June 20, 2013

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Task 3: Add styles to your templates

August 24, 2011 by 5 Comments
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Let’s continue our discussion to work with AutoCAD better.

In the last time, we discuss how you need to add layers information to your AutoCAD template. Another common setting we usually do is to add styles in the template.

There are several styles that you can add to your template:

  1. Text styles
  2. Dimension styles
  3. Table styles
  4. Multi leader styles
  5. etc.
You need to add styles that you use. If you don’t use table, you don’t need to add table styles to your template. However, it’s not a bad idea to prepare them now for the future.

autocad drawing

Image illustration: © antiksu – Fotolia.com

How many styles we need?

  • In a drawing, we need to use several text sizes. For general purposes, for title block, for view title, etc. List them, and create them in your template.
  • If you put your drawing in model space, you need to set different styles for different plot scale. But if you use annotation scale, you can use one style for every scales.
  • In general, we can use one dimension style for most of our drawing. Unless you work in model space. However, you may still need more than one dimension style. If you work with isometric drawings, you may require more styles. And probably the best thing is to have a  different templates for it. You need to define styles for isometric text and dimensions.
  • Table is relatively new in AutoCAD. If you intend to use it, then you should consider to add table style in your template now.
Remember to save your file after you finished. We will continue it later.

Discuss it here

Image illustration: © Yuri Arcurs – Fotolia.com

The number of styles you required is really depends on your drawings. Different industry may need different drawing representation. So you need to examine your drawings and decide styles you need.

Now discuss it here:

  1. What styles did you put in your template? What standard are you using?
  2. How many styles you required for a template? What are they for?
  3. Do you set up your drawing in model space or layout? What is your workaround with your method, related to styles?
  4. After working with layers and styles, do you think you need more than one template? Why?

We will have a break to let you catch up with the discussion and finish the task. We will start again on Monday. In the mean time, go ahead: ask, suggest anything related with this discussion series.

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You might also interested to

  1. Task 4: Setting up plot styles and page setups
  2. Task 5: Saving and using AutoCAD templates
  3. Task 1: Find settings and elements for drawing template
  4. Task 2: Add layer information in a template
  5. Task 9: Managing and sharing AutoCAD drawing files
Filed Under: WBWA Tagged With: , ,
About Edwin Prakoso

Edwin works as an Application Engineer in Jakarta, Indonesia. He has 4 years experience in building industry, then start to work for Autodesk reseller.
He is certified as Revit Architecture 2010 certified professional and AutoCAD 2013 certified professional.
He loves sharing his experience and starts to blog on CAD notes. Now using CAD is more to a lifestyle for him than working.
You can reach him on twitter @CADnotes. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn. If you prefer email, reach him at edwin.prakoso@cad-notes.com.

  • http://cadsetterout.com/ Paul Munford

    To keep it simple, I prefer to create one text style with a height of 0. Whenever you use this text style AutoCAD will prompt you for the height.

    Next I create text at my standard heights for my standard scales. Finally I drop each one onto a tool palette to create an instant text insert tool, correctly scaled every time.

    As a bonus, the tool palette will also set the layer for the text, saving that extra step. I treat Dimension styles in a similar fashion.

    • http://cad-notes.com Edwin Prakoso

      Nice one Paul… I never think of that. I always set text height. At least that’s how we did it when I work in a consultant before.

      Creating many styles probably make it complicated. But the advantage is we can use it as CAD standard template later.
      I think it depends on several things which one we should use.

    • PepaR

      I agree with Paul. We also use height = 0 for text style. In our template ise defined:
      - 4 text styles by name of font … Romans for all usual annotations and dimension, RomansX with same font face and some extra characters (suprscript, fractions etc.), Arial for titles and Simplex for greek alphabets
      - Dim Styles by character end gap and scale, also we use one alternative support annotation scales.
      - Main annotations relenat to drawing is in model, legends, titleblock and symbol of north is in viewport.
      - Frequently we use two templates for AEC and sites. Main reason is using system layer for buried services, other scales for draw (milimetres for AEC, metres for site).

    • neaton

      We use annotative text, dimensions and multileaders. It saves the hassle of having to memorize text sizes and having many styles. For text styles we have 4 different ones: Existing = 0.08, Proposed = 0.10, Arial = 0.20 for titles and D00 = 0 for dimensions. I realize some people don’t like annotative text, but once you get used to it saves time.

      I change Standard text, dimension and multileader styles to match our Proposed style because sometimes it is accidentally used. Toward the end of a job I will use QSELECT to search for Standard and change them.

      Our template also has Mleaders for Existing and Proposed text and all note tags (square, circle, diamond, triangle, hex, and oval) that we use for construction notes.

  • neaton

    We use Sheet Sets with the drawings and titleblock xrefed into individual sheet drawings. The titleblock is xrefed into paperspace and the drawings are all xrefed into modelspace. Our text is put into modelspace through the paperspace viewport as this gets it in the drawing at the correct annotative scale.

    Edwin, What to you mean “What is your workaround with your method, related to styles?”