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Working With Blocks

 

Overview

Blocks can be used as a drafting timesaver for the AutoCad operator, and are also used as a means of keeping drawing size to a minimum without having to resort to X-Referencing.

Creating a Block Within a Drawing

This feature allows the user to create a block within a drawing. One might use this feature to allow groups of lines or elements to behave as one, simplifying the drawing and editing processes. This is also the first step in creating a block which can later be used in subsequent projects.

  1. First, from the Draw pulldown menu, select Block, Make... or by typing "BLOCK" in the Command line.
  2. In the Block Definition dialogue box, give the block a name.
  3. Click the "select objects" button, and pick any object or element you wish to include in the block. Make sure that "Convert to Block" radio button is highlighted.
  4. Pick the insertion point. Click the "Pick Point" button and choose a logical insertion point for the newly created block.
  5. Accept the default values for any remaining variables, and click "OK."

Exporting a Block from Within a Drawing

This command is also referred to as the "write block" or _WBLOCK command. One would use this command to save a block that exists only within a given drawing to a remote location readily accessible to others and / or for future projects.

If the _WBLOCK command is not performed with a given block, the block could become "lost." The time subsequently spent searching for it would make make redrawing the block from scratch a more feasible endeavor.

  1. Type Wblock on the Command line.
  2. In the Write Block dialogue box, highlight the "Block" radio button. Search the adjacent list for the block that already exists within the drawing.
  3. In the "Location" box, select the location to which the block will ultimately be copied. Browse by clicking on the "..." button to the right of this box.
  4. Accept the default values for all other remaining variables, and click "OK."
The block now exists as an independent drawing file in the folder you selected, and can be accessed / used by anyone who has been granted permission to access the folder.

Display Properties of Blocks

 It is important to understand the effects of freeze / thaw and on / off on the display properties of blocks and the elements contained within them.

When you insert a block, the block is inserted on the Current layer,
even though the elements within the block itself are composed of layers other than the current layer.

You can turn off the various layers contained within a block

  • Turning off the current layer will not make the block invisible.
  • Freezing the current layer will make the block invisible.
  • Turning off a layer that exists within a block will make those elements of the block invisible.
  • Freezing a layer that exists within a block will make those elements of the block invisible.

In summary...

...you can freeze and turn off layers contained within a block, but the easiest way to make a whole block invisble is to Freeze the layer on which the block currently resides.

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