change length of layer control dropdown in toolbar - part 2

[designerstuart]

dear brainiacs

 

i'm sorry to say i have almost no idea what this part of the forum is all about, but apparently you might be able to help me.....

 

i've been looking at how to extend the layer control dropdown, and after lengthy (and occasionally interesting!) debate, nestly recommended i give you lot a shout.

 

see original thread here

 

the main point is the link in post #43 there is a device which used to do what i want, but it's not been updated for 2009, among others. is there any value / possibility of altering the code for this solution to work?

 

thank you all for your time

 

(oh and please type slowly, or i won't understand )

[designerstuart]

here's the link to the device - it's called FixCombos. i've tried the 200x version, and just get this error message:

 

cxfixcombos16.arx is incompatible with this version of AutoCAD. AcRxDynamicLinker failed to load 'c:\autocad2011 support files\lisps\cxfixcombos16.arx'
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2011\acad.exeUnable to load CxFixCombos16.arx file.

 

thanks for any help chaps.

[nestly]

Bump

... because I know someone here can figure out how to get current versions of AutoCAD to do this....

 

[designerstuart]

okay so this has attracted less interest than i expected......... is it cos i called you brainiacs?!!

[DANIEL]

okay so this has attracted less interest than i expected......... is it cos i called you brainiacs?!!

 

it's bushe's fault ...

 

it seems like more work than whats it worth.

[designerstuart]

it's bushe's fault

huh?!

it seems like more work than whats it worth.

it'd be worth a lot to me to be able to read my layers from the dropdown. when you have to sort through loads of xref layers that make the names too long to see - it's pretty annoying.

 

but still, it seems there is no easy answer to this. thanks anyway.

[DANIEL]

the bush joke was some american humor, I some times forget to look and see where some ones from

 

and I didnt mean to say it wouldnt be worth it to you, but it is a lot of work, and work I'm not that into lol. good luck though, I would hope that you find some help on this.

[SLW210]

All I have come up with was to use QUIKPIK from Manusoft, I haven't tried it yet, but apparently it only widens when dropped down.

 

The CADWERX (CxFixCombos) has taken a full time job and is not supporting the website.

 

CxFixCombos 200X-For AutoCAD 200x, except 2004-2006. Increases width of layer and linetype dropdowns so names are not truncated. Includes Windows Registry customization info to change default width and height.

 

I am guessing the ARX file needs updating.

[designerstuart]

thanks for looking into it, anyway. like i said, i have no idea if this is a difficult task or not, so i appreciate any time you give.

[BlackBox]

it's bushe's fault ...

 

it seems like more work than whats it worth.

 

 

Duck Faniel.

[BlackBox]

I am guessing the ARX file needs updating.

 

ObjectARX (aka ARX, a C++ API for AutoCAD), is version dependent. Meaning, every time the database (read file format) changes there's a new version. For example:

 

R18.0, R18.1, and R18.2 all use the 2010 file format, and will support the same *18.arx file.

 

Edit: Provided the source code uses the R18.0 compatible .NET Framework functionality.

 

What we need to resolve this issue is the source code for one of the tools that does the job for a previous version, then recompile for the current version(s), and their applicable .NET Framework:

 

(defun _NETVER  ()
 (vl-load-com)
 ((lambda (vrsn)
    (prompt
      (cond
        ((vl-string-search "16.2" vrsn) "\n.NET Framework 1.1")        ; 2006
        ((vl-string-search "17.0" vrsn) "\n.NET Framework 2.0")        ; 2007
        ((vl-string-search "17.1" vrsn) "\n.NET Framework 2.0")        ; 2008
        ((vl-string-search "17.2" vrsn) "\n.NET Framework 3.0")        ; 2009
        ((vl-string-search "18.0" vrsn) "\n.NET Framework 3.5")        ; 2010
        ((vl-string-search "18.1" vrsn) "\n.NET Framework 3.5")        ; 2011
        ((vl-string-search "18.2" vrsn) "\n.NET Framework 4.0")        ; 2012
        (("\n** Unown version of AutoCAD ** ")))))
   (vlax-product-key))
 (princ))

Edited August 23, 2011 by BlackBox
Added year of release as code comment

[SLW210]

Well it is interesting that there are two versions, one for all 200x exept 2004-2006 and one for 2004-2006. What was so different about 2004-2006? Does this work in 2007, 2008 or 2009?

[BlackBox]

Well it is interesting that there are two versions, one for all 200x exept 2004-2006 and one for 2004-2006. What was so different about 2004-2006? Does this work in 2007, 2008 or 2009?

 

I can only speculate, as I am very new to .NET development, let alone that of ARX. That said, I can say that an ARX file that works in 2004-2006 (*16.arx file) will not work in 2007-2009 (*17.arx file), or 2010-2012 (*18.arx file).

 

Edit: 64-Bit applications also require a *##x64.arx file be compiled separately from the 32-bit *##.arx file. For example, see Autodesk Labs MDITabs plug-in.

 

I know ARX has been around for some time, and given that 2006 (R16.2) uses .NET Framework 1.1, I am unsure of the limitations prior to .NET Framework 1.0 as it pertains to AutoCAD.

 

*IF* we cannot gain access to the source code, I feel there is little that can be done, short of writing this code from scratch. Being only loosely familiar with the .NET API in general, I am unsure of exactly how much, or little work is actually required.

[SLW210]

I might see if I can get an email for the creator of the code and see if he will offer some hints for updating.

[BlackBox]

I might see if I can get an email for the creator of the code and see if he will offer some hints for updating.

 

That would be great; keep us posted.

[designerstuart]

I might see if I can get an email for the creator of the code and see if he will offer some hints for updating.

thanks that would be great. fyi i am now following this out of interest, as i am on 2010 now, and have used the QAT workaround. although this option would be better as it is more customisable.

 

thanks.

[Jeff H]

I saw a post by alanjt here http://www.theswamp.org/index.php?topic=39664.0 and made me think of this thread

 

Seeing the pic Alan posted I drilled down until I got to tab with combo control and change min width to make it longer(OOC)

 

 

[SLW210]

I saw a post by alanjt here http://www.theswamp.org/index.php?topic=39664.0 and made me think of this thread

 

Seeing the pic Alan posted I drilled down until I got to tab with combo control and change min width to make it longer(OOC)

 

But, that has no effect on the TOOLBAR Layer Control, that is for the RIBBON.

[Jeff H]

DOH!

 

The dropdown for the toolbar, I missed that one important detail.