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Dynamic North Arrow

4 REPLIES 4
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Message 1 of 5
tommcgtx
3195 Views, 4 Replies

Dynamic North Arrow

I have a dynamic block North arrow that has a field that updates the scale according to the viewport scale, and has parameters set to rotate the top portion of the arrow block. Is there a way to set the angle automatically so that it points North according to model space? I only want the top portion, which is a cirle with a triangle, to ratate, leaving the text prtion and underlines untouched.  I have attached my block for anyone interested in helping me tackle this one.

4 REPLIES 4
Message 2 of 5
gjrcmb
in reply to: tommcgtx

Kind of intriguing.  I actually thought of trying what you are looking for a few weeks ago, but did not pursue it at that time.  However, since you brought it up, I decided to revisit the topic.

So far I have gone down a variety of paths trying to figure out whether what you are asking is possible or not.  So let me share with you my attempts, findings, and/or thoughts so far:

  1. I thought that it might be possible to tie the rotation of the North Arrow to a Fix Constraint, but I cannot find a way to tie the Fix Constraint to Model Space instead of Paperspace where the block would reside.
  2. I thought maybe there is some way to tie into a Field entry of some type.  So I tried creating a Field that refers to the system variable "ViewTwist" in the hopes of utilizing the angle somehow in the Dynamic Block.  However in this instance, the Field only displays the twisted angle of Model Space when viewing model space through the viewport, so that didn't seem to lead anywhere as I need to extract the Model Space angle while in Paperspace.
  3. Third, in my search for possible solutions I came across a nice AutoLISP routine to rotate blocks to coincide with the VIEWTWIST orientation.  See Rotate Block to Match Viewport.   While this does not accomplish what you want, it is a possible alternative.
  4. Fourth, I returned back to trying to use a Field somehow and venturing into Diesel Expressions (a first for me).  I actually ended up getting to the same point I did with my Second point above, where I could extract the ViewTwist angle I wanted only while in Model Space.

So here are my remaining thoughts.  I think it might be possible to do what you want, but it might require some programming.  It might be worth searching the Visual LISP, AutoLISP and General Customization forum to see if somebody has done somthing like what you want.  Otherwise, I might dig into it a bit more.  I'll let you know if I discover something else.

Message 3 of 5
tommcgtx
in reply to: gjrcmb

I was looking at this website:

 

http://mdouglas.blogs.com/in_the_dynamic_interface/2005/07/dynamic_lisp_co.html

 

I don't know if I could use this or not, as I don't know very much about programming. I just thought it might be relevant to the topic.

Message 4 of 5
gjrcmb
in reply to: tommcgtx

I am unable to find a way to dynamically tie the rotation of North Arrow to the orientation of Model Space relative to the Viewport by assigning a parameter and action to the dynamic block.  So I think I'll stick with using the previously mentioned lisp routine as the next best alternative.

Message 5 of 5
MMorrison
in reply to: gjrcmb

Why don't you submit a support request for the feature?

 

Martin

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