Transparency during move and rotate

I have a block that is used as an overlay that I'd like to use transparency on so that different parts of the block have different transparent colors.  The concept is similar to the green and blue transparent colors used with selection boxes.  I have found that the INSERT, MOVE, and ROTATE commands do not maintain the transparency settings while the command is active.  It is quite unpleasant to have a block with RED, YELLOW, and GREEN at 85% transparency change to 0% transparency during a move or rotate.  Is there a setting that I'm missing?  I can code around this by having a block with muted colors (ie., color 18 [RGB 76,0,0] instead of color 1 [RGB 255,0,0] replace a block with transparency during commands, but that will require either reactors or redefining several commands.  Having transparency preserved during commands would be a far better option.

Comments

  • Hi Martin,

    I suspect that transparency is being turned off temporarily during operations for performance reasons. AutoCAD works the same in this regard.

    If it's a temporary object used to identify an area, then perhaps using the grfill function would be a better direction. However this also doesn't support transparency. :-(

    Regards,
    Jason Bourhill

  • Jason,

    I suspect you are correct, but if this is the case I also suspect that this is legacy operation coming from a time when computers were far more limited in speed than they are today.  In my opinion Bricscad has passed Autocad in many respects and I'd prefer for Bricscad to be setting the standard, not matching the competition, or if the competition must be matched to have a flag to select between legacy operation and new operation.  This is a minor issue that may not warrant the time to implement, but for me it would be a valuable feature.
  • Hi Martin,

    I guess raise an SR to get a formal response.

    Indeed matching AutoCAD shouldn't be the destination, simply a stepping off point. I think with recent releases and now V17 Bricsys have demonstrated they are the flag bearer of dwg.

    Regards,
    Jason Bourhill

  • Well I tried this: created a box, set its transparency property to 50%, and created a block containing this box.
    During insertion of the block, it remains transparent while moved.
    After insertion, when using the move command and dragging it to a new location, it remains transparent.
    Am I trying a different thing than what you want to achieve?

    What could be an issue is the 'transparency depth' setting of the Visual Style.
    The above test was done using visual style Modeling, by default it has transparency depth set to 4.
    In dense models, the number of superposed solids you can see through will be restricted.
    Setting a bigger depth comes at a cost.
    It is a trade off between image fidelity and working without being hampered by delayed display updates.
    Higher values are typically used for rendering, when it is acceptable that more time is required.
  • Hi Hans,

    Based on the OP, I assumed that he was seeking a programmatic method to simulate crossing window and window selection in a 2DWireframe visual style. The built-in method for selecting objects has a transparent fill, which works for all visual styles. When you manipulate transparent objects in 2DWireFrame, the transparency is temporarily switched off while the object is being manipulated. This visual style doesn't have the option to change the transparency depth. Attach a sample drawing to illustrate.

    Because the OP seemed to be looking for a programming solution, I thought of the GRFILL function available in BricsCAD LISP, but this also doesn't have an option to make the fill transparent.

    Regards,
    Jason Bourhill

    TransparentMove.dwg

  • My first attempt at this reply did not post so far as I can tell. 

    The intent is to emulate a drafting template which shows the coverage area for fire alarm strobes.  I have a template which is lines only but it can be hard to see the template in some drawings.  Having the areas colored makes visualizing the coverage areas much easier.  I have attached an example.  I used a dedicated layer for the hatches instead of using hatches with transparency set, but the result seems to be the same.  The concern I hear from my staff is not about transparency when the block is moved but that the colors change from subdued to bright during manipulation. 

    E_HORNSTROBETICK(2).dwg

  • Thanks for clarifying.
    As far as I see, moved objects become less transparent than they are when not being moved, though they remain somewhat transparent.
    So it is not a thing about a too high cost.
    Probably the reasoning behind it is to make the manipulated objects stand out so it becomes easier to see what you're doing.
    Not sure if it is possible do modify this behavior (with reasonable effort) and not breaking compatibility of API's.
    If you file a support request it will be passed on to a specialist who can comment on it.
This discussion has been closed.

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