update or insert blocks with attributes

[serdas]

Is it possible to have something that will help me to update my block information in each drawing without opening each drawing

I have over 100 drawing and I have a block on each of them, and has few attributes in the block and I need to change one or all of them. All will be same throughout the project.

 

 

Can you help me with this please?

[serdas]

i have a block with attributes and have to insert them more then 100 dwg. is there a easy way to do this

 

thank you

[ReMark]

You could try using a script file that opens the drawing, inserts the block, saves and closes the drawing. AutoDesk offers a utility called ScriptPro that makes running a script easier.

[serdas]

I have no idea about scripts. can you help me more with htis?

 

also can it delete a block as well

 

thank you

[nocturne00]

when you say insert to a drawing do you mean it to be inserted in a specific location? is it an attributed title block you want to insert?

[serdas]

yes it is. title block with 0,0 insertion point, i think i also have to fill the attributes as well or i can do copy with base point and paste.

 

can you sugest something?

 

thank you

[nocturne00]

Sorry, never done it before. the only thing that comes to mind would be a LISP routine. but that would be some request to fill if someone in the forum would take interest on what you want to accomplish.

[serdas]

someone suggested script

do you know anything about that? how it works?

 

thanks

[serdas]

when you say insert to a drawing do you mean it to be inserted in a specific location? is it an attributed title block you want to insert?

 

what did you have in mind

any suggestion is better then nothing

[nocturne00]

A Lisp is a script.

All I can suggest is the long way of doing it one by one ^_^

nothing else comes to mind if you dont know how to understand and use a LISP

[dbroada]

A Lisp is a script.

All I can suggest is the long way of doing it one by one ^_^

nothing else comes to mind if you dont know how to understand and use a LISP

not strictly true - a script is a list of AutoCAD commands, particularly a list if often repeated commands. In this instanace it would be something like...

 

QNEW
-INSERT
TitleBlock
0,0
1
1
0
ASSEMBLY
FRED
123-456
SAVEAS
123-456

 

and would then repeat for each drawing being created.

 

We used to use DOS dir command then excel to build our drawing list and using excel Find|Replace build our scripts until I wrote a VB prog to do it.

 

I would suggest checking out ReMark's suggestion in this case.

[nocturne00]

Thanks for the correction Dave.

[dbroada]

Thanks for the correction Dave.

 

no worries.

 

scripts are very useful. As I implied above you can run them as a batch but you can run them individually in a drawing. A typical use might be if you have a set of drawings to do minor mods on and at the same time update the issue block. You can type your script in notepad, save it with a .scr extention. It could erase an area and then insert an exploded block @ 0,0. A little time spent with a piece of paper and notepad and each time you get to the update the issue block all you do is type SCRIPT, browse for your file and it all gets done.

 

AutoCAD has always had scripts but they are not well known. AutoCAD 2009 has made it more flexible and made a feature of it.

 

The one drawback of scripts is that it is just like sitting at the keyboard. There is no error trapping so an inappropriate reply from your script can send AutoCAD off in an entirely unexpected direction.

[dbroada]

Is it possible to have something that will help me to update my block information in each drawing without opening each drawing

I have over 100 drawing and I have a block on each of them, and has few attributes in the block and I need to change one or all of them. All will be same throughout the project.

 

 

Can you help me with this please?

back to the original question.

 

It is possible to do this without opening each drawing but I don't know how. What is possible is to have AutoCAD open the drawing and quickly issue a set of commands.

 

If you are after changing the value of an existing attribute the method is different to if you want to erase an existing block and replace it with a new one. In each case I would still use a script, which I have outlined above.

 

It is possible to run a single script on every file in a folder with a small batch file but I have never needed to do it this way.

 

This would also be possible using LISP but for simple tasks like this I would still script it.

[nocturne00]

Big thanks for the Info, We also have several script files, mostly are for inserting linetypes, fonts etc. but we've never actually used them coz our predecesors just left in a snap and not even leaving a clue on how to use their scripts, lisps, TB's etc.

 

Could be very helpful to learn about this but may need to backtrack on Programming Basics to avoid screwing up

[dbroada]

It only needs patience and the better your understanding of basic AutoCAD commands the better. There are a couple of "gotchas", particularly when the question is asked differently between "live" and a script but in general the script should look identical to how you wouldtype on the command line.

 

If you have a script, print it out and type it in the commond line, line by line.

 

If you need a script step through on the command line and write each line on paper (or notepad) noting everything AutoCAD expects as an answer.

 

I have attached a simple script we create to batch plot some drawings. This has an odity in that I draw a line and imediately erase it. Why? Because usually AutoCAD thinks a print is a change to the drawing and asks if you want to discard changes but sometimes it doesn't. Putting in a line forces the question to be asked. Since I'm discarding all changes I needn't erase the line but never mind.

 

The resume is just something I now put at the end of all my scripts. Notepad sometimes puts a blank line at the end which AutoCAD interprets as "repeat last command". Resume is a sort of "do nothing" command so it doesn't matter if it gets repeated.

PLOT.SCR

[serdas]

i will try to write one and post here to see if i did it right. one question though some of the commands i am very used to use icon example, to set a layer active i would go layer menager and set it active or open design center to bring a layer from the template and etc. how could i see the commands that autocadd using for those actions.

 

and i understand that it is not possible to update the block with scripts?

 

thank you for all your help

[dbroada]

sometimes you can press your icon then press F2 to see what command was active. If that doesn't help post your problem here and somebody should be able to help.

 

It is possible to update blocks by scripts but you do need to define excactly what you want to change. As I said above there are different approaches.

 

In the meantime, have a look at the -LAYER command.

[serdas]

for example how can i import a layer from a different dwg. with commands only

[serdas]

one more question

how can i insert a block using the comand line.

 

-insert only inserts tha block in the file but i need to get the block itself

 

thanks