25.1 Databases - A Brief Refresher

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Overview

Following this lesson, you will:

• Know how to set up a data source

• Know how to configure AutoCAD to access a database

• Be familiar with the dbConnect Manager

• Know how to link database records to AutoCAD objects

• Know how to use database records to create AutoCAD callouts

• Know how to query a database for AutoCAD data

Here Be Dragons.

        Ancient map designation for unexplored territory.

Note 

It's appropriate here in our final lesson that I once again take you to the edge. This edge lies between CAD operation and one of the most powerful computer tools yet developed – databases. As you study, imagine that you're standing on a beach. Looking outward, you see only the surface of an ocean of possibilities. When the lesson is complete, consider getting your feet wet.

In Lesson 19, we exported block attribute data into a text file. We then took that text file and imported it into MS Excel, creating a spreadsheet for our Materials Take-Off (MTO) group. That spreadsheet served as the base from which the MTO group ordered and tracked project-related materials.

But we had to wait until the project design was completed to send an accurate list of materials to MTO. This invoked groans of impatience because of the time frame between design completion and the beginning of construction – the time needed to actually order, ship, and receive the materials. For special materials, this delay could prove quite costly.

AutoCAD recognized the problem. It created a method for editing a materials database "on the fly."

Thus, you can export the block attribute data and create a database (rather than a spreadsheet) much earlier in the project. Then, using dbConnect, you can keep the data current as the design develops. The database remains current because it functions much like a linked OLE Object – changes affect both the OLE Object in AutoCAD and the original file.

We'll use dbConnect to attach a MS Access database to a drawing and see how useful that connection can be.

Note 

While knowledge of databases isn't required for this lesson, I can't overestimate its value. I can't hope to cover all of the ins and outs of database operation in a single lesson, much less how they relate to AutoCAD users. (Multi-volume texts are required for proper database training.) However, I will explain some of the basics for database novices.

For a more complete understanding of the application we'll use^[*](MS Access), I recommend another book from Microsoft Press – Access Step by Step.

^[*]You won't need MS Access to complete this lesson

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