how to create vectorial fills

[Anonymous]

I want to create my own vectorial fills.
The only way I know how to do this is by modifying existing vectorial fills, and this is very limited.
If I create bitmap fills everything is possible but these make the dwg-files I publish very large.
The GDL manual explains about making your own vectorial fills, but this works only with the object you write the code in.
Is there another way to make vectorial fills?
Hielke

[Anonymous]

Also, is there any way to import Autocad fills (vector)? There are some that are extremely nice, and it would be great to have access to these.













500 mHz G-4 Cube
Archicad 9.0

[Link]

Is there another way to make vectorial fills?

You can create your own vectorial fills by using lines, arcs and fills. Create the pattern you want in the floor plan window (or any window for that matter), then select them all and copy them to the clipboard (Ctrl/Cmd+C). Next, go to Options>Fill Types... and hit the New... button. Select Symbol fill, give it a name, hit OK, then hit the Paste button. Set any other variables you may need and hit OK. Whooshka! You have your own fill. It's not strictly vectorial, but I am guessing it is what you are after.

Also, is there any way to import Autocad fills (vector)? There are some that are extremely nice, and it would be great to have access to these.

Try copying and pasting. That should do it - assuming you have AutoCAD on your computer!

Cheers,
Link.

[Anonymous]

Hielke wrote:
The GDL manual explains about making your own vectorial fills, but this works only with the object you write the code in.
Is there another way to make vectorial fills?
Hielke

Use the library part with the fill you have coded and it will be added to the fills in the project. I'm not sure if the fill actually needs to be used in the 2D script for this to work, but that's what I've always done so I can see what I'm getting.

The cool thing with this is you can make the fill parametric so one bit of code can generate a variety of patterns and sizes. The other advantage of this method is that fills created this way render much faster than copy/paste symbol fills.

[Anonymous]

Link, the copy and paste method is what I described as bitmap fills. Sorry for not being clear. This copy and paste method is what I used to do to create my own fills until I discovered the size of my published dwg-files became huge after using a lot of these fills.

Matthew, the way you describe seems like a good workaround. I will test your method (see if the fill has to be used in the object in order to appear in the projects fills list)
Thanks.
ps. Something for the Tips and Tricks section?

[Anonymous]

Use the library part with the fill you have coded and it will be added to the fills in the project.

What is your means of coding the fill? Are there any possibilities of draging 2d element from archicad into the 2d script for the GDL illiterate? DWG file size when exporting drawings has forced me to set my display options to not show vectorial fills. This seems a bit lame and I am curious it is is due to fills I have created using the cut and paste method.

[Anonymous]

The way Matthew described to create vectorial fills works great!
Create a new object.
With DEFINE FILL make your own fill
With POLY2 make a polygon with the fill you just made.
Place the object in your drawing and the fill appears in your fills-list (100% vectorial). If you delete the object the fill stays in the fills-list.

DWG file size when exporting drawings has forced me to set my display options to not show vectorial fills. This seems a bit lame and I am curious it is is due to fills I have created using the cut and paste method.

Mike, its definitely due to the cut and paste fills. I made a fill using the cut and paste method and made the same fill using the method above (vector method)
Placed some walls with the cut and paste fill saved this as a DWG changed to vector fill and saved this also as a DWG. Result:
DWG cut and paste method: 46 kB
DWG vector method: 10 kB

Thanks again for the tip Matthew.
This should definitely be in the tips and tricks section.

[Anonymous]

With DEFINE FILL make your own fill

Would you be able to direct me to an existing object that uses define fill in its script? The information in the help menu for define fill was quite limited and combined with my beginning GDL knowledge, I was unable to decipher the process. Thanks (hoping to have fills one day that I can export to my consultants).

[Djordje]

Rip wrote:
Also, is there any way to import Autocad fills (vector)? There are some that are extremely nice, and it would be great to have access to these.

Open a DWG with the fills inserted.

[Anonymous]

Mike wrote:

With DEFINE FILL make your own fill

Would you be able to direct me to an existing object that uses define fill in its script? The information in the help menu for define fill was quite limited and combined with my beginning GDL knowledge, I was unable to decipher the process. Thanks (hoping to have fills one day that I can export to my consultants).

Here is one you can use to make custom size tiles (with grout joints) in a regular grid.