Update Fields
When a field is updated, it displays the latest value. You can update fields individually or update all fields in one or more selected text objects.
You can also set fields to be updated automatically when the drawing is opened, saved, plotted, regenerated, or sent via ETRANSMIT.
Settings on the User Preferences Tab (Options Dialog Box) control whether fields are updated automatically or on demand (FIELDEVAL system variable). The Date field cannot be updated automatically regardless of the setting of FIELDEVAL.
Contextual Fields in Blocks and Xrefs
Some fields are contextual; that is, their value is different depending on which space or layout they reside in. For example, because each layout can have a different page setup attached, the value displayed by the PlotOrientation field can be different in different layouts in the same drawing.
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List of contextual fields |
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CurrentSheetCustom |
CurrentSheetTitle |
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CurrentSheetDescription |
DeviceName |
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CurrentSheetNumber |
PaperSize |
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CurrentSheetNumberAndTitle |
PlotDate |
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CurrentSheetSet |
PlotOrientation |
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CurrentSheetSetCustom |
PlotScale |
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CurrentSheetSetDescription |
PageSetupName |
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CurrentSheetSubSet |
PlotStyleTable |
For compatibility with previous versions, contextual fields in blocks and xrefs are not updated when you insert them in a drawing; instead, the field displays the last cached value. Therefore, if you want to use a contextual field within a block, for example, a title block, you must insert the field as an attribute. For example, a title block can use the CurrentSheetNumber field as an attribute. When you insert the title block, the field displays the sheet number of the sheet on which the title block is inserted.
Most fields are not contextual and are updated in blocks and xrefs. Fields in xrefs are updated based on the host file, not the source xref. These fields do not have to be placed in attributes. For example, a field that displays the sheet number of a particular sheet in a sheet set and that updates if that sheet number changes, is a property of the sheet set. When you create the field, you select the SheetSet field name, select the sheet set and the sheet that you want in the tree view, and then select the property SheetNumber for the field value to be displayed. This field displays the sheet number of that sheet, even if you put the field in a block and insert it in another drawing. If the sheet is removed from the sheet set, it no longer has a sheet number, and the field becomes invalid and displays pound signs.
Some sheet set fields can be inserted as placeholders. For example, when you create your own callout blocks and label blocks, you can insert the SheetNumber field as a placeholder. Later, when the block is inserted from the Views List tab shortcut menu in the Sheet Set Manager, the field displays the sheet number of the drawing.
Compatibility with AutoCAD LT and with Previous Releases of AutoCAD
When a drawing with fields is opened in AutoCAD 2004 or earlier, the fields are not updated; they display the value last displayed in the drawing before it was opened. If no changes are made to a field, it is updated normally when it is reopened in a release that supports fields.
Fields are not available in AutoCAD LT. When a drawing with fields is opened in AutoCAD LT, the fields are evaluated based on the setting of the FIELDEVAL system variable in the drawing, but the FIELDEVAL system variable is not accessible.
