Annotation Export

This tool is used to transfer an array (rows and columns) or text and/or mtext to an open spreadsheet. The flow of information is from AutoCAD to Excel and it is not linked.

Keyboard Command: XL2CADTAE

There are two methods the program can use to evaluate the annotation to parse it into rows/columns. If the drawing has line objects separating the annotation, this method is recommended as it has better handling of blank cells, etc.

Procedure:

1. Open the source drawing in AutoCAD.
2. Open the target spreadsheet in Excel.
3. Choose the Annotation Export tool.
4. Choose the Linework or Freetext method.
5. Select the objects (lines for Linework, text/mtext for Freetext).

Notes:

• Each row of text/mtext does not have to have the same number of annotations, having a missing items will not short circuit the program. However it can throw off the columns in Excel. Consider a placeholder piece of text such as a text object with a ?. This will keep the columns aligned in the target spreadsheet.
• The tool works off the bounding box of the text, it does not use the insertion point. This allows text of differing justifications to be considered equal. However because of this, all the text annotation objects should be the same height. Never mix text heights in the selection. If necessary set the text heights equal before export then undo after.