Some entities can be exploded, or decomposed, into a set of simpler elements. The specific behavior depends on the class. For example, boxes can be exploded into regions, then lines. Polylines can be exploded into line segments. An mtext entity can be exploded into a separate text entity for each line of the original object. An mline entity can be exploded into individual lines. When you explode a block reference, AutoCAD copies all entities in the block reference and then splits them into their components.
The explode() function creates an array of objects derived from AcDbEntity.
The following table shows what happens when you explode each entity, when it is by itself and when it is in a block insert that is nonuniformly scaled.
|
Exploding entities |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Entity |
By Itself |
Nonuniform Scaling (when in a block) |
|
AcDb3dSolid |
Regions, bodies |
NA; can't be exploded |
|
AcDb2dPolyline |
Lines, arcs |
Self/NA |
|
AcDb3dPolyline |
Lines |
Self |
|
AcDbArc |
Self |
Ellipse |
|
AcDbAssocArray |
Curves (splines, lines, arcs, circles), blocks, text, and other standard or custom objects |
NA |
|
AcDbBody |
Regions, bodies |
NA |
|
AcDbCircle |
Self |
Ellipse |
|
AcDbDimension |
Solids, lines, text strings, points |
NA |
|
AcDbEllipse |
Self |
Self |
|
AcDbLeader |
Self |
NA |
|
AcDbLine |
Self |
Self |
|
AcDbRay |
Self |
Self |
|
AcDbSpline |
Self |
Self |
|
AcDbXline |
Self |
Self |
|
AcDbFace |
Self |
Self |
|
AcDbMline |
Lines |
Self |
|
AcDbMText |
One text entity for each line |
Self |
|
AcDbPoint |
Self |
Self |
|
AcDbPolyFaceMesh |
AcDbFace |
Self |
|
AcDbPolygonMesh |
Self |
Self |
|
AcDbRegion |
Curves (splines, lines, arcs, circles) |
NA |
|
AcDbShape |
Self |
Self |
|
AcDbSolid |
Self |
Self |
|
AcDbText |
Self |
Self |
|
AcDbTrace |
Self |
Self |
The explode() function is a read-only function that does not modify the original entity. It returns a set of entities for the application to handle as desired. One potential use of this function is to explode a complex entity to produce simpler entities and then operate on those entities. For example, if you were implementing an intersectForPoints() function for a polyline, it might be easier to deal with the individual pieces of the polyline rather than the complete entity.
The following statements are true for the EXPLODE command (but not for the explode() function):