AutoCAD® 2009 & AutoCAD LT® 2009 Bible

Chapter 26. Keeping Control of Your Drawings

When you create a drawing, you not only create objects, but you also create a complex structure to support those objects. You create named blocks, layers, layouts, text styles, dimension styles, and linetypes to help define those objects. And you spend a lot of time creating them! All these named drawing components can be reused and organized for greater efficiency, using the DesignCenter.

Tool palettes are a multifaceted solution that enables you to execute commands, as well as to insert hatches and blocks. You can also insert tables, xrefs, images, gradients, and more.

Having standards for named drawing components, such as layers and text styles, is important for consistency and readability. AutoCAD offers a comprehensive system for maintaining CAD standards. Security is also important, and AutoCAD offers excellent features to help you with this. AutoCAD LT does not contain all these features.

Sheet sets enable you to manage sets of drawings. You can automate the placement of viewports, as well as view and call out labels. You can plot or publish sheet sets as one group. AutoCAD LT does not offer the sheet set feature.

You also need to keep track of your drawings and make sure that they're accessible. Archiving and repair procedures are important in any CAD environment. This chapter covers all these topics to help you keep control of your drawings and their content.

Accessing Drawing Components with the DesignCenter

I mention the DesignCenter ...