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Welcome aboard, yes using a DWT a dwg with all your company settings in it like always used blocks, layers, linetypes and company layouts with correct title block at true size so use layouts from day one, won't look back using layouts. You don't have to have every block in your master dwg we had hundreds of little dwg's with a single block. Had a Blocks directory. I have a custom lisp that is loaded on startup and has stuff like reset osnaps for certain situations, plus some small often used lisp functions. I normally use 3 custom menu's with lots of commands in them, collected or coded by me over many years. Re insert block dwg. The obvious is ask questions here as someone may have already coded a program to speed up a task, your doing every day. Agree where are you in the world and what discipline are you base at.

What if the answer to the question you’ve been putting off was one post away? On Tuesday, December 8, 2026, Autodesk Answer Day returns to Autodesk Community, and AutoCAD specialists will be on the boards for about 24 hours. Whether you’re in the AEC industry or work in design and manufacturing, we’ve got you covered. Coverage follows the sun from Asia-Pacific to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and then to the Americas, so someone is there during your working day wherever you are. Come for a minute, an hour, or the whole day. How it works It’s easy. It’s free. It’s Autodesk Answer Day. Go to the AutoCAD forum that matches your question, select “Create a New Post,” and ask your question. A specialist will pick it up, answer in the open, and stay with the conversation until you have what you need. You can ask as many questions as you like, and every answer stays on the board, so the next person with the same question can find it too. You’ll be talking with Technical Support specialists and Community Managers, along with Expert Elites and other champions from the Community. Look for the Autodesk icon next to a name to spot an Autodesk employee. The Autodesk Expert Elite icon marks a Community member who isn’t an employee but knows the products very well. What to ask Anything you’re working on is a good question. Some places to start: Getting a hatch, block, or xref to behave the way you want Setting up layouts, viewports, and plotting Command aliases and shortcuts that fit how you draft Customizing your workspace and standards Getting installed, signed in, and licensed so you can start drafting A few details help us answer faster: your AutoCAD version, any error messages (a copied message or a screenshot both work), recent changes to your hardware, software, or drawing, and what you expected to see. Where to ask Specialists will be on these English boards: AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD Map 3D, AutoCAD MEP, AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD Plant 3D, AutoCAD for Mac, AutoCAD on mobile, and Raster Design. The Installation and Licensing board will be covered too. See the most up to date list of forums on the Community Central announcement post. AutoCAD boards in German, Japanese, and Korean will also have specialists on hand. Save the date, share it with your team, and bring your questions. The post Got an AutoCAD Question? Bring It to Autodesk Answer Day on December 8 appeared first on AutoCAD Blog. View the full article

Every few years someone here asks how to get a real street map of a town into AutoCAD — see the 2010 threads “autocad maps” and “inserting os map download to drawings”. The answers back then were “buy a DXF” or “trace a raster”. Today OpenStreetMap covers most of the planet with vector data, so here is what actually works, from free to convenient. 1. QGIS (free). Install the QuickOSM plugin, draw your area, download highways / buildings / landuse, then Project → Import/Export → Export to DXF. You get a layer per OSM tag, but the DXF is in lat/lon or a UTM zone you must pick yourself, text labels are lost, and curves come in as dense polylines. 2. AutoCAD Map 3D / Civil 3D. MAPIMPORT reads SHP; take the SHP from Geofabrik extracts. Works well if you have Map 3D, but the extracts are whole countries and need clipping first. 3. Online converters. Full disclosure: I run one of them, osm2cdr.com (Russian UI at osm2cdr.ru). You pick an area on the map, choose DWG or DXF, and get a file with layers (roads by class, buildings, water, green, names as TEXT), already in a metric projection at 1:1 metres, so INSERT at 0,0 lands where you expect. There is a free preview. I am posting here because this question keeps coming back in the beginners’ area, and I would honestly like to hear what a DXF made from OSM must contain for you to use it in a real job: line types? blocks for POIs? paper space with a title block? Happy to answer questions about any of the three routes.

Adding to @Nikon excellent explanation of the ssget function, also include the option to filter out locked layers "_:L" else the routine would crash out. (setq ss (ssget "_:L" '((0 . "TEXT,MTEXT,DIMENSION,MULTILEADER"))))

To select multiple objects, use **`ssget`** instead of `entsel`, and then apply `setpropertyvalue` to each selected object in a loop. Select several objects using a frame, or one at a time. For all selected objects, the **Annotative** property will change to **No**. The filter allows you to select: `TEXT`, `MTEXT', `DIMENSION`, `MULTILEADER` **Objects are not deleted or recreated.** Only the `Annotative` property is changed. ; "Annotative" 0 /No/ (defun c:NoAnno (/ ss i) ; AI ;; (if (setq ss (ssget '((0 . "TEXT,MTEXT,DIMENSION,MULTILEADER")))) (if (setq ss (ssget "_:L" '((0 . "TEXT,MTEXT,DIMENSION,MULTILEADER")))) ; remark of Paul Li (progn (setq i 0) (repeat (sslength ss) (setpropertyvalue (ssname ss i) "Annotative" 0) (setq i (1+ i)) ) (princ (strcat "\nProcessed objects: " (itoa i))) ) ) (princ) ) ; "Annotative" 1 /Yes/ (defun c:YesAnno (/ ss i) ; AI ;; (if (setq ss (ssget '((0 . "TEXT,MTEXT,DIMENSION,MULTILEADER")))) (if (setq ss (ssget "_:L" '((0 . "TEXT,MTEXT,DIMENSION,MULTILEADER")))) ; remark of Paul Li (progn (setq i 0) (repeat (sslength ss) (setpropertyvalue (ssname ss i) "Annotative" 1) (setq i (1+ i)) ) (princ (strcat "\nProcessed objects: " (itoa i))) ) ) (princ) ) ;;; Remove/Add Annotative property to objects [No/Yes] (default No) ;;; Supported objects: TEXT, MTEXT, DIMENSION, MULTILEADER (defun c:SetAnno (/ ss i ans val) ;; Prompt the user, default is No (initget "No Yes") (setq ans (getkword "\nRemove/Add Annotative property to objects [No/Yes] <No>: ")) (if (not ans) (setq ans "No")) ; if Enter pressed — use No (setq val (if (= ans "Yes") 1 0)) ; Yes = 1, No = 0 ;; (if (setq ss (ssget '((0 . "TEXT,MTEXT,DIMENSION,MULTILEADER")))) (if (setq ss (ssget "_:L" '((0 . "TEXT,MTEXT,DIMENSION,MULTILEADER")))) ; remark of Paul Li (progn (setq i 0) (repeat (sslength ss) (setpropertyvalue (ssname ss i) "Annotative" val) (setq i (1+ i)) ) (princ (strcat "\nProcessed objects: " (itoa i) " | Annotative = " ans)) ) (princ "\nNo objects selected.") ) (princ) )

Are you going to go around reviving old threads? One can certainly appreciate your providing answers, but some of these posts the OP is long gone. Perhaps it would be better to create a single new thread addressing these issues.

I do very little of that sort of thing, but interestingly, I never ran into that issue as I recall. Speaking from experience though, I would make sure any survey data clearly had the coordinate system we use or I would send it back. That's why we paid them money. For my work we have local benchmarks.

What was wrong with @alanjt's code in the link I posted?

That's most likely going to need a LISP or some other type of programming for "automatically". Can you post an example drawing?

Welcome to CADTutor! I moved your thread to the AutoCAD Beginner's Area Forum. Some of those issues are discipline, company, and personnel preference specific in many instances. I use mostly default keyboard shortcuts, I used to have to show people AutoCAD on their computers and having mine customized was throwing me off. I use blocks a lot, most of the blocks are internally all on Layer 0 and ByLayer to take on the block layer's properties. One rule to never break IMO is nothing on Defpoints layer, if you need objects on a non-plotting layer, you can create them. A little background on why you are looking into drafting and which discipline(s) your are looking to work would help.

... 6 1/2 years later to an OP who only ever asked one question, and never came back to see if anyone replied.

You can use AutoLISP's setpropertyvalue to change the Annotative property to No without deleting the objects. LISP code=>(setpropertyvalue (car (entsel "\nSelect object: ")) "Annotative" 0) For processing nested objects, you would also need to iterate through the block definitions and apply the same change to their entities. Xrefs cannot be modified this way without editing their source drawings. This is a useful alternative to manually changing each object's Properties palette.

In infrastructure projects, survey data may arrive from multiple contractors using different coordinate systems, local benchmarks, or grid references. Each drawing can appear internally correct, yet combining them may introduce positional discrepancies across roads, boundaries, and utility layouts. Simply aligning visible reference points may hide systematic coordinate or rotation errors. What verification process do you follow before combining survey DWGs from different sources? Do you validate control points, coordinate transformations, grid-to-ground corrections, or use another method?

Small Revit API finding, and a question for anyone who knows the answer. When I create a family extrusion through the API from one full closed circle (Arc.Create, 0 to 2π), Revit saves the sketch as two half arcs. Then I checked Autodesk's own M_Table-Round family, where the circle was drawn by hand with the Circle tool. Same thing underneath: two half arcs, two sketch lines. So it looks like Revit stores every sketch circle as two halves, whether you draw it or the API does. The family flexes fine and a diameter label drives the whole circle, so nothing is broken. Has anyone found a way through the API to make the two halves pick as one circle in Edit Extrusion, like a hand-drawn one? Or is this just how Revit works? // Inside an open Transaction in a family document Level refLevel = new FilteredElementCollector(doc) .OfClass(typeof(Level)).Cast<Level>().First(); // "Ref. Level" XYZ centre = XYZ.Zero; // origin double radius = 100 / 304.8; // 100 mm SketchPlane sp = SketchPlane.Create(doc, refLevel.Id); // ONE closed circle Arc circle = Arc.Create( Plane.CreateByNormalAndOrigin(XYZ.BasisZ, centre), radius, 0, 2 * Math.PI); CurveArray loop = new CurveArray(); loop.Append(circle); CurveArrArray profile = new CurveArrArray(); profile.Append(loop); Extrusion ext = doc.FamilyCreate.NewExtrusion(true, profile, sp, 300 / 304.8); doc.Regenerate(); // Read back: 1 loop with 2 arcs, each half the circle foreach (CurveArray l in ext.Sketch.Profile) foreach (Curve c in l) TaskDialog.Show("Sketch curve", c.GetType().Name + " length " + Math.Round(c.Length * 304.8, 1) + " mm");

Hi everyone, I am getting started with 2D CAD drafting and want to make sure I build good habits right from the beginning instead of having to unlearn bad ones later. Right now, I am comfortable drawing basic lines, circles, and rectangles, and using simple tools like TRIM, EXTEND, and OFFSET. However, once a drawing starts getting bigger, things quickly feel disorganized. For the experienced drafters here, what are the top 3 or 4 essential habits or commands you wish you had mastered on Day 1? (For example: proper layer management, Object Snap settings, using blocks, or keyboard shortcuts). Any practical workflow tips for keeping drawings clean and accurate would be really appreciated. Thanks!

If spotlights show nothing in a render, check these. First, DEFAULTLIGHTING must be off (0) once you add your own lights; also set LIGHTINGUNITS to 2 so you get photometric lights, and check the units in INSUNITS match your drawing. Second, spotlight intensity is often too low for the scale of the scene: in the Properties palette raise the intensity (or lamp flux) and check the hotspot and falloff angles, since a narrow cone can miss the surface. Third, make sure the spotlight's target points at the geometry and is not behind a surface. Finally, check the light is On and its layer is not frozen, and in the render settings use at least medium quality, with exposure adjusted, because a photometric scene can render dark at default exposure.

Some things to check with the "photometric web file is not valid" message. First, save the .IES as plain ASCII text with the .ies extension, with the bracketed keyword lines at the top and the TILT line directly before the numeric data. Second, the light stores the file path, so if the file was edited or moved after attaching it, re-select it in the Properties palette (Web file) to re-attach it. Third, test with a known-good manufacturer IES to see whether the problem is the file or the drawing. For a 4 ft fluorescent, a manufacturer's linear luminaire IES on a Weblight is usually more reliable than a hand-built one, and it avoids modelling a glass tube, which is what makes the render so slow.

you're welcome...I did have to go back & forth with chatgpt a few times before it finally got it right...of course it does help to know a bit about lisp to know when the lines of code provided make sense...sometimes I wonder if I'm teaching it to learn or is it training me to do better...lol

appreciate the feedback guys. i guess chatgpt > copilot for this sorta stuff then. spent a good hour or so going around in circles with copilot

This company has all of their appliances in one drawing and I have to copy and paste into the customers drawing, but they're all individual appliances and lines. Instead of going through each drawing and making a block, how do I automatically turn them into individual blocks?

Then there's this by ChatGPT to replace Express Tools Burst with lisp version that converts Attributes to Text keeping the original Attributes. This can be run with Accoreconsole in a script: (BurstAttrBlock BlockNameWithAttributes) BurstAttrBlock.lsp BurstAttrBlock.scr

As programmable as AutoCAD can be, Excel (and LibreOffice Calc, et. al.) IMO handle Text, MText, Attributes, etc. much better.

I forgot about this. Att2Text.lsp converts attributes in a block to text outside the block, removes the attribute from the block and Att2TxtBlk.lsp converts attributes in a block to text outside the block, leaves the attribute in the block. Att2Text.lsp Att2TxtBlk.lsp

I almost forgot, I ended up redoing the original turn off the center mark for diameter and radius dimensions to better maintain associativity. If there is still an issue with losing associativity for the dimensions you can run this separately. If there are still center marks, they are likely hard-coded overrides and I couldn't find any method to keep from breaking associativity in those instances. Maybe someone smarter or at least more familiar with such cases can explain a better method. F_Off_Mrks.lsp

Another route: since each luminaire type is already on its own layer, pick one exported block per type and make a proper block from it (or use your standard library block), keeping the same insertion point at the fixture centre. In current AutoCAD versions, BLOCKREPLACE lets you select all the unique blocks on that layer and replace them in one go with the chosen block. Select them first with QSELECT or SELECTSIMILAR, filtering by layer. On LT 2018 there is no BLOCKREPLACE, so use a free swapblock-style LISP only if your LT build supports it, or insert your block and copy it to each fixture position using the exported blocks as a guide. Check scale and rotation afterwards, because exported fixtures can differ in units. Keep all luminaires on a dedicated lighting layer.