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HowTo: Create AutoCAD block inserts with attributes from

ArcGIS point features
Article ID: 28330
Software: ArcGIS - ArcInfo 9.0, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3 ArcGIS - ArcView 9.3.1
Platforms: N/A

Summary
Instructions provided describe how to create AutoCAD block INSERTS with attributes from
ArcGIS point features using the ArcInfo EXPORT TO CAD tool.

Procedure
To create AutoCAD drawings with block INSERT entities using the EXPORT TO CAD tool, it is
necessary to supply a valid AutoCAD seed file that contains the block definitions of the block
INSERT entities being referenced. These INSERT entities, commonly referred to as AutoCAD
blocks, are referenced by name. They may be defined with simple or complex geometry and may
include named text variables called ATTDEF sub-entities. These named ATTDEF sub-entities
provide the means for the AutoCAD INSERT entities to hold an attribute value.

When the EXPORT TO CAD tool encounters input feature classes with specially named CAD
fields, it uses the valid values in those fields to determine how a CAD object is created.

To create AutoCAD block INSERT entities with attributes, perform the steps below. Most of the
work is done to prepare the data prior to executing the EXPORT TO CAD tool.

1. Locate or create a valid AutoCAD seed file containing the block definitions that are going to
be created with the EXPORT TO CAD tool.

Consult the AutoCAD documentation on the creation of block definitions with and without
attributes, and the creation and use of seed files.
2. Modify the input point feature classes' attribute table to include a field called 'CADType'. The
default entity type created by the EXPORT TO CAD tool for an ArcGIS point is an AutoCAD
POINT entity. To override the default behavior of the EXPORT TO CAD tool, a valid entity
type value other than 'POINT' can be specified in a field called 'CADType'.

Use the ADD FIELD tool to add the 'CADType'field to the feature class. The 'CADType' is a
string value with a width large enough to contain the length of any of the AutoCAD entity
types that are used.
3. Populate the 'CADType' field with the string value 'INSERT' to specify the creation of an
'INSERT' type entity. A value of 'INSERT' in the 'CADType' field triggers the EXPORT TO
CAD tool to generate INSERT entities rather than the default POINT entity in the output
 CAD tool to generate INSERT entities rather than the default POINT entity in the output
AutoCAD drawing.
4. Modify the input feature classes' attribute table to also include a field called 'RefName'. The
'RefName' is used by the EXPORT TO CAD tool to specify which named block INSERT
entity should be used to represent the ArcGIS point.

Use the ADD FIELD tool to add the 'RefName' field to the feature class. The 'RefName' is a
string value with a width large enough to contain the length of any of the block names used.
5. Populate the 'RefName' with the string value of the desired AutoCAD block name.

All features in a feature class can reference the same block name or each a different block
name.

This triggers EXPORT TO CAD to search the SEED drawing supplied in step 1 for the block
definition, and creates an instance of the block for each feature with a matching name.

If no matching block definition is found in the seed file or the appended file, a simple block
with a unit circle is created instead.
6. Modify the input point feature class feature attribute table to include a field named to match
the tag names of ATTDEF entities included in the block definition.

When EXPORT TO CAD finds a matching block in the seed file or a drawing being appended
to, it further searches for matches between the ATTDEF tag names and the input feature
attributes. If it finds a matching tag name and field name, it includes the value of that field as
an attribute of the insert entity, thus populating the drawing blocks inserts attributes with
feature class attribute values.

Use the ADD FIELD tool to add fields to the feature class that match the AutoCAD ATTDEF
tag names. These fields can be of any type, but are converted to strings since AutoCAD block
attributes only support strings. It may be useful to rename or alias existing fields in the feature
attribute table to match the ATTDEF tag names of the block definitions.

Use the ADD FIELD to create a new field. Use the FIELD INFO parameter of the MAKE
FEATURE LAYER tool to rename a field. Use the CALCULATE tool to populate any field
with a value.
7. Run the EXPORT TO CAD tool and supply the input feature class(es) with the appropriately
modified feature attributes.

Also, supply a valid AutoCAD seed file to provide the needed block definitions for the
AutoCAD blocks being specified by values contained in the 'RefName' field of the input
features.

Related Information

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Following, is a discussion on how to create CAD files from feature classes in ArcGIS 9.x
using the EXPORT TO CAD tool. Included, are related articles to address sp...
Created: 11/29/2004
Last Modified: 10/10/2013
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Comments

By Anonymous - 02/22/2005 9:28 AM

these are good articles but we can't load the Export to CAD extension in ArcGIS on my workstation.
Is Export to CAD extension is included in ArcGIS 9 or does it have to be purchased ?