LISP on ManuSoft

AutoLISP

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Demand Loading a LISP File

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Demand-load a LISP or VLX file from an ObjectARX stub of the same name.

LspLoad updated for BricsCAD 17 and ZWCAD 2017

Fri, 04 Nov 2016 15:30:23 +0000

I have updated the automatic lisp loader modules (LspLoad.zip on my freebies page) to support BricsCAD V17 and ZWCAD 2017. Note that the source code for LspLoad is also available.

QuirkyPolyline updated for Bricscad and ZWCAD+

Tue, 09 Dec 2014 04:39:50 +0000

I’ve updated QuirkyPolyline and added support for Bricscad 14 – 15 and ZWCAD+ 2014 – 2015. The new QuirkyPolyline download is available on the ObjectARX freebies page.

Building a commercial grade lisp plugin installer in 5 easy steps

Tue, 18 Feb 2014 01:36:34 +0000

Rumors about the death of AutoLISP have been floating around for many years, but fear not, those rumors are greatly exaggerated. Bricscad and ZWCAD both have excellent support for lisp plugins, so well-written lisp code is truly cross-platform and enjoys a large and growing audience. Unlike other languages, the vast majority of lisp code works unmodified on any hardware architecture, in any version of Windows, and inside any host application that supports it, including AutoCAD versions released more than a decade ago. On top of that, OpenDCL gives lisp developers the power of a modern event-driven user interface that can put their lisp plugins on the same playing field as plugins written in any other language. This is a powerful combination, and given lisp’s low entry cost, it is not surprising to see lisp continuing to enjoy strong support in the developer community.

LspLoad now supports Bricscad V14 and ZWCAD+ 2014

Fri, 01 Nov 2013 10:48:12 +0000

I have updated the automatic lisp loader modules (LspLoad.zip on my freebies page) to support Bricscad V14 and ZWCAD+ 2014. Note that the source code for Lspload is also available.

LspLoad Updated for AutoCAD 2014 and Bricscad 13 64-bit

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 20:58:40 +0000

The automatic lisp loader modules (LspLoad.zip on my freebies page) have been updated to add support for AutoCAD 2014 and Bricscad 13 64-bit. The modules are now digitally signed so that AutoCAD 2014 loads them quietly.

QuirkyPolyline: exposing foolish programmers

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 02:38:45 +0000

In AutoCAD, the AcDbCurve class defines a general parametrized curve. On a parametrized curve, points in space are mapped to real numbers (parameters) by an arbitrary function F(p) for values of p from the curve start parameter to the curve end parameter. Defining a curve this way simplifies working with complex 3D curves because one can work in the curve’s one dimensional “parameter space” instead of the more complex three dimensional cartesian space.

OpenDCL 6

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 14:32:27 +0000

You may not have noticed, but AutoLISP is still alive and kicking. This is evidenced by the growing community of developers and hobbyist programmers using the latest release of OpenDCL, the free graphical user interface library for AutoLISP applications. If you’re not familiar with OpenDCL, check out the newly released OpenDCL 6.

Automatic LISP Loading

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:12:00 +0000

There are a myriad of ways to load AutoLISP applications in AutoCAD, including acaddoc.lsp, an .mnl file, the Startup Suite, and manually by various means. For application developers wishing to deploy their applications to others, all of these methods have drawbacks. The ideal solution should be easy to implement in an installation program, require minimal or zero changes to the user’s AutoCAD configuration, work the same way across all versions of AutoCAD, and easily undone when the application is uninstalled.

OpenDCL Quick Intro

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 14:42:00 +0000

If you’re an AutoLISP programmer, you’ve probably heard about OpenDCL. Maybe you’ve even checked it out, but it looked complicated and you weren’t sure whether it was worth the trouble to learn how to use it. Either way, do yourself a favor and spend 10 minutes to go through the following 10-step quick introduction to OpenDCL.

Download and install OpenDCL Studio. Select the latest version in your desired language (ENU in the filename means US English). The download is an .msi file that can be cleanly uninstalled afterward.
Start AutoCAD (2004 or later). Use the APPLOAD command to load _MasterDemo.lsp from the OpenDCL Studio samples folder (it will be located in a language subfolder of the main OpenDCL Studio folder). When you close the APPLOAD dialog, the OpenDCL ‘MasterDemo’ dockable form will appear.
Click on the [ListView] button to run the ListView sample. The ListView sample is very simple and will demonstrate some basic principles of OpenDCL. Leave it running as you proceed through the following steps.
Locate and open ListView.lsp in the OpenDCL Studio samples folder. ListView.lsp contains all the code for the ListView sample. Look for the c:ListViewDlg_Close_Clicked function defined near the end of that file. That function is called an “event handler”, and it is the lisp function that is executed when the [Close] button is pressed. The event handler for the [Close] button simply closes the dialog. The c:ListViewDlg_OnInitialize event handler function initializes the controls on the dialog before it is displayed.
Locate and open ListView.odcl in the OpenDCL Studio samples folder. Files with an .odcl extension can be opened and edited in OpenDCL Studio. OpenDCL Studio is used to design the user interface elements in an OpenDCL project. In the project tree pane, open the ‘Modal Forms’ folder, then double click on ListViewDlg. The ListView form will be displayed in design mode.
Click on the [Close] button on the ListView form. In the font toolbar at the top of the editor, press the [B] button to make the font bold. Notice that the button’s caption becomes bold. In the ‘Properties’ pane, double click on the ‘Height’ property value and change it to 20. Press [Enter] to apply the new value. Use your mouse to drag the bottom of the button in design view to resize it dynamically.
Leaving OpenDCL Studio open, switch back to AutoCAD. Resize the ListView dialog, and notice how the controls it contains are also resized. Now switch back to OpenDCL Studio, make sure the [Close] button is selected, then click in the right column of the ‘(Wizard)’ property in the Properties pane (or right click on the button control and select ‘Properties’ in the control’s context menu). In the Control Properties Wizard, the Geometry tab shows that the button’s “Left Side Alignment” has been set to “Offset From Center of Dialog” and it’s “Top Side Alignment” has been set to “Offset From Bottom Edge”. Once these properties are set, no additional code is needed for the control to react correctly when the dialog is resized.
Exit AutoCAD, then restart. Enter the OPENDCL command. This command demand-loads the OpenDCL Runtime using AutoCAD demand loading mechanism. The OpenDCL Runtime must be loaded before the OpenDCL functions will work. The OpenDCL Studio installation includes OpenDCL Runtime, so it already exists on your computer.
If you are developing an application for use by others, you’ll need to download and distribute the OpenDCL Runtime along with your application. This is best done by incorporating the OpenDCL Runtime merge module for your language directly into your own application’s installation script. Alternatively, you can distribute the standalone OpenDCL Runtime .msi file for your language, or publish the URL where end users can download the latest version.
Switch back to OpenDCL Studio and double click on the [Close] button control. Intelligent help displays all the properties, methods, and events of the selected control, including their AutoLISP syntax. Click on a property, method, or event in the left pane to see detailed information for it.

Once you complete these ten steps, you are only a few minutes away from creating a fully functional OpenDCL application. Give it a try!

OpenDCL 4.0 Debuts

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 09:51:00 +0000

OpenDCL 4.0 has finally been released. If you’re not familiar with OpenDCL, check it out at www.opendcl.com, or on SourceForge at sourceforge.net/projects/opendcl.

OpenDCL, based on the original commercial ObjectDCL software by Chad Wanless, is a modern replacement for the old DCL dialog control language in AutoCAD. The current OpenDCL Runtime supports AutoCAD 2002 through 2008 (except AutoCAD 2008 x64). It is designed to give AutoCAD end users and AutoLISP application developers a simple yet powerful way to design and use rich user interfaces in their applications.

The goal for version 4.0 was to get it stable and fix all the bugs, with minimal new feature development. OpenDCL 4.1 will add support for AutoCAD 2008 x64. After that we will start working on localized language versions, and adding new features.

OpenDCL is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL) open source license, completely free to use, and source code is available on SourceForge.

Introducing OpenDCL for AutoCAD

Wed, 31 Jan 2007 19:44:00 +0000

AutoLISP programmers may remember a product named ObjectDCL, by 3rd Day Software. ObjectDCL was released as open source in the summer of 2006 by developer Chad Wanless due to his inability to continue supporting the software because of “health reasons”. At the time, many users of ObjectDCL hoped that someone would update the code to work in AutoCAD 2007. Programmer David Robison did some work to get AutoCAD 2007 supported, but the project has been languishing, almost to the point of extinction.

After being asked by several ObjectDCL users whether I could help, I decided a few weeks ago to contribute to the community by getting the original C++ code updated to support AutoCAD 2007. As I am wont to do, I’ve ended up re-architecting much of the code in the process.

The results of my work are available now at the new OpenDCL project on SourceForge. The new 4.0 release is still in the alpha testing phase. If you program in AutoLISP and want to create rich user interfaces for your applications, check it out!

Demand Loading a VLX File

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 18:34:00 +0000

Some years ago I wrote a small ObjectARX module named VLXLoad that loads a .vlx file of the same name and in the same directory as the .arx module. I never claimed credit for the utility, but now that I’ve released the source code, I guess I’ll have to own up to it.