Short description
- Provides a DCL dialog to batch rename layouts using sequential numbering with optional prefix, suffix, and zero-padding, with filtering and preview.
- Supports in-dialog Apply and multi-level Undo without calling AutoCAD UNDO from DCL callbacks, to avoid stability issues.
Command:
- Commands: LAYOUTNUM, _LAYOUTNUM, LayoutNum
Description:
- Builds a unique DCL dialog definition at runtime and lists layouts with a wildcard filter, optionally including Model in the list as a non-renamable entry.
- Allows selecting multiple layouts, choosing ordering by tab order or alphabetical, and defining rename parameters: starting number, width (zero-padding), prefix, suffix, and optional auto-resolve for name conflicts.
- Displays a preview list showing Old => New names before applying changes; preview refreshes when selection or options change.
- Applies renaming using ActiveX by setting each layout object name, wrapped in a safe undo mark for editor-level undo grouping, while also recording rename frames for the dialog’s own manual undo stack.
- Implements Undo inside the dialog by replaying stored rename frames in reverse to restore old names, avoiding the AutoCAD UNDO command inside DCL callbacks.
- Persists the last-used UI values (filter, numbering, prefix/suffix, order, auto-resolve, include model) so the next run starts with the prior settings.
Helper function: (if any)
- LayoutNum:WriteDCL builds a unique dialog name and writes the full DCL string to a temporary file, returning the file path and dialog name.
- LayoutNum:LayoutsTabOrder collects layout objects with their tab order and returns a sorted list used for display and renaming sequence.
- LayoutNum:RebuildDisplay applies the filter and ordering, rebuilds the layout list, preserves selection, and refreshes the preview.
- LayoutNum:GetSelectedItems maps list box indices to the underlying layout entries for consistent selection handling.
- LayoutNum:ComputeRenamePlan generates the proposed new names based on start, pad, prefix, suffix, order, and conflict policy, marking Model as non-renamable.
- LayoutNum:ValidateBeforeRename validates selection and numeric inputs and checks name uniqueness and conflicts when auto-resolve is disabled.
- LayoutNum:ApplyRename performs renames, records a frame of (object old new) for manual undo, refreshes lists, and updates defaults for convenience.
- LayoutNum:DoUndo restores the last rename frame in reverse order to avoid collisions and keeps selection on restored names after refresh.
- _StartUndo and _EndUndo manage VLA undo marks safely without invoking the UNDO command inside DCL callbacks.
- LayoutNum:Cleanup unloads the dialog and deletes the temporary DCL file to prevent leftovers across runs.
- c:LAYOUTNUM, c:_LAYOUTNUM, c:LayoutNum are safe command entry points calling LayoutNum:Run.
Functionalities:
- Wildcard filter with a dedicated Apply Filter action that rebuilds the displayed list without renaming anything.
- Multi-select layouts with Select All and Select None shortcuts and a live status indicator showing shown and selected counts.
- Preview panel showing proposed renames as Old => New, with a Refresh Preview button and auto-refresh on option changes.
- Renaming options including starting number, zero-padding width, prefix, suffix, order mode (tab order or alphabetical), and auto-resolve for conflicts by appending -1, -2, and so on.
- Non-destructive handling of Model when included: it can be listed but is blocked from renaming and triggers validation alerts if selected for rename.
- Bottom controls: Apply renames and keeps dialog open, Undo restores prior rename sets, OK renames and closes, Cancel closes without applying a new rename.
- Safety rule avoids calling AutoCAD UNDO from DCL callbacks and instead uses a manual undo stack, while still grouping changes with VLA undo marks.
- Persists last-used settings across runs for faster repeat usage.
Result:
- On Apply, selected layouts are renamed immediately according to the preview plan, the dialog stays open, and Undo becomes available for rollback of the last rename operation.
- On Undo, the most recent rename frame is reverted and the selection is restored to the reverted layout names; supports multi-level undo until the stack is empty.
- On OK, performs the rename then closes the dialog, persisting the current UI settings for the next run.
- On Cancel or close, no new rename is applied by this action and the dialog exits after capturing settings and cleaning up the temporary DCL file.
- If validation fails, shows an alert explaining the issue and prevents renaming until corrected.
- If no paper-space layouts exist, prints a message and exits without opening the dialog.
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XAML code:
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<Bold>Function Syntax: LayoutNum</Bold>
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<Bold>Version: 2 Date: 24.12.2025</Bold>
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<Hyperlink>AI+https://www.cadtutor.net/forum/topic/14298-tabsortlsp/</Hyperlink>
<LineBreak/>
<Bold><Foreground Color="DarkRed">LayoutNum</Foreground> — Layout Numbering and Renaming Utility</Bold><LineBreak/><LineBreak/>
<Foreground Color="Gray">This program will prompt the user with a dialog to filter, select, preview, and rename drawing layouts (paper space tabs), using a controlled numbering scheme.</Foreground><LineBreak/><LineBreak/>
<Bold><Foreground Color="DarkRed">How to Run</Foreground></Bold><LineBreak/>
<Foreground Color="DarkRed">Commands:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">LAYOUTNUM</Foreground>, <Foreground Color="Red">_LAYOUTNUM</Foreground>, <Foreground Color="Red">LayoutNum</Foreground><LineBreak/>
<Foreground Color="Gray">Running any of these commands opens the Layout Numbering dialog.</Foreground><LineBreak/><LineBreak/>
<Bold><Foreground Color="DarkRed">What the User Must Do</Foreground></Bold><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Gray">Optionally enter a wildcard filter using</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">*</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">and</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">?</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">to narrow the layout list.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Gray">Select one or more layouts from the list (multi-select).</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Gray">Enter rename parameters:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Starting Number</Foreground>, <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Width</Foreground>, <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Prefix</Foreground>, <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Suffix</Foreground>.<LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Gray">Review the</Foreground> <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Preview (Old to New)</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">before committing changes.</Foreground><LineBreak/><LineBreak/>
<Bold><Foreground Color="DarkRed">Primary Functionalities</Foreground></Bold><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Filter layouts by wildcard pattern</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">Apply Filter rebuilds the visible list using patterns such as</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">A*</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">or</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">Sheet??</Foreground>.<LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Multi-select layout targeting</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">The list supports selecting multiple layouts for batch renaming.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Select All and Select None</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">Quickly select every visible layout or clear the selection.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Preview before rename</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">Shows a calculated mapping of each selected layout name to the proposed new name.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Batch rename with numbering</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">Renames selected layouts to</Foreground> <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Prefix</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray"> plus a sequential number plus</Foreground> <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Suffix</Foreground>.<LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Zero padding control</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">Width controls numeric padding, such as</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">01</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">or</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">001</Foreground>.<LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Ordering control</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">Numbering can follow</Foreground> <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Tab Order</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">or</Foreground> <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Alphabetical</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">order.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Automatic conflict resolution</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">Optionally appends</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">-1</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">,</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">-2</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">, and so on, if a generated name already exists.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Include Model option</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">Model can be shown in the list, but it is flagged as</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">cannot rename</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">and will block applying changes if selected.</Foreground><LineBreak/><LineBreak/>
<Bold><Foreground Color="DarkRed">Dialog Buttons and Actions</Foreground></Bold><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Red">Apply Filter</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">Applies the wildcard filter and refreshes the visible layout list without renaming.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Red">Refresh Preview</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">Recomputes the Old to New mapping from the current selection and rename settings.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Red">Apply</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">Performs the renaming immediately and keeps the dialog open.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Red">Undo</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">Reverts the most recent Apply or OK rename operation using a safe internal rename history.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Red">OK</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">Performs the renaming and closes the dialog.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Red">Cancel</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">Closes the dialog without performing a new rename action.</Foreground><LineBreak/><LineBreak/>
<Bold><Foreground Color="DarkRed">Important Behaviors and Constraints</Foreground></Bold><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Red">Model layout cannot be renamed</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">If Model is included and selected, renaming is blocked to prevent invalid operations.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Undo is manual and safe</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">Undo does not rely on AutoCAD UNDO command calls during the dialog, avoiding ARX exceptions.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="DarkRed">No forced exit</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">The dialog remains open after Apply so the user can apply multiple rename passes.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Gray">User settings persist between runs (filter, numbering, width, prefix, suffix, options).</Foreground><LineBreak/><LineBreak/>
<Bold><Foreground Color="DarkRed">Typical Use Case Example</Foreground></Bold><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Gray">Filter:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">*</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">to show all layouts.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Gray">Select layouts:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Layout1</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">and</Foreground> <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Layout2</Foreground>.<LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Gray">Set:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Starting Number</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">1</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">,</Foreground> <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Width</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">2</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">,</Foreground> <Foreground Color="DarkRed">Prefix</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">aaa_</Foreground><Foreground Color="Gray">, Suffix blank.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Gray">Preview shows:</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">Layout1 => aaa_01</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">and</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">Layout2 => aaa_02</Foreground>.<LineBreak/>
• <Foreground Color="Gray">Press</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">Apply</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">to rename without closing, or</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Red">OK</Foreground> <Foreground Color="Gray">to rename and close.</Foreground><LineBreak/>
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Additional info:
Based on / Source code:
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