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Determine type of entity in array from IRenderMaterials.GetEntities()?

Question asked by Josh Milam on Dec 21, 2020
Latest reply on Dec 22, 2020 by Artem Taturevych

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If I use the GetEntities() method on an IRenderMaterials object, I am trying to figure out how I can determine the types of the objects that are in the array returned by GetEntities().

If I use the code (VBA) below:

Dim swApp As SldWorks.SldWorks
Dim swDoc As SldWorks.ModelDoc2

Set swApp = Application.SldWorks
Set swDoc = swApp.ActiveDoc

Dim renderMaterials As Variant

renderMaterials = swDoc.Extension.GetRenderMaterials2(swDisplayStateOpts_e.swThisDisplayState, Nothing)

Dim material As SldWorks.IRenderMaterial
Set material = renderMaterials(0)

Dim entities As Variant

entities = material.GetEntities()

How do I determine the types of these entities (stored in the "entities" array in the code snippet above)?

For example some of the entities are features and I can set them to IFeature variables, or are bodies and I can set them to IBody2 variables, are components and set to IComponents2, etc....

My ultimate goal is to organize the appearances similar to the how they are presented in the Appearances Pane.

Thanks,

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6 Replies

Nilesh Patel Dec 21, 2020 7:31 PM
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Josh Milam
Try casting each entity to IEntity object and check the entity type using IEntity::GetType
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- Josh Milam @ Nilesh Patel on Dec 22, 2020 4:20 PM
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  Thanks for the reply Nilesh!
  I was trying that and getting a "Type mismatch" error. But I think I figured out why.
  When the entity is a PartDoc or IBody2 then the error occurs. I am sure this error occurs for other types as well (AssemblyDoc is another). Using "TypeName(entityArray(i))" where "i" is an index, returns "PartDoc", "IBody2", or "Object". From what I have found so far, if "Object" is returned then the "GetType" function can be used as you suggested without error.
  I'll try to post more details on this in the main thread.
  
  I also noticed that using "GetType" on the array values directly, i.e... entityArray(i).GetType, returns the same value as setting the array values to an IEntity variable and using GetType() on that variable.
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Alex Burnett Dec 22, 2020 12:03 PM
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If you use entity.GetType() then it should return an integer that matches one item on this list.

2014 SOLIDWORKS API Help - swSelectType_e Enumeration

I suggest a Select Case block to determine which one it might be.

e.g.
Select Case entity.GetType
   Case swSelectType_e.swSelANNOTATIONTABLES
      'Do something if it's an annotation table
   Case swSelectType_e.swSelANNOTATIONVIEW
      'Do something if it's an annotation view
End Select
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- Josh Milam @ Alex Burnett on Dec 22, 2020 4:39 PM
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  Thanks Alex! I had been trying this and getting type mismatch errors. Finally, I realized that the "GetType" function cannot operate on certain entities returned by the "GetEntities".
  I was testing this on a part document, so the appearance applied to the whole part returned a "PartDoc" variable in the array from "GetEntities". The "GetType" method doesn't work on the "PartDoc" variable, causing the error.
  
  For now, I think what I can do is use "TypeName(entity)" which will return a string, "PartDoc", "IBody2", or "Object" in my case. If "Object" is returned, then the "GetType" function can be used on that object. I think I can take advantage of this and your suggestion of using Select Case to sort out what entities are PartDoc, IBody2, or Faces/Features.
  
  I have to say, I am pretty confused as to why the "GetEntities" command can return an array of entities that don't seem to be from the same class. But, I'm not much of a programmer. It just seems like this should be easier and makes me wonder exactly how the Solidworks GUI itself operates behind the scenes.
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Josh Milam Dec 22, 2020 5:41 PM
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I am including some code below to show what I have learned regarding this problem and maybe someone can see what I did and give suggestions.

The main insights from this are:
1. The IRenderMaterial.GetEntities() function returns entities that can or cannot be operated on with the "GetType()" method. The TypeName() method can be used to sort these entities. When TypeName returns the string "Object", the entity can probably be operated on by the GetType() method. When it returns something else, for example "PartDoc" or "AssemblyDoc", those strings can be used to determine the entity's type.
2. The entities that return "Object" from the TypeName() method can be cast to IEntity objects and the GetType() method used. This returns the same results as using the GetType() method directly on the entity.
3. The GetType() method returns 0 for an IBody2 and 1 for PartDoc which corresponds to swSelNOTHING and swSelEDGES respectively from swSelectType_e Enumeration.

Code:
Sub main()
Dim swApp As SldWorks.SldWorks: Set swApp = Application.SldWorks
Dim swDoc As SldWorks.ModelDoc2: Set swDoc = swApp.ActiveDoc

Dim renMaterials As Variant
renMaterials = swDoc.Extension.GetRenderMaterials2(swDisplayStateOpts_e.swThisDisplayState, Nothing)
Debug.Print "Number of Materials/Appearances = " & swDoc.Extension.GetRenderMaterialsCount2(swDisplayStateOpts_e.swThisDisplayState, Nothing)

Dim material As SldWorks.IRenderMaterial
Dim entities As Variant
Dim ient As SldWorks.IEntity

Dim i As Long
Dim ii As Long

For ii = 0 To UBound(renMaterials)

Set material = renMaterials(ii)
entities = material.GetEntities()

For i = 0 To UBound(entities)

Debug.Print " ii=" & ii & ", i=" & i & ", entities(i).GetType() = " & entities(i).GetType()

Select Case TypeName(entities(i))
Case "PartDoc"
Debug.Print " PartDoc"
Case "IBody2"
Debug.Print " IBody2"
Case "Object"
Set ient = entities(i)
Debug.Print " TypeName(entities(i)) = " & TypeName(entities(i)) & ", IEntity.GetType() = " & ient.GetType()
End Select
Next i
Next ii
End Sub

Immediate Window Output:
Number of Materials/Appearances = 6
ii=0, i=0, entities(i).GetType() = 1
PartDoc
ii=1, i=0, entities(i).GetType() = 22
TypeName(entities(i)) = Object, IEntity.GetType() = 22
ii=2, i=0, entities(i).GetType() = 2
TypeName(entities(i)) = Object, IEntity.GetType() = 2
ii=3, i=0, entities(i).GetType() = 2
TypeName(entities(i)) = Object, IEntity.GetType() = 2
ii=4, i=0, entities(i).GetType() = 0
IBody2
ii=5, i=0, entities(i).GetType() = 2
TypeName(entities(i)) = Object, IEntity.GetType() = 2
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- Artem Taturevych @ Josh Milam on Dec 22, 2020 8:33 PM
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  Another option is ISelectionMgr::GetSelectByIdSpecification, pass the dispatch and it will return the select type.
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Determine type of entity in array from IRenderMaterials.GetEntities()?

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