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Dale_Rosema
23-Emerald III
January 27, 2020
Solved

Mapkeys & picking a place on the drawing

  • January 27, 2020
  • 4 replies
  • 6884 views

I want to create mapkey that would involve the operator picking a point on a drawing, but that point would be a different location from drawing to drawing. When recording this, does the mapkey look for an operator input after "clicking" on a point, or does it hard code the location that the point at which the click was made?

Best answer by StephenW

It's been a while since I made a "pause" mapkey.

I would start the record process, then I would pick the table tab (mainly to have something before the pause)

Pause button, use pause for keyboard input (key in the prompt)

pick the cell

resume

finish making the mapkey


I seem to remember there was a significant trial and error every time I make one.

 

4 replies

StephenW
23-Emerald III
January 27, 2020

During mapkey creation, there is an option "pause for keyboard input" that when push the pause button, it allow you to enter a Prompt. That will instruct the user what it needs them to do. there are 3 options for pause under the "prompt handling" area.

I have a mapkey for patterning about an axis and it pauses for me to pick the axis. Below is the snippet of the mapkey where it pauses and the prompts "pick axis"

 

mapkey(continued) ~ Select `main_dlg_cur` `maindashInst0.ui_pat_type` 1 `ui_pat_type_axis`;\
mapkey(continued) @MANUAL_PAUSEPICK AXIS;\
mapkey(continued) ~ Input `main_dlg_cur` `maindashInst0.ui_pat_axis_1_num_inst` `2`;\

Dale_Rosema
23-Emerald III
January 27, 2020

Does the 2nd line...

 

mapkey(continued) @MANUAL_PAUSEPICK AXIS;\

 

... pop up a box that says "Pick Axis"?

StephenW
23-Emerald III
January 27, 2020

Yup. You can make it say whatever you need.

StephenWilliams_0-1580140540120.png

 

12-Amethyst
January 27, 2020

when you begin recording your mapkey, change from record keyboard input to pause for keyboard input.

Dale_Rosema
23-Emerald III
January 27, 2020

What about picking a "box" or setting a value for a box?

I want to change the "Height in number of characters" from 3.0 to 1.1.

If this window gets moved, it will not be in the same location.

This value will be determined in the mapkey, so I don't really want the user to have to pick this, but I need the value to be update wherever the pop up window is on the screen. Is there a parameter setting for this box? If so, how is the name discovered?

Thanks.

Dale_Rosema
23-Emerald III
January 28, 2020

I have to mapkeys to evaluate:

1. Select the row of the table and then run the mapkey (less key strokes)

2. Run the mapkey with the pause for the instructions to select the row of the table and then resume.

 

Since there are only two of us and I have a cheat sheet for mapkey instructions, I am leaning towards the first mapkey. Any thoughts on this?

StephenW
23-Emerald III
January 28, 2020

I've made them both ways. For me, I prefer to preselect what I want to do the operation on and then run the mapkey. I think it's preference