A commenter on this blog asked how they could change several objects without having to select one by one and modify them. I did not ask if they were paid hourly wages as that might make the long method beneficial on the paycheck, but for this tip we will show how to save time and get out of the office faster and make the boss happy.

Here is the question posted in a comment to a Between the Lines blog post:

Hello! I am having a problem. How can I change a color in AutoCAD file for, lets say topographical heights if they all are defined as yellow (defined as level 57). And there are hundreds of them. How can I change color for this "level 57", so I don't have to change these heights one by one, but all even level units at one time? Any respond will be appreciated! Thanks!

There are actually two of my favorite ways to do this fast. One is using the ever powerful and under used QSELECT and the Second is an oldie but goodie using FILTER.

I am assuming from your question you are not using ByLayer (bylayer should be used in AutoCAD) and instead assigning layers (levels) by color ala MicroStation.

You can use QSELECT to select multiple objects, by color, layer, elevation, and many more object properties. You can build a selection set based on multiple criteria by using the append option or even exclude certain objects. I was able to select all yellow polylines into a selection set then change their elevation in less than 3 steps.

You can also build the selection set based on an objects elevation. Imagine all polylines at 120 elevation and I want to move all 1000 of them to 110 elevation. Another great example is selecting all circles that equal 6 inch diameter and change them in one step to 3 inch diameter.

The second method and much more powerful is using the FILTER command. You can build a multiple object property to filter to get just the objects you want then change all meeting the filter criteria  as a selection set in less than a minute.

From AutoCAD Online Help:
About Selecting Objects Based on Shared Properties

So there you have it, two ways to change thousands of objects in seconds using QSELECT and the FILTER commands in AutoCAD!

More Online Help
Online Help
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Offline Help Download
2013

Thank you for asking the question.

Cheers,
Shaan

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