AutoCad :: Automating Dwg By Attributes From Excel
Nov 30, 2006
I work for a company who's trying to automate the production of their mechanical and electrical cad drawings. We eventually want to integrate this into our website, so that a customer can select a few options, and a detailed drawing is generated based on what they pick.
To begin with, I'm trying to integrate AutoCAD with MS Excel. I've managed to automate in excel the options a customer can choose from. Now, the tricky part is, how can I transmit information to AutoCAD to perhaps pick blocks and strategically place them in specific locations of the drawing.
For example, if I have the option of Cats, Dogs, Elephants and Monkeys, and I have the option of quantities... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and I pick 3 Monkeys and 2 Cats, I want CAD to be able to place 3 monkeys and 2 cats side by side in a row.
I have a program that I used years ago to extract attributes from AutoCAD into excel. The VBA program is in excel. It is Attribute extraction Utility for AutoCAD Release 14. I want to use it again for 2014 but when I run it I get a compile error can't find project or library and it highlights the the following code "set doc = ACAD.ActiveDocument". Below is the entire VBA sub routine.
' THIS EXTRACTS THE ATTRIBUTE VALUES FROM AUTOCAD TO EXCEL
Sub Extract() Dim sheet As Object Dim shapes As Object Dim elem As Object Dim Excel As Object Dim Max As Integer
I'm trying to figure out a way to do the following:
I have several drawing files in DWG. Each DWG has a block placed in a drawing sheet. The block contains attributes which would like to link to an Excel file.
Then if I update the attribute in the drawings this would change the linked attribute in the Excel file, and vice versa.
Note that there are several drawings which I would like to handle in a single Excel file.
I am extracting attributes from an AutoCAD 2011 drawing into an Excel sheet using EATTEXT. I am then manually adding columns to the Excel sheet. How can I update the Excel sheet with new attributes values later on without overwriting the modified sheet and losing the added columns?
I have some soil boring data captured, in the field, to an Excel spreadsheet; basically, a bore site ID and coordinates.
I'd like to be able to have the coordinate attributes of blocks inserted into my bore site plans populate automatically, perhaps based off of the value of a bore site ID attribute which is manually entered for each bore site.
Alternatively, if there were a way to insert the bore site blocks based off the actual Excel records, populating all attributes and locating the block by the actual X,Y,Z coordinate, that might be even better.
way I can link my AutoCAD title block attributes to excel and make changes in either excel or AutoCAD and then be able to run an update? The attributes would be “REV” “DWG_NO” “TITLE” “LOCATION” “DRAWING_SIZE” and “FILE NAME”.
I have a basic floor plan in AutoCAD 2012 that has blocks in specific locations which contain personel data....name, phone, computer tag, desk key numbers, etc. I extracted the data to an Excel spreadsheet and I thought set up a "data link". But I don't know how to make the data update.
My problem...moves of staff, phone, computers are often made, but no one lets me know about it until they want a new floor plan printed and the computer and key tags get so messed up from the moves that it can take me hours to fix.
My goal is to be able to have our secretarial staff update the spreadsheet and in turn update the blocks in my AutoCAD drawing when it is opened and/or "updated".
I have been looking at posts on automating pdf creation but have seen a lot with programming / VB involved but would like to avoid that if possible. I have also seen one's on batch processing but would like to do them as needed / completed.
I am trying to somewhat automate the pdf creation process. Having them save to a specific spot / folder and having them 'plot' the same view to the pdf would be very beneficial that way we don't have to select print, print to pdf, print this view with these details, save to this folder location. etc.
A way to print DWF files using a batch file or with a command line. We use Vault and publish all our DWF's to an external shared network folder. This is a standard feature in Vault but we now would like to reference and print those files from Baan ERP using a script. Is it possible to do this using Design Review?
I'm working on setting up a process where I can bring AutoCAD drawings into GIS. I need to assign an attribute to a Polyline or Line so that the attributes can be viewed in GIS. I've noticed there is a way to convert AutoCAD to a SHP or SDP however I'm not familiar with this process.
I have a large .DWG with approximately 400 circles representing wells on it. The end goal is to draw an additional circle around each of these with a larger radius (150). Basically what I'm looking for is a way to automate this such that:
For (object 1 to last object) {if (object is a circle) draw new circle around it
I am looking at streamlining page layout configuration. When I say this, I mean that I want there to be a button, a small msg to type into command line, or any general quick shortcut, to create a new Layout based on a specific template layout that is located on my server. There will be multiple template layouts that the user has the option to choose from when creating a new one, with each layout contianing an xref title block, and a particular size . Also, I would like these to avaiable everytime I open autoCAD, regardless of the current drawing being worked on.
I've looked at Macros and Sheet Sets, but I was wondering if there was an optium way to do something like this? I realize its a failry begginger problem but I am still a begginer at autocad.
My objective is to have a schematic set created from a user input. I need to automate this such that the user enters numbers and letters from drop menus, (part number is alpha-numeric, each representing voltage, horsepower, motor count, etc,) and have the drawing set created. Reading up on this, I know I still could use VBA, but as that is going to fade into non-existence soon, replaced by .net, I would love to go ahead and create it using .net. I really know nothing about it, but need to learn. I can find lots of books on visual studio, but somehow I need to know how to interface it with ACAD at the same time!
I work at a machine shop and have a Dynamic Block setup with quite a number of Blocks in it where I can choose whichever tooling I am working with to place into a drawing.
I am also Data-Linking parts of the drawing to Excel that has information fields to be updated in the drawing for these same toolings.
I would like to setup my drawing so that when I update the data links from the Excel spreadsheet the Dynamic Block I mentioned will also be automatically updated and display the appropriate block drawing for the tooling retrieved from Excel.
Recently I have been trying to build table driven products and ipart tables, but when I copy a member to create a new part number, upon exiting the iassembly author I get the following message "excel installation is required for this operation. failed to launch excel". I have a fully functional version of 2010 Excel installed which has been used so it should be recognized in the windows registry. I am running Windows 8 and Autodesk Inventor 2014.
I have AutoCAD 2013 and often "paste special" excel files that automatically update when the excel file changes.The problem I'm running into is I work with a person who has uses an older version of CAD 2004, so I always save to the older format for him.
When I etransmit, I be sure to add the excel file, but when he opens the dwg, only the outline of the excel appears in his dwg, no content.
A large part of my job is creating installation drawings for plants (equipment and catwalks). Usually what I like to provide the installers is a plan view showing the equipment / catwalks with the base pads of the supports visible as hidden lines. If I just turn on hidden lines in a view, then it is too crowded.
However, manually turning on hidden lines for hundreds of base pads (potentially) is a huge time-sink and usually involves going through the browser manually to find them all. What I would like to do is automate the procedure to some extent. Usually there is only 4 or 5 different parts in an assembly that I need to have hidden lines for.
I am using Autocad 2011 although I only use it to tidy my drawings prior to sending to my client, my proficiency is quite basic. I have been tasked with surveying a number of feeder pillars or cabinets with 5 points of data, pt 1 is the centre of the doors, the other 4 points are the corners of the cabinet always in the same order. These can be imported into Autocad as a series of points and then I have to join the dots, and draw the cabinet. I know a little about blocks and that I can create a block of my drawing and place it over the five points, and then I'm stuck as if I change the block once it changes it in all the other positions.
After i have placed the block, I need to list the coordinates of the 5 points, this i do individually using the id command and copy and paste into a table. Is there anyway to speed this up?
I have attached a sketch of what I'm after doing, there could be as many 20+ cabinets in a drawing.
Is there a way to make an iPart adaptive? I need to make the length of a pipe adaptive in order for it to line up. These models are not saved, but are merely generated for 2D drawings via my VBA.
I have a attributed titleblock. Sometime in the future I will need to change the date attribute to another value, i.e.. 7-11 to 9-11.
I can't place a text string in the title block because this title block is used for multiple drawings and the date will be different for different sets. I can't have numerous title blocks because of the client's requirements.
Question:
Is there a way to write a script to open a drawing, look for the specific attribute, change the date value, save and close the drawing - across multiple sheets? Would a lisp routine called by the script be able to do this? Or a script file called by the original script file? CAn you even use a script file in this manner?
I am using Photoshop CS and have been assigned a rather tedious task at the office, consisting of resizing hundreds of pictures. Rather than doing them all manually, I've tried to automate the batch using a set of actions I "recorded", but for some reason all the pictures keep getting saved as the same one under a different name.
The set of actions I recorded were as follows:
-Open -> Open image file
-Image Size -> Width: xx pixels, height: yy pixels
-Save
-Close
When choosing automated batch, I choose the source folder and destination folder in an attempt to not get into a mess of naming/renaming files,
I have a plug-in that does a kinda overall correction and need to do it in batches. The problem is, when I go to make the action, I have to have an image open to open the plug-in. That's OK, but whenever I've done that, then go to Automate>Batch and select input and output folders, it uses the same image over and over.
what i would like to do is to export each window, to separate files, with the white parts cropped. i can do it manually by using the magic wand on the white area in between, then inversing the selection. that way all the windows are selected perfectly. but to save each one as a separate file is a nuisance.
by the way the purpose of this task is to get a comic i have scanned to an ipod for viewing. i can do the cropping/resizing afterwards no troubles, it's just getting the individual 'windows' as separate files.
I'm an intermediate PS user with v. CS2. I've figured out how to automate the process of changing an images file size and adding an extension to the file name but I haven't been able to figure out how to save those files using the automation process.
If I try to include the save process during my action, it will always save with that file name no matter what file it's saving.
how do I add a "save file" step to my action so I can automate this process with many images?
I have installed the auto_rotate.scm plugin. Now I need to automate a few of the procedures I regularly use it for. After I have selected the Path Tool and marked the two endpoints for the path, I use the following procedure (which is the procedure that needs to be automated):
Select: Windows/Dockable Dialogue/Paths Right click in the Paths dialogue box Select: ToolsRotate by PathLanczosOK Close the Paths dialogue box
I use this procedure a lot and I could really use for it to be automated. If possible, I'd like the activation to be as simple as pressing a hotkey.
how can you automate the process so that photoshop always moves the layer to a certain coordiante i.e. to point X:1424 Y:2370 and not move them relatively i.e X: -372 Y: +124 but always places them to that same certain point.
