Solidworks 2013 Bible

Chapter 24: Automating Drawings: The Basics

IN THIS CHAPTER

Understanding the difference between templates and formats

Customizing drawing formats

Creating drawing templates using Predefined Views

Using blocks

SolidWorks drawing templates and formats enable you to automate repetitive tasks. SolidWorks can insert information on a drawing's creator and the materials to be used, and start similar types of drawings from a consistent starting point. Drawing templates and formats also save settings that you may want to reuse.

Comparing Templates and Formats

Templates are collections of document-specific settings and default views saved in the *.prtdot (part template), *.asmdot (assembly template), and *.drwdot (drawing template) file types. In this chapter, I cover the *.drwdot file type.

Formats, more formally called “sheet formats,” are exclusive to drawing documents and contain the sheet size, the drawing border-line geometry, and the text/custom property definitions that go with the text in the drawing border. You can think of a sheet format as an underlay beneath a clear drawing sheet. Formats can also include company logo images.

You can save formats in drawing templates; in fact, this is the method that I use and recommend. Using SolidWorks' default drawing templates, the templates and formats are initially kept separate. You specify the size and the format when creating a new drawing from a blank template. However, when the format is already in the template, the size has already ...