Shareware Overload Trio 2/Shareware Overload Trio Volume 2 (Chestnut CD-ROM).ISO/dir30/vector13.zip/VECTOR.HLP

Text File | 1994-06-19 | 12KB | 351 lines

\OVERVIEW
\ACCEPT
\CANCEL

                           Vector(tm)

  Vector is an AutoCAD ADS application designed to process line
  and solid geometry. It provides map makers with a means to
  clean up vector geometry and to create color fills. Vector
  works with both DOS and Windows versions of AutoCAD release 12.

  You can now solid fill Polylines (if you don't have polylines,
  Vector can create them for you) and create a solid fill from a
  seed point similar to the AutoCAD 12 command BHATCH. The solid
  fill thus created is composed of AutoCAD's Solid entities.
  Solids occupy only a fraction of the memory and disk space of
  dense hatch patterns. They also plot much quicker and more
  accurately on plotters that support direct solid fill.

  Vector cleans up drawings created by third party programs,
  digitized, or raster to vector conversion. It filters polylines
  and lines using your user defined criteria (offset, angle,
  and/or leg length). Vector also creates polylines from lines.
  Not just one polyline at a time, but thousands (if need be).

  With our fuzzy join the endpoints of the lines do not have to
  meet exactly. Vector can join close lines using a snap
  algorithm similar to AutoCAD's endpoint object snap.

\ABOUT

                   Vector(tm)

                   Mountain Software
                   1579 Nottingham Road
                   Charleston, WV  25314

                   Phone           [phone]
                   FAX             304-744-1785
                   Compuserve      70717,3564
                   Internet        [e-mail]

\BFILL

  Filling a Boundary with Solids

  Enter "BFILL" from the command prompt.

  Select a point within a closed boundary. The program uses the
  AutoCAD "BPOLY" routine to create a temporary polyline. This
  polyline is then filled and retained if the "Keep BFILL Polygon"
  checkbox is checked or deleted if not.

  Note that the entire boundary must be visible on the screen at
  once and that the file ACADAPP.EXP must be loaded. If you have
  a large or complex drawing, then you can speed the process by
  reducing the number of entities that BPOLY must process by
  zooming to just include the area that you wish to fill. You may
  also turn off or freeze layers that are not a part of the
  boundary. This command will temporarily change the UCS origin
  to the lower left corner of the screen to avoid BPOLY errors.

\BFILL_KEEP_POLY

  BFILL Keep Polygon Checkbox

  BFILL uses the AutoCAD "BPOLY" routine to creats a temporary
  polyline. This polyline is then filled and retained if the
  "Keep BFILL Polygon" checkbox is checked or deleted if not.

\BP
\BPOLY

  BP - Replacement BPOLY Command

  This command will temporarily change the UCS origin to the
  lower left corner of the screen to avoid BPOLY errors. This is
  particularly usefull when State Plane or other large coordinate
  values are in use. BPOLY will may times report that the
  selected point is not within a closed boundary when large
  coordinates are in use. The World UCS is restored when the
  command completes

\BH
\BHATCH

  BH - Replacement BHATCH Command

  This command will temporarily change the UCS origin to the
  lower left corner of the screen to avoid BHATCH errors. This is
  particularly usefull when State Plane or other large coordinate
  values are in use. BHATCH will may times report that the
  selected point is not within a closed boundary when large
  coordinates are in use. The World UCS is restored when the
  command completes

\DEBUG

  WEED Debug Checkbox

  When this box is checked the WEED command will list diagnostic
  information including the parameters for each vertex that it
  removes.

\ERASE

  WEED Erase Checkbox

  Select this checkbox to erase the original entity. A new
  "weeded" polyline will be created from the entity data that
  is read from the old entity. If unchecked the old entity will
  be not be deleted.

\FILTER

  SFILL Filter Button

  Select this button to invoke the AutoCAD command "FILTER". A
  filter can be used to select entities based on their
  properties. For example, you might select the entities on layer
  CONTOUR with an elevation (Z value) greater than 1000.

  Once you select the "Apply" button from the filter dialog box,
  SFILL will select ALL entities that match the filter spec and
  then re-enter the SFILL dialog box. You can then select the
  SFILL button to solid fill the POLYLINES from the selection set
  or select the TOUCH command to move those entities on top.

\FUZZY_JOIN
\JOIN
\SNAPDIST

  Joining Lines / Snap Distance Parameter

  The WEED and JOIN commands will join line entities into
  polyline entities. You can join lines whose endpoints do not
  meed exactly by specifying a snap distance setting. Beware of
  using large values for the snap distance, the first endpoint
  encountered (not necessarly the closest) will be selected
  (similar to an AutoCAD Quick snap).

  The JOIN command "gathers" line segments into polylines without
  filtering any of the verticies.

  WARNING: Entity handles, extended entity data, and layer (other
  than the first line of a polyline) as well as other properties
  are lost when lines are "joined".

\LAYER
\LAYER_LIST

  Layer Button and List Box

  You can select entities on a given layer for use by the SFILL
  or TOUCH commands. Simply select the Layer button and select a
  layer from the list box. Then select either SFILL or TOUCH.

\WEED

  The WEED command combines two operations into a single command.
  This command first prompts for LINE, ARC, and POLYLINE entities.
  You can respond with a selection or press <enter> or <space> to
  invoke the Weed dialogue.

  Once you select entities then Weed will read those entities,
  deleting each as they are loaded if the "Erase entity" check
  box is active. Weed will then filter and recreate existing
  polylines. The program then joins line segments to create new
  polylines and finally filters those polylines.

  WARNING: Entity handles, extended entity data, and layer (other
  than the first line of a polyline) as well as other properties
  are lost when lines are "joined".

\CORRIDOR
\OFFSET

  WEED Offset / Corridor Filter Parameter

  The offset filter will remove any vertex that falls within a
  corridor formed by the extension of offset lines parallel to
  the two previous verticies. In effect this parameter sets a
  maximum deviation of the new polyline.

\INTERNAL_ANGLE

  WEED Internal Angle Filter Parameter

  The internal angle filter will remove any vertex that has a
  deviation angle smaller than the specified angle. This filter
  is best to producing smooth polylines with a minimum of
  verticies.

\LEG_LENGTH

  WEED Leg Length Filter Parameter

  The leg length filter removes verticies that are closer to the
  previous vertex than the specified value.

\QUIET

  WEED Quiet Checkbox

  Select this checkbox to suppress all messages during execution
  of the WEED command.

\SAVE_CONFIG

  Save Config Button

  This button causes the current settings for both SFILL and WEED
  to be saved to a file named "vector.ini" in the current
  directory. This file is automatically loaded when you load
  Vector.

\PLOTTING

  Plotting

  When plotting drawings with solid fills, check the "Adjust Pen
  Width" check box in the AutoCAD plot dialogue box to insure
  that plotted solids do not overlap. In addition, make sure that
  the pen with setting in AutoCAD's plot box matches the plotter
  pen setting.

\SFILL

  SFILL Command

  Enter "SFILL" from the Command: prompt to fill polylines with
  solids. The command prompts for POLYLINE entities. You may
  select polyline entities to solid fill. SFILL will remove any
  non-polyline entities from the selection set and then fill the
  interior of those entities selected.

  You can also press <enter> or <space> to display the SFILL
  dialog box where you can change SFILL settings or use a layer
  or filter to select entities.

\SFILL_ARC_SEG

  SFILL Arc Segment Parameter

  Polyline arc segments (bulges) are broken into tangent segments
  to enable filling. You can control the size of the segments
  with this parameter. Small settings will produce a smoother
  curve but will increase processing time and drawing size.

\SFILL_BLOCK_MODE

  SFILL Block Mode Checkbox

  If this check box is active, then solid fills will be created
  as anonamous block entities. This makes managing the fill much
  easier, you can change the properties, move, scale, delete the
  fill in one step instead of dealing with each solid entity
  individually.

\TOUCH

  Touch Command - controlling entity visibility

  This command sets the AutoCAD SORTENTS system variable to
  enable entity sorting for redraw, regen, and plotting. It then
  copies the selected entities in place and deletes the original.
  The result is to "float" these entities to the top making them
  visable. Use TOUCH to move text or other entities that you wish
  to place on top of solid fills.

  WARNING: Entity handles are lost when the entity is "touched".

\TOUCH_EXCLUDE_SOLIDS

  Touch Exclude Solids Checkbox

  The TOUCH command will automatically exclude SOLID entities and
  anonamous blocks (hatch and SFILL created block inserts) when
  this box is checked. When TOUCHing entities to place them on
  top of solid fills this setting will automatically exclude the
  fill, leaving the fill "underneath". If you wish to move a
  solid over another solid then uncheck this box.

\USE_POLY_ATTR

  Use Polyline Attributes Checkbox

  SOLID entities will be created on the same layer and with the
  same color as the polyline when this box is checked. Otherwise
  that will be created using the current AutoCAD color and layer.

\TIPS_AND_TECHNIQUES

  SFILL Speed

  The speed of the solid fill algorithum decreases geometrically
  with the number of line segments in the boundary being filled.
  If you must fill very large or complex polylines then you can
  speed the process by segmenting the area into smaller less
  complex sub-areas. Draw a few temporary lines across the area
  and use the BFILL command or BPOLY followed by SFILL.

  SFILL Failures (unfilled areas)

  THe solid fill algorithum will ocasionally fail to completely
  fill a polyline. When this occurs, enter "U" to undo the fill
  and then use BFILL. This technique will start the fill process
  at a different origin (near the BFILL oick point) and will
  usually result in a complete fill.

  BFILL / BH / BHATCH / BP / BPOLY

  All of these commands use AutoCAD BPOLY function to create a
  polyline from an enclosed boundary. BPOLY will occasionally
  refuse to create a polyline and issue an error message (eg
  point not in enclosed boundary). When this occurs use the
  following techniques to coherse BPOLY:

  1. Select a point in a different part of the enclosed area.
  2. Zoom in so that the boundary just fits on the screen.
  3. Draw (temporary) line(s) across the boundary to break it
     into smaller "chunks".

  Donut Holes, Islands, and Lollipops

  If you wish to exclude islands or "donut holes" from the fill,
  then draw a temportary line crossing the island and the
  external boundary (a lollipop stick). Then use BFILL to fill
  the area of the donut.

\AUTOLISP
\API

  The following AutoLISP functions are created by Vector:

  (C:WEED <selset>) weed a selection set

  (C:JOIN <selset>) join a selection set

  (C:SFILL <ename>)  solid fill a polyline

  (C:SFILL <selset>) solid fill all polylines in a selection set

  (C:BFILL <point>) solid fill the polygon enclosing a point

  (C:BFILL <ename>) solid fill the polygon enclosing point entity

  (C:BFILL <selset>) solid fill the polygon enclosing all points
    in selection set