Field: Automating Design with AutoCAD

In a recent Lot Reconfiguration Project, I needed to display the area for each Lot. At first, manually measuring the width and length of rectangular Lots seemed manageable.

However, as the number of Lots grew and irregular polygonal shapes entered the picture, it quickly became clear that this approach wasn't sustainable.

To simplify the process, I used AutoCAD's Field feature to automate area calculations. Here’s how I streamlined the workflow.

Automating Area Calculations with AutoCAD Fields

1. Creating the Polylines

• I drew each Lot using a Polyline to extract its area dynamically.

2. Keeping it Tidy

• Since these lines didn't need to appear in the final layout, I placed them on a construction line layer and set it to be non-printable.

3. Configuring the Field

• Inserted Fields to pull the area of each Polyline.
• Adjusted decimal precision to match project requirements.
• Added "m2" as a suffix for clarity using the additional options.

4. Improving Readability

• To ensure the text displayed cleanly, I checked that the Mtext was set to Annotative so it scaled correctly in different Viewports. Applied a Background Mask to keep the text readable, even when overlapping other objects.

Benefits of Using Fields

Throughout this procedure, whenever a Lot's geometry changed, the area updated automatically.

This eliminated the need for manual recalculations and saved significant time especially when working with dozens of irregularly shaped Lots.

Other Practical Uses of Fields

While Fields were perfect for automating area calculations here, they’re versatile and can simplify many other tasks.

• Title Blocks and Data Management: Automatically update drawing titles, dates, and project numbers across sheets, ensuring consistency and reducing errors.
• Object Properties: Extract real-time object attributes such as lengths, areas, and volumes—ideal for civil drawings and site designs.
• Viewport Scales: Display dynamic Viewport scales to improve clarity, especially when working across multiple scales.
• Sheet Set Data: Link data across multiple sheets using the Shee?t Set Manager to ensure uniform project information.

How about you?

For me, Fields are a small tool that makes a big difference.

I'd love to hear how others are using the AutoCAD Fields feature in their work. Are there specific features or workflows that have saved you time or improved accuracy?