AutoCAD 2013/2014 DWG Format

[#1]

Has anyone else experienced this in ACAD 2013:

Make a block with its elements away from 0,0

Add dynamics to it, like a stretch parameter for example

Set INSBASE to a point near your elements.

Save the block

Insert it into a drawing.

RESULT= linework of block is inserted at the position you clicked, dynamics are inserted at the same distance away from the insertion point as they were away from 0,0 in the block editor.

It seems like the Insert command is ignoring the INSBASE variable for the dynamic bits.

Is this a bug in 2013?

I know the solution is to draw the block elements and dynamics at or near 0,0 and set INSBASE to 0,0 but INSERT should work for both dynamic and normal blocks surely?

[#2]

INSBASE sets the insertion base point for a DWG, so that when that DWG is inserted into another DWG, you can locate it based on that point.  (If you insert the DWG "unexploded", the block definition created will also use that same base point.)

Setting INSBASE while in the block editor (BEDIT or REFEDIT) has no effect on the insertion base point of the block you are editing (dynamic or otherwise).

If you don't want to locate (move) your dynamic block geometry so that it is some meaningful distance from the actual point 0,0, then you can use a basepoint parameter and locate it at any point you like.

[#3]

Hi dmfrazier

Thanks for the explanation, I think I get what you're saying (maybe!)

I've attached a block (dwg) that was the cause of this question. If you open the drawing in the block editor the dynamic stuff is all where it should be. But if you insert that drawing as a block the dynamic stuff is nowhere near the geometry.

If I set INSBASE while in the block editor to 0,0 then when I insert the drawing as a block into another drawing, the geometry and dynamics are together (albeit a long way from the point they were inserted at).

If I add a basepoint while INSBASE is set to a point on the geometry and insert that then the geometry is also nowhere near the chosen insertion position and the dynamics are further away still.

I'm still not sure why the geometry and dynamics are being separated. It seems like the geometry is honouring the INSBASE but the dynamics aren't.

[#4]

I have had similar problems if the block (a dwg file) was created with wblock and then that drawing was opened, edited with bedit and then inserted into another drawing.  I have not been able to reproduce a sequence though.

[#5]

I have never seen this before.  I also must admit I have never approached creating dynamic blocks this way before, either.  I think it is unusual to produce a DB as a separate DWG file, and perhaps this (in conjunction with the INSBASE thing) explains the odd behavior.

I get different results editing/troubleshooting the DB depending on whether I open your file and elect to go directly to BEDIT, or I insert the file into another and then edit the DB, or if I try using BEDIT after fully opening the file.

I would suggest creating DBs as individual block definitions inside one or more "container drawings" that you might name based on category or logical groupings.  (This works well for DesignCenter and creating Tool Palettes.)  When creating the DBs, either move all objects so that your desired basepoint for the block coincides with 0,0,0 or use a basepoint parameter.

[#6]

I'd never seen this before either; the block came from a client of ours who was having trouble so I can't say for certain the exact steps that they took to create it.

I agree that creating them as blocks in a container drawing is a better way to go and I would also normally create the items at 0,0 which is why I've never had this with any blocks I've created.

Just seemed like a bug in AutoCAD when I first saw it.

[#7]

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Just seemed like a bug in AutoCAD when I first saw it.

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Agreed.  It's hard to imagine it being an intended feature.

[#8]

Creating dynamic blocks in a container is a good workflow but sometimes you already have a block (that may be in its own drawings) and need to make it dynamic.  I agree this seems buggy to me.

In order to solve your problem, you could 1)open test.dwg and use the base command to reset the base to 0,0.  Then use bedit (on the current drawing (test.dwg)) and add a basepoint parameter where you want the insertion point.  Then save test.dwg and insert it into another.

I typically always make sure that all content is close to 0,0 and that the block basepoint is 0,0.  I typically do not use the basepoint parameter.