How to draw rectangle in AutoCAD from Excel

Are you looking to streamline your drafting process? This tutorial demonstrates how to send commands from Microsoft Excel to AutoCAD using VBA. Below is a simple script that reads dimensions from your Excel sheet and automatically draws a polyline rectangle in AutoCAD.

This is a perfect starting point for structural engineers or surveyors looking to automate beam sections, plot boundaries, or layout drafting.

The VBA Code

Copy and paste the code below into a standard module in your Excel VBA Editor.

Note: This code uses “Late Binding,” so you do not need to manually add AutoCAD references to your Excel tools—it just works!

  
 Option Explicit 
    Sub DrawRectange() 
        Dim AutocadApp As Object
        Dim SectionCoord(0 To 9) As Double 
        Dim Topbar As Integer 
        Dim BottomBar As Integer 
        Dim Cover As Integer 
        Dim Rectang As Object 
        Dim ActDoc As Object 
        Dim InsertP(2) As Double
        Dim CirObj As Object 
        Dim i As Long
        '****** Launch Autocad application**** 
        On Error Resume Next 
          Set AutocadApp = GetObject(, "Autocad.application") 
        On Error GoTo 0 
        If AutocadApp Is Nothing Then 
             Set AutocadApp = CreateObject("Autocad.application")
             AutocadApp.Visible = True 
        End If 
         ''****Read Input**** 
          SectionCoord(0) = 0: SectionCoord(1) = 0 
          SectionCoord(2) = ActiveSheet.Range("f5").Value: SectionCoord(3) = 0 
          SectionCoord(4) = ActiveSheet.Range("f5").Value: SectionCoord(5) = ActiveSheet.Range("f6").Value 
          SectionCoord(6) = 0: SectionCoord(7) = ActiveSheet.Range("f6").Value 
          SectionCoord(8) = 0: SectionCoord(9) = 0 
        
        Topbar = ActiveSheet.Range("f8").Value 
        BottomBar = ActiveSheet.Range("f9").Value 
        Cover = ActiveSheet.Range("f10").Value 
        ''****Draw rectangle**** 
        Set ActDoc = AutocadApp.ActiveDocument 
       If ActDoc Is Nothing Then 
           Set ActDoc = AutocadApp.Documents.Add 
       End If 
      Set Rectang = ActDoc.ModelSpace.AddLightWeightPolyline(SectionCoord)
           AutocadApp.ZoomExtents 
        Set AutocadApp = Nothing 
        Set ActDoc = Nothing 
        Set Rectang = Nothing 
  End Sub

How to Use This Program

1. Prepare Excel:

   • Open a new Excel Workbook.

   • Enter the Width of your rectangle in cell F5.

   • Enter the Height/Depth of your rectangle in cell F6.

2. Open VBA:

   • Press ALT + F11 to open the VBA Editor.

   • Go to Insert > Module.

   • Paste the code provided above into the window.

3. Run the Script:

   • Click anywhere inside the code and press F5 (or click the Green Play button).

   • AutoCAD will open (or activate), and your rectangle will be drawn automatically!

Watch video tutorial HERE ON YouTube

See beam detailing from Excel here

See this post on how to draw beam section in AutoCAD from Excel here