DXFReader Control - Entities Property


	Home \| Products \| Download \| Purchase \| Support \| Language

Products
DXFReader ActiveX Control
• DXF Files Overview
• Distribution
• Installation
• Quick Start
• Control Summary
• Download
• Buy now!
• DXFReader Reference
• Properties

   • ACADVersion
   • AppID
   • AppIDs
   • AutoRedraw
   • AxesColor
   • BackColor
   • BaseX
   • BaseY
   • Block
   • BlockRecord
   • BlockRecords
   • Blocks
   • BorderStyle
   • Class
   • Classes
   • CurrentColor
   • CurrentEleva...
   • CurrentLayer
   • CurrentLineType
   • CurrentTextS...
   • CurrentThick...
   • DateCreated
   • DateLastEdited
   • DIMSTYLEc
   • DimStyles
   • DisplayAspec...
   • DrawingComment
   • DrawMode
   • Enabled
   • Entities
   • Entity
   • FileName
   • FileStatus
   • Font
   • ForeColor
   • GridColor
   • hDC
   • Layer
   • Layers
   • LineType
   • LineTypes
   • MaxX
   • MaxY
   • MinX
   • MinY
   • MouseIcon
   • MousePointer
   • Obj
   • Objects
   • PaletteButto...
   • PaletteCance...
   • PaletteCaption
   • PaletteOkBut...
   • PaletteWindo...
   • PaletteWindo...
   • PaletteWindo...
   • Picture
   • PictureBaseX
   • PictureBaseY
   • PictureHeight
   • PictureScale...
   • PictureScaleX
   • PictureScaleY
   • PictureWidth
   • PlotAspectRatio
   • PlotDocument...
   • PlotMarginBo...
   • PlotMarginLeft
   • PlotMarginRight
   • PlotMarginTop
   • PlotMode
   • PlotOriginX
   • PlotOriginY
   • PlotPenWidth
   • PlotRendering
   • PlotRotation
   • PlotScale
   • RotationAngle
   • ScaleX
   • ScaleY
   • ScrollBars
   • ShowAxes
   • ShowBasePoint
   • ShowGrid
   • ShowLimits
   • ShowPlotMargins
   • Style
   • Styles
   • ToolTipText
   • TotalEditTime
   • TotalEditTim...
   • TranslationX
   • TranslationY
   • UCS
   • UCSs
   • UserTimer
   • UserTimerDays
   • Version
   • View
   • ViewPort
   • ViewPortMaxX
   • ViewPortMaxY
   • ViewPortMinX
   • ViewPortMinY
   • ViewPorts
   • Views
   • ZoomInOutPer...
Hidden Properties
  • Methods

• Events

• DXFPlot Reference

IXF ActiveX Control

Postel ActiveX Control

Tech Support
OnLine Support
Phone Support
Sample Code
Registered Users
FAQ
References

Kadmos
Contact Kadmos
Environment
Customer List
Newsletter

Download
ActiveX Controls
Updates

Purchase
Price List
International Resellers
Our Guarantee
Shipment Options
Payment Options
Shopping Cart

DXFReader Control - Entities Property

Kadmos DXFReader ActiveX Control
DXFReader Control
Entities Property

Description Returns a reference to a collection of "Entity" objects. Each object corresponds to an entry of the Entities section (ENTITIES) of the DXF file.

Syntax
Visual Basic [form.]DXFReader.Entities

Visual C++ C_Collection DXFReader.GetEntities();

Delphi property Entities: _Collection;

C# VBA.Collection DXFReader.Entities;

Remarks Use the Entities collection to retrieve or remove an individual Entity object.

The methods of the Entities collection are:
Count Counts the defined Entities
Remove Removes a Entity object from the Entities collection

To count all the objects of the Entities collection use the following code:

Dim NEntities As Long

NEntities = DXFReader1.Entities.Count

To remove a Entity object, for example the first, from the Entities collection use the following code:

DXFReader1.Entities.Remove (1)

All of the properties for the Entity object are listed in the following table:

Property Data Type Description
X0 Double X coordinate of first entity point.
Y0 Double Y coordinate of first entity point.
Z0 Double Z coordinate of first entity point.
X1 Double X coordinate of second entity point.
Y1 Double Y coordinate of second entity point.
Z1 Double Z coordinate of second entity point.
X2 Double X coordinate of third entity point.
Y2 Double Y coordinate of third entity point.
Z2 Double Z coordinate of third entity point.
X3 Double X coordinate of fourth entity point.
Y3 Double Y coordinate of fourth entity point.
Z3 Double Z coordinate of fourth entity point.
X4 Double X coordinate of definition point.
Y4 Double Y coordinate of definition point.
Z4 Double Z coordinate of definition point.
g40 Double Group code 40
g41 Double Group code 41
g42 Double Group code 42
g43 Double Group code 43
g50 Double Group code 50
g51 Double Group code 51
g70 Integer Group code 70
g68 Integer Group code 68
g69 Integer Group code 69
g71 Integer Group code 71
g72 Integer Group code 72
g73 Integer Group code 73
g74 Integer Group code 74
g75 Integer Group code 75
g76 Integer Group code 76
g44 Double Group code 44
g45 Double Group code 45
g90 Long Group code 90
g91 Long Group code 91
g280 Integer Group code 280
g281 Integer Group code 281
g282 Integer Group code 282
g283 Integer Group code 283
Text String Text string when EntityType = 'TEXT', default value when EntityType = 'ATTDEF'
BlockName String Block name when EntityType = 'INSERT'
TagString String Tag string when EntityType = 'ATTDEF'
EntityType String The entity type
PromptString String Prompt string when EntityType = 'ATTDEF'
g340 String
AdditionalText String Additional text
Handle String Handle
SeqEndHandle String Handle of seqend entities
LayerName String Layer name.
Color Long Color number (present if not BYLAYER). Zero indicates the BYBLOCK (floating) color. 256 indicates BYLAYER. A negative value indicates that the layer is turned off (optional).
Thickness Double Thickness (optional; default = 0).
LineType String Linetype name (present if not BYLAYER). The special name BYBLOCK indicates a floating linetype.
Elev Double Elevation
LineTypeScale Single Linetype scale (optional).
Visibility Integer Object visibility (optional): 0 = visible, 1 = invisible.
Space Integer Absent or zero indicates entity is in model space. One indicates entity is in paper space.
DimensionStyle String Dimension style name. Used when EntityType = 'DIMENSION' or EntityType = 'TOLERANCE'.
TextStyle String
ExtrusionX Single X value of extrusion direction.
ExtrusionY Single Y value of extrusion direction.
ExtrusionZ Single Z value of extrusion direction.

The Entities property is the core of the DXFReader ActiveX control.
With this property it is possible to retreive or set every geometrical data contained in a DXF file.
The following example will show how to retreive the length of every line in the layer "ST" of the DXF file "Example.dxf".

Dim Entity As DXFReaderEntity
Dim Dist As Single
Dim k As Long
Dim n As Long

k = 0

With DXFReader1
.ReadDXF "Example.dxf"

'Set the layer "ST" to On

.Layers.Item("ST").LayerOn = True

'Retreive all lines in the layer "ST"

For Each Entity In .Entities

  If Entity.EntityType = "LINE" And Entity.LayerName = "ST" Then

   k = k + 1

   'Calculate distance

   Dist = Sqr((Entity.x1 - Entity.x0) ^ 2 + (Entity.y1 - Entity.y0) ^ 2)

   'Add the number near the start point of the line

   .AddEntity "ST"
   n = .Entities.Count
   .Entities.Item(n).EntityType = "TEXT"
   .Entities.Item(n).x0 = Entity.x0
   .Entities.Item(n).y0 = Entity.y0
   .Entities.Item(n).g40 = 0.1
   .Entities(n).Item.Text = Trim(Str$(k))

   'Add a table with the line number and its lenght at the right of the drawing

   .AddEntity "ST"
   n = .Entities.Count
   .Entities.Item(n).EntityType = "TEXT"
   .Entities.Item(n).x0 = .LIMMAXx + 0.1
   .Entities.Item(n).y0 = .LIMMINy + k * 0.2
   .Entities.Item(n).g40 = 0.1
   .Entities.Item(n).Text = Trim(Str$(k))

   .AddEntity "ST"
   n = .Entities.Count
   .Entities.Item(n).EntityType = "TEXT"
   .Entities.Item(n).x0 = .LIMMAXx + 0.3
   .Entities.Item(n).y0 = .LIMMINy + k * 0.2
   .Entities.Item(n).g40 = 0.1
   .Entities.Item(n).Text = Format$(Dist, "###,##0.00")

  End If

Next Entity

'Set the new limit

.LIMMAXx = .LIMMAXx + 1

End With

Valid settings for the EntityType property are:

3DFACE 3DSOLID ACAD_PROXY_ENTITY ARC
ATTDEF ATTRIB BODY CIRCLE
DIMENSION ELLIPSE HATCH IMAGE
INSERT LEADER LINE LWPOLYLINE
MLINE MTEXT OLEFRAME OLE2FRAME
POINT POLYLINE RAY REGION
SHAPE SOLID SPLINE TEXT
TOLERANCE TRACE VIEWPORT XLINE

3DFACE
The four points of the Entity object are the four corners of the entity. The g70 property of the object is the optional Invisible edge flags.
Valid settings for the property are:
1 = First edge is invisible.
2 = Second edge is invisible.
4 = Third edge is invisible.
8 = Fourth edge is invisible.
The code below will add to the drawing a 3DFACE without the second and the fourth edges:

Dim n As Long

With DXFReader1

.AddEntity
n = .Entities.Count
.Entities.Item(n).EntityType = "3DFACE"
.Entities.Item(n).X0 = 0
.Entities.Item(n).Y0 = 0
.Entities.Item(n).X1 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).Y1 = 0
.Entities.Item(n).X2 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).Y2 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).X3 = 0
.Entities.Item(n).Y3 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).g70 = 4 Or 8

End With

3DSOLID
DXFReader does not display 3DSOLID entities but reads and stores every information.
Together with the properties listed before, the Entities property has encapsulated the reference to a collection of "ProprietaryDatas" objects.
This collection contains all the data of a 3DSolid.

All of the properties for the ProprietaryData object are listed in the following table:

Property Data Type Description
ProprietaryDataString String Proprietary data (multiple lines less than 255 characters each)
AdditionalLine String Additional lines of proprietary data (if previous group 1 string is greater than 255 characters)

The code below will print the Proprietary Data of 3DSOLID entity:

Dim Entity as DXFReaderEntity
Dim ProprietaryData as Object

With DXFReader1

For Each Entity In .Entities

  If Entity.EntityType = "3DSOLID" Then

   For Each ProprietaryData In Entity.ProprietaryDatas

    Printer.Print ProprietaryData.ProprietaryDataString

   Next ProprietaryData

  End If

Next Entity
End With

ACAD_PROXY_ENTITY
Not managed by DXFReader

ARC
All of the properties for the ARC entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of the center point
Y0
Y coordinate of the center point
Z0
Z coordinate of the center point
g40
Radius
g50
Start angle in degrees
g51
End angle in degrees

The code below will add to the drawing an arc:

Dim n As Long

With DXFReader1

.AddEntity
n = .Entities.Count
.Entities.Item(n).EntityType = "ARC"
.Entities.Item(n).X0 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).Y0 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).g40 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).g50 = 45
.Entities.Item(n).g51 = 135

End With

ATTDEF
All of the properties for the ATTDEF entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of first alignment point
Y0
Y coordinate of first alignment point
Z0
Z coordinate of first alignment point
g40
Text height
Text
Default value
PromptString
Prompt String
TagString
Tag String
g50
Text rotation
g51
Oblique angle
g70
Attribute flags
1 = Attribute is invisible (does not appear).
2 = This is a constant attribute.
4 = Verification is required on input of this attribute.
8 = Attribute is preset (no prompt during insertion).

ATTRIB
All of the properties for the ATTRIB entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of first alignment point
Y0
Y coordinate of first alignment point
Z0
Z coordinate of first alignment point
g40
Text height
Text
Attribute value
TagString
Tag String
g50
Text rotation
g51
Oblique angle
g70
Attribute flags
1 = Attribute is invisible (does not appear).
2 = This is a constant attribute.
4 = Verification is required on input of this attribute.
8 = Attribute is preset (no prompt during insertion).

The following code will retreive all the attribute values relative to the POWER tag:

Dim Entity As DXFReaderEntity

With DXFReader1

For Each Entity In .Entities

  If Entity.EntityType = "ATTRIB" And Entity.TagString = "POWER" Then

   Printer.Print Entity.Text

Next Entity

End With

BODY
Managed as 3DSOLID

CIRCLE
All of the properties for the CIRCLE entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of the center point
Y0
Y coordinate of the center point
Z0
Z coordinate of the center point
g40
Radius

The code below will add to the drawing a circle:

Dim n As Long

With DXFReader1

.AddEntity
n = .Entities.Count
.Entities.Item(n).EntityType = "CIRCLE"
.Entities.Item(n).X0 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).Y0 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).g40 = 10

End With

DIMENSION
Managed as INSERT

ELLIPSE
All of the properties for the ELLIPSE entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of the center point
Y0
Y coordinate of the center point
Z0
Z coordinate of the center point
X1
X coordinate of the end point of major axis relative to the center
Y1
Y coordinate of the end point of major axis relative to the center
Z1
Z coordinate of the end point of major axis relative to the center
g40
Ratio of minor axis to major axis
g41
Start angle in radians
g42
End angle in radians

HATCH
Not managed by DXFReader

IMAGE
All of the properties for the IMAGE entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of the insertion point
Y0
Y coordinate of the insertion point
Z0
Z coordinate of the insertion point
X1
X value of the U-vector
Y1
Y value of the U-vector
Z1
Z value of the U-vector
X2
X value of the V-vector
Y2
Y value of the V-vector
Z2
Z value of the V-vector
X3
Image size in pixels: U value
Y3
Image size in pixels: V value
g340
Reference to imagedef object

N.B. Rotated imaged are not displayed

INSERT
All of the properties for the INSERT entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of the insertion point
Y0
Y coordinate of the insertion point
Z0
Z coordinate of the insertion point
BlockName
Block Name
g41
X scale factor
g42
Y scale factor
g43
Z scale factor
g50
Rotation angle in degrees
g70
Column count
g71
Row count
g44
Column spacing
g45
Row spacing

LEADER
Not managed by DXFReader

LINE
All of the properties for the LINE entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of start point
Y0
Y coordinate of start point
Z0
Z coordinate of start point
X1
X coordinate of end point
Y1
Y coordinate of end point
Z1
Z coordinate of end point

The code below will add to the drawing a line:

Dim n As Long

With DXFReader1

.AddEntity
n = .Entities.Count
.Entities.Item(n).EntityType = "LINE"
.Entities.Item(n).X0 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).Y0 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).X1 = 20
.Entities.Item(n).Y1 = 20

End With

LWPOLYLINE
Managed as POLYLINE

MLINE
Not managed by DXFReader

MTEXT
All of the properties for the MTEXT entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of insertion point
Y0
Y coordinate of insertion point
Z0
Z coordinate of insertion point
Text
The text string
AdditionalText
Additional text
TextStyle
Text style name
g40
Text height
g41
Reference rectangle width
g50
Rotation angle in radians

OLEFRAME
DXFReader does not display OLEFRAME entities but reads and stores every information.

OLE2FRAME
DXFReader display OLE2FRAME entities with their bound rectangle and reads and stores every information.

POINT
All of the properties for the POINT entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of point
Y0
Y coordinate of point
Z0
Z coordinate of point

The code below will add to the drawing a point:

Dim n As Long

With DXFReader1

.AddEntity
n = .Entities.Count
.Entities.Item(n).EntityType = "POINT"
.Entities.Item(n).X0 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).Y0 = 10

End With

POLYLINE
All of the properties for the POLYLINE entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
g70
Polyline flag:
1 = This is a closed polyline (or a polygon mesh closed in the M direction).
2 = Curve-fit vertices have been added.
4 = Spline-fit vertices have been added.
8 = This is a 3D polyline.
16 = This is a 3D polygon mesh.
32 = The polygon mesh is closed in the N direction.
64 = The polyline is a polyface mesh.
128 = The linetype pattern is generated continuously around the vertices of this polyline.
g40
Starting width
g41
Ending width
g71
Polygon mesh M vertex count
g72
Polygon mesh N vertex count

Together with the properties listed before, the Entities property has encapsulated the reference to a collection of "Vertex" objects called Vertexes.
This collection contains all the data of the vertexes of Polylines or LWPolylines.

All of the properties for the Vertex object are listed in the following table:

Property Data Type Description
X0 Double X coordinate of vertex for polylines or lwpolylines, control point for splines
Y0 Double Y coordinate of vertex for polylines or lwpolylines, control point for splines
Z0 Double Z coordinate of vertex for polylines or lwpolylines, control point for splines
LayerName String Layername
Color Long Color
Elev Single Elevation
Handle String Handle
g40 Single Starting width (optional; default is 0)
g41 Single Ending width (optional; default is 0)
g42 Single Bulge (optional; default is 0). The bulge is the tangent of one fourth the included angle for an arc segment, made negative if the arc goes clockwise from the start point to the endpoint. 0 indicates a straight segment, 1 indicates a semicircle.
g50 Single Curve fit tangent direction
g70 Integer Vertex flags
g71 Integer Polyface mesh vertex index. Optional. Present if only nonzero.
g72 Integer Polyface mesh vertex index. Optional. Present if only nonzero.
g73 Integer Polyface mesh vertex index. Optional. Present if only nonzero.
g74 Integer Polyface mesh vertex index. Optional. Present if only nonzero.

RAY
Rays are commonly used as construction lines. A ray has a finite starting point and extends to infinity.
All of the properties for the RAY entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of start point
Y0
Y coordinate of start point
Z0
Z coordinate of start point
X1
X value of unit direction vector
Y1
Y value of unit direction vector
Z1
Z value of unit direction vector

The code below will add to the drawing a ray starting from the origin and 45� oriented:

Dim n As Long

With DXFReader1

.AddEntity
n = .Entities.Count
.Entities.Item(n).EntityType = "RAY"
.Entities.Item(n).X0 = 0
.Entities.Item(n).Y0 = 0
.Entities.Item(n).X1 = Sqr(2) / 2
.Entities.Item(n).Y1 = Sqr(2) / 2

End With

REGION
Managed as 3DSOLID

SHAPE
DXFReader does not display SHAPE entities but reads and stores every information.
All of the properties for the SHAPE entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of the insertion point
Y0
Y coordinate of the insertion point
Z0
Z coordinate of the insertion point
Text
Shape name
g40
Size
g41
Relative X scale factor
g50
Rotation angle in degrees
g51
Oblique angle in degrees

SOLID
All of the properties for the SOLID entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of first point
Y0
Y coordinate of first point
Z0
Z coordinate of first point
X1
X coordinate of second point
Y1
Y coordinate of second point
Z1
Z coordinate of second point
X2
X coordinate of third point
Y2
Y coordinate of third point
Z2
Z coordinate of third point
X3
X coordinate of fourth point
Y3
Y coordinate of fourth point
Z3
Z coordinate of fourth point

If only three corners are entered to define the SOLID, then the fourth corner coordinate is the same as the third.

The code below will add to the drawing a solid:

Dim n As Long

With DXFReader1

.AddEntity
n = .Entities.Count
.Entities.Item(n).EntityType = "SOLID"
.Entities.Item(n).X0 = 0
.Entities.Item(n).Y0 = 0
.Entities.Item(n).X1 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).Y1 = 0
.Entities.Item(n).X2 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).Y2 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).X3 = 0
.Entities.Item(n).Y3 = 10

End With

The solid will be filled if the FILLMODE property is set to a value different then 0.

SPLINE
All of the properties for the SPLINE entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
g70
Spline flag:
1 = Closed spline
2 = Periodic spline
4 = Rational spline
8 = Planar
16 = Linear (planar bit is also set)
g71
Degree of spline (its order - 1)
g72
Number of knots
g73
Number of control points
g74
Number of fit points

Together with the properties listed before, the Entities property has encapsulated the reference to a collection of "Knot" objects called Knots, to a collection of "Control point" objects called ControlPoints and to a collection of "Fit point" objects called FitPoints.

All of the properties for the Knot object are listed in the following table:

Property Data Type Description
KnotValue Double Knot Value

All of the properties for the ControlPoint object are listed in the following table:

Property Data Type Description
x Single X coordinate of control point for splines
y Single Y coordinate of control point for splines
z Single Z coordinate of control point for splines

All of the properties for the FitPoint object are listed in the following table:

Property Data Type Description
x Single X coordinate of fit point for splines
y Single Y coordinate of fit point for splines
z Single Z coordinate of fit point for splines

TEXT
All of the properties for the TEXT entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of first alignment point
Y0
Y coordinate of first alignment point
Z0
Z coordinate of first alignment point
X1
X coordinate of second alignment point
Y1
X coordinate of second alignment point
Z1
X coordinate of second alignment point
Text
The text string
TextStyle
Text style name
g40
Text height
g41
Relative X scale factor-width (optional; default = 1).
g50
Text rotation
g51
Oblique angle
g71
Text generation flags (optional, default = 0):
2 = Text is backward (mirrored in X)
4 = Text is upside down (mirrored in Y)
g72
Horizontal text justification type (optional, default = 0)
0 = Left
1 = Center
2 = Right
3 = Aligned (if vertical alignment = 0)
4 = Middle (if vertical alignment = 0)
5 = Fit (if vertical alignment = 0)
g73
Vertical text justification type (optional, default = 0):
0 = Baseline
1 = Bottom
2 = Middle
3 = Top

The code below will add to the drawing a text string:

Dim n As Long

With DXFReader1

.AddEntity
n = .Entities.Count
.Entities.Item(n).EntityType = "TEXT"
.Entities.Item(n).X0 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).Y0 = 10
.Entities.Item(n).g40 = 1
.Entities.Item(n)Text = "ActiveX"

End With

TOLERANCE
DXFReader does not display TOLERANCE entities but reads and stores every information.
All of the properties for the TOLERANCE entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of the insertion point
Y0
Y coordinate of the insertion point
Z0
Z coordinate of the insertion point
X1
X value of x-axis direction vector
Y1
Y value of x-axis direction vector
Z1
Z value of x-axis direction vector
DimensionStyle
Dimension style name
ProprietaryData
Proprietary data see 3DSOLID

TRACE
Managed as SOLID with always four points.

VIEWPORT
All of the properties for the VIEWPORT entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of the center point
Y0
Y coordinate of the center point
Z0
Z coordinate of the center point
g40
Width in paper space units
g41
Height in paper space units
g68
Viewport status field
g69
Viewport ID

XLINE
The xline is a construction line that is infinite in both directions.
All of the properties for the XLINE entity are described in the following table:

Property Description
X0
X coordinate of first point
Y0
Y coordinate of first point
Z0
Z coordinate of first point
X1
X value of unit direction vector
Y1
Y value of unit direction vector
Z1
Z value of unit direction vector

The code below will add to the drawing construction line passing through the origin and 45� oriented:

Dim n As Long

With DXFReader1

.AddEntity
n = .Entities.Count
.Entities.Item(n).EntityType = "XLINE"
.Entities.Item(n).X0 = 0
.Entities.Item(n).Y0 = 0
.Entities.Item(n).X1 = Sqr(2) / 2
.Entities.Item(n).Y1 = Sqr(2) / 2

End With

See the Autodesk DXF Reference for more information.

Data Type Collection