SHEETSTRIP is the inverse of SHEETECHO: select something on the current sheet and its twin is deleted from every other sheet too. This is how you retract a preliminary stamp, a revision cloud or a superseded note that was previously copied across the whole set.
What SheetStrip does
SHEETSTRIP removes from chosen layouts; SHEETSTRIPALL removes from every other layout. Both also delete the originals from the current layout.
How to use it
- Read the warning below before running this on a live set.
- Load the routine with
APPLOAD, or put it on your support file search path. - Go to a layout carrying the objects and type
SHEETSTRIPorSHEETSTRIPALL. - Select the objects to remove.
- Check the reported count against what you expected.
How it works
There is no link between copies on different sheets, so matches have to be recognised by their characteristics. An object matches when all of these agree: object type, layer, colour, linetype, lineweight, and the position of its bounding box corners to within one part in a million.
The cheap property comparison is done first, and the bounding box is only computed for objects that pass it. That ordering matters: getting a bounding box is comparatively expensive, and a large drawing may hold thousands of candidates.
Notes and limits
- Identical geometry on the same layer WILL be treated as a match, even if it was never a copy of your selection. If two sheets legitimately carry the same symbol at the same coordinates, both go. Check the reported count before moving on.
- The originals are deleted too, on the current layout as well as the others.
- Matching is on appearance, not identity. An object that was edited after being echoed will no longer match and will survive.
- One undo group covers the whole operation.
Download and details
| Name | SheetStrip — remove matching objects from other layouts |
| Download | SheetStrip.lsp — 14.5 KB, plain AutoLISP source. Downloads directly; no zip to unpack. |
| Type | AutoCAD AutoLISP routine |
| Commands | SHEETSTRIP, SHEETSTRIPALL |
| Requires | the ActiveX layer (loaded automatically by the routine with vl-load-com); nothing extra — the dialog is written to a temporary file at run time and deleted again, so there is no .dcl to install. |
| Source size | 14.5 KB, 361 lines |
| Error handling | Yes — a *error* handler restores every system variable it changed, on cancel as well as on error. |
| Undo | The whole operation is wrapped in a single undo group, so one U reverses all of it. |
| Compatibility | AutoCAD (any release with AutoLISP), BricsCAD, ZWCAD, GstarCAD, ProgeCAD and other IntelliCAD-based platforms. AutoCAD LT needs a LISP enabler. No .NET, no ObjectARX, no installer. |
| Author | YZ, August 2026 |
| Licence | Free to use, supplied “as is” with no warranty. |
References
- SHEETECHO LISP — the operation this reverses
- SHEETSHUFFLE LISP — managing the layout tabs themselves
- More free AutoLISP routines on this site
- Wisey’s Steel Shapes — free structural steel section drawing program