Block attribute management from a central point

[Anonymous]

Hello all,

I have a sheet with many blocks on it. I want to standardize the block tags to present specific attributes per equipment block we are including in a library. Unfortunately several different engineers have created the blocks in question.

I am considering creating an attribute block and adding it to each block but this might not work as expected. It might propagate the same tags and attribute values across all of the items in the library and interfere with dataextractions.

I've looked at ATTREDEF but that doesn't quite seem to fit the bill. I need a method that will allow for future expandability of the library.

I figure there has got to be a clean way to do this in Autocad. It seems like a natural and I just can't figure it out.

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

I see that you are visiting as a new member to the AutoCAD forum. Welcome to the Autodesk Community!

 I guess I am having some difficulty in understanding exactly what you are trying to do.  Can you share a few files along with the tag you are trying to incorporate?

Please also tell me which version of AutoCAD is in place.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[neaton]

For use with dataextraction, you want the attributes identical in each block: ID, ACQ_DATE, MFG, etc. If you think you will have duplicate information you will need to add another attribute to distinguish them such as OFFICE or DIVISION. If each of the attributes is different in each block then data extraction won't work.

If this isn't the issue, please attach a drawing or snip showing the type of data you are looking to extract.

Did you look into the BATTMAN command to change attribute names?

Nancy

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello all, 

I have a sheet with many blocks on it. I want to standardize the block tags to present specific attributes per equipment block we are including in a library. Unfortunately several different engineers have created the blocks in question. 

I am considering creating an attribute block and adding it to each block but this might not work as expected. It might propagate the same tags and attribute values across all of the items in the library and interfere with dataextractions.

I've looked at ATTREDEF but that doesn't quite seem to fit the bill. I need a method that will allow for future expandability of the library.

I figure there has got to be a clean way to do this in Autocad. It seems like a natural and I just can't figure it out.

[Anonymous]

I really can’t share the file for professional reasons. Maybe I can describe it better.



We are standardizing the list of attribute tags across a large number of blocks. We may need to add more attribute tags in the future.



Right now I need to edit each block individually to bring them into compliance with our naming conventions. This is labor intensive for now and for the future. I’d rather be able to handle all of these tags and properties from a spreadsheet and import them into Autocad. Is that possible?



I was looking for a way that I could define the entire list of attributes in one place and apply it to all the blocks in the library. Maybe by reference? Would that work if I xref it from another file? Would I be able to Xref it in and then create a version with a discrete copy of the tags and completed values in the actual library element?

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

There is now way to do this in plain AutoCAD commands.  I suggest that you check the utilities in the Autodesk App Store to see if anything looks like it will perform this task.  I will also move this thread to the customization forum so you might receive some more options.

[Anonymous]

Thanks very much! Saved me a goose chase!