AutoCAD Tip: Useful Add-in to replace blocks of the same name from a different drawing

by Dennis Collin

Blocks are a common issue with many users. The creation of and management of libraries is a frequent question on our Advanced AutoCAD courses, workshops and support calls. A common question is how to replace an older version of a block with a newer definition from another drawing?

Whilst AutoCAD full version has the express tool Blockreplace, this command is limited as it will only replace a block with another name in the same drawing. Whereas AVC’s Block Update utility will replace blocks of the same name from a different drawing file.

Fig. Blockupdate command located in the Add-ins panel.

Fig. Select the block that needs to be replaced.

Running the command block replace asks to select the block that needs to be changed. A file dialogue then appears asking to choose the drawing file where the replacement block resides.

Fig. The new block definition replaces the old!

If many drawings need to be processed, then a utility like ScriptPro could be employed to automate the process.

BUpdate is a free to use application from the AutoCAD apps page and can be downloaded from here:

https://apps.autodesk.com/ACD/en/Detail/Index?id=8761814488752080516&appLang=en&os=Win32_64

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