Cadtales

USING ATTRIBUTES AS AN ITEM COUNTER

by Jim Rogers, CADreps

Attributes, “place holders” for data, are a staple of AutoCAD, used regularly to store data about a particular item, collect and summarize that data and to present it in a table or separate file or document. This article explains the operation and use of the Enhanced Attribute Extraction program (EATTEXT) and how to make a simple item counter using Attributes. We’ll do this by creating a couple of simple blocks, assigning Attributes and then using the EATTEXT program to extract and format the data for presentation in a pre-configured table.

Let’s start by creating two simple objects, a BOX and a CIRCLE:

1. Draw a 1x1 rectangle in either paper or model space.

2. Use the Block command to turn it into a block. Name the block “BOX,” use any base point you prefer, select the object and check the “Open in block editor” option.

3. In the Block editor use the ATTDEF program to assign an Attribute. In the Attribute definition dialog box input the settings shown in Figure 1. Place the Box_tag attribute anywhere on, in or near the box object. (See the notes below for explanations regarding these settings).

4. Close the Block editor and save your changes.

5. Repeat these steps for the CIRCLE object using an appropriate tag name and any other blocks you want to include in this example. Pay attention to spelling and capitalization as the block name will be a line-item in our extraction table.

Figure 1

In this example we want the data place holder to be “fixed” and “empty” so we’ll check the Invisible and Preset boxes and leave the Prompt: and Default: windows empty. And, we’ll be using the block names “BOX” & “CIRCLE” as the line items in the table. The text settings are unimportant since the output will be controlled by the table format. One note about text size is worth mentioning, however. We’ll be loading this block onto a Tool Palette and the image created will reflect the relative combined size of the Box and the text. The text size should be reasonable compared to the size of the object. If the text is too small, not much will happen as the Box object will control the Tool Palette image size. If the Attribute text is much larger than the Box, then the Tool Palette image of the Box will be very small and difficult to read.

FORMATTING A TABLE STYLE

Use the Format>Tablestyle program to make a new table style called Item Count. Use the settings shown in Figures 2 & 3 below.

Figure 2   

Figure 3

Remember that Rows and Columns are not set in the style and are configured when inserting the table into the drawing. Note the “Margins” settings in Figure 2 as they control the white space between the text and the lines that form the table. The text size of 3/32” is appropriate for a table inserted in Paper Space, on A thru D size sheets. Scale up appropriately for tables inserted into Model Space and/or larger sheets. Try inserting a sample table using the settings shown in Figure 4 below.

Figure 4

If this is your first time to format a Tablestyle you might want to try the “Learn about Tables” tutorial link in the lower left corner of the Insert Table dialog box.

CREATING AND LOADING A TOOL PALETTE

First, save your drawing containing the sample blocks. The Tool Palette program only deals with blocks in the original resource file – and not with blocks in the open drawing (in memory).

Open the Tool Palette with the icon on the standard tool bar or use CTL+3. Right-click on the title bar and select “New Palette” and give the Palette a name.

Select one of the blocks made earlier to highlight, place the cursor on any part of the object – except the blue Grips – and click & drag the block onto the new Palette. Hold the pick button until you see a black position bar. If there are other items on the Palette you can move the mouse up or down to position the new entry in a preferred place among the other Palette objects. In our case, the block can only be inserted at the top of a new Palette. Repeat for the other block(s).

THE ENHANCED ATTRIBUTE EXTRACTION WIZARD

Wizards are quick, efficient “how to” programs that step the operator through a series of screens with information and choices in order to configure a desired outcome. The EATTEXT wizard is just such a tool, and while it is short on information and has too many screens (in my opinion), it is effective in getting us to the goal of extracting designated data from one or more drawings (sheets), or sheet sets.
Use the newly installed blocks on the Tool Palette to insert a quantity of each block into the current drawing space.
Open the EATTEXT program and note the settings in the dialog box images below:

Figure 5

In Figure 5 (Page 1 of 8), use the default “Create a new data extraction …” since this is a new creation. (If this were a repeat you would check the “Use previous …” box and select the appropriate file. Click NEXT.

Figure 6

In the Select file: dialog box give the extraction file a path & a name. Click Save.

Figure 7

In Figure 7 (Page 2 of 8) we’ll Define the Data Source(s). Check the “Include current drawing” box if you want to create an Item Counter that spans several sheets. Check “Select objects in the current drawing” if the Item Counter will be limited to the current file. The Add Folder and Add Drawings buttons on the right allow you to include resources anywhere on your system or network. Click NEXT.

Figure 8

In Figure 8 (Page 3 of 8) the dialog box opens with the “Display all object types” turned on. To filter this list: Un-check the “Display all” box. Check both the “Display blocks ...” & “Display objects ...” boxes. This will limit the displayed items to those of current interest in a filtered list. See Figure 9 below.

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 10 (Page 4 of 8) is the Select Properties box and it also opens with everything turned on. To filter this list, in the Category filter: Leave the Attribute box checked. Un-check the remaining choices. See Figure 11 below. Click NEXT.

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 12 (Page 5 of 8) is where we refine our data. Note the double listing for our BOX and CIRCLE blocks. This is probably a bug in the extraction tool. The program appears to see the creation and subsequent insertions of the block as different items. A work-around for this error is explained below.

In the Refine Data dialog box note the similarity to an Excel spreadsheet. To sort a column click the column header and click again to change from ascending to descending. To hide a column: right-click the column header and select “Hide Column.” To re-arrange the columns: click and drag a column header left or right. Move the Name column to the left position.

Each time you click a column header to sort the contents you are setting a “Sort Columns” feature in the background. Open the “Sort Columns Options” to see and manage these settings. See Figure 13.

Click the Full Preview button to see how your table will appear, See Figure 14 below. Select NEXT.

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 15 (Page 6 of 8) tells the program where to place the Data Table. For this example use the default choice shown in Figure 15 above.

Figure 16

Figure 16 (Page 7 of 8) is where we select our pre-configured Table Style “Item Count.” Also, in this dialog box, you can input the Title (we used ITEM COUNTER). Check the “Use property names …” option so that the block name(s) will appear as the objects being counted. Click NEXT.

Figure 17

Figure 17 (Page 8 of 8) is the final page and is pretty much self-explanatory. After clicking FINISH the newly created table will be attached, at long last, to your cursor. Find a suitable spot in your drawing and click to place. The table will still show the error count. See Figure 18 below.

Figure 18

As you continue to work the drawing, adding and removing attributed blocks, you can UPDATE the table by highlighting, right-click and select “Update Table Data Links.” See Figure 19 below.

Figure 19

Erase and/or add a few blocks and Update the table links again. If you want to include new blocks with different Attributes in this table you will have to go thru the entire EATTEXT process again, choosing “Edit an existing data extraction” option in Figure 5 above, and checking the boxes for the new Attributes in the Define Data dialog boxes in Figure 11 above.

WORK-AROUND

In the example above our Item Counter had separate listings for the same block. This problem seems to occur 1) if the originally created block is left in the drawing – and additional blocks are inserted, and 2) when existing blocks in a drawing are re-defined to include a new Attribute. To reconcile this issue, you can erase all the existing instances of the offending block(s) and re-insert again. In our example you can try this by erasing all the existing blocks in the drawing and updating the table data links. Now, insert several instances of the blocks and, again, update the table data links. (This could also have been corrected by erasing only the original blocks created by the Block Definition program and retaining the secondary insertions). The table is now correct. See Figure 20 below.