To Update Drawings From Spreadsheet Data

Export information from your project drawings to a file for editing. Use the Import From Spreadsheet command to update drawings with your changes.

  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.

    Note: Custom attributes added to the User Attributes list are added automatically during the export. Add the User Defined Attribute names to the wd_xls_all_template.xlt worksheets to include these fields with the General export option using Excel output. The default location for the spreadsheet template is C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD {version}\Acade\Support\{language code}.
  3. Click OK.
    Note: Options on the data export dialog box vary depending on the category selected.
  4. Specify to export the data for the current drawing or the entire project.
  5. Specify the output format.
  6. Select location codes to extract (if applicable).
    • All. Extracts all components regardless of location value.
    • Blank. Extracts only those components that do not have a location value.
    • Named. Extracts only those components that have a location value matching the value entered in the box. Wild-card characters are supported.
  7. Click OK.

    AutoCAD Electrical toolset creates a file of the data extracted from your drawings.

    Note: Custom attributes added to the User Attributes list are added automatically to the spreadsheet during the export.
  8. Open this file in any spreadsheet or database program for viewing and editing.
    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 to a file with a .txt extension, then use the import wizard to force all fields to text.
  9. Edit the values in the file.
    Note: Do not edit the HDL and DWGNAME fields. The Update from Spreadsheet utility uses these fields to link your edits back to the correct drawing and block insert.
  10. (Optional) Add extra columns to the spreadsheet data. Label each column with a target ATTRIBUTE name.

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

  11. Save the spreadsheet data back out to its original format.
  12. Click Import/Export tabImport panelFrom Spreadsheet. Find
  13. Select the spreadsheet and click Open.
  14. Specify to import the spreadsheet data for the current drawing or the project.
  15. Select any other import options and click OK.
    Note: A block name change performs a block swap on import.

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