How to Use the MCAD API
Understanding the SDK Directory Content
This release of the MCAD API is based on Mechanical Desktop 6 and on AutoCAD 2000i. The included ObjectARX has been upgraded with the latest MCAD API libraries.
Below is a summary of the Mechanical SDK directory structure:
/SDK
\---mcadapi
+---doc MCAD API documentation
+---inc MCAD API specific headers
+---lib MCAD API proxy library
\---sample Examples demonstrating the use of the MCAD API
\---CountAssemblies Sample application that counts assemblies
+---maisamp General access to MCAD API
\---MfcBrepTrav Sample application that traverses B-rep topologies
+---MyBrowser Browser sample application
+---projhole Hole projection sample application
\---SmartHole SmartHole sample application
+---Which_MDT Locating MDT on end user machine sample application
+---ObjectARX
+---arxlabs
+---classmap
+---docs
+---docsamps
+---inc ObjectARX headers
+---lib ObjectARX libraries
+---redistrib
+---samples
\---utils
\---brep
+---inc BREP headers
+---lib BREP and ACIS dependent geometry libraries
\---samples Examples demonstrating the use of the BREP API
The ObjectARX Subdirectory
The ObjectARX subdirectory contains the header and library files necessary to compile and link applications for the MCAD API.
The inc directory contains ObjectARX headers.
The utils\brep\inc directory contains BREP API headers.
The lib directory contains ObjectARX libraries.
The utils\brep\lib directory contains the ACIS dependent libraries (acbr15.lib and acgex15.lib).
The mcadapi Subdirectory
Under the mcadapi subdirectory are all of the MCAD API specific files. The mcadapi subdirectory contains four subdirectories:
The doc directory contains the following files:
-apidev.doc, which is the developer's guide for the MCAD API in Word 97 format
-apidev4.doc, which
contains the same information as apidev.doc but is formatted for the A4 paper
size used in
-wd97vwr32.exe, which installs a viewer for those not using Word for Office 97
-readapi.txt in ASCII format
-apidev.chm, which is a Microsoft HTML help version of the Developer's Guide
The lib directory contains the files mcadapi.lib and amdt_attributes.lib, which are the library file that users of the MCAD API need to link against and corresponds to the MCAD API.
The sample directory contains examples of applications written on top of the MCAD API.
The maisamp directory contains the application that was used in the MCAD API testing.
Also included is the executable file for the sample application maisamp.arx, the file defining the functions being exported by the application maisamp.def, and the Visual C++ 6.0 Service Pack 2 project file for the sample application. For more information on this sample application see Appendix A.
The smarthole directory contains the application that demonstrates using the instantiable attribute mechanism to associate features together to simulate an aggregate, or custom feature. In this directory are the following source files:
smarthole.h
smarthole.cpp
entryPnt.cpp
SHAudit.cpp
SHCreate.cpp
SHEdit.cpp
SHErase.cpp
SHMatch.cpp
Also included is the executable file for the sample application smarthole.arx, the file defining the functions being exported by the application smarthole.def, and the Visual C++ 6.0 Service Pack 2 project file for the sample application. For more information on this sample application, see Appendix A.
The projhole directory contains the application that is a hole projection application sample. In this directory are the following source files:
projhole.cpp
projreg.cpp
Also included is the executable file for the sample application projhole.arx, the file defining the functions being exported by the application projhole.def, and the Visual C++ 6.0 Service Pack 2 project file for the sample application. For more information on this sample application, see Appendix A.
The CountAssemblies directory contains the application that is an assembly counting application sample. For more information on this sample application, see Appendix A.
The MfcBrepTrav directory contains the application that is a B-rep traversal application sample. For more information on this sample application, see Appendix A.
The MyBrowser directory contains a browser customization sample appication.. For more information on this sample application, see Appendix A.
The Which_MDT directory contains a sample application that demonstrates how to locate an installation and version of MDT on an end user's system. For more information on this sample application, see Appendix A.
Installing the Application
To install the material from the CD onto your system, copy the SDK directory tree to your hard disk. Change the read-only attribute on the files in the sample directory if you decide to rebuild the sample application. Update all dependencies for the sample application before rebuilding.
The Registry Structure
To prevent conflicts between installations of Mechanical Desktop 3 and 4, the Desktop's registry structure has been changed for this release. The Mechanical Desktop registry keys for MDT4 are now:
autodesk mechanical\acadm
autodesk mechanical\desktop
Running the Application
ObjectARX supports different ways for loading your application. Please refer to the section labeled "Loading an ARX Application" in the chapter "Writing an ARX Application" in the ObjectARX Developer's Guide.
Guidelines for Building Your Application
When building your application, please observe the following guidelines (in addition to those related to building any ObjectARX application):
Use Visual C++ 6.0 Service Pack 2 for your development environment (the same platform that is supported for ObjectARX development).
Include mi.h wherever you need to call MCAD API functions.
Link against mcadapi.lib.
Link against amdt_attributes.lib.
Link against the acge15.lib for the geometry library.
Link against the acgex15.lib for the ACIS dependent geometry library.
Link against the acbr15.lib for the B-rep library.
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