Wildcard Character * Not Allowing Renaming of Multiple Layers

[Anonymous]

In the RENAME dialog, I am using the *wildcard character to rename multiple layers.
See Attached.
But No Layers are renamed.
What's the problem?

Thanks

[dbroad]

I don't believe the rename command supports bulk renaming with wildcards.  You would need to write a program for that I think.

[kadmonkee]

try changing the syntax

*Anno* doesn't match the actual name

you may need to include the tilde symbol

[vladimir_michl]

You can use RRENAME for complex renaming of AutoCAD layers and other named objects. It supports also regular expresssions.

See http://www.cadforum.cz/cadforum_en/rename-on-steroids-complex-renaming-of-autocad-objects-tip9265

Vladimir Michl, www.cadstudio.cz  www.cadforum.cz

[Anonymous]

Works fine here, I believe your issue result from using a wildcard character in the layer name itself.  The tilde (~) is a wildcard character and using it in layer names is probably affecting the rename capabilities.

[dbroad]

Looks like it will work for changing prefixes, but I can't make it change an internal substring.  Can you?

1-Layer1

2-Layer2

3-Layer3

4-Layer4

etc.

rename old name:*Layer*,  New name: *L*

won't work.

[vladimir_michl]

With RRENAME you can rename (just by entering "Layer" --> "L"):

1-Layer1 --> 1-L1

2-Layer2 --> 2-L2

3-Layer3 --> 3-L3

But you can even rename e.g.:

1-LayerA --> A-L1

2-LayerB --> B-L2

3-LayerC --> C-L3

by entering "(.+)-Layer(.+)" --> "$2-L$1"

Vladimir Michl, www.cadstudio.cz  www.cadforum.cz

[serkancavuslar · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous

Command "lrn"

LayerName Rename

Replace

Turkey / Istanbul

[kadmonkee]

here is a list of Acceptable wildcards for Autocad

Character
Definition

# (Pound)
Matches any numeric digit

@ (At)
Matches any alphabetic character

. (Period)
Matches any nonalphanumeric character

* (Asterisk)
Matches any string and can be used anywhere in the search string

? (Question mark)
Matches any single character; for example, ?BC matches ABC, 3BC, and so
on

~ (Tilde)
Matches anything but the pattern; for example; ~*AB*matches all strings
that don't contain AB

[ ]
Matches any one of the characters enclosed; for example, [AB]C matches
AC and BC

[~]
Matches any character not enclosed; for example, [~AB]C matches XC but
not AC

[-]
Specifies a range for a single character; for example, [A-G]C matches
AC, BC, and so on to GC, but not HC

` (Reverse quote)
Reads the next character literally; for example, `~AB matches ~AB

[Anonymous]

In addition to @kadmonkee 's list it is important to remember NOT to use any of those characters in layer names (or any other name for that matter).

[Anonymous]

Some tips from @pendean last month

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/autocad-forum/rename-multiple-layers/td-p/3771145
http://www.ccadinc.com/autocad-tutorials-wildcard.html

[serkancavuslar]

Some solutions can be very simple and practical.

This method is very easy and very practical as you can see.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the .lsp file for advanced renaming functionality, since the standard RENAME dialog apparently does not permit multiple * characters.

It successfully solved my particular layer renaming task. It even successfully dealt with the tilde character I had as part of my layer name, which I removed as part of the layer name, since it is a wildcard character itself (kadmonkee's list & rculp's advice, thanks)

[Anonymous]

RENAME works quite well using wildcards, your problem was the wildcard character you used in the layer name. Don't do that and RENAME works fine.

[Anonymous]

Do you have a similar lisp file for renaming blocks?

[ntodd]

Someone has used '_' underscore instead of '-' hyphen in multiple layers. I want to change those layers to use a hyphen. The wildcards didn't work. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

[RobDraw]

---

@ntodd wrote:

The wildcards didn't work.

---

Which wildcard did you use and how did you apply it?

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure why people are ignoring this, but this RRename, rocks! Thank you.

[RobDraw]

What makes you think it is being ignored?

[Anonymous]

Hello,

this seems not to work for AutoCAD Archtitecture 2019. It just says unnown command "LayerName"

Any solution for this?