home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
The 640 MEG Shareware Studio 2
/
The 640 Meg Shareware Studio CD-ROM Volume II (Data Express)(1993).ISO
/
cad
/
hat23.zip
/
HAT23.DOC
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1991-12-27
|
28KB
|
634 lines
HAT hatch utilities version 2.3 (c)1991 Michael E. Ross
All Rights Reserved.
This program is distributed as Shareware. You are allowed
to try the HAT hatch utilities FREE, but if you decide to
keep the utilities, you MUST register. See the registration
form HATORDER.DOC included with the HAT programs. Your
evaluation period must not exceed 2 weeks.
The trial copy of HAT has been embedded with registration
reminder notices. When you register your copy, you will be
sent a new copy of HAT 2.3 with no such reminder notices.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
WARRANTY. ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED.
HAT is a group of programs designed to make using the hatch
utility of AutoCAD easier.
Feel free to distribute HAT, as long as you include:
HAT23.DOC this file
HAT23.LSP the program
HAT23.MNU icon menu accessed by HAT23.LSP
HAT23.DWG sample drawing to try HAT (try it!)
HATORDER.DOC order form
If you simply pass along the compressed HAT23 file, all these
files will be included. The Compression format will depend
on where you obtained the HAT23 file. Some electronic
bulletin boards may distribute only ZIP files which must be
decompressed with PkunZIP. If the HAT23 file you have has
an .EXE extension, then this is a self extracting compressed
file and you need only type the word HAT23 for decompression
to begin.
Even if you decide not to register, please fill out the
comments portion of the registration form to let me know what
you thought and any suggestions you may have.
Finally, please don't abuse the Shareware system, it has been
a real boon to thousands of computer users, and has provided
fantastic macros and programming. It provides you with the
opportunity to try software out BEFORE you buy it.
To register your copy of HAT 2.3, simply print out and
complete the accompanying order form, HATORDER.DOC. Send the
completed form with your payment to the address shown on the
order form, or listed at the end of this document.
The order price for HAT 2.3 is $25.00 (U.S.).
Upgrading from HAT 2.0 and earlier versions is $10.00.
Upgrading from HAT 2.1 is $5.00 for shipping and handling.
Page 2
HAT 2.3
Instruction Manual
20 Dec 91
(c)1991 Michael E. Ross
All Rights Reserved
Table of Contents: Page
Introduction, What is HAT 2.3 ........................3
What HAT does.........................................3
Installing HAT 2.3 ...................................4
How to use HAT........................................6
Tips on using HAT.....................................9
Enhancements to HAT...................................10
Technical info........................................14
Changes and additions to this manual are denoted by a
vertical line in the left margin.
AutoCAD & AutoLISP are registered trademarks of AutoDesk Inc
Page 3
----------------------What is HAT 2.3------------------------
HAT23.LSP is an AutoLISP program which enhances AutoCAD
R.10 and R.11 hatch command.
Have you ever tried to find out what pattern name, scale or
angle was used to create an existing hatch pattern? Did you
try the List command and select the hatch pattern only to no
avail?
Or have you ever created a hatched area only to decide you
don't like the scale or rotation angle, or you wish you
could just move the pattern slightly? If so, you most likely
erased the pattern and rehatched the area, possibly repeating
the process several times until you were satisfied.
If you have wished for an easy solution to these problems,
then HAT is for you!
----------------------WHAT HAT.LSP DOES----------------------
HAT works much like the AutoCAD hatch command, but also
allows you to dynamically RESCALE and ROTATE, and MOVE hatch
patterns as you create them.
In addition, HAT records hatch information about each hatch
pattern it creates. This information is stored with the
drawing and may be REFERENCED at any time.
If you want to hatch an area with the same pattern, scale and
angle as an existing pattern, there is also a SELECT option
to MATCH existing patterns.
HAT can only extract reference information from hatch
patterns which were created with the HAT command.
HAT improves on the AutoCAD hatch command by giving full
control of hatch patterns. HAT does everything the hatch
command does and more!
HAT even knows if a pattern has been rescaled or rotated
after its original creation. When you query HAT about such
a hatch pattern, HAT will report the actual scale and
rotation.
Page 4
---------------------INSTALLING HAT 2.3----------------------
HAT 2.3 is for use with AutoCAD R.10 and R.11 dos and 386
versions.
Installing HAT is easy.
The recommended platform for HAT is a 386 version of
AutoCAD. If you do not have 386 AutoCAD, extended lisp
is highly recomended, and if you do not have sufficient
memory for extended lisp, use a lispstack=5000 in your
Autoexec.bat file.
If you just have one file called HAT23.EXE or HAT23.ZIP or
some such name, the first step is decompressing the HAT
files.
If you are reading this, you obviously have successfully
decompressed the HAT23 compressed file, however the
following is provided for the sake of general information.
In the case of HAT23.EXE, this is a self extracting
compressed file. All you need to do is log onto the drive
which contains HAT23.EXE, and type HAT23 and enter. The
HAT files will be automatically decompressed to the drive
where HAT23 is located.
If your file is called HAT23.ZIP you will need to
decompress with PkunZIP program (available as Shareware
on most electronic bulletin boards).
The compression format for the HAT23 compressed file will
depend on where you obtained the HAT23 file from. If your
source was Compuserve, the format will be EXE or self
extracting. Some electronic bulletin boards use their own
standard compression format such as ZIP or PAK.
Decompressing the HAT23 compressed file will generate the
following 5 HAT files:
HAT23.DOC this file
HAT23.LSP the program
HAT23.MNU icon menu accessed by hat.lsp
HAT23.DWG sample drawing to try HAT (try it!)
HATORDER.DOC order form
Now you simply copy the above files to the directory you use
for AutoCAD. See example below.
If you use a special directory for lisp programs you may
put HAT23.LSP there, but the file HAT23.MNU must be in the
AutoCAD library path (either the directory where ACAD.EXE
is or a directory specified by the ACAD environment
variable. [I.E. SET ACAD=path;anotherpath;yetanotherpath]
see AutoCAD Reference Manual R.11, page 480).
Page 5
example:
Your acad.exe file is on the D: drive, \acad subdirectory.
The HAT files are on a floppy diskette in drive A:.
simply type:
copy a:*.* d:\acad
and hit return
Now when you are in AutoCAD drawing editor, you can type:
(load"hat23")
and hit return. You must type the parenthesis and quotes
exactly as shown. When you have done this you will see the
message:
Loaded HAT 2.3 programs. (c)1991 Michael E. Ross.
You may now type:
hat
and hit return. The HAT program will take it from there!
Page 6
------------------------HOW TO USE HAT-----------------------
For a "Quick Intro" to HAT, load the sample drawing,
HAT23.DWG, on your machine and follow the suggestions shown.
Load the HAT programs by typing (load"hat23") from the
AutoCAD drawing editor, (the hat files must be in the ACAD
search path such as the directory where ACAD.EXE is). For
more information on the load command, see page 113 of the
AutoLISP Programmers Reference Release 11.
(see "Installing HAT 2.3" above)
Type the word hat from the Command: prompt. That's all
there is to it. Follow the prompts as you would the regular
hatch command:
| (The specific method of prompting may vary if a qualified
| AutoCAD customizer has implimented Hat Custom Menus as
| described on page 10 below, but the concepts remain the same)
1. Pattern name / [S]elect / [U]ser / ? / <default>:
a. you can type the name of the pattern you want to use.
b. type S and you may Select an existing hatch to match
it (as long as it was created with HAT.LSP).
c. type U and create a user defined hatch just like the
user option of the standard hatch command.
d. type a ? and you can use the icon menus to select
your pattern. (see the section of this document
titled "INSTALLING HAT 2.3").
e. hit return to accept the default pattern.
Any of the N,O, or I modifiers may be added to the
pattern name. (see page 400 R.11 reference manual)
Any "legal" pattern name may be specified whether
it is part of ACAD.PAT or a custom pattern name.
(see page 402 R.11 reference manual)
2. Scale for pattern <default>:
a. type in a scale (or pick 2 points on screen)
b. hit return to accept the default
3. Angle for pattern <default>:
a. type in an angle (or you can pick an angle on screen)
b. hit return to accept the default
4. Select objects
pick the border(s) for your hatch pattern using any of
the standard Select options.
HAT.LSP hatches the selected area and prompts you for
rescaling and rotating options:
Page 7
5. Do you want to REscale / ROtate / Move? <No>:
a. type the first letter(s) of the option you want.
Hat will reprompt you for new value required, then
rehatch the area automatically, and return to this
prompt. You can keep adjusting the pattern until you
are satisfied.
b. hit return to accept the scale angle and position.
The next prompt only applies to AutoCAD R.10 users, if your
system is AutoCAD R.11 or above, HAT 2.3 uses a different,
more efficient technique to attach reference information,
namely extended entity data. This only adds about 100 bytes
to your drawing, so HAT does not bother to ask whether you
want it attached, it just does it.
6. Do you want to make a Hatch Reference Block? <Yes>:
a. hit return to store the info about the hatch you just
made. An invisible reference block will be inserted
into the drawing. The reference block takes about 400
bytes.
b. if for some reason, you don't want the reference
block to be inserted, type n. If you do this, you
won't be able to get the pattern info (name, scale,
and angle) at a later time, it will be just like a
hatch created with the 'hatch' command.
That's it! Not only does HAT.LSP make creating hatch patterns
easier but it enables you to find out what pattern, scale and
angle was used at any time in the drawings life.
After having created a hatch pattern using HAT, you may now
reference that pattern at any time to find the pattern's
scale and rotation angle. To do this, HAT.LSP must be loaded
as above, then:
HATREF
Type 'hatref' from the command prompt. You will be prompted
to select a hatch pattern. When you do, the pattern name,
it's scale and angle will be printed to the screen.
If you try this on a pattern with no reference block, such
as a hatch pattern created with the standard hatch command,
you will be so informed.
Page 8
HATCLR
Function to erase stray HAT attributes left by exploding a
hatch pattern created with HAT 1.5 or earlier. These
attributes are for the most part harmless, but may plot as
a dot in your drawing and will cause attribute prompting if
the drawing they are in is inserted as a block. HATCLR
finds them, and gets rid of them. To use HATCLR simply load
HAT as described above, and type 'hatclr' at the command
prompt.
HAT 2.3 does not use attributes to store hatch information,
it uses extended entity data. This approach, only possible
with new lisp commands in R.11 is faster, cleaner, uses
less memory and leaves no stray attributes if you should
explode the hatch pattern.
Page 9
-------------------TIPS ON USING HAT 2.3---------------------
Hat may be employed to manipulate hatch patterns in some very
useful ways. Here are a few examples:
EXAMPLE 1:
The Move option of HAT also allows you to align a new hatch
pattern created adjacent to an existing hatched area.
If you wish to hatch an area next to an existing hatched
area, possibly to expand the hatched area without redoing
the whole thing, first use the Select option described
above to "match" the pattern, scale and angle. If the old
hatch pattern has been moved, rotated or relocated in any
way, the new pattern will have a different insert point
and the patterns will not align.
To align the new pattern to the old one, simply use the
Move option during the HAT operation; type "M" for move,
then for the base point or displacement, use "osnap
| nearest" and select a point on the NEW hatch pattern, for
| the second point of the move, use "osnap nearest" and
| select a point on the OLD hatch pattern. This will align
| the new hatch pattern to mesh with the existing one
| provided similar points in the patterns are "osnaped".
There are other tricks which HAT enables a creative thinker
to accomplish. If you have come up with a handy application
with HAT, I'd like to hear about it, I may even include it
in this section of future releases of HAT.
Page 10
| ------------------ENHANCEMENTS FOR HAT 2.3-------------------
| HAT 2.3 has incorporated some very useful "user requested"
| features. Many thanks to the users who have provided their
| thoughtful suggestions (and to those who have registered).
| HAT 2.3 has a more water tight error trapping routine which
| writes hatch reference data if a hatch has been generated
| regardless of how the program was terminated. Formerly, if
| a ^C (cancel) was encountered during HAT operation, no
| reference data would be stored. This was particularly
| troublesome since many users have AutoCAD menus with embedded
| ^Cs in their command items. This no longer negates the HAT
| data.
| HAT 2.3 is now insensitive to the angdir or angbase setting.
| Custom Menus with HAT:
| HAT 2.3 incorporates global variables which serve as "hooks"
| to access custom menus for use with the HAT program. Custom
| menus can be particularly useful in supplying the draughter
| with predefined options for input when using HAT. The
| variables may be set by menu or macro imbedded commands by
| a compitent AutoCAD customizer. Each variable is designed
| to point to a specific menu for activation by the menucmd
| Autolisp command. Each variable also has a corresponding
| optional prompt variable, which if set to a string, will be
| displayed with the users custom menu. A list of each
| variable set and exactly which phase of HAT they will be
| activated in follows:
| Menu variable Prompt variable Purpose
| _HCM1 _HCM1P pattern prompt
| _HCM2 _HCM2P scale prompt
| _HCM3 _HCM3P angle prompt
| _HCM4 _HCM4P for Re Ro M N prompt
| _HCM5 _HCM5P for U Spacing prompt
| _HCM6 _HCM6P for U Double prompt
| _HCM7 _HCM7P for U Re Ro M N prompt
| Each "hatch custom menu" variable is totally optional. If
| one is not supplied, HAT will operate normally, and expect
| user input to come from the keyboard. If _HCM1 is used, this
| will activate the specified menu during the prompt for
| pattern name. This will override the built in ? option which
| normally caused a menu swap to HAT23.MNX. No menu swap will
| occur, but the user's specified menu will activate if valid.
Page 11
| Examples of usage:
| (setq _HCM1 "i=hat1" _HCM1P "Select pattern: ")
| This will cause an Icon menu called HAT1 to display during
| the prompt for pattern name. Also the prompt "Select
| pattern" will be printed on the command line. The icon menu
| for _HCM1P must return one of the valid options such as U, S,
| or a pattern name.
| (setq _HCM2 "s=hatscl" _HCM2P "Select scale: ")
| This will cause a screen menu to display when HAT prompts
| the user for the pattern's scale. If the user opts to
| dynamically change pattern scale during HAT, this screen
| menu and prompt will repeat.
| (setq _HCM4 "s=hatopt1" _HCM4P "Select option: ")
| This will cause a screen menu to display. _HCM4 must return
| one of the option key words: RE RO M or N. This menu will
| redisplay as the user dynamically adjusts the pattern.
| The Hatch Custom Menu variables may point to any of the
| normal AutoCAD menus. The global variables may be set when
| HAT is loaded or in ACAD.LSP etc.
| The Hatch Custom Menus offer the AutoCAD customizer total
| flexibility and control over the HAT program. Users will
| be pleased by the well designed menu which will allow less
| typing and more AutoCADing.
Page 12
------------------ENHANCEMENTS FOR HAT 2.0-------------------
HAT 2.0 represents the highest achievement in hatching
technology.
Hat recognizes which version of AutoCAD is being used and
responds accordingly, utilizing new features described
below if it finds R.11 or higher.
If R.10 is detected, HAT uses attributes to store hatch
data. This is the same method as HAT versions 1.0 through
1.5.
If R.11 is detected, HAT uses extended entity data to store
the hatch data. This method is only possible due to new
commands in R.11. Using extended entity data is better
than attributes for the following reasons:
-It is faster to generate.
-It uses less memory.
-It retains the name of the hatch block (an unnamed block)
rather than having to make up a block name.
-Attributes do not become stranded should the hatch block
be exploded.
HAT and HATREF will recognize the hatch Regardless of which
type of hatch reference info is attached to the pattern, as
long as the hatch was created with a version of HAT.
------------------ENHANCEMENTS FOR HAT 1.5-------------------
HAT 1.5 represents further enhancements made to the program
in response to registered and non registered user
suggestions.
HAT command repeat. If you press enter immediately after
using HAT, you get the Select objects: prompt, skipping
the initial HAT prompts. This has been added to more
closely imitate the standard hatch command.
N, O and I modifiers (normal, outermost and ignore) are
now allowed (preceded by a comma) for all legal pattern
names.
All legal pattern names are now supported, whether the
patterns are in the acad.pat file or are custom pattern
files located elsewhere.
The first pick for Select objects: prompt may now be a
window, crossing, previous, last or any other legal
response to a normal Select objects: prompt.
Page 13
------------------ENHANCEMENTS FOR HAT 1.4-------------------
HAT 1.4 represents further enhancements made to the program
in response to registered user suggestions.
A problem with text styles defined with a fixed height is
fixed. HAT is not affected by either fixed or variable
height text.
Reference blocks are now given unique names so that block
redefinition does not occur if a drawing with HAT reference
blocks is inserted onto another.
The color of HAT patterns is now changeable as are normal
hatch patterns.
HAT now reads the ACAD.PAT file with more versatility. If
a customized ACAD.PAT file is used, the pattern header does
not require the pattern description as required by HAT 1.3.
------------------ENHANCEMENTS FOR HAT 1.3-------------------
HAT 1.2 has been improved! The following is a list of the
improvements:
User defined hatch patterns are now allowed and fully
supported by HAT and HATREF. User defined hatch patterns
may even be matched with the Select option of HAT 1.3.
The Move option now works more like the AutoCAD Move
command. Absolute and relative points may be supplied
as well as Displacement.
Hatches created with HAT 1.3 may now be changed to
different layers and the hatch will adopt the
characteristics of that layer (color linetype etc.).
HAT 1.3 and HATREF will report the actual scale and angle
of a hatch pattern created with HAT even if it has been
scaled or rotated using AutoCAD editing commands.
Page 14
---------------------HAT TECHNICAL INFO----------------------
HAT 2.3 is for use with R.10 or R.11 dos or 386 versions.
HAT searches the ACAD.PAT file to determine if pattern names
typed in are valid. Custom hatch patterns, may be specified
if they are legal pattern definitions and are in a directory
where AutoCAD will find them.
HAT will bomb if you have set Undo Control to one or none.
All versions of HAT prior to version 2.0 and HAT 2.3 running
on R.10 use attributes to store the hatch information. If
one such hatch pattern is exploded, the attributes will be
stranded or left on your drawing.
HAT 2.3 running on R.11 does not use attributes, rather
extended entity data. This is more memory efficient,
executes faster than creating attributes, and has no side
effects if the hatch pattern is exploded.
The stray attributes left from exploding hatch patterns
generated by HAT 2.3 running on R.10 are basically harmless
but may be noticed as a dot on your plot (they're real
small). Also, if you insert the drawing on which the hatch
was exploded, into another drawing, then you will probably
get attribute prompts. To avoid these side effects,
1. don't explode hatch patterns
2. or, use HATCLR described above to erase the HAT
attributes. (Just type 'hatclr' after loading HAT).
Only the capitalized letters of the option keywords used in
HAT should be supplied. For example, to initiate the Select
option, an s or S are all that should be supplied. This is
necessary since a custom hatch patterns may have names
similar to the option keywords. If you make a custom screen
menu to supply responses to HAT requests, limit the response
options to only the necessary letters (such as S U RO).
If you find the performance of HAT to be inadequate, please
let me know by filling out the comments on the ORDER FORM.
I have found HAT to work best on AutoCAD 386 or Extended
lisp.
Michael E. Ross
610 E. Canon Perdido, 6
Santa Barbara, CA 93103-3037
U.S.A.
Compuserve 73527,726
