AutoLISP Routines

Select objects, tick a list of drawing files, and DWGPUSH copies those objects into every one of them and saves them — all without opening a single drawing in the editor. What DwgPush does This is the job that otherwise means opening thirty drawings one at a time, pasting to the same coordinates in each, saving and closing. On a revision that adds a new … [Read more...] about DWGPUSH LISP: Copy Objects Into Drawings Without Opening

A dimension that has been typed over no longer reports the geometry it measures. That is the single most dangerous thing that can be left in a drawing before it goes out, because it looks correct and reads correct while being a hand-typed lie. DIMTATTLE finds every one and recolours it red. What DimTattle does It is a pre-issue check, and it takes one command. … [Read more...] about DIMTATTLE LISP: Find Dimensions With Overridden Text

Two dimensions sitting on top of one another are unreadable at plot size but look perfectly fine on screen at working zoom. They routinely survive all the way to the printed sheet, where the contractor cannot read either figure. DIMCLASH finds them before that happens. What DimClash does This is a pre-issue QA check. Press Enter at the prompt and the whole drawing … [Read more...] about DIMCLASH LISP: Find Overlapping Dimensions Before Issue

An ordinary block count tells you how many block references sit in the drawing. That is not the same as how many of a component you actually have. DEEPCOUNT reports both, at any depth of nesting. What DeepCount does If a WORKSTATION block contains four CHAIR blocks and you have inserted ten workstations, you have ten primary blocks and forty chairs. Anyone … [Read more...] about DEEPCOUNT LISP: Count Blocks Including Nested Instances

The Express Tools BURST command explodes one level and converts that level’s attributes. Blocks nested inside then have to be burst again, and again, as many times as the nesting goes deep. DEEPBURST does the whole tree in a single operation. What DeepBurst does Select the blocks, run the command, and every level comes apart with attributes converted to text … [Read more...] about DEEPBURST LISP: Burst Nested Blocks in One Pass

CURVEHUG drags a selection of objects along a curve, keeping them aligned to it, and drops them where you click. This is how you put manhole symbols along a drain run, tree symbols along a boundary, or arrows along a curved route — without rotating each one by hand. What CurveHug does Select anything — a symbol, a block, a group of geometry — … [Read more...] about CURVEHUG LISP: Place Symbols Along a Curve in AutoCAD