Macro for creating Draft arrays

[alonso_jamm]

I worked on a script to make Draft arrays a little bit easier. It is more of a proof of concept since it does not have all features required to make all types of arrays. However, now it more or less works! I am showing it so I can get feedback on the functionality of the script. Here is the link for the script.

I was inspired by how SolidWorks works and the Sketch Workbench. When creating a new object in SolidWorks, a tab is open where configuration for the new object is set. I used the Tasks panel in FreeCAD to more or less model that functionality of SolidWorks.

Like I mentioned, the script is not as functional as I wish. But I want to know what other people think about the current way of how it works. Some of the features that the script has that I found quite interesting are:

• Being able to just click on a part and get its name (For now it only works when clicking a link)
• Being able to configure the array before creating it (I think this is a more intuitive way of creating arrays)
• For a polar array, selecting a center by just clicking a coordinate system or a datum line
• How the interface works (I found it kind of intuitive)

The way I used the script is to just put the Macro file and the ui file in the Macro folder (I have only used it in Linux so the script will not work on Windows). For making it work in Windows, line number 8 in the Macro file should be modified to the location of the ui File.

Here are some pictures of the macro. Here the cube is called "selte" and the datum axis is called "Axis_1."

TestLinkArray0.png (6.54 KiB) Viewed 840 times

TestLinkArray1.png (23.47 KiB) Viewed 840 times

TestLinkArray2.png (25.03 KiB) Viewed 840 times

TestLinkArray3.png (20.82 KiB) Viewed 840 times

Again, I ask for feedback on the macro so I can improve it. I also would appreciate feedback on the code since I am not sure if the way I wrote it is the best way. Eventually I would like to include the functionality of this macro into Assembly 4 or maybe the Draft Workbench.

Thanks!

[chrisb]

I have read here in the forum, that the idea was, to have user friendly dialogs for all operations. So once you have finished, it may well be integrated in the core system.

[chrisb]

To install, does the .ui file go in the macro directory as well?

[carlopav]

Nice! would be nice to have it in Draft...

[sgrogan]

The way I used the script is to just put the Macro file and the ui file in the Macro folder (I have only used it in Linux so the script will not work on Windows). For making it work in Windows, line number 8 in the Macro file should be modified to the location of the ui File.

See here: https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic. ... 42#p139122

[mario52]

hi

The way I used the script is to just put the Macro file and the ui file in the Macro folder (I have only used it in Linux so the script will not work on Windows). For making it work in Windows, line number 8 in the Macro file should be modified to the location of the ui File.

replace:

Code: Select all

home = expanduser("~")
uiLocation = home + "/.FreeCAD/Macro/LinkArrayTest.ui" # Location I used to store the .ui file

by

Code: Select all

param = FreeCAD.ParamGet("User parameter:BaseApp/Preferences/Macro")# macro path
path  = param.GetString("MacroPath","") + "/"                       # macro path
uiLocation = path.replace("\\","/")
uiLocation = uiLocation + "LinkArrayTest.ui"
print(uiLocation)

[alonso_jamm]

hi

The way I used the script is to just put the Macro file and the ui file in the Macro folder (I have only used it in Linux so the script will not work on Windows). For making it work in Windows, line number 8 in the Macro file should be modified to the location of the ui File.

replace:

Code: Select all

home = expanduser("~")
uiLocation = home + "/.FreeCAD/Macro/LinkArrayTest.ui" # Location I used to store the .ui file

by

Code: Select all

param = FreeCAD.ParamGet("User parameter:BaseApp/Preferences/Macro")# macro path
path  = param.GetString("MacroPath","") + "/"                       # macro path
uiLocation = path.replace("\\","/")
uiLocation = uiLocation + "LinkArrayTest.ui"
print(uiLocation)

See here: https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic. ... 42#p139122

Thanks! I tested it on windows and it seems that the macro works as intended.

[alonso_jamm]

To install, does the .ui file go in the macro directory as well?

Yes, the ui file and the macro file go inside the macro directory. I am not sure if this is the best way of doing this, but I think it is the easiest. Also, I modified the macro so it also works on Windows

[Zolko]

Eventually I would like to include the functionality of this macro into Assembly 4 or maybe the Draft Workbench.

It would be great to have this in Assembly4, though I don't have the time to test it right now