Chapter 13 -- Using Blocks and External References

Attdef, ddatte, ddedit, ddmodify, attdisp, attdia

Working with Attributes
Extracting Attribute Information

Extraction Template File

The extraction template file contains all of the information associated with attribute tags, such as part name, model number, cost, or supplier, as shown in the illustration of blocks with attributes (see "Working with Attributes"). After you create a template file, AutoCAD uses that file to determine what attribute information to extract from the drawing.

Example of template file information

Attribute tag (C)haracter or (N)umeric data Maximum field length Decimal places
Type C 040 000
Manufacturer C 006 000
Model C 015 000
Cost N 005 003

Each field in the template file extracts information from the drawing. Each line in the template file specifies one field to be written in the attribute information file, including the name of the field, its character width, and its numerical precision. Each record of the attribute information file includes all the specified fields in the order given by the template file.
The following template file displays the 15 possible fields.

BL:LEVEL Nwww000 (Block nesting level)
BL:NAME Cwww000 (Block name)
BL:X Nwwwddd (X coordinate of block insertion point)
BL:Y Nwwwddd (Y coordinate)
BL:Z Nwwwddd (Z coordinate)
BL:NUMBER Nwww000 (Block counter; same for MINSERT)
BL:HANDLE Cwww000 (Block handle; same for MINSERT)

BL:LAYER Cwww000 (Block insertion layer name)
BL:ORIENT Nwwwddd (Block rotation angle)
BL:XSCALE Nwwwddd (X scale factor)
BL:YSCALE Nwwwddd (Y scale factor)
BL:ZSCALE Nwwwddd (Z scale factor)
BL:XEXTRUDE Nwwwddd (X component of block extrusion direction)
BL:YEXTRUDE Nwwwddd (Y component)
BL:ZEXTRUDE Nwwwddd (Z component)

numeric Nwwwddd (Numeric attribute tag)
character Cwww000 (Character attribute tag)
The template file can include any or all of the BL:xxx field names listed. The template file must include at least one attribute tag field. The attribute tag fields determine which attributes, hence which blocks, are included in the attribute information file. If a block contains some, but not all, of the specified attributes, the values for the absent ones are filled in with blanks (if characters) or zeros (if numeric). Block references that do not contain any of the specified attributes are excluded from the attribute information file. Each field can appear no more than once in the template file.

The comment fields should not be included in the template file.

To create a template file
1 From the Start menu (Microsoft® Windows®), choose Programs.
2 From the Accessories program group, choose Notepad.

You can use any text editor or word processor that can save a text file in ASCII format.

3 Enter template information in Notepad and save with a .txt file extension.

To extract data about a specific tag, insert the tag name in place of the "numeric" or "character" fields.

WARNING! Do not use tab characters when constructing the template file with a word processor. If you use tab character alignment, the attribute information file is not created. To align the columns, insert ordinary spaces by pressing SPACEBAR. The use of tab characters may cause inconsistent alignment.