Replace text from list

June 1, 2020

Hi everyone,

Is there a routine to find and replace one text with another in an autocad file, that allows me to do this operation with several files at the same time? For example, having a list in excel in which the names of the files, the original text and the text to be replaced are registered.

NRO. DRAWING FIND REPLACE

1 D01 T01 R01

2 D02 T02 R02

3 D03 T03 R03

. . . .

n D0N T0N R0N

In the file "D01" find the word "T01" and replace it with "R01", and so on with all the files in the list automatically without having to do the operation one by one.

Thanks in advance for the help.

June 2, 2020

Try: Batch Find & Replace Text on Lee Mac web site

http://www.lee-mac.com/bfind.html

Don't know if it can read from excel but it is working.

Edited June 2, 2020 by mdbdesign

June 2, 2020

Thank you very much mdbdesign.

The routine is very good and works well. However, it does not allow me to do what I need to, because on many occasions several of the files contain the same text but the word to be replaced in each file is different. For example, there is a case where files D01, D02, and D03 contain the text T01, but the word you want to replace with is different, R01 for file D01, R02 for D02, and R03 for D03.

June 3, 2020

You could try Lee Macs Script programme (or others) to process updating each file (I think this does it: http://www.lee-mac.com/scriptwriter.html ).

I have copied a text find and replace LISP (C:txtreplace) which has limitations but you might be able to use this - call this LISP from the scriptwriter above and it -should- work

In the LISP below you'll need to modify C:txtreplace so that old_text and new_text are read from your spreadsheet rather than as an input - I don't have anything to hand that does that but others might be able to change this around, and you could have old_text and new_text as lists, just repeat the FindReplaceAll command until you have gone through the full list.

Limitations.... this best works on Dtext, when an Mtext string gets too long it stops processing it after so many characters.. but if you only have short Dtexts to update it should work

(note that this is about the only command line find and replace lisp I could find, everything else is with a pop up box)

;https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/visual-lisp-autolisp-and-general/find-and-replace-text/td-p/5649883
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
(defun c:txtreplace( / old_text new_text)
  (setq old_text (getstring T "OLD Text to replace (replace in this model/paper space and text case as entered): "))
  (setq new_text (getstring T "NEW text to use: "))
  (FindReplaceAll old_text new_text)
  (princ)
)
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; FindReplaceAll - Changes Text, Mtext, Dimensions and Attribute Block entities
; that have a Find$ string with a Replace$ string.
; Arguments: 2
;   Find$ = Phrase string to find
;   Replace$ = Phrase to replace it with
; Syntax: (FindReplaceAll "old string" "new string")
; Returns: Updates Text, Mtext, Dimension and Attribute Block entities
; It is Case sensitive
;-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(defun FindReplaceAll (Find$ Replace$ / BlkEntList@ BlkEntName^ BlkEntType$ Cnt#
  DimEntList@ DimEntName^ DimEntType$ EntList@ EntName^ EntType$ FindReplace:
  Mid$ Mid2$ NewText$ Num# Replace$ SS& Text$)
  ;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  ; FindReplace: - Returns Str$ with Find$ changed to Replace$
  ; Arguments: 3
  ;   Str$ = Text string
  ;   Find$ = Phrase string to find
  ;   Replace$ = Phrase to replace Find$ with
  ; Returns: Returns Str$ with Find$ changed to Replace$
  ;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  (defun FindReplace: (Str$ Find$ Replace$ / Cnt# FindLen# Loop Mid$ NewStr$ ReplaceLen#)
    (setq Loop t Cnt# 1 NewStr$ Str$ FindLen# (strlen Find$) ReplaceLen# (strlen Replace$))
    (while Loop
      (setq Mid$ (substr NewStr$ Cnt# FindLen#))
      (if (= Mid$ Find$)
        (setq NewStr$ (strcat (substr NewStr$ 1 (1- Cnt#)) Replace$ (substr NewStr$ (+ Cnt# FindLen#)))
              Cnt# (+ Cnt# ReplaceLen#)
        );setq
        (setq Cnt# (1+ Cnt#))
      );if
      (if (= Mid$ "") (setq Loop nil))
    );while
    NewStr$
  );defun FindReplace:
  ;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  ; Start of Main function
  ;-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

  (if (and (= (type Find$) 'STR)(= (type Replace$) 'STR)(/= Find$ ""))
    (progn
      (if (setq SS& (ssget "x" (list '(-4 . "<AND")'(-4 . "<OR")'(0 . "TEXT")'(0 . "MTEXT")'(0 . "DIMENSION")'(0 . "INSERT")'(-4 . "OR>")(cons 410 (getvar "CTAB"))'(-4 . "AND>"))))
        (progn
          (command "UNDO" "BEGIN")
          (setq Cnt# 0)
          (repeat (sslength SS&)
            (setq EntName^ (ssname SS& Cnt#)
                  EntList@ (entget EntName^)
                  EntType$ (cdr (assoc 0 EntList@))
                  Text$ (cdr (assoc 1 EntList@))
            );setq
            (if (= EntType$ "INSERT")
              (if (assoc 66 EntList@)
                (progn
                  (while (/= (cdr (assoc 0 EntList@)) "SEQEND")
                    (setq EntList@ (entget EntName^))
                    (if (= (cdr (assoc 0 EntList@)) "ATTRIB")
                      (progn
                        (setq Text$ (cdr (assoc 1 EntList@)))
                        (if (wcmatch Text$ (strcat "*" Find$ "*"))
                          (progn
                            (setq ReplaceWith$ (FindReplace: Text$ Find$ Replace$))
                            (entmod (subst (cons 1 ReplaceWith$) (assoc 1 EntList@) EntList@))
                            (entupd EntName^)
                          );progn
                        );if
                      );progn
                    );if
                    (setq EntName^ (entnext EntName^))
                  );while
                );progn
              );if
              (if (wcmatch Text$ (strcat "*" Find$ "*"))
                (progn
                  (setq ReplaceWith$ (FindReplace: Text$ Find$ Replace$))
                  (entmod (subst (cons 1 ReplaceWith$) (assoc 1 EntList@) EntList@))
                  (entupd EntName^)
                );progn
              );if
            );if
            (setq Cnt# (1+ Cnt#))
          );repeat
          (command "UNDO" "END")
        );progn
      );if
    );progn
  );if
  (princ)
);defun FindReplaceAll
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

June 4, 2020

You could use your excel to write the script look at the sequence of a manual version, then just copy a column to notepad and save as a script. Get 1 line to work 1st ! Note the text must be in quotes. Look at concatenate function.

open d01 (FindReplaceAll "T01" "R01") close Y

open d02 (FindReplaceAll "t02" "R02") close Y

Note you must have your lisp autoloaded if you don't know how to do that post.

June 4, 2020

7 hours ago, BIGAL said:

You could use your excel to write the script look at the sequence of a manual version, then just copy a column to notepad and save as a script. Get 1 line to work 1st ! Note the text must be in quotes. Look at concatenate function.

open d01 (FindReplaceAll "T01" "R01") close Y

open d02 (FindReplaceAll "t02" "R02") close Y

Note you must have your lisp autoloaded if you don't know how to do that post.

That's easier than trying to get the info from excel.

You could add something like

(load "C:\\Users\\…lisp file location..\\AutoCAD LISPS\\mylisp.lsp") if your lisp isn't autoloaded?

open d01 ((load "c:\\ ………..lsp") FindReplaceAll "T01...… ) close Y

June 4, 2020

minimal tested

B2P.ZIP

June 5, 2020

First of all Thank you all so much for your valuable time.

Steven P, the routine works fine when I load it inside each file, although in some cases I had problems with some texts, due to the limitations you mention. I have tried to do it through a script as BIGAL recommends and with the code that you indicate in your second message but I cannot make it work.

rlx, the attached routine allows me to read the excel sheet directly, and when testing the files I have, it has successfully made the changes in each case. However it only makes the change to the file of the first row of the excel table. I have tested multiple files and modifying the paths, but in all cases it only executes the change for the first file in the table.

I would appreciate it very much if you could help me modifying the file so that it performs the operation with all the files in the list.

Thank you in advance.

June 5, 2020

darn , I knew I should have written virtually untested...

just copied , pasted and modified some stuff from a couple of other routines together. Anyways , cleaned code up just a tiny bit and tried it on my work computer and it seems to be working on this side so hope attached one does what you want else have to look at it later because after , I dunno , 10 weeks 'working' from home my boss said not to just book my hours but I actually have to do something too... now he tells me! I'm in sooo much trouble now haha

B2P.lsp

June 5, 2020

8 minutes ago, rlx said:

10 weeks 'working' from home my boss said not to just book my hours but I actually have to do something too... now he tells me! I'm in sooo much trouble now haha

Your boss is weird

June 7, 2020

RLX (setenv "excelline" "1") as 1st step once lisp updates do (setenv "exceline" "2") this way know to read the next row down etc. Really have no idea if its going to work.

Thinking more don't run a script run a macro in Excel that opens, load lisp etc closes and so on for a row range. Would be in VBA calling a lisp is supported. Again where would I start.

control Autocad from excel.lsp

Edited June 7, 2020 by BIGAL

June 7, 2020

RLX, thank you very much for taking the time to modify the lisp, I have tried the new routine and it executes the action for all the files in the list, but on several occasions a window appears with the instruction in neerlandés (Kies uit lijst) asking me to select the file from the list, I click OK, and the program keeps loading and does not respond.
Another error that happens is that when I want to replace numbers, for example when trying to replace 20 for 10, 100 or 1000, the program replaces it with 1, and sometimes when I try to replace 3 with 500 it made the change but resulted in 50.

For now I have been using the routine with the files that have given me results and with those that give me problems I am changing them manually. I will try to run the lisp using excel with VBA as BIGAL recommends.

June 7, 2020

It's probably a small fix, would have to do more testing. vba extension is not installed om my work computer so I stopped using it but if its working for you ... whatever works is best. And most of the time a simple script may not be the fasted but often it is the most stable. Good luck with the dwg's

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