Today, we’re going to start our tasks to work with AutoCAD better. Our first task today is starting to create a template.
Template is important in many applications. Not only AutoCAD and other CAD applications, you can see people use it in spreadsheet and word processor too.
What is a template?
Let’s see these Microsoft Office templates. There are many document templates available. Try to download one and use it.
In example below, you can see several brochure templates. The layout, font types, colors, etc already set. All you need to do is to change the title and text, you already get decent brochure.
Redshinestudio – Fotolia.com
AutoCAD templates work in similar way.
Why using template?
The reasons of using templates should be obvious.
Faster
The most obvious reason is, it’s faster. Imagine if you have to create a new drawing from scratch. There are many things to do before you start drawing. You add layers and set their properties, you create styles, you may spend more than 10 minutes just to prepare a drawing.
Helps you to maintain standard
The next important reason is it can maintain standard.
Imagine that you have to create new layers every time you start a drawing. There’s a big chance that you will not use the same layer name and properties in each drawing. Today you use A-Window, tomorrow when you start a new drawing you may use A-WDW. The next day, you create A-windows.
One person can use different layer names, if in your company you have 20 AutoCAD users, each of them may have their own preferences.
Layer naming probably acceptable. Many project owners look at plotted drawings, not the drawing in AutoCAD. But using different font type and size, will be obvious.
This question will arise from project owner:
The drawings are from one company, how come they look different? Do they really created these?
Let’s discuss this
Yuri Arcurs – Fotolia.com
Before we start creating our template, examine your typical drawings.
If you haven’t created drawing templates:
- Have you chosen drawings that you consider as ‘standard’?
- Do you think you have several typical drawings? Will one template be sufficient, or you need several templates?
- What are settings and drawing elements you want in your templates? What do you want already there when you click create new drawing?
- How much time you do think you can save, if you have good templates?
If you already have drawing templates:
- Do you think they already have what you need? Are there anything you want to add in your templates?
- Do you use 1 global template, or have several drawing templates in your company?
- How much time do you think you saved for each drawing you created?
We’ll start creating template in the next discussion. Which is tomorrow. I already have some materials we can use to create templates.
However, I need you to discuss this to understand further what you need in your templates. If you read this from email newsletter, please discuss by commenting in the original page, so we all can respond. Please do not reply the email.
Have a nice discussion!
About Edwin Prakoso
