How do I change a title block without losing the data already in the attributes?

[lokimeister]

I would like to add attributes and lines to a title block.  When I explode the block in an already created drawing, the data in the attributes are not saved.  Putting the data in the attribute default won't work because then I might as well just create my new block and re-enter all the information.  Just looking to save some time.

Appreciate the help.

[pendean]

Never explode a block unless you plan on recreating it from scratch.

REFEDIT or BEDIT commands are designed to edit blocks without exploding them.

[lokimeister]

Thanks for the quick response.

How do I get the attributes to move even after I have unlocked the layer? I cannot get it to move to the working set either.

[pendean · Accepted solution]

You have to use ATTSYNC on the block after you close out of BEDIT for the already-inserted block to update.
Newly inserted versions of the block will follow the new design.

May I ask why you don't XREF a titleblock instead of inserting it as a block? Makes editing so much simpler. THis is the common workflow for many AutoCAD users.

[lokimeister]

Great!!

Why don't I use XREF? Because I am not that experienced with using AutoCAD. Thanks for the suggestion and I will look into how XREF is used.

[lokimeister]

Okay, now I noticed that the attributes are now in reverse order. The first attribute is now listed last and the last attribute is now listed first in the Enhanced Attribute Editor. How do I change this back and prevent it from happening in the first place?

[pendean]

BATTMAN command is deisgned to fix that problem (move up/down buttons): usage explained in HELP if you get stuck.

Another reason to explore using XREF is you get a chance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQkj3w5Kw0A
http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/acadblog/autocad-tutorial-attach-an-xref/
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-attach-an-external-reference-drawing-in-aut.html
http://www.2learncad.com/tutorials/xref.html