topic Custom linetype display in AutoCAD Forum

Custom linetype display

bwhisenhunt — Fri, 07 Oct 2016 19:21:09 GMT

I am having an issue with a custom linetype I have tried to create to mimic the "Wiggle" line from Datacad. I have tried drafting a squiggly polyline and saving it as a shape file but it will not 'connect' ends and either overruns or under-runs the start and stop points of the line. It also will not scale correctly. I really don't want to have to use a spline and draw these manually every time I need this appearance. Surely somebody out there has made something like this work but I've not seen a hint of one in all the searches I've done. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Custom linetype display

pendean — Fri, 07 Oct 2016 19:57:57 GMT

There is no 'wiggle' lintype ability in AutoCAD unless you can find a shapefile with a shape to create a 'wavy' effect (corners can get messy though and ends are always short straight lines).

Try a Google Search too:

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/autocad-land-desktop/wavy-lines-how-to-make-em/td-p/1396932

http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?123948-Squiggly-line-type

Re: Custom linetype display

Kent1Cooper — Fri, 07 Oct 2016 20:13:57 GMT

Check out WobblyPline.lsp with its WPL command, available here.

Re: Custom linetype display

bwhisenhunt — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 13:25:29 GMT

I tried that and it works as a one shot. However, it is not really a 'stretchable' and it creates uniform sections. I think for what I'm using this for I'll just have to bite the bullet and spline each individually. Thanks for the LISP though, I think it will be useful on other items.

Re: Custom linetype display

Kent1Cooper — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 14:17:36 GMT

@bwhisenhunt wrote:

... it creates uniform sections. ....

Just in case you did what was advised in that particular Post [and just so others will know] -- i.e. gave it 0 for the displacement percentage -- that was a special case for dividing something equally, not using WPL's wobblifying capability, but only its subdivision aspect. If you give it some non-zero randomization percentage, then the only "uniformity" is in the starting locations along the object that it's randomizing from, and since it randomizes in different directions by different amounts within the percentage you give it, the results can be pretty far from uniform. They'll be close to uniform with a small percentage, but less and less so with increasing percentage. That displacement percentage can even be more than 100% if you like -- here's one example of a Line wobblyized into 25 segments with 150% randomization:

and if you should ever need something as radically non-uniform as this, here's one example of the same at 300%:

Of course every running of the command will do it differently, so your results with the same options will look different from the above. Use the Redo option to have it try again without your needing to re-select or re-specify anything, until it looks good to you. Here's just one example of a Redo of the above, so you can see how differently it can come out, especially with a high displacement percentage like that:

But typically, for the kind of thing the OP wants to do, I would use a smaller displacement percentage. Here's an example of the same at 25%:

Re: Custom linetype display

bwhisenhunt — Mon, 10 Oct 2016 14:27:36 GMT

Thank you! I am new to LISPs and that was the first one I have tried. I'm definitely going to need to acquaint myself with LISPs and what they can do. All I need now is an additional 4 hours per day to learn everything. Still a LOT I need to learn. Have just started writing custom hatch patterns for client specific tile patterns and making dynamic blocks. In many ways it is like Microsoft Excel, so much power and yet most users only utilize about 5-10% of its capability.