How-To Guide

How to Update Title Blocks in Multiple AutoCAD Drawings at Once

Published June 2026 | Updated October 2026 | 74mph Solutions

The client changed its name on Tuesday. The set goes out Friday. 300 drawings still say the old name in the title block. So you open the first one, double-click the block, fix the field, save, close. Then the next one. On sheet 212 you find out sheet 48 still has the old name.

At 30 seconds a drawing, 300 drawings is two and a half hours, and that is if nothing goes wrong.

Hurricane's Title-Block Update Wizard changes the field in every drawing in one run. You set it up once, click Create and Run, and AutoCAD works through the whole set without you.

300 drawings. By hand: 2.5 hours at best, one title block at a time. With Hurricane: set it up once, one run, every sheet done.

Updating a whole drawing set?

Change every title block in one run.
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How AutoCAD Title Block Attributes Work

Most title blocks are blocks with attributes. Each field (project name, client, drawing number, revision, drawn by) is an attribute with a tag, like PROJ_NAME or CLIENT, and a value. To change a value by hand, you open the drawing, edit the block, save and close. One drawing at a time.

Without Hurricane: What AutoCAD Gives You

If your title blocks were built with Sheet Set Manager fields, change the sheet set property and the fields update. Most title blocks were not built that way, and older projects almost never are. For plain attributed blocks, AutoCAD has no command that edits one block across many closed drawings. You open each one.

With Hurricane: the Title-Block Update Wizard

Step 1

Add the drawings. Drag the project folder into Hurricane's file list. It can scan subfolders too.

Step 2

Map the title block once. Open Wizards > Title-Block Update Wizard. Enter the block name (select the block in AutoCAD and type LIST to see it), then give each attribute you want to change its new value. Save the setup as a template for the next project.

Step 3

Test on a few drawings. Run it on two or three drawings, then open them and check the title block.

Step 4

Create and Run. Hurricane opens each drawing, updates the title block, saves and moves to the next. Walk away, or start it overnight with Night Run.

Change as many attributes as you like in the same run: project name, client and revision all at once.

The Script the Wizard Writes

The wizard writes a plain AutoCAD .scr script, so nothing is hidden. You can read it, keep it, and reuse it on the next project. This one sets the date, sheet number, total sheets, file name and "drawn by" fields of a title block named TB:

(LOAD "C:/PROGRAM FILES/HURRICANE/LISP/TB_WIZ1.LSP")
TB_WIZ1
TB
DATE
$DATE$
TB_WIZ1
TB
S
$SHEET$
TB_WIZ1
TB
SH_TOT
45
TB_WIZ1
TB
FNAME
$FILENAME$
TB_WIZ1
TB
DRAWNBY
$TAG5$

Each group is one attribute: the routine, the block name, the attribute tag, the new value. The $DATE$ , $SHEET$ and $FILENAME$ TAGS are filled in per drawing when Hurricane builds the script, so every sheet gets its own number and file name. There is no QSAVE at the end: Hurricane adds the save (or a Save As) to every drawing itself. For more on scripts, see the AutoCAD Scripts (.scr) Guide.

Test before you batch: title blocks are not all built the same. Block names, attribute tags and settings differ between offices, projects and AutoCAD versions, so run the job on a few drawings (or copies) first and check the result.

Keep the Originals Untouched

Want the updated set in a new folder and the old one left alone? Tick SAVEAS and pick the target folder. Hurricane saves each updated drawing there and closes the original without saving. This is how you start a new project from an old one: see New Project From an Old One.

Common Jobs

Client or company name change. One field, every drawing in the project, one run.
New revision on the whole set. Same letter, description and date on every sheet.
New project number. Usually together with a new folder, using SAVEAS.
Drawn by, checked by, approved by. When the team changes hands mid-project.
A different value per sheet. Sheet number, file name or date, from TAGS.

From a Hurricane user:

"A project required the drawing borders to be removed and replaced with an updated border on 8,000 drawings. A script was written with help from Hurricane support to automate the process and all the drawings were processed successfully." Simon R. Halmshaw

To check the whole set instead of a sample, scan the folder with Tornado DWG Scanner. Its title-block attribute check pulls the values from every drawing into one spreadsheet, so a missed revision or an old client name stands out at a glance.

Title Block FAQ

Can I update a title block in AutoCAD LT?

Yes, in AutoCAD LT 2024 and later. The wizard uses AutoLISP, which LT supports from 2024. In older LT versions Hurricane switches its LISP features off.

Does it update title blocks on layout tabs?

Yes. It changes every copy of the named block in the drawing, in model space and on every layout.

My title block is plain text, not a block. Can I still batch it?

Yes. Use the Search and Replace Text Wizard. It finds a text string in every drawing and replaces it.

Can each drawing get its own sheet number or file name?

Yes. Put a TAG such as $SHEET$ or $FILENAME$ in the field and Hurricane fills it in per drawing. See TAGS.

Will it change my original drawings?

By default each drawing is updated and saved in place, so test on a few copies first. Tick SAVEAS to write the updated drawings to another folder and leave the originals untouched.

Do I need to install anything inside AutoCAD?

No. Hurricane is a stand-alone Windows program that writes the batch script and runs it in AutoCAD. It is not a plug-in or add-in.

Friday's set goes out with the right name on every sheet.

Trusted by CAD professionals since 2003. Capterra 4.6/5.

Try Hurricane free: no time limit, no credit card. Works with AutoCAD 2026 and all prior versions. The Title-Block Update Wizard needs full AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT 2024 and later.

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