Global File Changer - How can I delete a cell by its name in multiple files?

Global File Changer - How can I delete a cell by its name in multiple files?


This article walks you through selecting and deleting cells by name in multiple files.

Attached to this article is a KEY file and an SEL file that Global File Changer uses to perform this operation. The KEY file contains commands that MicroStation executes. The SEL file identifies which elements those commands are applied to.

  1. Save the provided Delete-Named-Cell.key and Select-Named-Cell.sel files to a convenient location.
  2. Open the KEY file with Notepad.
    a. Locate D:\Axiom\, and replace it with the path where you saved Select-Named-Cell.sel in step 1.
    b. Save and exit when complete.
  3. Load Global File Changer.

  1. Go to Settings | Restore Factory Defaults…, and press <Yes> when prompted.
    This is a precaution to ensure there are no other features or settings active that might impact your result.
  2. Next to the Design Files: field, press the <Select...> button.
  3. Either drag and drop your files into the Choose Files to Process dialog box, or navigate to and select your files for processing. Press <OK> when finished.

  1. Next to the Key-in File: field press <Select...>, then navigate to and select the Delete-Named-Cell.key file saved previously.
  2. Go to Selection | Element selection…
  3. In the Element Selection dialog box, go to File | Open…, then navigate to and select the Select-Named-Cell.sel file.

  1. Under Element types, press the small black arrow next to the word Cell.

  1. From the Cell Attributes dialog box:
    a. In the Cell Name field, enter the name of the cell you want to select for deletion.
    b. Press Tab on your keyboard to activate the <Add> button, then press <Add>.
    (Repeat steps a & b for each additional cell you want to select for deletion.)
    c. Select the line containing the placeholder cell name “000002”, then press <Remove>.
    d. When finished press <OK> to return to the Element Selection box.
  2. Go to File | Save to save your changes, then press <OK> to return to the main dialog box.
  3. Press <Start> to process your files.

When the process is complete, all instances of your specified cells will be deleted in all processed files.