Sheets Happen! Using the Sheet Set Manager

Westwood Professional Services

June 2007

Using AutoCAD’s Sheet Set Manager Introduction The Sheet Set Manager organizes, displays, and manages sheet sets, a named collection of drawing sheets. Each sheet in a sheet set is a layout in a drawing (DWG) file. Using the Sheet Set Manager will be a required part of making plan sheets in Civil 3D. However, there are a lot of benefits in using the Sheet Set Manager TODAY! What happens if the number of sheets in a plan set changes from 30 to 31? With Sheet Set Manager, you change the number in one spot and all of the sheet update automatically! PDF plan sets can be created with a couple clicks. That’s much easier than clicking “save” 30 times and assembling the sheets into one file. Lesson Objectives Upon completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Create a Sheet Set Add drawings to a Sheet Set Create and manage ‘Smart’ title blocks Easily print plan sets to a printer or a PDF file Create a sheet index for the cover sheet. Manage change in the project

Create a Sheet Set Many CAD users at Westwood have already learned how to manage drawings in a plan set by using Sheet Set Manager. However, in order to truly take advantage of Sheet Set Manager, we need to use a template. The template idea is new to AutoCAD 2007, so don’t despair if you’re new to Sheet Sets – there’s something new to learn for everyone. Here’s a quick overview on how to create a set of drawings.

1. Start Set Manager by clicking the icon on the ‘Standard’ tool bar or by typing ‘Ctrl+4’

2. Create a new Sheet Set

Sheet Set Manager

3. Sheet Set Manager has a great wizard that steps you through the process

4. It is CRITICAL that the correct Sheet Set template is used. Otherwise the ‘smart’ title blocks that update automatically will not work. Use the file located at: R:\CAD\Borders\Sheet Set Template.dst

Use an Example Sheet Set, then click ‘Next’

Point to the correct file

5. Use a naming convention for the Sheet Set that is similar to how Westwood drawings are

named. • <PROJECT NUMBER>SM#01 (Where # is either C(oncept), P(reliminary) or F(inal) For the example illustrated in this manual, the Sheet Set will be named 20051047SMP01 since it is a preliminary plat. The Sheet Sets have a *.dst extension. Save the *.dst files in the same location as the CAD files.

6. The final screen is a confirmation of the settings that were previously entered. Click Finish to create the Sheet Set.

7. Here’s the new blank Sheet Set.

Name the Sheet Set file

Enter a useful description

Save in the project’s DWG directory

These are custom fields unique to Westwood. Later we will fill in the project data in order to make the title blocks ‘smart’ and update automatically

Adding drawings to a Sheet Set Whether or not you use the functionality of the ‘smart’ title block, creating a Sheet Set for a project is a great idea and easy to do. The project’s drawings are easy to navigate; there’s no need to remember the CAD naming convention. The sheets are in the right order. And best of all, printing is a breeze, especially PDFs. This makes Sheet Sets a great idea for existing projects. Note: Sheet drawings are typically part of only ONE sheet set. Preliminary sheet drawings are not part of a Final set. AutoCAD will give you a warning if you try to add a sheet to more than one sheet set.

1. The first step is to open up an existing Sheet Set (if it isn’t open already). Either click

‘open’ and browse to the project’s dwg directory for the sheet set file (*.dst). Or click ‘Recent’ for the most recently opened Sheet Sets.

2. Right click the Sheet Set name and click ‘Import Layout as Sheet’. Right Westwood’s CAD standards say that there is one layout (usually named Layout 1) per sheet

3. Click Browse for Drawings.

4. Navigate for drawings in the project’s dwg folder. By holding the ‘CTRL’ key, you can

add more than one sheet at a time. Click OK when done

5. A list of the selected drawings, along with their status is given. Click the check boxes to import the layout. Click ‘Import Checked’ when done.

6. Importing drawing layouts can be an iterative process if you don’t get all of them the first time. Additionally, if drawings are added to the set at a later time, the same process is used to add them to the Sheet Set

7. The drawings are added to the Sheet Set. Drawings can be put in the correct order by

simply ‘dragging and dropping’ the drawings.

Warnings are given if the drawing is part of another set. Typically, drawing layouts belong to only one sheet set

Click and drag the drawing to the correct l i

8. Renumber and rename drawings by right-clicking the drawing name and select ‘Rename

and Renumber’

9. Give the sheet its number and sheet name. The ‘Number’ and ‘Sheet title’ fields are used in the smart title blocks. These are important fields for the title blocks and sheet automatic sheet index for the title page. Click ‘Next’ to easily go to the next sheet. Or rename the sheets one at a time by following Step 7

10. The finished product

11. Important: Changes to a Sheet Set are saved automatically. Every change is saved by

AutoCAD as you go. 12. Double click on the drawing name to open the drawing. You can have several drawings

open at the same time. Each drawing must still be closed when you exit CAD.

13. Save changes to the drawing like you normally would by clicking the save icon, doing a Ctrl+S, or clicking ‘Save’ from the pulldown menu. Important: Unlike changes to the sheet set manager, changes to individual drawings are not saved automatically.

Create and manage ‘Smart’ title blocks Westwood’s standard title blocks have been modified to make use of the Sheet Set Manager and update automatically. The Sheet Set Manager itself has been modified to incorporate all of the unique elements in Westwood’s title blocks.

1. The new ‘smart’ title blocks are saved in resource under R:\CAD\Borders like the current title blocks. The smart blocks are saved as *.dwt files and have a “-SS” addition to the drawing name. The old title blocks are being retained for foreseeable future until CAD users are used to Sheet Sets.

2. The *.dwt are AutoCAD drawing template files. They may be opened in a similar fashion as *dwg files.

3. The title blocks have been updated for Survey and Planning departments as well. Many

times plan sets have more than one discipline represented. This allows for the planner’s or surveyor’s name and registration to update automatically on their sheets in a plan set.

4. The *.dwt drawings have the title blocks in the Layout tab rather than model space. CAD users can do a “save-as” to the project directory and then add the applicable XREFs, viewports, etc. Save-as can be done to set up the multiple sheets in a drawing, such as the street and storm sewer sheets. However the title block won’t update until the drawing is added to the Sheet Set and the custom properties are populated.

5. The title blocks are made up of special text known as fields. They are linked to the

custom properties in the Sheet Set.

The ‘old’ title block for a 22x34 plan and profile sheet

The ‘new’ smart title block for a 22x34 engineering sheet

Fields are “highlighted” in CAD so you know they are fields and not normal text. The text will print out normally when it comes time to plot

6. Set the Custom Properties (title block fields)

7. Scroll Down and set the Custom Fields with the pertinent information

Before After

8. Notice how the title block updates automatically. You’re not seeing a change? Be sure to do a “Regen” to see the update. Fields will also update when a drawing is opened, saved, or plotted.

Scroll down

9. Title block information will update for all drawings that are part of a Sheet Set.

Additionally the sheets must have title blocks that are from the new *.dwt files. These contain the fields that make the text and title blocks ‘smart’

10. The drawings Designed/Checked/Drawn information is custom to each individual sheet.

Since many people work on a job, it is assumed that this information can change per sheet. Right click on the sheet name in Sheet Set Manager and click properties. Add the pertinent initials

11. If a Sheet Set contains drawings worked on by the same team, the sheet custom

properties can be set at the Sheet Set level. However this must be done before the individual sheets are added in order for this setting to be reflected on the sheet level.

12. There are four default revision stamps that can be used.

13. The idea behind Sheet Set Manager is to make things easier. For example, revision

dates might apply to all sheets for the first couple revisions. Then the revisions apply on an individual-sheet basis. Double-click into a field and make a change by manually typing. This removes the link to a field and allows the CAD user some flexibility on how they want the revision to appear.

The first three revisions are fields (highlighted) populated by the custom properties in the Sheet Set. These revisions apply to all sheets. The 4th revision is manually entered since it only affects a couple sheets

Easily print plan sets to a printer or a PDF file Using AutoCAD’s Publish command is still a viable option. However, plotting from Sheet Set Manager is a breeze for printing paper copies and is by far the preferable option for making PDFs.

1. Right Click on the Sheet Set name and select ‘Properties’ 2. Set the ‘Page Setup Override’ to the printer template file that you normally use.

3. Right click on the Sheet Set and navigate to the plotter setup you want to use. Use the ‘Publish using Page Setup Override’ option. In this case it is a PDF setup.

4. AutoCAD will prompt only ONCE for the name of the PDF file. It will then add all of the sheets to the PDF file with NO further prompts to save the files! There’s no need to save each file individually and then combine them into one file!

Set to the plotter you normally use. Look in C:\LDR7\Template\

5. To add additional printers (such as the Oce) to the page setup override, add the printer

by doing the following. Add the page setup like you would while trying to print in regular AutoCAD

6. Note: Using the Page Setup Override option ensures that all pages are sent to the same

plotter. One could use the Publish to Plotter option if you’re sure that the page setup is the same for all of the sheets to be plotted

7. The publish dialog box is still handy in some situations. For example, if you want to plot

to the Oce 800 and plot the drawings in reverse order so they are collated correctly.

Create a sheet index for the cover sheet.

1. The index of drawings for the Cover Sheet can easily be created using Sheet Set manager. Its important that the sheet names and numbering be correct in the Sheet Set Manager

2. Be sure to use the Cover sheets drawings listed in R:\CAD\Borders. Use the *.dwt files since they contain a template for the index table so it has the Westwood ‘look’.

3. Insert the Sheet List Table in the the drawing

4. Use the ‘Westwood Index’

5. Insert the table into the Cover Sheet

6. The table needs a bit of formatting. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough settings in the Table template to make the table look exactly like Westwood’s standard. Tables sizes can be modified by clicking the grips on the table and stretching the size. Let’s center the sheet text numbers.

7. Right-click on the selection and select ‘Properties’. Change the alignment to ‘Middle Center’ justification.

8. Similarly the sheet descriptions can be made Uppercase by following the procedure in steps 6 and 7.

Click (and hold the click) and do a right-crossing window

Manage change in the project

Inevitably there will be change in a project. Adding, moving or deleting sheets in a set is not a problem. One of the biggest time savers is changes to the title block. What if the project name changes? What if the submittal dates change? This is very easy with Sheet Set Manager.

1. Right Click the Sheet Set name and change the properties. The changes will be reflected in all of the individual sheet the next time they are opened or printed.

2. What if the number of sheets or sheet names change? Update the Sheet index by right clicking on it and select

3. There’s a variety of other changes that can happen in a project and a Sheet Set. If you remember to right-click on the Sheet Set name or update a custom property, you’ll likely get the result you need!

Conclusion Congratulations. In this lesson, you have learned how to use Sheet Set Manager to save yourself time in plan set production. A little bit of time up front saves countless hours later when it comes time to update the title block or print the plan set. If you have any questions regarding the Sheet Set Manager, please see Chad Grismer or Andrew Manninen.

Maybe this is now 17

The developer wants to change this to ‘Albertville Commons’. Change it in this one spot. There’s no need to change it in 16 sheets anymore.