Swap and Update Blocks (3:22 min)

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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One of the very powerful commands

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we have in AutoCAD Electrical is called Swap and Update Block.

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It gives you the ability to do a massive project-wide swap out

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of different types of blocks and symbols based off

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of what you need for your particular customer

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requirements.

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So if we go to the Swap and Update Block command located

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right in the middle of the Edit components panel,

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it will open up a dialog box that gives you a few options.

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Let's talk about option A versus option B. Option A

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is to swap two totally different blocks.

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That's what I will be demonstrating today.

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Option B is actually an ability to update all of your blocks.

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If you didn't know this in core AutoCAD functionality,

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if a block is already inserted into a drawing,

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it will mimic that block when you

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go to insert a new version of that same block,

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not necessarily if you've updated

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that version of the block in a different area.

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It wants to match what's in the database of the drawing.

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One way we can do this if we want a full update of all

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of our blocks in our project is to utilize the Update a Block.

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So you're substituting a new version

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of that exact same block.

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The Library Swap is the most powerful example of this.

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So if I wanted to change my entire project

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from being NFPA to IEC, I can do a full Library Swap.

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The blocks have actually been named,

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matching each other across libraries to ensure

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that that swap can happen.

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Obviously, if you've created your own custom symbols,

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if you didn't follow that same format across both NFPA

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and IEC, then the block is not going to flip.

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But for all of the symbols that come with the software,

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you can do a full Library Swaps.

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You can also do this on a more basic level

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if you think about a new updated NFPA library compared

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to the existing NFPA library.

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Perhaps you have an older version of the software,

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and you created a project a couple of years ago.

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And you want now the updated version of those symbols.

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You can do a Library Swap then as well.

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We'll go through the entire project

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and update all of the symbols with the new symbol format.

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But let's talk about the swapping of one block

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for an entirely different type of block.

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Now we can do that one at a time--

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drawing-wide or project-wide.

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In this case, I am just going to do one at a time,

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so you can see the swap happen.

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I'm going to pick the new block from the Icon menu,

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and I'm going to retain all of my other attribute information

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in there.

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Now, the blocks that I'm going to switch--

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the example of this that might be

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is I have proximity switches on this drawing.

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What I'm going to swap for is a limit switch.

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So I'm going to go now to OK.

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I'm going to go to the Icon menu.

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I am going to find my limit switches.

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Choose a normally open one.

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And I'm going to swap this proximity switch for a limit

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switch.

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It scans the project, makes the update,

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and it even updates the family code on it

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but keeps it in its same format, placing any attribute

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information, will be kept in the same spot.

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Now please take a moment to do the Swap

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and Update Block exercise.