Blockify

Command: Blockify

Overview: In this lesson will you learn how to convert repetitive sets of entities to block definitions with the Blockify command.

Lesson Objectives:

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

• Find identical sets of entities in the drawing (both 2D as 3D) and replace them by block references.
• Automatically find and replace all equal solids by block references.

About

The BricsCAD Blockify tool can be applied to 2D entities as well as to 3D solids. The Blockify tool enables you to automatically convert repetitive sets of entities to block definitions. Select a set of 2D entities or 3D solids and Blockify searches the drawing for identical sets of entities and automatically replaces them by block references.

For more information about this command, visit the Command Reference article Blockify.

Blockify from a selected input

1. Launch the Blockify command. You can apply the command on 2D entities or on 3D entities.

2. You are prompted: Select input entities or [Find all groups].
   Select the entities you want to convert into a block and press Enter.

   2D	3D

   
   Note: The 'Find all groups' option will be explained later.

3. You are Prompted: Select search space or [Entire drawing].
   Set the search space or type 'E' to scan the entire drawing, then press Enter.

4. In the commandline you can read:

   2D: Blockify recognizes 6 chairs.	3D: Blockify recognizes 2 chairs.

5. You are prompted: Select a block insertion point or [use Default point].
   Press 'D' to use a default point.
   Or Select the point that you want as the insertion point of the block

   2D	3D

6. You are prompted: Specify block name or [use Default name].
   Type in your preferred block name Or press 'D' to use a default name. For this example, name the block 'Chair'. Press Enter.

7. The block definition is now created for the chair. In the Structure Browser, you can see that all identical sets of entities are replaced with a block reference. The separate entities forming the chair are grouped to form one block.

   2D	3D

    

Apply the 'Find all groups' - option

In the current drawing, you can see that the drawing only contains 3D solid. The legs and seat of the chair are separate solids.

1. Launch the Blockify command.
   You are prompted: Select input entities or [Find all groups].
   Type 'F' to find all groups. Blockify will now automatically detect identically-shaped solids.

2. You are Prompted: Select search space or [Entire drawing].
   Press Enter to scan the entire drawing.

3. The commandline will display:

   

   Blockify will recognize 3 different groups of similar 3D solids: the chair legs, the chair seats, and the table legs. In the Structure Browser, you can see that all of these 3D solids are now converted into 3 different groups of block references.

   

Existing block definitions 

One of the aims of the BLOCKIFY command is to automatically add and improve the structure of a model. In both procedures described above, if the model already contains block definitions, the existing block definitions are checked. 

• Use a selected input set of entities: When one of the existing block definitions matches the BLOCKIFY input set, no definition needs to be created. All instances of the input set should be replaced by block references to the existing block definition.
• Find all groups: before checking all 3D solids in the drawing, all existing block definitions are used as the input set for BLOCKIFY. As such, repeated solids corresponding to a block definition are replaced by block references to that existing definition. No new block definition is created.