Editing Dimension Dress-Up

Mechanical Design	Drafting	Editing Dimension Dress-Up How to use dimension interfaces
Use Case

Abstract

This article discusses the CAADrwDimDressupCmd.cpp use case. This use case explains how to edit a dimension dress-up.

What You Will Learn With This Use Case
The Main Dimension Interfaces
The CAADrwDimDressupCmd Use Case
Step-by-Step
In Short
References

What You Will Learn With This Use Case

In this use case you will learn how to modify the dimension dress-up parameters.

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The Main Dimension Interfaces

Fig. 1: The Dimension Interfaces UML Diagram

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The CAADrwDimDressupCmd Use Case

CAADrwDimDressupCmd is a use case of the CAADraftingInterfaces.edu framework that illustrates DraftingInterfaces framework capabilities.

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What Does CAADrwDimDressupCmd Do

This sample waits for a dimension selection and modifies the dress-up as follows:

Fig. 2: The Dimension After and Before Dress-Up
	Texts Prefix = “L=“, main text upper = “Up” main text lower = “Down” Dual value On, in inch, side by side Tolerance main and dual, alpha-numerical Dimension Line Thickness = 0.2, color = blue Extension Line Funnel, thickness = 0.2, color = yellow, over-run = 4, blanking = 4 Symbol Circled cross, thickness = 0.2 color = green Font 5mm, color = red Frame : Rectangle

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How to Launch CAADrwDimDressupCmd

To launch CAADrwDimDressupCmd, you will need to set up the build time environment, then compile CAADrwDimDressupCmd and CAADrwAddin along with its prerequisites, set up the run time environment, and then include the command in a workbench [1].

Launch CATIA session.
Right-click on Drafting workshop to activate CAAUseCaseCommands toolbar.
Launch the DimDressup use case command, and select the annotation.

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Where to Find the CAADrwDimDressupCmd Code

The CAADrwDimDressupCmduse case is made of two source files named CAADrwDimDressupCmd.h and CAADrwDimDressupCmd.cpp located in the CAADrwDimDressup.m module of the CAADraftingInterfaces.edu framework:

Windows	`InstallRootDirectory\CAADraftingInterfaces.edu\CAADrwDimDressup.m\`
Unix	`InstallRootDirectory/CAADraftingInterfaces.edu/CAADrwDimDressup.m/`

where InstallRootDirectory is the directory where the CAA CD-ROM is installed.

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Step-by-Step

There are 11 steps in CAADrwDimDressupCmd:

Building the State Chart and Creating the Appropriate Selection Agent
Retrieving the Selection
Editing the Text
Setting the Dual Value
Adding the Tolerance
Editing the Main Value
Editing the Dual Value
Editing the Dimension Line
Editing the Extension Line
Setting the Funnel
Building the Dimension and Exit

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Building the State Chart and Creating the Appropriate Selection Agent

void CAADrwDimDressupCmd::BuildGraph()
{  
   // Creation of the acquisition agent
   _pObjectAgent = new CATPathElementAgent("_ObjectAgent A");
   _pObjectAgent ->SetBehavior( CATDlgEngWithPrevaluation | 
                                CATDlgEngMultiAcquisition | 
                                CATDlgEngWithCSO); 

   // We want to select dimensions
   _pObjectAgent ->AddElementType("CATIDrwDimDimension");
   AddCSOClient(_pObjectAgent);
   
   //  States definition
   CATDialogState* state1 = GetInitialState("Sel dimension");
   state1->AddDialogAgent(_pObjectAgent);
   
   // Transition definition
   AddTransition(state1, NULL, IsOutputSetCondition(_pObjectAgent),
                 Action((ActionMethod)&CAADrwDimDressupCmd::DressUp, NULL, NULL));
}

In this section we create a CATPathElementAgent and set the corresponding element type to CATIDrwDimDimension. So only dimensions could be selected.

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Retrieving the Selection

boolean CAADrwDimDressupCmd::DressUp(void *)
{ 
   // We get the Selected set of objects
   CATSO* pObjSO = _pObjectAgent->GetListOfValues(); 
   CATPathElement *pElemPath = NULL;
   
   if (pObjSO)  
   {

      // There is a selection, we will scan it from the beginning
      pObjSO->InitElementList();
      while (NULL != (pElemPath = (CATPathElement*)pObjSO->NextElement()))
      {
         // Make sure the element is dimension
         CATIDrwDimDimension *piDim = (CATIDrwDimDimension *)pElemPath->FindElement(IID_CATIDrwDimDimension);
         
         if (NULL != piDim)
         {

...

The acquisition agent did put the selected dimension into the CSO. So we get the set of object and loop on it.

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Editing the Text

...
            // Text properties
            CATIDrwTextProperties_var spTextProperties = piDim;
            spTextProperties->SetFontSize(5);
            spTextProperties->SetColor(255, 0, 0, 255);
            spTextProperties->SetFrameType(CATDrwRectangle);

...

The dimension implements the CATIDrwTextProperties interface. Using this interface, we modify the font size, color and the text frame format.

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Setting the Dual Value

...            
            // Dual value
            piDim->ShowDualValue();
...

The dual value is set using the CATIDrwDimDimension interface.

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Adding the Tolerance

...
            // Tolerance
            piDim->AddTolerance("h7","g6",1,1);
...

The tolerance is set using the CATIDrwDimDimension interface.

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Editing the Main Value

...
            // We get the dim value
            CATIDrwDimValue_var spDimValue = piDim->GetValue();
            spDimValue->SetDualValueDisplay(CATDrwDimDualSideBySide);
            
            // The main value
            CATIDrwDimValueComponent_var spMainValue = spDimValue->GetFaceComponent();
            CATIDrwDimText_var spMainText = spMainValue->GetText();
            spMainText->SetPSText("L=", "");
            spMainText->SetBAULText("", "", "Up", "Down");
...

The CATGraphicAttributeSet will be used to convert RGBA data from a 4-integer representation to a 1-integer representation. First we get the dimension value. This feature manages the main and dual value representations. Then we get the main value from the dimension value. Using SetPSText we set:

The prefix
The suffix.

Using SetBAULText we set:

The text before
The text after
The text upper
The text lower.

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Editing the Dual Value

...
            // The dual value
            CATIDrwDimValueComponent_var spDualValue = spDimValue->GetDualComponent();
            CATIDrwDimFormat_var spDualFormat = spDualValue->GetFormat();
            spDualFormat->SetUnit(CATDrwDimUnitINCH);
...

We get the dual value from the dimension value and modify the format putting the unit to "INCH".

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Editing the Dimension Line

...
            // Useful to convert RGBA(4-int)<->RGBA(1-int)
            CATGraphicAttributeSet attrSet;

            // DimensionLine
            CATIDrwDimDimensionLine_var spDimLine = piDim->GetDimensionLine();
            attrSet.SetColorRGBA(255,0,0,255);
            spDimLine->SetGraphicParameters(attrSet.GetColorRGBA(), 0.2);
            spDimLine->SetSymbol(CATDrwDimSymbCircledCross,CATDrwDimSymbCircledCross);
            attrSet.SetColorRGBA(0,255,0,255);
            spDimLine->SetSymbolsGraphicParameters(attrSet.GetColorRGBA(), 0.1, 
                                                   attrSet.GetColorRGBA(), 0.1);
...

We get the dimension line interface from the dimension. Using the CATIDrwDimDimensionLine interface we modify :

The color and thickness (using the CATGraphicAttributeSet)
Both symbols
The symbol graphic parameters.

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Editing the Extension Line

...
            // ExtentionLine
            CATIDrwDimExtensionLine_var spExtLine = piDim->GetExtensionLine();
            attrSet.SetColorRGBA(0,255,255,255);
            spExtLine->SetGraphicParameters(attrSet.GetColorRGBA(), 0.2);
            spExtLine->SetGap(4);
            spExtLine->SetOverRun(4);
...

We get the extension line interface from the dimension.
Using the CATIDrwDimExtensionLine interface we modify :

The color and thickness (using the CATGraphicAttributeSet)
The gap and over-run.

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Setting the Funnel

...
            // Funnel
            CATIDrwDimExtensionLineLinear_var spLinearExtLine = spExtLine;
            spLinearExtLine->SetFunnel(1);
...

This is a distance dimension. So the extension line implements CATIDrwDimExtensionLine. CATIDrwDimExtensionLineLinear::SetFunnel(1) sets the funnel at true.

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Building the Dimension and Exit

...
            // Let's update the dimension after spec modifications
            CATISpecObject_var spDimSpec = piDim;
            spDimSpec->Update();

            piDim->Release();
         }
      }
      
      _pObjectAgent -> InitializeAcquisition();
      return TRUE;
   }
   return FALSE;
}

We have to update the dimension to take into account the dress-up modifications.

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In Short

This use case shows how to edit a dimension dress-up. The main dimension interfaces are CATIDrwDimDimension, CATIDrwTextProperties, CATIDrwDimValue, CATIDrwDimValueComponent, CATIDrwDimText, CATIDrwDimFormat, CATIDrwDimDimensionLine, CATIDrwDimExtensionLine, CATIDrwDimExtensionLineLinear and CATISpecObject.

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References

[1]	Building and Lauching CAA V5 Samples
[2]	Implementing the Statechart Diagram
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History

Version: 1 [Jan 2000]	Document created
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Mechanical Design

Drafting