Automating creation of ribbon or tool bar to run lisps
@comcu ,
Create your Ribbon/cuix file, and be sure it's in a shared location (like network drive). Also take note of the NAME of your Customization file, it's located here:
Our Ribbon tab tends to disappear sometimes, so I created a command to fix it (all of our "fix" commands are prefixed with "FIX"...). This command will check if the Customization file exists, and force-reload it for the user (if you have a Ribbon in your CUIX, it will populate it):
;; Fixes the problem where "HCL" ribbon does not appear sometimes for users
(defun c:FIXRIBBON ( / menuPath menuGroups)
(setq menuPath "N:\\folder\\path\\to\\custom.cuix")
(if (findfile menuPath)
(progn
(setq menuGroups (vlax-get (vlax-get (vla-get-preferences (vlax-get-acad-object)) 'Application) 'MenuGroups))
(vlax-for mg menuGroups
(if (eq "HCL_CUSTOM" (vlax-get mg 'Name))
(vlax-invoke mg 'Unload)
);if
);vlax-for
(command "_.MENULOAD" menuPath) (command)
);progn
;else
(prompt (strcat "\nCould not find custom menu:\n" menuPath))
);if
(princ)
);defun
...eventually I just added a check inside my acad.lsp file so users don't even have to worry about a 'Fix':
;; Loads custom HCL cuix file, if user doesn't have loaded already.
((lambda ( / mgList)
(vlax-for m (vla-get-menugroups (vlax-get-acad-object))
(setq mgList (cons (vlax-get m 'Name) mgList))
);vlax-for
(if (not (member "HCL_CUSTOM" mgList))
(command "_.CUILOAD" "N:\\folder\\path\\to\\custom.cuix")
);if
(princ)
))
Best,
~DD
Unfortunately when Autocad introduced the Ribbon they threw away make from a mnu which is just a text file, so have to use the CUI, a side note a CUIX is a zipped file containing many CUI files which are in XML format. Yes have looked many times at make a CUI ie write a correct XML sounds simple but its not. Anyway for me I have no drama making toolbars or pop menu's. I did write some lisp that makes a pop menu a sort of copy lisp names and make into a mnu file about 80% of what is needed. The Toolbar needs images you can steal them from the CUI as you just need a name. Or else you need to make your own which is not that hard but have to work in like a 32x32 pixel box.
So this has 130+ lisps.
You can call via image selection from the pop menu good for blocks or a visual choice. This is inbuilt in a pop menu including Next where you have more than 20 images.
A toolbar is similar.
Happy to provide more information. Using Excel can help make a mnu as you can copy/paste multiple rows.
For any one else make a copy of your CUIX rename to ZIP and have a look.
One last method which will require not only an additional pick, but possibly scrolling as well.
Create a dialog with a list box where the list box is populated with the contents of a directory (with wildcard filtering of the file extension names) and allow the user to make a selection.
It's not that hard to strip out the file extension when creating the list, but the trick is to make name recognizable.
Create a toolbar/ribbon/menubar/toolpalette button to call forward the dialog.
Here is a similar example:
To expand on the use of this dialog, add a "Browse" button to find the target directory and save this information in the registry in case the directory changes. That way the dialog LSP/FAS program itself will not have to be reissued.
I know the feeling "The keyboard is a sacred object and only used to compose emails" syndrome.
LOOK AT ME IN THE SOLUTION YOU DEVELOPED, AND IT IS VERY CLOSE TO WHERE I WOULD LIKE TO GET. COULD YOU SHARE THIS SOLUTION?
HERE IS AN IMAGE OF MY GOAL
