Restore dynamic block features after being opened and saved in AutoCAD 2005

[lpseifert]

Is there any way to restore the dynamic features of a block after it has been opened and saved in 2005, other than manually replacing each block? (over 350 in this particular case)

[Rico]

Is there any way to restore the dynamic features of a block after it has been opened and saved in 2005, other than manually replacing each block? (over 350 in this particular case)I think the block should stay the same. AutoCAD 2006 introduced DBs and the save format for that year was 2004. So if you "save down" to 2005 (which is 2004 save format), it will be irrelevant, as far as I know because it won't affect how 2005 reads DBs.

The ONLY thing is that because DBs are unique to 2006 and up, you won't be able to USE the DBs in 2005 - the blocks will retain their current vis state and will be "dumbed down" for 2005 ... but the dynamic features will still be there ... dormant until you open the file in 2006 ....

does that make sense?

[Chris.N]

Is there any way to restore the dynamic features of a block after it has been opened and saved in 2005, other than manually replacing each block? (over 350 in this particular case):shock: ouch! unfortunately not. that happened to me once when i started working in 2006 and someone else opened, modified, & saved the file back into 2005. but fortunately for me, only thing i cared about at that time was the toilet blocks.

[Chris.N]

I think the block should stay the same. AutoCAD 2006 introduced DBs and the save format for that year was 2004. So if you "save down" to 2005 (which is 2004 save format), it will be irrelevant, as far as I know because it won't affect how 2005 reads DBs.

The ONLY thing is that because DBs are unique to 2006 and up, you won't be able to USE the DBs in 2005 - the blocks will retain their current vis state and will be "dumbed down" for 2005 ... but the dynamic features will still be there ... dormant until you open the file in 2006 ....

does that make sense?while they are both the same file format, the 'author palette' features were not supported by any version older than 2006, and was not restored upon re-saving in 2006.

tho for some dumb reason whenever i would "save back" in attempts to purposly dissable the DB's, they would still be there if i opened it up in 2006 on the same 'puter.. :confused:

[Rico]

:shock: ouch! unfortunately not. that happened to me once when i started working in 2006 and someone else opened, modified, & saved the file back into 2005. but fortunately for me, only thing i cared about at that time was the toilet blocks.you sure about that, dude? I don't think the blocks will lose their dynamic properties ... unless you save it down to 2000 format .....

i just ran an experiemtn where I went to a user's PC who is using 2004 LT opened one of my DBs, saved it in LT and opened it back up in 2006. The dynamic properties are still there ...

[Rico]

while they are both the same file format, the 'author palette' features were not supported by any version older than 2006, and was not restored upon re-saving in 2006.

well yeah, that's the thing is that f the DBs are opened in a version that is older than 2006 (2005, 2004 etc), the DBs and their authoring palettes will not be there. The Dynamic properties will basically lay dormant ... autocad will dumb the DB down so that the older versions can understand it. But if the block is opened again in 2006, the dynamicness should still be there ...

[Rico]

the only way to permanently kill the DBs is to save it down as a 2000 file. then the innards of the drawing would be rearranged because the file format is 2000 and the DBs would no longer be recognized as DBs in 2006 when opened again.And actually, this statement is also untrue .... I just went back to 2004 LT and saved the file down as a 2000 format and re-opened it again in my 2006 ... the dynamic properties are still there too.

So I suppose it all means that 2006 will still recognize DBs even if the file has been saved down to a lesser version (2004 / 2000 format) and then re-opened in 2006.

[Chris.N]

And actually, this statement is also untrue .... I just went back to 2004 LT and saved the file down as a 2000 format and re-opened it again in my 2006 ... the dynamic properties are still there too.

So I suppose it all means that 2006 will still recognize DBs even if the file has been saved down to a lesser version (2004 / 2000 format) and then re-opened in 2006.that's the fun part. when you WANT it to 'stupify' a DB, it won't do it. it's when you seem to have proven circular feature support exists, someone else jumps in to totally screw things up..... :banghead:

so in conclusion, it makes no sense, but it does happen. i've been there, but thankfully, only once.

[lpseifert]

I just assumed they lost there "dynamicness" from being saved in 2005; however it happened the dynamic features are gone. Another thing I encountered, I can't extract the attributes from the blocks that were altered (now named *U...) using Eattext. The DBs that haven't been altered (stretch, flip, rotate actions) still have their original names; I can extract the attributes from them.

[Rico]

I just assumed they lost there "dynamicness" from being saved in 2005; however it happened the dynamic features are gone. Another thing I encountered, I can't extract the attributes from the blocks that were altered (now named *U...) using Eattext. The DBs that haven't been altered (stretch, flip, rotate actions) still have their original names; I can extract the attributes from them.what happens if you explode the *U blocks?

[lpseifert]

what happens if you explode the *U blocks?They explode as any block with attributes would, back to layer 0, Tags as text instead attributes. When I use Burst on them, they behave as any block would, layer they were inserted on, attributes converted to text.

[Rico]

They explode as any block with attributes would, back to layer 0, Tags as text instead attributes. When I use Burst on them, they behave as any block would, layer they were inserted on, attributes converted to text.What version of CAD is this all happening in?

[lpseifert]

What version of CAD is this all happening in?2006 Vanilla

[.chad]

the *U blocks are a placeholder, sort of like A$8$ is a temporary name - see if you can re-insert the block with the insert command. there is a good chance it is in the drawing somewhere.

[lpseifert]

I've inserted the DB into the dwg, and it works fine; the old DBs still have no dynamic features.

[CADDmanVA]

Just a thought... Try the Express Tool BLOCKREPLACE. Maybe it will jump start the block table back to life.

[SRBalliet]

Just a real long, long shot. I had a problem with parameters disappearing the other day and found this thread:

http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?threadid=43214

I "re-enter the scale in the properties dialog box" and it worked for me! The grips came back! Again it's a long shot, but it's an easy thing to try.

[lpseifert]

Just a thought... Try the Express Tool BLOCKREPLACE. Maybe it will jump start the block table back to life.I've tried that but... because the original DB has been altered (stretched, flipped) it has been renamed (e.g. *U...). When I use BlockReplace and pick one of the blocks, I get the error message that the block name can not contain the characters <>\/":?*|,=` Because the blocks are named *U... it won't work.
I was hoping this would do it


(setq en (entget(car(entsel)))) ;select block
(setq old (assoc 2 en)) ; gather the block's name
(setq new (cons 2 "CURB EL")) ; make list with original block's name
(setq en (subst new old en)) ; substitute existing name with original name
(entmod en) ;update block

but it doesn't. The block is substituted with the original "Curb El" block, but it doesn't have the dynamic features, nor do the attributes move to their proper positions. There must be more to dissecting a Dynamic block than I know

[lpseifert]

Just a real long, long shot. I had a problem with parameters disappearing the other day and found this thread:

http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?threadid=43214

I "re-enter the scale in the properties dialog box" and it worked for me! The grips came back! Again it's a long shot, but it's an easy thing to try.Thanks for the suggestion srb... but nfg. These DBs are cantankerous little buggers, aren't they?

[Rico]

Thanks for the suggestion srb... but nfg. These DBs are cantankerous little buggers, aren't they?you'll find that one day, you'll come in to work and the dynamic properties will be back!

I bet if you open your properties windows, you can still modify the dynamic stuff in the blocks. you probably just can't do it on screen ... have you tried using the properties window?

[lpseifert]

you'll find that one day, you'll come in to work and the dynamic properties will be back!maybe the dynamic block fairy will show up some night...


I bet if you open your properties windows, you can still modify the dynamic stuff in the blocks. you probably just can't do it on screen ... have you tried using the properties window?Nope, the properties window shows no dynamic properties for any block that has been altered (stretched or flipped). The unaltered and newly inserted DBs do show the dynamic properties in the properties window. I guess I'll just have to keep a copy of the dwg local... just in case.

[Rico]

maybe the dynamic block fairy will show up some night...

Nope, the properties window shows no dynamic properties for any block that has been altered (stretched or flipped). The unaltered and newly inserted DBs do show the dynamic properties in the properties window. I guess I'll just have to keep a copy of the dwg local... just in case.hm. well isn't THAT curious .... whenever I've lost the ability to edit the dynamic properties on screen, I've always been able to do it via the props window .....

have you run an audit or a recovery on the drawing? there might be some errors or something? Are the layers they're on locked?

[Chris.N]

Nope, the properties window shows no dynamic properties for any block that has been altered (stretched or flipped). The unaltered and newly inserted DBs do show the dynamic properties in the properties window. I guess I'll just have to keep a copy of the dwg local... just in case.yeah, since you have a confirmed case of cad gnomes ~cough~ (obsolete caddies) ~cough cough~, it's probably in your best interest to do so. i'd use this particular file as an example of why all peeps need to be on the same release.

[lpseifert]

have you run an audit or a recovery on the drawing? there might be some errors or something? Are the layers they're on locked?Tried an audit, it found 20 unfixable errors > AcDbBlockReference(1AC0E) scale invalid < There are over 350 DBs in the dwg. Tried to recover, "Could not correct errors in data base".

Well thanks all for your help/suggestions; I'm going to chalk this up to experience.

[Rico]

Tried an audit, it found 20 unfixable errors > AcDbBlockReference(1AC0E) scale invalid < There are over 350 DBs in the dwg. Tried to recover, "Could not correct errors in data base".

Well thanks all for your help/suggestions; I'm going to chalk this up to experience.AcDbBlockReference(1AC0E) scale invalid - this is definitely a corruption of the Dynamic Blocks .....

yup. chalk it up to experience. good luck in your future DB works.