Spatial Manager™ for AutoCAD - FAQs: Advanced Selection ("Standard" and "Professional" editions only)
Notes:
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Introduction
- Objective of this section
- To learn how to define data tables and how to attach the data to the objects in an AutoCAD drawing
- Topics in this section
- Data tables: create, restore, rename, edit or delete
- Fields in data tables: create, edit or delete. Field types
- Data grid
- Attach data to objects
- Detach data from objects
- Select objects based on their data
- Select objects in the drawing which are attached to a specific table
- Zoom to the selection
- NOTE for Imported objects: keep in mind that in the Importing processes the data tables may be automatically defined and the imported objects will be automatically attached to the data tables. All everything you read here applies to these cases
- NOTE about the performance of the selections: the selection of objects in AutoCAD may be a few slower when the "SpatialManager" palette is open, depending on the data of the objects
Can I define a selection of objects based on the values of their data?
The command 'SPMSELECTBYQUERY' in 'Spatial Manager™ for AutoCAD' allows you select objects in the drawing according to the result of a simplex or compound data query
- The query can be applied to one data table or to all the data tables defined in the drawing
- Click on the "+" button to add at least one condition and so create a data query (a condition that stands for "Property & Comparator & Value")
- When you are defining a compound query, you can add as many conditions as you want to the conditions list . Click on the "+" button each time you need to add a condition
- You can select the logical operators "And" or "Or" when adding new conditions. "And" will be the default operator
- In addition, if there is any object selected when you run the command, you can:
- Apply the query to the current selection, and not to the entire drawing, or,
- Keep the current selection so the new "query selection" will be added to the current selection
- Notes:
- You can choose and search (...) among the available values for a Field
- The command keeps the list of query conditions used the last time it was executed
- If there are no results during a query, the command window is shown again and keeps the list of query conditions
- You can use the "-" button every time you need to remove a condition from the conditions list in the query, or you can use the Clean button (the "broom") to remove all query conditions from the list
You can use the command 'SPMZOOMTOSELECTION' (see below) to quickly zoom into the selection extent
Can I select all the objects attached to the same data table?
Yes, you can select all the objects which have been previously attached to a specific data table. To do that, execute the command 'SPMSELECTBYTABLE' of Spatial Manager™ for AutoCAD. You will find this command in the "Spatial Manager" AutoCAD ribbon
To choose the one you want, click on the data tables drop-down list
Note: You can use the command 'SPMZOOMTOSELECTION' (see below) to quickly zoom to the selection extent
Is there any way to locate on the screen all the selected objects?
Yes, the 'Spatial Manager™ for AutoCAD' 'SPMZOOMTOSELECTION' command, zooms to the current selection extent so you can locate all the selected objects in an optimal size view
Note: This functionality can be very handy as a complement to the two previous selection commands, but also if it is used with other AutoCAD selection functions
Related links
- Selecting by queries in AutoCAD and BricsCAD
- Retrieve existing data values when querying
- Analysis of parcels crossed by a road
- Geodata from AutoCAD to AutoCAD Map
- Combine Quick select and Select by Query