qselect and filters

[robcad]

i am wanting to select and number of blocks by name using the filter command so i can cahnge the layer of all of them and use it over and over. i can get this to work for one block but not multiple. do i need to use some operators, if so how

please help

[Alan Cullen]

As far as I am aware.....if you create the blocks on a specific layer.....then bring them into your drawing while another layer is active.....then they will always remain on that (active) layer until you explode them.

That would explain why you aren't able to change their layers.

[dbroada]

Alan,
One of us has mis-read the question. I think he is asking how to select more than one block with different names using the FILTER or QSELECT methods. I have never investigated FILTER so can't answer.

I think with QSELECT you will have to keep appending to your set.

If you already know the names of the blocks you could do this with code.

[Alan Cullen]

yeah...thanks, Dave.

I wasn't real sure what he was after....so I took a punt....:lol:

The FILTER command will sort it out by selecting your blocks, provided that you input the correct parameters. FILTER is a lot more versatile than QSELECT.

But as I previously said.....the blocks will not change layers unless they have been exploded.....but then again that defeats the purpose....because they will then no longer be blocks !!!!! :(

[dbroada]

Not quite true. If you create your blocks on layer 0 they will go to whichever layer you want. If you create them on a specific layer that's where they remain.

and shouldn't you be in bed by now!

[Alan Cullen]

Dave.....that's real interesting....I'll try that one out tomorrow. If (and I have no doubt you are correct) it works...then I'm gonna have to do a total rethink on my blocks. That would solve a lot of problems.....:lol:


and shouldn't you be in bed by now!

c'mon......you're getting as bad as Styk.....:lol: . It's only 9:30 p.m. here. I still got another hour to go before I have to hit the cot. And I like sitting up listening to music while I brouse the forum......o:)

[dbroada]

Sorry about the time Alan, I think of everything in the Southern hemisphere as being about 12 hours away.

I'll let you check the blocks and layer 0 for yourself. We do all our border blocks on 0 and you can tell when they are on the wrong layer as they take on a different colour! :D

You can still have elements within the block on their own layer and this is one cause of empty layers. You sometimes find a block has an element on layer FRED. FRED cannot now be purged but a listing of the drawing will find nothing on that layer. This is particularly frustrating if that element is a 0 length line or a null string as they are not easy to find anyway.

enjoy your music!

[Alan Cullen]

Cheers, Dave......

That last explaination of yours has got me wondering.....just how far does putting blocks on layer 0 go before other problems come into play?

I guess it's going to be a case of having a bit of a play tomorrow, and finding out the pros and cons of blocks being created on layer 0.

robcad.......

Just hang on a bit......we'll find out one way or the other how you can do what you want.....o:)

Edit......Dave, as I write I am listening to "you make me whole again" by Atomic Kitten.....and yes, I am enjoying my music....(can't find a smily)

[Gar]

Gosh guys... this is a true "post" hijack if i've ever seen one...HAHA Just Kidding!!!!!

Robcad- are the blocks part of a drawing that you recieved from someone, or are they of your own insertion?
'cause if they are yours, you could put the blocks into a tool pallete (by dragging them [do a search of how exactly on the forumns here]...) and then set the layer you want them on in their properties (by right-clicking them in the tool palette...)

Hope this maybe helps...

EDIT: by putting the blocks in a tool pallette, you can then just drag them into your drawing... i used to do this with a few blocks i used like elevation markers/tags, etc...

[RFRUSSO]

i am wanting to select and number of blocks by name using the filter command so i can cahnge the layer of all of them and use it over and over. i can get this to work for one block but not multiple. do i need to use some operators, if so how

please help

If I understand what you are trying to do, I think the answer is no.
My understanding is that you may have some blocks named door, some named window and yet more named sink. You want to change the doors and window to a new layer but keep the sinks on the current layer. So how do you filter your filter command? I don't know of a way to do it but I'm going to keep an eye on this thread because I have needed to do that very thing myself.

So do I qualify for an award for the longest reply to tell some one that I don't know the answer?

How about now?


How about now?


...

[Alan Cullen]

I have been wrong before.....and I am wrong again here...:oops: I guess you get these things in your head and never bother to change your beliefs.....

You can change a block's layer....irrespective of whether it was drawn on layer 0 or not. When you explode the block then it will go to the layer it was created on.

robcad.....

Use the filter command to select the blocks you want. It has selection criteria such as Block name, color, layer etc.

That should do the trick....and as I just discovered, the selected blocks should change to the layer you want them on.

[dbroada]

Hi Alan, I think we've frightened robcad off without actually learning what he was asking for. :(

I think you may have already worked out that you can place a block on any layer BUT the entities will remain on their as drawn layer. If you turn off the layer that the entity is drawn on those entities will turn off - irrespective of what layer it has been inserted on. Similarly if you turn off the layer the block is inserted on you will still see the entities drawn on another (active) layer. However, QSELECT will not find these sub entities, it will only find objects on the inserted layer. IYSWIM!

[Alan Cullen]

Cheers,Dave....the one thing I didn't try this morning was turning off the drawn layer for the blocks. I got home this arvo and thought....IDIOT. I suspected that would be the case.......

Yeah.....


I think we've frightened robcad off

I suspected that also....but in any event, I'm sure he will be along soon enough to check his post.....in the meantime it has been a very fruitful discussion on the issue, and I'm also sure many other members will have benefitted from this discussion....:lol:

BTW ... Friday night.......still here......still listening to music while I browse.....and 11.00 p.m. :P

[dbroada]

BTW ... Friday night.......still here......still listening to music while I browse.....and 11.00 p.m. :Pah, 2pm here. At least its poets day so only 1 hour left.

[Alan Cullen]

At least its poets day so only 1 hour left.
Okay...I give up.....what's poets day....and what does it have to do with the cost of a bottle of milk in Mongolia ? :lol:

[dbroada]

Okay...I give up.....what's poets day....and what does it have to do with the cost of a bottle of milk in Mongolia ? :lol:
P*** OFF EARLY, TOMORROW'S SATURDAY!

[Alan Cullen]

Gotcha............(same here).....:lol: