Microvellum Commands vs AutoCAD Commands
Toolbox, as an OEM based on AutoCAD, possesses the full range of AutoCAD commands for use in accessing AutoCAD functions, such as drawing shapes, opening menus, altering the dimensions of polylines, etc. However, it should be noted that when working with products (which are drawn and comprised of data specifically found in Toolbox), AutoCAD commands do not have the ability to alter or access the system functions of Toolbox. While AutoCAD commands are available for use, the commands have no direct link with Microvellum’s database, which is where product data is stored once a product is drawn.
Products in Toolbox are essentially a 3D objects generated by AutoCAD in response to the data contained in the product’s workbook, the spreadsheet where information such as product dimensions, prompts, inserts, material, machining, etc. is stored for processing and coding. As such, when attempting to alter products within the 3D space, such as moving/rotating/copying a product, the use of AutoCAD commands will only result in the product’s generated 3D model changing (temporarily), with the changes not carrying over and translating into the product's data.
To alter the drawing, then, it is necessary to alter the data within the product’s workbook. Microvellum commands like MVCOPY, MVMOVE, or MVROTATE access the product’s workbook, and alter the data within it, which changes the properties of the product, meaning that, upon being redrawn, the 3D object will reflect those changes.
This article explains the difference between Microvellum's custom Toolbox commands and basic AutoCAD commands. For a full list of these Toolbox commands, or to learn how to assign Toolbox commands to keyboard shortcuts, consult the following articles:
Copying Products
As an example, when attempting to copy cabinets that have been created in the 3D space (the example images below use an Office Tall 1 Door Coat Cabinet placed along a wall, as well as a Master Cabinet), one will find that the results differ depending on whether one used the AutoCAD commands (COPY & MIRROR) vs the Microvellum commands (MVCOPY & MVMIRROR).
AutoCAD COPY |
Microvellum MVCOPY |
AutoCAD MIRROR |
Microvellum MVMIRROR |
Attempting to copy the product using the AutoCAD COPY or MIRROR commands will not result in the drawing of a new cabinet with the same properties, but only a copy of the 3D model that represents the Office Tall 1 Door Coat Cabinet and Master Cabinet in the 3D space- essentially, hollow shells that are visually identical to the original, but are not products in and of themselves. The data within Toolbox is still fundamentally that of only a single product, and as such, any copy created is unable to be modified or customized, because it is merely another 3D model representing the same exact cabinet within the project.
This shell can be interacted with and used to access the data of the original, but when attempting to make any modifications, the changes cannot be redrawn into the copy, only the original, as that is the only actual product tied with data attached to it. In contrast, when copying the cabinet using the MVCOPY and MVMIRROR commands, the result is a separate, but identical product, which has its own individual workbook, and can thus be modified.
Note that in Figure 1 and Figure 3, the product viewer (on the lefthand side of the screen) does not register a new cabinet being added when copying with the COPY or MIRROR commands. The copied cabinet also shares its item number with the original, an indication that this is not a new product, as all products in Toolbox, even identical ones, have different product numbers.
Contrastingly, in Figure 2 and Figure 4 the product data visibly loads when the MVCOPY and MVMIRROR commands are issued, and the product viewer registers the copy of the Office 1 Door Coat Cabinet and the mirror of the Master Cabinet as entirely new products, with different product numbers than the original.
Moreover, Microvellum commands have built-in logic to help automate the process of customizing products. The MVMIRROR command, for example, creates a mirrored product in every aspect, including mirroring product details. If one were to use the MVMIRROR command on a cabinet with a right finished end and a right swing door, the mirrored product created would have a left finished end and a left swing door applied in its data.
Moving/Orienting Products
This is also the case when using commands that change the position or orientation of a product in model space, such as moving or rotating it. The positional data in the 3D workspace is not able to be altered unless one is specifically calling on the Microvellum custom commands to change that information.
AutoCAD MOVE |
Microvellum MVMOVE |
AutoCAD ROTATE |
Microvellum MVROTATE |
As one can see in Figure 6, when a product or token needs to be moved, using the AutoCAD MOVE command will visibly change the position within model space. But the data of the product’s position will remain the same in the database, and as such, when the product is redrawn (such as when it has its prompts modified), it reverts to its position as it was last recorded to be in the database, as though its position never changed.
Similarly, (as one can see in Figure 8) rotating a cabinet using the ROTATE command will result in the 3D model changing its orientation, but the change is immediately reverted when the product is redrawn.
In contrast (as shown in Figure 7 and Figure 9), the MVMOVE and MVROTATE commands result in the cabinet retaining its new position even after having its product prompts modified.
Deleting Products
Given that the data for the project is based on the database and not the 3D models themselves, this also means that erasing or deleting 3D models does not result in the removal of a product from one’s project. If one were to delete a product in model space, then process the room in the as a work order, the product would still be entirely present, set in the position that it was last drawn in, even if other products have been placed in the same space. One can redraw the product at any given time, and it will be redrawn in the exact position it was in when its model was deleted. Products that are currently in use in the project can be tracked via the Product Viewer in the Microvellum Palette. Thus, using the DELETE key or the ERASE command on a product will not actually remove it from a room.
AutoCAD ERASE |
Microvellum MVERASE |
If a product needs to be removed from the project, deleting the model or using ERASE will not result in the project being removed, but only having its current 3D model removed from model space. To fully remove a product, it is recommended to use the MVERASE command, which will delete the product’s data from the project database. Alternatively, a product can be deleted by right clicking on it in the product viewer and clicking the “Delete Selected Product(s)” option from the pop-up menu.
Some AutoCAD commands do not function in Toolbox, because Microvellum has specific methods that are used to substitute for them. For example, using SCALE or STRETCH to change the dimensions of a 3D product is not going to result in product size changes- that is contained in the workbook of the product and can be changed by altering the product’s height, depth, or width within the Product Prompts/Design Data.
When to Use AutoCAD Commands
If a command or function within AutoCAD has a Microvellum equivalent, it is most likely necessary to use that instead of the AutoCAD one. If a command or function does not have an MV equivalent command, it is likely that there is an alternative method within Toolbox to achieve the same result. The sole exception to this is when working with 2D part drawings in DXF format. When working on these 2D images, it is entirely acceptable to use the basic AutoCAD commands, because the data in this format is both relatively small, limited, and is tied to the layers of the drawing, not to the workbook.
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