BLOCK in AutoCAD

BLOCK stores a set of objects in the drawing under a name, so that INSERT can place it again as often as you like, each copy a reference to that one definition. It asks for a name, then the insertion base point — the point every reference is placed by — then the objects. Enter ends the selection and defines the block, and the objects you picked become a reference to it, where they were. The whole command is one step that Undo takes back.

AutoCAD's BLOCK opens the Block Definition dialog, which MellowCAD does not have: here BLOCK asks at the command line what -BLOCK asks, as AutoCAD's console does. A name may hold spaces and up to 255 characters, but none of < > / \ " : ; ? * | , = nor a backquote: Enter alone or such a name says Invalid block name. and asks again. A name the drawing already has, in any case, asks whether to redefine that block, Yes or No (the default, which ends the command).

• Command: BLOCK
• Aliases: B, ACADBLOCKDIALOG, BMAKE, BMOD
• Panel: Organize
• Try it: Open the editor, type B and press Enter.

At the command line

The engine draws it and writes its history as you would type it: the prompts in AutoCAD 2027's order, with the same option letters.

Options

?

Lists the blocks in the drawing: it asks which to list, * for all by default or a name with wildcards, writes the names that match and a count of each kind, then ends. Anonymous blocks, such as an array's, are counted, never named.

What it does not do yet

AutoCAD's Block Definition dialog: BLOCK asks at the command line. At the base point, the Annotative and Mode options (Retain, Delete): the objects are always converted to a reference. ATTREQ 0, which skips the attribute values' box, and ATTSYNC, ATTREDEF, BATTMAN and BATTORDER: a redefined block leaves its references' attributes as they were, as AutoCAD does. ByBlock: an object inside a block cannot take the reference's own colour, linetype or lineweight, as one drawn ByBlock does in AutoCAD. In a turned UCS, AutoCAD 2027 moves the objects it converts; here they stay where they were, on purpose.

What it does and still lacks, in detail (in English)

Questions

What is the shortcut for BLOCK in AutoCAD?

B, then Enter or Space. In AutoCAD it opens the Block Definition dialog; here it asks at the command line, as -B (-BLOCK) does. _BLOCK works in any language of AutoCAD.

How do I create a block in AutoCAD?

Type B, a name, then pick the base point — a corner, or the middle of the edge the block will sit on — and select the objects. Enter defines the block and turns the objects into a reference to it. A selection made before the command is taken too, after the base point.

How do I redefine a block?

Run BLOCK with the block's name and answer Yes, then give a base point and select the new objects: every reference to the block shows the new definition. The objects cannot include a reference to the block itself; such a set is refused and the command ends.

How do I make a block with attributes?

Define the attributes first with ATTDEF, then select them with the other objects: they join the block in the order you pick them. The reference that replaces them opens a box with a field for each attribute, labelled by its prompt and filled with its default: Enter applies the values, Escape keeps the defaults.

How do I explode a block?

EXPLODE turns a reference back into the objects it shows, one level of nesting at a time, each on its own layer and in its own colour. Attributes come back as their definitions; the values are dropped.

Related commands

• INSERT in AutoCAD
• ATTDEF: Define attributes
• EXPLODE: Explode
• PURGE: Purge