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Need help with intercharacter spacing issues in text nodes

KClark

I am working on a script which will replace existing cells on a drawing with an updated version from our cell library. This is being done because of a driver from our customer to have certain cell symbology match those utilized in other documentation. I need to automate this because we are updating close to 3000 drawings, each of which has an average of 50-100 cells which will be affected.

The simple answer is to "replace" the cell. Unfortunately that can't work by itself because we have many cells which have pre-designated text areas, such as component names/identifiers and pin numbers, defined for use by the worker. A simple "Replace" of the cell will get rid of the text that was added to the cells.

To make matters worse, sometimes the text will not fit on a single line in the designated area, so it becomes a text node. This is where I am having difficulty.

Currently I have the code listed below working to do everything I need. Sorry if it is a bit long, and probably more convoluted than it needs to be. I generally start by writing code "off the cuff" to make it work, then refine and optimize it later.

My code is copying the text and/or nodes properly, and replacing the information into the cells once the cell has been replaced. It has been very difficult and frustrating, but I currently have all of the text and nodes in the correct format (font, sizes, justification, color, etc) with one notable exception.

Every text node has an error in the intercharacter spacing when it is replaced. The initial value for the intercharacter spacing in a cell is generally set to the same value as the text width. However, after the cell is replaced, when the node is copied back into it, the intercharacter spacing is set to 0.0002 instead of the pre-existing value. This is casuing all the characters on a line to be overlapped/stacked on top of each other.

What I need is help in determining how to read the current intercharacter spacing and then assign that value to the replaced text node. I don't know why the value isn't being copied with the rest of the text style settings. I also do not know why it is set to 0.0002 on every item I test, regardless of the original text or node's spacing. My edit text attributes tool is almost always set to 0.2, if that helps in any way.

I recently considered simply editing the text attributes after the fact, but am only able to find references for turning the intercharacter spacing checkbox on/off and nothing regarding how to set the value in VBA. I assume it would be via a "tcb->" value or something similar, but have not been able to find a good reference for one.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Option Explicit
    ' Stores the name of the border and design file
    Dim borderName As String, dgnName As String
    ' Stores the revision letter of the diagram file
    Dim revLetter As String
    ' Stores the border size number (5-12)
    Dim borderSize As Integer
    ' Standard number variables for manipulation
    Dim strLength As Integer, X As Integer
    ' Standard coordinate use
    Dim startPoint As Point3d, endPoint As Point3d
    ' Reference coordinates for placing items like cells and text
    Dim dropPoint As Point3d
    ' Array used to store all corner coordinates of the current fence for future reference
    Dim fencePoints() As Point3d
    ' Procedure to handle Modal windows, used simply to close them automatically when actions complete
    Dim modalHandle As New ModalHandler
    ' Pointer to a profile for searches/manipulation
    Dim scanCriteria As New ElementScanCriteria
    ' Pointer to an element value
    Dim enumerator As ElementEnumerator
    ' Pointers to current element or for making a duplicate element for manipulation
    Dim ele As Element, cellCopy As Element
    ' Pointer to an element contained within the current cell
    Dim cellEle As CellElement
    ' Value used for tracking what heirarchal level of a cell we are in
    Dim nestLevel As Long
    ' True or False value for determining if a text/node has not data
    Dim isBlank As Boolean
    ' For general troubleshooting and message boxes
    Dim Response As String
    ' For text format manipulation
    Dim textElem As TextElement

Sub UpdateCells(cellName As String, cellLibrary As String, fenceStartPoint As Point3d, fenceEndPoint As Point3d, cellStartPoint As Point3d)
 
' This is used to update existing cells in the drawing with newer versions.
' If the cell includes text or text nodes, it will copy the text information
' before updating the cell, to maintain user specified data. After the cell
' has been replaced, the text will be copied back into the cell using the
' current cells text styles to ensure everything looks right.
'
' This is currently only used for specific cells which are in known/designated
' locations, such as the initials, signatures, dates, revision statements and
' function blocks. Other cells will be addressed later, using their current locations.
'
' No block of any cell can have more than 4 lines of text, by drawing design
' standards, and no cell has more than 15 text/node points.

 
Dim cellExists As Boolean
Dim nodeCounter As Integer
Dim nodeArray(15, 4) As String
Dim firstElement As Long
Dim XLine As Long

cellExists = False
nodeCounter = 0
For X = 1 To 15
    nodeArray(X, 1) = vbNullString
    nodeArray(X, 2) = vbNullString
    nodeArray(X, 3) = vbNullString
    nodeArray(X, 4) = vbNullString
Next X

' Attach cell library and set active cell
    CadInputQueue.SendCommand "RC=C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Bentley\WorkSpace\System\OFD2\CELL\" + cellLibrary + ".cel"
    CadInputQueue.SendCommand "AC=" + cellName
   
' Select by cell name
    scanCriteria.IncludeOnlyCell cellName
    scanCriteria.ExcludeAllTypes
    scanCriteria.IncludeType msdElementTypeSharedCell
    scanCriteria.IncludeType msdElementTypeCellHeader
   
    ' Setup Scan Memory
    Set enumerator = ActiveModelReference.Scan(scanCriteria)
    ShowStatus "Updating elements"
   
   
    ' Step through the scan results
    Do While enumerator.MoveNext
        With enumerator.Current
       
       
            ' Copy all text items in the cell.
            ' This is needed for the Functions cell, which should have function names
            ' filled in if this is a revision to the drawing.
           
            ' Start by walking through the cell components
            nestLevel = 0
            Set cellEle = enumerator.Current
            Do While cellEle.MoveToNextElement(True, nestLevel)
               
                If Not cellExists Then
                    ' Now that we found it make sure we know it
                    cellExists = True
                End If
               
                ' Make a working copy of the element to manipulate data
                Set cellCopy = cellEle.CopyCurrentElement
                ' Check to see if it is a text node (all text items in the cell should be)
                If cellCopy.IsTextNodeElement Then
                    ' Update the node count
                    nodeCounter = nodeCounter + 1
                    ' Set up to copy all the lines to an array
                    For XLine = 1 To cellCopy.AsTextNodeElement.TextLinesCount
                        ' Copy the line to our array
                        nodeArray(nodeCounter, XLine) = cellCopy.AsTextNodeElement.TextLine(XLine)
                    Next XLine
                End If
            Loop
        End With
    Loop
           
            ' OK, cell text nodes are stored in an arry so now we can replace the cell.
            ' This code will delete the cell area and put a new cell in place, regardless
            ' of whether one exists or not, and regardless of the cell being dropped.
           
            ' Set Fence placement selection to Block and select the tool
            SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.fence.placeMode", 0, ""
            CadInputQueue.SendCommand "PLACE FENCE ICON"

            ' Send a data points to the fence tool
            CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint fenceStartPoint, 1
            CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint fenceEndPoint, 1
                           
            ' Set Delete Fence Contents selection to Inside and select the tool
            CadInputQueue.SendCommand "FENCE DELETE"
            CadInputQueue.SendCommand "LOCK FENCE INSIDE"
           
            ' Send data point to the Delete Fence Contents tool.
            ' This deletes anything from that particular area, since
            ' the only thing that should be in there is the cell we want
            CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint fenceStartPoint, 1
           
            ' Place active cell
            CadInputQueue.SendCommand "PLACE CELL ICON"
            CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint cellStartPoint, 1
           
            ' Clear selections and return to default controls
            DrawingSetup.SetupControls
            ActiveModelReference.UnselectAllElements

            nodeCounter = 0
            scanCriteria.Reset
           
' Select by cell name
    scanCriteria.IncludeOnlyCell cellName
    scanCriteria.ExcludeAllTypes
    scanCriteria.IncludeType msdElementTypeSharedCell
    scanCriteria.IncludeType msdElementTypeCellHeader
   
    ' Setup Scan Memory
    Set enumerator = ActiveModelReference.Scan(scanCriteria)
    ShowStatus "Updating elements"
   
   
    ' Step through the scan results
    Do While enumerator.MoveNext
        With enumerator.Current
           
            Set cellEle = enumerator.Current
               
            ' And now, we paste information back into the cell, from the array, if needed
            Do While cellEle.MoveToNextElement(True, nestLevel)
                Set cellCopy = cellEle.CopyCurrentElement
               
                If cellCopy.IsTextNodeElement Then
                    Dim nodeTemplate As TextElement
                    Dim haveTemplate As Boolean
                    haveTemplate = False
                   
                    Dim textEnum As ElementEnumerator
                    Set textEnum = cellCopy.AsTextNodeElement.GetSubElements
                    Do While (textEnum.MoveNext)
                        With textEnum.Current
                            If textEnum.Current.IsTextElement And Not haveTemplate Then
                                Set nodeTemplate = textEnum.Current
                                haveTemplate = True
                            End If
                        End With
                    Loop
                   
                    nodeCounter = nodeCounter + 1
                    Dim tempNode As TextNodeElement
                   
                    Set tempNode = CreateTextNodeElement2(cellCopy.AsTextNodeElement, cellCopy.AsTextNodeElement.Origin, Matrix3dIdentity)
                    cellEle.Redraw msdDrawingModeErase
                   
                    ' Max number of lines in the area should be 4, so we will limit the checks to that
                    For XLine = 1 To 4
                        If nodeArray(nodeCounter, XLine) <> vbNullString Then
                                tempNode.AddTextLine nodeArray(nodeCounter, XLine)
                        End If
                    Next XLine

                    Set textEnum = tempNode.GetSubElements
                    Do While (textEnum.MoveNext)
                        Dim textComp As Element
                        Dim nodeICS As Double
                        Set textComp = textEnum.Current
                        Set textComp.AsTextElement.TextStyle = nodeTemplate.TextStyle
                        textComp.Redraw
                    Loop
                    tempNode.Redraw
                    cellEle.AsCellElement.ReplaceCurrentElement tempNode
                    cellEle.Redraw
                    cellEle.Rewrite
                   
                    ' And now we just need to fix the stupid inter character spacing bug issue
                    CadInputQueue.SendCommand "MODIFY TEXT"

' *** This is my latest attempt to fix the problem...

                    '   Set a variable associated with a dialog box
                    SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.textstyle", 0, "MODIFY"
                    SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.font", 0, "MODIFY"
                    SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.height", 0, "MODIFY"
                    SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.width", 0, "MODIFY"
                    SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.linespace", 0, "MODIFY"
                    SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.linespacetype", 0, "MODIFY"
                    SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.interchar", 1, "MODIFY"
                    SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.slant", 0, "MODIFY"
                    SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.linelength", 0, "MODIFY"
                    SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.underline", 0, "MODIFY"
                    SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.vertical", 0, "MODIFY"
                    SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.viewind", 0, "MODIFY"
                    SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.just", 0, "MODIFY"
                    SetCExpressionValue "gUseChangeAnnotationScale", 0, "MODIFY"

                    CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint cellStartPoint, 1

' *** ...but I can't find a code to use for setting the intercharacter spacing value.

                    '   Send a reset to the current command
                    CadInputQueue.SendReset

                    CommandState.StartDefaultCommand
               
                End If
            Loop
        End With
    Loop
   
    If Not cellExists Then
        ' Set Fence placement selection to Block and select the tool
        SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.fence.placeMode", 0, ""
        CadInputQueue.SendCommand "PLACE FENCE ICON"

        ' Send a data points to the fence tool
        CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint fenceStartPoint, 1
        CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint fenceEndPoint, 1
                           
        ' Set Delete Fence Contents selection to Inside and select the tool
        CadInputQueue.SendCommand "FENCE DELETE"
        CadInputQueue.SendCommand "LOCK FENCE INSIDE"
           
        ' Send data point to the Delete Fence Contents tool.
        ' This deletes anything from that particular area, since
        ' the only thing that should be in there is the cell we want
        CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint fenceStartPoint, 1
           
        ' Place active cell
        CadInputQueue.SendCommand "PLACE CELL ICON"
        CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint cellStartPoint, 1
    End If
   
    ' Clear selections and return to default controls
    DrawingSetup.SetupControls

    ActiveModelReference.UnselectAllElements

End Sub

 

**** Originally posted in the wrong forum ****

Parents Reply Children
  • in reply to Jon Summers

    Yeah, that will set the active setting, which will work for any new text, but doesn't seem to work when copying.

    I also used the .AsTextElement.TextStyle.InterCharacterSpacing to set each line of text in the node individually. This value was accepted, as I can post the value in a message box, but it makes no difference to the final output.

    Something I find very interesting is that you can not see the intercharacter spacing value when you select an object and look at it's info window. There is a line for line spacing, but not for this. Really weird.

    Since none of the .textstyle settings seem to work, I think the only option left is to apply a Change Text Attribute tool on the cell after everything else is done. I know that this works, by doing it manually, but I can't get it to work with code.

    This turns the intercharacter setting for that tool on/off:

         SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.interchar", 1, "MODIFY"

    Does anyone know what needs to be done to actually set the value for that tool?

  • Offline in reply to KClark

    Temporary Objects

    You may have bumped against VBA's Temporary Objects problem. This is discussed in VBA Help.

    The problem is that when you do something like this … 

    
.AsTextElement.TextStyle.InterCharacterSpacing = 1.234

    VBA creates a temporary anonymous copy of the object (in this example, a TextStyle). The assignment modifies that temporary copy, which is then discarded, so the original you thought you were modifying remains unaltered. Try something like this instead … 

    
Dim oStyle As TextStyle
Set oStyle = .AsTextElement.TextStyle
oStyle.InterCharacterSpacing = 1.234
Set .AsTextElement.TextStyle = oStyle

    Regards, Jon Summers
    LA Solutions

     
    Regards, Jon Summers
    LA Solutions

  • in reply to Jon Summers

    Jon,

    Thanks for the idea.

    I tried it out, but it is still giving me the same results.

    (Updated code...)

    Sub UpdateCells(cellName As String, cellLibrary As String, fenceStartPoint As Point3d, fenceEndPoint As Point3d, cellStartPoint As Point3d)

    Dim cellExists As Boolean

    Dim nodeCounter As Integer

    Dim nodeArray(15, 4) As String

    Dim firstElement As Long

    Dim XLine As Long

    Dim oStyle As TextStyle

    cellExists = False

    nodeCounter = 0

    For X = 1 To 15

       nodeArray(X, 1) = vbNullString

       nodeArray(X, 2) = vbNullString

       nodeArray(X, 3) = vbNullString

       nodeArray(X, 4) = vbNullString

    Next X

    ' Attach cell library and set active cell

       CadInputQueue.SendCommand "RC=C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Bentley\WorkSpace\System\OFD2\CELL\" + cellLibrary + ".cel"

       CadInputQueue.SendCommand "AC=" + cellName

    ' Select by cell name

       scanCriteria.IncludeOnlyCell cellName

       scanCriteria.ExcludeAllTypes

       scanCriteria.IncludeType msdElementTypeSharedCell

       scanCriteria.IncludeType msdElementTypeCellHeader

       ' Setup Scan Memory

       Set enumerator = ActiveModelReference.Scan(scanCriteria)

       ShowStatus "Updating elements"

       ' Step through the scan results

       Do While enumerator.MoveNext

           With enumerator.Current

               ' Copy all text items in the cell.

               ' This is needed for the Functions cell, which should have function names

               ' filled in if this is a revision to the drawing.

               ' Start by walking through the cell components

               nestLevel = 0

               Set cellEle = enumerator.Current

               Do While cellEle.MoveToNextElement(True, nestLevel)

                   If Not cellExists Then

                       ' Now that we found it make sure we know it

                       cellExists = True

                   End If

                   ' Make a working copy of the element to manipulate data

                   Set cellCopy = cellEle.CopyCurrentElement

                   ' Check to see if it is a text node (all text items in the cell should be)

                   If cellCopy.IsTextNodeElement Then

                       ' Update the node count

                       nodeCounter = nodeCounter + 1

                       ' Set up to copy all the lines to an array

                       For XLine = 1 To cellCopy.AsTextNodeElement.TextLinesCount

                           ' Copy the line to our array

                           nodeArray(nodeCounter, XLine) = cellCopy.AsTextNodeElement.TextLine(XLine)

                       Next XLine

                   End If

               Loop

           End With

       Loop

               ' OK, cell text nodes are stored in an arry so now we can replace the cell.

               ' This code will delete the cell area and put a new cell in place, regardless

               ' of whether one exists or not, and regardless of the cell being dropped.

               ' Set Fence placement selection to Block and select the tool

               SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.fence.placeMode", 0, ""

               CadInputQueue.SendCommand "PLACE FENCE ICON"

               ' Send a data points to the fence tool

               CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint fenceStartPoint, 1

               CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint fenceEndPoint, 1

               ' Set Delete Fence Contents selection to Inside and select the tool

               CadInputQueue.SendCommand "FENCE DELETE"

               CadInputQueue.SendCommand "LOCK FENCE INSIDE"

               ' Send data point to the Delete Fence Contents tool.

               ' This deletes anything from that particular area, since

               ' the only thing that should be in there is the cell we want

               CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint fenceStartPoint, 1

               ' Place active cell

               CadInputQueue.SendCommand "PLACE CELL ICON"

               CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint cellStartPoint, 1

               ' Clear selections and return to default controls

               DrawingSetup.SetupControls

               ActiveModelReference.UnselectAllElements

               nodeCounter = 0

               scanCriteria.Reset

    ' Select by cell name

       scanCriteria.IncludeOnlyCell cellName

       scanCriteria.ExcludeAllTypes

       scanCriteria.IncludeType msdElementTypeSharedCell

       scanCriteria.IncludeType msdElementTypeCellHeader

       ' Setup Scan Memory

       Set enumerator = ActiveModelReference.Scan(scanCriteria)

       ShowStatus "Updating elements"

       ' Step through the scan results

       Do While enumerator.MoveNext

           With enumerator.Current

               Set cellEle = enumerator.Current

               ' And now, we paste information back into the cell, from the array, if needed

               Do While cellEle.MoveToNextElement(True, nestLevel)

                   Set cellCopy = cellEle.CopyCurrentElement

                   If cellCopy.IsTextNodeElement Then

                       Dim nodeTemplate As TextElement

                       Dim haveTemplate As Boolean

                       haveTemplate = False

                       Dim textEnum As ElementEnumerator

                       Set textEnum = cellCopy.AsTextNodeElement.GetSubElements

                       Do While (textEnum.MoveNext)

                           With textEnum.Current

                               If textEnum.Current.IsTextElement And Not haveTemplate Then

                                   Set nodeTemplate = textEnum.Current

                                   haveTemplate = True

    ' *** Here is where I set text style

                                   Set oStyle = nodeTemplate.TextStyle

                                   oStyle.InterCharacterSpacing = 0.2

                               End If

                           End With

                       Loop

                       nodeCounter = nodeCounter + 1

                       Dim tempNode As TextNodeElement

                       Set tempNode = CreateTextNodeElement2(cellCopy.AsTextNodeElement, cellCopy.AsTextNodeElement.Origin, Matrix3dIdentity)

                       cellEle.Redraw msdDrawingModeErase

                       ' Max number of lines in the area should be 4, so we will limit the checks to that

                       For XLine = 1 To 4

                           If nodeArray(nodeCounter, XLine) <> vbNullString Then

                                   tempNode.AddTextLine nodeArray(nodeCounter, XLine)

                           End If

                       Next XLine

                       Set textEnum = tempNode.GetSubElements

                       Do While (textEnum.MoveNext)

                           Dim textComp As Element

                           Dim nodeICS As Double

                           Set textComp = textEnum.Current

    '******* And here is where I set the text using that style

                           Set textComp.AsTextElement.TextStyle = oStyle

                           textComp.Redraw

                       Loop

                       tempNode.Redraw

                       cellEle.AsCellElement.ReplaceCurrentElement tempNode

                       cellEle.Redraw

                       cellEle.Rewrite

                       ' And now we just need to fix the stupid inter character spacing bug issue

                       CadInputQueue.SendCommand "MODIFY TEXT"

                       '   Set a variable associated with a dialog box

                       SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.textstyle", 0, "MODIFY"

                       SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.font", 0, "MODIFY"

                       SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.height", 0, "MODIFY"

                       SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.width", 0, "MODIFY"

                       SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.linespace", 0, "MODIFY"

                       SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.linespacetype", 0, "MODIFY"

                       SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.interchar", 1, "MODIFY"

                       SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.slant", 0, "MODIFY"

                       SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.linelength", 0, "MODIFY"

                       SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.underline", 0, "MODIFY"

                       SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.vertical", 0, "MODIFY"

                       SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.viewind", 0, "MODIFY"

                       SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.changeText.just", 0, "MODIFY"

                       SetCExpressionValue "gUseChangeAnnotationScale", 0, "MODIFY"

                       CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint cellStartPoint, 1

                       '   Send a reset to the current command

                       CadInputQueue.SendReset

                       CommandState.StartDefaultCommand

                   End If

               Loop

           End With

       Loop

       If Not cellExists Then

           ' Set Fence placement selection to Block and select the tool

           SetCExpressionValue "tcb->msToolSettings.fence.placeMode", 0, ""

           CadInputQueue.SendCommand "PLACE FENCE ICON"

           ' Send a data points to the fence tool

           CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint fenceStartPoint, 1

           CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint fenceEndPoint, 1

           ' Set Delete Fence Contents selection to Inside and select the tool

           CadInputQueue.SendCommand "FENCE DELETE"

           CadInputQueue.SendCommand "LOCK FENCE INSIDE"

           ' Send data point to the Delete Fence Contents tool.

           ' This deletes anything from that particular area, since

           ' the only thing that should be in there is the cell we want

           CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint fenceStartPoint, 1

           ' Place active cell

           CadInputQueue.SendCommand "PLACE CELL ICON"

           CadInputQueue.SendDataPoint cellStartPoint, 1

       End If

       ' Clear selections and return to default controls

       DrawingSetup.SetupControls

       ActiveModelReference.UnselectAllElements

    End Sub

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