PrincipalDirections Property (ActiveX)

Gets the principal directions of the solid or region.

Supported platforms: Windows only

Signature

VBA:

object.PrincipalDirections

object

Type: 3DSolid, Region

The objects this property applies to.

Property Value

Read-only: Yes

Type: Variant (three-element array of doubles)

The X, Y, and Z coordinates calculated on the current coordinate system.

Remarks

The principal directions are returned as X, Y, and Z coordinates defined as a variant. They are calculated based on the current coordinate system.

Examples

VBA:

Sub Example_PrincipalDirections()
    ' This example creates a box in model space.
    ' It then returns the PrincipalDirections for that box.
              
    Dim boxObj As Acad3DSolid
    Dim length As Double, width As Double, height As Double
    Dim center(0 To 2) As Double
    
    ' Define the box
    center(0) = 5#: center(1) = 5#: center(2) = 0
    length = 5#: width = 7: height = 10#
    
    ' Create the box (3DSolid) object in model space
    Set boxObj = ThisDrawing.ModelSpace.AddBox(center, length, width, height)
    
    ' Change the viewing direction of the viewport to better see the box
    Dim NewDirection(0 To 2) As Double
    NewDirection(0) = -1: NewDirection(1) = -1: NewDirection(2) = 1
    ThisDrawing.ActiveViewport.direction = NewDirection
    ThisDrawing.ActiveViewport = ThisDrawing.ActiveViewport
    ZoomAll
    
    ' Return the PrincipalDirections for the box
    Dim PrincipalDirections As Variant
    PrincipalDirections = boxObj.PrincipalDirections
    MsgBox "The PrincipalDirections for the box are " & PrincipalDirections(0) & ", " & PrincipalDirections(1) & ", " & PrincipalDirections(2), , "PrincipalDirections Example"
        
End Sub

Visual LISP:

(vl-load-com)
(defun c:Example_PrincipalDirections()
    ;; This example creates a box in model space.
    ;; It then returns the PrincipalDirections for that box.
    (setq acadObj (vlax-get-acad-object))
    (setq doc (vla-get-ActiveDocument acadObj))
    
    ;; Define the box
    (setq center (vlax-3d-point 5 5 0)
          boxLength 5
	         boxWidth 7
	         boxHeight 10)
    
    ;; Create the box (3DSolid) object in model space
    (setq modelSpace (vla-get-ModelSpace doc))
    (setq boxObj (vla-AddBox modelSpace center boxLength boxWidth boxHeight))
    
    ;; Change the viewing direction of the viewport to better see the box
    (setq NewDirection (vlax-3d-point -1 -1 1))
    (setq activeViewport (vla-get-ActiveViewport doc))
    (vla-put-Direction activeViewport NewDirection)
    (vla-put-ActiveViewport doc activeViewport)
    (vla-ZoomAll acadObj)
    
    ;; Return the PrincipalDirections for the box
    (setq PrincipalDirections (vlax-variant-value (vla-get-PrincipalDirections boxObj)))
    (alert (strcat "The PrincipalDirections for the box are "
                   (rtos (vlax-safearray-get-element PrincipalDirections 0) 2) ", "
                   (rtos (vlax-safearray-get-element PrincipalDirections 1) 2) ", "
                   (rtos (vlax-safearray-get-element PrincipalDirections 2) 2)))
)