Changing layers names - autolisp
Does not read Excel, but if you structure your data in a list it's very easy.
(defun c:foo (/ a l)
;; Make your data list like so
(setq l '(("A" "WATER") ("B" "ELEC") ("C" "GROUND") ("D" "PEOPLE")))
(vlax-for lyr (vla-get-layers (vla-get-activedocument (vlax-get-acad-object)))
(if (setq a (assoc (strcase (vla-get-name lyr)) l))
(vl-catch-all-apply 'vla-put-name (list lyr (cadr a)))
)
)
(princ)
)Then if you want to make the list in Excel, it can be formatted to lisp like so:
Copy paste into list 'l' and rock and roll!
The list in the code is formatted as ((OLDNAME NEWNAME)(OLDNAME NEWNAME)...) .. modify it to your needs then run the code. Understand?
(setq l '(("A" "WATER") ("B" "ELEC") ("C" "GROUND") ("D" "PEOPLE")))
If you run the code in your sample drawing you will see that it works per your example.
Or the "plain" way:
(setq pairs '(("A" "WHO") ("B" "WHAT") ("C" "WHY")))
(defun RLL (pairs) ; = Rename Layers from List
(foreach pair pairs
(if (tblsearch "layer" (car pair))
(command "_.rename" "_layer" (car pair) (cadr pair))
)
)
(princ)
)
Interestingly, there's a Layer option in the RENAME command, and also the converse -- a Rename option in the -LAYER command. I used the former because the latter would take an extra enter "" to conclude the Layer command.
EDIT: Removed the C: before the RLL function name.
@cadffm wrote:.... write a simple script like my sample in the xls file
_.rename _layer A
Water
....
[That will have trouble if any of the old Layer names does not exist in the drawing.]
@ronjonp wrote:........That code won't work with C:. ....
You're right. I first wrote it up with the list of Layer-name pairs built into the command, and the C: was appropriate, but when I decided to pull the list out and make it an argument, so it could be used with different lists, I forgot to pull the C: out of the (defun) line. I've made the correction there.
@JohnC_ISM wrote:
.... how do i make it search like *hatch/Hatch
.... (command "_.chprop" "_last" "" "_layer" "E-Hatch" "") ....it used to be Ehatch and now its E-Hatch sometimes old drawings are used about 50% of the time so im just tryna make it so the lisp works for everyone regardless of old or new drawing is open.
It can check through all the possibilities for the Layer name until it finds the one that is in the current drawing [or, the first one it finds, if there are more than one of them]:
(command
"_.chprop" "_last" "" "_layer"
(cond ; find a Layer that exists
((tblsearch "layer" "E-hatch") "E-hatch")
((tblsearch "layer" "Ehatch") "Ehatch")
((tblsearch "layer" "Hatch") "Hatch")
((tblsearch "layer" "Whatever") "Whatever")
("0")
); cond
"" ; conclude CHPROP
)[That would not be case-sensitive.]
It will stop looking as soon as it finds one of those Layer names exists and uses it. I added a there-aren't-any fallback to put it on Layer 0, so that it can't cause an error, since that Layer will always exist, but it could be made to just keep it on the current Layer instead.
