Starting in Autocad, problems inserting Blocks.

Hello CADTutor readers and helpers.

Currently at my college I'm taking a course of Computer Assisted Design, which has drawn me to register to this forum for help.

Right now I'm having a question about insertion of blocks. I'm having problems inserting a block inside a Layout, in the beginning it didn't let me insert correctly, even though it sent no sign or warning of error, supossedly it inserted, however the layout showed nothing, and the commands Zoom-Extents goes zooming extremely far out till nothing is seen, not the layout page or what was trying to be inserted. After several attempts, an option popped up, something about redesigning or modifying the block, and yes or no option, when put yes, the block appeared... a lot larger than the page setup but at leaste it appeared. Noew, I have some questions about this. Why didn't it insert or... inserted in a weird way before the option popped up? and, Is there a way to insert a block within some boundaries so that it will fit to an area given or something similar? Because right now I have to be playing with the scales to get what I want, but if I could I'd like a simpler method.

Thanks beforehand for any help that could be given and your time. Greetings y success D; .

What is this block of that you are trying to insert in a layout?

You do understand that all objects should be drawn in model space at full size and that a layout is generally used for setting up our sheet with such things as our title block and border right?

As to your block insertion problem my guess it is a scale issue.

What you got onscreen was the block opened up in AutoCAD's Block Editor. The block editor is mainly used to make changes to a block.

What is this block of that you are trying to insert in a layout?

 

You do understand that all objects should be drawn in model space at full size and that a layout is generally used for setting up our sheet with such things as our title block and border right?

 

As to your block insertion problem my guess it is a scale issue.

 

What you got onscreen was the block opened up in AutoCAD's Block Editor. The block editor is mainly used to make changes to a block.

The block is a dwg that I drew before, it is a topographic map with a highway in it, clearly drawn in the model tab.

The AutoCAD's block editor was the window that asked me if I wanted to redefine the block?

And the last question, is there a way to insert a block within boundaries to make it fit? or, Playing with the scales of insertion is the only way?

Thanks for your help.

Drawings done at different scales would require one of them to be scaled up or scaled down to fit. So, yes, you're right, you would have to adjust the X and Y scales (normally they would be the same).

I'm having problems inserting a block inside a Layout.......

 

Zoom-Extents goes zooming extremely far out till nothing is seen.......

 

Is there a way to insert a block within some boundaries so that it will fit to an area given or something similar?

 

The block is a dwg that I drew before, it is a topographic map with a highway in it, clearly drawn in the model tab.

So, you have a previously drawn topo map which, if I'm reading it correctly, you are now trying to insert, as a block, into a layout?

If this is indeed the case, you will encounter problems such as those you describe, as the map will be far too big for your layout. Your map should stay in modelspace and be viewed from a layout, using a viewport. This will remove any geometry scaling issues, as the zoom factor is set via the viewport properties.

So, you have a previously drawn topo map which, if I'm reading it correctly, you are now trying to insert, as a block, into a layout?

 

If this is indeed the case, you will encounter problems such as those you describe, as the map will be far too big for your layout. Your map should stay in modelspace and be viewed from a layout, using a viewport. This will remove any geometry scaling issues, as the zoom factor is set via the viewport properties.

You are correct, that is one part that I have to do in my work, however, I need to do 2 things, one is in a mview (2 per layout) adjust a view to a parameter which I've already donde, and the other one is, in a small square in the layout, point out what part of the map I'm zooming, this means to hatch a little part of the whole drawing so people reading can see which part of the map is zoomed in the mview squares, this is why I created a set of dwg that have rectangles with hatch on top of them in every part that needed to be zoomed, now I'm trying to insert this .dwg in the small square, and it's a lot of work, I'm wondering about the "insertion to fit in square boundaries" to lighten some work.

Thanks for the help given so far and any that could be given in the future xD.

You're using a layout. The two "mview squares" as you call them would be your viewports. The viewports are windows that let you see back into model space. The topo map is in model space drawn at full size. The viewports can have different scales assigned to them. You do not "insert" a drawing into a viewport. There is no "insertion to fit in square boundaries" command. Viewports can have their size adjusted by way of the grips at each corner.

Make one viewport active by clicking inside it. Assign a scale to the viewport (one way is via the Viewports toolbar). You may have to use pan or zoom to get the exact area of the map you want. Make any finally adjustment to your viewport size as required. Finally, right-click on the viewport and on the flyout menu find Display locked and change it from 'no' to 'yes'.

You're using a layout. The two "mview squares" as you call them would be your viewports. The viewports are windows that let you see back into model space. The topo map is in model space drawn at full size. The viewports can have different scales assigned to them. You do not "insert" a drawing into a viewport. There is no "insertion to fit in square boundaries" command. Viewports can have their size adjusted by way of the grips at each corner.

 

Make one viewport active by clicking inside it. Assign a scale to the viewport (one way is via the Viewports toolbar). You may have to use pan or zoom to get the exact area of the map you want. Make any finally adjustment to your viewport size as required. Finally, right-click on the viewport and on the flyout menu find Display locked and change it from 'no' to 'yes'.

Thank you very much for your help. What you have explained I've already done it, right now the only thing that is missing in my work is inserting the block with the location hatched that is in the a set of other dwg, and it seems I'll have to play with scales until it fits.

Another problem I'm having is that in one of the dwg, in the model tab, when I enter the commands zoom extents, it doesn't zoom only on the topographic map, but a larger black area is shown, which leads me to think there is an object in the model really far away from my map, however, I can't seem to find it, can't see it in szoom extents maybe because it's too little, and I've tried selecting on the empty spaces that zoom extents shows, however I've had no luck finding them, maybe I inserted something small and it inserted far away. Anyways, Does anybody know an efficient solution to find this object and erase it if I can't see it in the zooms provided? (All layers are "On" and not frozen or anything.)

Thanks beforehand.

CTRL-A will select everything in your drawing, this should help you find any errant objects you may have.

So you have two viewports, one showing a zoomed view of a particular area, the other to show a full site map with a key/indication of where the zoomed area is.

This is normal. Do you already have a full site plan in modelspace? Or have you recreated a part view? If you have a full map, you can hatch the area you need to show and set the layer to not display in your main viewport. You should not need to insert a second instance of the map.

CTRL-A will select everything in your drawing, this should help you find any errant objects you may have.

 

So you have two viewports, one showing a zoomed view of a particular area, the other to show a full site map with a key/indication of where the zoomed area is.

This is normal. Do you already have a full site plan in modelspace? Or have you recreated a part view? If you have a full map, you can hatch the area you need to show and set the layer to not display in your main viewport. You should not need to insert a second instance of the map.

Thank you very much for your answer, after a lot of tries I've been able to erase the unwanted and hatch the necessary, thanks a lot for everyone's help

You're welcome Crones. Do come back if you have any further issues, and good luck with the rest of the course.