Select files for a point or area

[АлексЮстасу]

Hi,

Let 's say there are many hundreds of dwg. Many overlap.
How can I know witch of these files (their names, positions) for the desired point or area?

Let 's say I need this to determine which files to transfer to others. Or etc.

External References are not suitable - too many files.

[jalnealFG]

Could you export these DWG files to shapefiles or SDF files?  You would have to separate point, line, and polygon with SHP, but not SDF. You could then add them back into Map3d and query objects by location. There are several routines that you could probably use to take a lot of DWG files and convert them to SHP, DWG may not be the best format for storing large coverage data.  

[АлексЮстасу]

The question is not about selecting objects, but rather storage units - files.
How do I find out the names of files I need?

[jalnealFG]

Could you create an index of coverage areas? Just a large grid of rectangles, and add a field to those rectangles that match the file naming convention (if this is a grid, then maybe row-column format in the file names)?  You could bring that in as a SHP or SDF file, and you can style with a label.  

Alternately, and I don't know how many files you are talking to xref, you could create a master coverage area, break into DWG's for regional divisions that you will almost always remember which division you are in, then inside of each xref all the DWG's but unload them, draw in a grid over the top, and have a layer for the grid with a separate layer for labels of each file name.  When you xref that in, you can see the grid and decide which DWG's you need to load.  This would be able to be seen/used in vanilla autocad as well if you do it all with DWG.   We have actually tiled a few aerial raster projects this way and it seemed to work. 

[АлексЮстасу]

Yes, I 've already thought, is there a tool for creating a grid of lots of files?

I specify folder/folders with files - I get a diagram (grid) with borders and file names.

[TerryDotson]

... is there a tool for creating a grid of lots of files?

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We have a Drawing Harvest tool in our MapWorks / C3DTools packages that lets the user select a starting folder or a selection of drawings and it extracts the extents, properties and thumbnail, creates these in a drawing or KML file or HTML report.  Of course drawings need to have a valid coordinate system assigned for KML.

Attached is a small KML example (only one drawing), if you click the thumbtack it shows the details, clicking the hyperlink would open the drawing (not supplied).

[ChicagoLooper · Accepted solution]

You can do it with a query. To print the NAMES of the drawings use a Window to define your desired area and create a Report. 

Open a blank drawing. Assign the appropriate coordinate system. Attach (drag-and-drop) all the drawings onto Map Explorer Tab of the Map Task Pane. If feasible, use your judgement and only attach the drawings in the vicinity of your desired area. 

Perform a query. For Location define your area using a Window. (Instead of a Window, you may also use the polyline or polygon option.) See Image-1.

Image-1.

To retrieve the name of the drawing(s) in your desired area use the Expression 'DWGNAME' under the Properties Section. Use the Browse Button to name and save the  REPORT. The Report will use txt fomat and  indicate the names of the drawings in your desired area. See Image-2.

Image-2.

[АлексЮстасу]

Bravo, ChicagoLooper!

So far, there is one drawback to this method - in Report, as many rows as objects fall into the desired area.
There can be hundreds and thousands of lines on 1-3 dwg.
But the same lines in Report can easily be deleted by a table or text editor.

Thank you!