Edit dwg like text file.

[valotaire_emile]

Hello,

Is it possible to edit a dwg or dxf as a text file or export all text and attributes to an excel or .txt file and re-import the file to update the dwg or dxf drawing

[Valentin_CAD]

@valotaire_emile ,

Explore these options:

• Importing Excel spreadsheet tables into AutoCAD-based products (autodesk.com)
• How to bulk export AutoCAD drawing texts to Excel (autodesk.com)
• AutoCAD 2025 Help | About Updating Extracted Data | Autodesk
• AutoCAD 2025 Help | How to create a table in AutoCAD and link it to Excel | Autodesk

[cadffm]

Hi,

you can save dwg files in ascii-dxf files (editable like text files too),

but you should search for tools to do this job.

See Emilio above

[valotaire_emile]

When I open the dxf 2018 on notepad++ it is not possible to find readable text

[valotaire_emile]

Here is the result

[pendean]

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@valotaire_emile wrote:

When I open the dxf 2018 on notepad++ it is not possible to find readable text

---

DXF is coded to draw what you see on screen in a CAD program: learn the code and explore using SEARCH tools to find "text" in that file to edit as you need to do.

Here are reference guides to that DXF code if you are interested:

https://help.autodesk.com/view/ACD/2025/ENU/?guid=GUID-3F0380A5-1C15-464D-BC66-2C5F094BCFB9 

https://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/autocad_2012_pdf_dxf-reference_enu.pdf 

[cadffm]

Hi

If not, you saved not as ascii DXF

(but also in binary dxf, you will be able to FIND your Textstrings!)

binary DXF, first line:

AutoCAD Binary DXF

ascii DXF, first lines:

0
SECTION
2
HEADER
9
$ACADVER
1
AC1032

----

EDIT to your last post: This is an ascii DXF, you just looking at the wrong place (line).

Use CTRL+F to find your values..

But again: This is not the way you should go (you should have the knowledge about .dxf structure well, otherside you will create a damaged file)

The way to go: 3rd party tools!

[cadffm]

For Attributes

Command: ATTOUT and ATTIN (if Expresstools are installed)

Or more modern and powerful  - https://www.lee-mac.com/batte.html

For (M)TEXT, you need other tools.

Use your favorite search engine, I am sure you get success

[valotaire_emile]

(Batte) lisp works well for attributes, but my problem is with text and mtext.

[cadffm]

I noticed all 3 and I answered => "

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@valotaire_emile  schrieb:
.. all text and attributes

---

@cadffm  schrieb:

For Attributes

Command: ATTOUT and ATTIN (if Expresstools are installed)

Or more modern and powerful  - https://www.lee-mac.com/batte.html

For (M)TEXT, you need other tools.

Use your favorite search engine, I am sure you get success

---

"

Offtopic

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[valotaire_emile]

Thanks for the advice, I'm not very familiar with the platform yet.

Also, I found the solution by asking several people's opinions. You have to use VBA to extract all the text and attributes with the position in the drawings to Excel and vice versa.

The only problem is that it requires VBA programming in Autocad.