Lesson 5.18 – Title Block Filler

🏁 Lesson 5-18 – Capstone Project: Title Block Filler + Layer Manager with AutoLISP

Combine your AutoLISP skills to create a complete, reusable routine that inserts a title block, fills attributes, and creates standard layers with assigned colors.

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📚 What You’ll Build

By the end of this lesson, you will have created a tool that:

• Prompts the user for job-specific information (e.g., project name, date, drawn by)
• Inserts a title block block reference into the drawing
• Fills out the block’s attributes using that input
• Creates a predefined set of standard layers with color assignments

This is a full workflow that can be reused on all your future CAD projects.

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🧠 Why It Matters

Instead of repeating the same manual steps each time you start a new drawing, this routine will:

• Reduce human error
• Standardize your setups across multiple jobs or team members
• Serve as a foundation for more advanced toolkits (e.g., sheet sets, batch plotters)

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🛠️ Tools You’ll Use

Tool / Concept	Purpose
getstring, getint, getpoint	Get user input interactively
command	Insert block and call built-in commands
entmod, entget, entupd	Modify attribute values of inserted blocks
entmake or command	Create layers and assign properties
Error handling (*error*)	Ensure a clean environment if canceled

🧭 Lesson Structure

1️⃣ Get User Input

Prompt for the details needed to fill out the title block:

(setq proj (getstring T "\\nEnter Project Name: "))
(setq date (getstring T "\\nEnter Date: "))
(setq drawnby (getstring T "\\nEnter Drafter Name: "))

2️⃣ Insert the Title Block

Insert a predefined block using the command function. Ensure the block exists in the drawing or attach it via WBLOCK/INSERT:

(command "._-INSERT" "TITLEBLOCK" '(0 0 0) 1 1 0)
(setq blk (entlast))

3️⃣ Fill in the Block Attributes

Loop through the block’s attributes and update based on tag:

(setq ent (entnext blk))
(while ent
  (setq tag (cdr (assoc 2 (entget ent))))
  (cond
    ((= tag "PROJECT") (entmod (subst (cons 1 proj) (assoc 1 (entget ent)) (entget ent))))
    ((= tag "DATE")    (entmod (subst (cons 1 date) (assoc 1 (entget ent)) (entget ent))))
    ((= tag "DRAWNBY") (entmod (subst (cons 1 drawnby) (assoc 1 (entget ent)) (entget ent)))))
  (entupd ent)
  (setq ent (entnext ent))
)

4️⃣ Create Standard Layers

Use a list of layer names with color codes to automate creation:

(setq layers '(("TEXT" 7) ("DIM" 2) ("DETAILS" 1) ("HATCH" 8) ("TITLE" 3)))

(foreach lay layers
  (if (not (tblsearch "LAYER" (car lay)))
    (command "._-layer" "m" (car lay) "c" (cadr lay) "" "")
  )
)

5️⃣ Wrap in a Safe Command with Cleanup

Use error handling to restore settings after the routine runs or if it fails:

(defun c:startjob ( / *error* oldsnap proj date drawnby blk ent tag layers lay olderror )

  (setq oldsnap (getvar "OSMODE"))
  (defun my-error (msg)
    (prompt (strcat "\\nError: " msg))
    (setvar "OSMODE" oldsnap)
    (setq *error* olderror)
    (princ)
  )
  (setq olderror *error* *error* my-error)

  ;; 1. Input
  (setq proj (getstring T "\\nEnter Project Name: "))
  (setq date (getstring T "\\nEnter Date: "))
  (setq drawnby (getstring T "\\nEnter Drafter Name: "))

  ;; 2. Insert Title Block
  (command "._-INSERT" "TITLEBLOCK" '(0 0 0) 1 1 0)
  (setq blk (entlast))

  ;; 3. Fill Attributes
  (setq ent (entnext blk))
  (while ent
    (setq tag (cdr (assoc 2 (entget ent))))
    (cond
      ((= tag "PROJECT") (entmod (subst (cons 1 proj) (assoc 1 (entget ent)) (entget ent))))
      ((= tag "DATE")    (entmod (subst (cons 1 date) (assoc 1 (entget ent)) (entget ent))))
      ((= tag "DRAWNBY") (entmod (subst (cons 1 drawnby) (assoc 1 (entget ent)) (entget ent)))))
    (entupd ent)
    (setq ent (entnext ent))
  )

  ;; 4. Create Layers
  (setq layers '(("TEXT" 7) ("DIM" 2) ("DETAILS" 1) ("HATCH" 8) ("TITLE" 3)))
  (foreach lay layers
    (if (not (tblsearch "LAYER" (car lay)))
      (command "._-layer" "m" (car lay) "c" (cadr lay) "" "")
    )
  )

  ;; 5. Cleanup
  (setvar "OSMODE" oldsnap)
  (setq *error* olderror)
  (princ)
)

✅ Project Checklist

Step	Completed
Defined user input prompts	☐
Inserted a block using command	☐
Fetched and updated attribute tags	☐
Created standard layers with assigned colors	☐
Handled errors and cleaned up environment	☐

📁 Files and Resources

File / Resource	Description
capstone_titleblock.lsp	Full working LISP routine
titleblock_template.dwg	Block reference with PROJECT, DATE, and DRAWNBY attributes
capstone_checklist.docx	Printable version of the project checklist