topic Re: Insert Flat Pattern From Base Drawing View in Inventor Programming Forum

Insert Flat Pattern From Base Drawing View

MarkyTomm — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 11:00:08 GMT

Hi All,

Its that time again when I get to a point with my macro (VBA) and cannot seem to figure out what I am doing wrong.

The following routine is run from an IDW with a base drawing view.

I am trying to automate the placement of the associated flat pattern

1) Open open the part

2) Delete if present and then generate the flat pattern

3) Place the flat pattern at the correct scale on the sheet at an arbitraty position

My code is as follows but it fails on the final call to place the view with 'Object doesn't support property or method'

Public Sub test() ' trying to place flat pattern from base drawing view Dim oPartDoc As PartDocument Dim oDwgDoc As DrawingDocument Set oDwgDoc = ThisApplication.ActiveDocument Dim oSheet As Sheet Set oSheet = oDwgDoc.ActiveSheet 'On Error Resume Next 'GoTo err: Dim oDrawingView As DrawingView Set oDrawingView = oSheet.DrawingViews(1) Dim oViewScale As Double Set oViewScale = oDrawingView.Scale Debug.Print oViewScale Set oPartDoc = oSheet.DrawingViews(1).ReferencedDocumentDescriptor.ReferencedDocument Debug.Print oPartDoc.FullFilename ThisApplication.Documents.Open (oPartDoc.FullFilename) Dim oCompDef As SheetMetalComponentDefinition Set oCompDef = oPartDoc.ComponentDefinition oPartDoc.SubType = "{9C464203-9BAE-11D3-8BAD-0060B0CE6BB4}" If oCompDef.HasFlatPattern Then oCompDef.FlatPattern.Delete Else oCompDef.Unfold oCompDef.FlatPattern.ExitEdit End If 'oPartDoc.Close Dim oOptions As NameValueMap Set oOptions = ThisApplication.TransientObjects.CreateNameValueMap Call oOptions.Add("SheetMetalFoldedModel", False) Dim oFlatPatternPoint As Point2d Set oFlatPatternPoint = ThisApplication.TransientGeometry.CreatePoint2d(50, 50) oDwgDoc.Activate Dim oFlatPatternView As DrawingView Set oFlatPatternView = oSheet.oDrawingViews.AddBaseView(oPartDoc, oFlatPatternPoint, 0.125, kDefaultViewOrientation, _ kHiddenLineRemovedDrawingViewStyle, , , oOptions) End Sub

Anybody solved this problem before?

Regards

Mark

Re: Insert Flat Pattern From Base Drawing View

AndrewHumiston — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 11:32:15 GMT

Good morning Mark,

here is the flats code i run to create a flat from a part file, it checks to see if the drawing file exists then adds the flat view.

i hope this helps, but sometimes you have to declare the part file you are creating the flat from , and then you have to use the object of the part file to create the view, i.e.: not a string to declare where the flat pattern is coming from

Sub CreateFlats()

Dim oIDWDoc As DrawingDocument

Dim FileExist As Object
Set FileExist = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

Dim ActiveDoc As PartDocument
Set ActiveDoc = ThisApplication.ActiveDocument

'get project template path
Dim ActiveProject As DesignProject
Set ActiveProject = ThisApplication.DesignProjectManager.ActiveDesignProject
TemplatePath = ActiveProject.TemplatesPath & "\PHS_West\"
TemplateFile = TemplatePath & "PHS_West.idw"

fileName = Replace(ActiveDoc.FullFileName, Right(ActiveDoc.FullFileName, 4), "_Flat" & ".idw")

'check to see if idw exists
If FileExist.FileExists(fileName) = False Then
'create drawing file
Set oIDWDoc = ThisApplication.Documents.Add(kDrawingDocumentObject, TemplateFile, True)
Call oIDWDoc.SaveAs(fileName, False)
Else
Set oIDWDoc = ThisApplication.Documents.Open(fileName, True)
End If

Set TopPos = ThisApplication.TransientGeometry.CreatePoint2d(28, 21.5)
Dim oBaseViewOptions As NameValueMap
Set oBaseViewOptions = ThisApplication.TransientObjects.CreateNameValueMap
Call oBaseViewOptions.Add("SheetMetalFoldedModel", False)

Dim oFlatView As DrawingView
Set oFlatView = oIDWDoc.ActiveSheet.DrawingViews.AddBaseView(ActiveDoc, TopPos, 0.75, kFrontViewOrientation, kHiddenLineRemovedDrawingViewStyle, , , oBaseViewOptions)
Call oFlatView.RotateByAngle(1.5707963267949, False)
oFlatView.Name = "FlatView"

Set SymbolAdd = oIDWDoc.SketchedSymbolDefinitions.AddFromLibrary("PHS West.idw", "SHEET METAL, FLAT", True)
Set Pos = ThisApplication.TransientGeometry.CreatePoint2d(1.904, 1.27)
Set SybmolAdd = oIDWDoc.Sheets(1).SketchedSymbols.Add(SymbolAdd, Pos)
SybmolAdd.Static = True

End Sub

Re: Insert Flat Pattern From Base Drawing View

AndrewHumiston — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 11:39:20 GMT

on further review, you might not have the part object, you are getting the referenced file object from the view. another way to do this is to get the full file path for the view, then use:

dim oPartDocFullFilePath as string
set oPartDocFullFilePath = Sheet.DrawingViews.item(1).document.fullfilename
Dim oPartDoc as partdocument
set oPartDoc = thisapplication.documents.open(oPartDocFullFilePath, False)

give that a shot

or better yet change your code on line 17 to:

dim oPartDoc as partdocument
Set oPartDoc = oSheet.DrawingViews.item(1).ReferencedDocuments.item(1)

that should get you the part document object

Re: Insert Flat Pattern From Base Drawing View

MarkyTomm — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 11:50:31 GMT

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for your replies, I will have a trawl through the first example - see if I can work out how to integrate it into my code.

The second suggestion promised to be easier to work with but .ReferencedDocuments does not come up as a object of the drawingviews.item object, only ReferencedDocumentsDescriptor

Regards

Mark

Re: Insert Flat Pattern From Base Drawing View

AndrewHumiston — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 12:18:56 GMT

i apologize, i was missing part of the object address:

dim oPartDoc as partdocument
Set oPartDoc = oSheet.DrawingViews.item(1).ReferencedFile.DocumentDescriptor.ReferencedDocument

Re: Insert Flat Pattern From Base Drawing View

AndrewHumiston — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 12:20:58 GMT

in your post you had this line:

Set oPartDoc = oSheet.DrawingViews(1).ReferencedDocumentDescriptor.ReferencedDocument
Try:
Set oPartDoc = oSheet.DrawingViews.item(1).ReferencedDocumentDescriptor.ReferencedDocument

the item index number should be item(1), i have never gotten in VBA DrawingViews(1) to work that way.

Re: Insert Flat Pattern From Base Drawing View

MarkyTomm — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 13:38:36 GMT

Hi Andrew,

I have changed that line but it did actually work in as much as the debug output returns the correct file path/name. It goes through the open file, build flat patterns, set the drawing view defaults all ok.

Its just the call to set the drawing view that it constantly falls down on.

I will rewrite the oPartDoc def routine to use the path string and see if that makes a difference as you suggested

Regards

Mark

Re: Insert Flat Pattern From Base Drawing View

AndrewHumiston — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 13:51:26 GMT

Hi Mark,

i think its because you are not referencing the part document correctly. those errors are tricky as they don't give you much to work with on why something is happening.

Re: Insert Flat Pattern From Base Drawing View

MarkyTomm — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 14:10:52 GMT

I modified that bit of the code to be

Dim oFilePath As String oFilePath = oSheet.DrawingViews.Item(1).ReferencedDocumentDescriptor.FullDocumentName Debug.Print oFilePath Dim oPartDoc As PartDocument Set oPartDoc = ThisApplication.Documents.Open(oFilePath)

It needed the referenced documentdescriptor.fullfile name instead of the line you suggested and it works pretty much as before - the debug prints the filepath/name correctly and the partdoc assignment functions and it goes through the flat pattern routine again.

But it still fails on the view creation with the method not supported error

I wonder if the drawing view options and/or sytax in at fault, maybe the error is obvious and I just cannot see it for looking

Re: Insert Flat Pattern From Base Drawing View

AndrewHumiston — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 14:34:54 GMT

just a quick thought, try creating a view with out the flatpattern view option.

lets see if we can create a drawing view. some of the other reasons are the drawing is not resoloved, that will keep you from running this kind of code, and sometimes i will go into a new sub routine and perfect getting the base view added, then add in all the other fluff to make it what i want.

Re: Insert Flat Pattern From Base Drawing View

JelteDeJong — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 20:16:11 GMT

you could try this iLogic rule:

Dim doc As DrawingDocument = ThisApplication.ActiveDocument Dim sheet As Sheet = doc.ActiveSheet Dim view As DrawingView = sheet.DrawingViews(1) Dim scale As Double = view.Scale Dim refDoc As PartDocument = sheet.DrawingViews(1).ReferencedDocumentDescriptor.ReferencedDocument refDoc.SubType = "{9C464203-9BAE-11D3-8BAD-0060B0CE6BB4}" ThisApplication.Documents.Open(refDoc.FullFileName) Dim def As SheetMetalComponentDefinition = refDoc.ComponentDefinition If def.HasFlatPattern Then def.FlatPattern.Delete() Else def.Unfold() def.FlatPattern.ExitEdit() End If Dim oOptions As NameValueMap = ThisApplication.TransientObjects.CreateNameValueMap oOptions.Add("SheetMetalFoldedModel", False) Dim oFlatPatternPoint As Point2d = ThisApplication.TransientGeometry.CreatePoint2d(sheet.Width / 2, sheet.Height / 2) doc.Activate() Dim oFlatPatternView As DrawingView = sheet.DrawingViews.AddBaseView(refDoc, oFlatPatternPoint, scale, ViewOrientationTypeEnum.kDefaultViewOrientation, DrawingViewStyleEnum.kHiddenLineRemovedDrawingViewStyle, , , oOptions)

Re: Insert Flat Pattern From Base Drawing View

MarkyTomm — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 15:18:59 GMT

Many thanks for your help Jelte,

That worked perfectly straight out of the box

I have been resisting learning iLogic for too long now, looks like I may have to bite the bullet, just cannot get on with the programming interface as I spent too long with vba

Thanks again and also to Andrew for his help

Mark

Re: Insert Flat Pattern From Base Drawing View

MarkyTomm — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 16:22:46 GMT

If anyone is interested, it look like a good old syntax error in this line

Set oFlatPatternView = oSheet.oDrawingViews.AddBaseView(oPartDoc, oFlatPatternPoint, 0.125, kDefaultViewOrientation, _
kHiddenLineRemovedDrawingViewStyle, , , oOptions)

I think oDrawingViews was the problem all along - studied Jelte code and changed it to DrawingViews and presto it works - Thanks again everyone