Unexpected behaviour handling multiline attribute when inserting block with Lisp

[Mr Whippy]

I'm writing a lisp routine to automation drawing revision in lisp. to replace a diesel version. I have come across a problem when inserting the block using lisp, in diesel it works perfectly. The block has four attributes, with the last being a multiline attribute. The routine stumbles at this point and misinterprets the pause for user input as \ and returns the error 'unknown command'.

 

The diesel code that works is below.

 

attdia;0;-I;REVNOTE;\;1;;P01;""$m=$(edtime,$(getvar,date),DD.MO.YYYY)"";SMS;First issue;;attdia;1;rea;

 

The same in lisp below

 

(command "attdia" "0")
(command "_Insert" "REVNOTE" pause 1 1 0 "P01" Date Initials pause)
(command "attdia" "1")
(command "REA")

 

Any ideas on why this is happening as i'm stumped, unless its a bug in AutoCAD. 

 

many thanks

 

 

REVNOTE.dwg

[Nikon]

Why the error occurs

The PAUSE limitation: In AutoLISP, pause

 only stops the command to let the user interact (e.g., click a point). It does not return the string value to the command sequence. When you reach the attribute part, AutoCAD expects a string, but since pause doesn't provide one, the sequence breaks.Multiline Attribute Format: Multiline attributes in a command-line sequence require specific formatting. If there are line breaks, they must be represented by  \P.

In Lisp, you must escape the backslash: \\P

.Command vs -Command: When using Lisp, it is safer to use the hyphenated version (e.g., -INSERT ) to force the command-line interface and bypass dialog boxes entirely.

The Corrected Lisp Routine

This routine replaces your DIESEL script. It captures the date automatically (matching your DIESEL format) and prompts for the initials and notes.

(defun c:REVNOTE (/ insPt dateStr userInitials revNote)
  ;; Save current ATTDIA and turn it off
  (setq oldAttdia (getvar "ATTDIA"))
  (setvar "ATTDIA" 0)

  ;; 1. Get Insertion Point
  (setq insPt (getpoint "\nSpecify insertion point: "))

  ;; 2. Get Date (Mimicking your Diesel formatting)
  ;; This uses a Lisp trick to call the Diesel 'edtime' function directly
  (setq dateStr (menucmd "M=(edtime,$(getvar,date),DD.MO.YYYY)"))

  ;; 3. Get User Initials (getstring T allows spaces)
  (setq userInitials (getstring T "\nEnter Initials: "))

  ;; 4. Get Revision Note (for the multiline attribute)
  (setq revNote (getstring T "\nEnter Revision Note: "))

  ;; 5. Execute the Insert command
  ;; Sequence: BlockName, Point, ScaleX, ScaleY, Rotation, Attr1, Attr2, Attr3, Attr4
  (command "-INSERT" 
           "REVNOTE"    ; Block name
           insPt        ; User picked point
           "1" "1" "0"  ; Scale and Rotation
           "P01"        ; Attribute 1: Rev Index
           dateStr      ; Attribute 2: Date
           userInitials ; Attribute 3: Initials
           revNote      ; Attribute 4: Multiline Note
  )

  ;; Restore ATTDIA and Regen
  (setvar "ATTDIA" oldAttdia)
  (command "REGEN")
  
  (princ "\nRevision inserted successfully.")
  (princ)
)

Key Differences & Improvements:

menucmd: This is the best way to get the exact edtime

 format you used in DIESEL without writing a complex date-parsing routine in Lisp.

getstring T: The T flag allows the user to enter spaces (e.g., if the user wants to type "First issue - revised"). Without it, pressing the Spacebar would finish the command.

-INSERT: Using the hyphen ensures that AutoCAD doesn't try to pop up a browser window for the block file.Multiline Support: If your 

revNote contains multiple lines, make sure to type \P where you want the line break, or modify the code to join multiple strings with \\P.

Edited 1 hour ago by Nikon