Unfortunately the code is lost. I have made a new improve version which is included with my template: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fX-0aKFtqLJmoqc

I'd love to see more of your method. One reason I don't like annotating in Layout Space is when you have things that are annotations, but tied to physical elements. This can include elevation symbols that show the actual elevations and grid lines. I've been pondering ways to make these work. Programmatically I can create elevation symbols in model space (they won't automatically update when changed/moved but I can almost do that as well). Grid lines create a challenge but maybe we could 'tag' them just like we do for windows, walls, floors, etc... The way my house project is set up you could actually annotate similar to what you describe. The 2D line work is laid out flat in the model space (just without the 3D floor elements). I like the block idea. One thing I've had trouble coming to grips with is Rhino's block editing. It's a smooth transition to and from the block editor... a bit too smooth. Nested blocks can especially create confusion. I had some good success utilizing Visual Arq's plan and section views; they (kind of) automatically update. They had a few glitches that they may or may not fix in Visual ARQ 3. With a bit of tuning up that would be the system I use. Without though it's too much working-around.

If you close and open AutoCAD it should load the aliases. And if you open a new drawing (I think I can't remember). But ya it's convenient to setup everything in a single session without having to close/open stuff.

It could be your file tolerance. Check that first. From there, it becomes a series of uglier and uglier solutions starting with exploding the polysurface and using the "join" command. It might be better to start over if that doesn't work. Since posting this I've been looking at McMaster-Carr's database. Their 3D models are really good. There's also the bolt gen app I mention in another video. Those things existing as they do mean this is more of an exercise rather than something you'd use every day. If you can get fast it'll improve your Rhino skills, so don't fret too much about having to start the process from the beginning.

@@randomCADstuff hey, thanks for your reactivity, i fell less lonely in this situation :) I tried your recommandations and unfotunately it does not work, but I learned from it and tolerances parameters. I started again your tutorial since the beginning, and I found my mistake ! Actually, I was using the TRIM tool instead of SPLIT, but result is the same... still having open borders. I used the file in inch as you mentionned and your sizes, that I did not really followed ad I used a file in MM. And in my version I used a 8MM long helix when you use a 77MM one. So i looks like you use a bigger size but I'm not sure this makes the difference as well. Probably the important step is when you place the circle at the INTERSECTION of the helix, at the minute 8:23. As simple as it, now I have a close solide polysurface because I followed your tutorial strictly. THANKS

Thanks for the comment! My videos aren't exactly the crown jewel of AutoLISP resources out there. I originally started making videos basically because nobody else really does - kind of sort of... my aim is to conclude the tutorial with something a person can maybe use in their day-to-day work. As I dabble in other programming languages I've come to realize how good the AutoLISP resources actually are (Start with AfraLISP.NET because it's pretty amazing itself but has links to many other great resources as well).

@@randomCADstuff vids are awesome man and they help a lot of people. Something about programming for cad that helps with your day to day stuff is addicting, I deff got bit by the lisp bug.

I think I mention that in an earlier video. The vaSectionView (Visual ARQ 2's that is) works really good but also requires more knowledge as well as a VARQ license. I find that it is a little unpredictable in the way it updates. And sometimes it grabs geometry that I would prefer it didn't. And no projected hatches. Using Make2D is slower but somewhat more predictable I guess. Visual ARQ 3 is in Beta and I'm dying to try it out right now but just don't have the time. Rhino 8 has some advantages that negates the need for model space linework, so in R8 my approach might change. If I stayed with R7 this is probably how I would do things.

@@randomCADstuff I also want to try visual arq 3, can you share the downloaded file of visualarq 3.

@@kalpit3d934 I think you have to get in touch with Asuni (The company that makes Visual ARQ) to get the Beta. You also have to have a Visual ARQ 2 license. It's impossible to share.

@@randomCADstuff ok, I will try....

I'll try to find time!! I'm using Rhino 8 now and my process changed, but just a little bit.

Thank-you! Hopefully I'll have time to make more videos in the future :-) .

Glad to hear it worked and thanks for sharing!

I never knew that thanks! The only drawback would be if you have more than two viewports in the layout, you'd have to cycle through them. Obviously that's a non-issue for some but might be for others. I just use my copy trick because it's easy enough to memorize. I'm not as good at memorizing key strokes as I am command aliases (not sure why, younger people seem to prefer the keystrokes though so maybe it's age ;-) ).

Sure, I rarely have more than 2 or 3 viewports so I'm happy to cycle through but I understand how it would be a pain if you have many. Glad to be able to show you something new for once! 😄

That works but I like my way better because I can see the boundary of the viewport. The "VPMAX" command that's triggered when you double-click on the viewport is for me at least kind of an unwanted feature. I guess I could change that in the cui.

I used AutoCAD for over 4 years before I learnt how to make dynamic blocks. It seems very hard at first but now it seems so simple.

I've never really considered it and you're the first person to ask. Outside of creating videos I don't know if I'd have anything of real value to offer. I also learnt Rhino in an unconventional way: I created a series of test projects to assess the viability of using Rhino instead of more expensive applications (like Revit, steel detailing platforms, etc...). That might make me not the best choice for someone just starting out because I have a somewhat 'patchy' skillset. Just for a reference: recently I found out that I was taking 3 or 4 extra steps because I never bothered to test out the "Boolean Split" command (watched a video where the creator used it). For now... I would watch videos where the uploader models something similar to what you want to create. Try to reproduce it (maybe with your own twist) and that should get you close. I can also upload quick videos on specific tasks (within my ability) on a whim. Also, look up the Rhino Level 1 and Level 2 training. I will dig up those links for you if you're interested and can't find them.

I am fine with your abilities. Let's co-design a project .@@randomCADstuff

My problem right now is that AutoCAD work is paying the bills. I m however trying to migrate towards Rhino as much as I can. It's definitely more fun. What type of project(s) do you have in mind?@@rmdemaray

I'm not 100% sure if you are doing your own program, or referring to the code's behavior. In case it's the latter, I will mention that I'm going to release a better version of this (the code not a tutorial) soon. The new version would allow you to enter "A-1" for example, and it will increment "A-2", "A-3" and so on...

@@randomCADstuff oh sweet that will be fantastic to reference!! I'll have to rethink my question in terms of what I'm looking for.

@@TheWhiteLarryByrd If you go to about the 12:00 mark of this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqXNdpuCop2Xo9U, you'll see exactly what I changed.

@@randomCADstuff which defun changed in the code to allow that particular instance to now be able to occur in your updated template video?

I'm not 100% sure what you mean so you'll have to be more specific. There's a few changes to the code just for better performance and compatibility with the template (automatic layer selection for example). @@JakksonSloann99

AfraLISP.net has 3 tutorials on reactors. Here's the link to the first: www.afralisp.net/visual-lisp/tutorials/reactors-part-1.php You'd need to read all three tutorials as they built into one another. The third tutorial gets into "object" reactors. That would be your ticket, but it gets pretty involved. If you're familiar with programming you might have heard of something called "events". Reactors are very similar. I suspect that Revit uses "event driven programming" to make their tags work as they do. The craziest LISP code I ever wrote would actually create symbols (variable names) at runtime (something C# can't even do). The variable name would contain an object's ID handle. And I'd use that to attach the reactor to each object (I actually can't remember exactly how I did it). My concern was that it would populate the drawing with too many reactors and maybe slow things down. I drew 200 beams with tags (this was basically just a beam tag) and no slow down. I think I recall that if you didn't have the callback function loaded, an error would appear any time you tried to edit one of the beams. Although it seems to be working it needed a lot more testing. Reactors can be a little risky (not as risky if you're around to manage them but with this template I won't be). It was something I was doing off to the side hence I never went any further with it. The end result was better than Revit tags because the tag was just MText (Revit tags are very un-editable; you can't even rotate them). All that said, my recommendation would be to stick with your database sweep. Unless your drawing is super large, a database sweep shouldn't take that long. Depending what I am doing, I will create a custom "REGEN" command that regens, but also runs some sort of sweep at the same time.

There are advantages to using Visual ARQ but it depends what you're doing. I created a window style in Visual ARQ and although it works good, if it's not the exact style I need then I need to either make a different style or create one from scratch again. It takes time. Ultimately, the time involved was what stopped me from going further with Visual ARQ. I might try Visual ARQ 3 when it comes out, but I'm not doing much (or really any) architectural drafting/modelling at the moment.

Thanks for your response - Have you ever used Vector Works - I'm still deciding on what I'm going to end up using - Been using FormZ for A long time. Although Vector works is quite expensive. @@randomCADstuff

I'll give you the short answer with a brief explanation, but the real answer would require a short essay. My short answer is NO. I more or less only decided on RhinoCommon (and C#) because I wanted to use the same language to program both in AutoCAD and Rhino. Rhino has multiple API's. Hindsight being 20/20 I probably would have learnt Python (I went back to using AutoLISP for AutoCAD anyways). Other options include Grasshopper of course (amazing but can be a time pit), RhinoScript and even just maximizing Rhino's command macro (it's the most versatile I've ever seen in any program). The RhinoCommon API is a really good but both the help documentation and sample code is lacking in my opinion. If you get into coding/API programming you really have to to a cost/benefit analysis (with the cost being your time). Architects and other designers have a lot on their plate and only a finite amount of energy, so wrestling with coding challenges might not be practical. Also consider how long it actually takes you to write the code verses how much time you'll save, or your team will save (hint, the less people using the code the less likely that the time savings will justify the creation of the code).

If there's something specific you're looking for I can just make a video of that. I want to make a full video on modelling an entire house (or building) in Rhino 8 but I haven't used the new version enough to even dare quite yet - so that's on hold for a while. The modelling itself is all quite basic, but there's just lots of it.

I had to play around with that after reading your comment. And unfortunately I can't come up with a cover-all-cases answer. To make things more complicated, I'm seeing some strange behavior when I create the Layer State in PSPACE (I'm using AutoCAD 2024). It's not allowing me to unfreeze layers for some reason... the fix for that is just to delete the delinquent layer state and re-create it. I also wasn't able to peg down the exact behavior of the "Layout" Layer State when used in MSPACE and vice-versa. My recommendation would be to: Only use a layer state in the space which it was created. With the exception to that being using a layer state when you have a viewport activated. For that I just use one I created in model space. I should try and find some time to figure this out in the future.

@@randomCADstuffI did find out that, depending on the view you're in (model-, paper-space, or viewport), certain "Layer properties to restore " get greyed-out. This doesn't seem to be linked to the "Space" column. I'm using 2022, but will soon switch to 2024. But I'm having trouble with the transparency-property with hatches. Because when I use a LS in any view, the transparency of hatches changes in some views. So change it in one VP, it also changes in another VP, but not all. It seems to be random for me, but I'm assuming that I'm doing something wrong. This seems to be the only property to do this. Maybe you know what could be the problem? Or do you encounter the same problem in some cases?

I think you've found a bug. I have AutoCAD 2024 I can reproduce what you describe. But if I use different properties (color for example) it behaves as expected. I haven't checked everything yet.@@tomvos5594

At first I thought that maybe it changes the "global" transparency instead of the "VP Transparency", unfortunately it doesn't. It seems that vpTransparency is in fact global. $2,000 per year you'd think they have enough revenue to tidy these things up lol ;-).@@tomvos5594