Question for those who work in firms that use autocad, how is your firm setup your sheet files? Are each sheet their own file or are sepreated by the layout tabs in one file? I am setting up the autocad standards at the firm I work at but I have been going back and forth on how to setup the plot sheet files. The projects that we do are small so it would make sense to have mutiple sheets in one file. But I also see some benifits in having each sheet on a seperate file.
The first office I worked at used autocad and we had each plot sheet in it's own file. Then the last 3 years I have worked in MAC based firms (Please refrain from PC vs MAC comments). So I am just curious on how other firms are setup in regards to their plotting sheets standards.
we use separate files for each sheet, within reason. when it comes time for redlines, separate files make a lot of sense because multiple people can edit different sheets/drawings simulatneously.
i said 'within reason' above because for most jobs, we will group elevations into a file (sheets on multiple tabs), building sections into a file, wall sections into a file, etc. for plans, we pretty much make a separate file for each sheet; floor plan, power plan, rc plan, etc.
In the last place I worked, it was separate files for each sheet, and I really liked that. In the firm I'm in now, it's multiple sheets in one file, and that's a pain, because only one person can be in the file at a time. In our largest project, we have multiple files, each w/multiple sheets (like...one file for RCP, three sheets in that file; one file for interior elevations, eight or nine sheets in that file). That works a little better, I think.
I think our firm is not all the efficient because the principal doesn't know how to deal w/XREFs. I'd prefer to use more, but he gets frustrated everytime I try it. I think our file/sheet system could be more efficient if we could just XREF.
multiple tabs in a condoc phase - with multiple sheets - can be disastrous and damn confusing. first, if you apply your text and dimensions at the sheet level, or if you put all other dwgs - excluding xref'd base plans - on your sheets, and you use muliple tabs you run the risk of losing everything if you can't recover a corrupted file. if you have multiple tabs, then you also need to identify each tab appropriately so that the most current dwg is plotted, that becomes an issue if you plot 40-100 sheet set and then 60-70% of the sheets were plotted from the wrong tab...
Autocad plotting sheet standards
Question for those who work in firms that use autocad, how is your firm setup your sheet files? Are each sheet their own file or are sepreated by the layout tabs in one file? I am setting up the autocad standards at the firm I work at but I have been going back and forth on how to setup the plot sheet files. The projects that we do are small so it would make sense to have mutiple sheets in one file. But I also see some benifits in having each sheet on a seperate file.
The first office I worked at used autocad and we had each plot sheet in it's own file. Then the last 3 years I have worked in MAC based firms (Please refrain from PC vs MAC comments). So I am just curious on how other firms are setup in regards to their plotting sheets standards.
Thanks any feedback.
we use separate files for each sheet, within reason. when it comes time for redlines, separate files make a lot of sense because multiple people can edit different sheets/drawings simulatneously.
i said 'within reason' above because for most jobs, we will group elevations into a file (sheets on multiple tabs), building sections into a file, wall sections into a file, etc. for plans, we pretty much make a separate file for each sheet; floor plan, power plan, rc plan, etc.
In the last place I worked, it was separate files for each sheet, and I really liked that. In the firm I'm in now, it's multiple sheets in one file, and that's a pain, because only one person can be in the file at a time. In our largest project, we have multiple files, each w/multiple sheets (like...one file for RCP, three sheets in that file; one file for interior elevations, eight or nine sheets in that file). That works a little better, I think.
I think our firm is not all the efficient because the principal doesn't know how to deal w/XREFs. I'd prefer to use more, but he gets frustrated everytime I try it. I think our file/sheet system could be more efficient if we could just XREF.
I'd look for a new firm snjr. Having principals dictate file structure... yikes
multiple tabs in a condoc phase - with multiple sheets - can be disastrous and damn confusing. first, if you apply your text and dimensions at the sheet level, or if you put all other dwgs - excluding xref'd base plans - on your sheets, and you use muliple tabs you run the risk of losing everything if you can't recover a corrupted file. if you have multiple tabs, then you also need to identify each tab appropriately so that the most current dwg is plotted, that becomes an issue if you plot 40-100 sheet set and then 60-70% of the sheets were plotted from the wrong tab...
too degrading--yeah, it's a 2-person firm. I don't get to make any rules.
for file sharing I would definitely go with separate files for each sheet
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