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Table Sort

Two utilities for any AutoCAD table in the drawing, VDC-made or not, in AutoCAD, its verticals or Civil 3D: sort the rows by a column, and repair tables whose cell text was shrunk to dots.

Command VDCTABLESORT VDCTABLETEXTFIX · every VDC tab › Full Suite panel
Two utilities for any AutoCAD table in the drawing, VDC-made or not, in AutoCAD, its verticals or Civil 3D: sort the rows by a column, and repair tables whose cell text was shrunk to dots.
Sort: rows reorder naturally; title, header and TOTAL rows stay; fills stay with the position. BEFORE LOT TABLE LOTAREA (AC) LOT 100.31 LOT 20.28 LOT 10.25 LOT 90.30 TOTAL1.14 VDCTABLESORT AFTER (by LOT, natural, ascending) LOT TABLE LOTAREA (AC) LOT 10.25 LOT 20.28 LOT 90.30 LOT 100.31 TOTAL1.14 striped fills stay with the row position; values, fields and blocks move with the row. VDCTABLETEXTFIX, shrunken cells back to the table's height 12+50.00 24.5 RT 12+50.00 24.5 RT merged title cells keep their size
Title / header (kept)   Total row (kept)   Result   Shrunk text

What it does

  • Pick flow: a table already selected (a clicked cell also sets the column), or pick the table, then click a plain point inside the column, or press Enter and choose the column in the dialog. Tables split into sections always choose in the dialog.
  • Sort types: Auto (numeric when every cell starts with a number, else natural), Natural (LOT 2 before LOT 10, S-9 before S-10), Numeric (first number: 12.50 LF, $1,200.00, -3.5) or Text; ascending or descending; optional second column for ties.
  • Blanks last in both directions; rows that tie keep their order.
  • Kept rows: leading merged / title rows and a header row (by style or by a row of text with no digits), and trailing TOTAL / SUBTOTAL rows are detected and prefilled; adjust in the dialog.
  • Moves content only: text, fields and block cells travel with their row; fills, borders and cell formatting stay with the row position; a hand-set row height travels with its row.
  • VDCTABLETEXTFIX: every non-merged cell gets the table's largest data text height (or one height you enter for every picked table), and inline \H height codes are removed.

Safety & limits

  • All or nothing: the sorted table is checked cell by cell; anything unexpected cancels the whole change. One UNDO reverses a sort or a fix.
  • Data-linked tables (Excel links) are refused: sort in the Excel source, or the next link update overwrites the sort.
  • Merged cells inside the rows being sorted are refused; keep such rows out with the top / bottom counts.
  • No settings file: both tools start from what they detect in the picked table.
  • VDC tables refreshed by 1.114.0 and later repair their own heights on the next Update; VDCTABLETEXTFIX is for tables damaged earlier or made by other tools.

Dialog

Table Sort dialog
Table Sort, VDCTABLESORT
VDCTABLETEXTFIX dialog
VDCTABLETEXTFIX, VDCTABLETEXTFIX

When to use it

  • A schedule came out in pick order and needs to read LOT 1, LOT 2 ... LOT 10.
  • A quantity table should list the biggest items first (numeric, descending) with the TOTAL row kept last.
  • A table from another firm or an older drawing needs re-ordering and retyping it is not an option.

How to run it

  1. Select the table (or click one of its cells - that also picks the column), then run VDCTABLESORT; or run it first and pick the table.
  2. Click a plain point anywhere inside the column to sort by, or press Enter to choose the column in the dialog.
  3. Check the dialog: column, sort type (Auto / Natural / Numeric / Text), order, an optional second column, and the rows kept at the top and bottom (prefilled from what it detected).
  4. Click Sort. The command line reports what it did; UNDO reverses it in one step.

Options

  • Sort type - Auto: numeric when every non-blank cell starts with a number, otherwise natural.
  • Then by: a second column that orders rows tied on the first (for example network, then structure name).
  • Rows at the top / bottom: title, header and total rows that must not move; prefilled from merged rows, header styles, a row of text with no digits, and TOTAL / SUBTOTAL rows.

Watch out for

  • Blank cells always sort last, ascending or descending.
  • Tables linked to Excel are refused - sort the Excel source, or the next link update overwrites the sort.
  • Merged cells inside the rows being sorted are refused - keep those rows out with the top / bottom counts, or unmerge them.
  • The sorted table is checked cell by cell; if anything is off, nothing changes and the command line says so.

Related: Fix Table Text · Lot Table · Pipe Table