Substituting Blocks on AutoCAD: REPLACE vs. BLOCKREPLACE

FIND (and REPLACE)

FIND  Not specific to AutoCAD. It is a tool in most text processors and text editors. Use it to locate text quickly researching words and phrases. It is useful for navigating a document and checking the presence of specific words.

Think about Find as a search engine for your document. No AutoCAD, Use it to locate text words, attributes, dimensions, leaders, Tables and Hyperlinks.

AUTOCAD Find

Replace  extends Find so that it also replaces the text found. Substitution is only content; it leaves the existing character and the formatting of the unchanged paragraph.

AUTOCAD Find

BLOCKREPLACE (Express Tool)

As there is no commandREPLACE Real in AutoCad and Find and Replace works with text, I'm assuming the participant meantBLOCKREPLACE . This is an Express Tool command.

Finding all blocks in a drawing to replace can be a tedious process. Then, Blockreplace makes this easier replacing all instances of a block with a different block definition.

AUTOCAD BLOCKREPLACE

The first step is to specify the definition of the block for replacement. Do this by selecting it in the dialog or choosing an instance within the active design.

Right away, Select the Substitution Block, again selecting it in the dialog box or choosing it in the drawing.

AutoCAD requests you to purge the now unconferenced block definition of the drawing. If you choose not to purge the non -referenced block definition, You can always use the purge function later.

AUTOCAD BLOCKREPLACE

The command search the whole design for the specified block, replacing it with a block you specify. The replaced block inserts with the same scale, insertion and rotation point of the existing instance.

Be aware that the blockreplace has a version only for the command line (-BLOCKREPLACE) If it is necessary to run scripts or similar automation.

Similar BLOCKTOXREF , that replaces a block definition (and all instances) by a selected Xref.

Block Replace (Breplace) - AutoCAD 2024

Block Replace (Breplace) It is a resource Intelligent Block Added in the version 2024 do AutoCAD. It replaces block instances selected by a selected block. Unlike blockreplace, Breplace does not replace all instances. Instead, It replaces only the instances you select.

After starting the command, Select the blocks. Note that all of them must have the same definition.

No painel Block Replacement, Select the desired replacement. AutoCad uses machine learning to generate suggestions. This capitalizes the name of the block and the visual similarity between the existing blocks. Suggestions are based on the block settings available in the drawing and their block libraries.

AUTOCAD BREPLACE Panel

Then, with breplate, You can choose from suggestions, recently used blocks or choose the replacement of the drawing. The instance of the replaced block retains the scale, rotation and attribute values ​​of the original block.

AUTOCAD BREPLACE

BLOCKREPLACE vs BREPLACE

Blockreplace is faster and cleaner when you want to replace all instances of a block in a drawing. It can be simple to lose instances with breplace, especially if in layers disconnected/frozen or in different spaces. Blockreplace even purges the original definition, Cleaning the drawing as it advances.

Breplace, however, gives the flexibility to replace only selected instances. Then you would use blockreplace when you wanted to replace all instances and breplace when you wanted to replace only selected instances.

The benefit of the BrePlace is not having to know the replacement block in advance, because the AutoCadsuggest  Similar blocks in geometry and guidance. You can also select recently used blocks, even if these blocks have been recently used in other drawings.

Like Brelace List blocks not only of the current design, but also of block libraries, It can save time, because it is not necessary first to add the definition of the block to the drawing.

original publication: https://www.autodesk.com/blogs/autocad/replacing-blocks-in-autocad-replace-vs-breplace/

Substituting Blocks on AutoCAD: REPLACE vs. BLOCKREPLACE
Scroll to top