Find command for BLOCKS / ENTITIES

Is there a FIND command for blocks ? ( -just like the find text command or similar)

I need to find (POSITION) all the blocks with the same name in a large drawing and count them too.

Thanks.

You can count blocks in a drawing using the BCount command found in your Express Tools. The output is in the form of the block name and count.

BCount can only be invoked via the command line.

As for the position of a block are you referring to its insertion point? If so, I am sure there is a lisp routine available somewhere that would return the information.

I'm not sure if there is one routine that will give you everything you seek.

Well the only way I know how to "count" blocks is this:

Invoke the BLOCK dialog box.

Under the Name pull down menu, select the block you wawnt to find.

Check the box "Specify On Screen" under the Objects section.

Click OK

Once this is done a warning message ill appear telling you the block is already defined, it will also tell you how many instances of the block reside in the drawing.

The only thing this doesnt do is show you where they are... you would need a LISP routine to do that me thinks...

You can count blocks in a drawing using the BCount command found in your Express Tools. The output is in the form of the block name and count.

My IT guy did not install express tools! ive been meaning to get that done as i have not used it before. But there seems to be some goodies within....

If you go for the Attribute Extraction tool, that will tell you the numbers of the blocks and also the Insertion points.

If you're looking for a particular block and you want the locations, try Quick Select (command QSelect). It may be on your right-click menu. To find the blocks, pull down the Object Type combo box, and pick Block Reference; scroll down in the Properties pane to Name; leave the Operator at Equals; select the name from the Value list. That will give you a selection set consisting of all blocks with that name. Looking at the properties of that set will give you the count.

Yes, I have tried BCOUNT but that isn't exactly what I want.

I need to find "where in the drawing" these blocks are located.

e.g. There are 10 small blocks called "SONe" in a huge construction dwg (Bcount tells me so). I have located 8 - "where the hell are the other two ?" says my boss. "I'll find them", I say and login to this forum.

What do you guys say ?

Thanks CyberAngel - I got very close with your suggestion.

If you're looking for a particular block and you want the locations, try Quick Select (command QSelect). It may be on your right-click menu. To find the blocks, pull down the Object Type combo box, and pick Block Reference; scroll down in the Properties pane to Name; leave the Operator at Equals; select the name from the Value list. That will give you a selection set consisting of all blocks with that name. Looking at the properties of that set will give you the count.

Did you try the Attribute extraction tool?

Just because the block does not have any attributes does not stop the number of blocks and their Insertion points being listed.

Thanks CyberAngel - I got very close with your suggestion.

If you're having trouble finding some of the blocks, try this. Get the selection set (as already described). Once you've located a particular instance of the block, select it with the shift key down. That will remove it from the set, leaving the ones you haven't located. As the set gets smaller, it should get easier to notice the remaining members, because the grips move differently than the drawing itself (at least they do on my system). If you get down to a single instance, you can use the Zoom To command on the right-click menu. It sounds clunky, but it works.

I am completely embarassed. I forgot all about ATTEXT. What a dummy. I coulda had a V8! Thanks for jogging my memory.

To find blocks I sometimes redefine the block long enough to find them. First set Undo, Mark. Find one block, use bedit (select it and right click), now add a huge X or whatever, set the color of the X to a color that will standk out, save the bedit session. Now your blocks should stand out. Now undo, Back, or go back into bedit and remove the large X.