Link Table data to Block attributes

[marknorthcott]

We use spreadsheets and tables a lot at my office, we also use a lot of the same information in block attributes on our drawings. i have often taken the attributes and extracted the data to tables to save time when it is possible as it saves a lot of time, but for a lot of projects the data is already compiled in table form in either autocad or excel.

i'm not an expert at programming, aside from macros, but i do have an idea of how this program would work.

i would like to be able to insert a block through a macro that also runs a program to access a spreadsheet or table, query the user to ask what row is being accessed (or column) then automatically take each cell in that row and transfer the content of each cell into a corresponding attribute.

if it's at all possible, a version of this program that can access an excel spreadsheet would be great too.

[Opie]

Have you had a look at one of the current ATP courses? ATP122 Back by popular demand! Linking AutoCAD to Access using DB connect (http://www.augi.com/education/schedule.asp?page=292)

[marknorthcott]

It's not exactly what I'm looking for, but access/GIS is in my learning path in the near future. The problem is that this uses access, and the data i'm trying to extract is in excel. I'm not 100% sure if it's possible to take the data in excel and extract it into a database in access and retain all the information. The other roadblock is the other people in my company do not have access installed on their systems, so they use excel to create tables.

Still, I thank you for directing my attention to the ATP. I'm still a rookie at this game (6 months out of school) and I know there's much to learn.