| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Miksteele |
Posted - December 20 2004 : 7:08:35 PM
Hi Bill,
This one is probably quite a doosey, but... I have been stewing with an issue for a while now and finally have something to work with but I think I need a little help.
I am trying to "Hurricane" my HIGH-RES TIF file creation. (TIFOUT is low res) I have a NICE TIF driver but it is cumbersome when working with several different active projects. What I need to do is modify/create a printer script prior to running my Hurricane plot script. The printer script is simply an INI file located in the %temp% folder. The printer driver reads the ini to determine output location and filename. As much as I LOVE the META TAGS I am going to suggest another one here... OUTPUT META COMMANDS !!! 
HERE'S AN EXAMPLE (beginning of a) SCRIPT:
;ABORT=FALSE
;DELAY=FALSE
;SAVEAS=FALSE
;SMARTSORT.ASCENDING
;OUTPUT=%TEMP%PNETIF6S.INI
;OUTPUT.LINE1=[Save]
;OUTPUT.LINE2=Output directory=$FILEDRIVE+1$SUBMITTALSAPP_$MM$-$DD$-$YY$
;OUTPUT.LINE2=Output Filename=
In the line that reads:
;OUTPUT=%TEMP%PNETIF6S.INI
the ;OUTPUT= is the META, (this is probably obvious  )
the %TEMP% is the new file directory, (By the way, in response to you forum post today... %temp% at the START MENU & RUN puts you in your TEMP directory  )
and the PNETIF6S.INI is the new filename.ext
In the line that reads:
;OUTPUT.LINE1=[Save]
the ;OUTPUT. is the META
the LINE1= is just a marker what line 1 will read in the file I am creating, thus LINE 1 will literally read "[Save]" without the quotes.
LINE 2 in my new file would read the "processed" version of "Output
directory=$FILEDRIVE+1$SUBMITTALSAPP_$MM$-$DD$-$YY$"". (this is where the Powerful-Hurricane-Force-TAGs come in  )
Now, a few things come to mind. Live meta would create an output file upon loading or modifying the script, (this obviously wouldn't work). Every key stroke would create a new file. The TAGS I used in this example could potentially vary for different queued drawings. Now that probably wouldn't occur in MY REAL WORLD but there is a potential there. My thought is that "the last one sticks" if that makes sense ??? If I am trying to create a file that exists already it should overwrite, or maybe there should be another META OPTION like ;OUTPUT.OVERWRITE=FALSE or ;OUTPUT.OVERWRITE=TRUE. (I can further explain the TIF situation that has brought on all this craziness )
I'm a going to stop here... Now I have NO IDEA what actually goes into adding additional META commands. I guess I keep thinking Hurricane "plug in". Hurricane HAS the capability to HOLD a lot of useful data, the OUTPUT of this data could open many new doors.
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| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Admin |
Posted - January 12 2005 : 11:25:06 AM
Yes... absolutely, it would cover most everything... universal would be the best...
Just want to think this through from every angle make sure of everything before we go down a road I we can't come back from... This change will require quite a rehaul of the guts of the parser... so I don't want to "break" it, then fix it, which is the normal course for this. When programming you generally have a "framework" of what you are planning to achieve and you plan for that... this kinda steps outside of that...
Either I put limits on the file created, or technically someone could declare as many files to be generated with a variety of info in each, putting LINE1, LINE3, LINE2 out of order...
I guess the bottom line is, this will be a debugging and error checking bonanza!
No problem... I'll just have to let it work itself out in my head a little while... before I actually start coding it... it's just the way I work...
Thanks again for your good feedback 
Regards,
Bill |
| Miksteele |
Posted - January 12 2005 : 10:48:59 AM
of course I can wait...
You asked "I guess my next question is do any of the other popular PDF drivers have a similar way of dealing with this... "
If Hurricane could OUTPUT a file... wouldn't this cover a multitude of drivers that require such a "pilot script". It is as you said...Universal is the key. But, you aren't thinking of actually writing the output files are you? Just the ability to. Maybe those are one in the same?? Would the contents be based on my meta example below? Possibly to early to know...
;OUTPUT.LINE1=[Save]
;OUTPUT.LINE2=Output directory=$FILEDRIVE+1$SUBMITTALSAPP_$MM$-$DD$-$YY$
;OUTPUT.LINE2=Output Filename=
or
;OUTPUT.LINE1=this is the text I want on line 1 in my new file
;OUTPUT.LINE2=this is the text I want on line 2
;OUTPUT.LINE2=this is the text I want on line 3 |
| Admin |
Posted - January 12 2005 : 10:23:25 AM
Ok.. got it all working now, no problems... I see how the INI file effects the output...
I guess my next question is do any of the other popular PDF drivers have a similar way of dealing with this... 
I've been asked many a time about various PDF drivers, and the "annoying" fileselector box that keeps appearing...(no fault of AutoCAD or Hurricane, it's the printer driver itself)
I can see the value of adding the [output] Metas. But this is a biggie in terms of adding it in there. It has to work universally, so that is the difficult part. I will most certainly keep chewing on it, till I come up with a equal-to or better solution.
I hope you can wait! (Cause I'm in the middle of messing with the renaming functions, which aren't going that easily either)
Thanks,
Bill |
| Miksteele |
Posted - January 12 2005 : 08:55:11 AM
Lot of stuff in there for sure!!
Take a look at the attached file I posted. This should disable the fileselector box for the filename/location. (PEERNET is NOT as user friendly as Hurricane). Let me know if this does it.
Thanks Bill!
P.S>  I previewed this message and saw a bunch of ... by coincidence AutoCAD's prompts match this forums code...
;BEGIN SCRIPT
;Command: -plot
-PLOT
;Detailed plot configuration? [Yes/No] <No>: Y
Y
;Enter a layout name or <Model>:
Model
;Enter an output device name or <PEERNET.DRV eTIFF 6.0>:
PEERNET.DRV eTIFF 6.0
;Enter paper size or <D size sheet>:
D size sheet
;Enter paper units [Inches/Millimeters] <Inches>:
Inches
;Enter drawing orientation [Portrait/Landscape] <Landscape>:
Landscape
;Plot upside down? [Yes/No] <No>:
No
;Enter plot area [Display/Extents/Limits/View/Window] <Extents>:
Extents
;Enter plot scale (Plotted Inches=Drawing Units) or [Fit] <Fit>:
Fit
;Enter plot offset (x,y) or [Center] <Center>:
Center
;Plot with plot styles? [Yes/No] <Yes>:
Yes
;Enter plot style table name or (enter . for none) <SDS-STD.ctb>:
SDS-STD.ctb
;Plot with lineweights? [Yes/No] <Yes>:
Yes
;Remove hidden lines? [Yes/No] <No>:
No
;Write the plot to a file [Yes/No] <N>:
N
;Save changes to model tab [Yes/No]? <N>
N
;Proceed with plot [Yes/No] <Y>:
Y
;END SCRIPT
Download Attachment:  PEERNET.doc
35.28 KB |
| Admin |
Posted - January 12 2005 : 08:17:47 AM
Hi Miksteele,
Could you please post your user script, to get this to work. I've downloaded the demo driver, and am playing around with it.
Explain any special setup instructions too, please.
Currently, I get everything working except the driver keeps popping up a fileselector box asking for the filename/location. Looked in the drivers settings and WOW, a lot of stuff in there... don't know where to disable this!
Tried creating a PNETIF6S.INI file, manually, to try to emulate what you are explaining, with the following as the content... saved to the TEMP directory... it seems no matter how I change things in the driver, this file never gets touched... (Which I would expect it would!?!)
[SAVE]
Output directory=C:DataTest Drawings
Output Filename=
Obviously I'm missing something.
Thanks,
Bill |
| Miksteele |
Posted - December 21 2004 : 3:03:28 PM
Hi Bill,
Thanks for the response! 
You asked:
1) Would the output file only be generated WHEN the user clicks the user-script? (using Live Meta), or would it generate a file for each and every file in the Queue (only when the "Create Script" button is pressed?)
No... I was thinking that only one file should generate when "Create Script..." is clicked.
2)What if you changed
;OUTPUT=%TEMP%PNETIF6S.INI
to
;OUTPUT=$FILEPATH$$FILENAME$.INI
Is this something you'd want?
In my specific example, No. My TIF driver will only look at the %temp% directory for that particular filename. However I believe that there could be several different applications for an output file thus the ability to also use DYNAMIC TAGS would be prudent. Does Could Hurricane "know" where %temp% is
3) Is META really necessary, as by definition a META controls the Hurricane interface. Could these just be "Commands" of a different type? (I guess the answer to this depends on the answer to question #1)
My original thought was it's not META. But it was the best way for me to describe how I would want the Hurricane script to create my print driver script (automatic and self adjusting ). Maybe it could work in a similar fashion? One of the reasons I mentioned "plug in" is because there could possibly be other features down the road that people may want to "plug in" to their Hurricane system. Like some file operations or... who knows. I really don't know whether or not a "plug in" would complicate your end. Maybe keeping things separate could actually simplify the new Hurricane CAT 6 Tools!
Anyway...Thanks for entertaining my idea
By the way... The HIGH RES TIF Driver I am using is PEERNET.DRV eTIFF 6.0. If someone else knows of a better HIG RES TIF Driver I am wide open to it! |
| Admin |
Posted - December 21 2004 : 2:10:32 PM
I think I understand your idea.
I like the concept.
A couple of questions.
1) Would the output file only be generated WHEN the user clicks the user-script? (using Live Meta), or would it generate a file for each and every file in the Queue (only when the "Create Script" button is pressed?)
2)
What if you changed
;OUTPUT=%TEMP%PNETIF6S.INI
to
;OUTPUT=$FILEPATH$$FILENAME$.INI
Is this something you'd want?
3) Is META really necessary, as by definition a META controls the Hurricane interface. Could these just be "Commands" of a different type? (I guess the answer to this depends on the answer to question #1)
Thanks again for your ideas!
Regards,
Bill |
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