Create Paper Space Viewports

Paper space viewports are created by creating instances of Viewport objects and adding them to the block reference used by a layout other than Model. The constructor for the Viewport object does not accept any parameters to create a new viewport object. Once an instance of a Viewport object iws created, you can define its placement with the CenterPoint, Width and Height properties.

After creating the Viewport object, you can set properties of the view itself, such as viewing direction (ViewDirection property), lens length for perspective views (LensLength property), and grid display (GridOn property). You can also control properties of the viewport itself, such as layer (Layer property), linetype (Linetype property), and linetype scaling (LinetypeScale property).

Create and enable a floating viewport

This example sets paper space active, creates a floating viewport, defines the view for the viewport, and enables the viewport.

VB.NET

Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices

Imports Autodesk.AutoCAD.Runtime

Imports Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices

Imports Autodesk.AutoCAD.DatabaseServices

Imports Autodesk.AutoCAD.Geometry

<DllImport("acad.exe", CallingConvention:=CallingConvention.Cdecl, _

 EntryPoint:="?acedSetCurrentVPort@@YA?AW4ErrorStatus@Acad@@PBVAcDbViewport@@@Z")> _

Public Shared Function acedSetCurrentVPort(ByVal AcDbVport As IntPtr) As IntPtr

End Function

<CommandMethod("CreateFloatingViewport")> _

Public Sub CreateFloatingViewport()

  '' Get the current document and database, and start a transaction

  Dim acDoc As Document = Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument

  Dim acCurDb As Database = acDoc.Database

  Using acTrans As Transaction = acCurDb.TransactionManager.StartTransaction()

      '' Open the Block table for read

      Dim acBlkTbl As BlockTable

      acBlkTbl = acTrans.GetObject(acCurDb.BlockTableId, _

                                   OpenMode.ForRead)

      '' Open the Block table record Paper space for write

      Dim acBlkTblRec As BlockTableRecord

      acBlkTblRec = acTrans.GetObject(acBlkTbl(BlockTableRecord.PaperSpace), _

                                      OpenMode.ForWrite)

      '' Switch to the previous Paper space layout

      Application.SetSystemVariable("TILEMODE", 0)

      acDoc.Editor.SwitchToPaperSpace()

      '' Create a Viewport

      Dim acVport As Viewport = New Viewport()

      acVport.CenterPoint = New Point3d(3.25, 3, 0)

      acVport.Width = 6

      acVport.Height = 5

      '' Add the new object to the block table record and the transaction

      acBlkTblRec.AppendEntity(acVport)

      acTrans.AddNewlyCreatedDBObject(acVport, True)

      '' Change the view direction

      acVport.ViewDirection = New Vector3d(1, 1, 1)

      '' Enable the viewport

      acVport.On = True

      '' Activate model space in the viewport

      acDoc.Editor.SwitchToModelSpace()

      '' Set the new viewport current via an imported ObjectARX function

      acedSetCurrentVPort(acVport.UnmanagedObject)

      '' Save the new objects to the database

      acTrans.Commit()

  End Using

End Sub

using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

using Autodesk.AutoCAD.Runtime;

using Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices;

using Autodesk.AutoCAD.DatabaseServices;

using Autodesk.AutoCAD.Geometry;

[DllImport("acad.exe", CallingConvention = CallingConvention.Cdecl,

 EntryPoint = "?acedSetCurrentVPort@@YA?AW4ErrorStatus@Acad@@PBVAcDbViewport@@@Z")]

extern static private int acedSetCurrentVPort(IntPtr AcDbVport);

[CommandMethod("CreateFloatingViewport")]

public static void CreateFloatingViewport()

  // Get the current document and database, and start a transaction

  Document acDoc = Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument;

  Database acCurDb = acDoc.Database;

  using (Transaction acTrans = acCurDb.TransactionManager.StartTransaction())

      // Open the Block table for read

      BlockTable acBlkTbl;

      acBlkTbl = acTrans.GetObject(acCurDb.BlockTableId,

                                   OpenMode.ForRead) as BlockTable;

      // Open the Block table record Paper space for write

      BlockTableRecord acBlkTblRec;

      acBlkTblRec = acTrans.GetObject(acBlkTbl[BlockTableRecord.PaperSpace],

                                      OpenMode.ForWrite) as BlockTableRecord;

      // Switch to the previous Paper space layout

      Application.SetSystemVariable("TILEMODE", 0);

      acDoc.Editor.SwitchToPaperSpace();

      // Create a Viewport

      Viewport acVport = new Viewport();

      acVport.CenterPoint = new Point3d(3.25, 3, 0);

      acVport.Width = 6;

      acVport.Height = 5;

      // Add the new object to the block table record and the transaction

      acBlkTblRec.AppendEntity(acVport);

      acTrans.AddNewlyCreatedDBObject(acVport, true);

      // Change the view direction

      acVport.ViewDirection = new Vector3d(1, 1, 1);

      // Enable the viewport

      acVport.On = true;

      // Activate model space in the viewport

      acDoc.Editor.SwitchToModelSpace();

      // Set the new viewport current via an imported ObjectARX function

      acedSetCurrentVPort(acVport.UnmanagedObject);

      // Save the new objects to the database

      acTrans.Commit();

VBA/ActiveX Code Reference

NoteTo set or modify aspects of the view (view direction, lens length, and so forth), the Viewport object's On property must be set to FALSE, and before you can set a viewport current the On property must be set to TRUE.

Create four floating viewports

This example takes the example from "Create and enable a floating viewport" and continues it by creating four floating viewports and setting the view of each to top, front, right, and isometric views, respectively. Each viewport is set to a scale of 1:2. To ensure there is something to see in these viewports, you may want to create a 3D solid sphere in Model space before trying this example.

VB.NET

Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices

Imports Autodesk.AutoCAD.Runtime

Imports Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices

Imports Autodesk.AutoCAD.DatabaseServices

Imports Autodesk.AutoCAD.Geometry

<DllImport("acad.exe", CallingConvention:=CallingConvention.Cdecl, _

 EntryPoint:="?acedSetCurrentVPort@@YA?AW4ErrorStatus@Acad@@PBVAcDbViewport@@@Z")> _

Public Shared Function acedSetCurrentVPort(ByVal AcDbVport As IntPtr) As IntPtr

End Function

<CommandMethod("FourFloatingViewports")> _

Public Sub FourFloatingViewports()

  '' Get the current document and database, and start a transaction

  Dim acDoc As Document = Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument

  Dim acCurDb As Database = acDoc.Database

  Using acTrans As Transaction = acCurDb.TransactionManager.StartTransaction()

      '' Open the Block table for read

      Dim acBlkTbl As BlockTable

      acBlkTbl = acTrans.GetObject(acCurDb.BlockTableId, _

                                   OpenMode.ForRead)

      '' Open the Block table record Paper space for write

      Dim acBlkTblRec As BlockTableRecord

      acBlkTblRec = acTrans.GetObject(acBlkTbl(BlockTableRecord.PaperSpace), _

                                      OpenMode.ForWrite)

      '' Switch to the previous Paper space layout

      Application.SetSystemVariable("TILEMODE", 0)

      acDoc.Editor.SwitchToPaperSpace()

      Dim acPt3dCol As Point3dCollection = New Point3dCollection()

      acPt3dCol.Add(New Point3d(2.5, 5.5, 0))

      acPt3dCol.Add(New Point3d(2.5, 2.5, 0))

      acPt3dCol.Add(New Point3d(5.5, 5.5, 0))

      acPt3dCol.Add(New Point3d(5.5, 2.5, 0))

      Dim acVec3dCol As Vector3dCollection = New Vector3dCollection()

      acVec3dCol.Add(New Vector3d(0, 0, 1))

      acVec3dCol.Add(New Vector3d(0, 1, 0))

      acVec3dCol.Add(New Vector3d(1, 0, 0))

      acVec3dCol.Add(New Vector3d(1, 1, 1))

      Dim dWidth As Double = 2.5

      Dim dHeight As Double = 2.5

      Dim acVportLast As Viewport = Nothing

      Dim nCnt As Integer = 0

      For Each acPt3d As Point3d In acPt3dCol

          Dim acVport As Viewport = New Viewport()

          acVport.CenterPoint = acPt3d

          acVport.Width = dWidth

          acVport.Height = dHeight

          '' Add the new object to the block table record and the transaction

          acBlkTblRec.AppendEntity(acVport)

          acTrans.AddNewlyCreatedDBObject(acVport, True)

          '' Change the view direction

          acVport.ViewDirection = acVec3dCol(nCnt)

          '' Enable the viewport

          acVport.On = True

          '' Record the last viewport created

          acVportLast = acVport

          '' Increment the counter by 1

          nCnt = nCnt + 1

      Next

      If acVportLast <> Nothing Then

          '' Activate model space in the viewport

          acDoc.Editor.SwitchToModelSpace()

          '' Set the new viewport current via an imported ObjectARX function

          acedSetCurrentVPort(acVportLast.UnmanagedObject)

      End If

      '' Save the new objects to the database

      acTrans.Commit()

  End Using

End Sub

using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

using Autodesk.AutoCAD.Runtime;

using Autodesk.AutoCAD.ApplicationServices;

using Autodesk.AutoCAD.DatabaseServices;

using Autodesk.AutoCAD.Geometry;

[DllImport("acad.exe", CallingConvention = CallingConvention.Cdecl,

 EntryPoint = "?acedSetCurrentVPort@@YA?AW4ErrorStatus@Acad@@PBVAcDbViewport@@@Z")]

extern static private int acedSetCurrentVPort(IntPtr AcDbVport);

[CommandMethod("FourFloatingViewports")]

public static void FourFloatingViewports()

  // Get the current document and database, and start a transaction

  Document acDoc = Application.DocumentManager.MdiActiveDocument;

  Database acCurDb = acDoc.Database;

  using (Transaction acTrans = acCurDb.TransactionManager.StartTransaction())

      // Open the Block table for read

      BlockTable acBlkTbl;

      acBlkTbl = acTrans.GetObject(acCurDb.BlockTableId,

                                   OpenMode.ForRead) as BlockTable;

      // Open the Block table record Paper space for write

      BlockTableRecord acBlkTblRec;

      acBlkTblRec = acTrans.GetObject(acBlkTbl[BlockTableRecord.PaperSpace],

                                      OpenMode.ForWrite) as BlockTableRecord;

      // Switch to the previous Paper space layout

      Application.SetSystemVariable("TILEMODE", 0);

      acDoc.Editor.SwitchToPaperSpace();

      Point3dCollection acPt3dCol = new Point3dCollection();

      acPt3dCol.Add(new Point3d(2.5, 5.5, 0));

      acPt3dCol.Add(new Point3d(2.5, 2.5, 0));

      acPt3dCol.Add(new Point3d(5.5, 5.5, 0));

      acPt3dCol.Add(new Point3d(5.5, 2.5, 0));

      Vector3dCollection acVec3dCol = new Vector3dCollection();

      acVec3dCol.Add(new Vector3d(0, 0, 1));

      acVec3dCol.Add(new Vector3d(0, 1, 0));

      acVec3dCol.Add(new Vector3d(1, 0, 0));

      acVec3dCol.Add(new Vector3d(1, 1, 1));

      double dWidth = 2.5;

      double dHeight = 2.5;

      Viewport acVportLast = null;

      int nCnt = 0;

      foreach (Point3d acPt3d in acPt3dCol)

          Viewport acVport = new Viewport();

          acVport.CenterPoint = acPt3d;

          acVport.Width = dWidth;

          acVport.Height = dHeight;

          // Add the new object to the block table record and the transaction

          acBlkTblRec.AppendEntity(acVport);

          acTrans.AddNewlyCreatedDBObject(acVport, true);

          // Change the view direction

          acVport.ViewDirection = acVec3dCol[nCnt];

          // Enable the viewport

          acVport.On = true;

          // Record the last viewport created

          acVportLast = acVport;

          // Increment the counter by 1

          nCnt = nCnt + 1;

      if (acVportLast != null)

          // Activate model space in the viewport

          acDoc.Editor.SwitchToModelSpace();

          // Set the new viewport current via an imported ObjectARX function

          acedSetCurrentVPort(acVportLast.UnmanagedObject);

      // Save the new objects to the database

      acTrans.Commit();

VBA/ActiveX Code Reference