Chapter 19: Adding Attributes to Blocks
In This Chapter
Designing with attribute Creating attribute definitions Placing blocks with attributes Working with attributes Extracting the data by using the Data Extraction Wizard
You can attach attributes to blocks. Attributes are labels that are associated with blocks. Attributes have two main uses: to label objects and to create a simple database. This chapter explains how to create, use, and edit attributes.
Working with Attributes
Your drawings do not exist in a vacuum. The objects in your drawing represent real objects. These objects have characteristics that you cannot visually represent in a drawing, such as cost, manufacturer, date purchased, and so on. Attributes are labels that are attached to blocks. Using attributes, you can attach labels with pertinent data to blocks. You can then extract the data and import it into a database program or spreadsheet, or redisplay the data in an AutoCAD table. In AutoCAD only, you can also access data from objects that are not blocks; for more information, see the section on tables in Chapter 13.
On the DVD
You can access and link to outside databases from within AutoCAD (but not AutoCAD LT). See the Bonus Chapter on the DVD for more information on external databases. •
You can also use attributes to place text relative to blocks. A common example is to use attributes for completing titleblock information, such as the drawing name, drawing number, date, scale, revision number, drafter, and ...
