topic Re: How to lock master and other scripts ???? in Libraries & objects

How to lock master and other scripts ????

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:35:56 GMT

How to lock master and other scripts ???? i mean how do you grey them ?
If i grey them will i ever be able to unlock them ???
can some1 explain this to me ?

and do you use some external editor for editing GDL or archicad gdl editor ? ?

thx

Re: How to lock master and other scripts ????

David Larrew — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:10:05 GMT

You will need to enable the "Special" menu to access this ability.

Be careful... Once hidden/locked, you cannot (easliy) unlock the scripts. So, if you decide to do this, be sure to keep a duplicate of the original object.

Re: How to lock master and other scripts ????

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:47:58 GMT

Don't vaste your time. There is not any protection for GDL scripts.
Any text editor can read your parts. All GDL scripters know that.

Already that GDL is a niche langage, I don't think there is any secret to hide.
The best way to keep GDL alive is to make your scripts open.

Otherwise, write an add-on.

For external GDL editors, the answer is no. Some attempts in the past.
They all failed. Niche market, you know.

Re: How to lock master and other scripts ????

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:47:07 GMT

why when i open gdl object with some external editor(notepad...wordpad) and when i edit file i cant open it anymore with archicad ?

Re: How to lock master and other scripts ????

Laszlo Nagy — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:13:58 GMT

I think ArchiCAD saves more data in these GSM files than just the scripts. So the format gets wrong when you resave it with a text editor, it will not be recognized as a valid GSM file by AC anymore.

You can check this by opening the GSM file with a Hex editor and a simple Text Editor and you will see that they are different.

Re: How to lock master and other scripts ????

ztaskai — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:09:22 GMT

Olivier wrote:
For external GDL editors, the answer is no. Some attempts in the past.
They all failed. Niche market, you know.

Basically, you are right - at least for GSM files.

Just one addition on the topic: we use external editors all the time - for library parts converted to XML format. We do the modeling in AC (on GSM files) and we do the mass changes (replacements, no-model programming) in XML in any good editor. You can use any advanced source code editor (e.g. Visual Studio, Komodo Edit, Eclipse). And of course you can convert XML to GSM and vice versa using the LP_XMLConverter tool.
Two further advantages of this system: (1) you can use text based comparison and versioning for your libraries; (2) LP_XMLConverter can do a lot of checking on your library when you assemble it (the XML->GSM direction).

All I said is for cold blooded professionals only:)

Cheers,

Re: How to lock master and other scripts ????

Karl Ottenstein — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:13:35 GMT

ztaskai wrote:
All I said is for cold blooded professionals only:)

You're saying that GDL developers are dinosaurs and reptilians? I think some may actually be warm blooded. 😉

Just to clarify between the lines below: a GSM file is indeed a binary file that happens to have some large sections of text (script). Thus, while you can open it and view scripts and some other information, you cannot edit it in a standard editor.

The XML converter tool that Zolt mentions is geared towards developers, not typical users. It is something that a BIM Manager should be familiar with, or have someone on staff familiar with, if a firm maintains many custom library parts - for the mass-editing reasons that Zolt mentions.

Basically, that tool converts a single part, or an entire folder hierarchy from GSM (binary) into XML (text) files. Advanced editors, such as he mentions, or even Unix scripting tools in OS X, let you make mass changes to entire libraries and then use the XML tool to convert back to GSM for ArchiCAD.

But, on the original topic: there is no means of truly hiding any script.

Cheers,
Karl