i pulled on some of the old standards in my office which were disjointed and unused, and created a set of template files and such for people to pull from. they are now our standard setup for not only lineweights/levels etc. but also for file naming in terms of documents and referencing.

your boss if she/he has any sense would appreciate it highly if you did something similar. mine even gave me hours for which to complete the task once i told him what i wanted to do. i'd say within the next 3 months, those hours i spent will be made up for in terms of document setup alone (we do lots of small projects, therefore lots of setup). its already saving us headaches we used to go through when anarchy reighned supreme (when i came in a year and a half ago everyone did there own thing.)

if your boss isn't open to it, make your own little set of document standards, and try to follow them, or find someone in the office who has one already (then there will be two of you doing something the same at least).

You may find this thread of some use:

Drawing Numbering System

I get the feeling I'm screwed. I am the only one in the offfice, so there is no one to ask questions when I run into problems.

i think AIA has some established standards. we use the whole, Discipline-Layer-Modifier protocol like...

A-WALL-EXST

i'd google "AIA cad standards" and see if some guide doesn't come up.

You are in a very dangerous position - what you setup could effect everyone, and YOU will be the one who 'messed things up' if something goes wrong, doesn't print correctly, etc....

Before you talk to your boss, make sure that you understand the working system for your project types. You could start now by making some lists of all the different things that you'd like to tackle and more importantly 'what you'd like them to do for you' ... layers, printing, drawing setup, file management, drawing numbers, block libraries, detail library, standard notes... this list can go on forever.

The major issues is not having anyone else to bounce ideas off of... just because it'll work for you doesn't mean its the best solution. Take your time and realize that this will add extra work to your plate - you will have to maintain the standards.

See if your software provider/sales rep has a CAD standards consultant service.

You could also review the discussion groups on the autodesk website.

Good Luck.

Naming sheets is not the problem. There is no "layers, printing, drawing setup, file management, drawing numbers, block libraries, detail library, standard notes," and no line width library. And as for a vendor I am not even going to touch that. All I am left with is an incomplete set that the previous person worked on.
Admittedly I am a junior level person. Given a set of standards to follow and a library or two I can knock out some drawings. But I am completely lost.

I'm getting angry. It seem like a recipe for disaster. I am in the process of moving from out of state and if this job self destructs I will be on the streets.

I have a template AutoCAD drawing I use that has all the most common layers, with associated colors corresponding to pen weight settings in a separate CTB file, as well as some documentation. The layer naming system conforms to AIA standards, and IMO, the pen weight system I've set up is fairly intuitive. I also have a couple of block libraries that have your typical 2D floor plan blocks (sinks, toilets, bathtubs, furniture, etc.).

It's not a complete project template, but it's a good start. Contact me via e-mail, and I can put this stuff on my web server for you to download.

All that said, there's no substitute for having the basic drafting skills to know which layers should plot at heavy lineweights (walls, structure, etc.) and which ones should be lighter (doors, millwork, etc.) Learn this stuff, and setting up your project standards should be a fairly simple process.

Don't make it harder than it is. Your job is to produce drawings of buildings that will exist on the imperfect planet, not live up to the perfection that the computer enticingly seems capable of (but is not) Set the colors your eyes see most vividly against the background as thick lines and start banging out some drawings

dazed is right. it isn't that big a deal. linewheights are something you probably learned in school, and if not the stuff written above is more than enough. as for wcs and such i basically just download the plans from the manufacturer (i am in tokyo, but sort of assumed the states was ahead of us on the internet end...) then rework them to simplify. so i have several sets of standard equipment at hand. I have a librabry of standard notes from previous work and would think your office must too, whether it is digital or not, its gotta be somehwere. the rest is pretty intuitive. a layer for finishes, for structure, for sashes, doors, centerlines, notes, etc.. i have never really had reason to use a library of details except for some very basic things as most of my projects are custome jobs. but if you want to make a window sash detail or a parapet detail library there must be some paper drawings in your office archive. have a looka t that stuff first i should think, and that way your boss can't give you gripe...