TABLE OF CONTENTS Customizing the status line and creating macros for menus and toolbars with DIESEL
Adding advanced programming to AutoCAD LT using third-party products
Understanding the DWG file format
The previous chapters showed you how to customize many aspects of AutoCAD LT. Where LT falls short, however, is in its inability to be programmed. Unlike most other applications software available today, AutoCAD LT cannot be programmed with two exceptions.
DIESEL is a simple programming language that allows minimal customization. Third-party developers have figured out how to make VBA, AutoLISP, and ObjectARX work. You learn about both in this chapter.
The purpose of DIESEL is to customize the status line. In addition, it is used to add simple programming code to menu and toolbar macros, such as changing the value of system variables. Third-party developers have used DIESEL to extend the programmability of AutoCAD LT.
| API | application programming interface |
| ARX | AutoCAD runtime extension; also known as ObjectARX |
| DCL | dialog control language |
| DIESEL | Direct Interpretively Evaluated String Expression Language |
| DOS | disk operating system |
| DXF | drawing interchange format |
| VB | Visual Basic |
| VBA | Visual Basic for Applications |
| VC++ | Visual C++ programming language |
| Commands | ||
|---|---|---|
| Command | Shortcut | Menu Selection |
| modemacro | ... | ... |
| macrotrace | ... | ... |
In the days when AutoCAD ran on DOS and Unix, the status line displayed the letter O (to indicate that ortho mode is on), S (snap is on), T (tablet is on), P (paper space is on), the x,y...
