Mastering Snippet: Attribute Extraction

It’s common to receive a drawing with points that are simple blocks with attributes. Programs like Eagle Point come to mind, but there are several of them, and there’s a twist. Many Eagle Point users re-arrange the block attributes so they aren’t in the common PNTS, ELEV, DESC we in the Autodesk world are used to seeing. Over the years I’ve seen a lot of LISP routines come and go that aim to work as a conversion tool for these atypical point blocks, but there’s a tool in basic AutoCAD that solves the problem nicely: Attribute Extraction.

This snippet is found on page 103 in Mastering AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010:

“…you can use the Data Extraction tools from AutoCAD to harvest their attributes and make a text file. You can then import this text file back into Civil 3D to create Civil 3D points. The points should store number, description, and elevation information in their attributes. As AutoCAD objects, they also understand their x and y position. These properties can all be extracted and reimported using the following procedure:

The procedure is laid out nicely, but the command used is EATTEXT in the command line to launch the Data Extraction Wizard.

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