Civil Engineering Tools

Home > 🏷️ Sheet automation

Copy2Layouts

Short description

πŸ“„ Copy2Layouts is an AutoCAD and Civil 3D AutoLISP utility for copying selected objects from the current drawing to multiple paper-space layouts from one DCL dialog.
πŸ” It adds a wildcard layout filter, Select All / Select None, total selected object count, and VLA CopyObjects automation for faster sheet layout replication.

Image 000 15

Command:

πŸš€ Main command: Copy2Layouts
πŸš€ Macro alias: _Copy2Layouts
πŸ” Layout filter supports AutoCAD wildcard patterns using * and ?
🧰 The dialog lets the user pick objects, filter target layouts, multi-select layouts, and copy the selection to the selected layout blocks.

Description:

πŸ“„ Copy2Layouts is an SEO-friendly AutoCAD layout copy tool for duplicating selected drawing objects to multiple Paper Space layouts in the current drawing.
🧰 The routine builds a temporary DCL interface with a Pick from drawing button, total object count, target layout list, wildcard layout filter, Select All / Select None, Copy to Selected Layouts, and Close.
πŸ” The layout filter supports * and ? wildcards, making it easier to copy details only to selected layout naming groups such as 01*, A-??, plan sheets, or detail sheets.
🧠 The tool converts selected enames to VLA objects, builds a safe array, and calls vla-CopyObjects into each selected layout’s Paper Space block.
πŸ“Œ This is useful for Civil 3D sheet notes, north arrows, legends, revision clouds, symbols, stamps, details, and other repeated paper-space annotation objects.

Helper function: (if any)​

🧩 lc:unique-dialog-name generates a unique DCL dialog name per run to avoid dialog naming conflicts.
🧩 lc:_dcl-text creates the dialog definition for object picking, total count, layout filtering, selection, and copy actions.
🧩 lc:get-paper-layouts returns Paper Space layouts and excludes Model.
🧩 lc:apply-layout-filter applies case-insensitive wildcard filtering to the layout list.
🧩 lc:do-pick prompts for source objects and stores the selection set for the dialog workflow.
🧩 lc:copy-to-layouts converts selected entities to VLA objects, creates a safe array, and copies objects to target layout blocks.
🧩 lc:do-copy validates selected objects and target layouts, starts an UNDO group, performs the copy, and reports completion.
🧩 c:_Copy2Layouts provides a macro-friendly alias for toolbar/ribbon command macros.

Functionalities:

βœ… πŸ“„ Copy selected objects to multiple Paper Space layouts in the current drawing.
βœ… πŸ” Filter target layouts using * and ? wildcard patterns.
βœ… 🧰 Pick source objects from the drawing directly from the dialog.
βœ… πŸ”’ Show only total selected object count to keep the interface compact.
βœ… βœ… Select all or none of the currently filtered layouts.
βœ… 🧠 Use vla-CopyObjects for COM-based object duplication into layout blocks.
βœ… πŸ›‘οΈ Filter conversion errors to avoid breaking on proxy/custom objects that cannot be converted.
βœ… ↩️ Wrap the copy operation in an AutoCAD UNDO group for easier rollback.
βœ… πŸš€ Provide _Copy2Layouts alias for AutoCAD macro integration.

Result:

🎯 The result is a faster Paper Space object replication workflow inside a single AutoCAD or Civil 3D drawing.
βœ… Users can place selected notes, symbols, legends, stamps, detail objects, or sheet graphics onto many selected layouts without repeatedly activating each layout and using copy/paste.

Images, animations etc.

Image 000 15
Image 001 9
Image 002 7
Pixel

XAML code:

ο»Ώ<ResourceDictionary
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:src="clr-namespace:Autodesk.Windows;assembly=AdWindows">
    
<src:RibbonToolTip x:Key="Copy2Layouts">
<src:RibbonToolTip.ExpandedContent>
<StackPanel>
<TextBlock Background="AntiqueWhite" TextAlignment="Copy2Layouts">
<Bold>Function Syntax: Copy2Layouts / _Copy2Layouts</Bold>
<LineBreak/>
<Bold>Version: 1.1 Date: 20.06.2026 6:38:55PM</Bold>
<LineBreak/>
<Hyperlink>AI+https://www.lee-mac.com/copytolayouts.html</Hyperlink>
<LineBreak/>
<Bold>Description</Bold><LineBreak/>
<Run>This program provides a dialog-driven workflow to </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">pick objects from the drawing</Run><Run>, then </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">copy the selected objects</Run><Run> into one or more </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">selected paper-space layouts</Run><Run>.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Bold>Primary User Actions</Bold><LineBreak/>
<Run>1) The user runs the command </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">LCOPYLAYOUTS</Run><Run> (or the macro-safe alias </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">_LCOPYLAYOUTS</Run><Run>).</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>2) The dialog opens and the user clicks </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Pick from drawing</Run><Run> to select objects on screen.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>3) The program shows the </Run><Run Foreground="Red">total count</Run><Run> of the selected objects.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>4) The user filters layout names using a wildcard pattern, selects one or more layouts, then clicks </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Copy to Selected Layouts</Run><Run>.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Bold>Functionalities</Bold><LineBreak/>
<Run>β€’ </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Pick from drawing</Run><Run>: prompts the user to select any objects in the active drawing and stores the selection set for reuse.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>β€’ </Run><Run Foreground="Red">Selection count only</Run><Run>: displays only the number of selected objects and does not classify objects by entity type.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>β€’ </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Layout list with multi-select</Run><Run>: presents a list of paper-space layouts and allows selecting multiple targets.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>β€’ </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Select All</Run><Run>: selects every layout currently visible in the list (after filtering).</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>β€’ </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Select None</Run><Run>: clears all currently selected layouts.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>β€’ </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Layout name filter</Run><Run>: filters the layouts list using wildcard matching with </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">*</Run><Run> and </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">?</Run><Run>, then refreshes the list when the user clicks </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Apply</Run><Run>.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>β€’ </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Copy to selected layouts</Run><Run>: copies the selected objects into each chosen layout’s paper-space block using COM automation.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>β€’ </Run><Run Foreground="Red">Conversion safety</Run><Run>: skips objects that cannot be converted to VLA objects (commonly proxy or custom objects) so the copy operation can proceed without failing.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>β€’ </Run><Run Foreground="Red">Unique dialog name each run</Run><Run>: generates a unique DCL dialog name and temporary file each time the command is executed to avoid naming collisions.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Bold>Important Notes and Constraints</Bold><LineBreak/>
<Run>β€’ Targets </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">paper-space layouts only</Run><Run>: the layout list excludes </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Model</Run><Run>.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>β€’ By default, it </Run><Run Foreground="Red">skips copying to the current layout tab</Run><Run> to reduce accidental duplication.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>β€’ Copy is executed with an </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">UNDO Begin</Run><Run> and </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">UNDO End</Run><Run> wrapper, allowing the user to undo the full copy operation in one step.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>β€’ The program disables </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Copy to Selected Layouts</Run><Run> until a valid selection set exists.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Bold>Recognizable Commands and Controls</Bold><LineBreak/>
<Run>β€’ Command name: </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">LCOPYLAYOUTS</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>β€’ Alias for macros: </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">_LCOPYLAYOUTS</Run><LineBreak/>
<Run>β€’ Dialog buttons: </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Pick from drawing</Run><Run>, </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Select All</Run><Run>, </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Select None</Run><Run>, </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Apply</Run><Run>, </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Copy to Selected Layouts</Run><Run>, </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Close</Run><Run>.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Bold>Example Usage Narrative</Bold><LineBreak/>
<Run>This program will require the user to </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">select objects</Run><Run> from the drawing using the </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Pick from drawing</Run><Run> button. The program will then show the </Run><Run Foreground="Red">total number of selected objects</Run><Run>. The user can optionally apply a </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">wildcard filter</Run><Run> to reduce the list of layouts, then </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">select one or more layouts</Run><Run> and run </Run><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Copy to Selected Layouts</Run><Run> to copy the selected objects into the chosen layouts.</Run><LineBreak/>

<Bold><Run Foreground="DodgerBlue">Description</Run></Bold><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">πŸ“„ Copy2Layouts is an AutoCAD and Civil 3D AutoLISP tool that copies selected objects to multiple Paper Space layouts from a single DCL dialog.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="LimeGreen">πŸ” It improves multi-layout sheet production with wildcard layout filtering, selected-object counting, Select All / None controls, and COM-based CopyObjects automation.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Bold><Run Foreground="DodgerBlue">Function Syntax</Run></Bold><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">πŸš€ Main command: </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">Copy2Layouts</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"></Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">πŸš€ Macro alias: </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">_Copy2Layouts</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"></Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">πŸ” Layout filter: </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">* and ? wildcards</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"></Run><LineBreak/>
<Bold><Run Foreground="DodgerBlue">SEO Optimized Overview</Run></Bold><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">πŸ“„ This AutoCAD layout utility duplicates selected objects into selected Paper Space layout blocks in the current drawing.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">πŸ” The target layout list can be filtered using wildcard patterns such as </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">*</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White">, </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">01*</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White">, or </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">A-??</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White">.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">🧠 The routine converts selected entities to VLA objects and uses </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">vla-CopyObjects</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> for reliable COM-based duplication.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">↩️ The copy step is wrapped in an </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">UNDO Begin/End</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> group so the result can be rolled back more easily.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">πŸ“Œ The workflow supports repeated Civil 3D sheet notes, legends, north arrows, stamps, details, and paper-space standards.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Bold><Run Foreground="LimeGreen">Primary Workflow</Run></Bold><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">1️⃣ Run </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">Copy2Layouts</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> or </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">_Copy2Layouts</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> at the AutoCAD command line.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">2️⃣ Click </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">Pick from drawing...</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> and select the objects to copy.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">3️⃣ Filter the target layout list using </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">*</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> and </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">?</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> if needed.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">4️⃣ Select the required layouts or use Select All / Select None.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">5️⃣ Click </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">Copy to Selected Layouts</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> to create copies in the target Paper Space layouts.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Bold><Run Foreground="LimeGreen">Functionalities</Run></Bold><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">πŸ“„ </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="LimeGreen">Copy to multiple layouts</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> - duplicates selected objects into selected Paper Space layout blocks.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">πŸ” </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="LimeGreen">Wildcard layout filter</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> - supports * and ? matching for layout names.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">🧰 </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="LimeGreen">Dialog-based picking</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> - lets the user pick objects and keep the dialog workflow open.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">πŸ”’ </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="LimeGreen">Total count display</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> - shows the number of selected objects without cluttering the dialog.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">βœ… </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="LimeGreen">Selection controls</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> - selects all or none of the currently filtered target layouts.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">🧠 </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="LimeGreen">COM CopyObjects</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> - uses VLA object arrays and vla-CopyObjects for copying.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">↩️ </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="LimeGreen">Undo group</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> - wraps the copy operation for easier rollback.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">πŸš€ </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="LimeGreen">Macro alias</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> - provides _Copy2Layouts for toolbar or ribbon macros.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Bold><Run Foreground="DodgerBlue">Key Commands and Helper Functions</Run></Bold><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">🧩 </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">C:Copy2Layouts</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> - opens the copy-to-layouts dialog workflow.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">🧩 </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">C:_Copy2Layouts</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> - runs the macro-friendly alias.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">🧩 </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">lc:apply-layout-filter</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> - filters target layout names using wildcard matching.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">🧩 </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">lc:do-pick</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> - collects the source selection set from the drawing.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">🧩 </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">lc:copy-to-layouts</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> - copies the VLA object array into selected layout blocks.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">🧩 </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">vla-CopyObjects</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> - performs the COM-based object duplication.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">🧩 </Run><Bold><Run Foreground="Orange">vlax-make-safearray / vlax-make-variant</Run></Bold><Run Foreground="White"> - builds the object array required for CopyObjects.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Bold><Run Foreground="DodgerBlue">Practical Result</Run></Bold><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">βœ… The final result is a faster way to copy repeated Paper Space content to many layouts in one AutoCAD drawing.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="LimeGreen">🎯 Copy2Layouts improves sheet preparation, layout standardization, annotation repetition, and Civil 3D drawing package production.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Bold><Run Foreground="DarkRed">Important Notes</Run></Bold><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">⚠️ Model Space is excluded from the target layout list.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">⚠️ The current source layout is skipped during copy to avoid duplicate objects in the active layout.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">⚠️ Proxy or custom objects may not convert into VLA objects and can be skipped.</Run><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="White">⚠️ Review copied content before saving large production drawing sets.</Run><LineBreak/>
<Bold><Run Foreground="Yellow">Tags</Run></Bold><LineBreak/><Run Foreground="Yellow">🏷️ AutoCAD, 🏷️ Civil 3D, 🏷️ AutoLISP, 🏷️ Visual LISP, 🏷️ DCL dialog, 🏷️ CopyObjects, 🏷️ Paper Space, 🏷️ Layouts, 🏷️ Wildcard filter, 🏷️ Copy to layouts, 🏷️ Sheet automation, 🏷️ CAD productivity, 🏷️ Layout manager, 🏷️ Annotation copy, 🏷️ Civil 3D sheets, 🏷️ Drawing production</Run><LineBreak/>



</TextBlock>
            
<Grid>
<Image Source="Image_000.jpg" Stretch="Uniform"/>
</Grid>

<Grid>
<Image Source="Image_001.jpg" Stretch="Uniform"/>
</Grid>

<Grid>
<Image Source="Image_002.jpg" Stretch="Uniform"/>
</Grid>

</StackPanel>
</src:RibbonToolTip.ExpandedContent>
</src:RibbonToolTip>
</ResourceDictionary>
Copy2Layouts.xamlDownload XAML file

Additional info:

Based on / Source code: https://www.lee-mac.com/copytolayouts.html

Share this page:

    Leave a Reply

    Page Tag: 🏷️ Sheet automation

    • Copy2Layouts

      β€”

      by

      Admin

      Short descriptionπŸ“„ Copy2Layouts is an AutoCAD and Civil 3D AutoLISP utility for copying selected objects from the current drawing to multiple paper-space layouts from one DCL dialog. πŸ” It adds a wildcard layout filter, Select All / Select None, total selected object count, and VLA CopyObjects automation for faster sheet layout replication. Command:πŸš€ Main command:…