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The text in this section was derived from the v2.5 CAD manual, and has been updated somewhat, but differences between different releases of v2.5, v2.6 and v2.7 may mean that some of the information may not apply to the version you are using. Some adjustment may be required for versions prior or subsequent to v2.7A.
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DANCAD3D (tm) macro commands can used to write a macro "program" that will operate DANCAD3D (tm) automatically. DANCAD3D (tm) can also automatically generate an output macro file of these commands while you use the programs menus. Appendix B lists detailed information about many of the individual macro commands.
Steps to use Appendix B: Macro commands.
Read this section to learn what commands are available.
Use [W]rite from DANCAD3D (tm)'s main menu to write or edit macros.
Use the automatic [O]utput macro feature to automatically code these macro commands to a file while you use the menu commands.
This Appendix B contains information on the DANCAD3D (tm) macro programming commands that are available for your use in writing automatic CAD, CAE, or CAM programs. See the pages in this Web site that link to this page for additional information.
Below are details about macro commands that start with D.
PURPOSE: Delay progress of program for about 1 to 1E18
milliseconds. This macro command and related macro
commands have been revised in v2.7A, so the information
below relate to that version.
MAIN MENU: NA
KEYWORD: DELAY
PARAMETERS: 1
TYPE: i......... Delay of approximate milliseconds, 1 to 1E18.
FORMAT: DELAY i
EXAMPLE: DELAY 1000 ; About a one second delay.
LET |EXPOSURE = 500 ; About one half second exposure.
:L1
SIGNAL 440 100 ; Open camera shutter.
DELAY |EXPOSURE ; Adjustable exposure.
SIGNAL 880 100 ; Close camera shutter.
LET |EXPOSURE = [ |EXPOSURE * 0.95 ]
LOOP :L1 99 ; 100 frame fade out.
INIT
NAME 1 = FRAME 0
LET |N -> COUNT NAME 1 HERE
:A
LOAD PIXEL NAME 1 NEXT
DELAY 2000 ; Slide show speed.
LOOP :A [ |N - 1 ]
NOTE: The timing of the length of time the delay lasts can
vary depending on which version of the program you are
using and how fast your computer is. The operating
system you are using, or other programs you have loaded,
may also effect the timing. You should check the actual
timing on the computer you will be using and make
adjustments to the value you give the DELAY command.
HINT: DELAY might be useful for timing the exposure of Cine
film when DELAY is inserted in between the SIGNAL
command that opens the camera shutter and the SIGNAL
command that closes the shutter. It is best to use a
capping shutter and have a third SIGNAL frequency to
advance the film since that will allow you to switch
images and filters between double exposures. Double
exposing the cine film before advancing cine film, to
the next frame, will let you get better registration
from claw movement cameras, that lack registration pins,
than using the multiple pass technique (i.e. rewinding
the cine film and starting over from frame one.) DELAY
can also be used to make the loading of pixel frames
from a harddisk slower and more evenly spaced when used
with the macro LOAD PIXEL command. The length of the
delay you get is approximate and may be somewhat
different on various computers. Do not use a multi-
tasking operating system while running macros that use
the DELAY command for timing of exposure or other
events. See also the HALT, STOP, and WAIT commands.
The HALT macro command should be used to end a macro
when the macro is being called from a DOS batch file and
you want the batch file to continue after the macro by
having DANCAD3D.COM (tm) automatically quit back to the
batch file. When you want the macro to return to the
main menu use the STOP macro command. When you want the
macro to pause for the [Return] key to be pressed use
the WAIT macro command.
PURPOSE: To delete a line in an element. This command needs to
know the line number of the line to delete in the
drawing workspace. If you want to edit lines you should
use the commands in the drawing editor [L]ines sub-menu.
MAIN MENU: [N] [D] or [D] [?...] [L] [D]
KEYWORD: DELETE
PARAMETERS: 1
TYPE: i......... Line number in workspace line array.
FORMAT: DELETE i
EXAMPLE: LET |LINE -> LINES ; Assign number of lines to |LINE.
LET |LINE = [ |LINE - 100 ]
:LINE_LOOP
DELETE LINE
LOOP :LINE_LOOP 99 ; Delete last 100 lines.
HINT: You can use the [N]umber command in the drawing editor's
[L]ines sub-menu to find the number of a line in a
drawing. If you edit your [O]utput macro files be
careful to adjust the DELETE commands if you alter the
number of lines in the workspace at a point in the macro
file before the DELETE commands are used to delete lines
(otherwise the wrong lines will be deleted.)
PURPOSE: To display the lines in the workspace on the video
screen or to a BMP file. This macro command works like
the main menu [P]review command. The video mode must be
set to graphics with the macro command GRAPH_MODE before
the DISPLAY command can be used. In some video modes
you can use DISPLAY repeatedly on the screen without
clearing the screen to build up more lines in the
display than DANCAD3D (tm)'s workspace can hold. The
DISPLAY command can be used to fill the Z-BUFFER file
when used with some display modes. This DISPLAY command
was revised for use with the STEREO macro command in
v2.7H. When DISPLAY is preceded by the STEREO macro
command a stereoscopic 3D image can be displayed by the
DISPLAY command for viewing with Anaglyph glasses of
Red-Cyan and other colors, LCS shutter glasses, mirror
or prism viewers, lenticular LCD monitor type screen,
free viewing, and some other methods. See the stereo
format code list associated with the STEREO macro
command and read Section: 3.3.7.8.
MAIN MENU: [P] or [D] (See also the [H]ardcopy sub-menu.)
KEYWORD: DISPLAY
PARAMETERS: 8
TYPE: r......... X degrees rotation -1E18 to 1E18.
r......... Y degrees rotation -1E18 to 1E18.
r......... Z degrees rotation -1E18 to 1E18.
r......... View point distance -1E18 to -1E-18.
r......... Zoom scale 1E-18 to 1E18.
i......... Display mode, use mode 1 normally.
r......... X shift -1E18 to 1E18.
r......... Y shift -1E18 to 1E18.
FORMAT: DISPLAY r r r r r i r r
EXAMPLE: GRAPH_MODE COLOR
# 0 DISPLAY 0 0 0 -1E18 240 1 0 0 ; Video display.
SAVE PIXEL B:FRAME.36 ; And save screen.
; X_shift and Y_shift move the vanishing point off
; center, X_shift and Y_shift should be used with the
; OFFSET command to alter the look of the perspective
; for example:
# 1 OFFSET CURRENT 0 [ - |Y_SHIFT ] 0
# 1 DISPLAY |XROT |YROT 0 -10000 1 1 0 [ |Y_SHIFT ]
; The above commands will give the effect of an glass
; outside elevator but keep the object centered.
; The BMP graphics mode tells DISPLAY to save a 24 bpp
; BMP file rather than to display on the video screen.
; The macro GRAPH_MODE and DISPLAY commands have been
; altered to support the new BMP and F0B24 graphics
; modes. Since several additional parameters are
; required for the making of the 24 bit BMP file the LET
; and LET$ macro commands are used before the DISPLAY
; command in order to pass the needed values via the
; harddisk. All of the required values need to be assigned.
VERSION v2.7F
; Example macro to save 24 bit BMP file.
WYSIWYG 1
LET B24OVER_.VAR = 4 ; anti-aliasing oversample value
LET B24UNDER.VAR = 2 ; sub-pixel undersample value
LET B24XPIX_.VAR = 800 ; x pixels value
LET B24YPIX_.VAR = 600 ; y pixels value
LET B24DITHE.VAR = 4 ; tone dithering value
LET$ B24BACK_.VAR = "MYPHOTO.BMP" ; background 24 bit BMP image
LET$ B24NAME_.VAR = "MYCGI.BMP" ; name for 24 bit BMP file to output to
GRAPH_MODE BMP ; Set the special "blind" BMP save to disk mode.
LET LS0ZFAR_.VAR = -7.75 ; far lambert lighting point
LET LS0ZNEAR.VAR = +5.50 ; near lambert lighting point
LET LS1XDEG_.VAR = 0 ; light source x rotation
LET LS1YDEG_.VAR = -75 ; light source y rotation
LET LS1ZDEG_.VAR = -45 ; light source z rotation
LET LS0LAMB_.VAR = 0.85 ; lambert brightness
LET LS0REFL_.VAR = 0.8 ; lambert reflection brightness
LET LS1BRIG_.VAR = 1 ; light source brightness
LET LS1REFL_.VAR = 1 ; light source reflection brightness
# 1 DISPLAY -20 -20 0 -10 240 74 0 0 ; make the 24 bit BMP file
TEXT ; Always reset the video to TEXT after BMP, VESA, or MGC modes.
; End example macro to save 24 bit BMP file. See also INFOV27F.TXT
; The VESA 15, 16, 24, and 32 bpp graphics modes tell
; DISPLAY to use the Z-BUFFER for anti-aliasing and such
; before drawing to the video screen, so the image comes
; up all at once rather than one line on the screen at a
; time.
VERSION v2.7G
; Example macro to save 24 bpp Pixel file.
WYSIWYG 1
LET B24OVER_.VAR = 4 ; anti-aliasing oversample value
LET B24UNDER.VAR = 2 ; sub-pixel undersample value
LET B24XPIX_.VAR = 640 ; x pixels value
LET B24YPIX_.VAR = 480 ; y pixels value
LET B24DITHE.VAR = 4 ; tone dithering value
LET$ B24BACK_.VAR = "MYPHOTO.BMP" ; background 24 bit BMP image
LET$ B24NAME_.VAR = "" ; no save name since image goes to the screen
GRAPH_MODE SEEK 0 640 480 24 ; Set 24 bpp VESA video mode.
LET LS0ZFAR_.VAR = -7.75 ; far lambert lighting point
LET LS0ZNEAR.VAR = +5.50 ; near lambert lighting point
LET LS1XDEG_.VAR = 0 ; light source x rotation
LET LS1YDEG_.VAR = -75 ; light source y rotation
LET LS1ZDEG_.VAR = -45 ; light source z rotation
LET LS0LAMB_.VAR = 0.85 ; lambert brightness
LET LS0REFL_.VAR = 0.8 ; lambert reflection brightness
LET LS1BRIG_.VAR = 1 ; light source brightness
LET LS1REFL_.VAR = 1 ; light source reflection brightness
# 1 DISPLAY -20 -20 0 -10 240 74 0 0 ; make the 24 bit screen image
SAVE PIXEL MYFILE.PIX ; Save the screen image as a Pixel file.
SAVE BMP 24 MYFILE.BMP ; Save the screen image as a BMP file.
TEXT ; Always reset the video to TEXT after VESA modes.
; End example macro to save 24 bpp Pixel file. See also INFOV27G.TXT
NOTE: The DISPLAY command uses a Z-BUFFER file to process
triangle elements for display. Line elements are
displayed directly to the screen in graphic modes other
than BMP, and the VESA 15, 16, 24, and 32 bpp modes.
In modes that write directly to the screen you can use
display more than once to built up extra lines on the
screen, e.g. if you need more lines than will fit in the
workspace at one time, or to change the display values
between using DISPLAY to display different things on the
screen.
In the display modes that write to the Z-BUFFER rather
than directly to the screen, if you want to make an
image that uses more elements or triangles than can fit
into the drawing workspace at one time you can use the
DISPLAY command more than one time to fill the Z-BUFFER
more than once. In Graphics mode BMP or F0B24, a BMP
file will be created each time DISPLAY is used so that
you can see what has been displayed to the Z-BUFFER, but
you can just ignore the BMP file made after each filling
of the Z-BUFFER and only keep the final BMP file made
after the last filling of the Z-BUFFER file.
Normally the Z-BUFFER file is deleted after the BMP file
is output, or the image is displayed on the screen, to
free disk space. In order to keep the Z-BUFFER you need
to add a number to the display mode passed to the
DISPLAY command. Several options can be achieved in
this way, with the values as shown here:
display mode + 0 = open new Z-BUFFER and erase Z-BUFFER after display.
display mode + 1000 = open new Z-BUFFER and keep Z-BUFFER after display.
display mode + 2000 = reopen old Z-BUFFER and keep Z-BUFFER after display.
display mode + 3000 = reopen old Z-BUFFER and erase Z-BUFFER after display.
To fill a Z-BUFFER more than one time you first add 1000
to the display mode and use the DISPLAY command, then
initialize the workspace load the additional elements
and add 2000 to the display mode and use DISPLAY to
reopen the Z-BUFFER file for more filling, you can
repeat using 2000 plus the display mode over and over
adding more and more elements to the Z-BUFFER file, when
you are down to the last filling you can add 3000 to the
display mode and use DISPLAY which will fill in the
final elements display (to the BMP file or screen as the
case may be) the completed scene and then erase the
unneeded Z-BUFFER file.
Adding the values 1000, 2000, or 3000 should only be
done when the Z-BUFFER is going to be used by the
display mode selected, when the display goes directly to
the video screen adding these values to the display mode
probably has no useful or defined effect.
You do not need to erase the Z-BUFFER after the final
filling, but you do not want to reopen it if you are
going to start rendering a different image since parts
of the images would get mixed up. When you are going to
add a background you would want to add the background
only to the first filling of the Z-BUFFER since the
mixing of the colors at the edges during anti-aliasing
will not be correct if you change the background after
the first filling. The background image is only loaded
into the Z-BUFFER for the BMP and VESA 15, 16, 24, and
32 bpp graphic modes, in other graphic modes the
background usually goes onto the screen before DISPLAY
is used. If you are not using oversampling or
undersampling it might be possible to change the
background in the Z-BUFFER after the first filling. You
cannot change the Z-BUFFER settings between fillings,
and the perspective and lighting values should also
remain the same for all fillings to avoid things looking
wrong. You can change the display mode between
fillings, say have some fillings done by using display
mode 74 (e.g. 2074) and some done by using display mode
73 (e.g. 2073) in order to only have some elements have
outlined edges. You might want to change the
perspective values between fillings of the Z-BUFFER if
you want to display a line drawing over a 3D element to
insert labels or other text and such.
The variables, used for and associated with the display
modes that require stored variables, may get erased
after each use, this helps produce error messages and
make sure that you have stated the values that you want
used, and that the values read are not just old
variables left on your harddisk from some time in the
past. See the LET and LET$ macro command to assign the
variables. Some of the display variables need to be
assigned before GRAPH_MODE is called in order to have
the Z-BUFFER or video mode setup properly for later use
by DISPLAY.
Normally in the 1, 2, 4, and 8 bit per pixel video modes
the background image is loaded onto the screen by using
the LOAD PIXEL command before the DISPLAY command, and
the DISPLAY command writes in parts of the screen over
what is there. Since the 24 bit per pixel BMP output
file, and the VESA 15, 16, 24, and 32 bpp image, comes
from the Z-BUFFER and not the video screen, the
background image is loaded into the Z-BUFFER rather than
the screen. When the 1, 2, 4, and 8 bit per pixel video
modes are used you do not need to state the variables
that pertain to the 15, 16, 24, or 32 bit per pixel use
of the Z-BUFFER, you just use the DISPLAY command and
the Z-BUFFER will be made up according to the screen
dimensions without anti-aliasing since anti-aliasing is
not implemented for the video modes with very limited
colors since subtle color changes are needed to have the
anti-aliasing work well. If no background image is
loaded then the background color comes from the setting
of color 0 in the line color number to line color color
number palette table, see Setup Palette in the Drawing
Editor, or the PALETTE macro command.
The example macro file ZBUFFER1.MAC (tm) is an example
of how the Z-BUFFER can be filled by using the DISPLAY
command. This macro may be included in some of the
v2.7F or later distributions of the DANCAD3D.ZIP (tm)
file. ZBUFFER1.MAC (tm) shows commands used to create,
fill, and reopen a Z-BUFFER file, so as to make a 24 bit
"true-color" BMP file as the output.
Line elements are normally displayed by setting the
perspective display mode in the DISPLAY command to a
value of 1. When triangle elements are displayed there
are several display modes that have uses under different
video modes to get different types of image. See the
current and updated documentation for any revisions to
the available display modes.
Below is a table showing the perspective display mode
code numbers that were devised for DISPLAY and other
commands that use the perspective display modes. Some
commands do not support all of the modes since triangle
elements need to be converted into line elements before
some commands can be used. Modes 10, 11, 12, and 13
might work in those cases where triangle elements cause
problems. Mode 1 is the normal mode for displaying line
elements. The modes that show shaded triangles with the
M256 or C256 palette should also present well when the
VESA 15, 16, 24, or 32 bpp video modes are active.
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|mode . Tri fill color . Tri outline color . lines shown . notes |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| 1 . black . line color . edges . also works for line drawings |
| 2 . black . line color . sides . to see triangles |
| 3 . black . line color . sides + normals . to see normals |
| 4 . black . none . none . use with a white background for mate |
| 5 . white . none . none . use with a black background for mate |
| 6 . random . none . none . use to see surface triangles |
| |
|[ 10 series modes do not sort triangles, for quick setup of perspective values ]------------------------------------------|
| |
| 10 . no fill . line color . forward edges . quick perspective adjustments, no sort |
| 11 . no fill . line color . all edges . edge wire-frame, no sort |
| 12 . no fill . line color . all sides . sides wire-frame, no sort |
| 13 . no fill . line color . all sides + normals . normals wire-frame, no sort |
| |
|[ 20 series modes fill triangles with line color, for use with M16 or C16 palette modes ]---------------------------------|
| |
| 20 . line color . black . edges . for M16 or C16 with background other than black |
| 21 . line color . linecolor . edges . for M2 to make traveling mats with outlines |
| 22 . line color . white . edges . for M2, M16, or C16 with background other than white |
| 23 . line color . xor line color . edges . for M2, M16, or M16 |
| 24 . line color . none . none . for M2 to make traveling mats without outlines |
| |
|[ 30 series modes lambert shade by the whole triangle like lambert using triangle sort order ]----------------------------|
| |
| 30 . sort shade . black . edges . for M256 or C256 |
| 31 . sort shade . line color . edges . " |
| 32 . sort shade . white . edges . " |
| 33 . sort shade . xor line color . edges . " |
| 34 . sort shade . none . none . " |
| |
|[ 40 series modes lambert shade by the pixel, with automatic lambert settings ]-------------------------------------------|
| |
| 40 . AL shade . black . edges . for M256 or C256. Has uses in making tool path files. |
| 41 . AL shade . line color . edges . " See the conversion from Pixel to |
| 42 . AL shade . white . edges . " ASCII file command. |
| 43 . AL shade . xor line color . edges . " |
| 44 . AL shade . none . none . " |
| |
|[ 50 series modes lambert shade by the pixel, with manual lambert settings ]----------------------------------------------|
| |
| 50 . ML shade . black . edges . for M256 or C256. Has uses in making tool path files. |
| 51 . ML shade . line color . edges . " See the conversion from Pixel to |
| 52 . ML shade . white . edges . " ASCII file command. |
| 53 . ML shade . xor line color . edges . " |
| 54 . ML shade . none . none . " |
| |
|[ 60 series modes automatic lambert + light source shade by the pixel ]---------------------------------------------------|
| |
| 60 . AL + LS shade . black . edges . for M256 or C256. Good for display of still images. |
| 61 . AL + LS shade . line color . edges . " Can be used with the M16 modes |
| 62 . AL + LS shade . white . edges . " on the larger size SVGA images. |
| 63 . AL + LS shade . xor line color . edges . " |
| 64 . AL + LS shade . none . none . " |
| |
|[ 70 series modes manual lambert + light source shade by the pixel ]------------------------------------------------------|
| |
| 70 . ML + LS shade . black . edges . for M256 or C256. Good for animated display since |
| 71 . ML + LS shade . line color . edges . " the lighting values are more stable |
| 72 . ML + LS shade . white . edges . " than the 60 series modes. |
| 73 . ML + LS shade . xor line color . edges . " |
| 74 . ML + LS shade . none . none . " |
| |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
The perspective display modes can be combined with the
various stereo format codes entered through the use of
the STEREO macro command to generate stereoscopic images
for viewing in various stereo image formats. Various
stereo format codes are described in the text about the
STEREO macro command in Appendix: B, and in Section:
3.3.7.8. Viewing tool path files by use of stereoscopic
images may help distinguish features. Using the MUTATE
command to convert the tool path lines into triangle
elements may be desirable since only triangle elements
get displayed sorted by depth.
HINT: Use the main menu [P]review command to find the best
values to use with the DISPLAY command since they both
work the same. By turning the [O]utput macro on you can
use the main menu [P]review command to append the
DISPLAY macro command to the macro you are writing every
time you re-draw the screen in the [P]review command.
See also macro commands JET ADD, JET WORKSPACE, DOT ADD,
and DOT WORKSPACE, and PLOT since they display the image
to printout rather than the video screen. When the
GRAPH_MODE BMP mode is used with DISPLAY the output
image goes to a BMP file rather than to the video
screen, that BMP file might be able to be printed in
color by using the software that came with your scanner,
and such. See also the GRAPH_MODE and STEREO macro
commands.
PURPOSE: DIVIDE makes large triangles in an element into four
smaller triangles until the target maximum line length
is reached. This is useful in order to reduce problems
with large triangles sorting out of the correct order
when displayed at certain angles when large triangles on
a surface are close to other surfaces. Generally
triangles on surfaces should be smaller than the
distance of one surface to another that is in front of
the surface. These problems also relate too some kinds
of inside, concave, corners. DIVIDE is used with
elements made of triangles for use with the hidden line
display modes. New for v2.7A.
MAIN MENU: [D] [?...] [H] [D]
KEYWORD: DIVIDE
PARAMETERS: 1
TYPE: r........ target side length, about 1e-3 to 1e3.
FORMAT: DIVIDE r
EXAMPLE: # 1 DIVIDE 0.750
NOTE: Although dividing the triangles into smaller ones can
help correct problems with the sorting of the triangles
for display, making the triangles smaller increases
their number considerably, and therefore greatly
increases the sorting time for the hidden line display.
HINT: The number of triangles actually made depends on the
length of the line segments in the source element, and
the target length entered, so the goal is to pick a
target length that is a large as possible, and still
small enough to resolve the sorting issues.
PURPOSE: To substitute for path\filename.ext as a parameter to
other macro commands and automatically generate numbered
files for looping and accessing arrays of files. The
DIVIDED_NAME command allows you to automatically create
or load files that have the file name numbered, e.g.
BMP0/1.BMP, BMP0/2.BMP, BMP0/3.BMP and so on. New for
v3.7N.
MAIN MENU: NA
KEYWORD: DIVIDED_NAME (Spelled out in full.)
PARAMETERS: DIVIDED_NAME i = f start
DIVIDED_NAME i INPUT
DIVIDED_NAME i HERE
DIVIDED_NAME i NEXT
DIVIDED_NAME i + step
DIVIDED_NAME i - step
TYPE: i......... Index of name assignment, 0 to 7.
=......... Assignment of path, extension and number value.
f......... Path and extension to assign to DIVIDED_NAME i.
start..... Value to assign to number with DIVIDED_NAME i.
Ranges -9999999 up to 99999999 in value.
INPUT..... Like "= f start" but prompts for user entry.
HERE...... Returns path\????????.ext as a parameter.
NEXT...... Adds 1 to number before returning as parameter.
+ step.... Adds step to number only.
- step.... Subtract step from number only.
The step can range from 1 to 109999998.
FORMAT: See above and below.
EXAMPLE: DIVIDED_NAME 1 = C:\SUB\.BMP 0 ; Assign NAME 1 C:\SUB\0.BMP
LOAD 3D DIVIDED_NAME 7 HERE ; Use name No. 7 to load a 3D file.
LOAD 3D DIVIDED_NAME 7 NEXT ; Advance number before using.
DIVIDED_NAME 3 + 10 ; Add 10 to name 3's number.
DIVIDED_NAME 4 - 25 ; Subtract 25 from name 4's number.
DIVIDED_NAME 5 INPUT ; Asks user to enter a filename.
Use this form for DIVIDED_NAME i INPUT when the file extension is not
numeric:
LOAD 3D DIVIDED_NAME 0 INPUT ; User entered: C:\MY\DRAW.3D
And this form when the filename's name is numeric:
DIVIDED_NAME 1 INPUT ; User entered: 24.PIX
DIVIDED_NAME 2 INPUT ; User entered: 10.PIC
INIT
LOAD 3D DIVIDED_NAME 1 HERE ; 24.PIX passed to LOAD 3D.
# 1 SAVE 3D DIVIDED_NAME 2 HERE ; 10.PIC passed to SAVE 3D.
LOAD 3D DIVIDED_NAME 1 NEXT ; 25.PIX passed to LOAD 3D.
# 2 SAVE 3D DIVIDED_NAME 2 NEXT ; 11.PIC passed to SAVE 3D.
When you want to be able to reuse the input filename, use a filename
that uses a numeric name (e.g. 1017.BMP aka BMP1/017.BMP) You CANNOT
reuse input filenames with DIVIDED_NAME that DO NOT use a numeric
filename (e.g. SOMEFILE.BMP). The reason for this is that the +, -,
and NEXT operators need a numeric filename to operate on. You can use
the INPUT option, of the DIVIDED_NAME command, with the FILES COPY
command to copy a file name with a non-numeric filename to a temporary
file that has a numeric filename for future manipulation.
EXAMPLE: DIVIDED_NAME 1 = BMP 0
LET |FILES = 0
INPUT |FILES
:L0123
FILES COPY DIVIDED_NAME 0 INPUT DIVIDED_NAME 1 NEXT
LOOP :L0123 [ |FILES - 1 ]
NOTE: The numbered filenames make having sets of files easy
to manipulate. You can have up to 8 DIVIDED_NAME
filenames at one time in each level of nesting in your
running macros.
When you use the DIVIDED_NAME macro command you pass
filenames to is on LONG_NAME form not as the Divided
form, the DIVIDED_NAME macro command converts the
filename and its number into the Divided form, i.e.
enter the Long number name form C:\DC37N\BMP\12345.BMP
to get the Divided name form C:\DC37N\BMP\BMP12\345.BMP.
HINT: See also the LOOP command. See also Appendix C for
examples of the use of the macro NAME command. The file
type ELEMENTS uses the last three characters of the
filename to number the element files so that the file
extension will be free to be used with the NAME command
in order that you will be able to create sets of sets of
element files. See also the EXPAND command and the
FILES CONVERT command since they both use related
numbered file sets. See also the NAME macro command for
file sets shorter than DIVIDED_NAME can make. See also
the DIVIDED_COUNT option of the LET command to get a
count of a set of files in the DIVIDED_NAME format.
PURPOSE: To add (express) lines from the drawing workspace to a
DOT page pixel file. DOT ADD works like the macro
DISPLAY command except the lines are drawn to a page
file rather than the video screen.
MAIN MENU: [H] [D] [A]
KEYWORD: DOT ADD
PARAMETERS: 10
TYPE: r......... X rotation degrees -1E18 to 1E18.
r......... Y rotation degrees -1E18 to 1E18.
r......... Z rotation degrees -1E18 to 1E18.
r......... View point distance 1E-18 to 1E18.
r......... Display scale 1E-18 to 1E18.
i......... Display mode, use mode 1 normally.
r......... X shift -1E18 to 1E18.
r......... Y shift -1E18 to 1E18.
f......... Dot page file filename.
(Use only five letters for your DOT filename.)
f......... Printer driver file.
FORMAT: DOT ADD r r r r r i r r f f
EXAMPLE: # 0 DOT ADD 0 0 0 1E18 240 1 0 0 P.1 DRIVERS\IBM5152.PRN
NOTE: A peculiarity of display modes that use the Z-BUFFER in
the JET and DOT commands, i.e. some of the display modes
that display triangle elements, is that the printer
strips associated with the DOT and JET commands normally
use the same single Z-BUFFER file over and over again
for each of the many strips that make up the page, so
only one Z-BUFFER file is used even though many strips
are used. However when you add 1000 to the display mode
to create a Z-BUFFER that will be saved, EACH STRIP
CREATES ITS OWN Z-BUFFER file, and you end up with a set
of numbered files, ZBUFFER.1, ZBUFFER.2 and so on. This
can require a very large amount of disk space, so be
sure that the Z-BUFFER path is set to a disk with lots
of free disk space (the Z-BUFFER file path is set from
the View Hidden Configure command in the drawing
editor). When there is only one Z-BUFFER file being
used it is usually named ZBUFFER.0, or something like
that, so the extension might be used to tell if you have
a set of files or just one by checking for the existence
of file ZBUFFER.0 along the Z-BUFFER path.
Normally the Z-BUFFER file is erased after being used to
render the image to the page, so as to free disk space.
In order to keep the Z-BUFFER (one file or the set of
files) you need to add a number to the display mode
passed to the Preview, DISPLAY, JET ADD, JET WORKSPACE,
DOT ADD, or DOT WORKSPACE commands. Several options can
be achieved in this way, with the values as shown here:
display mode + 0 = open new Z-BUFFER and erase Z-BUFFER after display.
display mode + 1000 = open new Z-BUFFER and keep Z-BUFFER after display.
display mode + 2000 = reopen old Z-BUFFER and keep Z-BUFFER after display.
display mode + 3000 = reopen old Z-BUFFER and erase Z-BUFFER after display.
The option to reuse the Z-BUFFER applies to all display
modes that use the Z-BUFFER. In those modes that write
directly to the page, bypassing the Z-Buffer, you can
include the extra elements in the Page background image
so they are "behind" the elements from the Z-BUFFER, or
draw elements over the image in the page from the Z-
BUFFER once it has been displayed to the page file, i.e.
by using JET ADD or DOT ADD. The end result for writing
just to the Z-BUFFER or a mix of writing directly to the
page file as well as writing to the Z-BUFFER is about
the same, it is just that somewhat different steps are
used to get the result.
The program selects writing the image to the Z-BUFFER
when an element to be displayed contains triangles. The
background image for JET or DOT pages goes into the page
file before using JET ADD or DOT ADD to display the
elements over the background.
To fill a Z-BUFFER more than one time you first add 1000
to the display mode and use the DISPLAY command, then
initialize the workspace load the additional elements
and add 2000 to the display mode and use DISPLAY to
reopen the Z-BUFFER file for more filling, you can
repeat using 2000 plus the display mode over and over
adding more and more elements to the Z-BUFFER file, when
you are down to the last filling you can add 3000 to the
display mode and use DISPLAY which will fill in the
final elements display the completed seen and then erase
the no longer needed Z-BUFFER file.
You do not need to erase the Z-BUFFER after the final
filling, but you do not want to reopen the Z-BUFFER if
you are going to start rendering a different image since
parts of the images would get mixed up. You cannot
change the Z-BUFFER size between fillings, i.e. the same
printer driver should be used, and the perspective and
lighting values should also remain the same for all
fillings, in most cases, so as to avoid things looking
wrong, e.g. having the light come from different angles
on different elements in the same rendering. You can
change the display mode between fillings, you might
display some fillings using display mode 74 and some
using display mode 73 in order to only have some
elements have their flagged edges outlined. You might
also want to change the perspective values between
fillings of the Z-BUFFER if you want to display a line
drawing over a 3D element to insert labels or other text
and such.
See also the update documentation from INFOV27F.TXT and
INFOV27G.TXT, and the description of the DISPLAY command
as well as other documentation on the display modes and
program revisions.
HINT: Be sure you DOT MAKE a page before you try to DOT ADD
any lines from the drawing workspace to the page file.
You can use this feature to avoid running out of lines
by adding the lines in the workspace to the page file
then empty the workspace so more lines can be drawn.
Like the DISPLAY command there is no limit to how many
times you can use DOT ADD to add more lines to a page
file. You can swap workspaces on and off your harddisk
with the SAVE ELEMENTS and LOAD ELEMENTS commands. In
v2.6 and later you can also avoid an out of lines error
by making more free space on your harddisk so that the
workspace can expand.
PURPOSE: To clear a DOT page file so no pixels are set.
MAIN MENU: [H] [D] [B]
KEYWORD: DOT BLANK
PARAMETERS: 1
TYPE: f........ Dot page file filename.
(Use only five letters for your DOT filename.)
FORMAT: DOT BLANK f
EXAMPLE: DOT BLANK PAGESUB\PAGE.ABC
NOTE: Be sure you already used DOT MAKE to make the page
files.
PURPOSE: To combine two DOT page files. The output file can be
one of the input files. You can select different ways
in which to combine the pages. DOT COMBINE can be used
to create texture screen effects.
MAIN MENU: [H] [D] [C]
KEYWORD: DOT COMBINE
PARAMETERS: 4
TYPE: f......... First input page filename.
f......... Second input page filename.
f......... Page filename to receive output.
(Use only five letters for your DOT filename.)
w......... OR = Superimpose all pixels.
AND = Only common to both.
XOR = Only not common.
MASK = Gives: POUTPUT = P1 AND (NOT P2).
FORMAT: DOT COMBINE f f f OR
DOT COMBINE f f f AND
DOT COMBINE f f f XOR
DOT COMBINE f f f MASK
EXAMPLE: DOT COMBINE DPAGE.1 DPAGE.2 DPAGE.2 OR
; Put what is in DPAGE.1 over DPAGE.2.
DOT COMBINE DPAGE.1 DPAGE.2 DPAGE.3 AND
; And DPAGE.1 with DPAGE.2, then put result in DPAGE.3.
NOTE: You can convert solid filled in areas on one page to a
hatched pattern by using the AND mode. If you OR your
hatched copy of the filled in page with a copy of the
original page before you filled in the areas, the
original page copy will replace the lines you did not
want to get hatched, this would be needed since all
lines will be hatched on the filled in page, not just
the filled in areas.
PURPOSE: To create a DOT page page file so that the page file's
name can be used by the other commands that use the DOT
page files. A dot page file is made up of a set of
files on your harddisk, each of the files in the set
that make up a page hold one of the "strips" that make
up a full page. The page length determines the number
of strip files required.
MAIN MENU: [H] [D] [M]
KEYWORD: DOT MAKE
PARAMETERS: 2
TYPE: f......... Dot page file filename.
(Use only five letters for your DOT filename.)
i......... Length of page in strips. 216 vertical dot
strips are 1 inch. 180 vertical dot strips
are 1.2 inches each.
FORMAT: DOT MAKE f i
EXAMPLE: DOT MAKE PAGE.1 11
HINT: Always use DOT MAKE before any of the commands that use
the DOT page files. The dot page files are a set of
files on the disk, one file for each strip selected, so
when you want to copy a DOT page file from the DOS
prompt to back the page file up to a 1.2MB or 1.44MB
floppy disk use the global characters, i.e. COPY
PAGE????.1 A:\ See also the macro command JET MAKE to
make similar files for printing on LaserJet type
printers.
PURPOSE: To reverse the pixel values in a dot page file.
MAIN MENU: [H] [D] [N]
KEYWORD: DOT NEGATIVE
PARAMETERS: 1
TYPE: f......... Dot page file filename.
(Use only five letters for your DOT filename.)
FORMAT: DOT NEGATIVE f
EXAMPLE: DOT NEGATIVE PAGE.1
HINT: If you are going to reverse the white and black parts of
a drawing, the line widths you use should be heavier
than normal since the dark areas will always bleed over
into the light areas. This macro command can be used
for making Negatives for PC board photo-resist, just
remember to use some extra line width and 5 strikes when
you print the page out. When using print out for
contact printing of circuit boards you may also want to
use the FLIP command to make the negative usable with
the inked side toward the sensitive PC board surface.
Dot matrix print out can be xeroxed onto specially
coated transparent plastic sheets to make a transparent
overhead projector transparency.
PURPOSE: To print out a dot page file on paper using the
installed dot matrix printer. Use DOT MAKE and DOT ADD
to create a page file suitable for use with this
command. Use the DOT WORKSPACE if you only want to
print what is in the drawing workspace.
MAIN MENU: [H] [D] [P]
KEYWORD: DOT PRINT
PARAMETERS: 3
TYPE: f......... Dot page file filename.
(Use only five letters for your DOT filename.)
i......... Number of strikes.
f......... Installed printer code file.
FORMAT: DOT PRINT
EXAMPLE: DOT PRINT PAGE.1 1 DRIVERS\IBM5152.PRN
NOTE: The printer code driver file should match the one used
when the lines were expressed to the page with the DOT
ADD command. If you print drawing while you are out of
the room be careful that your printer or computer does
not start a fire.
HINT: You can write a simple macro to print several pages from
your harddisk while you are doing something else. If
time is not important using several strikes, of the
print head, makes the print out look better. Be sure
you have used the DOT ADD command to express some lines
from the workspace, to the page file, before you try to
print the page. If you want to only print what is in
the workspace use the DOT WORKSPACE command instead.
Before you use the DOT PRINT command you can use the
[D]ot [V]iew command in the [D]ot sub-menu of the
[H]ardcopy sub-menu to check what the page file has on
it.
PURPOSE: To make shaded page files to combine with page files
that have had lines expressed onto them using the DOT
ADD command.
MAIN MENU: [H] [D] [S]
KEYWORD: DOT SHADE
PARAMETERS: 2
TYPE: f........ Dot page file filename.
(Use only five letters for your DOT filename.)
i........ Shading code number.
TABLE OF SHADING CODE NUMBERS
0.................. Nul and abort.
1 to 20............ Random dots.
30 to 35........... Vertical lines.
40 to 45........... Horizontal lines.
50................. Diagonal slope right.
60................. Diagonal slope left.
100 to 105......... About 7.5 dot per inch screen.
110 to 115......... About 15 dot per inch screen.
120 to 125......... About 30 dot per inch screen.
FORMAT: DOT SHADE f i
EXAMPLE: DOT SHADE PAGE.1 112 ; Medium screen over page. This
; command is meant to be used with DOT COMBINE to
; produce hatching effects.
NOTE: The exact appearance of the shade pattern will vary
depending on the printer and driver being used.
HINT: Shade a blank page and use DOT COMBINE to add hatching
and screens to your drawings that you used DOT ADD to
put on the other page file. Shading is best used with
large text that has very thick lines and filled shapes.
The exact look of the shading patterns depends on your
printer. In order to shade patches of a drawing you
need to have that area expressed to a page file.
Rectangular patches can be blocked out by using the
APPEND and LOOP commands. The WINDOW_CLIP command would
be useful in combination with this command to control
the area of the page covered by the elements that will
get screened.
PURPOSE: To print out what is in the drawing workspace at up to
51840 dots per square inch on a 5152 type graphics
printer. Select the number of strips for your drawing's
height, e.g. 11 strips = 11 inches of drawing paper with
a ProPrinter compatible printer, and 10 strips = 11
inches on a NEC-P6 or a LQ-1500 type printer. This is
the normal method of printing the workspace from a macro
on a dot matrix printer. DOT WORKSPACE prints directly
from what is in the drawing and does not use the DOT
page files at all. If you want to print a DOT page file
use the DOT PRINT command.
MAIN MENU: H D W
KEYWORD: DOT WORKSPACE
PARAMETERS: 11
TYPE: r......... X rotation degrees -1E18 to 1E18.
r......... Y rotation degrees -1E18 to 1E18.
r......... Z rotation degrees -1E18 to 1E18.
r......... View point distance 1E-18 to 1E18.
r......... Display scale 1E-18 to 1E18.
i......... Display mode, use mode 1 normally.
r......... X_shift -1E18 to 1E18.
r......... Y_shift -1E18 to 1E18.
i......... Strikes 1 to 10.
i......... Strips 1 to the maximum for your version.
f......... Printer code driver file name.
FORMAT: DOT WORKSPACE r r r r r i r r i i f
EXAMPLE: # 0 DOT W 0 0 0 -1E18 240 1 0 0 11 2 DRIVERS\IBM5152.PRN
; This will print out sharp hard copy.
; X_shift & y_shift move the vanishing point off center.
; Start BATCH.MAC, automatically load and print.
INIT LOAD 2D DRAWING.1 # 0
DOT WORKSPACE 0 0 90 -1E18 1 0 0 2 10 DRIVERS\NEC_P6.PRN
INIT LOAD 2D DRAWING.2 # 0
DOT WORKSPACE 0 0 90 -1E18 1 0 0 2 10 DRIVERS\NEC_P6.PRN
INIT LOAD 2D DRAWING.3 # 0
DOT WORKSPACE 0 0 90 -1E18 1 0 0 2 10 DRIVERS\NEC_P6.PRN
{ And so on... }
; End BATCH.MAC
NOTE: If you print a drawing while you are out of the room be
careful that your printer or computer does not start a
fire.
If you are going to save the Z-BUFFER to load more
elements into it you might do better to use the DOT ADD
command since DOT WORKSPACE will print the image after
each filling, whereas if you use DOT ADD and then DOT
PRINT you will only print once.
A peculiarity of display modes that use the Z-BUFFER in
the JET and DOT commands, i.e. some of the display modes
that display triangle elements, is that the printer
strips associated with the DOT and JET commands normally
use the same single Z-BUFFER file over and over again
for each of the many strips that make up the page, so
only one Z-BUFFER file is used even though many strips
are used. However when you add 1000 to the display mode
to create a Z-BUFFER that will be saved, EACH STRIP
CREATES ITS OWN Z-BUFFER file, and you end up with a set
of numbered files, ZBUFFER.1, ZBUFFER.2 and so on. This
can require a very large amount of disk space, so be
sure that the Z-BUFFER path is set to a disk with lots
of free disk space (the Z-BUFFER file path is set from
the View Hidden Configure command in the drawing
editor). When there is only one Z-BUFFER file being
used it is usually named ZBUFFER.0, or something like
that, so the extension might be used to tell if you have
a set of files or just one by checking for the existence
of file ZBUFFER.0 along the Z-BUFFER path.
Normally the Z-BUFFER file is erased after being used to
render the image to the page, so as to free disk space.
In order to keep the Z-BUFFER (one file or the set of
files) you need to add a number to the display mode
passed to the Preview, DISPLAY, JET ADD, JET WORKSPACE,
DOT ADD, or DOT WORKSPACE commands. Several options can
be achieved in this way, with the values as shown here:
display mode + 0 = open new Z-BUFFER and erase Z-BUFFER after display.
display mode + 1000 = open new Z-BUFFER and keep Z-BUFFER after display.
display mode + 2000 = reopen old Z-BUFFER and keep Z-BUFFER after display.
display mode + 3000 = reopen old Z-BUFFER and erase Z-BUFFER after display.
The option to reuse the Z-BUFFER applies to all display
modes that use the Z-BUFFER. In those modes that write
directly to the page, bypassing the Z-Buffer, you can
include the extra elements in the Page background image
so they are "behind" the elements from the Z-BUFFER, or
draw elements over the image in the page from the Z-
BUFFER once it has been displayed to the page file, i.e.
by using JET ADD or DOT ADD. The end result for writing
just to the Z-BUFFER or a mix of writing directly to the
page file as well as writing to the Z-BUFFER is about
the same, it is just that somewhat different steps are
used to get the result.
The program selects writing the image to the Z-BUFFER
when an element to be displayed contains triangles. The
background image for JET or DOT pages goes into the page
file before using JET ADD or DOT ADD to display the
elements over the background.
To fill a Z-BUFFER more than one time you first add 1000
to the display mode and use the DISPLAY command, then
initialize the workspace load the additional elements
and add 2000 to the display mode and use DISPLAY to
reopen the Z-BUFFER file for more filling, you can
repeat using 2000 plus the display mode over and over
adding more and more elements to the Z-BUFFER file, when
you are down to the last filling you can add 3000 to the
display mode and use DISPLAY which will fill in the
final elements display the completed seen and then erase
the no longer needed Z-BUFFER file.
You do not need to erase the Z-BUFFER after the final
filling, but you do not want to reopen the Z-BUFFER if
you are going to start rendering a different image since
parts of the images would get mixed up. You cannot
change the Z-BUFFER size between fillings, i.e. the same
printer driver should be used, and the perspective and
lighting values should also remain the same for all
fillings, in most cases, so as to avoid things looking
wrong, e.g. having the light come from different angles
on different elements in the same rendering. You can
change the display mode between fillings, you might
display some fillings using display mode 74 and some
using display mode 73 in order to only have some
elements have their flagged edges outlined. You might
also want to change the perspective values between
fillings of the Z-BUFFER if you want to display a line
drawing over a 3D element to insert labels or other text
and such.
See also the update documentation from INFOV27F.TXT and
INFOV27G.TXT, and the description of the DISPLAY command
as well as other documentation on the display modes and
program revisions.
HINT: Use the SAVE ELEMENTS and LOAD ELEMENTS commands to
change the drawing in the workspace. Write a macro to
print several different drawings out while you are away
or asleep. If you want a disk file of the drawing then
save the workspace as a 2D type file and print that 2D
file at a later time. Use the main menu [P]review
command to get the values to use with this command.
Normally you would select element 0 to print all the
elements in the workspace. Press [H] [D] [I] from the
main menu to change the printer port in the printer
driver file. See also the PLOT command for using a
plotter. The JET commands work like the DOT commands
but use a higher resolution HP-PCL code language rather
than the EPSON and IBM type printer codes. PostScript
and HPGL/2 printers work through the PLOT command since
PostScript and HPGL/2 are vector type languages.
PURPOSE: The DRILL_POINTS command extracts a single point or
points from an element drawn from many points. Its
primary use would be to extract drill points from
scanned drawings where the scan shown the PCB pad and
you want to find the center of the pad to make a file
you can CLEAN, OPTIMIZE, and possibly PLOTTERIZE or
CYCLIZE for manufacture. It saves you the trouble of
manually tracing over the element traced from the
scanned BMP file. New for v2.7A.
MAIN MENU: [D] [?...] [J] [D]
KEYWORD: DRILL_POINTS
PARAMETERS: 7
TYPE: i......... Seek_mode, 1=all lines in tolerance must be
consecutive.
2=lines in tolerance can be anywhere
in the element.
i......... Placement_mode, 1=center of x and y min and max.
2=first point found in tolerance
area.
r......... x tolerance for seeking, must be less
than pad or symbol spacing.
r......... y tolerance for seeking, must be less
than pad or symbol spacing.
r......... z tolerance for seeking, must be less
than pad or symbol spacing.
i......... color to make points found in new element.
i......... line width for points to make in new element,
easier viewing.
FORMAT: DRILL_POINTS
EXAMPLE: # 1 DRILL_POINTS 1 1 0.099 0.099 0.099 15 3
# 2 DRILL_POINTS 1 2 0.05 0.05 0.05 4 25
# 3 DRILL_POINTS 2 1 0.075 0.075 0.001 9 1
# 4 DRILL_POINTS 2 2 0.005 0.005 99 11 2
NOTE: If you can import just the pads or other symbols through
an HPGL drawing saved to disk, that imported drawing
might be able to be used to pick up the drill points at
the "center" of those drawing symbols.
HINT: If you pick up points that are out of register with the
workspace center, you can use the macro OFFSET command
to adjust the position of the element made by
DRILL_POINTS. See also the CYCLIZE macro command to add
drilling or other tool cycles or symbols at the points
found by DRILL_POINTS. See also the PLOTTERIZE command
to add up and down motion to the points found with
DRILL_POINTS so that the 3D CAM program can be used to
drill those points. See also the OPTIMIZE command to
organize the drill points in a better plotting order.
PURPOSE: To print out screen dump using DOS GRAPHICS.COM external
command. DUMP can also be used to print text screens to
make animation reports giving you a break down on the
variable's values used to produce each frame of the
animation for study or to make intelligent alterations
to the generating macro. When DUMP is used to only
print the TEXT mode screen GRAPHICS.COM does not need to
be loaded.
MAIN MENU: [P] ... [Shift] & [PrtSc]
KEYWORD: DUMP
PARAMETERS: None
TYPE: NA
FORMAT: DUMP
EXAMPLE: # 0 DISPLAY 0 0 0 -1E18 1 0 0 0 ; Put it on screen.
DUMP ; Use DOS screen dump print out.
; Use DOT WORKSPACE command instead of DUMP if you can.
; Be sure to run the DOS GRAPHICS.COM or some other
; graphics screen dump program that works with INT 05H
; before running DANCAD3D (tm) if you have to use DUMP.
TEXT ; Text mode for screen dump.
LET |ALPHA = [ SQR( |X ) ]
LET |BETA = [ SQR( |Y ) ]
LOCATE 40 10 ECHO Variable |ALPHA = %%
OUTPUT |ALPHA ECHO .
LOCATE 40 11 ECHO Variable |BETA = %%
OUTPUT |BETA ECHO .
DUMP ; Hard copy report.
NOTE: The installation menu you get by pressing [H] [D] [I]
from DANCAD3D (tm)'s main menu will let you install some
dot matrix printers. Check the sub-directory
DRIVERS\*.PRN for installed driver files, to see if one
will work with your printer. The commands DOT WORKSPACE
and DOT PRINT can print at a much higher resolution than
a screen dump.
HINT: The DUMP command can be useful for a quick pencil test
of animation. As shown above you can use DUMP to keep a
hard copy of the dynamic variables of your macro to gain
a greater insight into what the quantitative basis is
for the more qualitative animated display.