Displaying Reoccurring Data in a Drawing Set

I started this off as a CAD-a-Blog QUICK TIP, but it got too long, but, do you ever need to show the same information, a name, number, amount, etc. on many of your drawings in a set ? Is that information subject to change through the drawing process? One way to deal with this is to use fields and sheet sets.

To set it up with sheet sets, open your sheet set manager. Load the sheet set you need. Right click on the sheet set name. Then open the properties window. At the bottom of this window is a button, EDIT CUSTOM PROPERTIES. Click it to open the Custom Properties window.

Here you can add any bit of information to your sheet set. Click the ADD button and fill it out. Give it a NAME and a default value. Click ok and close all of the windows.

Now go to your drawing file. Edit the text you want the info to show up in. This can be Mtext, Dtext, Leader Text, Multileader text, or in a dimension. Wherever there is text you can add a field, which is what we are going to do.

In your text editor, press CTRL+F, or right click and then click ADD FIELD. This opens the FIELD manager window thingy (I don’t know what it’s actual name is, sorry.) In the FIELD Category pull down menu, select SHEET SET. This will bring up all of your field options in that sheet set.

Go to the sheet set (in the Field Names menu), in the sheet set navigation (yes it’s complicated, but you’ll get it quick enough) browse to your sheet set (it should open up to the proper one automatically). Then select your field property in the PROPERTY menu at the bottom right corner, then click ok, ok, ok, etc.

When done, you will see the information displayed in your text. Do that on every sheet wherever you need it and when the info changes, just go to the sheet set manger, load your sheet set, open the custom properties again and edit that value. Bingo!! All instances where your field “links” to that value will be updated.

This is a real quick "how to set it up" kind of a tip. I plan on getting into it more deeply in later posts.

Happy CADDING!!

Quick Insert of Spreadsheet into CAD file (and link them)

I’m going to finish up my posts on data extraction with a tip & trick on how to get data into your AutoCAD file. I have posted about the new feature in AutoCAD 2008 called DATAEXTRACTION, I discussed using the older commands of ATTEXT and EATTEXT, and I also talked about the BCOUNT command.

Today I want to show you how easy it is to take existing data in a spreadsheet, put it into AutoCAD, and have the two linked.

This is a very useful tip when one employee creates a spreadsheet for a report that has data that also needs to go into a cad drawing. It is even more useful to have both documents (the report and the drawing) to have the same data, be it right or wrong.

Very simply, open the spreadsheet file. Select the cells that you want to have in the CAD file. Copy them (right click, then copy – or click on edit, copy.) Open the AutoCAD file (or Civil3D, Revit, etc.). Click on the EDIT, PASTE SPECIAL. Don’t use the paste command, your data is special, treat it that way.

A window will open. Select the appropriate file type (in my case a Microsoft Excel Worksheet.) If you want the data to be linked to the spreadsheet (which I do) then make sure to select the PASTE LINK button. This will link the data in your cad file to the spreadsheet. If the spreadsheet is changed, then your drawing will reflect that change. Pick you insert point and there you go.

You can’t change this info in the cad file, only in the spreadsheet. You can change the size, layer, plot quality, etc. Select eh object, right click and select OLE. This will give you sizing ability and allow you to automatically open the spreadsheet.

There is nothing fantastic about this method, but it is a quick and easy way to get data into your drawing that is linked to the source. This will keep your drawings and your reports in sync.

Happy CADDING!!

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More Data Extraction Tips

I have been posting about data extraction lately, so why stop now right? I posted about the ATTEXT and the EATTEXT (always makes me hungry). I also posted about the DATAEXTRACTION command too (this is really nice by the way.) Now I want to talk with you about a command that is very simple, but can get you basic information very quickly. It is also the easiest to use. That command is BCOUNT.

BCOUNT counts the blocks in a file and returns that info to you in the command line. So, lets go!!

Type in BCOUNT, select the objects you want to count, then enter. The command line will scroll with text, first stating the number of blocks selected, then each block with how many of each. Very simple. If you need that data, just select it in the command line, copy, and paste it to wherever you want to.

BCOUNT is not perfect. If you have accidentally inserted a block on top of a block, it will count both (this is true for all data extraction tools.) Also, BCOUNT won't count dynamic blocks that have been changed. That means if you insert a dynamic block then use one of its dynamic options, BCOUNT can no longer count it, so be careful.

That being said, BCOUNT is a good tool to give you a quick idea of how many of each block you have.

Happy CADDING!!

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Getting Data From Your File

Yesterday I blogged about the data extraction command (dataextraction.) I failed to mention that command was new to AutoCAD 2008. However, there are several other commands that have been around for a while that can be used. They are not as cool as dataextraction, but they might be able to give you the options you need. Lets go.

ATTEXT

The ATTEXT command has been around since at least Release 12. It will count blocks and extract the data from them. It has the ability to place this data in an external file. There are three file types; CDF (comma delimited file), SDF (space delimited file), or a DXF (format extract file). The CDF and SDF files require a template file that has been created in ascii form. This can be difficult to do if you do have a working understanding of this type. For many releases it was the only way to extract data.

So, start the command, select the objects, the file type, the template, the output file and have at it. I have found that this command can be difficult to use, so I use other options that are available.

EATTEXT

The EATTEXT command will now start the dataextraction command in AutoCAD 2008. Eattext came to us in AutoCAD 2002. Thank goodness because the attext command was tough to use. Ok, start the EATTEXT command (I always get hungry when I use this one.) Determine your extraction type; objects, current drawing, or select drawing. You will have choices (as always) that will include the current drawing only, or to include xref files too. If there are nested blocks you will get the option of picking those too, or not. You will then be able to select your output file type, CSV, TXT, XLS, or MDB.

These are two of the “old school” methods of extracting block data from a drawing. However, the dataextraction command that is new in AutoCAD 2008 can get you info on any object, not just blocks!! If you haven’t switched to 2008 yet and you need to use the data in your files, maybe this will be reason enough to upgrade!!

If not, I hope this post helped.

Happy CADDING.

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Object Data-getting it and using it - how?

DO you ever have the need to count the objects in a file or drawing? The “old school” method was to take a print, different colored markers, and physically count each item. Then you would create a chart, or table. This is one way to create a bill of material, or a quantities sheet, or an assets tracking form, what ever you call it. Well, we use AutoCAD to help us out for many reasons, one to draw quicker, revise drawings quicker, and to count items faster too.

DATAEXTRACTION is a command that will automatically count the objects in a file and list them in a table. That list is linked to the objects so that if they change, the table is updated. How cool is that?

How do I start? Well, open your data file. In my case it is a site plan of a small parcel with about 11 residential single-family home lots on it. But yours could be anything that has stuff in it to count. I want to know how many lineal feet of water main pipe, sewer main pipe, and drainage pipe I have. I could dimension each one, or measure each one, and add up the totals, then create a table and input that data into it. Sure, if I had the time.

Enter in DATAEXTRACTION. I am asked if I want to create a new data extraction, edit an existing one, or use a previous extraction as a template. I would normally use one as a template, but I want to show you how to set one up. I pick Create a new one. Then click next. A file name and location are required for this data extraction. The data is counted and stored in this file. When the objects change, the data file can be updated, which will update the table we are about to produce. I name my file and click save.

Now I have to tell AutoCAD what data I want to count. There are two options: Drawing/Sheet set, or Select Objects in the current drawing.

This means that I can select everything in an entire sheet set (holy abacus batman!!) or just pick certain objects in the current file. Pick the one that suits your current needs. I only want to pick from objects in the current file. I find that this fits the majority of my needs, most of the time. I select the button for this and then click on the button that allows me to go into the drawing and actually pick my objects. Ok, then I pick my objects.

I select my objects and press the Enter key. There is a SETTINGS button at the bottom right of this dialog box. I click it. I can then alter some of my extraction settings. These settings allow me to choose if my extracted objects will include objects from an xrefed file or not. I choose not in this case, but pick what ever it is you need to do. I also have the choice of picking only from model space, or from the entire file. I am done with my settings so I click the OK button. I am done with this part so I click the next button.

A list of the object types selected (in my case lines and polylines) is displayed. I can choose to include or exclude any object type from my list at this point. There is also a display options area where I can choose if all object types are displayed according to their block settings (attributed blocks, non-attributed blocks, in use or not.) I am done here so I click the next button.

A list every possible object property is given and I have to choose which ones I want to have in my table. Some of these options are: angle, area, author, closed, color, delta x, delta y, drawing revision, file size, file name, linetype, LT scale, material, thickness, title, layer, and much much more. There is a category filter that will help select and un-select these options. I choose to display the length and the layer because I want to know how much pipe I have of what type. I am done so I once again click the next button.

Now I have a preview of the general setup of my table. There area some options on controlling the rows and columns. I can tell it to combine similar objects, or to separate them for each one. Very handy. I also have the options here to sort the columns how I want them and to link external data to them. There is a full preview button so you can check to see if you got it all right or not. Ii looks good so I click next.

Now I can insert this data into a table in my file, or I can output the data to an external file (.csv, .xls, .mdb, or .txt) I just want to put it in the drawing this time. But I often find that I need this data somewhere else so many times I will export it to an .xls file or a .csv file. This is very useful indeed. I am ready to proceed so I click next.

Now I can change my table settings or use a table template that I already have. I’ll do that and then click on next. One more click. I have to finish by clicking the FINSH button. Good idea there. If I chose for an external file to be created it will be when I click finish. If I chose to insert a table I will have to pick an insertion point after I click finish. Which is what I do. There you go, a nice neat table that is displaying my pipe types (by layer names but you can do this in many different ways) and their lengths.

Since this table is linked to the objects, (my pipes) I can change the length of my pipes. Select the table, right click and select the UPDATE TABLE DATA option to update my table. I don’t have to redo it.

I used this on lines and polylines, but it can be used for blocks too, which can be very useful. If you need to count it, this command can count it.

Experiment with the settings and create a template. Once you get it set up why set it up again right?

Happy CADDING.

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