topic Re: Rectangular Array keep total spacing in AutoCAD Forum

Rectangular Array keep total spacing

fcorte — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 00:00:21 GMT

Hello,

Please indicate how to keep (lock) the total column spacing or total row spacing when changing col or row count?

Re: Rectangular Array keep total spacing

imadHabash — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 09:30:04 GMT

Hi,

While your ribbon is active ( RIBBON command ) and you select your arrayed object you will notice a blue Array on the Ribbon Contextual Tab State . There and as you can see below you can control all of your settings.

Re: Rectangular Array keep total spacing

GrantsPirate — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 14:32:14 GMT

I use the grips, add a row, etc, and then grip edit back to original router boundary with Base point suboption.

I attached a screencast but so far it is not showing.

Re: Rectangular Array keep total spacing

GrantsPirate — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 16:38:00 GMT

Posting again with the screencast.

Re: Rectangular Array keep total spacing

Kent1Cooper — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 19:01:41 GMT

@fcorte wrote:

....

Please indicate how to keep (lock) the total column spacing or total row spacing when changing col or row count?

Properties controls for such things affect each other in a way that doesn't seem like what you're after, since the total spacing isn't available directly, but is only a result of the spacing and the number of columns/rows. Entity data for an associative Array object [which is actually of the "INSERT" class] doesn't contain the relevant information, at the top level anyway -- it's probably there if you dig down into nested entity names somehow.

But the (getpropertyvalue) / (setpropertyvalue) functions know about them. Here are the relevant properties from a (dumpallproperties) function [just those for columns and rows, omitting levels for now]:

ItemSpacing (type: double) (LocalName: Column spacing) = 15.000000
ItemSpan (type: double) (LocalName: Total column distance) = 165.000000
Items (type: int) (LocalName: Columns) = 12
RowSpacingWithExpression (type: double) (LocalName: Row spacing) = 6.000000
RowSpan (type: double) (LocalName: Total row distance) = 30.000000
RowsWithExpression (type: int) (LocalName: Rows) = 6

[What the "...WithExpression" parts are about for Rows, I can't imagine....]

I find that if I use (setpropertyvalue) to give it a new number of columns [or rows], the spacing stays the same and the overall span changes. If I give it a new span, the number stays the same, and the spacing changes. It appears that to keep the span and change the number, you need to first save the current span, then give it the new number, and then re-impose the original span. The spacing adjusts accordingly. So to change the above example to 10 columns instead of 12, keeping the 165-unit overall span [with 'ent' being the Array's entity name]:

(setq span (getpropertyvalue ent "itemspan")); save the 165.0 overall
(setpropertyvalue ent "items" 10); impose the new number of columns [span reduces]
(setpropertyvalue ent "itemspan" span); reimpose the 165.0 on the new quantity of columns [spacing increases]

Re: Rectangular Array keep total spacing

fcorte — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 20:22:41 GMT

Thank you all, for the reply. But I would like to "lock" the Total span of the array while changing the number of cols or rows, or "lock" Total span while changing individual spacing.

Re: Rectangular Array keep total spacing

Kent1Cooper — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 21:53:59 GMT

@fcorte wrote:

... I would like to "lock" the Total span of the array while changing the number of cols or rows, or "lock" Total span while changing individual spacing.

You won't be able to do that through the Properties palette. Some kind of custom command can certainly be defined using those (...propertyvalue) functions. BUT if you can draw an object representing the entire span [such as a Line in your image, but it can be anything, even curved], you can use ARRAYPATH, Method option / Divide method, and specify the number of Items. Draw the span object on a non-plotting Layer if appropriate, and if there isn't some object already drawn representing the right span that you can use.

[If you want the total span to be locked, you can't set the individual spacing to anything you want -- it will need to be a result of the number of items.]

Re: Rectangular Array keep total spacing

fcorte — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 23:09:53 GMT

The path array doesn't allow to copy and drag to the new span; I like the Rectangular array behavior, just it will be useful be able to lock the total span(first and last point), and then the user just modify the count to achieve the desired spacing on the new span.

Re: Rectangular Array keep total spacing

GrantsPirate — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 23:28:59 GMT

I don't think there is a way so the work arounds are offered instead. It is pretty quick to add in the number of objects wanted and then resetting the total width. You can use the ribbon and copy the width, change the number of objects and then paste the width back in. Or edit those with the grips.

Re: Rectangular Array keep total spacing

Kent1Cooper — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 00:51:30 GMT

@fcorte wrote:

The path array doesn't allow to copy and drag to the new span....

I'm not sure what you mean by that. You can grip-drag an end of the path object to a new span, and the things Arrayed along it will follow.