Avoiding duplicate Text/MText files

[Anonymous]

I am using Autocad LT mainly for electrical drawings and I usually need to mark the wires inside of the cabinet.

Usually I use C-101, C-102, C-103, etc. but it sometimes happen that i mark two different cables with the same name.

I'm currently using Text or MText for this purpose.

Is there a way to avoid using duplicate values in LT version? Or is there another, better way to do this?

[steven-g]

Not without using some kind of macro for Autonumbering, which just happens to have been asked in the post previous to yours within the last hour.

[Anonymous]

Yes, you are right. This is similar as: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/autocad-lt-forum/sequentially-numbering-plines-at-end-vertex-based-on...

But as you mentioned there, i will sometimes need to have this text on the left, sometimes on the right.

I'm looking just for a simple solution, maybe to put the MText in some layer ad check the duplicates within this layer or something like that.

[steven-g]

Can you post an example dwg file, it doesn't need much detail I think it should be possible to use a dynamic block with a 'flip' action so you can choose left / right, but it is always easier to start from real data than trying to 'imagine' what your actual usage is.

[steven-g]

And no LT cannot check for duplicates that way, you could possibly do that in full AutoCAD with it's Lisp capabilities, but that is beyond the simpler LT.

[Anonymous]

Example drawing attached.

On this one I have also cable type indicated but if this is a problem I can do it on different way.

[steven-g · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the dwg unfortunately, I doubt you will find a way to automate this in LT. If it was simply a question of adding the labels as shown on the upper right of your drawing then yes a macro would help (even if the text rotated). But the labels on the left containing the racks is another issue totally, you have the same label at both ends of the cable. Yes, in theory, you could create a macro that places two labels with 2 clicks and uses the same number, but LT is not capable of checking that you don't put the 2nd label on the wrong cable so your chances of error are dramatically increased. You really need the programming logic that Lisp in full AutoCAD can offer you. This type of thing would be a piece of cake with the 'electrical toolset' offered in full AutoCAD, it might possibly need an addon but a Google search would show up the possibilities. If you do this on a regular or daily basis then you really should be using something other than LT.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the answers.

Unfortunately LT is currently what we have, I know it's not suitable for this kind of job but I don't think that we will change it it the near future. 

Until then, back to manual work 😁