Excel Spreadsheet Update from Autocad Tables

[Anonymous]

Hello all,

I'm very new to Autocad and am having trouble with data links between Excel Spreadsheets and tables in Autocad. Essentially, my table in Autocad is filled with attributes of blocks I have created and I have a separate Excel spreadsheet that carries the same information. The end goal is to be able to update my Autocad table with data from my drawings and in turn, automatically populate my Excel spreadsheet with the new data. I have tried everything I know and hopefully someone can help me out. Thanks!

[wispoxy]

Command DATALINKUPDATE to update your AutoCAD Table.

Now getting an AutoCAD table to post to a particular excel file I've never tried. I'll give it a go though.

I have datalinks in my CAD template 🙂

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

I see that you are visiting as a new member to the AutoCAD forum. Welcome to the Autodesk Community!

 The way you describe your process, I think this can be accomplished using datalinks and dataextraction. Can you attach a sample set of files to a post so I can see what you have going on and I can make some recommendations and hopefully outline the steps to make this happen for you?

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

[Anonymous]

Hey, thanks for answering! So I tried this with one of the boxes in my table and unfortunately it didn't do anything. I tried right clicking on a single box and edited it to differ from the source file and chose the option to update the source file yet it said it wasn't able to perform the task. Not sure where I should head from here.

[Anonymous]

So yeah, I basically tried to see if it would do the same for the Excel file but nothing happened lol. Thanks though! Least I know what to do when updating the Autocad table.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the welcome! Unfortunately I don't have enough time to make an example file so I'll show you what I have for now. I used dataextraction to make a table that was identical to the table I created in excel that only included attributes of blocks in my drawing. I attempted to link the two tables but was met with the problem of a unique item not being in my excel spreadsheet. I found an image of the problem that arose and linked it below. All items listed in both the Excel spreadsheet and the Autocad table are identical so I don't know what the issue is there. I then made a table directly from the Excel via datalink. I found that I could edit the contents of the Autocad table and "upload user changes to source file" in the data links section of the right click menu when selecting a cell in the Autocad table. However, as you can see in the image below, 0 changes were made to the source file.

[Anonymous]

@john.vellek I feel as though linking the source file to the dataextraction table is the easiest but, even if I use an empty spreadsheet, Autocad states that there are no matches between any of the values. And when I do use the other spreadsheet that's populated with the same information it says there's nothing unique. Not really sure what I should do.

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

I will try to make a video of the process for you but here are the steps I have taken in the past.

• Open the drawing file and run a DataExtraction
• Write the data out to an Excel file (don't create the data link yet)
• Next, open the Excel file and check all the column headings to make sure they are clean
• Save the Excel file with a XLSX extension and close the file.
• Run the same data extraction but this time link to the external file.
• When prompted to match column names select only ONE - this acts like a database index.
• Now when you complete the extraction it should link the data to the spreadsheet.

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

[Anonymous]

Okay, I tried to make the table in a Excel spreadsheet first like you said, however I don't know how to format and the closest I've been able to making it look like a normal table is with these options selected.

[Anonymous]

@john.vellek So I've managed to link the excel sheet and the table so that I can update either one of them by editing the other. However, I made the autocad table using the properties of blocks from my drawing and would like to update the table automatically if I edit one of the blocks. Thus, if I edit the block I'd like to be able to update the excel sheet with a few simple clicks. However, the more and more I become familiar with the software the more I realize how far-fetched this might be. Is there any way for that to even be done?

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

I confess that I am struggling with this right now too. I have made at least 6 videos for you and I have tossed them all out.  Creating a table that links to Excel is very easy and yes, you can update data from either and then sync it up.

The problem I am having is that I use data extraction to create the table in AutoCAD. When an attribute is changed, added or deleted, I can update the table quite easily.

The part i have been fighting is with the link to the external file. Every time I try to update from a dataextraction table, it appears that the Excel file is already locked.

I have reached out to the QA team to see if they can shed any light on what I am doing incorrectly in my process. I will post back if they give me additional information.

Now, if the Dataextraction table works, you could simply export to a new Excel file if that is of any use for your process. I apologize that I do not have a ready answer.

[Anonymous]

Oh wow. Yeah it's no problem, I already can't thank you enough. But if you do find a solution please let me know, it would definitely be helpful. I believe we're both stuck at the same point as of now. Again, thank you!

[Anonymous]

Hey @john.vellek How's it going?

I still haven't made any progress. I ended up creating a data extraction table based on attributes from blocks in my drawing. I then linked the table to an external Excel file. I am able to create blocks and edit their attributes and update the table with the new information, but the right click settings for the cells do not give me the option to data link still. I have even tried using the top menu to try and upload the changes to the source, but no avail (see below). I assume this is just because the data in the table didn't come from the spreadsheet. I've run out of ideas to try. Any luck on yours and the q&a team's side? Any clarification will be helpful, especially if it's been determined to be impossible with the current version of Autocad. Thanks! 

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

I am at the same stand still you are. I can select my table that I created from dataextraction and export to an Excel file but the datalink does not function.

My contact in QA said he would set aside some time Friday to see if he could determine what I am doing incorrectly or if the feature just doesn't work. I am sorry I don't have anything yet but I have not forgotten you and will post back with any findings.

Thanks for your patience.

[Anonymous]

Lol no worries! Thank you! Hopefully there's a way to get it done. I haven't found anything in the forums that has helped me past this standstill, so if there is something I'm sure the whole community could benefit from it. Again, thanks! You've been great help so far. Have a good one!

[Anonymous]

Hey @john.vellek,

How's it going? Was there any luck on the side of the Q and A team? Or are we still at an impasse? I hate to bother so much but it's something I'm working on at work and the sooner I can get this wrapped up the better. lol. Do you know if it would be possible through excel rather than through Autocad?

[john.vellek]

HI @Anonymous,

I haven't forgotten you and neither am I avoiding you 🙂

I didn't receive any feedback from QA on this feature.  I consider it broken as I can not get a datalink to work properly when used in conjunction with the DATAEXTRACTION.

I can get the exctraction to work properly and I can export the table and I can also get a datalink to go both directions for updating but I cant get the two to work together. I am going to log this with development and hopefully it will get some attention. It might just be something I am doing incorrectly but I would like verification.

In the mean time, can you give me a bit more detail on your workflow?  For instance, if you do the dataextraction and create a table, what do you want the datalink to do for you? I am wondering if you simply select the table and export it if you can somehow link that into an Excel file.

[Anonymous]

Aw, well hopefully some word is spread about this function.

So, essentially, I create a table with data-extraction using information from various blocks in my drawing. I am thus able to update it based on changes to blocks in my drawing as you have you been able to do as well. Like you, when I link this table to a spreadsheet from a preexisting excel file, I am still able to update my table using the right click menu if there are changes to my blocks. However, I am not given the same option to "upload user changes to source file" as I am when I create a table from an excel spreadsheet or when the table I make is not linked to the blocks. At this point I just assume that each table is limited to one data link regardless of whether it is linked to objects or whatnot in the Autocad drawing or from an external source. If there is a function that allows me to link multiple data sources to the table then maybe it would help fix the problem, but, I don't know of any command that would allow me to do that.