Just like you can export a table from AutoCAD to Excel, you can do the reverse too with similar ease. In this example, I have merged some cells in the table and I exported it in XLSX format. Now, we will try inserting this table into AutoCAD:
- Start a blank drawing in AutoCAD and click on Table from the Annotation panel, or use its command alias, TABLE.
- Now, in the left section of the Insert Table window, click the From a data link radio button of the Insert options panel, as shown in Figure 7.24:
- Now, click the data link icon highlighted inside the yellow box in Figure 7.24.
- The Select a Data Link window will open. Click Create a new Excel Data Link in the Links panel and give this link a name, and then click OK. For this example, I am naming it sample table.
- Now, a New Excel Data Link: sample table window will open. Click the ... button next to Browse for a file ..., as shown in Figure 7.25:
- Now, locate the Excel file and click the Open button on the File Explorer window.
- Click OK to close all open windows and then click on a point in the drawing area to insert the table.
You will notice that the table will be added to the drawing and the cell margins will also be retained with it, as shown in Figure 7.26:
This table is a linked table, and if you change data inside the Excel file and save it, the table in your AutoCAD will show a pop-up bubble in the bottom-right area indicating that the table has been updated. You can click the link in the pop-up bubble to update the table too.
If, for some reason, you don't see the pop-up bubble even after changing the Excel table, then you can right-click the data link icon on the status bar and select Update All Data Links... to update the table, as shown in Figure 7.27:
We can insert the Excel table and other external content as a data link directly too, and we will learn about data links in detail in the next section.
So, we have almost finished our work the table tool. Now is the time to finally look at table styles and the table style manager.