Dynamic Block Wish list

Now that AutoCAD 2006 has been out for a while and users have been getting more comfortable with Block Authoring. I would really like to get a feel for some wish list items that my fellow readers have.

I will start off the list by adding my TOP wishlist items. Please add comments to this post with anymore you can think of or ones you can add to.

Future AutoCAD Dynamic Blocks Wish List:

1. Dynamic Block manipulation from Insert command: This would allow users to Change Visibility states at INSERT. This would also prompt for LINEAR lengths similar to how attributes work at insert. The command line would list all changeable Dynamic block properties for users to manipulate at the time of INSERT.
2. Nested Visibility states: The Visibility state manager would open up for a lot more potential if the Visibility state manager allowed multiple nested visibility states. A simple example is say you have a 2x4 piece of lumber block "X". And you have it changing sizes through a linear parameter. And changing to a 2x4 block "/" through a visibility state manager. But if there was a variable for a nested Visibility state, you could manipulate the layers, linetypes without having to have separate states for every single type.
3. Dynamic Block Tool Tip Help strings. It would really help users understand what a Dynamic block does once they select the grip or hoover over it. It would bring up a little help string telling them what the Dynamic block grip does similar help strings like the HYPERLINK tool tip does.
4. Dynamic block Linear and Polar parameter improvements. It would be nice if the Linear and Polar parameters supported a new option called "Stretch Parameter when included in a Stretch command crossing window and selection set". This option would allow a user to issue the STRETCH command, and then crossing window over their objects and if the selection set and crossing window comes across a dynamic block polar or linear parameter grip with this option set it would stretch the block with the Stretch command. I find myself all the time having to do many tasks twice when I need to stretch out a area of my drawing and have to go back and manually select my blocks grip to stretch it.
5. COPY CLIP parameters and actions to clipboard to place into other Dynamic blocks in the block editor. Currently there is no way to copy information from one block to another.
6. LOOKUP tables and attributes FIELDS need to Automatically update when modified. Using the Regen command each time to check when a lookup table modifies wastes a lot of time. Especially in large drawings with a lot of text and viewports.
7. DRAG and DROP a parameter or action from the Block editor to the Block Authoring palette. It would be nice to store long lookup tables, typical parameter setting to the block Authoring tool palette for quick access to content.
8. GRIP Colors. Might help new users understand what a grip does if we could color code each GRIP. So say all linear grips on one block that are chained would be one color. And others would continue to be different colors.
9. Visibility state manager improvement. Currently there is no way to take a visibility state and change all objects in the block to a new LAYER or LINETYPE without changing the master objects. It would  be nice to have a new option in the visibility state manager called "DUPLICATE OBJECTS FROM CURRENT VISIBILITY STATE" this would allow the user to change layers, and linetypes without having to re-draw all the lines and re-specify selection sets for each parameter and action. Would save a lot time from repetitive tasks.
10. BASE POINT PARAMETER Improvement. It would be nice if the Base Point parameter would allow a user to import the X & Y from the base point relative to modelspace units into a Lookup table. So users could hookup a lookup table to the model space X & Y, so when a block hits 0,10,0 it would set the lookup table to "X" And so on. Would allow Dynamic blocks to think on its own.
11. Lookup table IF Statements. I would like to see the Lookup tables incorporate some simple IF statements. So you could tell the lookup table, I would like the LOWEST value from my LOOKUP table to ALWAYS be this. And then the LARGEST value from my LOOKUP TABLE LIST to always be this.

Please if anyone has any others I would really like to hear them.

Comments

[Jordy]

How about a working redefine trough toolpalletes for dynamic blocks...?

[Jimmy Bergmark]

Full support for 3D

[Rick Moore]

Here's 3 more:

Fix associative hatch, it tends to get messed up when stretching.

Make the Alignment Parameter respect the OSNAPHATCH variable.

Wipeout draworder gets reversed when entering the editor.

[Mark Douglas]

Hey Jimmy,
Good call on the full 3D Support.
These all are very good ones.

[andrea]

add ability to change dinamically arch lenght/angle- I tried to make an improved door block but I can cange the arch of the opening angle only making an arch with visibility for each angle

[andrea]

a graphical tree-jerarchy of the parameters coul be helpfull for complex blocks

[andrea]

1) ability to have different visibility states, rotation, scale and lookup in an array, so we can rotate, scale etc. differently each instance of an array.
a random variable (with a min/max option)
2) use expression and formulas that can use parameters as variables, and also logical operators, a real programming language.

[andrea]

properties indentation:
so to access properties of a dynamic block child of another block. (exhample: a parent block composed of different istances of a child block made of different views, and I can choose different views for each child instance from the parent block)

[Dan]

How about a way to add to items to an existing dynamic block? (like the add to selection set command from the old edit block in place)

[JOHN DAVID]

HOW ABOUT AN ARRAY ACTION THAT ARRAYS ABOUT AN POLAR AXIS USING A DIVIDE OR MEASURE ACTION EMBEDDED ALLOWING THE CREATION OF CIRCULAR STAIRS THAT CAN BE CHANGE IN LENGTH AND RADIUS AND JACK ARCHES OVER WDW'S. ALSO HAVING PROBLEMS WITH GETTING AN ARC TO RETAIN ITS RADIUS
WHILE BEING STRETCH (EX. A WINDOW W/ARCH THAT WILL CHANGES WIDTH BUT RETAINS ITS HEIGHT).
(NEXT IS A DUMB SOLUTION BUT IT WORKS)I MADE A DYNAMIC BLOCK CALLED DOORS FULL OF DIFFERENT DOORS TO BE DISPLAYED IN PLAN VIEW BUT THEN I HAD TO COPY THEM UNTIL EACH VISIBILITY STATE HAD ITS OWN CHANCE TO BE AT TOP THE VISIBILITY MODE SO I COULD USE A LISP ROUTINE TO ALTER VISIBILITY DURING INSERTION.
(IT ONLY SUCKS IF I HAVE TO MAKE A FIX TO ONE OF THE DOORS, CAUSE THEN I HAVE MAKE THE SAME FIX IN ALL OF THEM.
I WANT ACCESS TO A TABLE CONTENTS WHILE IT IS STILL INSIDE A BLOCK TO CHANGE THE OBJECT THE FIELD IS REFERENCED TO. WHEN USING A TABLE WITH FIELDS OUTSIDE A BLOCK I AM ABLE TO UPDATE THEM BUT I STILL HAVE THE PROBLEM OF THE FORMULA. IT DOESN'T ADDED THE DISPLAYED FIELDS CORRECTLY BECAUSE AUTOCAD USES ITS OWN DAMN UNITS TO ADD THEM TOGETHER WITH AND THEN IT CALCULATES USING THE CONVERSION UNITS THAT DISPLAY THE VALUE IN ARCH UNITS. AND WHY DO I HAVE TO SPECIFY WHETHER I WANT A COMMA IN THE THOUSANDS(DUH IF I AM USING ARCH UNITS THEN OF COURSE I AM GOING TO WANT TO SHOW A COMMA) AND WHEN U DO SELECT A COMMA IT TURNS THE UNITS FORMAT INTO DECIMAL (WHILE RETAINING THE UNIT CONVER). WHICH GENERAL SPEAKING DECIMAL IS FOR METRIC BECAUSE WHEN THE THOUSANDS ARE REACH THE NAME CHANGES(EX. METERS TURN INTO KILOMETERS) IN ARCH UNITS 1,000 FEET CAN ONLY BE REFERRED TO AS A 1,000 FEET. (NO BRAINIER) ALSO I WOULD LIKE FOR THE FORMAT OF THE FIELD TO RETAIN ITS SETTINGS AFTER THE FIELDS IS REFERENCED TO A NEW OBJECT OR MAYBE A PERSONAL SETTING THAT CAN BE SAVED SO I DON'T HAVE TO START FROM SCRATCH WHEN I CHANGE FROM ONE OBJECT TO ANOTHER.
NEXT IN SOME SITUATION I WILL ISSUE THE SNAP "FROM POINT" COMMAND AND IT WILL NOT ALLOW ME TO USE THE POLAR TRACKING TO POINT THE DIRECTION IN WHICH I WANT TO SNAP FROM. NEXT OBJECTS THAT ARE DRAWN FIRST IN A DYNAMIC BLOCK ALWAYS GET PUT IN BACK OF THE DRAW ORDER EVEN AFTER REPEATEDLY BEING TOLD TO BE UP FRONT. I CAN'T TELL BECAUSE IF I DON'T GET A WIPEOUT DRAWN BEFORE ANY OF THE OTHER OBJECTS THEN THE WIPEOUT WILL ALWAYS HIDE SOMETHING ESPECIALLY WHEN THE BLOCK IS PULLED FROM THE TOOL PALETTE AND/OR COPY AND PASTED FROM ANOTHER DRAWING.