How Shall i be naming my drawings?

Instead of me giving random description names, what might you suggest for naming templates, in order to stay organized and tactical?

How do you people name your drawings. Any especial name coding preference?

Its usually based upon what information you need shown, or the type or work you do. That should be your primary determining factor.

Dates, project names or revision numbers are usually good. Also look at folder naming in conjunction with file naming. Folders can have submission dates in the name, while .dwg files can have sheet and project numbers in their file names.

Again, its entirely up to your company's needs.

I use a simple coding of

First two characters are company initials

Next two are for current year

Next three are sequential numbering

So first project of 2009 is GE09001. Folder will use this name as well to store project info, drawings, etc.

Drawings will be name GE09001A01, GE09001M01, etc.

I'm surprised this hasn't garnered more debate

There are as many ways as there are firms, I suppose.

At my last corporate architecture firm, we always started the file name with the job number and then the sheet name.

This was before xrefs became the norm.

I currently use the following system to keep track of projects and files ...

Root Directory = City Name

Directory = Project Name

Subdirectories for all other stuff ... Draw for drawings ... so

Mineral Wells/Baker/Draw ... before I even name files

then ...

MP-00.dwg through MP-17.dwg are the plan model files while ME-01.dwg is all the exterior elevation models and MIE-01 is all the interior elevations.

All architectural floor plan, demolition, reflected ceiling plan information is in this one file ... ALL of it.

Repetitive elements such as elevator cores and stair cores are sometimes used to register all the floors together and they then become ... VE00.dwg or VS00.dwg ... sometimes are combined

I do not redraw repetitive floor plans ... in the case of the Baker there are M00.dwg through M06.dwg files and then M12.dwg is the next file as 6 through 11 are the same.

These model files are xrefed into text files that use the scale factor to denote their scale ... MP-00-text96.dwg is a 1/8 inch plan sheet file, while MP-00-text48.dwg is an enlarged plan using the same model file.

The text files are all built from the same master that has a window in it matching the paperspace window so all plan register one on top of each other on the sheets ... I'm demented, what can I say ...

The resulting text files are xrefed into a blank file in model space that has the sheet border xrefed into it in paperspace. This file is named PLT-A0100.dwg in the case of the basement plan I used in the balance of the example above.

On an entirely separate debate ...

D0100.dwg = demo plan / basement

A0100.dwg = floor plan / basement

A0700.dwg = reflected ceiling plan / basement

S0100.dwg = floor plan / structural

M0100.dwg = mech floor plan / basement

P0100.dwg = plumbing floor plan / basement

EL0100.dwg = electrical lighting plan / basement

EP0100.dwg = electrical power plan / basement

All sheet files by all consultants CAN use the same background models, as consultants can use these models and xref their information into the models.

Did any of this make sense?

I work with consultants and they have drawings for a many projects. Each one has a Fig number or a Appendice number relating to a drawing so it was easy for me to set up a template for each one with any blocks that are needed.

My number system is Project number then drawing name then drawing number.

521 Development Plan 1155

I find with this it is easy to serch the network with this info and each time get the drawing you are after very quick. The drawing number is stored in a database I use for my own personal records so I know why each drawing has been done, when, date, who sent to and any other info I can add.

I can get the database to give me a report to show how many drawings have been done for one client in a month if ever needed.

Our filing system, works generally as such.

Job# - All parts of an active job

Subdivided into - Component (if applicable, some projects have different components on different timelines and schedules) Component files contain our drawing packages .dwg files of our sheets with all xref material compiled in them to reflect what we want for each sheet

xrefs - folders containing all our referenced material usually identified with an "X" and job number and a specific descriptor at the end identifying content of the file.

details – folders containing detail references (inserted as blocks normally) – typical and project specific

We name our drawings in a similar fashion as some of the others have mentioned above. We use the first 2 letters of the customer's name, first 2 letters of the city, state abbreviation (or country if international), the date (month & year), and then a code for the equipment we are using in the layout. An example is TYDAMO0509NT. We're able to simply look at the drawing number and know who, what & when without opening it. When revised, we add R1, R2, etc. to the end drawing name.

Pretty much the same as above however, never include date in the file name.

Listing files shows the date(s).

Listing includes file name, size, type, date and comments.

The name is our client, Suffolk County Dept. of Public Works.

We use letters of the alphabet to note revisions; i.e.: Rev. A (see below).

I skip the letters, i and o, not to be confused with numerals.

SCDPW-D01

SCDPW-D01a

Size is listed in KB's.

Type might read: AutoCAD Drawing or Adobe Acrobat Document

Date, self explanatory, also shows time; i.e.: 7/6/2009 9:00 AM

Comments might read, "10,000 gal NaOCl ~ Indoors".

All would be in their own file;

D:\Documents and Settings\IBM\My Documents\Drawings\Suffolk Cty

Files are always purged in AutoCAD before saving, then printed or plotted to *.pdf files for

email purposes. "Let Us Purge."

Not super but, sure enough for this small chemical storage equipment company.

Incremental backups to the server, nightly.

All drawings are write protected after saving and before the backup routine.

Write protected drawings force saving to another name; i.e.: Rev "A".

We tend to name our drawing by Project Number-Company initials-Discipline-Drawing or other-number-revision