topic (how) can I use excel to create name tags in autocad? in AutoCAD Forum

(how) can I use excel to create name tags in autocad?

Robin_Erich — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 13:22:55 GMT

Hello everybody,

First of all. I am an Inventor user with little experience in AutoCAD.

I need to design a bunch of tags that will be used to ID electric and pneumatic parts in a installation.

The tags will be made of aluminium plate with engraved text

Every ID tag is a set sized rectangle with 3 rows of text above each other like in the added picture.

I have an excel sheet with all the tags. Can I use this excel to generate the tags in AutoCAD?

I have not found the correct wording to google my issue.

Thanks in advance!

Robin

Re: (how) can I use excel to create name tags in autocad?

dbroad — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 14:34:11 GMT

Yes, it can be done, either programatically, or by a step-by-step process using datalink, tables, and arrays for your graphics but it seems like the hard way.

If you have Excel, then you probably also have Word. You can print labels easily by using mailmerge. See this link:

https://www.lifewire.com/make-labels-with-excel-4157653

Re: (how) can I use excel to create name tags in autocad?

Robin_Erich — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 14:43:08 GMT

Thanks for the response, I'll look into data link after the weekend.. our tag supplier requires a .DWG file that has all the labels in a grid (should have mentioned that in my initial question)

Re: (how) can I use excel to create name tags in autocad?

dbroad — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 15:28:08 GMT

Assuming there is one row for each tag with 3 columns, one column for each row of the tag, then.

Copy and paste transposed so that there is one column per tag each with 3 rows. You may need copy/paste with 10-40 tags at a time so the results in AutoCAD will fit on a page. If using more than one row of tags, keep a blank row between tags to allow for your graphics.
Name the new range and save the excel sheet.
In AutoCAD, create a table style with no plottable borders and centered text.
Use datalink to create a link to the named range in the spreadsheet.
Create table with datalink as its source.
Select the table columns and make the columns identical in width to allow separate tags.
Create the tag borders with rectangles and rectangular array them to match the table.
Plot
Based on this process, any changes to the excel spreadsheet will update in AutoCAD so you can update and reprint the tags.

Table plus separate borders