Requesting Information

[Scummy007]

Greetings all,

I have moved from Microstation to Autocad because of my new job. I have a basic understating of how Autocad operates but some of the features are a little out of my reach so far.

If i could be pointed in the direction of some indepth tutorials for page/layout space and how to create a1-a3 title blocks that i can use as templates for all my drawings it would be most appriciated.

Coming from Microstation these things are very comfusing to me and im having a little trouble getting my head around it. But all in all Autocad seems so far to be able to do the things im asking it, just seems to be i dont know half of the right questions.

Cheers.

[azzro10]

heres a quick little paperspace exercise toget you started n theres thousands more online just google autocad tutorials.

http://www.cadtutor.net/tutorials/autocad/paper-space-exercise.php

[Scummy007]

Ahhh thanks for that. Ive read through that tute before i posted. What im after is a way to create a title block that i can import into each paper space.

I only want to make 1 A1 and 1 A3 title block so there is a standard for all drawings we put out. I have the design of the title block im just after a way to make it a template that can be imported from a "standards" libary style of thing.

[Dipali]

Ahhh thanks for that. Ive read through that tute before i posted. What im after is a way to create a title block that i can import into each paper space.

I only want to make 1 A1 and 1 A3 title block so there is a standard for all drawings we put out. I have the design of the title block im just after a way to make it a template that can be imported from a "standards" libary style of thing.

Here is the copy of some advice on some other thread. I don't remeber where it came from, but i have the habbit of saving useful info when i find in a word document, so i extracted the info from there.




"if you use titleblocks a lot, try creating a drawing with a title block already set in Paperspace, then do a Save As and save it as a template (which is a *.dwt file). I don't know your work style, but if you do this then never again will you have to import a title block. Just start a drawing from a Template and chose it, then it's there every time."

"Type STARTUP at the command line, and set it to 1. This will change the way you start a new drawing. It will give you a dialog box with some options."

"Check insbase or base it should be 0,0,0"



"Just start a new empty drawing, don't start with an existing one, start with a brand new one and set up everything exactly the way you want it. When you are finished, perform a "SaveAs" and choose Autocad Drawing Template (*.dwt) from the "Files of Type" list box in the SaveAs dialog. This will create a drawing template that you will be able to use every time you start a new drawing. Save it into the default directory that appears in the dialog window after you select the .dwt format and name the file appropriately so that you will recognize it when you need to use it."

"After you create the template file, go to your File menu, select New and choose your template file from the list."

[Cad64]

:geek: Hmmmm, that looks vaguely familiar: http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19355&highlight=template

I don't agree with the part about putting your title block inside the template though. It's much better to xref the title block into your drawing's. That way, any change to the title block xref updates all drawings that contain it.

[Dipali]

:geek: Hmmmm, that looks vaguely familiar: http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19355&highlight=template

I don't agree with the part about putting your title block inside the template though. It's much better to xref the title block into your drawing's. That way, any change to the title block xref updates all drawings that contain it.

Yes, I agree. I also work that way. I creat title block for each project in that project folder bcs i keep clients detail(name,adress,type of project) etc. in the titleblock. so everytime i start a new project i save as my title block & put all that info in the file & than x-ref it to tproject files. I also likes to include date & north block in title block drawing of the project. :roll:

But the original poster had ask for it - how to make template file of the titleblock.:glare:

[Strix]

so hang on a sec

if you x-ref the title block in, you can't send individual drawings off to clients or whoever? or do you send the drawing plus something else?

(ok, I'm being blonde, but I've never had to use x-refs so don't know)

[azzro10]

we xref our title blocks in, so if we ever have to send drawings we need to include the title block drawing file as well, or if its only a couple of drawings just bind the xref.
its simple now u can use etransmittle

[Strix]

we xref our title blocks in, so if we ever have to send drawings we need to include the title block drawing file as well, or if its only a couple of drawings just bind the xref.
its simple now u can use etransmittle
I need to know more about xrefs I think - they sound rather useful :)

no idea what anybody's going to make of the drawings they get afterwards though :twisted:

[azzro10]

Our drawings wouldnt be managable without them

[Strix]

I'm not sure how useful they'd be in electrical drawings, but I imagine they could save a heck of a lot of time for some things :?

[azzro10]

Yeh dont think they would be useful at all for electrical drawings, we us them mainly for surveys n site layouts

[Strix]

sometimes we have site layouts to do, but they are rarely complex enough to need more than one drawing

[Noahma]

:geek: Hmmmm, that looks vaguely familiar: http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19355&highlight=template

I don't agree with the part about putting your title block inside the template though. It's much better to xref the title block into your drawing's. That way, any change to the title block xref updates all drawings that contain it.

completely agree, We would have HUGE problems in our office if we had to manually change each Title block

[Noahma]

so hang on a sec

if you x-ref the title block in, you can't send individual drawings off to clients or whoever? or do you send the drawing plus something else?

(ok, I'm being blonde, but I've never had to use x-refs so don't know)

if you need to send a drawing to a client, make a different file and bind the title block into the file. works like a charm

[Dipali]

I'm not sure how useful they'd be in electrical drawings, but I imagine they could save a heck of a lot of time for some things :?


Absolutely,
You can use x-ref for attaching base architectural drawings & titleblock drawing. you can also use it for any symbole legend, standard notes, keynotes which you need to repeat in multiple sheets. that way u need to update them only once when there is a change.8)

while learning how to use x-ref, use to learn relative paths, it is very important feature of it.

On the side note, this thread is turning into x-ref thread & those guys who r against it r going to jump at us who support it. :lol:
Lately i have experinced that many threads change subjects during the discussions. we need to think about it. may be we can start new thread when we r deviting from original subject of the thread.

[azzro10]

the topic has definatly change and people are posting the same thing over and over i think we all know what xref can be used for now

[Alan Cullen]

I'm sitting here trying to find anything at all to do besides work. So here's another way, the way we do it.

We bring the standard title sheet into model space as a block, then explode it, and remove all the title info that changes from drawing to drawing (drawing title, drawn by, date, drawing number, all that sort of stuff).

Then we write what's left out to BLOCK as "a1sheet". Then in the layout tabs we insert "a1sheet", with lower left corner at 0,0. Then insert and change the missing bits (drawing title, drawn by, date, drawing number, all that sort of stuff) as required.

No mucking around with xrefs.

Then if we ever have to change anything, like the client info, we use BEDIT, and all the instances of the block are changed. Everything is done within the drawing, so the drawing trully is "stand alone".

[SLW210]

Our Title Blocks are inserted as Blocks with Attributes.

[Scummy007]

Okie Dokie, first off thanks for all the ideas peoples, very handy.

Second, this is what i have come to do after a week of getting the feel of things.

i made a new DWG with my title block in it, made a block out of that.
its all the correct sizing for the layouts and has a bunch of mumbo jumbo in the title bar that can be later changed.

Make a new drawing go to the layout space, import the title block in, explode it so i can edit the text to suit the new set of drawings.

Dosent matter if the block gets exploded because i dont do any drawing at all in layout space, its all in paper space. So there is no chance of annoying undoings unless i have some serious trouble editing text ;)

I find this way works well because i have a blocked title block for each paper size A1-A4 wich now can be easily changed to suit any job i need it for.

[JD Mather]

... explode it so i can edit the text to suit the new set of drawings...

F1
attributes

[SLW210]

F1 attributes

I agree, if you are going to make it a block, make the text Attributes, no need to explode.