i've got a small problem with autocad. i need to import an Excel spreadsheet into autocad, but we want the information to be a link from Excel not just copy/paste. i've found a few solutions, none of which seem to completely solve the problem. i've seen the recommendations for XL2CAD 4.0 by dotsoft. but honestly we don't want to go out of pocket on a program for this. if anyone has any ideas they will be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.
no xref-ing wont' work. i can copy and paste the entire file into cad, but editing it becomes a problem. and i can't break up the image into workable sections. i'm starting to think the easiest would be to just create a line table and insert the information manually. any other suggestions would be a big help though. thanks.
yes we looked into that. the only problem is that dbconnect links a database file such as access into autocad. it does not, unfortunately, work with excel. thanks though.
To set up a Microsoft Excel data source using ODBC
From the Start menu (Windows), choose Settings » Control Panel.
Double-click the ODBC icon.
In the ODBC Data Source Administrator dialog box, do one of the following:
Choose the User DSN tab to create a data source that is visible only to you and can be used only on the computer you create it in.
Choose the System DSN tab to create a data source that is visible to all users who have access rights to the computer.
Choose the File DSN tab to create a data source that can be shared with other users who have the same ODBC drivers installed on their systems.
Choose Add.
Select the Microsoft Excel Driver, and then choose Finish.
Enter a name for your data source in Data Source Name, and select the appropriate version of Excel from the Version list.
Make sure that Use Current Directory is cleared.
Choose Select Workbook, and then locate and select the workbook or spreadsheet you want to configure. Choose OK.
In the ODBC Microsoft Excel dialog box, choose OK.
In the ODBC Data Source Administrator dialog box, choose OK.
To set up a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to use with AutoCAD
From Microsoft Excel, open the workbook or spreadsheet that you want to access from AutoCAD.
Select a range of cells to function as a database table.
Enter a name for the range of cells in the Name Box, then press ENTER.
Repeat steps 2 and 3, if desired, to specify additional database tables.
From the File menu (Microsoft Excel), choose Save.
Note Microsoft Excel is not a true database management system. In order to access Excel data from within AutoCAD, you must first specify at least one named range of Excel cells to function as a database table. Each named range of cells that you specify within a spreadsheet is treated as an individual table by AutoCAD.
Did you try to insert the .xls file as an OLE Object (Insert>OLE Object...). Select "create from file, choose your .xls and make sure that "link" is checked...
thanks beta. the only problem with ODBC is it uses a database resource. this is not what we are doing. though we did find a way to do it. it's a small loophole in autocad. first go into excel and select what you wish to copy, and copy it to the clipboard. then go into autocad and "paste special". this gives you a dialogue to select what kind of file you are pasting. after selecting the file type and "OK" autocad inserts the information as an editable table, not simply a snapshot of the data like OLE. this solved all of our problems. thanks again for your help. i noticed a number of treads on the autodesk discussion group site about this issue, so if you guys could spread the word. thanks.
My office struggled with bringing Excel spreadsheets into Acad for a few years using OLE but the formatting issues are a nightmare. Last year we tried the XL2CAD program you mentioned and have not looked back. Seriously, the time you are going to spend researching and trying to implement other solutions are going to cost your firm more than just buying Xl2CAD.
Dec 27, 06 11:06 pm ·
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AutoCad Question
i've got a small problem with autocad. i need to import an Excel spreadsheet into autocad, but we want the information to be a link from Excel not just copy/paste. i've found a few solutions, none of which seem to completely solve the problem. i've seen the recommendations for XL2CAD 4.0 by dotsoft. but honestly we don't want to go out of pocket on a program for this. if anyone has any ideas they will be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.
I've never had the need myself, but can you xref an .xls??
no xref-ing wont' work. i can copy and paste the entire file into cad, but editing it becomes a problem. and i can't break up the image into workable sections. i'm starting to think the easiest would be to just create a line table and insert the information manually. any other suggestions would be a big help though. thanks.
I haven't used it, but AutoCAD 2005 has a dbConnect tool - have you tried that?
yes we looked into that. the only problem is that dbconnect links a database file such as access into autocad. it does not, unfortunately, work with excel. thanks though.
To set up a Microsoft Excel data source using ODBC
From the Start menu (Windows), choose Settings » Control Panel.
Double-click the ODBC icon.
In the ODBC Data Source Administrator dialog box, do one of the following:
Choose the User DSN tab to create a data source that is visible only to you and can be used only on the computer you create it in.
Choose the System DSN tab to create a data source that is visible to all users who have access rights to the computer.
Choose the File DSN tab to create a data source that can be shared with other users who have the same ODBC drivers installed on their systems.
Choose Add.
Select the Microsoft Excel Driver, and then choose Finish.
Enter a name for your data source in Data Source Name, and select the appropriate version of Excel from the Version list.
Make sure that Use Current Directory is cleared.
Choose Select Workbook, and then locate and select the workbook or spreadsheet you want to configure. Choose OK.
In the ODBC Microsoft Excel dialog box, choose OK.
In the ODBC Data Source Administrator dialog box, choose OK.
To set up a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to use with AutoCAD
From Microsoft Excel, open the workbook or spreadsheet that you want to access from AutoCAD.
Select a range of cells to function as a database table.
Enter a name for the range of cells in the Name Box, then press ENTER.
Repeat steps 2 and 3, if desired, to specify additional database tables.
From the File menu (Microsoft Excel), choose Save.
Note Microsoft Excel is not a true database management system. In order to access Excel data from within AutoCAD, you must first specify at least one named range of Excel cells to function as a database table. Each named range of cells that you specify within a spreadsheet is treated as an individual table by AutoCAD.
This from 2007
Did you try to insert the .xls file as an OLE Object (Insert>OLE Object...). Select "create from file, choose your .xls and make sure that "link" is checked...
This has always worked for me...
thanks beta. the only problem with ODBC is it uses a database resource. this is not what we are doing. though we did find a way to do it. it's a small loophole in autocad. first go into excel and select what you wish to copy, and copy it to the clipboard. then go into autocad and "paste special". this gives you a dialogue to select what kind of file you are pasting. after selecting the file type and "OK" autocad inserts the information as an editable table, not simply a snapshot of the data like OLE. this solved all of our problems. thanks again for your help. i noticed a number of treads on the autodesk discussion group site about this issue, so if you guys could spread the word. thanks.
anyone ever use cadig AUTOTABLE?
My office struggled with bringing Excel spreadsheets into Acad for a few years using OLE but the formatting issues are a nightmare. Last year we tried the XL2CAD program you mentioned and have not looked back. Seriously, the time you are going to spend researching and trying to implement other solutions are going to cost your firm more than just buying Xl2CAD.
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