CADVANCE Version History
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CADVANCE V15 |
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Please
see the Release Notes here
CADVANCE V12 Release Notes
March 24, 2005
This
document describes what is new and improved for CADVANCE V12. This
version of CADVANCE provides all of the features of
CADVANCE V12 currently available. It is intended for experienced users
and does not currently include the updated Manuals, Helps files or SDK.
These release notes should provide all the information needed to get you started
with this release.
What's
New and Improved in CADVANCE V12.
CADVANCE
V12 Release 2005 contains several improvements over CADVANCE 2002. The
following is the outline of these new features:
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DWG/DXF
file support:
· AutoCad 2004/2005 files can now
be read and written directly by CADVANCE V12. CADVANCE will decompress/decrypt
the AutoCad file on reading and will then
compress/encrypt the file during saving to AutoCad
2004/2005 format. CADVANCE now supports versions of AutoCad
Drawings and DXF files from Release 2.5 through AutoCad
2004/2005.
· File/Open of a DWG or DXF
files now provide a full screen preview operation prior to the translation process.
This option allows a quick view of the drawing/dxf
file prior to translation. By pressing the Preview button in the file/open
dialog box the drawing will load directly into the preview mode. Selecting load
on the status bar will then load the drawing.
· Font mapping is now
available during importing of DWG/DXF files to provide better control over the
selection of how fonts map between DWG/DXF files and CADVANCE vector fonts. The
file fontmap.ini also includes an optional width adjustment factor to
provide a closer match between the translated fonts.
· Windows TrueType fonts are now
supported in the single line text mode when translating from DWG/DXF files. The
fonts will attempt to maintain the same names and there is no limit to the
number of TrueType fonts that can exist on a drawing.
· During translation of DWG/DXF
files the linestyle scale factors are automatically
adjusted to provide a better match to CADVANCE linestyles.
· Exporting of AutoCad
files now has new options to provide control over the creation of Xrefs drawings. One option provides for the Xrefs not to be re-created if they already exist. This is
selected by a checkbox in the File/SaveAs Options
dialog box. Another option has been added to allow the Reference Layer setup
information to override the Reference Drawing’s Layer settings.
· CADVANCE now supports splines
and crosshatching in symbols translated from a DWG or DXF file.
· Importing of MTEXT has been
improved to handle word wrapping similar to AutoCad’s
word wrap algorithm.
· The DWG translation
problem has been corrected, that was known to occur when saving a VWF to DWG
format and then causing errors when trying to load the DWG with AutoCad and/or save changes in AutoCad,
forcing the AutoCad user to "Recover" the
DWG file. To take advantage of this correction, the CADVANCE V12 user should
select the "R2004/R2005" option when saving the VWF as a DWG.
· The function Utility /
Translate DWG SYM now translates AutoCad R2004/R2005
blocks (in DWG format) to CADVANCE Symbols (SYM files).
· The function Utility /
Translate DWG SYM has been improved to prevent a crash when executing the
function multiple times in the same drawing session.
·
Miscellaneous
bug fixes have also been included in the updated translator.
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New
Features:
A
new feature has been added to export directly from CADVANCE into many popular
image file formats. This is performed with the File/Export Dialog box
which also includes a sizing and scaling dialog box. The sizing/scaling dialog
box provides a recommended width/height and pixel resolution for the output device.
The height/width can be specified in inches, centimeters
or pixels. The view can be specified as Full Drawing or Current View (window).
The aspect ratio can be maintained to automatically adjust to height/width
changes or turned off to provide manual settings. The user can and should
experiment with the different resolutions to determine the best resolution
between screen display and output. These formats are available in both 2D and
3D. The file formats supported are:
JPEG - Joint
Photographic Experts Group.
PNG – Portable Network
Graphics.
BMP – Windows Bitmap.
PCX – ZSoft Corporation's PC Paintbrush format.
TIFF – Tagged Image
File Format.
DWF – Design Web
Format.
·
MouseWheel Zoom and Middle Button Pan, View Fit.
The MouseWheel can now be used to zoom in or out of
the drawing by spinning the wheel in the desired direction. MouseWheel
speed is used to determine the incremental speed of the Zoom. Depressing and
holding down the Middle Button will place the Mouse into the Dynamic Pan mode
and allow mouse movement to pan around the drawing. Double clicking the Middle
Button will perform a View Fit. These features are available in both 2D and 3D.
147=MACRO.BMP
SampleMacro.cbx "Run a Sample Macro"
"Utility"
The
"Bar3=" line was appended with 147 and the BarCount=147
was updated. The purpose of this example is to show how to add simple macros to
a toolbar.
·
The
last directory used during File Save/As is now remembered.
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New
Cdi
Three
new functions added to the CADVANCE SDK: CdiObjTextureOsl,
CdiLoadMenu, CdiLoadToolbar.
· Short CdiObjTextureOsl (osl, master_id, area_spacing, step_width, angle, origin, dense, oslret)
This function will texture all objects on the provided OSL and return an OSL with the texture objects.
Parameter Type/Description
Osl Long (void *) The OSL to use for this operation. If osl is NULL then the
CADVANCE OSL will be used.
master_id Long (CDI_SEGID) The master definition for the symbol to do the texturing with. If the master_id is 0 then the texturing will be done with the default 45HATCH lines.
area_spacing Short Used to define the overall placement of objects in the regions to be textured. (See CdiObjTexture in the CADVANCE SDK) for valid values.
step_width Long (WORLD) The amount of space between texture lines with the area being textured.
Angle Double The angle of the texturing within the objects. Valid range: 0 – 180 inclusive.
Origin CDI_DD_POINT A two element structure specifying x and y coordinates
for the origin point for texturing.
dense CDI_DD_POINT If CDI_SEMI_RANDOM is selected then a dense point must be defined. It is a two element structure specifying x and y
coordinates for the point where more texturing objects are created to give the illusion of curvature.
Oslret Long (void *) The OSL to return the Texture Id’s.
Return Value CDI_OK if no error, otherwise CDI_ERROR.
· Short CdiLoadMenu (file_name)
Load the specified Menu.
Parameter Type/Description
file_name String (char *) The menu file name, including pathing and extension.
Return Value CDI_OK if no error, otherwise CDI_ERROR.
· Short CdiLoadToolbar (file_name)
Load the specified Toolbar.
Parameter Type/Description
file_name String (char *) The toolbar file name, including pathing and extension.
Return Value CDI_OK if no error, otherwise CDI_ERROR.
· The Cdi function CdiVertexMove() had been updated in CADVANCE versions 2000 and 2002 not to change the segid of the line being modified. The function has been corrected to also return the segid as the last argument as the CADVANCE version 99. The highlighting of the modified line has also been corrected.
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New Texture Symbols
New CADVANCE Texture Symbols are provided as follows:
New CADVANCE Texture Symbols are provided in the \Symbols subdirectory. The user may create new line textures and area textures, using the symbols provided. Before creating the new textures, the user may want to make backup copies of CAD.LTX and CAD.ATX which are in the CADVANCE root program directory. The following is the list of the new symbols provided in the \Symbols subdirectory, and the suggested names and properties of the textures. The line textures can be added in the Draw/Texture/Line dialog and then the area textures can be added in the Draw/Texture/Area dialog. Please see the Reference Manual for information on creating textures. If the user installed using the “Compact” or “Custom” installation during setup of CADVANCE V12, the user must manually create appropriate subdirectories. The designs for the textures and the units for which they were originally created can be viewed in the Adobe Acrobat file “Texture Patterns.pdf” located in the \Symbols subdirectory.
New Symbols included in the \Symbols subdirectory:
ANSI35.SYM
ANSI36.SYM
AR-CONC.SYM
AR-HBONE.SYM
AR-SAND.SYM
DASH.SYM
DOT.SYM
GRASS.SYM
Name Symbol Scale Mode Description
Dashdot dashdot.sym 1.00 even line-circle-line
Ansi35 ansi35.sym 1.00 even ansi35
Ansi36 ansi36.sym 1.00 even ansi36
Dot dot.sym 1.00 even dot
Dash dash.sym 1.00 even dash
Ar-sand ar-sand.sym 1.00 even ar-sand
Ar-conc ar-conc.sym 1.00 even ar-conc
Ar-hbone ar-hbone.sym 1.00 even ar-hbone
Grass grass.sym 1.00 even grass
Ansi35x2 ansi35.sym 2.00 even ansi35x2
Ansi36x2 ansi36.sym 2.00 even ansi36x2
Dotx2 dot.sym 2.00 even dotx2
Dashx2 dash.sym 2.00 even dashx2
Ar-sandx2 ar-sand.sym 2.00 even ar-sandx2
Ar-concx2 ar-conc.sym 2.00 even ar-concx2
Ar-hbonex2 ar-hbone.sym 2.00 even ar-hbonex2
Grassx2 grass.sym 2.00 even grassx2
New Area Textures: Suggested Setup
Name Line Texture Mode Distance Angle Description
Dashdot dashdot.sym even 40’8-5/16” 0.00 line-circle-line
Ansi35 ansi35.sym even 40’8-5/16” 0.00 ansi35
Ansi36 ansi36.sym even 40’8-5/16” 0.00 ansi36
Dot dot.sym even 40’8-5/16” 0.00 dot
Dash dash.sym even 40’8-5/16” 0.00 dash
Ar-sand ar-sand.sym even 40’8-5/16” 0.00 ar-sand
Ar-conc ar-conc.sym even 40’8-5/16” 0.00 ar-conc
Ar-hbone ar-hbone.sym even 32’6-5/8” 0.00 ar-hbone
Grass grass.sym even 16’3-5/16” 0.00 grass
Ansi35x2 ansi35.sym even 81’4-9/16” 0.00 ansi35x2
Ansi36x2 ansi36.sym even 81’4-9/16” 0.00 ansi36x2
Dotx2 dot.sym even 81’4-9/16” 0.00 dotx2
Dashx2 dash.sym even 81’4-9/16” 0.00 dashx2
Ar-sandx2 ar-sand.sym even 81’4-9/16” 0.00 ar-sandx2
Ar-concx2 ar-conc.sym even 81’4-9/16” 0.00 ar-concx2
Ar-hbonex2 ar-hbone.sym even 65’1-1/4” 0.00 ar-hbonex2
Grassx2 grass.sym even 32’6-5/8” 0.00 grassx2
What's
new in CADVANCE 2002 Service Pack 6
Items
improved and/or fixed in the latest Service Pack 6.
There are two bug fixes in this Service Pack 6.
1) Nested Symbol bug fix.
When a multi level symbol is placed, a level 1
symbol, for example, is placed and edited in its properties such as colors and
layer. An error message, “Unable to find master definition”, is displayed and
the symbols are
disappeared. SP6 fixes this bug.
2) DWG translator in paper space mode.
If there is a large solid filled object in dwg drawing, CADVANCE hangs.
SP6 fixes this bug and translates a large solid filled object to Area fill
object.
3) Reference Setup. Reference Layer File. Layer # 255
Layer 255 always remains on (VS set) when loading any layer file in the
Reference Setup. Layer 255 should always reflect the VS setting (On or Off) in
the Ref. Layer file.
SP6 fixes this bug.
4) Reference Setup. Specify Ref. Layer file before Reference drawing is loaded.
Due to un-initialized variable, CADVANCE occasionally crashes depending on the
status of the particular memory which points to the un-initialized variable.
SP6 forces the user to specify the Ref. drawing file followed by the Ref. Layer
file, i.e., without Ref. Drawing File, Ref. Layer File setting is not
recognized.
Service Pack 6 Files
Cad1.dll Last Modified Date: October 28, 2003
Cad1.lib Last Modified Date: October 28, 2003
Please note before installing SP6 Update: If you are updating fromSP5, SP4 or
SP3, you do not need to delete Cadvance.TBF at time
of SP6 Update. However, if you are updating from SP2, SP1 or release version,
you may need to delete Cadvance.TBF at time of SP6
Update.
Note: Service Pack 6 expects that SP4 have been installed (SP5 updates are
included in the SP6 updates). For example, if you are updating from SP3, then
you must run SP4 followed by SP6 in sequence.
After SP6 installed, Help/About CADVANCE will show CADVANCE 2002 Build 11.51 at
the top of the message box.
What's new in CADVANCE 2002 Service Pack 5
Items
improved and/or fixed in the latest Service Pack 5.
This
is Associative Dimension Update. This
update fixes the Associative Dimension crash bug. Example is a crash when inserting (opensegment) symbols such as doors or windows when lines
are dimensioned with Associative dimension.
Service Pack 5 Files
Cad1.dll Last Modified Date:
Cad1.lib Last Modified Date:
cv_assoc.dll Last Modified Date:
cv_assoc.lib Last Modified Date:
Please
note before installing SP5 Update: If
you are updating from SP4 or SP3, you do not need to delete Cadvance.TBF
at time of SP5 Update. However, if you
are updating from SP2, SP1 or release version, you may need to delete Cadvance.TBF at time of SP5 Update.
What's new in CADVANCE 2002 Service Pack 4
CADVANCE
Layer Setup definition is improved to inherit the layer definition of
AutoCAD. An example is the AutoCAD layer
definition of symbol and text attributes when the symbol and text attribute are
on different layers. For example, if the
symbol resides on layer called ‘Symbols’, and text attributes reside on layer
called ‘Hidden’.
Also,
an internal working file can be created to improve functioning of Toolbar.
Service
Pack 4 Files
dwgxvwf.dll
Last
Modified Date:
vwfxdwg.dll
Last
Modified Date:
What's new in CADVANCE 2002 Service Pack 3
Items
improved and/or fixed in the latest Service Pack 3.
1. Fixed TrueType Text Width Display/Print in
Reference Drawings.
2. Improved Import of Arcs from AutoCAD DWG
files. Especially helpful in import of
drawings of the Civil & Survey types.
3. Improved Import of some Cad text from AutoCAD
DWG files.
4. Fixed Import of some AutoCAD DWG files on
Windows NT/2000/XP systems where there are a very large amount of lines and/or
polylines in the DWG file which caused a crash when trying to open the DWG on
Windows NT/2000/XP.
5. Improved Export to DWG, in that VWF drawing
exports to DWG file without needing a File/Pack/Recalculate, where File/Pack/Recalculate
was needed before in some instances (for example if a symbol was newly made in
the VWF drawing with the command Symbol/Make, it would be necessary to do a
File/Pack/Recalculate).
The
translator files are:
adinit.dat ('Modified' date is
dwgxvwf.dll ('Modified' date is
vwfxdwg.dll ('Modified' date is
The
other update files are:
Cad1.dll ('Modified' date of
CADMSG.dll ('Modified' date is
MFCTools.dll ('Modified' date is
CADMSG.dll
is a display message dynamic link library file.
MFCTools.dll
is a dynamic link library file involved in control of display and update of
messages, tool bars, and status bar.
What's new on the CADVANCE V2002 Service Pack 2 (SP2) CD-ROM
The CADVANCE Build 11.20 CD contains all the
improvements of SP2, plus the following improvements:
Edit/Copy works like v99.5 in that it won't display
"Invalid Point" message when an object has been copied and pasted to
an offset of 0,0 (one user requested this because his macro needs to do this)
Edit/Move works like v99.5 in that it won't display
"Invalid Point" message when an object has been moved to an offset of
0,0 (again, one user requested this because his macro needs to do this)
Reference Setup displays Layer files properly when a
new layer setup is loaded inside Reference Setup
What’s
New in Service Pack 2
SP2 contains all changes, bug fixes and improvements
of SP1, as well as the following improvements:
Cdi macro calls fixes. The following Cdi calls have been fixed:
CdiEditAreaFill
CdiObjAreFill
CdiSetAssignAttritubte
CdiEditLineExplode
CdiEditLineCombine
File name length is now up to 260 characters long.
Options/Path dialog box can read/edit long paths
from CADVANCE.INI file
or user input.
Note for AETools users:
AETools 2002 is not updated for long path names yet:
AETools 2002 and CADVANCE 2000 share the buffer
objects CDI_REFERENCE_DEFN and CDI_REFERENCE_BUF which are used by AEPlan. The buffer objects have maximum 64 character path length.
DWG to VWF translator layers bug fix.
Layers from DWG was setting line style and weight to
zero in the CADVANCE 2002 original release. It now sets blank like V2000.
Edit Words menu update
Now Edit Words menu is separated in to two menus,
Single and Multiple.
This change reflects to Edit/Word as Edit/Word
Single and Edit/Word Multiple on the Edit menu as well as mouse right button
popup menu.
What’s
New for CADVANCE V2002 Service Pack 1
DWG/VWF
Translator
1. Translate CADVANCE drawing database in layer
order and leave out layers with no data in dwg file. Only the layers that contain data in CADVANCE
are output to dwg file.
2. Create all area filled objects before all other
line data in dwg file so that when the dwg file is displayed in other CAD
software the date drawn over the filled area (solid) will be displayed
. To do this, “Areafill under line” in the
Option/Miscellaneous dialog box has to be checked on.
Without checked, CADVANCE will display in forward or backward
3. Multiple layers with the same ‘underscore,
underscore, layer number’ setting will end up on the same layer.
4.
The translator setup dialog seems to show up only once per CADVANCE
session. In addition to “File / Open …
[another] dwg file”, the translator setup dialog now shows up after the
Reference Setup Dialog (if translation detected) and for “Utility / Translate …“. This is a bug fix.
5. When translating DWG files to VWF files using
File/Open, now cadvance creates VWF reference files
for the XREFs found inside the DWG files.
6. Fixed tessellation algorithm. We know when to
reverse the point-order when handling polygons drawn in clockwise order. Prevented crashes when translating large linesets.
Other
Functions
1. When redrawing the drawing database, draw all
area filled objects before all other line data. To do this, “Areafill under line” in the Option/Miscellaneous dialog box
has to be checked on. Without checked, CADVANCE will
display in forward or backward depending on the setting in the
Option/Miscellaneous dialog box.
2. Fixed problem with clipboard, CADVANCE registry
entries were not right in WinXP. This fix is applied
only to Windows XP system.
3. Fixed Reference Setup column spacing so 3 digit layers are not split into two lines.
4. Fixed Undo/Redo where symbol editing and text
attributes are involved.
There were cases like: “Symbol attributes are lost
when a symbol is edited and then saved with the same name”, and “Symbol text attributes are lost when the
user ‘explores’ the undo/redo memory and the text attributes assigned to symbol
just go away and cannot be even be re-edited to have any text attributes.”
Additionally, the undo/redo playback gets very confusing for the users with
symbol editing. There was a need for a separation
of undo/redo memory between symbol editing and general editing.
CADVANCE 2002 contains several improvements over CADVANCE
2000. The following is the outline of
these new features:
New and Improved Features Include:
· Reference file with bit map data – Reference files can
contain scanned image data such as your company logo. Such image data has to
be an embedded bit map.
· Ortho Move – Move, Copy and Move Vertex functions operate in
accordance to the specified “line angle”. Angle 0 means free hand.
· Query Object – Show the type of OLE2 Auxiliary object.
· Euro symbol (€) added to all fonts except Helvmed.FNT and Optima.FNT. By using the number pad on the right of a
· Isometric Line - when
used with Virtual Tablet and the symbols provided, isometric piping or HVAC
drawings can be created very easily.
· New search - searches objects by many filters.
o
It finds objects within groups or symbols by layer, kind and object types.
· Edit Symbol/Group - edits objects within symbol or group.
o
It allows you to edit objects within a symbol or group, and reflects the changes to other instances of the
same symbol in the drawing.
· Key map - jumps to a specified drawing.
o
When a key map symbol is created, the “linked” drawing name has to be specified and the name is attached to the key map
symbol.
o
Double clicking the key map symbol will load a drawing
specified in the key map symbol.
· Virtual Tablet - acts
like a digitizer tablet.
o
Originally sold as a stand-alone tool,
it is now included with CADVANCE 2002.
· DWG/DXF 2D and 3D imports are improved to allow import of
both at the same time.
· Improved Layer Setup Dialog Functionality - Layers can be
sorted by Name or Data, or layer rows can be moved around in any way while in
Layer Setup.
· All "Utility / Query" queries (except
Query/Object) have been given dialogs that offer text that can be copied to the
clipboard. These text items are numeric type values.
· Dimension setup has been divided into several sections for
easier understanding and operation, and allows easier
settings according to your needs.
· Text attributes has been enhanced to manage multiple entries
with one dialog box rather than many dialog boxes popping up per
entry.
· Multiple object selection by “window with a mouse right
button”. A pop-up menu will be displayed
for the editing.
· Multi-line CAD Text editing.
o
When text strings are selected by “window with a mouse right
button”, a pop-up edit menu is displayed. Selecting ‘Edit Word” will show the
whole strings in a CAD text edit dialog box for the editing.
· Customizable Auto Snap
o
Object type(s) for auto snap is selectable.
· DWG symbol to CADVANCE symbol translator
o
All DWG symbols in one directory are converted to CADVANCE
symbols.
· Set default properties.
o
When an object is selected, the drawing properties are set
to the object. Thus the following operation allows the
user to create new objects with the same properties as the selected object.
· Layer setup dialog box and File reference setup dialog box
are now re-sizable.
· Utility/Query/Size shows a diameter for circle and arc.
· Draw/Fillet and Draw/Chamfer inherit properties of the first
object selected.
CADVANCE 2000 SP5 contains the following updates and the updates for service pack 4, 3, 2 and 1:
· Updated files for SP5: 3p_incl.h, Actbar2.ocx, Cad1.dll, Cadmsg.dll, Cv_asoc.dll, Dwgxvwf.dll, Mfcdlg.dll, Mfctools.dll, String.dll, Symtrans.exe and Vwfxdwg.dll.
· Add the Staged Selection:
Staged selection gives the user the ability to select one of many objects at a point that meet the selection criteria. This only applies to "POINT" selection when "Select object(s) for editing ..." is displayed in the status line. The user clicks on a point and the "best" object at that point is selected and highlighted. If the user clicks again without moving the cursor or using the shift or control key, the next "best" object at that point will be selected and highlighted. This can be continued until there are no more objects that meet the selection criteria at that point. This is implemented for 2D selection only.
· Add new entries to CADVANCE.INI file:
DefaultLayerColor=-1
DefaultLayerLineStyle=-1
DefaultLayerWeight=-1
These entries supply the values that will be used when switching from a layer that has these attributes assigned to one that does not. If the value is -1 then the current attribute value will not be changed. If no entries mentioned above in the CADVANCE.INI file then –1 is assumed.
· Improve flexibility of View Layers Setup and reference setup dialog boxes.
Fixed the following problems:
o Hidden line problem.
o Remember the order in Snap Hierarchy.
o Turn off flashing when closing the OSL being flashed.
o Clipping horizontal and vertical lines when texturing with symbols.
o Fix 15-character database keys.
CADVANCE 2000 SP4 contains the following updates and updates for service pack 3, 2 and 1:
· Updated files for SP4: 3p_incl.h, Actbar2.ocx, Cad1.dll, Cadmsg.dll, Cv_asoc.dll, Dwgxvwf.dll, Mfcdlg.dll, Mfctools.dll, String.dll, Symtrans.exe and Vwfxdwg.dll.
·
New Selection Flashing function added. Options/Selection Flashing is added to flash the selected entities.
User has to add the "Selection Flash" menu item to the CADVANCE.MNU file at the end of the OPTIONS menu right after "Paper Space" menu item as follows for both 2D and 3D:
MENUITEM "Pap&er Space", IDM_PAPER_SPACE
MENUITEM "S&election Flash", IDM_SELECTION_FLASH
An entry can be added to the CADVANCE.INI file system section to specify the flashing period:
SelectionFlash=n
where n is the time in milliseconds that the flashing will take. If the value of n is positive then the flashing is set to on otherwise the flashing is set to off.
· The shortcut keystroke for CADVANCE menu selection has been updated to support single keystroke for Alt + shortcut key, hitting Alt key then hitting shortcut key separately. The double keystroke, hitting both Alt key and shortcut key at the same time, is also supported if CADVANCE.TBF file exists in CADVANCE 2000 folder.
· Support TrueType line length with the TrueType Aux. Object.
· Added new Cdi function call:
CdiObjFlash Function
Syntax Short CdiObjFlash (flag, osl, time, color)
Starts or ends flashing of objects on the OSL
Parameter Type/Description
flag Short - CDI_ON To start the flashing of the contents of the OSL.
CDI_OFF To end flashing (all other arguments are ignored).
osl Long (VOID *) The OSL containing the objects to be flashed. If osl is
NULL(0), the CADVANCE OSL will be used.
time Short The time (in milliseconds) to flash, the minimum value is set to
500. If many items are to be flashed this number must be
increased to allow all objects to be redrawn.
color Short The color to be used for the flashed on objects. See table 8.12
for valid colors (1-255, CDI_OBJECT_COLOR,
CDI_HIGHLIGHT, CDI_OSLHIGHLIGHT)
Return Value CDI_OK if successful, otherwise CD_ERROR.
Comments The flag must be either CDI_ON or CDI_OFF. The calls should be make in
pairs of ON &OFF. There is no nesting. Changing the osl while flashing will
change the objects being flashed.
Example dim qtime as long
dim iret as integer
ov_osl = 0
qtime = 500
iret = CdiObjFlash (CDI_ON, cv_osl, qtime, CDI_OSLHIGHLIGHT)
CdiMenuEnable Function
Syntax Short CdiMenuEnable (idmv, sat, count)
Starts or ends flashing of objects on the OSL
Parameter Type/Description
idmv() Short (*) An array of menu IDM values that are to be enabled or disabled, this array may be any length but must be terminated with a value of -1.
state() Short (*) An array of state values for the corresponding IDM value. The state values are CDI_TRUE to enable the menu item or CDI_FALSE to disable it. The array should be the same size as the array of IDM values but does not need any entry corresponding to the -1 DIM value.
count Short The number of entries in the idmv array.
Return Value CDI-OK if successful, otherwise CDI_ERROR.
Comments The state values should be either CDI_TRUE or CDI_FALSE. If not they will be changed to CDI_FALSE.
Example dim iret as integer
dim idmv(5) as integer
dim istate(5) as integer
idmv(0) = IDM_DRAW_CHAMFER
idmv(1) = IDM_DRAW_CONSTRUCTION
idmv(2) = IDM_DRAW_2LINE
idmv(3) = -1
istate(0) = CDI_FALSE
istate(1) = CDI_FALSE
istate(2) = CDI_FALSE
iret = CdiMenuEnable (idmv(0), istate(0), 4)
· Fixed the following problems:
o Improve error message when not able to load third party DLL.
o Remove graying from Attributes Text Report menu entry and add check for no data if selected.
o Looping in 3D select with pre-specified point.
o Error in post attributes.
o Select all, select by key and select by file to only select those objects that are in the current mode.
o Text and other objects contained within a group or symbol and being displayed in a cursor as an extent box.
o Improve spline importing process.
o Improve MText importing process for both CAD font and TrueType.
o Export Mirrored text with negative height value after ungrouping group or symbol.
o Negative layer color for hidden layer and locked layer.
CADVANCE 2000 SP3 contains the following updates and the updates for service pack 2 and 1:
· Updated files for SP3: 3p_incl.h, Cad1.dll, Cadmsg.dll, Dwgxvwf.dll, Mfcdlg.dll, Mfctools.dll, Strings.dll and Vwfxdwg.dll.
· Enhanced the editing of very large lineset at or beyond (after modification) the limit, 2188 points for CADVANCE 2000.
· Added areafill function for arc entity.
· Eliminated memory leak when loading a new layer file from view/layers/setup.
· No object snap is required to select a point or to select objects by window in autosnap mode.
· Autosnap mode, CDI_AUTOSNAP, is implemented in CdiGetSnapMode() and CdiSetSnapMode().
· Improve the triangularization for exporting Areafill to 2D Solid.
· Improve the ghost image on cursor for Edit/Move.
· Added new Cdi function call:
CdiRefRegen Sub
Syntax Short CdiRefRegen( redraw)
Regenerates the currently loaded drawings reference files.
Parameter Type/Description
redraw Short/ A flag to indicate whether or not to redraw after the
regeneration of the reference files. Valid flags are
CDI_TRUE to redraw, CDI_FALSE if not to redraw.
Return Value: None.
· Fixed the following problems:
o Cannot change a plotting color after the first plot is done.
o Use symbol to do texturing then place the symbol that will corrupt the system.
o Cannot open drawing with more than 4095 pages.
o Do a selection by dragged window selects any associative object on the drawing.
o Correct error with find on File Open Dialog.
o Cannot import more than 8 reference files from DWG.
o Add support to import mirrored reference files from DWG.
CADVANCE 2000 SP2 contains the following updates and the updates for service pack 1:
· Updated files for SP2: Cad1.dll, Cadmsg.dll, Mfctools.dll and Vwfxdwg.dll
· Symbol Export: A Symbol Export entry has been added to the Symbol Menu. This will create a symbol file (.SYM) for each symbol master on the OSL. The user will be prompted for the name of the file with the existing symbol name as default. If there are multiple instances of the same symbol on the OSL, only one will be used.
· Prevent a crash during editing fields in the Options Paths dialog if another program is clicked (activated).
· Control-Z can be used to delete the last point of a lineset.
· Eliminate the text attribute prompting when a symbol with text attributes is used in a line texture definition.
· Improve reading of OLE RFS files.
· Update the most recently used file list when a tool bar TBF file is used.
· Add support in command line processing for newer directory and filenames containing blanks and dashes. CADVANCE supports double clicking on VWF or CBL files in Windows Explorer that are in the above format. The restrictions are the delimiters ‘-‘ or ‘/’ preceding a U D M X or P command must be preceded by a blank.
· Correct displaying symbols with or without inheriting layer properties.
· Add “Inherit Layer Properties” information in symbol query dialog.
· Enhance exporting areafill polygons bounded by concave vertices.
Reduce the consumption of system resources to create color bitmap on status bar.
· Improve the toolbar tooltips for Macros. In order to make this function work, the user has to delete the existing Cadvance.tbf file and re-save the Cadvance.tbf.
· Improve the message display on status bar.
· Correct color change on multiple-copy printouts.
CADVANCE 2000 SP1 contains the following updates:
· Updated files: 3p_incl.h, Cad1.dll, Cad1.lib, Cv_assoc.dll, Dwgxvwf.dll, MfcDlg.dll, Strings.dll, Symtrans.exe and Vwfxdwg.dll
· Cadvance.tbf file is required to use key input properly. Cadvance.tbf can be created in CADVANCE folder by saving the configuration file (Cadvance.ini) and click “Yes” at the end of the process when “Create a Toolbar File?” is prompted. Using key input to select main menu command, [Alt] key must be held down while hitting the menu command key. For example, hit [Alt] + F keys at the same time to get “File” command.
· Modify plotter information structure to be dynamically defined instead of a static size.
· Add support for Hatch entity in AutoCAD and convert it to area texture in CADVANCE.
· Fix the following problems:
· Setting the smallest unit in symbol translator.
· Adjust Symbol Flag effect on older symbols.
· Some older drawings having empty data pages.
· Copying symbols resulted in exploded copy of symbol being drawn at the origin in copy.
· Extra large symbols and the use of CdiObjInfo API. CdiObjInfo would crash if symbols contain more than 256 members. This is fixed by limiting CdiObjInfo for symbol masters to only copy the first 256 members. In order to handle more members, a new function has been added:
CdiObjInfoMaster(master_segid, index, &member_segid)
Where: master_segid is the master segid
index is the zero based index of the member
member_segid is the returned member segid
What's New and Improved in CADVANCE 2000?
CADVANCE 2000 contains several improvements over CADVANCE 99.5. The following is the outline of these new features:
New movable, dockable and user configurable menu bar and tool bar: Create an unlimited number of menu bars and tool bars by editing the menu bar file, cadvance.mnu, and the toolbar file, toolbar.txt. Dynamic modification of the toolbars can now be done during the CADVANCE session.
· All new 3D design using OpenGL and dynamic viewing: The user can automatically animate a scene by rotating it. Draw walls, rectangles, faces and boxes. Insert 3D mesh objects. For rendering the user can add shading with light effects and up to 8 directional light sources can be defined. This is the Premier Edition of CADVANCE 3Design. All CADVANCE 2000 Users will receive the next 3Design upgrade at no charge, which will include new features and improved functionality.
· New layer features: Line style, line weight and locking capability are added to the layer configuration. Line style, line weight and locking can be set by layer setup dialog. A locked layer can no longer be chosen as the active layer, allowing for better control and management. All operations that require an active layer cannot be performed on a locked layer. A locked layer is shown on the layer list dialog with an ‘L’ following the number and preceding the name.
· New dialog for view layer setup and reference file setup: More flexible and versatile grid is implemented for the setup dialog.
· Automatic symbol scaling: Symbols are automatically scaled when they are loaded. This new feature applies only to the new symbols created in version 2000 and later versions with new symbol format.
· Symbol conversion program: An interactive Windows program, Symtrans.exe, for converting pre 2000 symbols (from V5 to V99) to the new 2000 symbol format. The user must enter the smallest unit and unit type that the symbol was created with. The user can then select one or more files to convert. This works for both 2D and 3D symbols. CADVANCE 2000 can load pre 2000 symbols; the advantage of converting symbols is to utilize the automatic symbol-scaling feature.
· Reference layer file: A layer file can be specified as default for a reference file.
· Copy reference file setup information: If a ‘C’ is entered in the X origin of positioning field on the second or subsequent reference files all the positioning and windowing information will be copied from the previous file.
· Unlimited number of reference files: There is no limit number of reference files that can be attached to a VWF drawing.
· Increased data page size: The fixed data page size, 2048 bytes, in VWF drawing is changed to become flexible for up to 30720 bytes.
· Increased symbol members: The maximum number of members, 256, within a symbol is increased to 7158.
· Increased number of vertices: The maximum number of vertices, 256, within a line set is increased to 2180.
· Increased number of symbol paths: The number of symbol paths has been increased from 8 to 16.
· Increased number of macro paths: The number of macro paths has been increased from 1 to 8.
· Edit properties options: The following optional entries are added to the CADVANCE.INI file to initialize the states in the Edit Properties dialog:
EditPropertiesColor=ON or OFF
EditPropertiesLayer=ON or OFF
EditPropertiesLineStyle=ON or OFF
EditPropertiesLineWeight=ON or OFF
EditPropertiesKind=ON or OFF
EditPropertiesAreaFill=ON or OFF
· Print copies: The printer configuration now has a number of copies field.
· Inherit layer properties into symbols: Layer color, line style and line weight assigned to a layer can be inherited by the symbols when placing symbols.
· Tool tip for status line: Added tool tips will help the user understand what each status box means.
· Maximize drawing window size: Option to turn on maximize drawing window size flag by setting MaxDwgWinSize=ON to the system section of the CADVANCE.INI file.
· Support DWG/DXF file format for reference files: DWG/DXF files can be used for reference files.
· New attribute dialogs: Objective Grid is used for attribute dialogs to replace TKTable previously used. New CDI function: CdiObjHeader (segid, *header) and new CDI structure: CDI_OBJ_HEADER are added.
· Restore window location: CADVANCE remembers the window location and size used at the end of last session.
SDK Changes:
· Structures of CDI_LAYER, CDI_LINESET_BUFFER, CDI_3DLINESET_BUFFER and CDI_3DFACE have been changed. Refer to 3p_incl.h for details.
This represents a significant change in the internal representation of lines and eventually faces. This allows for future integration of 2D and 3D, quicker location of individual vertices and faster processing of lines.
· CDI Functions:
The following CDI functions are added:
CdiGetLinexy ( segid, index, WORLD[2], operation);
CdiGet3Dlinexyz ( segid, index, WORLD[3], operation);
CdiGetFacexyz ( segid, index, WORLD[3], operation);
To replace the following functions, these functions are kept in cad1.dll to remain compatible with previously customized codes:
CdiObjInfoxy ( WORLD[2], operation, index, CDI_LINESET_BUFFER)
CdiObjInfoxyz ( WORLD[3], operation, index, CDI_3DLINESET_BUFFER
CdiObjInfoFacexyz ( WORLD[3], operation, index, CDI_3DFACE_BUFFER)
The CDI_LINESET_ELEMENT, CDI_3DLINESET_ELEMENT, and CDI_3DFACE_ELEMENT structures are removed.
Improvements:
· Correct problem with TrueType used in reference files.
· Correct problem with Raster Images used in reference files.
· Improve the processing of reference files and compress the reference file information in the VWF.
· CAD.FNT is always used for auto snap cursor text.
· Add option to display current color in number (1-255) instead of color. This option can be turned on by adding StatusColor=OFF to the system section of the CADVANCE.INI file.
· Improve VWF file structure format for future expansion.
· Allow Cancel from layer file save and load screens.
· Improve True type processing relative to scaling and changing of smallest unit. Fix problem with reading old drawings that had double carriage returns.
· Minor changes to Edit/Text/CAD Format and Alter/Open Segment dialogs.
· Remove Option/Toolbar and Option/Selection Bar from the menus.
· Change CADVANCE.INI line style names so they agree with the CAD.LNS file.
· Fix packing of symbols and calculation of aux extents.
· Fix Area Fill neglected to set the drawing as modified.
· Fix writing and loading of .REF and .RFS files.
· Add plotter driver and port information to Plotter configuration diagnostic screen.
· Fix layer nametag problem when translate VWF to DWG/DXF.
· An error message is displayed if you try to make a symbol with name more than 8 characters long.
· Correct a case sensitive problem while replacing symbols.
· Correct a memory leak problem in Line set draw that may cause problems on NT machines.
· Improve the symbol scale adjustment, a new INI field AdjustSymbolScale=ON is added along with a check box on the symbol place screen.
· Modify both the View Layer setup and Reference File setup dialogs:
Increase size of dialogs
Correct active layer changes
Allow multiple row selections to change data in a column
· The number of buttons on a toolbar has been increased.
· Cosmetic changes for Grid arrays.
· Fix the multiple selections in 32-bit dialog for DWG/DXF batch translation.
· Fix translating VWF reference files as primitives to DWG/DXF format in batch mode.
What's New and Improved in CADVANCE 99.5?
CADVANCE 99.5 contains several improvements over CADVANCE 99. The following is the outline of these new features:
· DWG/DXF translation support up to AutoCAD 2000.
· Automatic translation - Option to display translation dialog box with new 'Save' button to save translate configuration.
· Reference files translated automatically to DWG/DXF format during the translation of VWF drawing.
· True Type text process enhancement in translation.
· Automatic snap enhancement and can be enabled or disabled from the cursor 'snap mode' menu.
· Dynamic Pan and Zoom functions in 2D View menu and toolbar. Hold button #1 and drag the mouse to pan, zoom in or zoom out.
· Win32 file related dialog boxes.
· File type default setting for File/Open.
· Spell checker for True Type text.
· Associative objects addition to reference files.
· Save button in the Options/Miscellaneous dialog to save CADVANCE.INI.
· CADVANCE website access shortcut key through the 'Start' menu.
· 2D center and origin alignment for Edit/Align.
· 'Reset' command in the Selection menu and Selection bar. This command restores the CADVANCE object selection list to its contents prior to the last removal.
· Selection of point type, selected point or object origin/base, for Edit/Rotate and Edit/Scale functions.
IMPROVEMENTS:
· Improve SCANLIB.DLL to read large file correctly.
· Improve rendering and hidden line process in 3D.
· Convert user id entry to upper case in network license log.
· Improve associative object cut/copy and paste between drawings.
· Eliminate extra reference file translation with primitive elements option.
· Improve OLE entry handling in network license log.
· Improve True Type text parsing process.
· Correct using previous phantom object.
· Improve text alignment for rotated text in VWF to DWG/DXF translation.
· Improve DDE link with Excel.
· Improve CdiDrawText routine when text is too small to see.
· Improve scaling for metric raster images.
· Improve integer overflow in arc generation.
· Improve TrueType Text setup in Draw/Dimension/Setup.
· Improve color initialization in Object Select function.
· Improve bspline curves overflowing array.
· Improve saved display order setting to ini file.
· Improve drawing preview quality in file open dialog box.
· Improve screen redraw speed and reduce plot data size by setting default
values in CADVANCE.INI:
[System]
PlotArcGen=10
ScreenArcGen=10
· Improve VWF loading process by deleting bad associative objects when encountered instead of exit loading.
· DWG/DXF file can be opened as read only if the VWF file in the same folder having the same name is used by other user.
· Correct parsing "\'1x" problem for Draw Dimension using True Type text.
· Correct 30-day evaluation period checking.
· Detect missing data pointer of auxiliary objects used in reference files.
What's New and Improved in CADVANCE 99?
CADVANCE 99 contains several improvements over CADVANCE V8. The following is the outline of these new features:
· 3D Rendering: Rendering for CAVANCE 3D has been improved to use all 255 available CADVANCE colors.
· Auto Snap Mode: Automatic snap to the object or location pointed by the cursor. The auto snap is turned on when the current snap mode is "Off" and turned off by changing to any other snap mode provided auto snap mode is enabled. The auto snap mode is enabled through cadvance.ini with entry "AutoSnap=ON" under System section and the default is set to OFF. The snap mode will be displayed next to the cursor if there is one pointed by the cursor.
· Edit Find: Edit Find adds a Find command to the CADVANCE Edit menu. The Find command searches the primary objects of a CADVANCE drawing for text strings and symbols by name.
· Exclusive Window Selection: Adds the capability to select all objects that are not wholly contained within a window.
· Image Operations:
1. Improve creating and drawing bitmaps due to MS changed bitmap structure definition.
2. Improve drawing of images used within symbols.
3. Improve scaling of loaded raster images.
4. Improve printing of pasted bitmaps.
· Key Input Command: Key input command processor takes fixed length keystrokes or variable length keystrokes terminated by a carriage return as the command input. Keycmds directory is added to store sample key command files, and macros used for key command.
· Multiple Toolbars: The standard CAVANCE toolbar has been improved to have different 2D and 3D toolbars, allow for multiple toolbars, and display ToolTips. Standard toolbar bitmaps in 16X16, 20X20, and 32X32 sizes are provided. Both icons and bitmaps can be used for multiple toolbars.
· New 3D Functions: Additional 3D functions are added as follows:
Alter Functions: Add Vertex, Move Vertex, Delete Vertex, Explode, and Joint
Draw Functions: Draw Box, Draw Dome, Draw Fustrum, Draw Offset Line, Draw Parallelogram, Draw Parallel Line, Draw Prism, Draw Tube, Draw Torus, and Draw Wedge
Edit Functions: Scale, and Copy Array Offset Line, and Query Distance.
· New Alter Menu: Alter menu is added to the menu bar for both 2D and 3D with some existing operations and some new editing features.
2D Alter Menu:
Vertex: Add, Move, and Delete
Line: Open Segment, Close Segment, Delete Segment, Extend Segment, Extend Segment, Move Segment, Break Segment, Trim to Point, Combine, and Explode
Arc: Break, Close, Extend, Move Endpoint, Trim to Point, Edit Radius, Edit Angle, and Edit Bulge
Circle: Break, and Edit Radius
Fix: Corner, X Cross, Open T, Walled T, and Open Y
3D Alter Menu:
Vertex: Add, Move, and Delete
Line: Explode and Joint
· ODBC Enhancement: Improve the search speed of attribute records four times faster and update CADVANCE ODBC database support for Oracle.
· Plot Logging: Log the plotting activities of CADVANCE. The plot logging can be enabled or disabled through cadvance.ini and the plot log path is specified in cadvance.ini. Converting plot log file to MS Access and MS Excel format is added under Menu Utility.
· Read Only Drawing: VWF file located on a read only device can be opened as usual but no lock file is created and the drawing can not be saved except by changing its path.
· Reference File Window: Reference File Window adds the capability to specify a portion of a drawing when opening the drawing to be a reference.
· Remove Password: Add rempass2.exe for removing password in CADVANCE version 7 and later versions.
· Right Mouse Button (B2): Popup menus appear when a CADVANCE object is selected with the Right or Middle Mouse Button (B2). The popup menu has query and editing functions applicable to that object.
· Spell Check: Spell Check adds a complete spelling checker to CADVANCE.
· Symbol Text Attributes: Symbol Text Attributes adds the capability of attaching displayable text attributes to CADVANCE "symbols" without the need for an independent DataBase.
· Truetype Text Changes: Truetype text is changed to use MFC dialogs based on CfontDialog and CrichEditCtrl. This has resulted in some new features, such as a horizontal scroll along with a spell check button, and the loss of some old features.
· View | Layers Functions: Add new View | Layers functions and change others. New IDM values are assigned:
IDM_VIEW_LAYERS_ALL_ON equivalent to IDM_VIEW_LAYERS_ALL
IDM_VIEW_LAYERS_ALL_OFF replaces function of IDM_VIEW_LAYERS_ACTIVE
IDM_VIEW3_LAYERS_ALL_ON equivalent to IDM_VIEW3_LAYERS_ALL
IDM_VIEW3_LAYERS_ALL_OFF replaces function of IDM_VIEW3_LAYERS_ACTIVE
· Unique ID: The unique ID feature is a change to CADVANCE to help the third party developers keep track of objects they or the user may have created and edited.
· Translation with Reference File: This new feature allows the user to select the reference file output as “Xrefs” or “Primitive elements”. If “Primitive elements” is selected, the reference file data is merged into the output file.
Cdi Functions:
· Cdi Functions: The following Cdi functions are corrected and improved:
CdiGetAuxData -- improved performance
Cdi3dVertexAdd -- now works
CdiMasterName -- improved functionality
CdiObj3dSnap -- now works
Cdi3DColinear -- now detects close hits
· Cdi Query Functions: A Cdi interface has been add to the CADVANCE query functionality.
CdiQueryObject -- Query the object and return an ASCII string
CdiQuerySize -- Query the object and return an ASCII string
Improvements:
· Correct problem of reference file containing TrueType text.
· Correct missing OLE2 auxiliary objects.
· Increase strings for plotter drivers and names
· Reposition scroll bars in view fit
· Add checking for invalid objects to make symbol
· Add override of "cursor not snapped" message to misc. dialog and ini file
· CdiGetDrawingVersion returns the version of the read-in drawing
· Update CdiGetProgramVersion return value
· Options\color was changing the cursor color number and not restoring it.
· Cad.lns for metric system is included, rename cad_ms.lns to cad.lns for your use
· Update the reference file paths
· Correct problem with property selection dialog that changed the layer, weight, and key properties between invocations.
· Change CDI_LAYER_NAME_SIZE to correct problem when calling CdiGet/SetLayer.
· For reference file view selection: Open drawing as read only to allow using files that are opened by someone else. Close only the active view when closing the view selection file.
· Increase the capabilities of EDIT|FIND with "ignore case" and "zoom to" options.
· Correct problem with combining linesets consisting of only one segment.
· Correct problem with removing vertices from the osl during move vertex.
· Correct problem with closing arcs so the extents are recalculated properly.
· Correct problem with reference window file so that it is written when the original vwf is saved and deleted if the vwf is renamed.
· Correct problem with windowed vertex selection introduced with exclusive window.
· Correct problem with edit text words introduced with unique ID.
· Correct problem with reference file view selection and improve reference file view location cursor positioning.
· Improve directory validation to allow paths to point to directories that are read only.
· Add unique id to the cdi 3d vertex operations: move, add, and delete.
· Correct problem with pasting small objects that can not be processed by CADVANCE from clipboard.
· Correct line weight 255 introduced by removing vertex of the enclosed boundary.
· Correct reloading auto save file when open the active drawing with auto save enabled.
· Allow negative numbers for setting extrusion parameters.
· Improve DWG to VWF translation by supporting hatch command and superscript in CAD text.
· Fix problem with paper/design radio buttons on text properties dialogs
· Fix size of find dialog
· Fix read error with OLE objects
· Prevent disk I/O errors by checking file type and validating opened files
· Fix memory overflow problem when reference file contains bit map image
· Fix problem with SELECT and LOCATE buttons on reference file dialog if no reference file is loaded or selected
· Fix a perceived problem with B2 menu processing
· Fix color button number in CDI property selection call, CdiSetPropertyFilterInfo()
· Add support for dynamic reloading of menus and IDM's to support 3rd party applications
· Fix problem when closing non-active drawing
· Fix reading not snapped message from ini file
· Change CdiGetAuxData() to return a count of 0 if an error occurred or the master of the object is zapped
· Prevent OLE update message from appearing many times
· Fix OK button on setup 3D dialog
· Fix clipping of hatching and improve performance of linesets by eliminating packing
· Fix access error message for plot log
· Correct problems with disable/enable
· Change the way the escape key works with the right-mouse-button popup menu. The escape key will no longer invoke the popup menu.
· Move the Explode and Joint menu items from Edit menu to Alter menu.
· Correct problem with creating symbols that contain groups that contain symbols. This was noticed when using the DWG translator on large blocks.
· Automatic search the raster image when the specified path is not available.
· Improve drawing full errors by adding it to message on resulting error.
· Change the default states in Edit Properties from checked to unchecked.
WHAT'S NEW AND IMPROVED IN CADVANCE 8.1?
CADVANCE 8.1 contains several improvements over CADVANCE 8.0 including the following:
· Windows NT read/write errors are reduced.
· Autosave problem with long file names is corrected.
· GPF with B-spline curves is eliminated.
· TrueType justification is corrected.
· Reading of Version 4 layer files is corrected.
· Macro key interpretation is corrected.
· Lock File checking is improved. Note that two users using the same userid can open and edit the same drawing.
· Improve locating CADVANCE working directory.
· Add Network access failure message.
· Fix "phantom text" plotting problem.
· Add some OLE2 server functionality. See "CADVANCE and OLE Compound Documents".
· Correct EDIT/MOVE for Associative texturing.
· Improve TrueType translation to DWG/DXF.
CADVANCE and OLE Compound Documents
CADVANCE Version 8 contains many features of OLE2. These allow objects from other applications to be placed into a CADVANCE drawing (CADVANCE as a "client") and CADVANCE drawings or portions of them to be used within other applications (CADVANCE as a "server"). There are many ways to do this using Windows.
CADVANCE as a client:
To add objects from other applications that support OLE you can use one or more of the following methods. Not all methods are available from all applications.
· Select EDIT\INSERT OBJECT that will display a dialog box with two buttons (Create New and Create from File). Selecting Create New will display a list of applications that are registered on your machine as Servers. Selecting one of them will start that application and allow you to create a new object within that application. When you have completed the object you want, select FILE\UPDATE or close with update and the object will be placed into the CADVANCE drawing at your selected location. This creates an "embedded" object within your CADVANCE drawing.
· Select EDIT\INSERT OBJECT and the Create from File button. This will allow you to select or enter a file name. Selecting a file, which was created by an application supporting OLE, will place the entire file into the CADVANCE drawing at your selected location. This creates an "embedded" or "linked" object (depending upon the state of the Link check box) within your CADVANCE drawing.
· After having placed an object from another application onto the clipboard using EDIT\COPY or EDIT\CUT select EDIT\PASTE. This will place the contents of the clipboard into the CADVANCE drawing at your selected location. This creates an "embedded" object within your CADVANCE drawing.
· After having placed an object from another application onto the clipboard using EDIT\COPY select EDIT\PASTE LINK (if available, note that a cut object can not be linked). This will place the contents of the clipboard into the CADVANCE drawing at your selected location. This creates an "linked" object within your CADVANCE drawing.
· After having placed an object from another application onto the clipboard using EDIT\COPY or EDIT\CUT select EDIT\PASTE SPECIAL. This will give you a list of object types to place in a drawing and two buttons offering you a choice of Paste or Paste Link (Link may not be available). The list will contain the types of objects (Application Object, Cadvance Vectors, Cadvance Native, Picture, Bitmap, Rich Text Format, or Text) that the application provides for pasting into your CADVANCE drawings. The first choice is usually the Applications primary object and choosing it will give the same result as a normal PASTE or PASTE LINK. This will create either an "embedded" or "linked object within your CADVANCE drawing. Choosing one of the other formats will create a "static" object that is the appropriate CADVANCE object within your CADVANCE drawing.
· With both CADVANCE and another application on your desktop tiled or cascaded, you can choose an object in the other application, "drag" it to the CADVANCE window and "drop" it on the CADVANCE drawing. This is a new feature of CADVANCE Version 8. This creates an "embedded" object within your CADVANCE drawing.
An "embedded" object is stored with your CADVANCE drawing in both "presentation" and "Native" formats. When CADVANCE displays the object it uses the presentation format that is usually a picture (Windows metafile) but can be a bitmap. You can edit an embedded object by double clicking on it. This will launch the creating application (if the proper version is available and enough resources are free) and allow you to edit the object in its native environment. After editing you can update the CADVANCE drawing. This is a nice way of keeping foreign data within a CADVANCE drawing but it may take a lot of room in the file to store both representations.
A "linked" object is stored with your CADVANCE drawing in the presentation format and a pointer (moniker) to the creating application (class ID), the file name (full path) and the portion of the object (this is objects extents in CADVANCE) within the file. You can edit a linked object by double clicking on it. This will launch the creating application with the objects file (again if the proper application version and file are available and enough resources are free) and allow you to edit the object in its native environment. Also whenever the drawing is loaded the application will the appropriate file and the object will be automatically updated. You can stop this update during the file opening and will see the previous presentation data. This means of keeping foreign data in your drawing allows it to b kept updated automatically but at the cost of launching the creating application. This usually takes less room in your CADVANCE drawing than an embedded object.
The least room and fastest drawing method is to save the objects in your drawing in one of the "static" formats. This usually consists of CADVANCE primitive objects such as lines, text, etc but may be picture or bitmap data.
After incorporating "linked" objects into your drawing you can use EDIT\LINKS to edit the linked attributes of the object. You can switch between Automatic and Manual updating of the objects, change the name of the file that contains the linked data, force an update of the object, and change the object to a static object. This same dialog will appear during the automatic update upon opening a drawing for which some of the linked data is missing.
CADVANCE as a server:
To incorporate CADVANCE objects from other applications that support OLE you can use one or more of the following methods. Not all methods are available from all applications.
· Select INSERT OBJECT from one of the applications menu that should display two buttons or tabs (Create New or Create from File). Selecting Create New will display a list of applications including "CADVANCE Version 8.1". Selecting CADVANCE will start CADVANCE or open a new view in an active CADVANCE. When you have completed the object you want, select FILE\UPDATE or close the drawing. If you close the drawing you will be prompted to update the object or not. When you update the CADVANCE object will be placed into the applications document as an "embedded" object.
· Select INSERT OBJECT with the Create from File option. This will allow you to select or enter a file name. Selecting a VWF (CADVANCE drawing file) will open that file in CADVANCE and place the entire drawing into your application document. This creates an "embedded" or "linked" object (depending upon the state of the Link checkbox) in your application.
· Use EDIT\COPY or EDIT\CUT to place all or a selected portion of a CADVANCE drawing unto the clipboard. Select EDIT\PASTE. This will place the contents of the clipboard into your application document as an "embedded" object.
· Use EDIT\COPY or EDIT\CUT to place all or a selected portion of a CADVANCE drawing unto the clipboard. Select EDIT\PASTE SPECIAL. This will give you a list of object types to place in the document and two buttons offering you a choice of Paste or Paste Link. The list will contain the following types of CADVANCE objects: Cadvance 8.1 Object, Picture, Bitmap, Formatted Text, or Unformatted Text. Choosing "Cadvance 8.1 Object" will create either an "embedded" or "linked" CADVANCE object in your application document. Choosing another type with the Paste Link button selected will create a "linked" object in your application document. Choosing another type with the Paste button selected will place that type of object into your application with no connection to CADVANCE.
An "embedded" CADVANCE object is stored with your document in both "presentation" and "CADVANCE native" formats. When the application displays the object it usually uses the presentation format that is usually a picture (Windows metafile) but can be a bitmap. You can edit an embedded object by double clicking on it or using edit from a drop down menu. This will launch CADVANCE or create a new view in a running CADVANCE and allow you to edit the object. After editing you can update the application document. This is a nice way to save a CADVANCE object in another document but it may take a lot of room in the document file to store both representations.
A "linked" object is stored with your document in the presentation format and a pointer (moniker) to CADVANCE (class ID), the VWF file name (full path) and (if necessary) the object's extents. NOTE: A LINKED CADVANCE OBJECT IS DEFINED BY ITS EXTENTS AND NOT THE SELECTED CONTENTS OF THE CLIPBOARD (It will include all within the extents of the objects selected). You can edit a linked object by double clicking on it or using edit from a drop down menu. This will launch CADVANCE or create a new view in a running CADVANCE and open the desired drawing. This will be the entire drawing even if only a portion was linked. You can edit the object. After editing you can update the application document. This is a way to keep your document and the drawing in sync. Whenever the document is opened it will automatically update the CADVANCE object within it.
CADVANCE as both a client and a server:
Some of the OLE techniques can be used to transfer objects from one CADVANCE drawing to another or even within the same drawing.
· EDIT\INSERT OBJECT is not supported between CADVANCE drawings. If you try unpredictable results may occur including crashes or trashing your drawing.
· Use EDIT\COPY or EDIT\CUT to place all or a selected portion of a CADVANCE drawing unto the clipboard. Select EDIT\PASTE. This will place the contents of the clipboard into the CADVANCE drawing at your selected location. This places the "CADVANCE Native" or actual CADVANCE primitives from the clipboard into the drawing. This gives the truest representation of the data.
· Selecting EDIT\PASTE LINK does not work very well at the current time and should be avoided along with EDIT\PASTE SPECIAL with Paste Link button selected.
· Select EDIT\PASTE SPECIAL. This will give you a list of object types (CADVANCE 8.1 Object, CADVANCE Vectors, CADVANCE Native, Picture, Bitmap, Rich Text Format, and TEXT) to place in the drawing and two buttons offering you a choice of Paste or Paste Link. Do not use the Paste Link button. Selecting CADVANCE 8.1 object will give you and embedded object that should not be used since editing a CADVANCE embedded object within a CADVANCE drawing is not supported. Selecting CADVANCE Native is the same as a simple EDIT\PASTE. Selecting CADVANCE Vectors is a means of transferring a 3D image to 2D. All other formats create the specified object from the clipboard and insert it into the drawing.
A pasted Picture will be approximately the same size as the original copied object in real world terms. That is a 10' square will be about 10'.
A pasted Bitmap will be approximately the same size as the original copied object in screen size. That is if it took about 2 square inches of space on the screen when it was copied it will take about 2 square inches in the new drawing regardless of scale factor or zoom amount.
A pasted CADVANCE Native object is the only one whose size is guaranteed to be same in real world terms.
A CADVANCE symbol as a client:
Symbols should not contain "embedded" or "linked objects". Although prior versions of CADVANCE supported symbols with objects, the current version does not. This would seem to add a lot of overhead to the symbols and the drawings that contained them.
WHAT'S NEW AND IMPROVED IN CADVANCE 8.0?
> New 32-Bit Version of CADVANCE for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0
> New 32-bit CBL Macro Language with additional features
- DDE, OLE2 and ODBC support
- Support more than one hundred new basic functions
> New AutoCAD release 14 DWG/DXF translator with additional features
- True type font support
- Support XREF in AutoCAD to reference files in CADVANCE
> Support long file name for drawings
> Support the following OLE2 functions
- Insert objects (improved)
- Links (improved)
- Drag and drop (improved)
> Increase in number of opened files
> Support for Wintab32 tablets
> The default path for ScreenBitmap is set to new subdirectory called BITMAPS under CADVANCE directory. All toolbar icons and bitmaps are moved to BITMAPS subdirectory.
> Separate plotter configuration files
> Enhanced DDE to support more than 32K rows or columns in Excel
> License key is implemented for both single user license and site licenses. The
installation of license key for single user license will be followed.
> Many bitmaps, icons, macros, and symbols contributed by CADVANCE users are included in the CD-ROM for your reference. No support for these contributed materials will be provided by either F I T, Inc. or the contributors.
New CDI Function
CdiCompileMacro Function
Syntax Integer CdiCompileMacro(macro_name)
This function will compile the given macro.
Parameter Type/Description
macro_name String (char *) The macro name to compile.
Return Value CDI_OK if successful, CDI_ERROR otherwise.
Comments The macro_name must include the full path in specifying the location of the file.
CDI Clipboard Function Notes
CDI Clipboard functions will only work with the standard clipboard datatypes. OLE2 datatypes are not supported through CDI. Use CBL functions to access the Clipboard for OLE Objects.
The following clipboard functions are still available:
CdiEditCopy()
CdiEditCut()
CdiEditActivate()
The following clipboard functions are NOT available:
CdiEditPasteSpecial()
CdieditInsert()
The following opcodes are NOT available for CdiLaunchDialogBox():
CDI_DB_INSERTOBJECT
CDI_DB_LINKS
CDI_DB_PASTESPECIAL
CBL Notes
The following Cdi Functions and Structures are affected by 32-bit CBL, please refer to 3p_incl.h for details:
Functions:
CdiOpen()
CdiClose()
CdiGetMenuHandles()
CdiGetWindowHandle()
Structures:
CDI_TRUETYPE_BUFFER
CDI_TRUETYPE_DEFN
In addition, all existing CBL Macros that call Windows API functions need to use the 32-bit Lib's in the Declare statement for that API.
> Change "user" as Integer to "user32" as Long
Example:
Declare function GetClipboardData lib "user" (Byval hwnd%) As Integer
Needs to be changed to:
Declare function GetClipboardData lib "user32" (Byval hwnd%) As Long
> Change "Kernel" as Integer to "Kernel32" as Long
> String manipulation function or sub
A for ASCII, or W for Unicode must be added to the end of Function/sub name.
Example:
InsertMenu(.....), OemToCharBuff
Needs to be changed to:
InsertMenuA(.....), OemToCharBuffA
> New reserved words
END
A word used as part of variables such as Angle.End is also recognized as reserved. Change Angle.End to something like Angle.Endx
NEW
NULL
NULL can be replaced with 0 or NULL_VAL defined in cdi_incl.h
> Parameters for Cdi rutines call
Example:
Cdixxx(i, j) call, parameters i and j should be long
Wintab32 Notes
To use a tablet the user must install a vendor-supplied driver and a Wintab32.dll for that tablet. Currently there are two Wintab32.dll exist that we know of, and they are for CalComp tablets and Kurta tablets. The CalComp driver supports the CalComp 9100 tablet protocol. Most tablets emulate this protocol and the CalComp driver is available on the Internet at CalComp's Web site, www.calcomp.com. Kurta driver is available at Mutoh's Web site, www.mutoh.com.
WHAT’S NEW AND IMPROVED IN CADVANCE 7.2?
DWG/DXF Translator
New translator supports AutoCAD drawings up to R13. Enhancements compared with last translator delivered with V7.1B and earlier are as follows:
> Color mapping is specified in CADVANCE.INI file under [Color Map] category for 256 colors with the following format:
index=VWF_color_number DWG_color_number
index: color index of the source file
VWF_color_number: color mapped to in VWF file
DWG_color_number: color mapped to in DWG file
Translate DWG/DXF to VWF, index and VWF_color_number are used.
Translate VWF to DWG/DXF, index and DWG_color_number are used.
If index, VWF_color_number and DWG_color_number are the same, then the entry is not required under [Color Map], they are the defaults.
> Line styles are created and added to the CAD.LNS file if not found in CAD.LNS during DWG/DXF import.
> Reference files DWG/DXF export are supported, all the associated reference files should also be translated by using batch DWG/VWF translation mentioned below.
> Area Fill to 2D Solid and vise versa are supported for regular shaped polygons. Irregular or odd shaped polygons may not work perfectly for DWG/DXF export because AutoCAD supports the 2D Solid up to four vertices.
> AutoCAD R13 MTEXT, rotated/scaled MINSERTS are supported for DWG/DXF import.
> TrueType text is converted to CAD text during DWG/DXF export and maintaining size, color, rotation, and etc.
> Two additional fonts are mapped between DWG and VWF:
SIMPLEX SIMPLEX.FNT
COMPLEX BOLDSIMP.FNT
> The following options in the dialogue boxes have been changed as follows:
Import to VWF Options
Entity Conversion:
Polyline width: default: none
Polyline arc: default: separate
Symbol:
Re-create symbols: default: off
Symbol extension input has been removed and replaced with the option of symbol path selection.
Conversion Method:
"Both" mode is removed.
Export to DXF/DWG Options
Export:
Export 2D objects and Export 3D objects are changed to radio buttons.
Conversion:
Option "Translate layer with tag" added to preserve the original layer assignment
for VWF/DWG/VWF translation.
Release Version:
Version 13 radio button is added.
Batch DWG/VWF Translation
New function is added to translate multiple DWG files to VWF files in batch mode or vise versa under Utility/Translate DWG. Interactive prompts from translator will be redirected to CADERR.xxx in batch processing.
Reference File Search
The search path for reference files has been enhanced. The sequence of search is as follows:
> The saved reference file full path
> Current loading drawing path
> Drawing path
> Reference drawing path
> Reference file path
CADVANCE Improvement
> Associative texturing with open symbol
> Vertex snap
> Too many primary colors in rendering
> Macro compiling error
> Space allocation for loading full drawing to max. size
> Line weight saved in cadvance.ini file
> Undo/Redo "Invalid object ID detected"
> Disappearing text in non-active view
> Line weight displays in clipboard
> Area fill displays in clipboard
> Display line weight in Utility/Query/Object
> Support Postscript color selection with more than 8 colors
Add the following in CADVANCE.INI under postscript printer configuration info
or printer defaults:
[Printer Defaults]
IgnoreClosestColor=YES
CADVANCE.INI Addition
[System]
HighlightColor=3 - to set highlight color
New CDI Routines for CADVANCE 7.2
Please refer to CADVANCE SDK manual for details:
> Integer CdiGetTrackMode ( )
> Integer CdiSetTrackMode ( trackmode)
> Void Cdi2DExtrude ( )
> Integer CdiSymbolNesting ( segid, level )
> Void CdiView3DFromTo( eye, focal, screen_factor, projection )
WHAT'S NEW AND IMPROVED IN CADVANCE 7.1?
AREA FILL
Simple polygon and circle objects may be filled with the same color with which they are drawn. This can be done with the DRAW\OBJECT AREA FILL menu entry or through EDIT\PROPERTIES
NESTED SNAP
The various snap modes can now be used to snap to objects and/or points within a symbol or group. This can be enabled on the OPTIONS\MISC dialog or through the CADVANCE.INI file.
TrueType TEXT
Several improvements have been made to the processing of TrueType text including:
> Associative Dimensioning now supports TrueType text.
> Newer RTF formatted text can be pasted into CADVANCE.
> TrueType text from other applications can be pasted into CADVANCE drawings containing TrueType.
> TrueType text can be rotated through all angles from 0-360 degrees.
ASSOCIATIVE DIMENSIONING
An option has been added to the OPTIONS\MISC dialog and the CADVANCE.INI file to force node creation during manual dimensioning. Previously and with the option disabled, when you picked a point for manual dimensioning, associative dimensioning would try to attach that dimension point to an object and if not successful it would create a node object. With the option enabled it will always create a node.
IMPROVEMENTS
The number of drawings that may be opened at one time has been increased. The number is dependent upon the inclusion of reference files and auxiliary objects and can be further increased by disabling the UNDO function. WARNING: do not try to enable UNDO when there are a number of drawings open.
Associative dimensioning picking has been improved.
Associative dimensioning no longer adds all vertices to linesets that are modified. Previously, if you dimensioned a couple vertices of a many vertex line set and then modified the line set, the entire lineset would end up being dimensioned. Now only the original vertices will be dimensioned
CADVANCE.INI ADDITIONS
[System]
ForceAssociativeNodes=YES or NO - to determine whether manual nodes are used in associative dimensioning.
NestedSnap=ON or OFF - to enable nested snapping.
Weight=0.nnnn - The default Line Weight Size for the OPTIONS\MISC dialog.
WHAT'S NEW AND IMPROVED IN CADVANCE 7.0?
NEW 255 COLORS
CADVANCE now supports 255 colors for on screen drawing and printing. The colors 16 through 255 are assigned RGB values through a file named CAD.COL which is loaded for every new drawing and every drawing imported from prior releases of CADVANCE. These colors are permanently assigned and are saved with each drawing. They can not be changed through the Options\Colors dialog. The entire range of colors (16 through 255) can be changed by using File\Load to load a new color table *.COL and saving the drawing with the new color table.
ASSOCIATIVE DIMENSIONING AND TEXTURING
When upgrading to CADVANCE 7.0 and adding associative dimensions to existing drawings or new ones, be sure to initialize CAD.DIM and other .DIM files you may have. This can be done by loading the old .DIM file with draw\dimensions\setup and saving them. There is additional data being stored in the .DIM file..
At this time associative dimensions and textures can not be exported through the DXF/DWG translator. Also an associative object can not be copied and pasted if it is not copied with its associated object. You can use paste special "picture" to paste a picture of the associative object. Other wise in order to copy or export them you must convert them to static objects. This can be done using the Edit\Assoc Dimen\Make Static function.
Also some of the Associative dimension and texture editing commands can not be undone and/or redone.
NEW DIMENSION NOTES
> A stagger count has been added to limit the number of staggered text you will get and a check box has been added to eliminate staggering of dimension lines.
> Extension lines can now have either a fixed length or a fixed offset from the dimensioned object.
> A special checkbox has been added so that metric dimensions can take on a special form that shows millimeters as superscript values.
NUMBER OF SIMULTANEOUS DRAWINGS OPEN
> The number of drawings that can be opened in CADVANCE 7.0 has been reduced by 1 from version 6.0 and 6.5.
> This number can be increased by turning UNDO and REDO off in options miscellaneous.
WHAT'S NEW IN CADVANCE 7.0?
> Unlimited Redo of CADVANCE operations, back to the first Undo.
> Associative Dimensioning and Associative Hatching making drafting and editing easier.
> Additional Node Types with 4 Node Types, the size is consistent regardless of changing drawing scales.
> Grouping capability by "Kinds", 32767 "KIND" attributes accessible through CDI(CADVANCE Development Interface) with which extremely sophisticated applications can be developed.
> Improved Snapping with more modes and hierarchy including text, endpoint, tangent, and perpendicular.
> Automated Mosaic Plot, automatically generate check plots at full size on your letter-size laser printer.
> Increased Drawing Colors to 256 and Line Style to 16.
> Drawing Auto-Save.
> Input and Output of HPGL files.
> Object alignment.
> Side selection for Offset.
> Drawing and Symbol previews.
> Plus many improvements to the existing product.
FEATURES MAINTAINED FROM PREVIOUS VERSIONS
> Unlimited undo of CADVANCE operations, back to the beginning of the work session.
> High-quality TrueType font support, including paragraph text, dimensions, building grids, attribute information, etc. Formatted text can be placed in the drawing from a word processor or other True Type application, then edited later.
> Easy to use paper space environment, so you can move easily between the actual size of your final printed or plotted output and your real world design coordinates. OLE objects copied through the Windows clipboard to or from a word processor or other application will maintain their exact size ratio.
> Properties selection filter, so objects in the drawing can be selected by any combination of drawing location, color, layer, object type, attribute key, etc. These criteria can be saved to disk for future use. For example, you could select all text that is red and in the upper left corner of the drawing, then change it to blue.
> Enhanced configuration file that can automatically save and load layers, dimension preferences, property selection criteria and digitizer template files. Configurations can be applied to the current drawing if desired, so you can change setups as you work.
> Improved attribute database interface, including automatically generated relation database files and index files. Any database editor or spreadsheet that supports the .DBF file format can be used to create, modify and report on attribute data files.
> Direct AutoCAD translator, which supports Releases 10, 11 and 12.
> DXF translator supports Release 10, 11, and 12 formats in both ASCII and binary.
> Additional snap modes including center, midpoint and nearest point.
> Additional drawing features including parallel, perpendicular, tangent, chamfer, fillet to arcs and circles, line extend/trim and divide line into segments.
> Break point capability added to the macro editor to help with debugging your macros.
> Additional information displayed when querying objects, such as angle and x-y distance.
> Support for unlimited contour curve generation at user-defined resolution.
> Higher resolution ellipses and polygons.
> Support for over 20 scanned images.
> Visual Line Weight Displayed.
> Map Drawing Color to Weight for printing.
Cadvance Key Board Overlay
> The file: F-KEYS.VWF is a CADVANCE drawing that represents the key board function keys. Just bring the file up in CADVANCE and plot it (F-KEYCAD.VWF is the same drawing with CAD text).
CDI UPDATE NOTES
> Several new CDI functions are available in CADVANCE 7.0. If you have the CADVANCE developers kit please request and update at no charge.
> Since a few changes have been made to CDI functions, it is suggested that you recompile your CADVANCE 5.0 macros for 7.0. Specifically, the functions that returned a double in 5.0 (CdiAngle, CdiArea, CdiPang) have been changed slightly; the CDI trigonometric functions (sin, tan, etc.) have been removed [use the Basic equivalents]; any variable dimensioned as CDI_SEGID should be changed to Long; and the text_string field in CDI_TEXT_DEF has been renamed string.
WHAT'S NEW IN CADVANCE 6.5?
> Display line weight. CADVANCE line primitives which have an associated weight property may be displayed with the thickness you specify.
> The ability to map drawing color-to-weight for printing. You can specify line and text weight when printing to all devices, including raster type printers.
> Added support for over 20 raster image formats. See Technical Notes for a complete list of the supported scanned and raster image formats.
> Improved all dialog box with a 3D look.
> New Print dialog box interface and new Print Color dialog box.
Cadvance Key Board Overlay
> The file: F-KEYS.VWF is a CADVANCE drawing that represents the key board function keys. Just bring the file up in CADVANCE and plot it (F-KEYCAD.VWF is the same drawing with CAD text).
CDI UPDATE NOTES
> Since a few changes have been made to CDI functions, it is suggested that you recompile your CADVANCE 5.0 macros for 6.5. Specifically, the functions that returned a double in 5.0 (CdiAngle, CdiArea, CdiPang) have been changed slightly; the CDI trigonometric functions (sin, tan, etc.) have been removed [use the Basic equivalents]; any variable dimensioned as CDI_SEGID should be changed to Long; and the text_string field in CDI_TEXT_DEF has been renamed string.
> Don't forget to read the on-line Technical Notes file for important and valuable information on using CADVANCE.
WHAT'S
NEW IN CADVANCE 6.0?
>
High-quality TrueType font support, including paragraph text, imensions, building grids, attribute information,
etc. Formatted text can be placed in the drawing from a word processor or
other application that supports Rich Text Format
(RTF), then edited later.
> Easy
to use paper space environment, so you can move easily between the actual size
of your final printed or plotted output and your real world
design coordinates. OLE objects copied through the Windows clipboard to
or from a word processor or other application will maintain their exact size
ratio.
>
Unlimited undo of CADVANCE operations, back to the beginning of the work
session.
>
Properties selection filter, so objects in the drawing can be selected by any
combination of drawing location, color, layer, object type, attribute key,
etc. These criteria can be saved to disk for future use. For
example, you could select all text that is red and in the upper left corner of
the drawing, then change it to blue.
> Enhanced
configuration file that can automatically save and load layers, dimension
preferences, property selection criteria and digitizer template files.
Configurations can be applied to the current drawing if desired, so you can
change setups as you work.
>
New interactive spreadsheet format for layer setup and attribute viewing and
editing.
>
Improved attribute database interface, including automatically generated
relation database files and index files that are created/updated on the
fly. Any database editor or spreadsheet that supports the .DBF file
format can be used to create, modify and report on
attribute data files.
>
Support for Microsofts ODBC (Open Database
Connectivity) standard for SQL queries.
>
Updated direct Autocad DWG translator, which now
supports Releases 10, 11, and 12.
>
New DXF translator supports Release 10, 11, and 12 formats in both ASCII and
binary.
>
Integrated E-mail support with Windows for Workgroups, including sending and
receiving drawings.
>
Additional snap modes, including center, midpoint, nearest point
and circle pie angles.
>
Additional drawing features, including parallel, perpendicular, tangent,
chamfer, fillet to arcs and circles, segment extend/trim and divide line into
segments.
>
Break point capability added to the macro editor to help with debugging your
macros.
>
Additional information displayed when querying object distance, area, and
volume.
>
Support for unlimited contour curve generation at user-defined resolution.
>
New, smaller tool bar icons.
>
New Print Color Setup dialog.
>
Higher resolution ellipses and polygons (up to 2000 segments each).
>
Multiple symbol paths, plus symbol re-select option.
>
Multiple area texture boundary selection.
>
Faster operation in object selection and deletion.
>
Optional use of F11 to run macros by key.
>
Ability to run up to 20 macros from the Utility/Custom menu.
> More than 100 new CDI programming functions, including Get and Set of system status options.
UPDATE NOTES
> Since a few changes have been made to CDI functions, it is suggested that you recompile your CADVANCE 5.0 macros for 6.0. Specifically, the functions that returned a double in 5.0 (CdiAngle, CdiArea, CdiPang) have been changed slightly; the CDI trigonometric functions (sin, tan, etc.) have been removed [use the Basic equivalents]; any variable dimensioned as CDI_SEGID should be changed to Long; and the text_string field in CDI_TEXT_DEF has been renamed string.
> Don't forget to read the on-line Technical Notes file for important and valuable information on using CADVANCE.