Switching CAD Standards

[chrisdavis5201]

So My questions is this... I know that there is a Layer Translator that can convert layers from one standard to another. Is there a way to do this with blocks? We have our own set of company standards for layer, blocks, ad text style but we need to deliver to another client with there standards. I can set up a layer translator, but is there a way to do the same thing with blocks. Example, our block for a found rebar is SVRB and there's is CTREBAR. They use a different symbol all together. I know that block replace can convert them but that is one at a time. I am also no good at programming.

So ultimately the question is: Does Civil 3D have a Standards Block translator I can run on my drawings before submitting it to the clients?

Thanks,

Chris M. Davis

Survey Technician

MarK Thomas & Company

[Jay_B]

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@chrisdavis5201 wrote:

So ultimately the question is: Does Civil 3D have a Standards Block translator I can run on my drawings before submitting it to the clients?

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Nothing in OOTB Civil 3D.

If they are a repeat client that require the deliverables in a certain standard then setting up templates and standards which follow their standards may be the way to go for future projects.

[Joe-Bouza]

Rename your blocks with their name and using design center "insert & update" from theirs to yours

[Neilw_05]

This suggestion is based on only a very basic test so you'll need to give it a thorough trial before attempting to use it on your production files.

What I propose is to use Map to translate the blocks. If you are familiar with Map queries then you likely already know how it works but I'll rough out the workflow so you can investigate the details.

So what you need to do is attach your source drawing to a new one that has your clients' blocks in it. Set up a query to bring in your blocks and use the Alter Properties option to map them to blocks in your host file. Then when you run the query your blocks will be replaced by their blocks and will have their block names. It will be a manual process to map all the blocks but once it's done you can save the query and re-use it.

One problem I encountered in my test is the block attributes from the source file become part of the blocks in the host file, so I expect you'll have problems if the block pairings don't have the same attribute definitions. Indeed I think you'll have that problem with any solution.

[Neilw_05]

By the way, you might get some ideas from one of the Map gurus on how to deal with the attributes. Either post to the map forum or ping Murph.

[Neilw_05]

I guess I should have done a more thorough test. I now realize that you can only replace one block per query definition. So to make this work you'll have to define a separate query for each block and run each query one at a time. While it does allow you to save and re-use the setup, it still requires manually running the query for each block. If there are many blocks then you'll need a more efficient solution. But don't rule out map. It may be up to the task.

[abubakars]

You can try with design center as suggested, it is a straight forward method and if the process is needed  in multiple files then try with "BatchInEditor" or BatchInDatabase" tool which are available to download from Autodesk exchange Apps.and are FREE.

you can add mutiple commands (Block-Replace) with different source and destination block names and add them to selected files and Run the batch.

BatchInEditor - each drawing will be opened in AutoCAD editor and process the added commands

BatchInDatabase - Drawing swill not be opened in AutoCAD Editor but will be processed in memory and process the added commands

you can save the commands in your system for future use.