File Naming/Management

possibly more important was the posting time being 3 minutes before going home (for the last time on a MONDAY! HOORAY!!"!!)

Thanks for all the replies. I wonder where that 90% is...

This tool, http://apps.exchange.autodesk.com/ACD/en/Detail/Index?id=appstore.exchange.autodesk.com%3abatch-in-database%3aen, looks to be very useful for everything that I need for this new file naming convention and so much more. Going to present it to the CAD team today. Hopefully it gets the warm reception that I expect it to get. I'm surprised that we don't have anything like this already, well not really but I am really surprised that I didn't already have this in my tool box.

Had meeting and a few ideas were discussed and we are looking into a few different solutions.

How about if I change a parameter?

Would it make things easier if we were to start using sheet files? I think it would eliminate the need for renaming XREF'd drawings because they are not the same file that we print from. Only the sheet file would need to be edited. This seems like it would be ideal and satisfy all parties.

I'm shocked you haven't gotten more replies regarding the awesomeness of ssm. Maybe I missed something regarding the issues you have.

You can change filenames, layout names, sheet numbers, sheet titles, dates, revision numbers, and more through the ssm. And that's without even getting into the custom properties. With custom properties and fields you can fill out your entire revision block through the ssm without even opening the drawing. It's even better if you have the ssmpropeditor from JTB world (hope I spelled that right). With that tool you can change multiple sheets at the same time. Note that to change the filename the drawing has to be closed, just like if you were to do it through windows explorer.

Printing is about 100 times easier using the ssm, for regular cad users and non cad users. Because in the ssm you see a list of drawing numbers and titles, select the ones you want, right click => publish => publish using page setup override => select your page setup, and you're done.

Regarding the sheet number being a part of the filename, at first I thought by "sheet number" you meant (for example) the "02" of "sheet 02 of 60" and that would be a pain because you can't build any padding into the number. But we always have the "drawing number" in the filename. By drawing number I mean M-02, A-05, etc. To account for future drawing additions I always pad the numbers, for example I might use S-01 through S-05 for structural notes and legends, then jump up to S-10 through S-15 for site plans, and S-30 and up for details. Having the gaps in the numbering lessens the work when something changes or gets added. I realize you said the numbers come from elsewhere, but thats a good opportunity to open up a dialog with the other party and discuss how the project can be more efficient.

One thing I don't understand is how changing the filename of a sheet would cause you to need to repath any xrefs? Are you xrefing your sheets? That's a big no-no over here. We have separate xref files and sheet files.

Let me know if you have any questions, or if I completely missed the target and all that was irrelevant.

Steve

You can change filenames....

I never knew SSM to alter the physical file name when you renamed it from the SSM. Did something change, or was I simply not doing something correctly?

You probably had the file open. In the "rename and renumber" dialog there is a field for filename that will be greyed out if it's open. In fact, when using sheetsets, the ONLY way you should rename a file is through the ssm. Otherwise the ssm won't find it and you'll have to repath the renamed sheets one by one. It's similar to repathing an xref, but without the benefit of Reference Manager.

No file open... that was the most obvious thing I tried first years back. I'm telling you, I've tried and tried and never saw the Sheet Set Manager physically rename the file in Windows Explorer after a file was created.

*EDIT*

To clarify: I believe the Project Navigator in an AutoCAD Vertical Product did in fact rename the actual file. This was back in my AutoCAD MEP days. I'm talking about the vanilla AutoCAD Sheet Set Manager.

Hmm, that's odd. Was the filename field typeable (i.e. not greyed out)? The rename/renumber dialog has been pretty much the same for as long as I've been using it, since 2007 (I think). Sometimes the ssm takes a bit to "unlock" the file after it's been closed. I'm pretty sure there is system variable that controls how frequently the ssm updates, but I don't know if that affects the lock status. Just throwing out guesses, because it's always worked over here (using Vanilla and Civil3D). If I did this right, this is what my dialog looks like:

File Name text field is new. I've never seen that before.

Project Navigator has an XML file attached to every DWG which is how it controls the auto-file naming in Windows Explorer (I think). Plus it's way more robust. If the File name field is now there in the SSM, then it definitely makes for a better setup than before, but even with this feature the SSM still lacks in so many areas.

I'm shocked you haven't gotten more replies regarding the awesomeness of ssm. Maybe I missed something regarding the issues you have.

Currently we are not using sheet files. Hoping to change that for the next project.

Regarding the sheet number being a part of the filename, at first I thought by "sheet number" you meant (for example) the "02" of "sheet 02 of 60" and that would be a pain because you can't build any padding into the number. But we always have the "drawing number" in the filename. By drawing number I mean M-02, A-05, etc.

Those terms are used interchangeably. There's probably a proper term for each number but every time I ask about it, I get this deer in the headlights look.

One thing I don't understand is how changing the filename of a sheet would cause you to need to repath any xrefs? Are you xrefing your sheets? That's a big no-no over here. We have separate xref files and sheet files.

 

It was mentioned in a couple posts that we are not using sheet files. This has to change not matter what solution I decide to use. I might have to implement it myself for my next AutoCAD project as management has been unresponsive other than saying that we are to continue using the sheet/drawing number in the file name.