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LISP doesn't run in the background. It essentially takes the place of the user providing input to AutoCAD.
For this, you could get away with a BAT file being run by Windows Scheduled Task Manager but a simple EXE built with dotNET would provide more options. With a bit of work a Service could be built. Either way, probably for the best to keep it out of AutoCAD altogether.
Whatever you do, provide a means to disable it - constant 30 minute reminders (*especially* when deadlines are knocking on the door) are a PITA.
----------------------------------
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.
I had a coworker that purchased one of these "Take a Break" timers. How annoying!
I was able to find similar freeware versions online.
As dgorsman said, it is best to stay out of AutoCAD for this, unless you use reactors.
Look in the Softpedia website.
???
Scot-65
A gift of extraordinary Common Sense does not require an Acronym Suffix to be added to my given name.
@chobbs wrote:Hi,
I was interested in finding out if it's possible to write a LISP routine that would execute a pop-up dialog box say every 30 minutes. This is strictly for ergonomic reasons to remind the user to take a pre-determined break.
I am not an expert code writer by any means, but I imagine the routine would autoload and resetting the timer to 0 upon opening a particular drawing file. The LISP routine would then run in the background and run the (alert "") command when the timer reaches 30m 0s. When the user presses the OK button, the timer resets to 0 again.
Thanks
it can be done using reactors
Is that 30 minutes from the time the file is open? or at every pre-deterined time like 7:30, 8:00, 8:30 ?
.
Try this:
<Not thouroughly tested>
(defun c:CountDown ()
(vl-load-com)
;;; 30 Minutes Countdown ;;;
;;; pbe June 2012 ;;;
;;; kudos to Lee Mac for Reactor Snippet ;;;
;;; ;;;
((lambda ( data foo / react pt )
(if (setq react
(vl-some
(function
(lambda ( reactor )
(if (eq data (vlr-data reactor)) reactor)
)
)
(cdar
(vlr-reactors :vlr-command-reactor)
)
)
)
(if (vlr-added-p react)
(progn
(vlr-remove react)
(setq then nil)
(princ "\n<<Timer Unloaded>>>")
)
(progn (vlr-add react)
(setq then nil)
(princ "\n<<<Timer Re-Loaded>>>"))
)(progn
(setq react
(vlr-command-reactor data
(list
(cons :vlr-CommandEnded foo)
)
)
)(princ "\n<<Timer Loaded>>>"))
)
react
)
"CountDown"
'_TellmeItsTime
)
(princ)
)
(defun _TellmeItsTime ( reactor arguments)
(if (null then) (setq then (getvar 'date)))
(if (> (* (- (setq pass (getvar 'date))
then) 1440)
30)
(progn (alert "<<<<30 Minute Mark>>>")
(setq then pass))
)
)
(c:CountDown)
Cool LISP. Can I adjust the time of this LISP? If so, is it the at the bottom where it states 30?
Thanks,
Vince
@BlackBoxCAD wrote:
@hgasty1001 wrote:
Jus a thought, why not an editor reactor triggered by autosave (:vlr-saveComplete), and set the autosave to 30 mintues or what ever you need?.
Gaston Nunez
That's not a bad idea;.....
Not bad indeed. Make it so gasty1001
@chobbs wrote:....the routine would autoload and resetting the timer to 0 upon opening a particular drawing file. The LISP routine would then run in the background and run the (alert "") command when the timer reaches 30m 0s. ....
Another reason I agree with those suggesting keeping this outside of AutoCAD: I often have multiple drawings open at the same time. If such a routine were active in each of them, assuming the times they were opened had no particular relationship to each other, I would be getting reminders at irregular intervals, and often much closer together than the set time span. Or at best, if the reminder is by an (alert) box, I would get them only in the currently active drawing, but many times when I switched to another drawing, a reminder would be there waiting for me, even if I just got one in the last drawing I was in. If your Users don't often work on more than one drawing at a time, it wouldn't be an issue, nor if the thing could be written somehow to keep track of the time only within the currently active drawing. But I assume something unrelated to AutoCAD would be more regular and predictable.
But if you really want it in AutoCAD, here's a thought.... Years ago, when we used Tablet menus, and before AutoSave existed in AutoCAD, we had a "button" on the Tablet for Cancel. Its code contained a Cancel, and then a check on the time since the drawing was opened or last saved, I think using one of the TD... System Variables. If that was more than some predetermined interval, it prompted the User to ask whether they wanted to save the drawing. If they did so, of course the clock would be reset, so it would then leave them alone for a while. Cancel was something one would use pretty frequently, and piggybacking this onto it meant the reminder would usually come up not much past the set interval, but would never interrupt a command in progress or anything. If a reactor can be triggered by Cancel [that's one area I haven't delved into], a similar effect could be achieved, with a different reminder. If there's any command that you use quite regularly, you could perhaps redefine it to do something like that, if there's any reason to do it that way rather than with a reactor.
Kent Cooper, AIA 
I'm not really conversant with reactors, but if I recall correctly, you can't use the (command) function in them, which if true would mean you need to find some different way to accomplish the saving.
Also, I'm wondering about this line:
(defun _TellmeItsTime ( reactor arguments)
Are those stand-ins from some generic suggestion, and shouldn't they be actual argument names that appear later in the function? Are any arguments needed at all in this case?
Kent Cooper, AIA
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