AutoCAD 2010/2011/2012 DWG Format

[#1]

Hello, I've already posted this question to:

Visual LISP, AutoLISP and General Customization 

but so far I've received no reply, so I am posting here since this involves base AutoCAD 2011 functionality:

Hello,

My company is finally getting around to upgrading to AutoCAD 2011 (from 2005). We use custom VB code to extract data from specific attributed blocks from dwgs. I started investigating using the DataExtraction API for .NET and I seem to have found a limitation to the API as well as the dataextraction built in AutoCAD functionality.

Here is the issue:

If I create an mleader style with "Mleader type' 'Content' type as  'Block' and select the 'Source block' as the attributed block I was to embed in the mleader, then the dataextraction command can successfully extract the attribute data I am looking for.

If however I do not create a new mleader style and use the default 'Standard' mleader style (which has its 'Mleader type' 'Content' type as 'Mtext'  - the default) is the current one in the dwg. Then if I type in at the command line 'mleader' and change the content type to 'Block'  and provide the attributed block name here, the dataextraction command does not find these blocks. It appears if you override the Mleader style value at the command line the dataextraction API does not recognize this mleader as having an embedded attributed block.

This is a serious problem since there is no way to prevent a user from manually setting the Content type and creating an mleader that looks and behaves exactly like all other mleaders that have not overridden the mleader style. There is a real danger of missing extraction of some data.

Has anyone out there notice this and more importantly, have a solution or point me to the error of my ways?

I've already attached a dwg and a dxe file here:

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Visual-LISP-AutoLISP-and-General/DataExtraction-issue-when-extracting-... 

but I believe they are not necessary to reproduce the issue if the steps above are followed.

Thanks,

Stephen Schneider

CSC

[#2]

Hello,

My company is finally getting around to upgrading to AutoCAD 2011 (from 2005). We use custom VB code to extract data from specific attributed blocks from dwgs. I started investigating using the DataExtraction API for .NET and I seem to have found a limitation to the API as well as the dataextraction built in AutoCAD functionality.

Here is the issue:

If I create an mleader style with "Mleader type' 'Content' type as  'Block' and select the 'Source block' as the attributed block I was to embed in the mleader, then the dataextraction command can successfully extract the attribute data I am looking for.

If however I do not create a new mleader style and use the default 'Standard' mleader style (which has its 'Mleader type' 'Content' type as 'Mtext'  - the default) is the current one in the dwg. Then if I type in at the command line 'mleader' and change the content type to 'Block'  and provide the attributed block name here, the dataextraction command does not find these blocks. It appears if you override the Mleader style value at the command line the dataextraction API does not recognize this mleader as having an embedded attributed block.

This is a serious problem since there is no way to prevent a user from manually setting the Content type and creating an mleader that looks and behaves exactly like all other mleaders that have not overridden the mleader style. There is a real danger of missing extraction of some data.

Has anyone out there notice this and more importantly, have a solution or point me to the error of my ways?

I've already attached a dwg and a dxe file here:

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Visual-LISP-AutoLISP-and-General/DataExtraction-issue-when-extracting-... 

but I believe they are not necessary to reproduce the issue if the steps above are followed.

Thanks,

Stephen Schneider

CSC