Drawing Squared Up in Layout Mode

[donaldo]

I see most Architectural and Engineering Site Plan Drawings are left in their Grid orientation, normally to North in Model space but have them squared up to the paper when in Layout Mode for ease of Reading etc. I undertake some surveys and upload them to autocad and tend to rotate them off grid in model space so they are viewed square in Layout mode. How do I do this the professional way, ie leave the orientation, as is, in model space and have it squared up in Layout. Thank you.

[ReMark]

Have you tried rotating the viewport?

 

http://docs.autodesk.com/ACD/2010/ENU/AutoCAD%202010%20User%20Documentation/index.html?url=WS1a9193826455f5ffa23ce210c4a30acaf-74a2.htm,topicNumber=d0e35964

[eldon]

I tend to leave surveys in their true geographic alignment, so that the architect knows where North is. Also most of the annotation and levels are also East - West.

 

By rotating the whole survey, I would have thought that it would make it LESS easy to read.

 

If you need to rotate it in the Layout, try the UCS method. When in the Layout in model space, set up a UCS based on one side of the building. Then go to Views - 3D views - Plan View - Current UCS, and it will be as you require.

[RobDraw]

I agree with eldon. Most site stuff is left at the actual orientation.

[ReMark]

And some companies (and bosses) will only accept north being either straight up or pointing to the right. Go figure.

[donaldo]

Thank you, I will mess around with that next time I am at my PC. I agree that almost all surveys are left in the same orientation, grid North, and I frequently do the same. Perhaps what I meant is that when a new building or structure has been designed it is often at its true orientation in model space but squared up in paper space for obvious reasons ie to save cricking ones neck when viewing it!

[nestly]

I also agree with eldon, rotate the UCS, PLAN > Current, and then name the custom UCS for future reference.

 

[BIGAL]

Word of warning we use UCS OB most time give it a name etc so can retrieve if you pick a 3d line or two 3d points your UCS will be on an incline plane which can give weird measurements so make sure you pick a line with no z's . We make a temp line and zero it.

 

If you need to paste from another dwg to true co-ords just do UCS W paste then UCS R myucsname no need to do the plan bit twice.

[Dana W]

Thank you, I will mess around with that next time I am at my PC. I agree that almost all surveys are left in the same orientation, grid North, and I frequently do the same. Perhaps what I meant is that when a new building or structure has been designed it is often at its true orientation in model space but squared up in paper space for obvious reasons ie to save cricking ones neck when viewing it!

I do a lot of millwork drawings for large buildings. Yes, the enlarged plan views are often "squared up" in paperspace as you put it, sometimes on the architecturals, but always on my shop drawings, because my shop crew/installer does not care where north is, only where the immediately adjacent walls are in relation to what he/she is doing there.

 

Equally important to the installer is how easy the drawings are to read. Some architectural companies see this need, and rotate their own enlarged plan views, and some couldn't give a flying hoot.

 

I am limited to 24x36 paper. I have had occasion to rotate the overall floor plan xref 30 to 90 deg off whatever the architect was able to fit onto a 36x48 sheet. Even though I only care about one room at a time as a sub, I still have to work up a Key Plan to show my work area locations on the overall floor plan, and I, and my boss like to have it on one page.

 

I turned One Blanky Blank Boulevard, Miami FL so that North faced East on my Key Plan, and you'd think I had translated it to Mandarin Chinese. There was no orientation that would show all the walls at 180 & 90 because the building was shaped like a giant dill pickle, with designerized curvy wurvy interior walls all over the place. In the initial submission process, my drawings were sent back "Revise and Resubmit" with a huge red note to turn the plan back the way they wanted it. There were other minor issues, but sheeesh!

 

It would not fit on a 24x36 sheet that way, at least not at a readable nor reasonable scale so I cut it in two and put it on two pages with a lot of white space off to the east. I thought about labeling the white space "Atlantic Ocean" but I didn't know where the shore line was. I didn't have to cut any of my rooms in half and they didn't send it back again, and we got the woodwork installed.