Locked block

[bobsy852]

My colleage asked me thisafternoon about a block he had in a drawing sent from a client which he wanted to explode and move a red box on this block to a new area. Now he used the explode command like you do and nothing happened. So I suggested that possibly it was a read-only file, but we could edit other areas of the drawing and he had already copied this block once into another area of the file.

 

 

Does anyone know if it is possible to lock a block or why it is not possible to alter it?

For now he's managed to find a way around this issue, but it's nice to further the experience on CAD incase this issue pops up again!

 

If it helps, I will get a copy of the file as soon as he's finished working on it and upload it to this thread to see if anyone else can figure it out. Although you may know already?

 

Thanks everyone!

[lpseifert]

start the Block command to bring up the Block Definition dialog box. Select the block's Name in the pulldown and check the 'Allow exploding' box. Save and you'll be able to explode the block.

[bobsy852]

erm, it doesnt seem to be in the list? If we click on it, it doesnt seem to come up as a block, and at the top of the properties tab in the drop-down which usually states what sort of item you have selected it says "Line(94)" as if it's selected 94 lines, so it doesnt seem to register as a block!

[Cad64]

It's probably a Group. Type GROUP at the command line to open the "Object Grouping" dialog. You will be able to Explode the group from there.

 

If that doesn't work, upload the file.

[bobsy852]

Pardon my ignorance, but having never used this group tool before I'm struggling to figure out how it works? :/ If I click "Find name" and then click on the group/block it comes up as A56. But I then if I go back into the group dialog all the fields remain blank?

[bobsy852]

Ok, I've attached the file to this post!

I've deleted the largest parts of the file (Img's etc) which are how we've got round the problem, and i've switched the majority of the rest of the DWG onto a frozen layer.

The bit that appears to be a block/group I've put inside the red box and left switched on.

 

If you could let me know how you explode it etc it would be much appreciated! Thank you!

Locked block.dwg

[RobDraw]

I don't see a block. Just lines, text, and a circle.

[lpseifert]

As Cad64 suggested, it's a Group. If you don't want to explode it you can toggle the group selection with Ctrl+H (same as setting Pickstyle - 0=off 1 or 3=on)

If you want to explode the group, you need to select the group name and explode it from the Object Group dialog box.

There are a multiple number of groups on the dwg, I think the ones showing on screen are *A29 and *A32

[RobDraw]

I don't see a group either. Just lines, text, and a circle. Am I missing something?

[lpseifert]

I don't see a group either. Just lines, text, and a circle. Am I missing something?

your Pickstyle is probably set to 0 (or something other than 1 or 3)

The Pickstyle variable is saved in the registry, not per dwg.

[bobsy852]

As Cad64 suggested, it's a Group. If you don't want to explode it you can toggle the group selection with Ctrl+H (same as setting Pickstyle - 0=off 1 or 3=on)

If you want to explode the group, you need to select the group name and explode it from the Object Group dialog box.

There are a multiple number of groups on the dwg, I think the ones showing on screen are *A29 and *A32

 

Thanks for this Ipseifert!! thats done it!

I didnt know how to get it to appear in the list! There are a lot of groups in that!

What's the idea behind using the group tool instead of block?

 

Apologies to Cad64, looks like you had it spot on, I just got a bit confused by this new grouping concept!

 

Another question with regards to the Ctrl+H tool, what does this do on the different settings? E.g if i set it to "1" how does this differ from setting it to "0"?

 

Thanks

[Dana W]

I see you have figured it out since I began typing. I will leave this post anyway.

 

I did not find an issue with moving or copying the red square even though nearly the entire drawing highlights when rolled over or selected.

 

It is definately a group, and not a block.

 

Without ungrouping, I was able to select and move the red square independently and then executing the move command.

 

I removed the 'group' by selecting all the objects, and then clicking "Ungroup" on the Tools dropdown. Now it is just a bunch of lines and things that highlight individually.

 

I wonder if you have PICKFIRST set to something other than 1. That certainly would add to the confusion if it were not set to 1.

Edited August 4, 2010 by Dana W
typing too slow.

[lpseifert]

What's the idea behind using the group tool instead of block?

from Help

Group ObjectsA group is a saved set of objects that you can select and edit together or separately as needed. Groups provide an easy way to combine drawing elements that you need to manipulate as a unit.

Another question with regards to the Ctrl+H tool, what does this do on the different settings? E.g if i set it to "1" how does this differ from setting it to "0"?

Thanks

 

again from Help

PICKSTYLE

(Quick Reference)

Type: Integer

Saved in: Registry Initial value: 1

Controls the use of group selection and associative hatch selection.

 

0 No group selection or associative hatch selection

1 Group selection

2 Associative hatch selection

3 Group selection and associative hatch selection

[bobsy852]

Thanks everyone! Sorry i should probably have checked the help file before asking! my bad!