How to Batch Edit Table Text

[alissonsgarcia]

Hi.

I have a table that was configured in an old job with black font colour.

Since I use a black backgroup colour as well, nothing is visible.

The only solution I found so far was to enter editing mode in every single cell, select the text and change the colour from black to "by layer", but that's an impractical solution and consumes too much time.

It must exist some way to fix this for the entire table in one go.

Can anyone help me here?

[pendean]

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@alissonsgarcia wrote:

...The only solution I found so far was to enter editing mode in every single cell, select the text and change the colour from black to "by layer", but that's an impractical solution and consumes too much time.

It must exist some way to fix this for the entire table in one go....

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Are you not able to click-drag across all cells-release in your tables? That's been a feature for as long as AutoCAD has had tables

[alissonsgarcia]

@pendeansomething very strange happens here.

If I try to select anything by clicking outsite of the table, like shown below, nothing is selected:

If I try to click anywhere inside the table, it selects the cell. Then, I can click again and use a rectangle selection to select multiple cells, open properties, and make the change you suggested, but nothing changed again! If I select a cell, after making that change, and check its properties, I can see that the cell is set to have clour defined by layer, but that setting doesn't affect the text inside the cell at all! It's like the text inside the cells are using settings that overwrites whatever settings I pick for the cell itself. It seems like the cell setting is different from the settings of the content inside the cell. Not sure if you could understand that explanation here. It's just too bizzar.

The text inside all cells, except on the first row, are invisible on model space, but when hover the mouse over it, the text is then displayed:

I selected the first cell, and check the properties for text colour, it's set to: ByLayer. Even though the layer has a white colour, the text isn't displayed. If I change the layer, it also doesn't affect the text colour. It remains invisible.

In order to facilitate your help, I'll share the DWG file with only that table in it. See if you can figure out what is happening, please.

You can download it from the link: https://file.io/xS3zflf2iFUQ

Thanks

[vinodkl · Accepted solution]

Hello @alissonsgarcia 

Please use the lisp attached to format the color of the text in the table. Download the .lsp file and drag and drop into AutoCAD. Now type in the command "STRIPMTEXT" to invoke the function and select the table. Next in the popup window select only "COLOR" and click "OK" to format the color of the text in the table 🙂

[cadffm]

StripMtextv5-0d 

[pendean]

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@alissonsgarcia wrote:

...If I try to select anything by clicking outsite of the table, like shown below, nothing is selected...

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Not sure that's what I showed in my screenshot: are you familiar with how a crossing window selection looks and works in AutoCAD? Perhaps you are new to AutoCAD: a crossing window selection is what I used.

From right-to-left, you click-and-hold then drag-and-release when you have what you want include windowed (the rectangle is dashed like in my screenshot, not solid lines like in your screenshot). Try it now. In a TABLE, your first and last crossing window clicks MUST always be while hovering over a cell.

[alissonsgarcia]

@pendean 

As I previous wrote:

"If I try to click anywhere inside the table, it selects the cell. Then, I can click again and use a rectangle selection to select multiple cells"

So, I did selected all the cell, as explained previously, I opened the Properties tab, changed the text colour, but, as I also mentioned, that didn't change anything.

Quoting myself again:

"after making that change, and check its properties, I can see that the cell is set to have clour defined by layer, but that setting doesn't affect the text inside the cell at all! It's like the text inside the cells are using settings that overwrites whatever settings I pick for the cell itself. It seems like the cell setting is different from the settings of the content inside the cell."

So, your solution was tried.

It didn't work though.

[alissonsgarcia]

@vinodkl @cadffm 

both of you shared that solution.

My first question is: is that a custom solution you created, a custom script?

My second question would be:

Is there any way to fix that colour without installing aditional things, in order to be a long lasting solution for the future and avoid me the need to come here again to download that file and set up that new function when I work on a different computer or update the system?

The proposed solution did make the text visible.

I would insist in knowing a little bit more about what was proposed and if I can sort it out with the native existing commands.

Regards,

[pendean]

@alissonsgarcia Share your problematic TABLE in a DWG file for all of us to try: either there is something quite unique about it that you may be missing or a fix might be trying something else.

TIA

[alissonsgarcia]

@pendean  please read the previous messages. The DWG file was shared in my first reply to you.

[pendean]

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@alissonsgarcia wrote:

@pendean  please read the previous messages. The DWG file was shared in my first reply to you.

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Nope, never was anything there, nothing there now and nothing in your shared link either when I tried it before posting and why I asked for it again.

[alissonsgarcia]

Hi @pendean 

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@pendean wrote:

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Nope, never was anything there, nothing there now and nothing in your shared link either when I tried it before posting and why I asked for it again.

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You're mistaken @pendean 

Please, see screenshot below.

It was shared before, as I mentioned. you just missed it.

Now the link doesn't work anymore, saying the file is deleted. It seems that server don't keep the file available for a long time. That's all. But the link was there, is there, but it doesn't work anymore. 

It was working perfectly fine when it was posted, before it expired and was deleted.

I'm updating the link to that file below.

This new link in using my dropbox subscription, so it will remain there for at least an year from now.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fdisztoowomqhvpd0k7l9/Table-Problem.dwg?rlkey=7r1kx04fq9m8wyyelsybbhg... 

Let me know if you have any issues with that one.

Regards,

[alissonsgarcia]

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@cadffm wrote:

StripMtextv5-0d 

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@cadffmwhat is the difference between your file ending with D and the one offered as solution before your post, ending with B?
Same question applies to @vinodkl 

StripMtextv5-0d

[pendean]

See attached (I removed all the AutoCADMECH tools in it, is that the software you are using or got this file from?): each of your "black" cells has a manual in-editor override for style and color, while everything else in that table followed your TABLESTYLE settings.

Now we know why the core AutoCAD tools could not edit your table text.

[cadffm]

Hi,

Version 5.0c contains an extension to version b and Version d contains another extension to version c.
In both cases it involves information about the text height, which could not yet be recognized and handled in the respective previous versions.

So, it has nothing to to with an internal color-format, but with possibles internal Text height formats

[pendean]

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@alissonsgarcia wrote:

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@cadffm wrote:

StripMtextv5-0d 

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@cadffmwhat is the difference between your file ending with D and the one offered as solution before your post, ending with B?
Same question applies to @vinodkl 

StripMtextv5-0d

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[alissonsgarcia]

@cadffm  Where did you get that from? It doesn't seem like you created that file, correct? Maybe I can find a good source of functions and other stuff to add to my AutoCAD. 

Is there any way to fix that table without using this external function and also without manually editing each individual cell? The problem is solved for me anyway, but out of curiosity, in case I receive similar table in the future from someone, that information might come in hand.

Regards,

[cadffm · Accepted solution]

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@alissonsgarcia  schrieb:

@cadffm  Where did you get that from? It doesn't seem like you created that file, correct?

Right, I downloaded the 5.0c version (what is published on several sites)

and after I got the "okay" from one of the programmers, I added/edited some lines.

Maybe I can find a good source of functions and other stuff to add to my AutoCAD. 

You will find 100.000 programs in many API/languages easily.

Each is useful if you have the task that the tool is doing.

One of the most shared site in this forum: Search about Lee Mac or cadalyst and so on.

Is there any way to fix that table ...without manually editing each individual cell?

No

, in case I receive similar table in the future from someone, that information might come in hand.

For usual I use my own tools, but to remove internal Mtext format codes in my daily tasks, I use StripMText!

(my personal version is more powerful, but the published version works perfect by gui)

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