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LayersNameToClipboard

Short description

  • LayersName2Clipboard — collect unique layer names from a user selection and copy them to the Windows clipboard as a newline-separated list
  • Uses an HTMLFile COM object to access clipboardData and write text directly to the clipboard
layersname2clipboard 000

Command:

  • • LayersName2Clipboard

Description:

  • Prompts the user to select entities, then scans the selection set and extracts each entity’s layer name (DXF group 8).
  • Builds a list of unique layer names (no duplicates) in the order encountered, prints them to the command line, and concatenates them into a newline-separated string.
  • Copies the resulting string (layers only) into the Windows clipboard so it can be pasted into other applications.

Helper function: (if any)​

  • • ClipPut — writes a text string to the Windows clipboard via an htmlfile COM object using parentWindow.clipboardData.setData.
  • • DXF 8 — layer name group code used to extract an entity’s layer from entget data.

Functionalities:

  • • User selection — uses ssget to collect entities; exits with a message if nothing is selected.
  • • Layer extraction — iterates the selection set, calls entget, and reads (assoc 8) to obtain each entity’s layer name.
  • • Deduplication — adds layer names to an in-memory list only if they are not already present (member check).
  • • Reporting — prints “Unique layers in selection” and lists each layer name in the command line output.
  • • Clipboard formatting — builds a single string containing only layer names separated by newline characters (one layer per line).
  • • Clipboard write — calls ClipPut to copy the newline-separated list into the clipboard and prints confirmation.
  • • COM cleanup — releases the temporary htmlfile object after writing to the clipboard.

Result:

  • The command outputs the unique layer names used by the selected entities and copies those names to the clipboard as a clean, newline-separated list suitable for pasting elsewhere.
  • If no objects are selected or no layer names are found, nothing is copied and an informational message is printed.

Images, animations etc.

layersname2clipboard 000
Pixel

XAML code:

<ResourceDictionary
 xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
 xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
 xmlns:src="clr-namespace:Autodesk.Windows;assembly=AdWindows">
 
 <src:RibbonToolTip x:Key="LayersNameToClipboard">
 <src:RibbonToolTip.ExpandedContent>
 <StackPanel>
 <TextBlock Background="AntiqueWhite" TextAlignment="Left">
<Bold>Function Syntax:  LayersNameToClipboard</Bold>
<LineBreak/>
<Hyperlink>web</Hyperlink>
<LineBreak/>

<Bold>Command name</Bold><LineBreak/>
<Run>LayersNameToClipboard (type </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">LayersNameToClipboard</Run><Run> at the AutoCAD command line)</Run><LineBreak/>
<LineBreak/>

<Bold>Description</Bold><LineBreak/>
<Run>This routine collects the </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">unique layer names</Run><Run> of the objects in a user selection set, strips simple MText-style formatting codes from the layer strings, and copies the resulting list to the </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Windows clipboard</Run><Run> as plain text (one layer name per line).</Run><LineBreak/>
<LineBreak/>

<Bold>Prerequisite</Bold><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Requires Visual LISP COM support via </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">(vl-load-com)</Run><Run>.</Run><LineBreak/>
<LineBreak/>

<Bold>User interaction</Bold><LineBreak/>
<Run>• The user is prompted to create a selection set using </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">(ssget)</Run><Run>.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• If the user cancels or selects nothing, the routine prints </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Nothing selected</Run><Run>.</Run><LineBreak/>
<LineBreak/>

<Bold>High-level workflow</Bold><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Builds a selection set using </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">ssget</Run><Run>.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Iterates through each entity in the selection set using </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">sslength</Run><Run> and </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">ssname</Run><Run>.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Converts each entity name to a VLA object using </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">vlax-ename->vla-object</Run><Run>.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Verifies the object exposes a Layer property using </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">vlax-property-available-p</Run><Run>.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Reads the layer name using </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">vla-get-layer</Run><Run> and cleans it via </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">StripSimpleCodes</Run><Run>.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Maintains a list of unique layer names by checking membership before adding.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Converts the unique list to a newline-separated string.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Copies the result to the Windows clipboard through an </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">htmlfile COM object</Run><Run> and ClipboardData SetData call.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Prints a summary showing the number of unique layers copied and echoes the copied content.</Run><LineBreak/>
<LineBreak/>

<Bold>Functionalities</Bold><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Extracts layer names from a user selection set.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Ensures the output contains only </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">unique</Run><Run> layer names (no duplicates).</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Removes simple formatting sequences embedded in the layer string using </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">StripSimpleCodes</Run><Run>.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Outputs the layer list as </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">plain text</Run><Run>, one entry per line.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Copies the final list directly to the </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">clipboard</Run><Run> for immediate paste into other applications.</Run><LineBreak/>
<LineBreak/>

<Bold>Helper function behavior</Bold><LineBreak/>
<Run>• <Run Foreground="DarkRed">StripSimpleCodes</Run> removes sequences that start with a backslash and typically end at the next semicolon.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Intended to remove full formatting tokens such as \A1; \C256; \fArial; so only the readable layer name remains.</Run><LineBreak/>
<LineBreak/>

<Bold>Important commands and calls highlighted</Bold><LineBreak/>
<Run>• <Run Foreground="DarkRed">(ssget)</Run> — prompts the user to select objects.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• <Run Foreground="DarkRed">sslength</Run> and <Run Foreground="DarkRed">ssname</Run> — iterates through the selection set.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• <Run Foreground="DarkRed">vlax-ename->vla-object</Run> — converts entity names to ActiveX objects.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• <Run Foreground="DarkRed">vlax-property-available-p</Run> — verifies the Layer property exists on the object.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• <Run Foreground="DarkRed">vla-get-layer</Run> — reads the layer name.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• <Run Foreground="DarkRed">vlax-create-object "htmlfile"</Run> — creates a COM object to access ClipboardData.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• <Run Foreground="DarkRed">ClipboardData SetData</Run> — writes the newline-separated text to the clipboard.</Run><LineBreak/>
<LineBreak/>

<Bold>Outputs and messages</Bold><LineBreak/>
<Run>• If layers are found: prints </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Copied N unique layer name(s) to clipboard</Run><Run> and lists the names.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• If the selection contains no valid Layer properties or nothing usable: prints </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">No valid layers found</Run><Run>.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• If nothing is selected: prints </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Nothing selected</Run><Run>.</Run><LineBreak/>
<LineBreak/>

<Bold>Operational notes and limitations</Bold><LineBreak/>
<Run>• Clipboard support relies on Windows COM interfaces; behavior may differ in non-Windows environments.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• The uniqueness check is case-sensitive because it uses </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">member</Run><Run> on strings; layers that differ only by case may appear separately.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>• The formatting stripper removes backslash-initiated segments up to the next semicolon; unusual strings without semicolons are handled by removing a short portion after the backslash.</Run><LineBreak/>





</TextBlock>
 
 <!-- Use MediaElement for GIF (static first frame) and Image as fallback -->



</StackPanel>
 </src:RibbonToolTip.ExpandedContent>
 </src:RibbonToolTip>
 
 </ResourceDictionary>
LayersNameToClipboard.xamlDownload XAML file

Additional info:

Based on / Source code: Open Website

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    Tags: 🏷️ Autocad Lisps, 🏷️ Clipboard, 🏷️ Layers, 🏷️ Layers_menu
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