Working with blocks in AutoCAD gives certain advantages (read the article "Features of using blocks in AutoCAD"). However, after creating a drawing, very often there are “extra” blocks that are not used in the project. And this, in turn, significantly affects the file size. Therefore, in this article we will consider how to remove unnecessary blocks so that there is no confusion, and the file itself weighs less.
Rice. 1. Blocks in AutoCAD are not all used in the project.
How to delete a block in AutoCAD?
The occurrence of the block in the drawing (ie the link) is deleted in the standard way: you can select the block and press Delete or use the ERASE command. But with such an action, the definition of the block itself remains in the file, and, accordingly, in the list of blocks.
Unfortunately, the AutoCAD Block Editor will not help with this.
In order to get rid of unnecessary blocks in AutoCAD, use the "CLEAR" command. For this command to work correctly, make sure that there are no block occurrences in the graphics space.
So, deleting blocks in AutoCAD takes place in several stages: first you need to first remove the blocks from the drawing, then go to the application menu (the letter "A" in the upper left corner), select "Utilities" → "Clear". An alternative is to use the command line.
Rice. 2. Removing AutoCAD blocks - "Clear" command.
The Drawing Cleanup dialog box displays a tree of all named objects that can be deleted.
Rice. 3. Dialog box AutoCAD "Clear drawing".
To clear the entire drawing of unused blocks, select the "BLOCKS" section.
By enabling the "Remove nested elements" option, you can include nested blocks in the list for deletion.
If you want to delete only some objects, then double-click on the "BLOCKS" element. A list of blocks will open, in which you should select the elements to delete. (see Fig. 4).
Rice. 4. List of AutoCAD blocks that can be deleted.
It is possible that some blocks may not be in the list. In this case, check the box next to "View items that cannot be deleted."
Rice. 5. View all existing blocks in the AutoCAD file.
When removing blocks from the list, you must confirm your action. This option can be suppressed by turning off the "Delete Items with Confirmation" prompt (see Figure 6).
Rice. 6. Removing a block in AutoCAD.
Click Remove. An updated list of available block definitions in the drawing will appear when you execute the Insert command (see Figure 7).
How to remove line types in AutoCAD?
Andrey from Tomsk: "How to delete line types in AutoCAD if they are not deleted. I delete everything in the drawing, I clean the entire drawing through the utility, but the line types remain. If I delete them manually, does it write that they are used?" Program version: 2012 (any).
If he writes that they are used, then it means that they are really used. The following course of action can be suggested. First you need to make sure that there are no objects with this type of lines. And if there is, then assign a different line type to these objects. You need to execute the "Quick Select" command. To do this, write on the command line: _QSELECT (for any version) or QSELECT (only for the Russian version). Then in the window that opens, select "Object Type" &mdash "Multiple", "Properties" &mdash "Linetype", "Operator" &mdash "Equals", "Value" &mdash select the desired (or rather unnecessary) linetype, click "OK". If any objects are selected, assign them a different line type. After that, you need to make sure that the unnecessary line type is not the current one. Then you can start uninstalling. This can be done in two main ways. For example, go to the Linetype Manager (_LINETYPE or TIPLINE command) and delete unnecessary types. Or, you can delete unnecessary unused objects, including linetypes, unnecessary layers, and so on. PURGE or _PURGE command. In the window that opens, at the bottom there should be a checkmark "Deleting items with confirmation". Then you need to select an extra element and click "Delete", in the confirmation window do not delete the necessary one, but delete the unnecessary one. If you still failed to remove the unnecessary linetype, then it is used in some layer. You need to go to the layer manager and check if this unnecessary line type is there. Replace the line type for the found layers and try again to clear the document from the unnecessary line type.
Question: .
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Good day!
Quite often, users ask the question - what can be done with the file DWG that came from another user? How to clean and optimize it to avoid problems when using it? Much has already been written and rewritten on this topic, I cite my experience.
Indeed, even in a "decent" file, created according to all the rules and recommendations of the developer and in accordance with the experience of other sophisticated users, there are often all sorts of garbage, unnecessary and unused elements. The appearance of such extra objects is inevitable, because when working with a file, you have to redraw the geometry several times, create temporary objects to work out design solutions, and much more. Naturally, you can forget to delete something. Also, if the file was created in "vertical" AutoCAD or in a third-party application, it may contain proxy objects and unnecessary data about these applications.
In the article, I tried to describe the maximum possible number of actions that can be performed with a DWG file, in each case, you need to look at which of them to apply.
1. Remove unused geometry
Description of the problem:
Remove from the drawing all intermediate sketches, elaboration elements, and so on. Often users forget to remove their drafts from finished files, get rid of them. Also remove geometry that might be mistakenly away from the main part of the drawing.
Solution:
Unfreeze all layers, run the command show all(double click on the mouse wheel). If there is distant geometry in the drawing, you will immediately be able to see it. Use Select All (Ctrl+A) to select all drawing objects. After you select all objects, hold down the key Shift and select the objects you need. Remove everything else you don't need. Be careful! Team Choose all selects objects that lie on disabled layers, so you will delete any objects that you can't see in the current state of the drawing, but that you might need.
2. Find and remove all invisible objects
Description of the problem:
Empty invisible objects such as points, empty lines, hidden empty block attributes, invisible faces of 3D objects, groups and masks can occur in drawings. They take up disk space and take time to process them - feel free to delete them!
Solution:
- To search for hidden points, change their appearance with the command DIALTOCH(_DDPTYPE), they will become visible
- To remove empty lines, assign to a variable QTEXTMODE value 1. In this case, all lines will be displayed as an empty frame, even empty ones. Don't forget to return the value of the variable to 0.
- To display hidden attributes, enter the command ATECR (_ATTDISP) and select the Enable option. In this case, all attributes, even hidden ones, will be displayed on the screen. Delete unnecessary ones. Be careful! The required information can be stored in hidden attributes.
- To display hidden edges and faces of 3D objects, set to a variable SPLFRAME value 1. Delete unnecessary elements, such as control polygons for spirals, hidden edges of faces and meshes, etc.
- Launch the group manager with the command GROUP (_GROUP) or CLASSICGROUP (_CLASSICGROUP) and delete unwanted groups
- To search for invisible masking objects, turn on their frames with the command TFRAMES from Express Tools or set the value of a variable WIPEOUTFRAME= 1 and remove unnecessary ones.
3. Remove repeating geometry, overlapping lines, arcs and polylines
Description of the problem:
While drawing and modifying a drawing, overlapping lines, repeating objects, and other unnecessary objects often occur. They are not visually visible, but in reality there are many of them in each drawing. Clear the drawing of unnecessary graphic debris.
Solution:
Use command OVERKILL (_OVERKILL) to remove duplicate or overlapping lines, arcs, and polylines. In addition, the command merges partially overlapping or adjacent elements.
4. Remove Unused Layers
Description of the problem:
Often in the drawings there are layers on which there is nothing. Delete them. If the layer is not deleted, then there is something on it, or it is frozen in some kind of viewport. Check the layer status in all viewports, very often it is not possible to delete an empty layer precisely because it is frozen in the viewport.
Solution:
- Use command LAYERED (_LAYMRG) to merge layers. After merging, the empty layer is removed from the drawing
- To delete a layer that has objects, use the command LAYDEL (_LAYDEL).
- To see if layers are being used, set the variable SHOWLAYERUSAGE set to 1. In this case, the layer list will display icons indicating whether layers are being used. Important! Don't forget to disable display as it slows down the system.
5. Remove Unused Layer Filters
Description of the problem:
Delete unused layer filters. Even if you previously deleted unnecessary layers, the filters in which they appeared will remain.
Solution:
Run command FILTERS (_FILTERS) and remove unnecessary filters.
6. Remove unused and redundant visual styles
Description of the problem:
Almost every drawing has unused text, dimension, table styles, multileader, multiline, section, detail, and print styles. Get rid of them. Be careful, you may delete a style that is a corporate template setting and may come in handy in the future!
Solution:
To remove unused styles, use the command PURGE(_PURGE)
7. Remove unused blocks, linetypes, shapes, etc.
Solution:
To remove unused objects, also use the command PURGE(_PURGE). Starting with AutoCAD 2015, this command also allows you to remove groups, empty text lines, and data that came from DGN files (from Bentley's Microstation system). If you have AutoCAD earlier than 2015, use the AutoCAD DGN Hotfix utility for versions 2013 and 2014, or third-party utilities to remove junk from DGN files.
8. Check the file for errors
Description of the problem:
Check the drawing database for errors
Solution:
To check use the command CHECK(_AUDIT). If errors are found in the file, then use the restore drawing command RECOVER (_RECOVER) to correct them.
9. Delete the creation history of 3D solids
Description of the problem:
When constructing three-dimensional bodies in AutoCAD, it is possible to save the history of their construction (system variable SOLIDHIST). However, these data greatly "weight" the drawing and slow down the work. Delete the history if you don't plan to edit the bodies.
Solution:
You can do this with the command BREP (_BREP), it allows you to remove the history from 3D and composite solids, as well as unassociatize surfaces.
10. Delete data about registered applications
Description of the problem:
If you received a file created in some "vertical" AutoCAD, for example, AutoCAD Mechanical, then it may contain data about this program. Delete this data, it takes up space and slows down the file.
Solution:
To delete data about registered applications, enter the command -PURGE (-_PURGE), select an option REGAPPS (_REGAPPS) and press Enter. If the team finds data about registered applications, it will issue a request for their removal.
11. Remove Geometric and Dimensional Constraints
Description of the problem:
When building parametric sketches and drawings, users create geometric and dimensional constraints. If you don't need parameterization in a given drawing, then you can remove these dependencies.
Solution:
Use command DELCONSTRAIN (_DELCONSTRAIN), it allows you to remove all geometric and dimensional constraints from a set of objects.
12. Remove unused proxy primitives and proxy objects
Description of the problem:
If the drawing was created using third-party applications under AutoCAD, or in "vertical" AutoCAD, then it will contain many proxy primitives, some of which are hidden. Proxy primitives are used in AutoCAD and other applications instead of third-party objects created with the ObjectARX application when the latter is not available. Later, when the application becomes available, proxy primitives and proxy objects are replaced by third-party objects.
Solution:
Assign to a variable PROXYSHOW value 2, then all proxy primitives will be displayed as a bounding box. Delete unnecessary ones. The deletion process is described in more detail in Alexey Kulik's document in paragraph 5, I will not repeat it.
13. Remove unused scales
Description of the problem:
When working with annotative objects, the user creates many annotation scales, some of which eventually turn out to be unused. Delete the extra ones.
Solution:
Use command -SCALELISTEDIT (-_SCALELISTEDIT), select an option Delete and enter *. All unused scales will be deleted.
14. Clear your location data
Description of the problem:
In modern versions of AutoCAD, it is possible to include geolocation data in a drawing so that it can be tied to a specific location on the map. Delete your location data if you don't plan to use it.
Solution:
Use command UDALGEO (_GEOREMOVE) to remove all geographic location information from a drawing file.
15. Don't mindlessly dismember blocks
Description of the problem:
I often meet users who, at the first opportunity, dismember blocks in other people's drawings, motivating this by the fact that no one knows what is in these blocks and how they are made, and dismembered geometry can be adjusted easily and quickly, without fear of spoiling the entire drawing when changing block. On the one hand, everything is correct, because when changing the block, you can choose the wrong base point, for example, in which case all occurrences of the block will change and the drawing will become unusable. On the other hand, blocks save a lot of memory - if there are 10 primitives in one block and this block is inserted 100 times, then you will work with 110 primitives. If all these blocks are divided, then you will have to work with 1000 primitives, each of which has a bunch of parameters. Therefore, do not rush to mindlessly dismember all the blocks.
Solution:
If you really need to make changes to the block, copy it to a new file, experiment with it, and then make changes to the original file.
Separate story - dynamic blocks. You need to be doubly careful with them, since their dismemberment is almost guaranteed to lead to file corruption.
16. Flatten your drawing
Description of the problem:
Often a drawing contains three-dimensional objects. If the user has top view turned on, then he simply will not see these objects and will be snapped to 3D objects when drawing. The result is not a drawing, but a set of spatial objects that have different coordinates along the Z axis. To avoid this situation, it is necessary to make a flat drawing. Such drawings can "exit" from programs that work with three-dimensional objects, for example, floor plans from AutoCAD Architecture, topographic survey results from AutoCAD Civil 3D. Checking a drawing for 3D objects is easy - rotate it using the 3D Orbit or ViewCube.
Solution:
Use command FLATTEN from the Express Tools package. When using the tool FLATTEN a 2D representation of the selected objects is created and projected onto the current view plane. The result of the work are 2D objects, where possible, retaining the original layers, line types, colors and object types. This will allow you to avoid creating a drawing with binding of primitives to three-dimensional objects.
In addition, you can select all geometric objects and use the Properties window to set the value of the Z coordinate to 0.
Conclusion
All of the listed cleaning and file preparation techniques can be useful to users in their daily activities when it is necessary to clean up DWG files. In reality, of course, there is no need to use all these methods at the same time, it is enough to apply several.
If you want to automatically clear the file, then use the program from Alexey Kulik aka kpblc. Read more about it on his blog at the link.
UPD: added the deletion of geolocation data to the post and corrected the point about deleting unused geometry. Thanks to colleagues Alexey Kulik, Evgeny Elpanov, Alexander Rivilis and Neybosha Novkovich for help and tips. Thanks friends!
Quite often, users are interested in how to remove AutoCAD completely from a computer. It would seem that there is nothing difficult or special in the process. But actually it is not. Normal removal does not bring any significant result. Accordingly, if there were any failures and malfunctions during the initial installation, they will not be fixed. It is important to know how to get rid of the application completely. Especially if you want to start using the new version of AutoCAD. Cleaning up from a previous build helps resolve software conflicts on your computer. This means that the program will work in full force. So what should you pay attention to? How to get rid of said application?
Why Problems Occur
To begin with, it is worth figuring out why there is a problem with uninstalling programs in general. The thing is that some computer applications are installed on a computer with features. What are we talking about?
Different software can install its own folders on the system partition. Those that are needed for the normal functioning of programs. They are usually hidden. And AutoCAD is no exception. Normal deletion removes only the main folders and files. And those that were hidden remain. Accordingly, the uninstallation is not complete. That is why you will have to think about how to properly get rid of this application. In fact, everything is much simpler than it seems.
Standard delete
How to delete "Autocad" completely from the computer? The first stage is known to all. This is a standard removal of an installed program. Without this feature, it will not be possible to fully realize the idea. 
It is possible as follows:
- Open the start menu.
- Click on "All Programs". In the menu that appears, you will have to find the AutoCAD folder. It needs to be opened.
- Among all the functions that appear, select
- Wait for the process to finish following the instructions of the uninstaller.
Only after that it will be possible to think further about deleting the application. It doesn't matter which AutoCAD version. The main thing is that the uninstallation is the same.
Analogue of standard deletion
And here is another trick that will help you remove the program without much difficulty. But this is just the standard method. It helps a lot when you don't want to use the "All Programs" menu item. You can bring your idea to life through a special Windows service. More precisely, through the "Control Panel".
How to completely remove "Autocad 2013" from a computer? To do this in the standard way, you need:
- Open "Start" and select "Control Panel" there.
- Find and run Required to select "Uninstall".
- Wait. After a few minutes, a list with all installed software will appear on the screen. You need to find AutoCAD there.
- Select the corresponding line, left-click on it and select the "Delete" function.
- Follow the instructions of the uninstaller. It is advisable to remember the path where the application was installed.
Accordingly, this technique helps the standard removal. What's next? The process does not end there. Now you need to remove hidden files and folders from "AutoCAD". Otherwise, the uninstallation process cannot be called 100% complete. 
Discovering the hidden
You will first need to enable the display of hidden documents on your computer. Otherwise, AutoCAD will not be completely uninstalled. No matter how hard the user tries, it will not work to bring the idea to life.
So, in Windows 7 (and newer versions), enabling the display of hidden documents follows the following principle:
- You need to open the "Explorer" and hold down the Alt button. An additional menu will appear on the window panel.
- Select in the appeared line "Tools" - "Folder Options ...".
- Go to the "View" tab. Here you need to find "Show hidden files and folders". A tick is placed next to the corresponding inscription.
- Confirm changes.
After that, you can proceed to more decisive action. Now it will turn out to fully understand how to remove "Autocad" completely from the computer. It is enough to get rid of the hidden files and folders of the program, as well as clean the system registry. 
Folders
It is worth starting from the first point. Otherwise it won't give any results. It will not pass in full, it will be necessary to repeat the process again in the future. It is required, as already mentioned, to get rid of folders "AutoCAD". They can be manually detected. To do this, you can visit the following sections on your computer:
- The location where the program was originally installed. It is likely that some documents remained after uninstallation where they appeared as a result of installing the application.
- Local drive C/ProgramData. There should be an AutoDesk folder there. It contains AutoCAD.
- The Program Files folder on the system partition of the hard drive. There will also be "Autodesk", and in it AutoCAD.
- AppData on drive C. It is located in the folder with the username. From "AppData" you need to go to Local and open the "Autodesk" folder.
- By analogy with the previous place, it is required to find Roaming in AppData. It contains AutoDesk-AutoCAD.
You can completely remove AutoCAD ("Windows 10" or any other version - not so important) by deleting the specified final folders. To do this, they are highlighted with the cursor, Shift and Del are pressed on the keyboard. The user must agree to the permanent deletion. As a last resort, you can put the specified components in the basket, and then empty it.
Registry
But that's not all! Get rid of "AutoCAD" of any version is not so easy! Now you need to work a little with the registry of the operating system. The application being studied leaves its documents and files there after deletion. You can get rid of them both manually and with the help of programs. It is better to stop on the second variant. 
Required:
- Manually delete content In the document search menu, write %Temp%.
- Install Ccleaner. After the end of the process, the program starts.
- On the left side of the screen, tick off as many checkpoints as possible. Special attention is paid to the registry and system files, including hidden ones.
- Click on "Analysis", then - on "Cleaning". The registry will be scanned and cleaned accordingly.
Basically, that's all. Now it's clear how to remove "Autocad" completely from the computer. This algorithm of actions is suitable for any version of the application. In fact, with the right preparation, everything is not as difficult as it seems.
Working with blocks is one of the key advantages of using AutoCAD, which greatly simplifies the construction of projects. But after preparing the drawing, the question becomes reasonable, how to delete the block in AutoCAD if it is not used in the project.
How to remove blocks in AutoCAD.
After all, unnecessary definitions seriously affect the overall file size. Therefore, it is logical to want to optimize the project by getting rid of unnecessary ones. Our instructions will allow you to achieve this effect in a matter of minutes.
Why blocks are needed in AutoCAD - the main advantages of work
They can rightly be considered the crowning achievement of automated drawing in AutoCAD. In fact, they are a single object, which is created on the basis of primitives.
How to remove unused blocks in AutoCAD - a simple procedure
To remove an entry in the drawing (links), the standard method is quite suitable. To do this, select the required block and press Delete. Or you can use the "Delete" command. But in this case, we need to take into account one detail that is dangerous for us - the definition itself will still be saved in the file. Therefore, it will continue to be on the list, taking up additional space.
It would seem logical to assume that the AutoCAD Block Editor can help us in this case. But, after experimenting with this tool, we were able to absolutely make sure that it is not capable of solving the problem.
But this is not the time to be upset - there are other more effective ways. In particular, you can use the PURGE command to remove unnecessary definitions. Although there is a snag here - to be sure that this command is actually executed correctly, you need to make sure that there are no block occurrences in the graphics space. Therefore, they will be removed in several stages - first of all, we get rid of the blocks in our drawing. Next, go to the "Applications" menu, here we select "Utilities", then click "Clear".
Although, if desired, you can also use the command line, specifying here for a similar command: AutoCAD Utilities operations - Clear. The opened dialog box "Drawing Cleanup" allows the user to see in more detail the tree of all named objects, which we can proceed to delete. To clear unused blocks from the entire drawing at once, use the "BLOCKS" section.
If you need to delete only individual objects, then double-click on the "Blocks" element with the left mouse button. A general list of blocks will appear, from which it remains to select the ones necessary for deletion.
