<Entity name: 2c90520> what is the rule of Entity name

[Anonymous]

Hi All

<Entity name: 2c90520>  Is the Entity name named "2c90520" by any rules or just random without any meaning in CAD?

If there has rule , what is the nomenclature principle?

Regards

Clemens

[CodeDing]

@Anonymous ,

According to the documentation:

https://help.autodesk.com/view/OARX/2020/ENU/?guid=GUID-9CB07C25-4439-445D-B1B3-92174C53C571

An entity name is a numeric label assigned to objects in a drawing.

It can not be created manually, only by AutoCAD, but the programming interface has provided us with special functions to interact with and manage these objects. This allows us to edit items while simultaneously allowing AutoCAD to keep track of all objects in the drawing.

In short, we use entity names to easily identify an object and interact with it programmatically.

Does that help?

Best,

~DD

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your reply. It's helpful.

Did you know nomenclature principle of the numeric label ?

An entity name is a numeric label assigned to objects in a drawing.

[martti.halminen · Accepted solution]

2c90520 is hexadecimal for 46728480. It could be a raw memory address, or an offset from some base value.

Whatever it is, it is undocumented for ordinary users and not operable as such. The only use you can make of the number shown is when reading AutoCAD data (with your eyes, not with a program) distinguishing two entity names as different.

[cadffm · Accepted solution]

Knowing this is really good for nothing (at the highest for scientific purposes),
you'd better explain why you're interested then we can say that the enames are only temporary anyway
and the only ones of interest are HANDLE.  As long as there is no corrupt data, the handle is the unique ID

of an object within a DWG / DXF and thus the only interesting thing in 99% of cases for Questions theses sounds like yours.

[john.uhden · Accepted solution]

@cadffm  and @martti.halminen  gave excellent explanations.  I would just like to add that an entity name, though only temporary, is your gateway to the properties of entities and your ability to change those properties or use them for whatever your purpose.  Going back to the olden days before ActiveX, they were our only means of access to entity properties.

For example,

(setq e (car (entsel "\nSelect an entity: ")))

would return an entity name and save it in the variable e.

Then,

(setq ent (entget e))

would return the list of dxf codes and values for most all of the entity's properties.

Though many of us these days tend to use ActiveX methods and properties, it would be good for you to learn most of the dxf codes, and how to use (entmod) and (entmake), or (entmakex).

I hope you don't mind this old fart chiming in.  I bought a used Sunfish sailboat this summer, and quickly decided to name it "Auld Phart."  When my eldest daughter came down from Maine to visit this summer, I took her down to the club with no clues and she found it in less than a minute.  I guess I still have a little bit left in me since I lapped the fleet twice in my first race in 30 years.