Layer checking

[gp13]

Is there an easy way to run through about 15,000 DXFs and check whether or not they contain any entities on certain layers?

Basically, I need to open each DXF and know if it has any lines on layer 9 or 10. At the same time, each DXF should have a textual note in layer 10, which I need to NOT be checked for.

I have 2011 LT to use for this.

Thanks in advance,
Matt

 

[francesca]

Axiom?

http://axiomint.com/microstation/garage/

It would work on top of MicroStation. Their AutoCAD product suite isn't as well developed, unfortunately, but may cover this. Not sure AutoCAD LT would do it, though. Your company is going to have to choose manpower vs. software purchase vs. external consulting time. (I would ask the Axiom guys.)

 

[VMichl]

The LT version of AutoCAD is limited in terms of customization and automation of such tasks, but full AutoCAD (that could be compared to Microstation) can handle this. Unlike Francesca, I would say that AutoCAD is much more developed than Microstation (this application is somewhere at the level of the old AutoCAD 2008, IMHO).

But simple analysis of text files like DXF is maybe not hat much about CAD but rather a text processing job. Any batch text search tool can find the text:

8
MYCERTAINLAYER

inside the DXF file. This indicates an entity on the "MyCertainLayer".

Vladimir Michl,

http://www.cadstudio.cz

http://www.cadforum.cz

 

[gp13]

Thanks guys. Upon researching a little further, I did find out what VMichl is talking about. I took it a little further though, and found a program called DXF Works that allows you to filter out certain entities, among other things. This way I got a .csv file for every DXF telling me what layer each entity is on. It made searching through the 14,000+ files much more efficient.