Imports block attribute values from an external, tab-delimited ASCII file.
You can use the ATTIN and ATTOUT tools to make changes to attribute values for selected block references.
When you start the ATTIN command, it reads the input file and processes each line. If it finds a block reference with the same handle and block name as the row it is processing, it applies any the attribute changes to that block. When it has processed all the blocks it can find, it prompts you to assign the remaining data interactively. If you choose Yes, it lists each row's data in the Command window and prompts you to select a block to which to apply the attribute. You can press Enter to go to the next row, or press Esc to exit.
The input file must be in the same format that is generated by ATTOUT.
The output file written by ATTOUT is a tab-delimited, ASCII file that is suitable for editing by most database and spreadsheet programs. Microsoft Excel works well for this task. Make sure to save your changes in a tab-delimited ASCII format; otherwise the ATTIN command will not be able to import data from the file.
The first row in the file contains column headers that identify the data to ATTIN. The first two columns are labeled HANDLE and BLOCKNAME. These columns are optional to ATTIN, but their presence allows the attribute data to be read from this file and inserted into the drawing automatically. If these columns are not present, you are prompted to supply this data when ATTIN is processing the file.
The remaining columns in the file are labeled with attribute tags as they appear in the drawing. Because database programs often require that column headers be unique, numbers are added to duplicate attribute tags to ensure that they are unique. For example, the header row in a file created by ATTOUT might look like this:
HANDLE BLOCKNAME MYTAG MYOTHERTAG MYTAG(1)
Each of the remaining rows in the file represent a single block reference and the values of each of its respective attributes.
Because there is a column for each attribute from all selected blocks, there will likely be attribute labels that do not apply to a specific block. These labels are indicated with the string "<>" in the cells that do not apply. Thus, in a file containing the preceding header row example, the row for a block that contains only the attribute MYTAG might look like this:
HANDLE BLOCKNAME MYTAG MYOTHERTAG MYTAG(1) E1 MYBLOCK1 Data1 <> <>
The "<>" indicates that this attribute does not apply to the current block and that a cell is an attribute that does apply, but that it is empty at this time.
attin.lsp