In this Article...
Using template will increase your productivity. We are not just talking about AutoCAD, but also Revit, Inventor, and any other software like Microsoft Word, Excel, etc. In this tutorial, we are going to prepare our template, save it, and a little configuration to tell AutoCAD to use it each time we create a new file.
So What is a Template and Why Using It?
Template is a file you use to start a drawing (or any other documents). By default, almost every software provide it. But the default that comes with the box usually only provide very basic configuration. And mostly don’t meet your criteria.
When you started AutoCAD, by default it will use acad.dwt. It holds minimum information you need to create a proper drawing. It use inch as units. For me who use metric units, I have to change it to mm. Then I have to do this following things:
- Create layers and set their properties.
- Create styles for text, dimensions, and other annotation.
- Setup my layout for plotting
- I don’t usually do this, but I saw some users create block symbols. I prefer to keep them in a block library.
- Then I start drawing
Imagine that I have to do that steps each time I start a new drawing. How many hours that I waste in a month? In a year? Wouldn’t it be nice when we start our drawing, we start directly from point no. 5? That’s what a template for. We set our common settings and styles.
Create a new file. Use file menu or type NEW [enter]. DO NOT use new icon from quick access toolbar. Using file>new or typing NEW will load a dialog box to select a dwt file. If you use icon from quick access, it won’t open. AutoCAD template has .dwt file extension.
Now for this tutorial, find a metric template. You can also try to use imperial later.
Preparing Layers
Layers is one of the basic configurations. We will add some layers to this file. Remember the file we created before? The one that contain walls, columns, doors, and centerlines? We will import layers from that file. Check on your layer manager, by default it only contains layer 0. If you see other layers, just remember it.
Open design center. You can click on ribbon>view tab >palettes. Or simply type ADCENTER [enter].
Design center is basically looks like explorer. Find your file. In windows explorer you can expand until file name, but in Design Center, you can see what’s inside an AutoCAD file: layers, dim styles, etc. Click on layers, select all layers you created before. Drag and drop to your drawing area.
Now check in your layer list. Is it already there? :)
Preparing Dimension Styles and Table Styles
I’m not going to write in details how to define a dimension style or table style. If you are new to AutoCAD and interested to know, I can write it in separate post. But I believe many of you who read this already familiar with dimension styles and table styles.
- Create a dimension style. We are going to create a plan to be plotted at 1:50 scale. So create a style with name ‘1-50 scale’ with arrow size and text height 150, and offset from dimline with 40 unit distance. Create another one with scale 1:100. Give it arrow size and text height 300, and ‘offset from dimline’ with 80. If you have other common scales to use, create it too.
- Create a table style for 1:50 scale. Give it text height 150 and margin 50.
Set the new styles for 1:50 for both dimension and table as current.
Preparing Our Layout
The last common setting we are going to set it Layout/Page. You can refer to this post on how to do it. Create several page setup for most common paper size you use. I created 1:50 and 1:100 in this example.
Save your file as .dwt.
Setting Our Default .dwt file
We are almost done! The last thing we need to setup is telling AutoCAD to use our new .dwt file. There are several ways to do this. You have to remember that AutoCAD use default acad.dwt every time it’s started. You can select default template for QNEW command, but not working if you started AutoCAD. I don’t know if there’s a work around, but honestly I can’t find it in older version. Share it if you know how to do it. So, we can set it by doing this:
Use STARTUP menu:
Set STARTUP system variable to 1. This will load a dialog box that allows you to choose which template you wanted.
This was a default in older AutoCAD. I don’t know why Autodesk decided to change this system variable to 0 by default. This is a good choice if you have many templates to choose before you started to draw. This work for all version. Well at least I use it since AutoCAD R.14. I don’t know if they have it in older version.
Alternatively, you can do this to:
AutoCAD 2009 or Older
Backup your acad.dwt. Place the file we created in default template folder, and rename it to acad.dwt.
AutoCAD 2010 or newer
Go to option, user preference tab. Click on Initial Setup button. You will see a wizard that allows you to choose your industry (page 1), your workspace (page 2) and your default dwt file (page 3). See the explanation about initial setup on CAD-a-blog here.
Setup default dwt for QNEW
The last one, set your default template for QNEW. If you type QNEW or select new from quick access toolbar, this is the dwt file AutoCAD will use. You can find it in option, files tab. It’s under template settings.
Now we’re done!
Testing our Template
Try to create a new file, and see your layer list, dimension styles, table styles, and layouts! Try to exit AutoCAD and restart it, and see if it also works.
I am just wondering if AutoCAD is what I need to be looking into for the type of upgrade to training I would like to implement in a manufacturing environment. I am trying to find software/program that can allow me to build 3D models of what my employees are working on. Since they are taking multiple things and putting them together certain ways I would also like to animate it so they can see step by step how to complete their necessary steps in the process. I would also like for them to be able to do things step by step while following the program/tutorial showing them what they are doing, what it looks like, how to put it together, tools they need to accomplish the task and what it should look like when they are done. Any suggestions?
I now begin to read your tutorials, but I can see they are very informative and educative. Continue to educate the world. Thank you.
Hi,
I inserted a template in the Sheet by the command XREF, but it is not fitting the Entire sheet.
How can i enlarge the Template???
HI SIR,
In autocad 2010 i create a page setup file and saved the page setup file. After i go to the publish menu and i imported the drawings and i change the page setup i cant identify the before i create the page setup file. Where it is located?
Regards,
Manobala
Page setup is saved in DWG file. If you set page setup in one DWG, you will not find it on other files. That's why you should create a template.
Other workaround is to import the page setup from page setup manager.
Hi all ,
Let me add a little bit , I hope it will help .
We can also create a layout ( I assumed we already created our template) using the command Layoutwizard…The steps are easy and very much understandable..
I hope it helps…This tutorial also helps a lot .tnx sir Edwin.
Thanks all.
Is there a way to make a layer non purgeable without adding objects, meaning can I create a template where the layers I create will not be purged when I have not used them yet, similar to the 0 and Defpoints layers.
Heather,
I'm not sure if there's a way to do that. I'll try to look around.
Why do you want to do it anyway? Having a layer without object in it?
I will often have to import objects from files given to us by an architect with different layers and such. I change things to match our format and then purge to get rid of their layers that I am no longer going to use. However, I have not begun the drawings that I need to do and therefore do not want the layers I created for my template to be purged as well.
Hi Edwin, my company has recently upgraded from AutoCad 2004 to AutoCad 2011. I'm having problems creating the company specfic title block for the different size papers we use. The paper sizes are all ANSI sizes. The templates that come with the program are only "A" size 8.5" x 11". How do you create the larger sheet sizes. I've spent more time trying to get these templates created than modeling the assemblies that I need drawings of.
Thanks for your help in advance,
Neil
Hi Neil,
Have you tried to select a plotter and check your units? The available paper sizes are related to the plotter.
Hi Edwin,
you were right .. the problem was in the units. Oddly enough, since i never changed it and the work on other drawings hasn't been affected by that.
The template was in meters and the drawing i wanted to use it in was in centimeters.
I created a new template and it worked just fined. thanks for your efforts !
cheers!
Hi Edwin,
Like point 4. where you stress out that it's better to make use of a block library, this could be the same for step 3. "setup my layout for plotting". Here you can also make use of one DWG file with all available Layouts and title blocks prepared. Now when you need one of the predefined Layouts, make use of Design Center, dragging and dropping the required Layouts is a piece of cake. Further more, this way you will not have all the layouts in a template available and your drawing is clean from unused Layouts.
Of course, this is only valid when you want to make use of more then one Layout per drawing.
Regards.
Thank you for the additional tip Edward.
I believe it will be very useful for CAD Notes readers.
Hi there,
first thanks for the tutorial! I tried to create a template in ACAD 2010, but unfortunately it comes up with a problem: When using the template the text is missing (i inserted some dummy texts) and the rest is reduced to a fraction of it's original size (some Frames, a picture, and so on).
When copying the content from template to a new drawing it all works fine. Any idea what might be the cause of this problem ?
Thanks in advance,
mf
I suspect this has something to do with units or object scaling. Can you provide more information about the unit you use it the template and the new drawing?
And can you provide the template and new file so I can investigate it further? And please describe the steps you did when you have this problem…
Thanks.