Block Edit in seperate window (Bedit)
The blocks in Bricscad are always edited in the drawing. Now I would like to have a Block editor in a separate window, like Acad. I tried to program this in .NET but there is a lot of work to do to make this work (and error proof).
Does anybody know of such a plugin or maybe this is scheduled for a future version of Bricscad?
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My employer purchased 5 licences of BC to test the possibility of moving from Acad, one of the users in the office was saying that the lack of a block editor was one of the main reasons that he did not like the software...0
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Not sure how a separate window is an advantage, it's sometimes helpful to add/subtract entities from surrounding.
But surely BC has a block editor - I use it often. I'm not sure in place xref editing is as smooth, but I believe it's there?
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When working 2D, block edit in place isn't a big problem, I guess. But with 3D drawings, blocks often are behind other objects which makes it almost impossible to edit the block easily when all other items are visible. And it is a big performance boost when all other thousands of objects are no longer visible.
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I would second #4.
But this also means that a block editor would only be a partial solution (in best Autodesk tradition...), since the problem concerns any object in a crowded 3d-scene. One of the reasons I prefer blender to any other program I know for modeling is the ease to switch between (so called) global and local views: I just select the objects of interest, jump to local view (which hides all other objects and sets a new view rotation center), change the view as needed, do my edits, and jump back to global view exactly where I left it.
Getting this in Bricscad would be a big plus I think.0 -
Bedit is advantageous when drafting because it makes things much easier when you want to work with assemblies. It also makes it easier to work with a local (0,0) in the editor. It is a function of Autocad because it is very useful and people obviously like to use it. We have Bricscad in the office, and not having blockedit in a separate window is a major disadvantage to those who use it on a regular basis.0
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Not sure how a separate window is an advantage, it's sometimes helpful to add/subtract entities from surrounding.
But surely BC has a block editor - I use it often. I'm not sure in place xref editing is as smooth, but I believe it's there?
how can having an extra feature NOT be advantageous? there are many pros to using a Block Editor.
even if it was implemented, its not like you're being forced to use it, like we are with Ref Edit currently.
speaking of which, do the Devs or anyone come around the forums much? I notice that the original post was way back in early 2012 and still no reply from anyone on the team it seems.
It looks to me like a lot of small issues are being addressed while some of the bigger ones seem to get left behind.
seeing that I'm currently on v14.1.13, and still no block editor, is it safe to assume that you guys will not be implementing this feature?
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... with 3D drawings, blocks often are behind other objects which makes it almost impossible to edit the block easily when all other items are visible. And it is a big performance boost when all other thousands of objects are no longer visible.
Can't you just copy the block to a vacant or uncluttered location and edit it there? All other insertions of the block will receive whatever changes you make, and you can delete the extra copy when done.
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I think Seymour has it right.Anthony, why would you want to go through that exercise instead of using a blockeditor? The answer is you wouldn't. You can do a lot of things but features like that make your life easier, if that is how you learned to draft. You have to understand that taking this feature away, when switching from Autocad to Bricscad, for some people is a deal-breaker.Seems that it would be a simple add-on..0
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Gary, I wouldn't go through "that exercise," because I like editing blocks in place and I'm glad Bricscad does it that way. I was only suggesting it for Bert, who cited an example of an instance when he wouldn't want to edit in place. I don't see switching to a separate block editing window as making my life easier. In fact, I recently used Autocad and ran into that separate-window method and was appalled by it. I would say that Bricscad has the extra feature in this case, allowing block editing either in place or in a remote location.0
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I'm with Anthony, but my reply was to the earlier suggestion that BC had no block editor.
Of course it does, but if it operated in a separate window and lost the choice of in-place editing it wouldn't really be an extra feature - just the same one operating differently.
If the choice existed, the default-set method would be the most commonly used or known about.
If the default was the separate window method I consider it offers fewer advantages - you can copy a block to an empty area to edit, but you can't add or reference surrounding entities in an isolated window.
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I don't use Bricscad for 3D, but in Sketchup I sometimes run into the situation that Bert described, where a component or group is surrounded by other 3D geometry that makes it difficult to edit in place. When that happens, I move or copy the container object to a different location to do the editing. If there were an option to open it for editing in a different window I doubt that I would ever use that option. If Trimble were to change it so that it's like Autocad, i.e. so that the only way to edit a group or component is in a separate window where you can't see the rest of the model, I think Sketchup users would riot in the streets.0
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Anthony, don't be a fool. In your response to Gary, you said Bricscad has the "extra" feature of allowing editing in place. Clearly you've never used AutoCAD, as it ALREADY has the edit in place feature (Ref Edit) ON TOP of the Block editor (B Edit). So you're mistaken, it's AutoCAD that has the "extra" feature.
You were appalled by the block editor? you should be appalled by your knowledge of AutoCAD and/or the product when arguing your points.
Drafting is supposed to be made to be more efficient. Why on earth would I copy a block into "outer space" and edit it there and then delete it, when I should be able to double click my block and go into my editor of choice?
Everytime you went to plot a drawing, would you re-choose your printer, choose your paper size, choose your plot style, choose your orientation etc, or would you choose a page set up?
Thats what I thought.
Cheers0 -
Guys, I think the original post by Bert was to say that there is no option for a separate window. Opinions and work arounds aside, the point is to have this feature implemented. And I know many people agree.My point to Anthony is that you shouldnt have to move things around and readjust your local ucs. It is more functional to use bedit, it is one command instead of copy, change ucs, then start editing.John, I dont think it has to be a choice of one of the other, it would be nice to have both. Sometimes for small things I use refedit, but for assemblies of components and blocks I use bedit. I dont want to move things around, I have things at the global ucs. I dont like changing the local ucs, we have xrefs and other blocks that relate to the global ucs and it is terrible if you forget to change it back.The point is I use bedit and so do a lot of people. Scott in the earlier post says the main reason people in his office don't like BC because it is missing a separate block editor window.Whether people use it or not, is their own preference, but for the population that does use it, it is annoying not to have it. Further, the point is to have implemented for those who want it. Everyone knows there are ways around it, but those ways are inferior when you don't draft that way.0
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BricsCAD doesn't currently have BEDIT. I believe the stumbling point on this isn't related to opening a block for editing in a separate window (you could do this using LISP), but is to do with providing support for creating and editing dynamic blocks, which is my understanding of how BEDIT came to be.
You can edit blocks and xrefs in place using _REFEDIT. You can access this command by selecting the block, then right clicking. You can control the level that the rest of the drawing is faded by playing around with XFADECTL. Valid range is between 0 - 90, where 0 = No Fade, and 90 = Almost Invisible.
Note xrefs can be selected and opened for editing in a separate window by using the _XOPEN command. Again you can access this by right clicking on the selected xref.
Best regards,Jason Bourhill
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The question is: how much faster can I complete my project when having a Block Editor?
Of course I can copy the block to another location… Of course I can create Xrefs and Xrefs in Xrefs to manage a complex drawing.Of course I can, I can even create the whole project without using blocks. Or layers. Or a computer.
Big complex drawings need powerful tools. A block editor that is capable of edit nested blocks top down, level by level, and up again, will boost the efficiency of the CAD system dramatically. Blocks are not only used for simple, one level deep parts that are used multiple times in a drawing.
I created my own Bedit, but it can only go one level deep. We used to have a Block Editor in our previous CAD system. It's is extremely powerful, comparable with having layers. Can you imaging doing projects without layers?
You can, but why not having layers? And a Block Editor.
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Bert, my thoughts exactly, speed is king. Good job on creating your own block editor. That's a complex looking screen shot as well. Obvious why bedit is important.Jason, I think if its not a stumbling point then it should definitely be added into BC. Dynamic blocks can be added at a later date. I shouldn't have to create my own LISP. There is a large segment of people who are alienated by the lack of beditor. I think by adding it, there would be a benefit for users who are accustom to it who cannot make, or dont have time to make their own LISP at work. I wonder how man people have left BC because of the lack of bedit. Most people don't bother using the forums or voicing their opinions, they just never end up using the program again.0
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John, I dont think it has to be a choice of one of the other, it would be nice to have both. Sometimes for small things I use refedit, but for assemblies of components and blocks I use bedit. I dont want to move things around, I have things at the global ucs. I dont like changing the local ucs, we have xrefs and other blocks that relate to the global ucs and it is terrible if you forget to change it back.Yes, I wouldn't argue against the choice as long as when I double click a block it doesn't assume I want Bedit.As an option, sure. As a replacement or default block editor, nah.I do tend to stay away from non-default settings, for much the same reason as your UCS comment.0
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+1 Bert,
+1 Gary.
2 thumbs up.
the rest of you, thumbs down. -5000.
everyone here saying Bedit isn't needed is acting like it's going to affect them or their drawing in some sort of way, when in the end they ultimately have the choice of not utilizing it at all.
Different options to suit different styles of drafting is a good thing, people.0 -
Seymour, I used Autocad from 1989 until I started using Bricscad, and occasionally since then. The recent experience I mentioned was with Autocad LT 2008. It had Bedit but did not have Refedit. I assumed Bedit had replaced Refedit, since Refedit was in Autocad 2000, and I assumed that the clamor here was for Bricscad to replace Refedit with Bedit. Apparently I was mistaken in both assumptions, though I think it's easy to see why I made them. I wouldn't have posted here if I'd known that Refedit exists along with Bedit in newer versions of Autocad. However, I have to point out that rude manners, though common in Autocad forums, have been largely missing from the Bricscad forum until now.0
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Not needed by me, but at first I wasn't sure if Bedit was a replacement (which I would not want).
In answer to a previous question - Bcad certainly do listen to users, much better than most software developers I have known.
Support requests especially are dealt with professionally and I'm sure wish lists are noted.
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Firstly, since rudeness can not be filtered out from posts, maybe at least usage of the bold attribute should...
Secondly, the option to edit a block isolated, unscaled and in its own UCS without having to re-insert it is clearly a missing feature.
But why in a separate window? QCAD does this quite elegantly: it treats model space and layouts as what they really are - blocks inside the drawing. So you normally edit model space, but you can switch to any other block definition by choosing it from the block list (which is not a modal dialog in QCAD) or by invoking a command on an insertion.
I think for BCAD, my preferred solution would be to SHIFT-double-click on an insert to (b)edit its definition in the main window.0 -
Anthony, I'm sorry if I came across as rude, but you came off as oblivious and/or neglectful of AutoCAD's real power, using words with impact like "appalled". Takes two to tango I suppose.
As for the bold, I actually have a condition with my eye, so the bold actually helps to read over my post. There's too much grey here.
Anyways, thats here nor there, as for Bedit taking over the Refedit, in AutoCAD there is a command to disable Bedit as the default editor. So need not worry about that.0 -
Seems like an uncalled for pissing match, when it also seems that there are a number of developers here that could create what appears to be a fairly simple lisp function to redifine the current bedit in the on_load lisp function for those interested.
Just my opinion but it also seems like a pretty lame excuse to not want to make the switch from the 4x more expensive ACAD. Maybe if that user where actually paying the difference out of his own pocket he would have a slightly different opinion.0 -
Hi Bruce,
Just a question, will you be going around to all the other threads requesting features be put in or fixed and saying the same thing?0 -
I think most people have the right idea about improving BC. I don't understand why people come into forums and write about why features shouldn't be added, or deviate so far away from the original post Stick to the topic at hand.
- The original post is generally inquiring/requesting or bedit in BC.
- There are many people who agree with the original post. - If you dont, it doesnt negatively affect you.
- There is a consensus that bedit should be added as a secondary to refedit, as currently exists in AC. - Who cares if you in particular don't use it?
- Most draftsmen/designers/engineers/other professionals work for companies, they do not pay for their own software. - It is not about money or lameness, it is about adding a feature to improve the program.
- Rudeness is wrong, but it is infuriating reading uninformed posts, or obstacles to improvement, that is rude (annoying at the least) as well. - Know what your talking about before you down it.
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For those who don't mind to work with lots of Xrefs: the Mechanical Browser can edit separate parts/subassemblies, for organizing big drawings almost perfect. If it worked with Blocks instead of Xrefs, that is.
We have tried to use it in our situation, but there are two showstoppers: we often have to work in drawings created by somebody else, he/she probably does not work with the MB, setting up the relations, doing the edit, bind it all together and send it back is not efficient. And second, having multiple files and send them around will introduce errors along the way. Most of the time multiple companies work on the same drawing, if we introduce any change in the way people use to create drawings we are introducing errors....
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Hello all,Does anyone have a LISP for BEDIT that we could share?0
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Hi can anyone help me create a LISP routine for BEDIT?0
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Hi can anyone help me create a LISP routine for BEDIT?
The thread is TLDR, but I'm not clear on what you want in a lisp routine. Are you wanting something to emulate Autocad's BEDIT? If so, the whole command or just parts? What kind of blocks?
Without a clear definition of what you'd like it is impossible to know whether lisp is an appropriate language.0 -
The grey text is also a bit of a problem for me. I didn't realize that going bold both turns the text thicker, and also turns it black. Well, at least it does when viewing a messge. For some reason, when I am typing a message, bold only makes the the grey text thicker. Thought that does help a bit. Thanks for that tip.I also was a little disappointed when I realized I could not edit a block in a separate window, but that was only a very minor issue for me.-Joe0
