Global Block Update

can a block be updated globally?

i.e. if I have an instance of a block with the same name in drawing x and y. I change the block in drawing x, is there a way to update the block with the same name in drawing y to match the new block in drawing x??

Any help?

Thanks

 

When you are in your old drawing, an easy way is to use the Design Center,
and browse to the new drawing that has to updated block already in it,
double clisk on it's block table, and then do a right click on the new block
and select "redefine only".

 

Good tip. I don't use the design center so....

But for somethings I think it can be easier.

Tim

 

thanks, TIm and TIm for all your help.

I recently switched from Microstation to Autocad, so I'm still kind of a novice here... hence I don't know where the design center is.

T.

 

Crtl+2 will bring up the design center, or type "adcenter".

Tim

 

ok.. got the to the design center, found the updated block and did the right click on it but it only gives me the option of either Insert Block or copy...

Does that have anything to do with the version of Autocad.. I'm using Autocad 2002.. ?

 

My routine won't work on your version. To use objectDBX on that version you have to register it, and since I learned about objectDBX only when I had 2004 I never learned how to do it. There are a lot of post on objectDBX though, so you could find out how to do it.

Maybe Tim (the other one in this post) can chime in and tell you how to use the design center.

Sorry I couldn't be more help.
Tim

 

If you have lots of them to update the same block in, you might Wblock that
block out to a drawing named the same thing, then in the other drawings, do
the

-INSERT <blockname>=

thing (whether by script, menu item, defun'd command, or whatever). My
tablet item from back before Xref existed (that's why it says "DWG"):

[RedefIns]*^C^C^P(setq rgnmd (getvar "REGENMODE")) +
(setq redef (getstring "NAME OF INSERTED DWG TO REDEFINE: ")) \+
REGENAUTO OFF -INSERT (strcat redef "=") ^C^PSETVAR REGENMODE !rgnmd

Whether that can be automated for a batch of drawings at once, I can't help
you with.

 

It may be 2002. The old way (which works just as good).

First step is to go into the drawing with the new block, use the WBLOCK
command, and for the source select "block" and from the pulldown, select the
new block, then at the bottom, select a folder to place this new block in,
you can either type or hit the "..." to browse. This will write that block
out to disk as a .dwg file.
Second step is to go to the drawing with the old block in it, use the
INSERT command, and browse to the location where you wrote the new block to
and select it and hit open. When it returns to the insert dialog, just
press "ok". It will bring up a message asking if you want to redefine the
block in your current drawing with the one from the file, when you say yes,
you are done, you do not need to actually place the block if you don't want
to (if you don't, just hit escape). The new definition should now be loaded
into your drawing, and it should regen to show the changes.

 

great, thank you all.

the wblock version worked.

T.