DWG / DXF Export - Scaling Options
Hi @matt_jlt. There is a code routine find out what the available options are within a TranslatorAddIn. It's not perfect, but often gets you most of the way there. It will tell you what the official names of each option are, and what their current values are, but won't tell you what all the possible values are for each option, or what Enum (pre-established enumeration of variations of some type) (if any) the option's value may be a variation of. There appear to be two different translator add-ins for these two, but both appear to be defined within the same .dll file (DWGTrans.dll). And when I run this code on both of these, I get the same results. It also depends on which type of document you have open/active when you run the rule. (You get different results when a model file is open than you do when a drawing file is open, because there are different options for each situation.)
When an .idw drawing file is open, it returns one option for both translator add-ins:
option name = "Export_Acad_IniFile"
option value = (a String - the full path and file name of the .ini file to be used, including the .ini file extension)
When a model file is open, it returns 4 options:
option name = "Solid"
Option value = (Boolean - True/False)
option name = "Surface"
option value = (Boolean - True/False)
option name = "Sketch"
option value = (Boolean - True/False)
option name = "DwgVersion"
option value = (a number - for example 33)
I would assume the scale setting you are talking about is set up within the .ini file. If you have previously gone through the export process of a drawing manually, and saved the configuration, you were presented with a file explorer screen where you can specify a location and name for the .ini file it creates. You would need to point this option's value to the full path and file name of the .ini file you used in that process.
Here is the iLogic rule to get the options:
Sub Main
'specify document to be exported/translated
Dim oDoc As Document = ThisDoc.Document
'Get the target TranslatorAddIns to process
Dim oDXF As TranslatorAddIn
Dim oDWG As TranslatorAddIn
For Each oAppAddin As ApplicationAddIn In ThisApplication.ApplicationAddIns
If oAppAddin.DisplayName = "Translator: DXF" Then
oDXF = oAppAddin
ElseIf oAppAddin.DisplayName = "Translator: DWG" Then
oDWG = oAppAddin
End If
Next
'prepare variables to hold values returned from custom Function below
Dim oDXFOptions As String
Dim oDWGOptions As String
'make sure TranslatorAddIn was found, then run Function
If Not IsNothing(oDXF) Then
oDXFOptions = GetTranslatorOptions(oDoc, oDXF)
End If
If Not IsNothing(oDWG) Then
oDWGOptions = GetTranslatorOptions(oDoc, oDWG)
End If
'report the results
MsgBox(oDXFOptions, , "DXF Options")
MsgBox(oDWGOptions, , "DWG Options")
End Sub
Function GetTranslatorOptions(oDocToExp As Document, oTransAddIn As TranslatorAddIn) As String
'The following lines create the needed input variables
Dim oContext As TranslationContext = ThisApplication.TransientObjects.CreateTranslationContext
oContext.Type = IOMechanismEnum.kUnspecifiedIOMechanism
Dim oOptions As NameValueMap = ThisApplication.TransientObjects.CreateNameValueMap
Dim oOptionsString As String = String.Empty
'When you provide the input variables, it fills in the Options (names & values) for you
If oTransAddIn.HasSaveCopyAsOptions(oDocToExp, oContext, oOptions) Then
'the next line would show the options dialog
'oTransAddIn.ShowSaveCopyAsOptions(oDocToExp, oContext, oOptions)
Dim oItem As Integer = 1
For Each oPair In oOptions 'do not define Type of oPair ahead of time
oOptionsString = oOptionsString & vbCrLf & "Option Name = " & oOptions.Name(oItem) & vbCrLf & "Option Value = " & oOptions.Value(oOptions.Name(oItem)) & vbCrLf
'this next line would write each option to the Logger
'Logger.Trace("Option Name = " & oOptions.Name(oItem) & " / Option Value = " & oOptions.Value(oOptions.Name(oItem)))
'MsgBox(oOptions.Name(oItem) & " = " & oOptions.Value(oOptions.Name(oItem)), , "")
oItem = oItem + 1
Next
End If
Return oOptionsString
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Wesley Crihfield
(Not an Autodesk Employee)
If you are exporting an Inventor .idw or Inventor .dwg to an AutoCAD .dwg or AutoCAD .dxf, by code using their translator addins, there is only one option that can be specified for that export process. Your only option in that situation is to specify the .ini file for it to use, which contains all the other available options. As far as I know, you can't change any of the options/settings within that .ini file from the code. The only course of action here seems to be to create a new .ini file, by going through the manual process and dialogs, setting everything up the way you want it within those dialogs, then using the [Save Configuration ...] button to create the new .ini file (while taking note of where you put it and what its name is. (Create multiple this way if needed, each with different settings and different names.) I believe the default location for these .ini files is the following:
"C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor 2021\Design Data\DWG-DXF\", then something like "exportdxf.ini" is the default one installed with Inventor.
(Inventor version in that path may be different, of course.)
Then you can specify the full file name of that .ini file you created as the value of that one option within the code.
Once you have created the .ini file(s), here one (of many) version of the main iLogic rule to export an 'active' drawing to DXF.
Sub Main
If ThisApplication.ActiveDocumentType <> DocumentTypeEnum.kDrawingDocumentObject Then
MsgBox("A Drawing Document must be active for this rule to work. Exiting.",vbOKOnly+vbCritical, "WRONG DOCUMENT TYPE")
Exit Sub
End If
Dim oDDoc As DrawingDocument = ThisApplication.ActiveDocument
ExportDrawingToDXF(oDDoc)
End Sub
Sub ExportDrawingToDXF(oDrg As DrawingDocument)
'get the DXF Translator Add-in
Dim oDXF As TranslatorAddIn
For Each oAddin As ApplicationAddIn In ThisApplication.ApplicationAddIns
If oAddin.AddInType = ApplicationAddInTypeEnum.kTranslationApplicationAddIn And
oAddin.DisplayName.Contains("DXF") Then
oDXF = oAddin
End If
Next
'create the necessary variables
Dim oTO As TransientObjects = ThisApplication.TransientObjects
Dim oContext As TranslationContext = oTO.CreateTranslationContext
oContext.Type = IOMechanismEnum.kFileBrowseIOMechanism
Dim oOptions As NameValueMap = oTO.CreateNameValueMap
Dim oDataMedium As DataMedium = oTO.CreateDataMedium
'DXF will be same path & name, but .dxf file extension
Dim oFileName As String = System.IO.Path.ChangeExtension(oDrg.FullFileName, ".dxf")
'set file name of DXF to be created
oDataMedium.FileName = oFileName
'look in the following location to find the default and/or Saved settings INI files and XML files that
'specify your settings for importing and exporting DXF's and DWG's
'C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor 2021\Design Data\DWG-DXF\
Dim oINI_File As String = "C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor 2021\Design Data\DWG-DXF\exportdxf.ini"
If Not System.IO.File.Exists(oINI_File) Then
MsgBox("Couldn't find this INI file: " & vbCrLf & oINI_File & vbCrLf & "Exiting.", , "")
Exit Sub
End If
If oDXF.HasSaveCopyAsOptions(oDrg, oContext, oOptions) Then
oOptions.Value("Export_Acad_IniFile") = oINI_File
End If
'each sheet of the drawing will be exported as a seperate DXF file
'with the sheet name appended to the end of each file name
oDXF.SaveCopyAs(oDrg, oContext, oOptions, oDataMedium)
End SubOr did you maybe have some other scenario in mind, like exporting sheet metal flat patters or faces to DXF?
Wesley Crihfield
(Not an Autodesk Employee)
