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VECTOR.HLP
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\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 304-346-9585
FAX 304-744-1785
Compuserve 70717,3564
Internet 70717.3564@compuserve.com
\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