I've been working on some tooling and what I've run into is common block names being used in more than one tool.
I try to insert them into my layout and it shows multiple definitions that are duplicates but it ignores them as it continues to insert the new tool.
So then the tool is all messed up since it's trying to use the properties of the blocks from another tool.
Is there a batch routine or another simplier way to rename 40 or 50 blocks at one time?
This is happening in multiple tools and they are being generated by another customer so I can't just go talk to the guy and ask him to make a simple change.
Any way other than going into multiple tool files and changing each block name one at a time?
I am designing a solar field and have my solar panels laid out in a grid. I have each panel represented as a block with 4 attributes: Column, Row, Module Type, and Combiner Box. There are ~5,000 panels so it will take forever to modify the attributes of each block individually. Is there a way I can select multiple blocks (an entire column for instance) and set the "Column" attribute for ALL of those blocks to the appropriate value?
My end goal is to be able to export the information in those blocks to excel. So if there is any way to tie 4 pieces of information to an object and export it into excel not using block attributes, that would work for me as well.
I attempted to use Lee Mac's Batch Attribute Editor BAtteV1-4.lsp and it was very close to what I needed. But it will modify the specified attribute of all blocks within a drawing, whereas I only want to modify the attributes of all blocks within a selection.
I have some photos that I need to partially rename. Example > Currently they are named ABC_0001, ABC_0002, ABC_0003, etc. I only want to change the first part of the name. So I need the names to DEF_0001, DEF_0002, etc. It important not to change the numbers. The PS Elements Editor "rename multiple files" gives me a lot of options to rename them but it seems there is not a way to leave the numbers in the file names intact while just changing the first few letters.
I want to rename multiple files, but each time I try, it creates two copies of each file, and as they are numbered sequentially, I cannot just delete the extra ones at once. I don't understand why it does this, and how I can avoid it!
I am trying to batch plot to PDF's from a drawing file that has multiple tabs in it. I would like each tab to be a separate PDF file. We are utilizing Acrobat X to write the PDF's. AutoCAD places all of the tabs into one file whether I tell a Multi-sheet file or a Single-sheet file.
I'm trying to get a routine that creates and inserts a copy of all the block entities in a DWG. For some reason the code causes CAD to hang? See attachment for code.
Let's say I have a whole bunch of blocks, and they are all different colors. I want to make them all one color without having to go into the block editor screen for each one. there has to be a way.
I have about 100 blocks. They are different in many ways, but all have multiple linear distance parameters, and these have the distance max set to lengths (all of them have different lengths).
I'd like to be able to change the distance max without having to open each block and do this manually.
Is it possible to export block info into Excel and then change it in Excel, and reimport into AutoCAD, saving the new information?
Or is there another way, through Lisp or some other part of AutoCAD that I don't know about?
working with blocks, I want to be able to simple turn on and off certain layers of the blocks appropriate for the work I am doing at the time. However, no matter how I construct my blocks, on what layer i made them or insert them, I can only get one layer to turn on and off freely. Is there something I am missing with blocks to get it to work more smoothly?
Example... a door block with swing and frames. When you want to hatch a floor pattern, you have to click inside and outside the swing arc to hatch, and even then... there should be a line across the frame to close the opening... I just want to turn off the door and swing line, keeping the door frame and threshold line to make hatching easier.
My coworkers are positive that they have been able to INSERT multiple blocks at one time but now when using the INSERT command, they can only select a single block for insertion. I tried recreating the issue and it does the same thing for me both using DESIGN CENTER and the INSERT command. Is there a setting somewhere that controls the number of blocks you can INSERT at one time or are they just delirious?
If it isn't possible to do in AutoCAD, then is there possibly a LISP routine out there that will achieve this?
I've been given about 14 DWGs from another company all on different discs. Each DWG is a page to a set of Shop Drawings. All objects are in model space. I want to combine all of them into one drawing but every drawing has similar block names with different objects associated with the block and when I copy the objects from one drawing to antoher, the blocks morph into the exisiting block, if that makes sense. Just a poor initial set up.
Anyway, the solution to this, I have found, is to rename the blocks in each drawing to have room numbers on the ends, giving them unique names and avoiding the "morph" upon inserting. I have about 15 blocks per drawings to add -XX with XX being 01-14. Is there an easy way to modify them or do I need to do the RENAME command as many times as needed in each drawing?
I have a dwg that is converted from vectorworks with 100+ blocks of different names. All line-weight and color is set to 0.00mm and white.
I want to be able to organize multiple Block into same layer so I can color them by layer and change visibility (hide/Lock) by layer. but when I select everything to organizes "by layer" only non-block line can be organized.
Is there a way I can change multiple block into same layer without exploding them?
I try:
1. select block and change layer in properties. Failed.
2. "set to by layer" Problem: layer of block is still not changed when open with reference edit.
So, while it wasn't common before, I am finding a need for multiple visibility states in blocks more and more these days, since AutoCAD can't do it I was wondering what work around and tricks people had come up with??
I have created a block with 3 different elements (A B C). This 3 elements are totally independents and they can be visible or invisible. Whit only one visibility parameters, there are 7 different visibility states:
xxC, xBx, xBC, Axx, AxC, ABx, ABC
If there are 4 or more elements there are too much possibilities.
I've tried to create 3 visibility parameters, but it's not possible.
¿How can i create independent visibility states for each different object in a block?
I am trying to create a dynamic block that allows me to insert a single rack into a drawing and make a single row of racking with all racks staying 9'-0" center of post to center of post. Also would like to be able to turn that one single row into a double row that spacing between rows can be modified. I have attached a cad file showing a single rack and two example, one of a row of double racks and one of a single row of racks. This rack is 48" deep i will also have to create this for a 60' deep rack so how i can create future rack sizes and rows.
I was inserting blocks. I was trying to insert more than one block at the same time. If I have to insert each block every single time, that's just so slow. There must be another way to make it easier to bring up more than one block at the same time.
I am using both Mac version and windows version of AutoCAD. In the mac version, when tried to open up block editor, for some reason, it says the BLOCKEDITOR = 0 (read only). I couldn't even get into block editor to make changes for my block.
If we want to change the color of a block we have to open block editor and change the color from there.
If in a design we have 100 blocks and we want to change their color to the same (say black), how can we do that? Do we have to do it for every single block or can we select all 100 blocks and change the color uniformly?
Are there any working .arx files or lisp routines that would enable me to calculate a total length of multiple blocks ? I know there is TLEN out there but this does't work for blocks, I need something that will calc combined lenghts of my user defined blocks which are basically simple lines of varying lenghts.
I have a CAD file with property parcels in it. It has come from an external contractor and from a GIS program of sort sort I believe.
If you click each 'boundary'/land piece, it is a block/object (not a proxy graphic) and in the properties pane window, there are attributes that has the lot number, the lot area, parcel number, other info etc in it.
Each block is irregular and different, i.e. they are not all the same rectangle block repopulated, they are different blocks.
I don't know much about attributes in AutoCad althoguh after reading about them, is there some way to edit an attribute (make it not 'invisible' and to increase the text size of its display) when it is already in several hundred different blocks? The only way I could work out how to do it was to go into every block and do it.
I also tried using the ATTSYNC command to update blocks with attributes although that requires me to individually select each block/give each blocks name.
I also tried using the DATA EXTRACTION wizard and was able to extract the attributes into a table/excel file, although that is not really good enough as I need the attributes displayed over the CAD data so you can see what parcel of land the attributes are referring to.
Any better way or a lisp command to do this? Clicking each block/boundary/land unit to place a label over it would also be okay. I just don't want to have to manually create the labels from reading the property pane, there must surely be a better way,
I'd like to modify a dynamic door block I've created so that I can stretch by door leaf size OR structural opening size, but I'm not sure how to do this.
Incidentally, I think the block has some flaws:
- I think the 'center/flip point' is not exactly in the center! - The frame size should be 40mm, not 32mm - The packing zone should be 30mm, not 6.38mm!
I've been asked to create some plots of vector arrows showing the results from water current metres, ie each data point has a position (x and y only), direction and a velocity.
I have created a dynamic block to handle the vector data (a simple arrow with a stretch and rotate controls)
What I need now is to somehow read in the values for each block from an excel spreadsheet or txt file?
Windows 7 x64 32GB RAM Xeon E5420 @2.50GHz 3DS MAX 2014 Civil 3D 2014
What I am trying to do is create a selection set of blocks with the same name. Then step through the selection set and if the block has an attribute "Tag" with a Specific "Value" then get the insert point.
It seems like this should be easy but it's not. I have a block with multiple components. I want them to array sequentially as I drag the grip. First one component, then the next, then the next. What I get is all 3 at once when I drag the grip far enough. I tried 3 separate linear parameters with their grips stacked but that didnt work either. What I have attached is a very simplified version of what I want, but I think once I get the concept it will be easy to elaborate on.
I'm looking at a block which has multiple visibility states, 2 of which show a beam as a side elevation, where the beam can be stretched to give a length. This works well.
But I'd like to be able to have the beam stretching so the bottom flange of the beam can stretch relative to the top to give an angle to the beam end, and also have the lines representing the flanges (whose position will vary depending on the steel size) can also be stretched to give a neat cutoff.
Stretching the bottom of the bottom flange is easy, but I can't figure out how to stretch the inner lines? They would have to be moved a proportion of the distance which will vary between beam sizes/flange thicknesses, so putting in a fixed multiplication factor won't work. The mathematics to set a multiplication factor based on other elements of the dynamic block is easy, but is it possible to have such implemented on a varying basis?
Elevation showing what I want to do, and the block itself attached.
is there any way that Autocad can have multiple items placed on the clipboard for insertion use like the Microsoft Office Word programme has (up to 24 inputs). This would be a good feature to allow going to one file, copying what you need and then switching to your current drawing file and placing them as needed
I was wondering if it is possible to make adjustments to tittle blocks across multiple drawings.
Such as changing a Rev A to a Rev B
I have to update about a hundred drawings and was wondering if there is some sort of Macro that I can use to do this without manually going into each one.