The topic in the jumpid is where you
must guess and experiment. The few topics that are supplied in the list in the help project were
simple to guess. The plot command uses a topic of plot, the line command uses a topic of line, and
the arc command uses a topic of arc. You must guess because there is no documentation on the topics
in the AutoCAD help file. You can see the code that builds the AutoCAD help string in the
btnHelp_Click subroutine of the Help project.
Figure 11.6
AutoCAD Command Reference window
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Building a Help File
Building a help file is a very complicated and tedious task. The
task is made easier by purchasing a program for creating Windows
help files. ForeHelp by ForeFront of Boulder, Colorado, is one
such program. You can contact the company at (303) 499-9181.
The help file created for this book was created in version 2.95 of
ForeHelp. This is not the only program on the market to generate
Windows help files, but it does have the features you need to create
simple or complex files. Features included in any good help file
generator are listed below:
HyperLinks
Context IDs
Rich text file import
Topic Properties
Targets
Alias
The VBA Help Project
This project contains examples of both context-sensitive help and
calling for online help using the jumpid method. It also contains
help on all of the other projects included in this book. Information
on techniques, useful code fragments, miscellaneous tips for each
project, and part of one of the chapters is included in the help file.
The VBA Help project dialog box is shown in Figure 11.7.
Figure 11.7
VBA Help dialog box
You need to change the path in the help project of the VBA and the
AutoCAD help (if it is not at its default location) folder before
using the program. The VBA help file path for context-sensitive
help is found in the project's properties dialog box shown in Figure
11.8.
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Figure 11.8
Help Project Properties dialog box
The steps to change the VBA help file path for using context-
sensitive help are as follows:
1. Open the help project in whatever folder you placed it.
2. Select the Help Properties . . . menu item from the Tools menu.
3. Use the Browse button . . . next to the Help File Name edit box
to select the VBA.HLP file from the project folder.
4. Select the OK button and save the project.
The VBA help file path must be adjusted to your system for online
help to work. The steps to change that path are as follows:
1. Open the help project in whatever folder you placed it (unless it
is still open).
2. Double click on the frmHelp item of the Forms folder in the
project window.
3. Double click on the Help button in the dialog box.
4. In the subroutine Get_On_line_Help (beneath the btnHelp_Click
subroutine), change the string D:\VBA BOOK\COMPARE\ to a
string containing your path to the VBA.HLP file (i.e.
C:\HELPFILES\).
The help project assumes that the AutoCAD help file is in the
default location that Autodesk places it. Should you have changed
the location of the AutoCAD help folder path, you need to change
the program. The steps for changing the AutoCAD help file path
are as follows:
5. Open the help project in whatever folder you placed it (unless it
is still open).
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6. Double click on the frmHelp item of the Forms folder in the
project window.
7. Double click on the Help button in the dialog box.
8. In the subroutine Get_On_line_Help (beneath the btnHelp_Click
subroutine), change the object ThisDrawing.Application.Path &
''\HELP\" to a string containing your path to the VBA.HLP file.
(i.e. C:\HELPFILES\)
Now you can use the help project to experiment with the various
help concepts covered in this section.
On-Line Help
There are several methods in the help project illustrating how you
can use help in your project. On-line help is attached to the Help
button and is controlled by the pop list. You need only to select an
item from the list, then the Help button to view help on the subject.
The list is set up as a double column list with the help topic column
showing and the help file name column hidden. When the Help
button is selected, the item is used as the topic for the help file and
the hidden column entry. This technique is used to show you how
you can use multiple help files from one project. The pop list
contains several different help topics that exist in the AutoCAD
ACAD.HLP file and the VBA Help file provided with this book.
One pop list item is there to illustrate how the WinHelp API
handles a topic that does not exist in the help file. Try the Missing
Topic item to generate the WinHelp error message shown below in
Figure 11.9.
Figure 11.9
Windows Help topic error message
The message appears, then you are put into the help file's content
area. This happens because the WinHelp API makes the contents
topic in the help file the default topic when a requested topic can't
be found.
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On line help is also behind the Linetype, Plot, and VBA Help
Contents buttons, but the method coded for them does not use the
pop list. This method of accessing on-line help is done to illustrate
the more traditional way of accessing on-line help. The subroutines
are just used to set up the topic and help file names; a generic
subroutine does the work of calling the WinHelp API. Check out
the code in the buttons' click subroutines.
Context-Sensitive Help
Since the AutoCAD help file does not contain context-sensitive
IDs, only the VBA-related objects on the form have a context-
sensitive ID attached to them. You can tab around the various
objects on the form and use the function key {F1} to access their
context-sensitive help topics in the VBA help file.
Missing IDs are handled differently by the help file than missing
topics are handled by the WinHelp API. Instead of defaulting to the
content page, you are placed in the index portion of the help file.
This allows you to choose any existing topic. The Linetype, Plot,
and Done buttons illustrate this feature.
You'll set up the context-sensitive IDs at design time in the controls
of the form in VBA and at design time in the help file. The context-
sensitive ID must match for the help to be found.
VB and VBA Help Conclusion
As you've seen, help is a complex subject. However, it is a subject
you need to address to make your projects as professional as
possible. Users will have questions on even simple programs. On-
line and context-sensitive help give you the mechanism to create
concise and informative help that can reduce the calls for support.
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Chapter Twelve
Gotcha's and Tips
Every programming language has its quirks and special rules. VBA
is no exception. Some of the ways it works contrasts with other
languages you may already know; this chapter discusses some of
the interesting features you will encounter. Subjects covered in this
chapter are:
Handles data types comparison
Uses control keys to maneuver
Creates User defined Objects
Handles dates
Handles Arguments
Pointer Arguments
Short Circuit Evaluation
Access objects on the same level
Creates columns and uses multiselect in the listbox control
Deals with Variable name shortcuts
Deals with the Command line in AutoCAD
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If you don't know what some of these things are, do not despair. Some of
these are advanced topics and we will endeavor to explain them as we get
into the various nuances of the VBA programming environment.
Divergent Data Type Comparison

VBA variables can be declared without assigning a data type. That means
it is possible to compare variables that are not of the same basic data type.
VBA automatically assigns a default data type of Variant when one it not
declared. It is a good idea to get into the habit of assigning the data type
whenever you plan to use a variable. This is helpful from a maintenance
point of view and for checking divergent data types. Before discussing a
technique for avoiding problems with divergent data types comparison, a
discussion of how VBA handles data types is in order. The data type of
your variable should be determined by the type of data you wish to store.
Table 12.1 shows the various data types you can declare in VBA.
Table 12.1: VBA Data Types
Data Value it can hold Comments
type
Byte 0 to 255 Small positive integers.
Boolean -1 or 0 Yes or No values.
Currency-922, 337, 203, Use for money calculations when accuracy is
685, 477, 648 to important. Maximum of fifteen digits to the left of the
922, 337, 203, 685, decimal and up to four digits to the right.
477, 647
Date Jan. 1, 100 to Dec. Data and time.
31, 9999
Decimal Variant subtype Declare your variable as a variant and then use the
CDEC( ) function to convert the variable to a decimal
data type. Behaves like the currency data type but is
more precise.
Double Approx. 4.94E-45 64-bit double precision floating point.
to 1.8E308
Integer -32768 to 32676 Small positive and negative numbers.
Long -2, 147, 483, 648 Large whole number, both positive and negative.
to 2, 147, 483, 647

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Data Value it can hold Comments
type
Single Approx. 1.4E-45 to 3.4E48 32-bit single precision floating point
String 0 to 2 billion characters Text
VariantCan contain any type of data The default data type when you do not
including Empty or Null declare one. Can hold data of any type.
Most of the data types are self-explanatory, except the Variant type.
Variant is very special in VBA. It can hold any of the other data types so
you can use it as a general catch-all. There are some things to watch out
for with the Variant, however. Since it can contain any type, you might be
tempted to use it almost to the exclusion of the others. This will cause
problems such as divergent data type comparison. Other disadvantages of
using it exclusively are that it takes more storage space, and maintaining
the code is more difficult because it is not obvious what type of data you
are holding.
Despite these disadvantages, there are many good uses of Variant
variables. One is for passing pointers to arrays as arguments. Since VBA
does not allow you to pass an array into a subroutine or function, you pass
in a pointer to the array, and the subroutine or function can then access the
array through the pointer. Another advantage of a Variant variable is its
ability to contain a NULL or Empty value. This is very useful when
dealing with database records since the Microsoft Jet engine returns all
data in variant form. Switching it to other data types and back would be a
waste of time. Another good use is when you're working with listbox
values. A listbox value is a variant. You need to declare a variant type to
take its value and use it. If the user has not selected anything in the
listbox, you could get a NULL value. You should check that you have a
value before proceeding.
When you are not sure what type of data your variant might contain and
you need to find out before processing it; you can use a special VBA
function to determine the data type of the data stored. The function is
called VarType. Pass your Variant variable to the function and it will
return the data type of the data in the variable.
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Two special values (Null and Empty) are used with Variant variables. To
test for those special values you must use the IsNull or IsEmpty tests. Once
you get a response from the test, you can then do further tests or process the
data.
One advantage of the Null value is how it behaves with VBA operators.
When you use an operator like plus (+) with a NULL value variable and a
string or number, you get NULL as a result. But when you use the
ampersand (&) operator with a NULL value variable and a string or number
you get the string or number back. This is what allows you to get around
the problem of divergent data types that could contain NULL values. An
example is shown below.
Dim groupname As Variant
groupname = frmGroupNames.1stGroupNames.Value
If Len(groupname & ''")>0 Then '#1 - this works
In the example, the Variant variable group name is loaded with the contents
of the listbox (1stGroupNames) selection. There is no guarantee that
anything is selected or that a value was passed. If you were to check for the
length of the variable and it contained NULL, the program would stop with
an error. The Len function must have a string passed to it. Line #1 is the
workaround to the problem. VBA binds the zero-length string with the
Variant variable. When the variable is NULL, it returns a zero-length string
that the Len function can deal with. When the variable has something in it,
a zero-length string is added, but that does not affect the original string.
This same method can be used with database recordsets. You can also use it
with numbers instead of strings. Just remember that you must use the
ampersandnot a plus sign.
Using Control Keys to Maneuver in VBA
The standard Microsoft function keys apply when you're cutting and
pasting inside the IDE and function key {F1} gets you help just like in
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any Microsoft product. There are a few special VBA control keys
sequences that can really make your life easier when programming.
Finding code in your project is one of the most difficult things
about object-oriented code. Other common useful tools are the
ability to shift (indent) blocks of code and the ability to step
through your code one line at a time in debug mode. VBA has
given you some shortcuts for accomplishing these things. These
control keys sequences are
Tab
Shift + Tab
{F2}
Shift + {F2}
Ctrl + Shift + {F2}
{F8}
We indent our code for maintenance purposes. It is easier to read
the code when it is lined up vertically. To indent code blocks you
use the Tab or shift + Tab key sequence. The process is simple. Just
highlight the lines of code, then use the key sequence. The Tab key
moves the code block to the right while the Shift + Tab key
sequence moves the code block to the left.
The {F2} key takes you to the Object browser covered in Chapter
3.
One of the most useful key sequences is the Shift + {F2} key
sequence. You use this to bounce around in the module definition,
variable declaration, or object browser. You place your cursor over
a variable or procedure and use the key sequence. VBA will take
you to the declaration of the variable or to the declaration of the
procedure. When you place your cursor over an object, the key
sequence takes you to that object's definition in the Object
Browser.
The Ctrl + Shift + {F2} key sequence returns you to the last
position of your cursor (unless you are in the Object Browser).
These features are very handy for moving quickly around the code
modules, checking that
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you have properly declared a variable within the current scope, or
seeing an object's definition and getting back to where you started.
When debugging your code, the {F8} function key is of primary
importance to you. It allows you to step into (through) your code
one line at a time. You can place a break point on a line of code
near the suspect code, and the program will halt processes at that
line in a wait state. You can then use the {F8} key to move one line
at a time through the problem area, viewing variables or watching
the flow of your program. There are other key sequences that work
with {F8}. You can see them on the Debug pull-down menu.
Class Modules in VBA

VBA has the ability to define a class similar to languages like C++
or Delphi. Classes allow you to define your own objects. They are
the definition of the object. In AutoCAD terms, you could compare
a class to a block table definition and an object to the block
occurrence in the drawing. One class definition with multiple
objects derived from it. You define properties and methods for your
objects in the class module. You can then use the class definition
over and over again in the form of objects within the program.
Since one program can reference another program's code, you can
share the object with other programs. The difference between a
VBA object defined in a class module and one defined in C++ or
Delphi is that the VBA object cannot inherent like in the other
languages. Inherence is an import feature of higher level object-
oriented languages. It allows you to define a parent object and
spawn other objects (copies) from the parent. The other objects can
have additional methods or properties added to the original parent
object's methods and properties that are unique to the child. When
a parent object's method or property is altered, all children objects'
methods and properties change in accordance. In VBA, you are
allowed to create instances of the original parent object (much like
in C++), but the child object does not stay linked to the parent. This
means that changes made
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to the parent object are not reflected automatically in the child
objects derived from the parent. This is why VBA is not a true
object-oriented programming language; although it may seem like
a small difference, it can be important when dealing with large
families of objects.
Still, you can create your own object with VBA. You can create a
person object that has properties like age, height, weight, race,
religion, and any other information you need to access about a
person in a class module. That object is then available to hold
information in your program. You need only declare the object in
your procedure, then load the information into it. Objects can be
very handy when working with database recordsets. Other uses for
your own created objects include but are not limited to:
Wrapping API procedures
Wrapping Registry calls
Handling reading and writing with ASCII files
Creating new properties for forms
Defining real world components of your designs such as structural
members or survey data
Holding standard calculations used to solve engineering problems
Implementing individual client or government styles and standards
A form is a special class module VBA provided for us. It contains
collections of controls that we can use. When you create a form,
you are filling in details about the form and adding your own
methods (subroutines) and properties.
To show how this all works, we have provided a small example
project. Open up the Employee.dvb provided on the sample CD
and call the TestEmp module from your immediate window. The
module has a stop in it to allow you to step though the code one
line at a time using the {F8} key. You can see the values assigned
to the properties of the employee by placing your cursor over the
property as you press the {F8} key. This method of stepping
through the code is also useful because you see how the program
moves through the class module code.
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The module has hard lined an age and name into a newly created
object called employee. It does nothing more than put up a message
box with the employee's name and age in it to show that the object
took the data. Look at the Employee class module to see the
property and method definitions relating to the employee object.
The declarations in the class module are the properties, and the
procedures in the class module are the methods. VBA even
recognizes them and uses them in the modules with the Intellisense
feature. After you create a new instance of the employee object in a
module and set it, you can see the properties and methods by
typing in the object's name and a period (.). The Intellisense feature
of VBA shows the properties and methods defined in the class
module for employee.
The Special Character for Date and Format
The Date and Format functions return a Variant data type. Because
of this, it is important to either use a string or to wrap a date string
you wish to convert to a date with the special pound symbol (#).
Otherwise, VBA interprets the separator symbols as mathematical
operators. The example below illustrates the differences.
Dim MyDate, ADate, BDate, MyStr As Variant
Adate - 1/27/93
MyStr = Format(ADate, ''Long Date") 'Line #1
BDate = "1/27/93"
MyStr = Format(BDate, "Long Date") 'Line #2
MyDate = #1/27/93#
MyStr = Format(MyDate, "Long Date") 'Line #3
Line #1 returns MyStr as the incorrect date of Saturday, December

30, 1899. This is because the VBA is dividing the numbers in
ADate (getting 3.982477E-04 ), and then the Format function is
converting the number to a date. Line #2 returns MyStr as the
correct date with a value of Wednesday, January 27, 1993. This is
because BDate contains a string value,
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and the Format function will handle a Variant data type containing
a string date. Line #3 also returns MyStr as the correct date with a
value of Wednesday, January 27, 1993. This is because MyDate
uses the special date characters around it, and the Format function
handles a Variant data type containing special date characters.
Collecting a date from a user on a form and converting it can cause
unpredictable results unless you know the data type of the control
you got the data from. A text box will return a string that works
with the Format function, but a listbox value returns a variant, and
it might not be in string format. It is safest to use the special date
characters around data that you collect and want to convert into the
date format with the Format function. You can see the example by
opening the Dates.dvb project supplied on the CD and stepping
through it by calling the PlayDate subroutine in the Immediate
window.
Named and Optional Arguments
First a brief definition of terms. An argument is the data being
passed into a procedure from outside the procedure. A parameter is
the data accepted inside the procedure from the calling procedure.
Most programmers use the terms interchangeably, but they really
apply to the point of view you are taking when discussing the data
passing. Here we are discussing passing in the data, so we are
talking about arguments.
VBA allows you to pass arguments into a procedure (subroutine or
function) by three methods. You can supply the arguments in the
order they are declared in the procedure, by name (in no particular
order), or by a declared optional argument.
Given a sample subroutine called ShowEmp you can see how to
call using the various methods. You can run the sample routine by
opening the Arguments.dvb project supplied on the CD and
copying the samples (supplied as comments in the routine) into the
immediate window. The procedure declaration is shown below and
the declaration is what is needed to explain the concept.
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Public Sub ShowEmp(strName As String, intAge As Integer, dteBirth_
As Date, , optional height as integer)
Passing in the Declared Order

The default way to call the sub-routine would be to call it and pass the argument in the
order you defined them. The call for this method might look like this.
Call ShowEmp ("My Name", 22, #2/3/76#)
Or
ShowEmp "My Name", 22, #2/3/76#
The name is a string in the first position, age is an integer in the second position, and
the birth date is in the third position.
Passing by Name
You can pass the arguments into the procedure by name in any order you wish. The
method is to give the name of the argument in the procedure's declaration followed by a
colon, equal sign, and the value. For the same procedure call to ShowEmp listed above,
the call would look like this:
Call ShowEmp (bDate:=#2/3/76#, Name:="My Name", Age:=22)
Or
ShowEmp Age:=22, bdate:=#2/3/76#, Name:="My Name"
The position of the argument does not matter when you use the named argument
method.
Optional Arguments
The sample routine supplied for the two previous argument methods shows how the
third optional argument method works. Each of the examples shown will work fine
even though the height argument was not present. That is because the Optional
declaration was used for the height argument. When you want to pass the height into
the routine, just add it to the list of arguments.
There is only one rule for optional arguments. They must be declared last in the
procedure's declarations. You can put in as many as you wish as long as they are last in
the list. When you use the optional height argument, your call might appear like this:
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Call ShowEmp ("My Name", 22, #2/3/76#, 72)
Or
ShowEmp Age:=22, bdate:=#2/3/76#, Height:=72, Name:="My Name"
Notice that even though the declaration had to be last in the procedure, the call
does not have to make it last when using named arguments.
Using an Array of Doubles versus a Variant as an Array

VBA for AutoCAD does not allow you to pass an array to a procedure. To quote
Autodesk from its 14.01 Release FAQ statement, ''Support for early binding
requires that all properties of, and arguments to, methods which passed data as
an array must now be passed as a VARIANT. This includes all 2D and 3D
coordinates, which have previously been passed as arrays."
The truth is that while VBA can pass arrays as arguments to procedures without
causing an error, procedures cannot declare arrays in their declaration list. This
can sometimes be a bit confusing because you can define an array in the calling
procedure and pass it into another procedurebut only if you define the incoming
parameter as a Variant. We have illustrated below the way to pass an array to a
procedure.
Dim Pnt(0 To 2) As Double
Dim Ent As Object
Call GetEnt(Ent, Pnt)
Public Sub GetEnt(Ent As Object, Pnt As Variant)
High-level languages such as C use pointers to pass around variables and arrays.
The one trap that you can fall into in VBA is thinking that you can define the
array in the calling procedure and set a variant pointer to it, then pass the pointer
to the called procedure (much like
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in C). This method simply does not work in VBA. Since there is no
pointer capability in VBA, the passed-in variant is treated as the
array, and the original array is never filled. This is because the
variant is passed-in by reference as its own variable and not as a
pointer to the array it was set equal to. This whole process exists
because you cannot pass arrays into procedures imposed by VBA
on the procedure's declaration list. Below we have illustrated a
typical situation of passing a Variant into a procedure. The called
procedure can then use variant as an array and fill it using
subscripts. The filled array is then available in the calling routine
after the called procedure is finished.
Dim Pnt As Variant
Dim Ent As Object
Call GetEnt(Ent, Pnt)
Public Sub GetEnt(Ent As Object, Pnt As Variant)
The Pnt variable contains an array point created by the selection

object. You can access each of the elements in the Pnt variable as
though it was a declared array.
The same problem exists in trying to pass the array back to the
calling procedure. An array cannot be used to receive data from a
procedure. Always use a variant in both the calling procedure and
the called procedure in that situation. The project called Array.dvb
supplied on the CD with this book has three procedures you can
experiment with to see these differences. They are
Pass_Declared_Array
Undeclared_Array
Pass_Undeclared_Array
To check them out, you must load the project and call each one
from the immediate window in the Visual Basic Editor.
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Passing an Array to an Object's Methods

Passing an array to an object's method works great, but it is different from passing one to
a procedure. Some of the Autodesk object methods want an array of doubles passed to
them for holding data (usually a point). Several of the model's utility object methods
want an array of doubles for points. They include:
AnglefromAxis GetAngle
GetCorner GetDistance
GetEntity GetOrientation
PolarPoint TranslateCoordinates
Another AutoCAD model object that uses the array of doubles as an argument for its
method is the Selectionset object. The methods are
SelectAtPoint
SelectByPolygon
SelectOnScreen
There are many more examples in the AutoCAD object model. In general, when a model
object's method needs a point, it needs an array of doubles. We have shown the syntax
for that type of operation below.
Dim ptPick(0 To 2) As Double
ThisDrawing.utility.GetEntity mobjBlockRef,ptPick,''Select a Block"
Collections and Procedures

Collections are similar to arrays but without all of the storage restrictions. You do not
have to declare the size of a collection before using it, and you do not have to change the
declaration of the collection as you add more items. The only restriction placed on you
with collections is that you cannot store user-defined data types in them.
Dim colOne As New Collection
colOne.Add 1
colOne.Add 2
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colOne.Add 3
Dim i As Long
For i = 1 To colOne.Count
Debug.Print ''colOne(" & i; ") = " & colOne.Item(i)
Next i
The above code illustrates how to spin through a collection to

retrieve items. Collections are indexed from 1, not 0, as in an array.
You have a Count property to find out how many items are in the
collection. The Item method allows you to retrieve data from a
collection while the Add and Remove methods allow you to put
data into and delete data from a collection. Below we have
illustrated creating a collection, adding items to it, spinning through
it, and printing the items.
Dim colOne as Collection
Set colOne = New Collection
Passing a collection to another procedure to be loaded is similar to

passing an array, except that you do not need to use a Variant
containing the collection. You can pass the collection directly, and
the procedure will load it. One feature of the collection object is
that you can declare it in one line and initiate it in another. The
example shown above illustrates the one-line method of declaring
and initiating the collection, called colOne, at the same time.
Another method is shown below.
Dim colOne as Collection
Set colOne = New Collection
This ability to split the declaration and initiation of a collection

allows you to pass in a declared and initiated collection or just a
declared collection and let the called procedure load the collection.
Unfortunately, you cannot pass back a collection, so you must
always use an existing collection that is passed in, similar to the
array problem. This is a minor problem and just another trait of the
language. Several collection examples are provided on the CD in
the Collection.dvb project. Run any of the following procedures to
see how collections behave.
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Pass_Collection
Pass_Declared_Collection
Pass_Undeclared_Collection
Return_Collection
You can load the project and run any of the procedures in the immediate window.
The Return_Collection procedure will fail. This is done to illustrate that Collections
cannot be passed back from a function.
Short Circuit Evaluation
Short circuit evaluation is the order the language deals with in a complex condition
statement. In AutoLISP, the language checks the first part of the condition, then
moves on to the next part of the complex statement when the first condition is valid.
This is very convenient: it lets you check to see if a variable has a value bound to it
before you compare it with something in the same line of code. In VBA, you can
either sync the data type for comparison or do everything all on one line of codeor
you can first check to see if the variable exists. Then place the code for the
comparison inside the true condition of the statement. Earlier in the chapter, we gave
you an example of syncing the divergence data type for comparison. That example
allowed you to check on one line of code a variable that might contain a NULL. The
example shown below illustrates the longer way of testing first, then continuing to
process.
Dim groupname As Variant
groupname = frmGroupNames.1stGroupNames.Value
If Not IsNULL groupname Or Len(groupname) > 0 Then ' #1 -
'causes an error
If Not IsNULL groupname ' #2 - first
'see if its null or not
If Len(groupname) > 0 Then ' #2a - now
'check if it has data in it
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The line #1 causes an error in VBA when the variable contains a
NULL because it is an example of short circuit evaluation (which
does not work in VBA). VBA does not stop evaluating the line of
code just because the last thing it evaluated was invalid. In
AutoLISP (different syntax, same principle), it would work
because the language would stop evaluating the line of code when
the groupname was NULL.
Lines 2 and 2a are one way of doing it in VBA. VBA would never
get to the 2a line of code because it would evaluate the line 2 code
and move past the true condition when the variable contained
NULL. The more elegant way of testing was shown in the
divergence data type comparison section, earlier in this chapter.
The bottom line is that when you get an error on your condition
statement of invalid data type, chances are that you have run into
short circuit evaluation. You can solve the problem by the above
example or by syncing the data type as shown in the divergence
data type comparison section of this chapter.
Accessing Objects on the Same Level as Your Current Object

The AutoCAD object model has a hierarchy. The AutoCAD
application is the top object, with everything in it under it. When
you are working with an object and you need to work with another
object on the same level of the hierarchy, you need to specify the
parent object first. Under the application object are the preference
and document objects. While working with the document object,
you can access the Preferences object by explicitly using the
application object in the call to the object. Figure 12.1 illustrates
part of the object model's hierarchy.
The Application object represents the application's frame controls
and path settings and provides the means to navigate down the
object hierarchy. This can be confusing because the application
appears to be under the special object called ThisDrawing, but it is
actually the other way around. ThisDrawing is the special shortcut
name for the document.
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Figure 12.1
AutoCAD Object Model
Given the following code, you could access the preferences while
working on the document (same level).
Dim preferences As AcadPreferences
Set preferences = ThisDrawing.Application.Preferences
Dim strConfigFile As string

strConfigFile = preferences.ConfigFile 'line #1
The code in the example sets the AcadPreferences object to the

Preferences object by starting from the document (ThisDrawing), and
moving up the hierarchy to the application object, then down to the
Preferences object, which is at the same level as the document object.
It can then access any object under the Preferences object as shown in
line #1. You can see how the object path is going up and then back
down by reviewing the object model. Using the explicit definition of
the whole object trail or using the With statement allows you to access
any object in the object model at any time.
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Listbox Columns
Listbox columns are one of those things that you would think
obvious, but even intermediate level programmers can stumble on
it the first time. It's not hard, but columns in lists are very flexible,
and you can do many things with them. For example:
You can have up to ten columns in a listbox.
Columns can be different sizes.
Columns can be hidden.
You can specify which column will return a value on selection.
You can load data into the columns or specify a two-dimensional
array that is linked to the listbox and its columns.
You can create a column header within the listbox.
Multiple Columns
Creating the columns in a listbox is easy. Simply enter how many
columns you want into the ColumnCount property of the listbox
object.
Column Size
Controlling the width and visibility of the columns is not as
obvious, even though there is a ColumnWidth property on the
listbox. The ColumnWidth property uses points per inch (much like
a font) to measure the width. When you set a column position to 0,
the column is not shown. If you do not specify a width, the default
is to split up the columns into equal sizes. The minimum size is 72
points, but you can make them smaller. A sample of column widths
for a listbox with three columns is shown below.
ColumnWidth | 40 pt; 40 pt; 40
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It should be noted that you could use inches instead of points in the
above example. Consult your VBA online help for ColumnWidths
to see a more detailed discussion of this property.
Column Visibility
To make the second column invisible the ColumnWidths property
would be set as shown below.
Listbox Column Specification
One of the nice features of using columns in a listbox is the ability
to access any of the columns on a selected item. You can set the
BoundColumn property of the listbox to the column number you
want values from when an item is selected in the listbox. This
works even when the BoundColumn is set to a column that the user
can't see! This allows you to build a two-dimensional array in
which one element of the array is visible to the user but the other
isn't. When the user selects from their visible list, you can use the
invisible list to process the data item. This is a great feature for
things like associating a color in English that the user sees, but
processing the associated color number behind the scenes.
Loading Listbox Columns
There are three methods for loading listbox columns. Actually,
only one example is a method; the other two are properties of the
listbox. They are
AddItem
List
Column
AddItem Method
The AddItem method allows you to add data to a single column or
multiple columns in a listbox. Given a listbox called
lstItemWindow with a ColumnCount of 1, the code to load an array
of data into the listbox would look like that shown below.
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Dim intI As Integer
With IsItemWindow
For intI = 0 To UBound(SampleArray)
.AddItem SampleArray(intI, 0)
Next intI
End With
To add data to multiple columns (after changing the ColumnCount to 2) using

the AddItem method, the code would look like that shown below.
Dim intI As Integer
With IsItemWindow
For intI = 0 To UBound(SampleArray)
.AddItem SampleArray(intI, 0)
Column(1,.ListCount - 1) = SampleArray(intI, 1)
Next intI
End With
Notice that the only difference between the single loading example and the one
for two columns is the line of code marked in italic. You must first use the
AddItem method to put the data into the first column, then immediately use the
Column property to add the next piece of data.
List and Column Properties
Both of the above AddItem examples use a two-dimensional array (previously
constructed and loaded). There are two different properties of the listbox that
allow you to link a two-dimensional array directly to a listbox without having
to load each item individually. The List property is just one line of code as
shown below.
1stListWindow.List = SampleArray 'load using list property
Just setting the listbox property equal to the array is enough to access all of the
data in the array. The Column property behaves the same way
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except for the fact that it inverts the X,Y of the array to Y,X. When you
have need of this feature, you should use the column property instead of
the List property. The load would look like that shown below.
1stColumnWindow.Column = SampleArray 'load using Column
property
Column Headers
Column headers are available when you set the ColumnHeads property of
the listbox to True. But they will work only with a rowsources attached.
This is not a feature that can be currently used with AutoCAD.
To review the various column features, you can open the Columns.dvb
project (supplied with this book) and run the ColumnSamples macro.
Multiselect in a Listbox
There are three types of selection you can use in a listbox:
fmMultiSelectSingle to select a single item at a time.
fmMultiSelectSingle to select multiple items one at a time.
fmMultiSelectSingle to select multiple items in groups using the shift key.
Single item selection is the default, but you can select any of the three
using the MultiSelect property of the listbox. The supplied sample project
Columns.dvb has three list boxes on the form. The left one is a single
select box, the middle one is a multiselect box, and the right one is an
extended multiselect box. To review the various multiselect features, you
can open the Columns.dvb project (supplied with this book) and run the
ColumnSamples macro. After loading some data into the boxes, try
selecting in each box to see the difference in how they work.
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Variable Name Shortcuts

VBA has the ability to recognize the old Basic shortcut variable
naming conventions (type-declaration characters). This is very
advantageous for those programmers who already know the
shortcuts but very confusing for those who don't want to dump a
portion of their childhood from memory just to memorize them.
The shortcuts are cryptic and hard to understand unless you know
them or have a chart. An example of the type-declaration character
in an Integer is the percent sign (%). This is counterproductive
during programming or maintenance. It is better to spend your time
working on the design of the program than trying to understand a
cryptic variable data type. It is best not to use the old shortcuts for
these reasons. Programmers maintain code much more than they
create new code (just like editing in AutoCAD is done more than
creating new geometry). Why add extra effort to deciphering the
code?
Command Line Workaround
This section is provided because VBA in AutoCAD Release 14
was a younger implementation in AutoCAD, and not all objects
were exposed yet. Because of this, you actually need a command
line workaround for dealing with objects that are not in the VBA
object model yet.
Autodesk said it couldn't be done, so naturally we had to find out
how to do it. (We must give credit where it is due to Andy Baron
and Mike Gunderloy of Application Developers. They researched
and wrote the code that makes it possible to use the command line
from a VBA application.) We also need to stress that you should
not use this workaround for anything other than non-supported
objects in VBA. The example provided is for external references.
VBA for AutoCAD Release 14 does not have an Xref object,
thereby limiting it from working with external references. It is one
of the few legitimate reasons for having access to the command
line from VBA at this time, and it is the main reason this section is
included in this book.
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The Problem
The linkage code in VBA behaves much like a DDE linkage in VB
on the surface. There is no way to monitor what's happening on the
command line. You are stuck with jamming a command down the
pipeline and hoping for the best. To further complicate the matter,
you cannot work around the problem like you can in VB because
while VBA is running, the command you sent down the pipeline is
not executed. It happens only when VBA is done.
In VB with DDE, a common method was to stay in a loop until a
semaphore was set. You would launch the code to AutoCAD, then
switch to a wait state subroutine looking for the semaphore. The
launched code would set the semaphore as the last thing it did and
your wait state code in VB would see the change and allow the
program to continue. This worked because VB was in its own
memory pool, not AutoCAD's, and it did not have to close down to
run the command. Because the command will not run until the
VBA macro ends, you cannot put VBA into a wait state looking for
a semaphore. It would just hang there since the semaphore would
never get set because the launched code would not run until VBA
stopped. A perfect catch-22. Fortunately, there is a solution.
The Solution
The supplied project called Commands.dvb has a sendcommand
macro definition that illustrates how you can use the workaround.
The workaround in VBA is to send one string to AutoCAD to be
processed and tack on the AutoLISP (command ''-vbarun"
"sendcommand") line at the end of whatever code you're sending
down the pipeline. The result is that VBA sends the command and
dies. Then the command line is executed in AutoCAD, and the last
line of the stream is the call to load the 'sendcommand' macro
again. To use this in production would mean that you would need
to save the variable state in VBA before closing down and restore it
again when starting up (a simple enough procedure using the
registry or a temporary file).
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This solution is not pretty and needs testing to determine if it blows
the command stack or causes any other memory problemsbut it
does work.
Passing Forms and Controls as Parameters

A small problem arises when you want to access the information of
a form or control when not in the form's module. You can't directly
do it. You must pass the form or control into the procedure to
access its properties and methods from any other module than the
form's module. While VBA doesn't pass arrays into procedures, it
does allow you to pass objects. The form and its controls are all
objects. The rule of thumb is to pass the form when you want to
access any of its controls or pass a specific control when you want
to just work with it.
Occasionally, you may even pass in both. The project file
Control.dvb (on supplied CD) has an example of this situation in
the Tabs procedure of the BasGlobal module. The form is passed in
to allow the procedure to spin through all of the controls on the
form, but an individual control (a multipage control) is passed in
for quick access to its properties. The routine could just as easily
have been written to accept the form and the multipage's name.
Then the code would have had to find the requested control as it
spun through the various controls of the passed-in form. One
technique is not any better than the otherthey are just different
ways of approaching the design. The syntax of the procedure
taking a form and control is
Public Sub Tabs(Form As UserForm, Ctrl As Control)
One problem that arises when trying to manipulate a form or its

controls from a procedure that is outside the form's module is that
you don't get the benefit of the Intellisense design feature in the
outside module as you design. This means that you need to know
the object's properties and methods to access them (no hints as you
type). One method of getting around this problem is to design the
module inside the form procedure and then move it over to the
support module. Naturally, you will
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need to make adjustments after the move, but these are minor
compared with trying to work without that great Intellisense crutch.
Another thing to remember about the design mode is that the
Properties window doesn't always show all of the object's
properties. Some properties are present only at runtime and are not
in the window at design time. This little fact can drive you to
distraction when designing. You know that there was a property but
it is not on the list. That's why it is important to use the online help
and the object browser.
Multipage Form Controls
The multipage form control has the ability to have more than one
tab. You organize your various other form controls on the different
tabs you create, and you can access them from anywhere in the
form module. This fact allows you to be creative with controls on
various pages of a multipage control. You can collect data from
controls on different pages or process only pages you want. Since
the multipage control is part of a page collection, you can get a
count of how many pages are on the control and move around the
pages by accessing the page names or the index number
corresponding to the page you want. The ability to use the page
name is a collection feature that arrays do not have. The
Control.dvb project (on supplied CD) has examples of the
techniques for using the multipage control.
Conclusion
Even if you are an experienced VB programmer, you should have
found one or two tips in this chapter that you didn't know before.
These solutions and tips are all based on fighting through these
problems directly. We hope your adventures in VBA will be all the
more enjoyable with these road hazards and features off to the side
called out in advance and out of the way.
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Chapter Thirteen
Programming Style
Style is always a difficult subject to broach because everyone
believes that his or her system is the best. Still, there are many
things about programming style that programmers can agree upon.
The reason we need a common style is so anyone trying to
maintain our code can read it and understand it. Whether you write
for multiple clients, or in-house for your company, or at home to
make your projects run more quickly, it is best to follow some
simple guidelines for your code. Good style code always has the
following guidelines in common. Some of the important common
guidelines are:
The code is always well commented.
The code is kept concise and simple.
Repetitive actions are placed in their own subroutines or functions.
Variables are defined within the proper scope, precedence, and life.
All modules have error trapping.
We can look at these common guidelines in detail in the following
pages. Whole books have been written on the subjectand this
chapter just covers some of the more common guidelines.
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Commenting Your Code

On the surface, commenting on code may seem to be a common sense practice but you
would be amazed at how programmers interpret this subject. Some ignore it and do not
comment at all, others comment only at the beginning of a section of code, and others
comment every line. Not commenting your code at all is an open invitation to disaster. No
matter how good you are, failing to comment the code will lead to confusion when you are
maintaining your program later. While there is no right or wrong way to commenting (as
long as you do comment some), comments can be taken to extremes. If you make too few
comments, you can end up with code that looks good to you while you are writing the
program, but six months later, you might be lost on why you did something. On the other
hand, if you comment too much, your commenting can result in cluttered code that is
difficult to read and maintain.
The comments themselves can also create clarity or confusion. There are at least two types
of comments. The first is a comment on the design of the code. That is, why you did what
you did or how you approached the program's design in this particular section. An example
of this type of comment is shown below.
' Public Function Position_recordset(ByRef dcData As Control) As Long
' Note: dcData must be a control of type ''Data Access"
' This function is needed because the record count is not
accurate until you do a movelast and movefirst on the
' recordset. This causes a problem when there are no records in
the set. This function passes back the record
' count as a long. An example of the function call would be:
' Data1.Recordsource = "SQL statement here"
' Data1.Refresh
' Dim Reccount As Long
' Reccount = Position_recordset(Data1)
' If Reccount > 0 Then
' do your work on the recordset here. . . .
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' Else
' Msgbox ''No records found".
' end if
end function
The above code example tells the future programmer about the incoming argument and why
the function was created. It even gives an example of how to use the function in the calling
program. All of the comments are placed at the head of the function and are sometimes
referred to as header comments. Because of these comments, any programmer can
understand the nature of the function and plug it into any program by copying and pasting
the example code into the program to use it.
The other type of comment is the comment that tries to clarify the action of the code. One
way to use this comment is on condition statements and loops. An example of this type of
comment is shown below.
' The following code loops through all entries in the selection
set and assigns the xdata to each entity.
Dim ent As Object
For Each ent In sset 'For each entity in the selection set
ent.SetXData xdataType, xdata 'assign the xdata to the entity
Next ent
The above comments clarify what the loop is going to do. Some programmers mistakenly
think that each line in the program needs this type of comment. That isn't true (although, we
sometimes do it when commenting code for a book or article). Simple coding like setting a
variable or declaring a variable is so common that all programmers know what you are
doing; and commenting on it is unnecessary and clutters up the code. Occasionally, you
might comment on the declaration of a variable or its usage when it is not obvious why it is
being used or where it was created (if it seems out of scope). It's perfectly all right to do this
when this happens. However, you need to keep out of those situations as much as possible
because it makes it hard to understand the code when you or someone else is in maintenance
mode.
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Another example of action commenting is when you are filling in some data that you feel
might need better explaining for anyone who's working on the code later. An example of this
type of action comment is shown below. A discussion of the scope and life of a variable is
included later in this chapter.
' The following two variable definitions must be arrays of the
same size.
' The first variable holds integer values that define the types of
the data in the second variable. The first value
' (index 0) of one variable maps to the same index of the other
variable.
Dim xdataType(0 To 1) As Integer 'Define xdataType for the data types
Dim xdata(0 To 1) As Variant 'Define xdata for the data values
' The following variable assignments define the values for each
array.
xdataType(0) = 1001 '1001 indicates the RegApp name
xdata(0) = appName 'RegApp name string value
xdataType(1) = 1000 '1000 indicates a string value
xdata(10 = xdataStr 'Xdata string value
The example shown above clarifies the data type and other type of data being placed into the
arrays. Notice that even in a situation where the comments are helpful, comments on every
line make the code look cluttered. One way of making sure the clutter is at a minimum is to
use tabs and align the comments. This is a common practice and helps a lot with the look of
the code. Perhaps the single best reason to comment your code is that even though a program
might be a couple of lines long, it will someday have to be read and maintained by someone
else.
Keeping Code Concise and Simple
You would think that keeping code concise and simple would be common sense items, but
programmers often abused them. When your code starts running on, page after page, it
becomes hard to decipher and
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maintain. It is better to divide the code into subroutines or
functions and call them as needed. This shortens the routine you're
in and makes it easier to read. Some programmers argue that this
method can actually make it harder to read the code. While this can
happen, it is better to comment the action of the call to the
subroutine and move on. With good comments, it does become
easier to read the code (but not always easier to maintain). A good
rule of thumb is to keep routines no longer than one paper page
(about forty lines of code) long. This makes it easy to print out the
code when needed for review. Younger programmers are using
paper less and less as they have gotten used to the screen and the
search mechanisms in the editors. Many programmers that have
been around for a while still like to print out the code for review.
This is a matter of convenience; however you choose to go about it,
but by following the rule, your code is simple to read by either
group.
Experienced programmers sometimes laugh at simple code. They
seem to feel that because it is simple it is not useful or they feel the
need to show off their expertise with the language. This is nice for
the ego but terrible for the programmers who follow and must
maintain the code. It is far better to write a simple piece of elegant
code than to write code that is complex for its own sake. The
average programmer can maintain simple code, and the average
programmer is always the bulk of the programmers out there. An
example of code differences in VBA is collections and arrays.
Microsoft would rather we used the new paradigm of collections to
hold lists of items, but most programmers who have been around
for a long time and used VB or BASIC know how to use arrays for
that type of activity. Collections have a clear advantage over arrays
because they do not have to be declared as a specific length, and
you do not have to re-dimension them on the fly when you add data
from a data list of an unknown length (thus making them simpler
than arrays). However, using an array is more common and
therefore easier to maintain by a greater number of programmers.
Some programmers will argue (rightfully so) that all programmers
should understand the language to that depth, and they will use the
collection instead of the array to do the
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work. The thing to remember in that situation is to comment the
process for later maintenance.
Knowing when to use a complex or a simple piece of code is
important and, in certain situations, it can drive how you code. The
example of collections and arrays is a good illustration of this
problem. A common use of arrays in AutoCAD is to hold a point.
The X, Y, Z points are stored in the array and referenced by their
position in the array. This process in this situation is actually more
complex using a collection. Using an array (usually the more
complex code) is better because the collection is more complex to
code, understand, and maintain in this simple situation.
Proper Use of Subroutines and Functions

Subroutines and functions (procedures) are the mechanisms used to
create concise code in your program. Subroutines and functions are
treated the same in VBA except that functions return information
while subroutines don't. If you have experience coding procedural
languages (such as AutoLISP), you still should have been doing
something like this by creating modules to make your code more
concise. Whenever you have repetitive code that is going to be
used more than once in a program, you should place it in a
procedure. The exception to this rule is when the code is just one
line of code. Then it doesn't make much sense to do it unless you
are adjusting how the code returns information (a function).
An example of a subroutine that might perform a repetitive task is a
routine for reading information in from a file. The routine would
take the desired location, file name, and a variant pointer to a
collection or array and fill the object with the information in the
file. Your passing routine would only check to see if the object has
any information in it after the call and before continuing the
processing. The subroutine would not pass back the object; it
would just fill it out when the file was found.
An example of a function that might perform a repetitive task
would be a parsing function. This function would take a string, a
delimiter, and
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a position and return the string found at the position requested from
the string sent using the delimiter provided. The function takes up
about twenty lines of code, but you can use it over and over again
in the main program. Each call in the main program is just one line
of code instead of twenty. This makes the program more concise
and easier to maintain. You know that the function works the same
every time: and the only problem could be that you request
something that is beyond the length of the string (which should be
trapped for in the function). The whole program becomes easier to
understand and maintain.
Scope, Precedence, and Life of Variables
All programming languages have variables. How you work with
them determines, in part, your programming style. Scope,
precedence, and life of a variable are there in some form in every
programming language. Scope of a variable is where that variable
is available to be used. Precedence of a variable is which scope
declaration wins in a given situation when VBA encounters a
variable declared in multiple procedures. Life of a variable is how
long that variable exists within the scope. Each language has a
different way of treating the scope of the variable, the precedence,
and how long it lives within that scope. The AutoLISP language
'declares' scope in the function definition. When you list the
variable to the right of the slash in the parenthesis, the variable is
available only inside that function. Any information bound to that
variable is lost when the function is done running (that is, at the
end of its life). You can change the life of the variable by
unbinding it before the scope ends. Then the life is less than the
scope. When a variable is not listed in the function's definition, it
stays in scope as long as you are in AutoCAD (this started in
AutoCAD Release 14 with the ability to define persistent
AutoLISP variables) or until you exit the drawing. The variable is
commonly referred to as a global variable in this situation.
Precedence takes place when you declare the same variable name
in both the calling routine and in the subroutine. The declaration on
the local level always has
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precedence over any other declaration. That means that the variable
inside the local routine will not change the value of the same
named variable in the calling routine.
In VBA, you have even more possibilities for scope definition.
VBA has forms (actually they are special Class Modules), Modules
and Class Modules. Where you place the definition of the variable
makes its scope, precedence, and life different. A variable defined
in a form is available only to routines in that form. To make it even
more complex, there are many different types of variable
definitions you can make. There are Public, Global, Private, Const,
Dim, and Static variable definitions. They can be placed in the
declaration area of the form or in subroutines and functions of the
form. To complicate things further, you can place these definitions
in other modules or class modules and still make them available to
the routines in the form! The relationship of the variable scope
within modules of VBA can be illustrated using the diagram shown
in Figure 13.1.
Figure 13.1
Scope, Precedence, and Life example
Several of the declarations shown in the diagram are illegal, and
VBA will stop you from using them by stopping the compilation
and telling you that the variable is already declared within the
current scope. We have shown them to illustrate the scope
concepts. A couple of rules for declarations are:
Use Private instead of Dim in the Declaration section.
Static can be declared only at the Procedure level.
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In a standard module, Public is the default scope when none is specified.
In a class module, Private is the default scope when none is specified.
You can experiment with the concepts by opening the Scope.dvb project
(on supplied CD) and running the various buttons on the form. Table 13.1
illustrates how scope is affected when you declare the variable in Figure
13.1 and how the precedence works within the scope.
Table 13.1: Scope of the variables.
ProcedureResults
Program D is set to 33 for any procedure in the Form.
Initiation
ProcedureDim A is illegal in the current scope. You can't declare it since it is
One already declared as a Public variable in the Form. Remove the Dim
statement and proceed.
A is then set to 3 for any procedure in the Form.
B is set to 4 for any procedure in the Form.
ProcedureC is not declared in the Form. An error occurs. Declare C or remove the
Two C = statement.
A is set to 20 for any procedure in the Form.
B is 7 for any procedure in the Form.
D is set to 11 for any procedure in the Module. It is set to 33 for any
procedure in the Form.
ProcedureA is set to 4 for any procedure in the Module but not in the Form.
Three
B is illegal because it is not declared anywhere in the Module and it is
private to the Form.
C is set to 6 for any procedure in the Module but not in the Form.
D is set to 55 for any procedure in the Module but not in the Form.
ProcedureA is set to 12 the first time the procedure runs, 24 the second time, 36 the
Four third time, and so on.
B is illegal in the Module because it is never declared in the Module and
is private in the Form.
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To check the life of the variables, you can put a watch on the variable (use the
variable in the declaration) and see how the variable changes (or doesn't
change) as you move through each procedure. Each procedure has a stop placed
in it so you can set up your watches, and then step through each line, one line at
a time, using the {F8} key.
Error Trapping
Another critical style item is error trapping. Just when you think you have the
program bullet-proof, a brain-dead user comes along and breaks it. Who's
wrong in that situation, the user for trying something out of the ordinary or the
programmer who didn't anticipate the potential problem? Sorrythe programmer
is the correct answer. You should develop a style of programming that includes
error trapping in every module. This brings up another style item. Good object-
oriented programming means having only one point to enter a procedure and
one point to exit a procedure. Error trapping has to be considered as part of this
one-point entry and exit style. An example of one-point entry and exit and error
trapping is shown below.
Public Sub ErrorTest1()
Dim FileName As String
FileName = ''c:\"
On Error GoTo HandleErr
'all work goes here
FileLen (FileName)
ExitHere:
Exit Sub
HandleErr:
Select Case Err.Number
Case 53
Msgbox "File" & FileName & "not found.,_
vbOKOnly + vbExclamation
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Case Else
'Call a generic last-
ditch error handler
Call HandleErrors
End Select
Resume ExitHere
End Sub
This typical error trapping code can be installed into any routine
and modified for the type of errors expected. It uses the select
statement and labels to control the flow of the program after an
error is encountered. Notice how everything leads to the ExitHere
label whether an error is encountered or not. Situations can occur in
which it seems pointless to include code of this type, but it is good
practice to include it anyway as you never know when a procedure
might be expanded. Notice that there is a trap for errors that are not
specifically handled by the routine. That trap calls a subroutine that
passes along the regular error message to the user but allows them
to keep working. Certain critical errors will still bomb the program,
but in most cases it is a graceful way to trap an error. It also
emphasizes the fact that you must do error handling in each
procedure, but you can call out to other subroutines once you have
trapped the error in the procedure. An error-trapping example is
supplied on the CD called 'Errors.dvb'. You can experiment with it
to walk though the code and see how the error handler works.
Do You Need to Change Your Programming Style for VBA?
Whether you need to change your programming style for VBA all
depends on how you have been programming up until now. If your
style already includes the points discussed in this chapter, then you
probably don't need to change much. This assumes that you have
already been programming in an event- driven language such as
VBA. If you have been writing code in a procedure- driven
language, like AutoLISP, it
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could be a different story. You could have been doing all of the
things listed in this chapter and still have to change your
programming style. That is because event-driven programming
requires a different programming approach than procedural-driven
programming does. The differences are discussed later in this
chapter, but you need to understand that the difference is enough to
revisit these issues in a new light.
One common habit to avoid in your programming style is the use
of global variables. This can be a very tempting trap because it is
something you can declare once and then you don't have to worry
about the darn things again. When you do this, the issue of scope,
precedence, and life comes into play, and you have the added
problem of some routine changing a value of a global variable
when you don't expect it. The better approach is to use global
variables to define constants but pass arguments to routines for
processing. The routines can then declare variables locally and
process the passed argument. This is a good rule of thumb, but like
any general rule you will have exceptions where it is compelling to
use a global variable. Don't be afraid to use global variable; just
keep them to a minimum for maintenance's sake.
It is important to know that Error handling in VBA is hierarchical
in nature. That means that an error will be trapped by the first
routine that has error handling in it. If an error occurs in your
routine, and there is no trapping in your routine, the error is passed
up to the calling routine. If that routine does not have error
trapping, the program will keep handing up the error to the calling
routines until it reaches the topmost routine. If that routine does not
handle the error, VBA handles it (and this is not always pretty).
Event-Driven versus Procedural-Driven Language
The biggest difference between event- driven and procedural-
driven programming languages is finding your code in the event-
driven program. Naturally, this is from the point of view of a
procedural language programmer who has to switch to a language
such as VBA. When you
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stop and think about it, it really is not all that different. A very
complex procedural language program that has been divided into
modules can be as difficult to read as any event-driven program.
Procedural languages are linear in nature. The program has one
starting point and continues one line after another until the end of
the program. You can place calls to subroutines, but there is always
a main program that drives everything.
Event-driven languages (like VBA) are different because they can
have a common starting point (the loading of a form), but they
don't necessarily have to start with a form. You can select from a
list of subroutines to start from whether a form is present or not.
Once a form is loaded, the program waits for you to select
something on the form. When you select something on the form, it
triggers an event and the code associated with that event. The
associated code can then call other subroutines or just process and
return to the wait state of the form or end the program. There are
lots of options for just one event on one form.
Event-driven language is further complicated by the fact that you
can place all of the procedures in the form module or you can
separate them into multiple modules. This has a direct effect on
your style. What is best? That is a hard question to answer. This
subject is much like the layer and file naming argument that has
been around for years among AutoCAD users. Everyone has an
opinion and a standard; therefore there is no standard. Probably the
best solution is to separate your code in a systematic fashion. Keep
the form module holding any event code for the form. Create at
least one support module that contains routines that support the
form's routines. You can split up the support routines into multiple
modules if you like. A common method of splitting support
modules is to have a global module for generic support routines
and other modules for supporting things like registry, database,
MAPI, and Window API calls. This allows you to have support
modules that you can plug and play into any project. Many of the
support modules in this book follow that method of splitting
support files.
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The Hungarian Naming Convention

Naming conventions have always driven would-be programmers
and CAD drafters to the edge of sanity. Whether they're discussing
layers, file names, form controls, or variables, it is a hotly debated
issue. About the only thing people can seem to agree on is that we
need a standard naming convention. In VBA, it is important that
you adopt some standardized way of labeling the various
components in the program. This is not just for variables: but the
form's controls and even procedure names should be standardized.
Many programmers have adopted a variation of the Hungarian
naming convention. One of the original ways of naming program
components was developed by Charles Simonyi (a Hungarian, thus
the name). Most programmers take the basic idea and adjust it for
their own styles. As long as the standard is consistently applied to
the program, it makes the program easier to read and maintain. It
all boils down to making variable names, form controls, and
procedures reflect their data type (for variables) and what they do.
This can often lead to long variable, form control, and procedure
names, but it is worth the extra effort when you go to debug a
problem or maintain an old piece of code. The following section
documents some of the conventions used in the example code in
this book.
Variables
Tacking on the data type of the variable as a prefix to the variable
name makes it easier to identify what should be in the variable
when you're debugging a problem. Finding an unexpected data
type in a variable can lead to solving a problem much more quickly
than having to guess at something that looks correct but isn't. Table
13.2. shows a standard you can adopt.
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Table 13.2: Variable prefix tags
Prefix Tag Object Type
Byt Byte
Bol Boolean
Cur Currency
Dtm Date
Dbl Double
Int Integer
Lng Long
Obj Object
Sng Single
Str String
Var Variant
Using the above examples, a few typical variable names would be:
BolAnswer for a true/false variable
VarField for a variant type
Lngx for a long counter
StrLine for a string
Use explicit data type definition at all times in conjunction with the
naming conventions. Never assume that the programmer reading
your code knows the short cuts or understands the implicit defaults
of a variable's data type definition. Some explicit data type
definitions are below:
Dim bolAnswer as Boolean
Dim varField as Variant
Dim lngX as Long
Dim strLine as string
bolAnswer = True
VarField = ''"
lngX = 0
strLine = ""
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Constants
Keeping track of constants is relatively easy. Tack 'con' on to the
front of the constant. You can add a tag for class modules if you are
worried about constants conflicting between modules. You could
use 'usr' for a user class with a 'c' tacked on after for the class
distinction before the constant tag.
conPi for Pi
usrcError123 for an error handler
User-Ddefined TTypes and CClasses

Make the prefix based upon what the class or user type does. If the
user-defined type is for a bitmap, you might use 'bit' as the prefix.
bitImage
Collections
The data type of the collection should be used as the prefix with an
's' following. This may seem strange at first glance but when the
final name is constructed you see that the 's' makes the name reflect
that the object is plural and contains many items.
intsEnties
Form Controls
Here you have two choices. You could use just the control type as a
prefix or you could combine it with the data type that the control
will hold. An example of the combination prefix would be:
txtstrFilenamefor a text edit file containing a string
filename
btncmdOK for an OK command button
The different types of common VBA form controls are listed in

Table 13.3. Many other third-party controls exist, and you can be
adapt them to the naming convention.
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Table 13.3: Control tags
Prefix tTag Object tType
ani Animation
btn Button
hdr Column header
ctl Controls
frm Form
iml Image list
lim List Image
lit List Item
lvw List View
nod Node in treeview
pnl Status bar panel
prb Progress bBar
sld Slider
sbr Status bar
tab Tab
tbr Tab strip
tvw Tree view
upd Up down
Procedures
VBA names the event procedures for the formand you can't change
them (or the code wouldn't work). User-named procedures should
have the first letter of each word capitalized:
CmdOK_Click
RightToken
Chk_Plural
Fatal_Error
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Modules
Since modules are Visual Basic modules, use 'bas' as a prefix for
the module names. This also solves a problem in VBA that is not
present in VB programs. VBA does not allow a module called
Global. By adding the prefix, you get 'basGlobal', which is legal in
VBA.
basRegistry
basDatabase
basMAPI
basWindows
Conclusion
As you can see by the material covered in this chapter, style is a
complex subject. Entire books have been written on it. The material
presented here was designed to stimulate your interest in the
subject. There are several good books on the market covering
programming style in much more depth than a single chapter can.
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Chapter Fourteen
Class Modules and Objects
There are objects everywhere in programming these days.
Understanding the different types of objects can be daunting to a
programmer who doesn't have experience with them. In general, an
object is a container that is used to store data, to maintain data, and
(on certain types of objects) to respond to events. This chapter will
explore the use of custom classes in VBA. Specifically, we are
going to show how to create our own objects, and how we can
manipulate these objects into programming tools that greatly
enhance our ability as programmers to produce good applications.
Not All Objects Are Equal

All the entities in the AutoCAD database are objects. There are
entity objects, collection objects, and so forth. The repeated use of
the term object can get confusing when talking about
programmingespecially if you are new to object-oriented
programming in the first place. One area of confusion in
AutoCAD-based programming is that there are two types of
objects.
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The first type is a programming object that helps you in the
program by organizing data and maintaining it. VBA allows you to
create programming objects inside the program using the class
module. Objects created in this manner have properties and
methods; however, this type of object cannot contain event trigger
definitions. We will see how to create an object after we see what is
different between this kind of object and an AutoCAD object.
The second type of object is an AutoCAD object that is stored in
the drawing database. AutoCAD objects are already defined: all
you can do as an applications developer is manipulate them as they
exist. That is, you can call the existing methods to change the
properties of the objects. An important difference between this type
of object and program objects is that AutoCAD objects can contain
event triggers. Using event triggers, the objects from the AutoCAD
database can behave under your program's control but still maintain
the integrity of the database system.
Objects that you create in your own programming cannot contain
event triggers. That is, you cannot teach AutoCAD to respond to
some new event. Instead, you can use only those event triggers that
are supplied. Now, you could have an event trigger run one of your
object methods, and once we learn how to create our own objects
we will explore that concept a little.
The VBA Class Module
Creating a new object in VBA means that you must define a new
class module. A VBA class module is a programmer-defined object
that has properties (stores data) and methods (maintains the data).
This is a very handy tool for programming because you can build
all of the tedious programming for storing data and maintaining it
into the class module (one-time coding).
When defining a class, you define all of the functions, subroutines,
and data elements as either public (the default) or private. When
defined as private, the function or variable can be accessed only by
other rou-
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tines inside the class definition. That is, when you use a copy of the
class definition, the application using the class can access only
those elements defined as public. Private items inside the class
object definition are off-limits to the application. Instead, the
private items are modular subroutines within the class definition
that are used exclusively by the class routines.
After a class module (object) is defined, you use the object's
definition to create instances of the object as needed. When a
variable is dimensioned, one of the data types availablealong with
all otherswill be the new class name. An application can then use
the object by supplying data and manipulating it via the methods
defined in the class module. The application keeps track of the
instances of the objects and not the lower level of any arrays or
collections that the object contains for maintaining and storing the
data. This makes the application program cleaner and easier to
maintain.
The remainder of this chapter presents examples of custom classes
and the code used to manipulate them. The CD that accompanies
this book contains the source code for the projects, and you should
reference it to see the code. You are welcome to manipulate these
projects further to meet your own requirements. As you will see,
the development of a class module is simple. Because it allows you
to better organize your data, it will also repay you later. That is,
when you're updating and changing code your application may
require in the future, you will find that objects make the job much
easier. Most often the only thing standing between a programmer
and the definition of custom classes is that the terminology is
confusing. Much like recursion and other advanced programming
concepts, these ideas are easy to confuse, but once you understand
them, they are very basic and simple to use.
Let's look at a custom object definition. The problem is, there are
no truly simple examples. So please try to keep up as we explore a
couple of examples that you will find both useful and instructional
for understanding how VBA can be used to customize AutoCAD.
While we're exploring these examples, we will present more
information about
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objects in general, so you should read through them even if you
think the application presented is of no interest to your operations.
The first example deals with extended data. Extended data attached
to AutoCAD objects is considered the domain of programmers
only. AutoCAD operations cannot access extended data without a
tool like the one presented in this chapter. For most installations,
this project is really only of use to the developers of custom
applications, although it does demonstrate how easy something like
extended data can become through the use of objects. The project
also demonstrates the use of tabbed forms in VBA.
The next example deals with a simple production drawing problem
of creating a hole chart. This routine will accept circles as input
and display a chart sorting the circle data by diameter, then the X,
then the Y location. Establishing hole types and labels further
refines the hole chart information. Once you update the hole data
list, it can be redrawn using the drawing rules in the custom
objects. This project also demonstrates how to create a drawn chart
given a collection of data.
Once you understand and appreciate the concepts behind custom
objects, you will wonder how you developed sophisticated
applications without them.
Objects Example 1
Extended Data Manipulations
This project presents a utility for manipulating extended data in a
drawing. Extended data is attached to drawing objects and consists
of lists of nongraphic data. In VBA, extended data is manipulated
in the form of two arrays. The first array contains a coded type
stored as an integer. The second array contains variable data types
ranging from strings, doubles, and integers to entity handles.
Manipulating extended data in VBA is somewhat cumbersomeit
involves many loops through the arrays along with other
processing tricks. The idea was to create an object that manipulates
extended data in a fashion that makes it easier to build an
application using extended data. After that, the next question was
how
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to present this object to readers in a fashion that was both
interesting and somewhat useful. From that perspective the
extended data editor project idea originated.
A word of caution is needed: Extended data is used by specific
applications and normally hidden from the casual AutoCAD
operator. Only under programmatic control can you get at the
extended data elements. The purpose of the example project is to
allow an advanced operator or programmer to explore the extended
data that can be found in a drawing. When the project is run, a
dialog box appears that allows you to select AutoCAD objects.
When the object selected contains extended data, it is displayed in
the dialog box for the operator's subsequent edits. This utility
should not be provided to most AutoCAD operators, as any
changes they make to the extended data will most likely end up
disabling the application that uses the data.
Getting back to programming, there is no object for extended data
in AutoCAD VBA. Instead, AutoCAD VBA provides variant
arrays for access into the extended data. There are two arrays. The
first contains group code values that help decipher the value in the
same array location of the second. By using an object to both store
and manipulate the extended data information we can greatly
simplify our programming effort concerning extended data.
Consider the fact that any application that needs to manipulate the
extended data must spin through the arrays working with multiple
data types. Why not program a library of general-purpose utilities
that take care of these problems and allow our applications to
simply access the extended data in an orderly fashion? Let's start
by building a custom class definition of the extended data object.
Making a Class Module
Building your own object inside VBA using the class module is
embarrassingly simple. Go to the Insert pull-down in your project
and insert a class module. Name it as you would any other module
(for this example it is called Xdata since it will be used to maintain
extended data informa-
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tion) and program your subroutines and functions in the new class
module code window. It is that simple.
A class module differs from the other modules found in the VBA
environment in that you can assign a variable to an instance of the
class. A module is a library of subroutines and functions that your
program can access. The functions and subroutines in the class
module are the same as those in any other module in that they exist
only once in an application. Only the data gets duplicated each time
a new instance of the class is used. The functions and subroutines
are referenced under the same name to help keep the confusion to a
minimum by allowing polymorphism. This is how the add method
is used over and over again in all the objects. The code portion of a
module exists only once in a computer program. It is run over and
over again using different data to achieve the desired results. So
don't be tricked into thinking that the code component of a VBA
class module needs to be kept small. The code is not duplicated for
each instance of the class that is used in an application.
The rules for programming a class module are also very simple.
Any public scope variable declared at the module level is an
exposed property of the object in the calling program. Any public
subroutine or function in the class module is an exposed method to
the calling module. All the other rules for programming using
scope, lifetime of the variable, and persistence are the same as in
any other module in a program. When you want to create a
variable, subroutine, or function that is not exposed as part of the
object in the calling program module, you just declare it as a
private scope. Naturally, all variables declared using the Dim
statement in the class module's subroutines and functions are
considered private variables and not exposed to the calling module.
You can have properties that are any legal type of variable,
including collections and arrays. The system will not figure out
exactly which of your components in a class are private or
publicyou must supply that in the module definition. By default, if
neither is specific, the item in question is considered to be public.
The benefit of creating your own object for programming is to
program all of the detail maintenance code as methods of the
object. Then you
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don't have to worry about it again. You just hand the data to the
object's method you created and it does the work. You can
concentrate on keeping track of the object instead of its data in
your program. You can also have multiple instances of the object in
your program; this way, your job becomes managing the objects
instead of manipulating the data over and over again. Once you
grasp the true power of object programming, it's hard to imagine
how to develop an application without it.
Properties
Objects are containers of data and routines to manipulate that data.
As a consequence, the place to start when you're defining a custom
class (object) is with the data items or properties. Designing the
properties that go with your custom object is a matter of evolution.
As you start you will have some relatively clear ideas as to what
properties (data items) you want to associate with your custom
object. Then, as you code the routines that manipulate the
properties, you discover something you had not consideredor you
suddenly come up with a better way to store the information based
on the application requirements. Don't be afraid to change your
mind as you develop the object further. Most likely, additional data
elements will be added to the property list as you create the
methods for maintaining the primary data elements. Rememberone
of the primary strengths of objects is that they can evolve. It is not
uncommon to run into objects that store the same data in several
different ways, and each of them works better for a given method
or group of methods. Most often this results when the object has
undergone several revisions in its lifetime. Some of the data
storage techniques may be used only by older versions of the
object's methods but are still provided for backward support.
The properties used for the custom extended data object were no
exception. They evolved while the project was developed into a
working application. Adding and removing properties (mostly
adding) is something that will go on during the entire life of the
object developmentand some-
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times afterwardas additional data may be required of the objects in the future. Something to keep in
mind if you are a systems programmer who still counts the bytes is that objects can use up a lot of
memory. For the most part the programmer does not have to be too aware of this; however, if you
have properties that are not being used after the object has been developed it is a good idea to get rid
of them. Regardless, you have to start somewhere, and that place is with an initial definition of the
properties you will be holding in the object. The properties used in the project are declared in the
class module's declaration section, as shown below. The project's name is Xdata (short for eXtended
DATA). These properties are defined as public, meaning that any module that has this object as part
of the project can access these data elements.
Option Explicit
Public xdatatype As Variant ' holds object's xdata code array
Public xdatavalue As Variant ' holds object's xdata value array
Public AppNames As New Collection ' holds application names
Public ItemsCount As Long ' holds count of xdata value array items
Public aryXdata As Variant ' 2d array of xdata code & value arrays combined
Public EntityType As Long ' Xdata object entity type = 0
Now let's take a closer look at these variables and how they are used in the class definition.
Xdatatype, Xdatavalue, AryXdata
When designing your own program object's properties, you need to consider how you intend to use
the object in your programs. In the case of the extended data object we desired to have the arrays
(named xdatatype and xdatavalue) remain exposed or public. We also desired to be able to put that
information into a list box or combo box control on a form without much difficulty. This meant
creating a two-dimensional array for the object (called aryXdata) that would contain the combined
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arrays and could then be used to load the list control in the calling
module. Loading the two-dimensional array into a list control is
then simply a matter of using the .LIST method of the object. To
make the programming even easier, it is now possible to add a
method to the extended data object that takes a list box control
pointer as a parameter and puts the contents of the extended data
arrays into the control.
Now, should the situation arise in which it is needed to load several
extended objects into a control, they can be combined into one
master object. You can use the List method of the extended data
object (or of another form control) to populate the control. The net
effect is that the tough part of the programming has been left to the
object, and our application only has to worry about manipulating
multiple extended data objects. This is one of the more difficult
concepts behind objects to understand. You can re-use objects and
build objects from other objects. It may sound confusing, but stay
with it and you will get it. (Remember how hard loops and
conditionals were to understand at first?)
You will handle the manipulation of multiple extended data objects
using a collection. The collection holds all of the extended data
objects created from all of the data found attached to a drawing
object. Why multiple extended data objects and not just one big
object holding all the data found? Because it is easier to break up
any overall extended data (that could have multiple applications
inside it) into individual child objects for each application in the
master object. That is the beauty of objects. We can manipulate the
data into smaller or larger chunks just by using multiple child
objects to store the data in and then combining them when we're
done back into a master (parent) object. The object definition that
we create must have the methods and properties to do the
manipulations, but you have to program that only once and then
use the object over and over again to accomplish the desired tasks.
Think of a master object as something that holds all of the extended
data attached to an object (an AutoCAD object, group, or a Xdata
object). You then pass the master object to a new extended data
object
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along with the requested application name and tell it to get all of
the extended data for that particular application name. You now
have just that application's extended data from the passed in master
object in your child object. The child object is added to the
collection in the main program and used with all of the other
children to rebuild a new master object when needed. You should
be starting to see how the extended data object is being used over
and over again and how it is doing all of the work for our
applications. Once the object is completely defined, our
applications have to manage only the collection(s) of extended data
objects.
AppNames
The need to be able to break down an object's extended data into
separate children objects, based upon an application's name,
prompted the need for an applications name collection (called
AppNames) to be exposed as a property of the extended data
object. Once an extended data object fills its array with data from
the passed in object, it fills the AppNames collection by spinning
through the data value array and placing only application names
into the collection (located using the group code 1001 in the group
code array).
The isolated application names allow you to easily check how
many applications were present in the extended data of the object
(a master object could have no name when no extended data is
attached to the object, or a name for each application attached). It
also lets you loop through the collection to build all of the
necessary child objects and add them to the collection in the main
program.
Another benefit from storing the application names as a property of
the object is that you can easily check for the presence of a specific
application name. In fact, the AppExist method presented with the
other methods for this object below uses its own AppNames
property to check if an application name is among the collection.
Then it simply passes back a true when it is found and a false when
it is not (more on the methods later in this section).
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ItemsCount
When an extended data object is loaded and the arrays filled, the
program then places the upper bound count of the xdatavalue array
into the ItemsCount property. This property is used for iterating
through any of the three arrays in an extended data object or for
checking to see if the object has any data. This property is set to 0
when there is no data in the object.
EntityType
The entity data object we are creating is able to process extended
data for any legal AutoCAD object as well as another extended
data object. The Entity Type is an EntityType property, just like the
one used by AutoCAD objects. (By the way, AutoCAD is an
integer that is enumerated [assigned] to a constant name [number]
for each object type. This is a bit of a problem for VBA because
you cannot enumerate your own EntityType in VBA. However,
AutoCAD does not use the number 0 as an EntityType and that fact
was taken advantage of in the object definition.) By declaring the
EntityType property as a long in the public declarations area of the
Xdata object, VBA initializes its default to a 0. The methods in our
object will not really be using the number except to provide
equality among the data passed to the routines. In several of the
methods that make up this object's definition, a Select Case
function checks for each legal AutoCAD object and then assumes
that any object that made it through is an Xdata object. Here is one
area where the error checking can be vastly improved. That is,
what happens when an entity type that is not recognized is
provided?
Methods
The methods that are in a class are the functions and subroutines
that are defined as public. Private functions and subroutines can be
accessed only by the other functions in the same module, while
public ones can be accessed outside of the module.
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Table 14.1 contains the public functions and subroutines in the extended
data class module. These are the functions that are exposed to the
application program and that do the actual work of the Xdata object. Once
again, these methods evolved over the life of the project as some were
added and some that were once thought to be useful were discarded.
Table 14.1: Public functions and subroutines in the extended data class module
AppExist Returns true if the application name exists in the AppNames
collection, false otherwise.
GetXdata Retrieves any extended data found to be attached to an object and
places it in the extended data object container arrays.
List Loads the two-dimensional container array aryXdata and displays
the data in a list control on a form.
SetXdata Attaches the extended data object contents to an AutoCAD object.
Split Reloads the data type and value arrays from the two-dimensional
array data in aryXdata. Used after the list box contents have been
modified along with the data in the two-dimensional array.
StoreAppNamesStores the application names found in the extended data container
arrays into the application names collection.
Now let's take a closer look at these functions and what they accomplish
for the manipulation of our custom extended data object. When an
application wants to manipulate the extended data, it will call these
functions and subroutines to achieve the desired results. There are only a
few, but they accomplish a lot.
To view the source code for these methods, open the extended data project
and double click on the class module in the project explorer. The project is
stored under the name XdataObject.DVB on the CD supplied with this
book.
AppExists
To better control the extended data objects collection in your project, it is
important to check to see if the application you are processing is already
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in the object. This method takes an application name and returns a
true when it is already in the object, or a false when it is not. It's
handy to know this when you're deciding whether you have to add
an application or replace an application.
GetXdata
Several different steps are employed in the class module for the
GetXdata method. It takes an AutoCAD entity object, figures out
what kind of object it is by testing the object type, transfers the
generic object into a specific AutoCAD object of the correct type,
then does an AutoCAD object GetXdata on the object. When the
supplied object is not an AutoCAD object, the routine assumes that
it is an extended data object and processes it differently. The result
is that the extended data object has its properties (container arrays
and parameters) filled.
There are two ways in which the program could be written. The
approach taken was to demonstrate the technique of using the
object type in the AutoCAD entity to assign a local variable of the
proper type, thereby establishing an early binding relationship for
VBA. The generic AutoCAD entity object container could have
been used once we established a non-zero object type. The problem
with that approach is the time of execution. The GetXdata method
would not be bound to the object until the project runs, thereby
forcing a late binding call. A late binding call means that the same
object types test takes place, but under the control of the VBA host
processor, and that takes longer. In this case, more programming
results in a faster overall execution speed. Just how much faster is
left as an exercise to the student.
List
This method performs two main activities. It is used to load the
two-dimensional aryXdata property. It also accepts an optional
argument that will list the extended data object properties to a
message box, to the immediate window (the default), or to a
control (such as a list box). Pass in D (for debug.print) to send it to
the immediate window, M to
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send it to a message box, or L, Form.listbox control, to load a
listbox or combobox on a form. One of the primary purposes of
this method is to make life easier when you're developing routines
that use list box controls and extended data, just like the object
example project will be doing.
SetXdata
Much like the GetXdata method, several different steps are
employed in the SetXdata method. The routine starts by taking an
unknown AutoCAD object, figures out what kind of object it is,
transfers the generic object into a specific AutoCAD object of the
correct type, then does an AutoCAD object SetXdata on the object.
The SetXdata method for a extended data object does not write to
another extended data object. Like the GetXdata method, this
function uses a test of the enumerated values for the object types to
establish what kind of object it is addressing. The reason is to
establish an early binding relationship with that object so that the
overall execution speed of the process is maximized. The decision
between programmer time and operator time should always fall in
favor of the operator unless the coding requirements are too
extreme.
The use of the name SetXdata and GetXdata matches the name of
the method used in each of the entity objects of AutoCAD. This is
a classic case of polymorphism at work in the VBA system. The
SetXdata method that is defined in the class module works with the
custom extended data objects we are building. The other SetXdata
method is associated with the AutoCAD entity objects. It is the
second method that writes the data into the AutoCAD database
when called from our SetXdata method. It may seem confusing to
use the same name over and over again; however, keep in mind that
the names of the routines are associated with the objects, thus
making them unique in the system. The use of the same name just
saves you from having to remember a lot of subroutine names for
each type of object you want to manipulate.
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Split
This method is the opposite of the List method. It splits the
aryXdata array property of an extended data object into its
xdatatype and xdatavalue arrays. It is exposed for rebuilding an
extended data object from a list box control after edits have been
made.
StoreAppNames
This method is exposed for rebuilding extended data objects from a
form's list box or combobox control after edits have been applied to
the data in the list. It takes the extended data objects XdataValue
container array and stores all application names in the AppNames
collection.
That concludes the public methods associated with this class
definition. If you look inside the source code for the module, you
will find additional private routines that have been defined to
further manipulate the data and perform the dirty work associated
with the extended data. The object itself does not do much other
than supply a library of routines to work with and some data to
place things in. When you use the objects, you create an instance or
copy of the object's properties. At the same time you establish a
path to the library routines associated with the object.
The Extended Data Example Project
Now let's turn our attention to using the custom object we just
defined. This application is supplied in its entirety on the CD
associated with this book under the name xdataObject.DVB and
can be loaded using the VBAMAN command in AutoCAD 2000.
There is also a drawing provided that already contains a variety of
extended data on the entities in it. The name of the drawing is
XdataObj Test.DWG, and it should be opened as well as the VBA
project for testing the functions.
To test the extended data object project, run the Xdata macro (in
bas-Global) after loading the project. Selecting the run button
launches the Xdata Control application. The dialog box interface
that will appear is
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Figure 14.1
Xdata control
shown in Figure 14.1. From this dialog box you can view and edit
all of the manipulation of variable objects and extended data
objects. The dialog box contains two tabs. You'll use the Registered
Applications tab to view all the registered application names
currently in the drawing. You can also add a new registered
application name in that tab area. The Xdata Maintenance tab is
where the extended data located for an object or group is displayed.
The use of the application is relatively simple. After starting the
entry macro (named Xdata), the dialog in Figure 14.1 is displayed.
Pick the Select Object button, then select an entity object that has
extended data attached to it. If the object selected has extended
data, it will be displayed in the list box. Otherwise, the dialog box
will be displayed again, but nothing will be in the list box.
Once data is displayed in the list box, you can select the individual
items. The column of radio button matching the data type will then
highlight type of data just selected in the list box. The value
associated with the same selection will be presented in the edit box.
If you change the value in the edit box, the updated value will be
displayed in the list
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box showing all the extended data. Use the Replace button to write
the extended data back to the list selected. When finished with all
the changes for the extended data of an entity object, select the
Update command button to put the extended data back into the
entity object.
Now let us focus more on the usage of the extended data object in
the program as driven by the functions within the interface. There
are a lot of openings left in this example that can be filled in as
needed by your own application requirements should you choose to
do so. This example also demonstrates some interesting features of
VBA, such as tabs and radio column control, that may be of
interest to students just learning VBA.
The application can manipulate extended data stored with entity
objects or with groupsthus the Select Object > and Select
Group . . . buttons. Whether you select from an entity object on the
screen or from a group in the group dialog interface, the application
loads any attached extended data from the object or group into the
extended data object using the GetXData method. The particular
GetXdata method used is the one for the extended data object. It
will load the arrays xdatatype, xdatavalue, aryXdata, the
application names collection, and the ItemsCount properties of the
extended data object. The program can then verify that extended
data does exist for the object or group selected by checking the
ItemCount property.
Once the extended data object is loaded with data, it is used to
propagate the dialog box controls. The big list box on the interface
is loaded from the object using the associated List method, and
then the Application Name poplist is loaded from the object (again
using the List method). After that the application splits all of the
data in the master object into child objects (one for each
application name in the master object). The child objects are stored
in a collection for later retrieval using the application name for the
extended data it contains as a key. That's how it is set up when
extended data is found attached to the selected object or group.
From the dialog box, the operator can add, remove, or replace
extended data items from an existing application, or even create a
new
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application name and define extended data for it using this simple
extended data editor application. Bear in mind that the Binary item
is not editable and you cannot add new binary extended data or
change any existing binary data. That is strictly the realm of
ObjectARX and the C++ language. Also, the technique for adding
a new extended data application and associated items is a little
cumbersome. But that is because this utility is intended for editing
existing extended data and not necessarily for adding new
applications and data. About the only time you would need to
create a new application is when you're testing an application
module that wants to read existing data and you have not yet
written the module to create the data.
Further usage of the extended data object is demonstrated when the
operator selects the Update button to place your changes back into
the selected object or group. The application has maintained child
Xdata objects and has rebuilt them each time you made a change to
one in the list box. It is now a matter of rebuilding a new master
object from all of the available child objects and then using that
master object to update the entity object or group that was selected
to begin with. Stepping through the code starting in the Update
button's subroutine will give you a good idea of the complexity that
was programmed into the Xdata object. This is not coding you
would want to do over and over again in multiple places in your
application.
Extended Data Object Conclusion
That covers one practical application of a class module object in
VBA programming. When building your own, remember that it is
important to design your object to store the data you need in the
form you need and to develop methods for handling that data based
on the use you are going to put the object to in your program.
These are simple rules for creating the object but the programming
of the object's behavior will be as complex as you need to make it
to do the job.
Classes are a way to store both data and program functions. In this
example, there were several exposed properties and methods. But if
you
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look at the source code for the class module there were also several
private (non-exposed) functions defined. These functions were
used internal to the object and are not available to other modules.
Our next example is different in that all the properties are
considered private, and the only way to access them is through the
methods provided.
Objects Example 2
Hole Chart
Our next example project demonstrates how objects can be used to
keep the clutter in the main application to a minimum and to allow
for expansion of the system with minimal changes in the base
application source code. This example demonstrates how one
object can contain another object. In this example, we are going to
have a base object and then a collection of these objects as another
object. There will be methods for manipulating each object type,
allowing the application to treat the collection or the individual
objects as singular items.
The application is to create a hole chart. A hole chart is a table of
locations for holes to be drilled or machined in some way. On the
drawing, each hole (or circle) is labeled with a letter or number. A
hole chart is the table that contains the label, coordinates, radius,
depth, and type of operation. This chart is typically used by the
drill operator or to develop a CNC program or for a coordinate
measurement system to verify hole locations and sizes. The goal of
this program is to allow the user to select circles in the drawing,
then label them and build a hole chart graphic. This example is
greatly simplified since the real goal is not to develop a complete
hole chart application but to use the concept to demonstrate how
object classes can contain references to other object classes.
Like all applications involving objects, the object presented in
these pages represents the result of an evolutionary process. It is
not uncommon to start with a group of properties and methods and
then add more as the project evolves. And if you find that this
application is useful and want to expand it, then you will most
likely be adding to the methods and properties of the objects. That's
okay. Objects that we define for our own use in our own
applications are not used by other processes and are
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thus under our complete control. Only when an object definition
(class) is shared among several applications can it become
hazardous to change objects. And then the problem is only if the
base functionality of the object is changed or if items inside the
object, such as properties or methods, are removed. Normally one
does not remove a component from an object once the object is
shared among several applications. And so long as new items are
the change, then modifying the base object will not change the
operation of the other applications at all.
The Holes.DVB project contains the source code for the hole
charting example. This project consists of two class modules
named Holes and Hole, a form named HoleChart, and a code
module containing the startup macro. Most of the code is
documented to allow other programmers interested in seeing
working examples of the VBA system to explore it. In the next few
paragraphs we are going to discuss the concepts behind the code.
An Object in an Object
Absurd as this concept may at first appear, it makes good sense
from a data organizing point of view. The innermost object is one
item. It can be manipulated by itself as a singular element. Multiple
objects can be kept in a list or collection, and that can be thought of
as a singular object as well. This allows our programs to reference
just one member or the whole group of members and do things
with them. In VBA, when you create a collection, you are defining
an object that can contain other objects. But if you need to do more
than just the operations provided by the collection object, you need
to create your own form of collection. From an object
programming point of view you are deriving a new collection
object using the existing collection object as a base from which to
start.
So what doesn't the basic collection object do for us already that
we could possibly want it to do? That answer is found the first time
that you try to organize previously unorganized data in some way.
The hole chart application demonstrates this in the Holes class
module definition. We want the hole chart organized as follows:
sorted by diameter first, then
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the X ordinate value, then the Y ordinate value. The add( ) method
does not do this normally, so we need to write our own version as
seen in the class module source code definition.
There are some other confusing aspects of this source code for
those who are relatively new to VBA. The class module name is
Holes. In the class module is a collection defined as public by the
same name. That is not a mistake and not something that is to be
removed. This code is a class definition. The class we are defining
is a clone of the collection object. We didn't have to use the same
name in the public variable as the class, but it makes the code
easier to work with at the applications level and easier to code
internally as the name Holes is now mapped to a collection. That
makes all of the methods that are normally found in the collection
object available to the new class we are defining.
Note the other methods inside the definition of the Holes class have
simple access to the collection methods to accomplish their own
tasks. For example, the count method accesses the count method of
the collection Holes. In the class definition source code, the name
Holes is associated to a standard collection object. When the
application program references the name Holes, it is talking about
the class Holes that includes the collection. When creating a cloned
object of this nature you must redefine all the methods that will be
used in your application or use a double nested named access to get
back to the basic object type. For example, if we didn't provide a
count method for obtaining the number of Hole objects inside the
holes collection, the application would first access the class and
then the collection to obtain the count. As it is coded, an
application gets the count as ''normal" directly from the Holes
object. Internally, the Holes object gets the count from the
collection to pass back as a result.
The Holes object, since it is our object, can also contain methods
not normally found in the collection object. The method
Draw_Holes is an example of that sort of programming. The
routine Draw_Holes loops through the collection of Holes,
extracting each Hole object one at a time and calling the draw
method for that hole object.
Page 352
The application module can now make a single call to the holes
collection and have all of the holes drawn on the screen with the
labels and centerlines added according to the hole's object drawing
definition. Between the addition of the matching methods for the
collection and the new methods added on top of the class, Holes
provides an easy way for an application to manipulate an entire
collection of Hole objects. More methods can be added to the
Holes class such as resorting the collection based on another key
sequence (such as the label or name) or placing the collection
contents into a list box control, and so forth.
The Inner Object
Our next stop is to look at the Hole class module. This is another
class definition, but it is different from what we've seen before
since all of the variables are defined as private. That means that if
we want to allow the operator to access any of the properties, we
must provide a function or method that accomplishes that task. By
shielding the data in this manner we can make sure that the
information is legitimate at all times. That means that the radius is
not 0 and that the operations that can be performed at the hole
(such as drill and tap) are of a finite number so that our other
processes (like a CNC program generator) can make sense of the
selections.
The choice of public or private is one of programmer preference.
Some applications may actually dictate that the data be public by
the nature of the object and how it will be manipulated. In most
cases it is actually better to write small routines to handle the data.
This allows for future expansion as the object is evolved into a
more advanced piece of coding.
For example, the Hole object contains methods that set and retrieve
the X and Y values as well as another set that sets and retrieves the
center point. What is the difference and why provide both options
in the first place? The reason is to provide the application with the
options of addressing the same data in multiple ways. The
application may not need multiple calling options, and in that case
the object should provide
Page 353
only those that are really required. Another reason to use methods
instead of allowing direct access to the properties is to allow for
future expansion of the module. Suppose this application was to
screen out values less than 0 for the X ordinate or it was needed to
apply a variable offset to the numbers provided. These
enhancements can be made to the object and not affect the
application that uses the object. When the object (class module) is
updated, the application continues calling the methods it always
has and continues on its way.
The Hole class module contains other methods used to manipulate
the individual Hole objects. There are routines to transfer data from
the AutoCAD circle object into the Hole private properties as well
as routines that draw the labeled hole on the drawing. The hole
label and draw routine is the most complex of all the routines in
this class as it not only draws a new circle, but it also places
centerlines through it, then attaches a label to a leader that points at
the newly created circle. This function is an excellent beginner
example of drawing slightly more complex creations under the
control of VBA.
The Hole object can be used by the Holes collection object as well
as by the application. In the application, an assignment is made
through the SET statement to a variable defined as type Hole. With
the reference to a specific hole, the methods can be called to draw
it or change the properties internally.
The Holes and Hole objects are intended for use by other
applications and not just the hole chart drawing utility. These
objects can be expanded as needed for the creation of CNC code
(simply add a method to the Hole object that creates the CNC
statement to drill the hole) or other reports and drawing utilities
that would use the hole chart information. The ability to expand
objects is important in the Hole object's case. The module as
presented here draws hole representations for drilling and tapping
only; it does not include anything for counter-boring, reaming,
counter-sinks, and so forth. If you need those representations, you
can add them to the object definition without forcing the change of
any of the applications. Instead, the applications just got smarter.
Page 354
Table 14.2: Hole object private properties
Lbl String Label at hole.
Dia Double Diameter of hole.
X Double X ordinate of center of hole.
Y Double Y ordinate of center of hole.
Z Double Z ordinate of center of hole.
Typ Integer Hole type code number.
Default_Typ Integer Default hole type code number.
Table 14.3: Hole object public methods

Get_Label Returns the label string value for the hole.
Get_Dia Returns the diameter value of the hole.
Get_Rad Returns the radius value of hole.
Get_X Returns the X ordinate of the center of the hole.
Get_Y Returns the Y ordinate of the center of the hole.
Get_Z Returns the Z ordinate of the center of the hole, also considered the
depth of the hole.
Get_Point Returns a variant that is the center point of the hole.
Get_OperationReturns an integer that is the operation code for this hole.
Put_Label Stores a string into the label value for the hole.
Set_Dia Stores a double as the diameter of the hole.
Set_Rad Stores a double as the radius of the hole.
Set_Point Stores a variant array as the center point of the hole.
Set_X Stores X ordinate of the center of the hole.
Set_Y Stores Y ordinate of the center of the hole.
Set_Z Stores Z ordinate of the center of the hole.
Set_Operation Stores integer code value for operation.
Set_Default Sets default code value for operation when adding new items.
Load_Circle Converts circle object data into hole object data.
Draw Draws the circle with label and center lines.
Round Rounds all the doubles found in the hole object.
Page 355
When you compare the Hole object's private properties as shown in
table 14.2 with the public methods available, shown in table 14.3
you'll notice that there are more methods for setting the properties
than there are properties. That is because this object provides the
option to set the diameter or the radius value. If the application
supplies the radius and uses SET_RAD to store it in the object, the
value is doubled and saved as the diameter. It's the same in reverse
when the radius is requested. This saves the application program
from having to double or halve the value as it can be retrieved as
neededthat is, in the context of the application.
Objects provide a powerful way to store and manipulate data and
data collections of multiple data types. The use of private
properties and public methods for setting and retrieving the data
allows the data to be secure and to conform to the way the
application needs it. Although it may appear as if we have stored a
lot more information than is really needed, we have reduced the
amount of overall system requirements by not storing both the
radius and diameter as well as the point plus the individual
ordinates. As the Holes collection grows, the methods are not
copied for each of the Hole objects inside, just the properties. Thus,
not storing all the versions of the datainstead just storing the
methods to access the data in different waysresults in less storage
needed by the system to house large collections of holes.
The Hole Charting Example Project

Running the hole chart example project that is provided with this
book is very easy. First copy the Holes.DVB file from the CD to
your AutoCAD VBA applications directory. Then load the
application using the VBALOAD or VBAMAN commands in
AutoCAD. Select the Macros option or use the command
VBARUN, then select the Chart macro to run. Chart will
immediately request that the operator select circles. Use any valid
pick mechanism to select the circles including windows and
individual selections. After selecting the holes, press the Enter key
to continue to the dialog box as seen in Figure 14.2.
Page 356
Figure 14.2
Hole chart dialog box
The circle data found will be presented in the list box of the
display. The X, Y, Z, and Diameter values are taken directly from
the circle objects selected in AutoCAD. The holes are sorted in
order by diameter, then X, then Y.
When circles are first selected in this application, they have no
label and are assigned a standard default operation code. To change
any of the values, select the line to change in the list box. Then
change the values in the edit box windows provided. After making
changes to an item in the list it is important to remember to select
the Change to list button to write the values in the edit boxes back
to the list display.
Other buttons to press include Round all, which will round the
values of all real numbers (X, Y, Z, and Diameter) to the precision
set in the popup list box next to the button. Labels 1,2,3 . . . will
automatically label all holes with a sequential number starting with
1 and incrementing by 1. Redraw holes will erase the selected
circles, then redraw them using the label and centerline inclusive
method from the Hole object. Finally, Draw Chart will accept the
input of a point, then generate a chart from the data in the list box
using the current default text height to control the size of the chart
rows and columns.
Page 357
Hole Chart Application Conclusion

This application does a lot, but it could do a lot more with some
more refinements and tweaking on the behalf of the student
programmer. If you find the application appealing, you should
invest the time in the source code to add the features needed for
your operations. Obviously the Hole object can be expanded to
support other Hole types. That means the draw method must be
updated to accommodate the changes as well as the Set_Operation
and Set_Default methods.
This project does demonstrate that if a basic collection is not
enough, it is simple enough to clone it and create your own version.
Custom objects in programming allow for future expansion as well
as simplification at the application level.
Creating Your Own Object
Do you have an idea for an object? Try writing down the list of
properties (both public and private) that your object would include.
Then list and describe the methods needed both internally (private)
and externally (public) for your object. You will notice that the list
of properties and methods may change while you define the
methods more thoroughly. That's normal since one often recognizes
the need for more of one or the other as the method definitions are
refined. At the same time it is normal to remove things from the
original list as better ways are uncovered to handle the problems or
store the data.
After getting a handle on what the object properties and methods
are going to be, select to insert a new class module into the project
that will first use this class. After developing the class module to a
level desired, export it to a CLS file (CLS is the file extension and
is considered a Class file). Use the Files menu in the VBA editor or
Right-Click in the project window on the class to be exported. The
export option will appear in the menu presented.
For later projects, the CLS (class module) can be imported using
the File menu option for Import. This will bring the class definition
into your
Page 358
new project. One thing important to note is that if you change a
class in a project and save the project the class definitions in the
other projects will not be automatically updated. Instead, you must
export the revised class module, then import it back into the other
applications. As these applications are saved back to disk, the
updated class modules are stored with them.
We can't stop saying this again and again: once you master the
concepts behind objects it becomes difficult to imagine developing
advanced applications without them. At first they may seem like a
fancy way to store a library of subroutines, and in a way they are,
but objects allow you to think differently at the application level.
They help isolate items down to the bare essentials so that the
details are covered. And they are expandable into new ways of
doing things. If you need to change an object to add a new
extension to it, then that change does not affect the other
applications that use the same object. By allowing for the
referencing of both data and program code under the same
structure, you can create building blocks from which you can
create even more advanced blocks and applications.
Page 359
Index
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Special Characters and
gif Numbers
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif* (asterisk), 123
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif@ (at sign), 123
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif\ (backslash), 240, 241, 243

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif: (colon), 91, 243
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif- (dash), 206
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif. (decimal point), 96

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif. (dot), 82
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif% (percent sign), 309

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif. (period), 123
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif# (pound sign), 123, 295

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif? (question mark), 123
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif' (single quote), 34, 96, 123
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif[] (square brackets), 123
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif~ (tilde), 123, 127

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif2D space, 145147
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif3D space, 145148

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif
3Dface method, 113
A
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AcadDocument_Activate
gif function, 204, 205
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifACAD.EXE, 64
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. ACAD_GROUP dictionary,

gif 133
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifACAD.LIN, 142
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. ACAD_MLINESTYLE
gif dictionary, 133
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAcadPreferences object, 65
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AcAttributeModeConstant
gif mode, 165
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AcAttributeModeInvisible
gif mode, 165
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AcAttributeModePreset
gif mode, 165
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AcAttributeModeVerify
gif mode, 165
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. acBlockReference constant,
gif 159
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAccess (Microsoft), 5
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi acSelectSetAll constant,

f 199
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif
Activate event, 7778
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Active Deactivate function,
gif 76
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifActive method, 71
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifActive property, 72
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g ActiveDocument property,

if 63
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifActiveLayer property, 72
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi ActiveLinetype property,

f 72
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. ActiveSelectionSet property,
gif 72
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifActiveSpace property, 72
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. ActiveTextStyle property, 72,

gif 144
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifActiveUCS property, 72
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g ActiveViewport property,

if 151
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. ActiveX controls, 2, 4, 169,
gif 211212
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAPIs and, 215
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdata sharing and, 210
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdrawing tables and, 135
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifhelp files for, 72, 101

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. object model and, 66, 72,
gif 101, 167
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifOOP and, 40
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifporting issues and, 273
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAdd button, 217
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Add method, 31, 53, 85, 128,

gif 132, 135, 139, 140, 142, 144,
145, 147, 148, 149, 351
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAdd3Dmesh method, 113
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAdd3Dpoly method, 113
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddArc method, 113
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AddAttribute method, 113,

gif 164165
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. add_backslashes function,
gif 240
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddBox method, 113
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi AddCircle method, 113,

f 184
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddCone method, 113
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AddCustomObject method,

gif 113
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddCylinder method, 113
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g AddDimAligned method,

if 113
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g AddDimAngular method,
if 113
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AddDimDiametric method,
gif 113
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi AddDimRadial method,
f 114
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g AddDimRotated method,
if 114
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddEllipse method, 114
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AddEllipticalCone method,

gif 114
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AddEllipticalCylinder
gif method, 114
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AddExtrudedSolid method,
gif 114
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AddExtrudedSolidAlongPath
gif method, 114
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddHatch method, 114
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AddItems method, 105, 106,

gif 306307
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddLeader method, 114
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddLine method, 94, 115
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddMText method, 115

Page 360
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddObject method, 134
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddPoint method, 106, 115
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddPolyline method, 115

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi
f AddPViewport method, 153
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddRaster method, 115
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddRay method, 115
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddRegion method, 115
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AddRevolvedSolid method,

gif 115
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddShape method, 115
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddSolid method, 115
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddSphere method, 115

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddSpline method, 115
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddText method, 115
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddTorus method, 116
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddTrace method, 116

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddVertex method, 90
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddWedge method, 116
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddXLine method, 116
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAddXRecord method, 191

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. airplanes, example using,
gif 4447
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AND combination test, 124,
gif 126
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifANGBASE system, 80
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AngleFromXAxis function,

gif 79
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAngleToReal function, 79
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAngleToString function, 79
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. API (Application

gif Programmer's Interface),
294, 325
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi basic description of,
f 214236
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdeclarations, 216, 219224
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifviewer, 216217
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi
f AppActivate statement, 105
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AppendItems method, 136,
gif 137
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AppExist function, 340,
gif 342343
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifApple Computer, 42
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAppleman, Daniel, 215
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifapplication(s).
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSee also projects
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifassembling, 201203
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifloading, 204
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifmanaging multiple, 201213
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifwindows, finding, 249
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g Application object, 6162,

if 303
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifApplication property, 72
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AppNames collection,

gif 340341
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAppNames property, 340
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifArc object, 10
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifArea property, 90
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. arguments, named/optional,

gif 296298
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifArrayPolar method, 88
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g ArrayRectangular method,

if 88
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifarrays
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifof doubles, 298299
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifpassing, to methods, 300

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
gif
ASCII (American Standard
Code for Information
Interchange), 142, 208,
216218, 220, 227, 294
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifasterisk (*), 123
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifat sign (@), 123

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAttrib property, 117
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAutoCAD LT, 12, 215
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. AutoLISP, 38, 5556, 207,

gif 211, 218
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAPIs and, 215
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifbasic description of, 2
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. defining command names in,

gif 202
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi drawing tables and, 160,
f 166
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifENTSEL function, 98
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifExcel and, 171
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifextended data and, 199
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi object model and, 78, 83,

f 98
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifOOP and, 49, 52
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. short circuit evaluation and,

gif 302303
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giftoolbox routines, 237
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Utility object functions and,
gif 78
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. VBA and, difference
gif between, 37
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifwhen to use, 272
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g automatic typing feature,

if 100
B
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifbackslash (\), 240, 241, 243
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifBAS files, 208, 213
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifBASIC, 23, 118, 184, 317
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifBeginClose function, 76
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g BeginCommand function,

if 76
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifBeginLisp function, 76
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifBeginOpen function, 76
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifBeginPlot function, 76
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifBeginQuit function, 76
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifBeginSave function, 76
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifBigFontFile property, 144
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifBLKS variable, 3132
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g block collection object,

if 5354
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifBlockCount form, 2837
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. BlockCounter macro, 2834,
gif 38
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. BlockRef object, 154155,
gif 158, 162
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifblocks collection, 154166
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifBlocks property, 72
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifBMP format, 52, 71
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Boolean data type, 7, 65,

gif 289290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifByte data type, 289290
C
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g C programming, 223,
if 298299
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. C++ programming, 10, 272,
gif 347
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAPIs and, 216, 223
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifclass modules and, 293
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. selection sets collection and,

gif 119
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. writing help applications for,
gif 280
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif
Caption option, 25
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifCaption property, 22, 63
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifCDATE variable, 196, 197
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifCells method, 178
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Center property, 90, 148,

gif 150, 153
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifchk_pural function, 245
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifCirLin object, 49
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifclass(es)

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifmodules, 293295, 331358
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifsymbols for, 57
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifClear method, 108
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifClose method, 71, 175176

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifCollection object, 61
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifcollections.
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi
f See also specific collections
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. basic description of, 12, 53,
gif 8385, 102103, 300302
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdrawing tables as, 132133
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifnaming, 327
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifthe object model and, 8385
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifworking with, 120
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifcolon (:), 91, 243
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifcolor property, 40, 89, 139

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifcolumns, 178, 179, 305308
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Columns property, 178, 179,

gif 307
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi ColumnWidth property,
f 305
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. command line workaround,
gif 309311
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifCOMMAND system, 56
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. CommandButoon object, 22,

gif 2324
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifcomments, 314316
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. conciseness, importance of,

gif 316318
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifconstants, naming, 327
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifcontrol(s)
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdata strings, 238
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. passing, as parameters,

gif 311312
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifcontrol keys, 291293
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif
Copy button, 217
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifCOPY command, 102
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifCopy method, 88, 152

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifCopyFile function, 231
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Count property, 85, 108, 137,

gif 200, 301
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. count_occurences function,
gif 243
Page 361
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifCreateObject function, 175
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifCreate_path function, 244
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. CreateTypedArray function,

gif 79
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Currency data type, 7,
gif 289290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. curved entity objects, 8992.
gif See also entity objects
D
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdash (-), 206
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdata.
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSee also data types
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. extended (Xdata), 167, 194,

gif 334358
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifitems, 238, 239
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. manipulations, extended,

gif 334335
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifproperties, 58
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifsharing, 210211
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifstorage, 188
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdata types
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Boolean data type, 7, 65,
gif 289290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifByte data type, 289290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifcomparisons of, 7, 289290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Currency data type, 7,

gif 289290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDate data type, 7, 289290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDecimal data type, 289290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDouble data type, 289290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEntity name data type, 7
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFloating point data type, 7

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi
f Integer data type, 7, 289290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifList data type, 7
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLong data type, 289290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifPoint List data type, 7
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSelection set data type, 7
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSingle data type, 290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifString data type, 7, 290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Variant data type, 290, 295,

gif 298299
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDate data type, 7, 289290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDate function, 295296

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif
DBLIST command, 162
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. DCL (Dialog Control
gif Language), 2, 32
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. DDE (Dynamic Data
gif Exchange), 273, 310
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDDIM command, 135
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDeactivate event, 7778
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdebugging, 3738
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdecimal point (.), 96
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDecimal data type, 289290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Delete method, 85, 108, 129,

gif 133, 134, 135, 136, 139, 144,
145, 146, 148, 149
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDeleteFile function, 231
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. DeleteSetting function, 228,

gif 229
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDelphi, 293
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdescriptions
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifof application, 2021

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifof objects, 4647
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Developer Studio

gif (Microsoft), 910
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDict variable, 191
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif
dictionaries, 72, 133134
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifaccessing, 189190
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifgroups versus, 138139
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDictionaries property, 72
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g Dictionary collection,

if 133134
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDictionary object, 188189
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDIESEL, 2
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDimOrdinate method, 114
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. DimStyles collection, 132,

gif 134136
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDimStyles property, 72
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Direction property, 148, 150,

gif 153
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdirectories
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifpaths to, creating, 244
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifretrieving, 259
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDisplay method, 152, 154
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDisplay object, 65
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDisplay property, 95
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. DisplayScreenMenu
gif property, 65
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g
if DistanceToRead function,
79
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. DLLs (Dynamic Link
gif Libraries), 48
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Document object, 5253, 61,
gif 6667, 7073
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Documents collection, 61,
gif 8385, 6770
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDocuments property, 63
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. DoesControlExist function,

gif 264
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdot character (.), 82
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDouble data type, 289290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDrafting property, 95
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdrawing tables
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi basic description of,

f 131166
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifas collections, 132133
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDVB files, 205209
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDWG variable, 68
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDWGS variable, 68
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDXF format, 52, 71
E
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
gif early binding, 172173,
211212
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifencapsulation, 4647
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEnd statement, 37
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEnd Sub statement, 28, 173
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEndCommand function, 76
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEndLisp function, 76
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEndOpen function, 76
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEndPlot function, 76
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEndSave function, 76
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEndUndoMark method, 63
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEntity name data type, 7
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g entity objects, 5456, 61,

if 8589
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. building a collection of,
gif 104106
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifcurved, 8992
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giffilters and, 119
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giftext, 9394
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEntityName property, 89
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. EntityType property, 89, 106,

gif 341
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifENTSEL function, 98
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif
enttype function, 242
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifenumerated objects, 57
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEPS files, 52
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifErase method, 88, 108, 152
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giferror(s)
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdictionaries and, 189
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifentity objects and, 87

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifExcel and, 174
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifextended data and, 198

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifhelp system, 286
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifmessages, fatal, 246

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifselection sets and, 110, 129
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giftesting for, 3738
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. trapping, 68, 9799, 322323,

gif 324
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifescape character, 123
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifESP format, 71
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifevent(s)
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. basic description of, 9, 52,

gif 5960
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifDocument object, 7477
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. -driven language, versus
gif procedural-driven language,
324325
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giffunction symbols, 58
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g object model and, 5960,

if 7578
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. programming examples for,
gif 7778
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Excel (Microsoft), 51,
gif 166167
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifbinding with, 212
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. closing worksheets in,

gif 175176
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdata sharing and, 210
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifexamples, 170171, 179184

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifinterface to, 168, 169175
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giflinkage function, 171175

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifobject trees, 168, 169170
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. searching worksheets in,

gif 176179
Page 362
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. variable declarations and,
gif 172173
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEXPLODE command, 56
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifExplorer, 13, 226

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifExport method, 71
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. extended data (Xdata), 167,

gif 194, 334358
F
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giffatal_error function, 246
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giffiles
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giffinding, 247
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g verifying the existence of,

if 265
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFiles property, 95
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giffiltering, 117123
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFind method, 176, 178179
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFindfile function, 247

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFindNext method, 176
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFloating point data type, 7
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFontFile property, 144

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi
f
For loops, 3132, 100,
106109
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifform(s)
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifcontrols, naming, 327328
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. controls, verifying the

gif existence of, 264
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdesigning, 2123
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifinserting, 202203
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. passing, as parameters,

gif 311312
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifproperties, 2425
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFormat function, 295296
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFormatPnt function, 250
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifForm_Load function, 26
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFORTRAN, 10
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFreeze property, 139
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFRM format, 208
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFRX format, 208
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFullName property, 64, 72

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giffunction(s).
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSee also specific functions
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifkeys, 291293
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifproper use of, 317318
G
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetAngle function, 80
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetAttributes method, 162,

gif 163
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetBoundingBox method, 88,
gif 157
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetBulge method, 90
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetComputerName function,

gif 231, 232
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetCorner function, 80
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetCurrentDirectory function,

gif 231
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetDate function, 197
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetDiskFreeSpace function,

gif 231
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetDistance function, 80
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetEntity function, 80, 98
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetEnvironmentalVariable
gif function, 231, 234235
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetFileAttributes function,
gif 231
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetFileSize function, 231
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetFreeDiskSpace, 235236
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g
GetGridSpacing function,
if
150
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetInput function, 80
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetInteger function, 80
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetInterfaceObject function,

gif 62
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetKeyword function, 80
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetLocalTime function, 231,

gif 233234
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetName function, 134
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetObject function, 134,

gif 174175, 215
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetOrientation function, 80
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetPoint function, 80, 159
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetPrivateProfileInt function,

gif 224
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetPrivateProfileSection
gif function, 224
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetPrivateProfileString
gif function, 218229
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetReal function, 80, 81
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetSetting function, 228
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g GetSnapSpacing method,

if 150
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetString function, 80
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g GetSystemTime function,
if 231
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetTempPath function, 231,
gif 234
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetTimeFormat function,
gif 231, 233234
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetTimeZoneInformation
gif function, 234
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi GetUCSMatrix function,
f 146
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetUserName function, 231,
gif 232
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetVariable function, 71
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGetWidth function, 90
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g GetWindowsDir function,

if 259
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. GetXData method, 55, 88,

gif 134, 136, 139, 146, 195, 200,
342, 343, 344, 347
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g GetXRecordData method,
if 192
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. global variables, 2728. See
gif also variables
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGoto option, 97
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGridOn property, 150
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGroups collection, 136138
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifGroups property, 73
H
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifHandle property, 89
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifhandles, 89, 184a186
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. HandleToObject method, 71,

gif 185
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifheaders, 308
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Height property, 64, 93, 145,

gif 148, 150, 153, 165
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifhelp, 72, 100101, 276287
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifaccessing, 277280, 283287
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g context-sensitive, 281283,

if 287
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifon-line, 88, 280281, 283287
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifVB versus VBA, 276

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifHelp dialog box, 284286
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. HELP_COMMAND
gif command, 278, 279280, 283
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. HELP_CONTENTS
gif command, 278
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
gif HELP_CONTEXT command,
278
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. HELP_CONTEXTPOPUP
gif command, 278
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi HelpControlID property,
f 276
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. HELP_FINDER command,
gif 278
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. HELP_FORCEFILE
gif command, 278
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. HELP_HELPONHELP
gif command, 278
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g HELP_INDEX command,
if 279
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifHELP_KEY command, 279
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. HELP_MULTIKEY
gif command, 279
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. HELP_PARTIALKEY
gif command, 279
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi HELP_QUIT command,
f 279
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. HELP_SETCONTENTS
gif command, 279
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. HELP_SETINDEX
gif command, 279
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
gif HELP_SETWINPOS
command, 279
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifHide method, 37, 82
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifHide operation, 37
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Highlight method, 88, 108,

gif 136
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
gif key, 227
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG
gif key, 227
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. HKEY_CURRENT_USER
gif key, 225, 226227
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g HKEY_DYN_DATA key,
if 227
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
gif key, 227
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifHKEY_USERS key, 227
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifhole charts, 349356
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Horizontal Alignment

gif property, 93
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Hungarian naming
gif conventions, 326330
I
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g IDE (Integrated
if Development
Page 363
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifEnvironment)
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g automatic typing feature,

if 100
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. basic description of, 910,
gif 1214
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifcontents of, 1417
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. getting comfortable with,

gif 1213
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifhelp and, 282
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Object Browser contained in,

gif 5658
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifstarting, 1314, 21
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. using control keys with,

gif 291293
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifImport method, 71
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifimporting files, 52
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifinfinite loops, 74
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifinheritance, 4647
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. INI files, 214, 217218, 225,

gif 228229
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. InitializeUserInput function,
gif 80
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif
Insert - Form option, 202
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifInsert - Module option, 203
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifInsertBlock method, 116
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. InsertionPoint property, 93,

gif 165
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi
f Integer data type, 7, 289290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. IntersectWith method, 88,
gif 99, 160
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifIsFile function, 265
Item method, 31, 53, 68, 85,

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. 86, 107, 116, 129, 132, 135,
gif 136, 138, 139, 140, 142, 144,
145, 149, 156157, 162, 189,
192, 198
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifItemsCount property, 341
K
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifkeywords, 48
L
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLastHeight property, 145
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g late binding, 172173,

if 211212
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLayerOn property, 139
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Layers collection, 132,

gif 139142
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif
Layers property, 73, 89
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLBound function, 100
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLeft property, 64
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLen function, 36
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. LightweightPolyline method,

gif 115
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLimits property, 73
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g Linetypes collection,

if 142143
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Linetypes property, 40, 73,
gif 89, 139
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLinetypeScale property, 89
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLispCancelled function, 76
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifList data type, 7
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. List function, 342, 343344,

gif 347
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifList property, 35, 307
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifListARX method, 62
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giflistbox(es), 2526, 248
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifcolumns, 305308
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. items in, verifying the

gif existence of, 266
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifmultiselect in, 308309
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. ListBox1_Click function,
gif 3435
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLoad method, 142
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLoadARX method, 62
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLoadDVB method, 208209
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLoadShapeFile method, 71
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLocaleID property, 64
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLock property, 139
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifLong data type, 289290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. LowerLeftCorner property,

gif 150
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g Lst_Memb_Pos function,
if 248
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giflst_memb_vb function, 266
M
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMacintosh, 42
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifmacro(s)
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifAPIs and, 218, 225
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. BlockCounter macro, 2834,

gif 38
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. command line workaround
gif and, 310
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifhandles and, 186
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifmanaging, 201213
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. running, from another

gif project, 208210
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifstarting sequence and, 2627
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giftesting, 3334
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifvirus warnings, 207
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi Macros dialog box, 203,

f 204
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMAXACTVP variable, 149
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMaxPnt parameter, 158
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. MDI (multiple document

gif interface), 77, 83
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifmemory, 62, 111, 268, 273
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMenuBar object, 65
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMenuBar property, 64
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMenuGroups object, 65
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMenuGroups property, 64
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifmethods.
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSee also specific methods
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. basic description of, 1112,

gif 57, 5960, 341345
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifobject model and, 5960
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifpassing arrays to, 300
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifsymbols for, 57
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giftesting, 68
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMid$ function, 36
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMinPnt parameter, 158
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMirror method, 88
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMirror3D method, 88
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMode property, 165
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Model Space collection,

gif 111112
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Model Space object, 5051,
gif 54, 84, 86
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifModelSpace property, 73
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifmodules
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifbasic description of, 11, 57
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMOVE command, 102
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMove method, 88, 152
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMtext property, 117
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifMultiSelect property, 308
N
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifNam variable, 69
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Name property, 64, 68, 72,
gif 108, 139, 145, 146, 148, 150
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifNew method, 71
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifNOT combination test, 124
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. numeric relational testing,

gif 120123
O
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifobject(s)
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g basic description of, 11,

if 4142
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. computer science
gif descriptions of, 4647
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifcreating, 49, 357358
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. current, accessing objects on

gif the same level as, 303304
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi entity types, converting,
f 242
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifIDs, 87, 157, 186
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifinequality of, 331332

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifinner, 252255
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giflearning about, 5658

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giflibraries, 44, 5960
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifmanagement of, 4243

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. model, 5051, 59101, 167169,
gif 274276
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifobjects within, 350352
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. storage of, in computers,

gif 4748
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. trees, 4951, 6061, 168,
gif 169170
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi Object Browser, 1617,
f 5658
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Object Coordinate System
gif (OCS), 145146
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifObjectAdded function, 76
Page 364
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. ObjectARX (AutoCAD

gif Runtime eXtension), 4, 5,
204, 211, 267
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif-compiled executables, 269
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. defining command names in,

gif 202
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi drawing tables and, 134,
f 139
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifevents and, 77
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifhandles and, 186
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi object model and, 76, 77,

f 87
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifXdata project and, 348

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifObjectErased function, 76
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifObjectID property, 58, 89
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. ObjectIDtoObject method,

gif 186
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifObjectModified event, 75
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi ObjectModified function,

f 76
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
gif
ObliqueAngle property, 93,
145
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. OCS (Object Coordinate
gif System), 145146
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Office 97 (Microsoft), 58,

gif 166167. See also Excel
(Microsoft)
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifOffset method, 90
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. On Error Resume Next

gif structure, 129
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifOn Error statement, 97
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifOn Error test, 140
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. OOP (object-oriented

gif programming), 3958. See
also objects
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifOpen method, 6971, 175
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifOpenSave property, 95
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g OR combination test,

if 124127
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifOrigin property, 146
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifOrthoOn property, 151
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifOutput property, 95
P
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifPad function, 256
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Paper Space collection,

gif 111112
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
Paper Space object, 5051, 54,
gif
84, 86
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Paper Space view port,
gif 152154
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifPaperSpace property, 73
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifparameters
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifpassing, 184, 311312
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifparse function, 239
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifPascal, 48
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifPath property, 64, 72
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifPDMODE variable, 160
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifperiod (.), 123

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifPLOT command, 46
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifPlot property, 73
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. PlotConfigurations property,

gif 73
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifPoint List data type, 7
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifpoints
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifcorner, viewing, 251
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifformatting, 251
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifPolarPoint function, 79
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif
polylines, 9192
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. polymorphism, 32, 4647,
gif 5455, 57, 8586, 89
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifporting issues, 273274
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifpound sign (#), 123, 295
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Preferences object, 9496,

gif 303304
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifPreferences property, 64
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Preferences settings, 61,

gif 6465, 69, 95
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifPreserve keyword, 110
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifprocedures
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. language driven by, versus

gif event-driven language,
324325
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. passing collections to,

gif 300302
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifProfiles property, 95
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Program Settings folder, 225,

gif 228229
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifprogress spinners, 260261
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifproject(s).
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSee also applications

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifon disks, 205207
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifembedding, 205
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifloading, 204, 206
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. multiple, in Release 14,

gif 212213
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. running a macro from
gif another, 208210
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g sharing data between,
if 210211
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifProject Explorer, 15, 16
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Project Manager dialog box,

gif 205
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi
f Project window, 74, 202203
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifProjects method, 66
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifPrompt function, 80
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifproperties.
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSee also specific properties
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g basic description of, 10,

if 5960
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. the object model and, 5960,
gif 7273
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifprivate, 58
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifread-only, 58, 7273
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifProperties dialog box, 22
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi Properties window, 1516,

f 25
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi PropmptString property,
f 166
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. public transportation
gif systems, 4345
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifPurgeAll method, 71
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifPViewport object, 152154
Q
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifquestion mark (?), 123
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifQuit method, 62
R
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifre-using code, 207208
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifReadOnly property, 73
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifRegen method, 71, 144
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Registered Apps collection,

gif 143
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifRegistry, 214, 225230, 294
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifRemDim statement, 110
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifRemove button, 217

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif
Remove method, 132134
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. RemoveItems method,
gif 108110, 136
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifRename method, 134
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifReplace method, 134
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifReplace_Chr function, 258

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi
f Resume Next option, 97, 98
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifrightoken, 255
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifRotate method, 88
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifRotate3D method, 88
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. RPC (remote procedure

gif calls), 269
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. RS-232 serial
gif communications, 8
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifRun macro option, 34
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifRun menu, 34
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifRunMacro method, 62, 209
S
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSave method, 71, 72
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSaveAs method, 71
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSaved property, 73
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSaveSetting function, 228
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifScaleEntity method, 88
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifScaleFactor property, 93
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifscript file option, 1
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSearch button, 217
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Select method, 33, 36, 105,

gif 198, 200
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. SelectAtPoint method, 105,
gif 159
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. SelectByPolygon method,
gif 105
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSelection property, 95
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSelection set data type, 7
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. selection sets, 7, 103127,

gif 181183
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g SelectOnScreen method,
if 105
Page 365
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSendCommand method, 71
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSetBulge method, 90
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. SetFileAttributes function,

gif 231
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSetFileTime function, 231
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi SetGridSpacing method,

f 150
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g SetSnapSpacing method,
if 150
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifsetup program, 13
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSetVariable method, 71
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSetView method, 150
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSetWidth method, 90
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. SetXData method, 88, 134,

gif 136, 139, 146, 195, 197, 342,
344
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gSetXRecordData method,
if 191
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. short circuit evaluation,
gif 302303
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifShow method, 27
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSimonyi, Charles, 326

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. simplicity, importance of,
gif 316318
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSingle data type, 290
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifsingle quote ('), 34, 96, 123
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. SingleDocumentMode
gif property, 69
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g SnapBasePoint property,
if 151
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSnapOn property, 151
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. SnapRotationAngle property,

gif 151
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSort method, 180181
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifspin function, 260261
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSplit method, 150, 342, 345
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifsplit_path function, 263
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifsquare brackets ([]), 123
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. starting sequence,

gif programming, 2627
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifStartPoint method, 11, 56
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifStartPoint property, 90
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifStartUndoMark method, 63
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifStatusID property, 151

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
gif StoreAppNames function,
342, 345
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifstoring data, 188
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifstring(s)
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. acquiring data items from,

gif 239
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdelimiters in, counting, 243
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g extension from, viewing,

if 252
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifleft sub-, getting, 253
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. null terminators, removing,

gif 257
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifpadding, with spaces, 256
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. paths, adding backslashes to,

gif 240, 241
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifpaths, getting, 254
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifpoints in, formatting, 250

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifreplacing characters in, 258
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifright sub-, getting, 255
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. stripping extensions from,

gif 262
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifstripping paths from, 263
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifString data type, 7, 290

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g
if
strip_extension function,
262
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g StripTerminator function,
if 257
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifStyleName property, 93
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. subroutines, proper use of,

gif 317318
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifsystem calls, 230232
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSystem property, 95
T
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifTagString property, 166
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifTarget property, 148, 151
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifTemporary directory, 234
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giftesting
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifmacros, 3334
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifmethods, 68
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifnumeric relational, 120123
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifprograms, 3738
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifselection sets, 120127
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giftext box controls, 8283
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi text editor window, 23,

f 2728
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giftext entity objects, 9394
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif
Text property, 117
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Text Styles collection,
gif 143145
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. TextAlignmentPoint
gif property, 93
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. TextGenerationFlag property,
gif 93, 145
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi TextString property, 93,
f 166
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifTextStyles property, 73
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giftilde (~), 123, 127
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifTimer function, 77
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giftoken function, 253
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifTolerance method, 116
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifToolbox controls, 2122
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giftoolbox functions, 237266
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifTools - Macros option, 203
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifTools menu, 168
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifTop property, 64
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giftrain systems, 4345
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. TransformBy method, 88,

gif 146
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.
gif TranslateCoordinates
function, 79
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifTwistAngle property, 153
U
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. UBound function, 100, 162,
gif 163
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. UCS (user coordinate
gif system), 79, 145147
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. UCSIconAtOrigin property,
gif 151
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifUCSIconOn property, 151
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifUnloadARX method, 62
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Update method, 63, 88, 92,

gif 108, 136
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. updates, 1314, 63, 88, 92,
gif 108, 136
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. UpperRightCorner property,
gif 151
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifuser form windows, 15
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifuser IDs, 204
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifUser property, 95
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. user-defined types, naming,

gif 328
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi UserForm option, 21, 24,
f 34
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifUtility object, 61, 7883
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifUtility property, 73, 78
V
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifvariable(s).
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifSee also specific variables
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifdeclarations, 172173
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.giflife of, 319322

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifnames, 309, 326327
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifprecedence of, 319322

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifscope of, 319322
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Variant data type, 290, 295,

gif 298299
VBAIDE (VBA
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. development editor), 64,
gif 7475, 88, 168. See also
VBAIDE command
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. VBAIDE command, 1314,
gif 21, 38
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. VBALOAD command, 38,
gif 206, 355
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. VBARUN command, 38,
gif 206, 211, 355
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifVBE property, 64
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gif
Version property, 64
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. VerticalAlignment property,
gif 93
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifVIEW command, 147
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g view ports collection,

if 148149
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gi View_Corners function,
f 251
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifviruses, 207
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifVisible property, 89
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Visual Basic (Microsoft), 78,

gif 267287
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifcollection objects in, 103
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifWith statement, 82
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Visual Basic Programmer's

gif Guide (Appleman), 215
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g Visual LISP, 27, 49, 199,
if 272
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.g VPORTS command, 148,
if 151
W
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. WCS (World Coordinate
gif System), 146, 147
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifWhile loop, 36
2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Width property, 64, 145, 148,
gif
151,

Bill Kramer - John Gibb - Bill Kramer AutoCAD VBA Programming Tools and Techniques - Exploiting The Po

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Bill Kramer - John Gibb - Bill Kramer AutoCAD VBA Programming Tools and Techniques - Exploiting The Po

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AutoCAD VBA Programming

My Dad always taught me to look at things in a different way. That has

My heartfelt thanks go to my family and friends for continuing to

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Visual BASIC versus 7

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Essential VBA 8

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Computer Science 46

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Exploration of the 60

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Accessing the 66

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. More Selection Set 107

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The DimStyles 134

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Working with 162

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Putting Complete 201

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The VBA Registry 227

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. System and Local 233

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. System 234

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifToolbox Overview 238

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Add Back Slashes 240

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Convert an Object's 242

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Count the Number of 243

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc.gifFind a File 247

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Get the Left 253

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Get the Right 255

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. VB and VBA Help 287

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. The Special 295

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Short Circuit 302

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Accessing Objects on 303

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Passing Forms and 311

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Event-Driven versus 324

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Objects Example 1: 334

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. Hole Chart 357

2042015b45d2b5416108e486be44e8bc. BILL KRAMER AND

AutoCAD Programming Solutions

Visual BASIC versus Visual BASIC for Applications

Getting Comfortable with the IDE

Starting the VBA IDE

Developing Applications with VBA inside AutoCAD

Description of the Application

Start Your IDE

First Lines of Program Code

Add a List Box Control

Programming the Starting Sequence

Global Variable Declarations

Let's look at each line, one at a time, to understand what is going on

In order to obtain a count of the number of insertions for each

A While loop with an always true test of 1 = 1 (one equals one)

Test Run the Main Macro

List Box Reactor Function

As in the initial block counting function, a select set is created

Test the Program

Object-Oriented Programming Introduction

Object Concept Example

Computer Science Description of Objects

About Creating New Objects

The AutoCAD Object Tree

The Document Object

Although this code is not long, it is confusing. We are substituting

As seen, the object level interface found in VBA is much more

Learning about Objects in VBA