AutoLISP tip to find nested block information

How to find the layer of a block that is nested? This was a question I got. This can be useful if the entities in the blocks are on layer 0 and you really want the layer the nested block is inserted on but not the parent block. The key is to use nentsel.

(defun c:FindLayer (/ Ent)
  (setq Ent (nentsel "\nPick object: "))
  (princ (strcat "\nLayer: " (if (cadddr Ent) (cdr (assoc 8 (entget (car (cadddr Ent))))) (cdr (assoc 8 (entget (car Ent)))))))
  (princ)
)

Here is from the help about nentsel.

Prompts the user to select an object (entity) by specifying a point, and provides access to the definition data contained within a complex object

    (nentsel [msg])

The nentsel function prompts the user to select an object. The current Object Snap mode is ignored unless the user specifically requests it. To provide additional support at the Command prompt, nentsel honors keywords defined by a previous call to initget.

Arguments

msg
A string to be displayed as a prompt. If the msg argument is omitted, the Select Object prompt is issued.

Return Values

When the selected object is not complex (that is, not a 3D polyline or block), nentsel returns the same information as entsel. However, if the selected object is a 3D polyline, nentsel returns a list containing the name of the subentity (vertex) and the pick point. This is similar to the list returned by entsel, except that the name of the selected vertex is returned instead of the polyline header. The nentsel function always returns the starting vertex of the selected 3D polyline segment. Picking the third segment of the polyline, for example, returns the third vertex. The Seqend subentity is never returned by nentsel for a 3D polyline.

Note: A lightweight polyline (lwpolyline entity) is defined in the drawing database as a single entity; it does not contain subentities.

Selecting an attribute within a block reference returns the name of the attribute and the pick point. When the selected object is a component of a block reference other than an attribute, nentsel returns a list containing four elements.

The first element of the list returned from picking an object within a block is the selected entity's name.

The second element is a list containing the coordinates of the point used to pick the object.

The third element is called the Model to World Transformation Matrix. It is a list consisting of four sublists, each of which contains a set of coordinates. This matrix can be used to transform the entity definition data points from an internal coordinate system called the Model Coordinate System (MCS), to the World Coordinate System (WCS). The insertion point of the block that contains the selected entity defines the origin of the MCS. The orientation of the UCS when the block is created determines the direction of the MCS axes.

Note: nentsel is the only AutoLISP function that uses a matrix of this type; the nentselp function returns a matrix similar to those used by other AutoLISP and ObjectARX functions.

The fourth element is a list containing the entity name of the block that contains the selected object. If the selected object is in a nested block (a block within a block), the list also contains the entity names of all blocks in which the selected object is nested, starting with the innermost block and continuing outward until the name of the block that was inserted in the drawing is reported.

For information about converting MCS coordinates to WCS, see the Entity Context and Coordinate Transform Data topic in Using AutoLISP to Manipulate AutoCAD Objects in the AutoLISP Developer's Guide.

Examples

Draw a 3D polyline with multiple line segments; then load and run the following function and select different segments of the line. Pick off the line and then pick the same segments again to see the subentity handle. Try it with a lightweight polyline to see the difference.

(defun c:subent ()
(while  
(setq Ent (entsel "\nPick an entity: "))
(print (strcat "Entity handle is: "
(cdr (assoc 5 (entget (car Ent))))))
)
(while  
(setq Ent (nentsel "\nPick an entity or subEntity: "))
(print (strcat "Entity or subEntity handle is:  "
(cdr (assoc 5 (entget (car Ent))))))
)
(prompt "\nDone.")
(princ)
)