I heard that data fields can be useful for easy table text input. I would like to be able to input text similar to doing it in excel, where you type in text and press enter or tab and then it goes to the next cell, and eventually your prompt goes to the next row, ready for input. Can you do that with data fields? If so, how do you do that. That's all I want, nothing fancy. thanks.
Just place/create them in the file in the order you want them filled. Then use the Auto Fill In Data Field tool, select the view, hands on the keyboard and type away. That should do it!
In order for this to work the way you want
1. They must be empty Enter Data Fields It will skip over the ones that are already filled in.
2. They have to be in the correct update order. I have been using an very old tool "Wset Add" key-in that allows me to tag each Field in the order I want to fill them in. When done you have to type in "Wset Drop" The fields should fill in in the order you added them to the Working Set.
I Hope this Helps!
I know that I have used all sorts of tricks over the years to make a table of lines and text in MicroStation that consists of MicroStation elements. And the V7 paste from Excel allowed me to abandon all of those tricks. And Then, V8 comes along with "images" of tables, as static tables, or linked tables or embedded tables and initially, I hated them.
But I have come to accept them as "this is how it now works" and have moved on. If you have not considered these, or have but decided that you don't like them, there are other options, but none are "free" and none as easy as using Excel.
If Bentley develops a table element to maintain compatibility with AutoCAD, I'll be back. Otherwise, I'd recommend you expend your resources where you can get more bang for your buck!
Charles (Chuck) Rheault CADD Manager
MDOT State Highway Administration