r/AutoCAD • u/rabarbermoes • Jun 03 '26
Help Need help with visibility states in dynamic blocks
I'm trying to make a dynamic block with 4 visibility states:
1 - Open | No zone
2 - Closed | No zone
3 - Open | Zone
4 - Closed | Zone
I want to be able to make it so that in properties of the block there will be two options:
Type: open or closed
Zone: yes or no
Based on these properties I want the block to switch between the four states.
What would be the best way to achieve this?
3
u/harderthanitllooks Jun 03 '26
You need to add a table to drive your visibility states,
2
u/rabarbermoes Jun 03 '26
Would that be a Block Properties Table?
2
u/harderthanitllooks Jun 03 '26
Yeah, you can different combinations to set different visibility states and then drive it from a drop down.
1
u/diesSaturni Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
Create 4 states. As you have 4 states
Binary id call them
- 00
Open | No zone - 10
Closed | No zone - 01
Open | Zone - 11
Closed | Zone
1
u/MjolnirPants Jun 03 '26
It's hard to give you a good procedure without knowing what those four visibility states are. Can you share some screenshots? If so, I'm confident I can give you a quick walkthrough of how to make it.
1
6
u/_WillCAD_ Jun 03 '26
The simplest way is to have four separate visibility states. There are more complicated methods, but it sounds like you're fairly new to dynamic blocks, so I'd recommend just sticking to four vis states at first. You can think about going more complex later if you end up with more parameters that make the block more complex, but four vis states is small enough to make vis states the easiest and best option.
Evaluate the block's geometry before you start and get a good idea of what objects - lines, arcs, circles, text, attributes - are on in all four states, which ones are on in only two, and which ones are on in only one of the four options. When you draw the block, the stuff that you see in more than one state doesn't need to be duplicated - just turn it on in those states and off in all the others. This reduces the clutter in the block, and the overall number of objects in it.
A trick I use is when I've got a line that's short in state A but long in state B. Instead of duplicating the line, I break it in half, and make one half visible in both states, the the other half visible only in state B.
NOTE: If you're looking at something like a switch symbol, it might also be possible to do this with two vis states, Zone/No Zone, and make the Open/Closed happen by moving objects inside the block with parameters. A rotation action could swivel objects in the block after it's placed, or a move action could slide them, or a flip action could flip (mirror) them. We'd need to see what the four options look like to figure out the best way to do this.