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You can use Database.ObjectAppended event as the trigger to catch the newly inserted block, and test if the block is the target block for custom attribute data input UI. If yes, show your custom UI (of course you need to make sure "ATTREQ" is set to "0" to avoid built-in attribute UI shows up, as you are already aware of. Here I assume you only want to show your custom UI for particular block or blocks for the specific set or sets of attributes. Most likely, the block name would be the identifier to decide whether custom Attribute UI is used or not. Handling ObjectAppended event would give you chance to know specific block has just been added into database, regardless which command does it, be it from command "INSERT" directly, or from toolpallete...
Following code shows how to do it:
using Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices;
using Autodesk.AutoCAD.DatabaseServices;
using Autodesk.AutoCAD.Runtime;
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using CadApp = Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices.Application;
[assembly: ExtensionApplication(typeof(CustomAttEditForm.CustomAttributeEditor))]
namespace CustomAttEditForm
{
public class CustomAttributeEditor : IExtensionApplication
{
public void Initialize()
{
var doc = CadApp.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument;
try
{
HookEvenHandlers();
doc.Editor.WriteMessage("\nCustom attribute editor initialized.\n");
}
catch(System.Exception ex)
{
doc.Editor.WriteMessage($"Initializing error\n{ex.Message}\n");
}
}
public void Terminate()
{
}
private static void HookEvenHandlers()
{
var docs = CadApp.DocumentManager;
docs.DocumentActivated += (o, e) =>
{
e.Document.Database.ObjectAppended += Database_ObjectAppended;
};
foreach (Document d in docs)
{
d.Database.ObjectAppended += Database_ObjectAppended;
}
}
private static void Database_ObjectAppended(object sender, ObjectEventArgs e)
{
if (IsTargetBlock(e.DBObject))
{
EditBlockAttribute(e.DBObject as BlockReference);
}
}
private static bool IsTargetBlock(DBObject dbObject)
{
var blk = dbObject as BlockReference;
if (blk!=null)
{
var attReq = Convert.ToBoolean(CadApp.GetSystemVariable("ATTREQ"));
if (blk.Name.ToUpper() == "TestBlock".ToUpper() && !attReq)
{
return true;
}
}
return false;
}
private static void EditBlockAttribute(BlockReference blk)
{
CadApp.ShowAlertDialog(
"You are about to show custom attribute editing form.\n\n" +
$"Block to be edited:\t {blk.Name}");
// Show attribute editing form that matches block's name (thus the
// block's attributes) to collect attribute values
var attNameList = GetAttributeNamesFromBlock(blk);
var dic = GetUserInput(attNameList);
if (dic!=null)
{
using (var tran = blk.Database.TransactionManager.StartTransaction())
{
foreach (ObjectId id in blk.AttributeCollection)
{
var att = (AttributeReference)tran.GetObject(id, OpenMode.ForWrite);
if (dic.ContainsKey(att.Tag.ToUpper()))
{
att.TextString = dic[att.Tag.ToUpper()];
}
}
tran.Commit();
}
}
}
private static List<string> GetAttributeNamesFromBlock(BlockReference blk)
{
var lst = new List<string>();
using (var tran = blk.Database.TransactionManager.StartTransaction())
{
foreach (ObjectId id in blk.AttributeCollection)
{
var att = (AttributeReference)tran.GetObject(id, OpenMode.ForRead);
lst.Add(att.Tag);
}
tran.Commit();
}
return lst;
}
private static Dictionary<string, string> GetUserInput(List<string> attNames)
{
Dictionary<string, string> dic = null;
using (var dlg = new AttributeEditForm(attNames))
{
var res = CadApp.ShowModalDialog(dlg);
if (res== System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK)
{
dic = new Dictionary<string, string>();
// fill the Dictionary object with user inputs
}
}
return dic;
}
}
}
In the code, I simply hard-coded the block name ("TestBlock") as the target block. I also omitted the form's detail. Pay attention to IsTargetBlock() method, which decides whether custom UI is needed or not.
See attached Video showing how the code works"
I'll suggest something a little bit different. Rather than inserting the blocks directly and handling that via events or other methods, you would create custom commands to handle the insertion. The commands can be placed on a palette just like a block, but you can also put them into the CUIx system so they can be called from the menu, Ribbon, or toolbars.
You could create one command per block but that may less-than-efficient for both development and the user. In most cases there would be several blocks that can be inserted from the same command via prompts or other input. You get to control which blocks are selected/inserted, and there's still the option of manually inserting them without any interruption.
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If you are going to fly by the seat of your pants, expect friction burns.
"I don't know" is the beginning of knowledge, not the end.
If you are going to fly by the seat of your pants, expect friction burns.
"I don't know" is the beginning of knowledge, not the end.
My code is only meant to show the entire process, so I omitted some details, especially the form. It is up to you to build a form suitable to edit a set of attributes from a block reference. Obviously, the form need some inputs to initialize. That is why the form in my sample code (AttributeEditForm) has an constructor that takes a List<string> parameter as input. The code for the form should be like this:
public partial class AttributeEditForm()
{
// This is the default constructor, automatically created by Visual Studio
public AttributeEditForm()
{
InitializeComponents()
}
// This is the constructor used in my code sample
public AttributeEditForm(List<string> attribueNames) : this()
{
// Vwry likely, you use the attribute names passed in to
// set labels for each textbox/dropdown for
// the attribute value field
}
... ...
... ...
}
In VB.NET, you would use statement "AddHandler..." to attach event handler. This this case, the code would look like:
Private Shared Sub HookEventHandlers()
Dim docs As DocumentCollection = ....
'' My original code was wrongly used DocumentActivated event. It should be DocumentCreated event
AddHandler docs.DocumentCreated, AddressOf DocumentManager_DocumentCreated
For Each doc As Document in docs
AddEventHandler doc.Database.ObjectAppended, AddressOf Database_ObjectAppended
Next
End Sub
Private Shared Sub DocumentManager_DocumentCreated(sender As Object, e As DocumentCollectionEventArgs)
AddEventHandler e.Document.Database, AddressOf Database_ObjectAppended
End Sub
Private Shared Sub Database_ObjectAppended(sender As Object, e As ObjectEventArgs)
If (IsTargetBlock(e.DBObject) Then
EditBlockAttribute(DirectCast(e.DBObject, BlockReference))
End If
End Sub
... ...
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