AutoCad Table Text Editing

[Anonymous]

I have a table in AutoCad with a cell that contains a lot of text.  I need to edit the font and color of several elements of this text.  When I try to pick items by the traditional method used in most other software (Ctrl - pick) it does not allow me to select multiple elements.  Is there a way to do this?

Thanks

[pendean]

>>>...pick items by the traditional method ...<<< This is not Excel or any other spreadsheet program.

With AutoCAD TABLE elements, you can:

- Select a cell, then use PROPERTIES palette. If you use SHIFT when clicking you can select multiple cells, but they all have to be adjacent or other cells will get selected.
- Double-click inside a cell, then double-click the text to edit with the Ribbon or PROPERTIES function.
- To select multiple cells, you click then hold in one cell, window to capture all the cells you want to edit, then let go: when highlighted you can use PROPERTIES.
- You could just open TABLESTYLES command and fix your cell settings there, assuming there are no manual overrides in them of course.

Hope these help.

[Anonymous]

pendean - thanks for the reply but maybe I didn't make myself clear enough.

As per attached screenshot I need to modify the font and color of certain portions of the text within one table cell.  Right now I can only do that by highlighting that portion and changing it one item at a time.  What I would like to do is select a portion, hit control and select another portion etc. etc.

[john.vellek · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous,

I wonder if this would not be easier to do in an Excel spreadsheet which you could then DATALINK  into your drawing.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[pendean · Accepted solution]

In that case, you need to do what you discovered to be the only method in AutoCAD: or as others suggested, use Excel and link it into AUtoCAD so you can edit your table as you desire in the program you are most comfortable in.

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

Since there is no feature that will do what you are looking for, have you tried the Excel option?

[jeffrey_patton8NXHT]

If you have the table in Excel or want to transfer it to Excel and back to a new CAD table this should make it so you can change the text with table styles 

AutoCAD 2023

Before inserting cells from Excel, check the system Variable PASTESPECMODE :

• Value 0 (default): Keeps the Microsoft Excel formatting.
• Value 1: Inherits the cell formatting defined in the AutoCAD table style.

AutoCAD 2022 and earlier

Try the following:

1. Insert the table by using TABLE command and creating a datalink.
2. Click on the inserted table once.
3. Right-Click on the table origin (rectangle that connects A-1) and choose DataLinks > Edit data link...
4. In the modify menu, expand the window for "More options" (arrow symbol in lower right corner).
5. Check/Uncheck "Use Excel formatting" depending on the preferred formatting.
6. Click Ok.
7. If the datalink is not intended (only table data), right-click on the table origin again > Data links > Detach data link and confirm.

[lineinc]

Thank you for sharing your info, especially for sharing in a clear and non-cranky way!

I am inserting a data table from excel using edit>paste special>AutoCAD LT Entities and the only way I could figure out how to change the text color was one cell at a time. Changing PASTESPECMODE to 1 solved the problem. Thank you so much!