Hull and Outfitting

Property Changing and Retrieving Functions

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Property Changing and Retrieving Functions

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Last UpdatedJan 07, 2026
4 minute read

This chapter describes functions that change properties of arbitrary entities in the current drawing.

Layer Functions

There is a possibility to use the Drafting layer show/hide mechanism in Vitesse. The user can specify layers to show (other layers will be hidden) or layers to hide other layers will be visible). It is not allowed to specify layers to hide and show at the same time.

To reset the layers show/hide mode, the function layer_show_all() should be used..

layer_show(layer) layer_show(layersList)
The function will show layer (layers). It will set show mode if it is not selected yet. If application is in show mode than this layer will be added to previously selected layers. If hide mode is active it will be reset and than changed to show mode.
Input Parameters:
layer	Layer	Instance of KcsLayer. Layer class.
layersList	[Layer, …]	List of KcsLayer. Layer class instances.
Returned value:
None
Exceptions:
kcs_ArgumentError		Argument type is not valid.
kcs_DrawingNotCurrent		No drawing is current.

layer_hide(layer) layer_hide(layersList)
The function will hide layer (layers). It will set hide mode if it is not selected yet. If application is in hide mode than this layer will be added to previously selected layers. If show mode is active it will be reset and than changed to show mode.
Input Parameters:
Layer	Layer	Instance of KcsLayer. Layer class.
layersList	[Layer, …]	List of KcsLayer. Layer class instances.
Returned value:
None
Exceptions:
kcs_ArgumentError		Argument type is not valid.
kcs_DrawingNotCurrent		No drawing is current.

layer_show_all()
The function will reset layers show/hide mode. All layers will be visible.
Input Parameters:
None
Returned value:
None
Exceptions:
kcs_ArgumentError		This function requires no arguments.
kcs_DrawingNotCurrent		No drawing is current.
kcs_GeneralError		General error.

Properties Get Functions

This chapter describes functions used to get properties of text, symbol and contour. The properties get functions described in this chapter use the Text, Symbol and Contour2D classes to get properties of element. These classes hold information about a text, symbol and contour..

element_layer_get(handle, layer)
The function will return element layer.
Input Parameters:
handle	ElementHandle	Handle to element.
layer	Layer	Instance of Layer class.
Returned value:
[0]	Layer	Instance of Layer class.
Exceptions:
kcs_ArgumentError		Argument types are not valid.
kcs_DrawingNotCurrent		No drawing is current.
kcs_HandleInvalid		Given handle is not valid.
kcs_PythonMethodNotFound		Python method not found. Check your KcsLayer implementation file.

element_layer_set(handle, layer)
The function will set layer of element given by handle.
Input Parameters:
handle	ElementHandle	Handle to element.
layer	Layer	Instance of Layer class.
Returned value:
None
Exceptions:
kcs_ArgumentError		Argument types are not valid.
kcs_DrawingNotCurrent		No drawing is current.
kcs_HandleInvalid		Given handle is not valid.
kcs_PythonMethodNotFound		Python method not found. Check your KcsLayer implementation file.
kcs_GeneralError		General error. Layer can not be set.

model_layer_set(model, layer)
The function changes the layer of a model in all views in the current drawing.
Input Parameters:
model	Model	The Model (type & name)
layer	Layer	Instance of Layer class.
Returned value:
None
Exceptions:
kcs_ValueError		Argument value error.
kcs_DrawingNotCurrent		No drawing is current.
kcs_ModelNotFound		Model not found.
kcs_GeneralError		General error. Layer can not be set.

element_colour_get(handle, colour)
The function will get colour of geometry element given by handle.
Input Parameters:
handle	ElementHandle	Handle to geometry element.
colour	Colour	Instance of Colour class.
Returned value:
[0]	Colour	Instance of Colour class.
Exceptions:
kcs_ArgumentError		Argument types are not valid.
kcs_DrawingNotCurrent		No drawing is current.
kcs_HandleInvalid		Given handle is not valid.
kcs_PythonMethodNotFound		Python method not found. Check your KcsColour implementation file.

element_linetype_get(handle, linetype)
The function will get linetype of geometry element given by handle.
Input Parameters:
handle	ElementHandle	Handle to geometry element.
linetype	Linetype	Instance of Linetype class.
Returned value:
[0]	Linetype	Instance of Linetype class.
Exceptions:
kcs_ArgumentError		Argument types are not valid.
kcs_DrawingNotCurrent		No drawing is current.
kcs_HandleInvalid		Given handle is not valid.
kcs_PythonMethodNotFound		Python method not found. Check your KcsLinetype implementation file.

element_linetype_set(handle, linetype)
The function will set linetype to element given by handle.
Input Parameters:
handle	ElementHandle	Handle to geometry element.
linetype	Linetype	Instance of Linetype class.
Returned value:

Exceptions:
kcs_ArgumentError		Argument types are not valid.
kcs_DrawingNotCurrent		No drawing is current.
kcs_HandleInvalid		Given handle is not valid.
kcs_PythonMethodNotFound		Python method not found. Check your KcsLinetype implementation file.
kcs_GeneralError		General error. Linetype can not be changed.

text_properties_get(handle, text)
The function returns a properties of text selected by handle.
Input Parameters:
handle	integer	Element handle
text	KcsText	Instance of KcsText.Text class.
Returned value:
[0]	KcsText	Instance of KcsText. Text class.
Exceptions:
kcs_ValueError		Invalid parameter value.
kcs_HandleInvalid		Given handle is not valid or was not found in drawing.
kcs_DrawingNotCurrent		No drawing was current.
kcs_Error		General error.
kcs_PythonLibraryNotFound		Program can't find python library.
kcs_PythonMethodNotFound		Python module error.

contour_properties_get(handle, contour)
The function returns a properties of contour selected by handle.
Input Parameters:
handle	integer	Element handle
contour	KcsContour2D	Instance of KcsContour2D.Contour2D class.
Returned value:
[0]	KcsContour2D	Instance of KcsContour2D.Contour2D class.
Exceptions:
kcs_ValueError		Invalid parameter value.
kcs_HandleInvalid		Given handle is not valid or was not found in drawing.
kcs_DrawingNotCurrent		No drawing was current.
kcs_Error		General error.
kcs_PythonLibraryNotFound		Program can't find python library.
kcs_PythonMethodNotFound		Python module error.

symbol_properties_get(handle, symbol)
The function returns a properties of symbol selected by handle.
Input Parameters:
handle	integer	Element handle
symbol	KcsSymbol	Instance of KcsSymbol. Symbol class.
Returned value:
[0]	KcsSymbol	Instance of KcsSymbol. Symbol class.
Exceptions:
kcs_ValueError		Invalid parameter value.
kcs_HandleInvalid		Given handle is not valid or was not found in drawing.
kcs_DrawingNotCurrent		No drawing was current.
kcs_Error		General error.
kcs_PythonLibraryNotFound		Program can't find python library.
kcs_PythonMethodNotFound		Python module error.

element_colour_set(Handle, Colour)
The function changes the colour of an arbitrary entity.
Input Parameters:
Handle	integer	Handle to the entity
Colour	Colour	The colour
Returned value:
None
Exceptions:
kcs_ValueError		Invalid parameter value
kcs_DrawingNotCurrent		No drawing was current
kcs_HandleInvalid		Invalid handle to given entity
kcs_ColourInvalid		Invalid colour
Example:
# Example: kcs_ex_draft26.py # Example: kcs_ex_draft23.py
reference_move ()
This function moves reference symbol together with associated text to a new location.
Input Parameters:
Handle	ElementHandle	Handle to reference element.
Position	Point2D	New position where reference text should be placed.
Returned value:
None
Exceptions:
kcs_ArgumentError		Invalid arguments list.
kcs_HandleInvalid		Invalid element handle.
kcs_DrawingNotCurrent		No drawing was current.

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