DXF into Template with Titleblock, ACE 2013

[bcc2]

I am learning AutoCAD Electrical 2013 and currently have to turn a titleblock into a template as a practice assignment. I am very new to AutoCAD and have been doing basic assignements for a week or two. I am not quite sure how to go about starting this. The titleblock I was sent is a dxf and I don't believe that it is in the Electrical version. But I need the finished template to be Electrical. Any basic help on getting started or just a few suggestions on how to go about it would be great.

Thanks

[Icemanau · Accepted solution]

First of all, go to the File menu and import the DXF into ACADE. Then SAVE the file as a dwg. This converts the file to the standard ACAD format for your release.

Next, assuming that there are no attributes in the file, you have to set up the attributes you want to title block to have.

If there are attributes in the title block, make a note of the attribute names.

When the attributes are set up to how you want, you need to run the Title Block Setup tool. I would suggest using Method 2 when the selection box comes up. This adds a particular attribute to the title block which contains the setup information. Go through the wizard and select the attribute match the settings you need. Be aware that there are multiple pages available for thedescription lines (click on the left/right arrows to access them). There is also a page to allow DWG settings to be mapped to the title block as well. This allows dwg specific information to be inserted as needed.

Now you make sure all the attributes are using the text style and the size you require. Move everything to the required layers, change the colours as you need to and any other tidying up as needed.

Purge the dwg of everything extraneous. this will make the file as small as possible by removing data that is not required.

Now SAVE AS the file with a different name. This will allow you revert to the beginning if you need to.

Create a blank dwg and INSERT the second file as a block. WARNING, make sure the check box to explode the block is NOT ticked.

Set up ALL your layers, Text Styles, Dimension Styles and Table Styles.

Final step is to save the dwg as a template. Do a Save As and select Template (*.dwt) as the file type fill in the new file name and you are done.

Regards Brad

[bcc2]

Thanks a lot. This was very helpful.

[bcc2]

I am having trouble finding and accessing the attributes once I try to insert them as a block in a different drawing. I think they are there, but they are invisible. When I select everything I do not see grips for the attributes. I don't fully understand how they work so I don't know what I am doing wrong. I have tried creating a new block that includes the attributes but the attributes disappear as soon as I do that, even if I set them to visible.

[rhesusminus]

Sounds like your block is already a block, before you insert it into another drawing, making it another block. So.. seems like you have a block within a block...

If you explode your block ONCE... Can you access the attributes then?

[testsubject]

You most likely will not see anything until after filling in the project descriptions and then running the Titleblock Update. That is the normal routine. Maybe if you post what you have done so far we can better help you...