Michael’s Corner

Michael's Corner is a monthly publication written by Michael E. Beall, Autodesk Authorized Author and peripatetic AutoCAD trainer. Michael travels all over the USA, bringing his fantastic experience and great understanding of AutoCAD to his clients. Michael's Corner brings together many of the tips, tricks and methods developed during these training sessions for the benefit of all users.

Michael's Corner provides something for every AutoCAD user. Every month, a number of articles cover a wide range of topics, suitable for users at all levels, including "The Basics" for those just starting out. Essentially, the aim of Michael's Corner is to help all AutoCAD users work smarter and faster.

This month…

From the Vault

Originally published December 2007

Hyperlinked Block on a Tool Palette

Personally, I think hyperlinks are an excellent (albeit rarely used) way to access other files that may be related to your drawing; such as a 3D drawing of a certain workstation, a cover letter, a 20-20 Worksheet (for those of you using 20-20 Technologies software), or a web page containing product information. [See my coverage of Hyperlinks in the Power Tool of November 2004; the procedure is virtually unchanged.]

If, however, you hyperlink a block, then put the block on a palette, the link is lost. This condition came to my attention when a reader contacted me. In turn, I contacted Mark Douglas, Dynamic Block guru of gurus, and he had the answer.

Let me remind you that there are several ways to add a hyperlink to an object. One approach is to use InsertHyperlink and select the object to hyperlink, then specify the hyperlink file or website. When creating a block, you can check the Hyperlink box in the Block Definition dialog box. A third method - via the Properties window - turns out to be the solution.

With the understanding that the hyperlink added to a block while it's in the drawing environment isn't retained when the block is added to the palette, here's what you need to do to make it work.

Instructions to Effectively Hyperlink a Block for the Tool Palette

1. Open the block in the Block Editor by right-clicking on it, then selecting Block Editor.

Note: Beginning in AutoCAD 2006, if you double-click a non-attributed block, the Edit Block Definition dialog box opens which initiates the Block Editor. If, however, you double-click an attributed block, the Enhanced Attribute Editor opens. Therefore, if you need to hyperlink an attributed block you will need to use the right-click method.

2. In the Block Editor, select all the objects of the block, then open the Properties window.
3. In the Properties window, under General, click the ellipsis for Hyperlink to open the Insert Hyperlink dialog box. In this example I pasted the URL link to the George Nelson designed Herman Miller Marshmallow Sofa.
4. Close the block editor, save the changes, then save the drawing. Now you can drag and drop the hyperlinked block onto your palette. At this point, when the hyperlinked block is placed in a drawing from the palette, the hyperlink is functional. Thank you, Mr. Duncan! [http://mdouglas.blogs.com/in_the_dynamic_interface]

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