Goal: extract BOM information from a DWG to excel.

I have been using the _DDATTEXT command with no luck. (This command is unrecognized in Draftsight Free current version)

I need to talk with a guru on a template file to extract comma delimited format information from a BOM that is on a legacy DWG drawing.

from help "Before you can use this command with the SDF or CDF options, you must first create a template file" . . . "A template file is a simple ASCII text file that contains the following format codes:

C Character (A - Z)

D Digit (0 - 9)

F Width of field (000 - 999)

P Decimal places (.0 - .999)"

Please help as I don't currently understand how a template file is written.