Change border block and keep Attributes

[mxpxh2o]

Hi, does anyone know how to change a title block to add a new logo but keep all of my title attributes intact without having to re-fill them in? I have a lot of drawings to change. Thanks.

[stevsmith]

Doesn't 2005 have a block editor?

[mxpxh2o]

Yes it does but the text on the border is different on every drawing and when globally editing blocks the attributes reset to default values, this is what im trying to figure out. I have about 80 drawings to change and really dont have the time to be editing them all and retyping att values. Any help is appreciated.

[dbroada]

you need to edit your block once with the graphical changes, save it away and then insert the updated block into all other drawings. Although I don't use it, DESIGN CENTER with the redefine block option is probably your easiest solution.

[mxpxh2o]

Thanks a bunch, that worked great. I dont use design centre either as i find it is very memory intensive and slow, but this is a very handy thing to know. Thanks again.

[rkent]

Also, remove the old logo from the drawing and xref in the logo from now on. That is what I do and when the logo changes (again) I make one change in the logo xref drawing and its all good.

[mxpxh2o]

Only problem with that for me would be that our logos dont change but from time to time more logos have to be incorporated as contractors sign on so i have to actually add logo slots onto our border. This isnt very often but it happens. Thanks.

[wannabe]

What about X-reffing all your borders, but bringing them in through a block which contains your attributes?

 

Even if you have to do it with multiiple blocks, you can still change the paths later on if they need to be overhauled or standardised.

[dbroada]

I do it as the OP has done. XREFs are a pain when part of the contract specifies that all drawings are to be supplied to the customer in DWG form. They get very upset when they have put all their drawings in multiple sub folders and the border is just a note saying file not found. Don't forget much of the filing will be done by clerical staff who have no technical knowledge and wouldn't know how to locate an XREF.

 

It is usual for our files to be renumbered at the client filing stage to fit into their numbering system, which could mean the border will have to be renumbered too and all the files that call the XREF. I know there are ways round it but all you end up doing is producing an identical drawing to the one you would have made had you not made it an XREF in the first place.

 

Likewise, each drawing needs its own attributes, for document number if nothing else so these can't be XREFed in.

[wannabe]

Dbroada, do you etransmit the drawings? Or are you forced to leave them on a server that the client has access to? With the former, you can bind all the xref's to the drawing file, as I'm sure you know.

 

If you make the drawing frame an xref, but contained within a block where the attributes are stored, then you can insert it as a block with a nested xref.

 

Would this not work for you, in theory? It sounds like your methodology is optimal for your needs; I am just curious.

[dbroada]

The DCD department wil copy the files onto CD and forward that to the client. The client will then renumber the drawings and store them in their system. We have never used etransmit for 2 reasons. We have never had to and if we did it would tie up a draughtsman and a copy of AutoCAD when the current system does neither.

 

I see you point about nesting the XREF, I hadn't quite worked out what you meant but I see no advantage in using an XREF over getting the border correct at the beginning. It is no harder to update a border with a script file than it is to keep track of the XREF locations.