To Update Drawings From Spreadsheet Data

1. Click Import/Export tabExport panelTo Spreadsheet. Find
2. Select the data category to export.

   If you select General, information for the categories marked with an asterisk (*) is extracted. Each category is saved to a separate sheet (spreadsheet format) or table (database format). The tab-delimited or comma-delimited formats are not available when writing out to multiple categories.

3. Click OK.
4. In the Data Export dialog box, specify to export the spreadsheet data for the current drawing or the entire project.
5. Specify the output format (Microsoft Excel, Access file, Tab-delimited ASCII, or Comma-delimited ASCII) and the location codes to extract, and click OK.

   AutoCAD Electrical creates a file of the data pulled from your wiring diagram drawings.

6. Open this file in any spreadsheet or database program for view and edit.

   Caution: If you selected a Tab or Comma-delimited ASCII format, import all fields as text. Some spreadsheet programs may try to convert some fields into numeric or scientific notation values. You may need to save the AutoCAD Electrical extracted data to a file with a .txt extension and then use the spreadsheet's import wizard to force all fields to be classified as text.

   Note: Do not edit the HDL and DWGNAME fields. These are used by the Update from Spreadsheet utility to link your edits back to the correct drawing and correct block insert on that drawing.
7. After editing, save the spreadsheet data back out to its original format.
8. (Optional) Before importing the spreadsheet data back into the drawing or project, add additional columns to the spreadsheet data. Label each column with a target ATTRIBUTE name.

   During the import function, AutoCAD Electrical checks for these new attributes and updates them with data you entered into the spreadsheet.

9. Click Import/Export tabImport panelFrom Spreadsheet. Find
10. Select the spreadsheet and click Open.
11. In the Update Drawings per Spreadsheet Data dialog box, specify to import the spreadsheet data for the current drawing or the entire project.
12. Select any other import options and click OK. The data for the project or drawing automatically updates to match the edits on the spreadsheet.

    All spreadsheet update changes are automatically logged, complete with time and date, in a text file saved to the AutoCAD Electrical user subdirectory.

    If you edit the BLOCK field in the spreadsheet and assign a different block name, AutoCAD Electrical tries to find the new block during the update. If found, the old block is switched to the new one.