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First it seems that you need to take a basic CAD course at the local community college.
Second if you save the drawing as a Template it will be saved in the default Template Folder as assigned in Tools; Option; Files; Template Settings...
a. To Save As Template: Save As; and at the bottom of the dialog click the Dropdown Files of Type and choose dwt
b. This will save to the defualt folder and will show you file when using QNEW to start a new Drawing
Thirdly how and where are you creating the Template? Is the Text in the same Space; i.e. Model or Paper?
Fourth scaling Templates up and down for various paper sizes can be done but IMHO it is much easier to create Templates for each size paper. (Although you may then have multiple items to update if you change something like a Layer color acroos the company)
Regards, Charles Shade
CSHADEDESIGN | AUTOCAD LT | LT-KB | DYNAMIC BLOCKS
Please mark Accept as Solution if your question is answered. Kudos gladly accepted. ⇘
Don't feel bad. It took me quite a long time initially to figure out how the title block thing works too. While the information provided here so far is all factually correct, I'm not sure how much of it would have helped me back when I was learning this either. So let me see if I can point you in the right direction.
You do begin creating a title block in model space, yes. Draw it to the full scale you want it to plot, ie 8.5"x11", 11"x17", etc. You can draw a hidden line for the outline of the paper to guide you for borders, put points at the corners, or just at 0,0, your choice. Fill in as much common information and "blocking" as you want for page number, project title, and other areas. But to get started I'd suggest you leave a lot of these areas blank for now. Text that will never change is safe to include however. Make sure that whatever you draw or text you provide is at the full scale you will want it plotted.
When you're happy with your new title block (keyword: block) ... make it a block! Give the block a suitable name for its size, etc. Then go to an empty layout tab and insert it. If the layout already has a viewport, delete it. Viewports in layouts/border blocks should be thought of as custom... you add them later as you need them. Be sure to insert your new block at 0,0. Basically at this point you have your title (border) block... but it still needs work. Save it out as a template (DWT) file now and resave over it as you add and refine things.
From here as you set up paper sizes and tweak the location of how it prints on paper you can resave the template as you improve it. You'll find that 0,0 in AutoCAD is seldom 0,0 with a printer. Refine the print location using the Plot Offset (X,Y boxes) in the Plot dialog. Don't be surprised if the offsets are different for different printers/plotters/DWF/PDF plots either.
As you begin to understand more about how to create plot setups for different printer/plotter combinations you'll want to start studying block atttributes and adding them to your block. Title block attributes will make it easy to enter in data when you create a new layout using your template. Study how to create custom fields too and use them within text areas in your block also. This will further customize your template. A classic use of fields in a title block template is for making a custom plot stamp. Mine includes automatically including the drawing's full file name and path. I can't begin to tell you how much time that's saved me over the years! 
I'll also use custom fields to provide common info like project number, creation date, site information (I typically do drawings for several different sites), and other things I don't want to type over and over. A quick review of your work will tell you quickly what data is repeatable and suitable for fields.
But most importantly your new title block is more than just a title/border block drawing; it’s a major template file that will store loads of standard information that you’ll use from drawing to drawing. It can & should include standard layers, text, dimension, multi-leader, and table styles, scale settings, and maybe even other blocks you use over and over. Creating this one file may be one of the most important drawings you ever make. Done well it will not only shorten the time you spend on a project but will help you maintain consistency between drawings. Personally this process taught me more about how to use AutoCAD than just about any other project. And I'll still tweak my templates from time to time to this very day.
You’ll have to hit the books to understand how much of this works, and it might take a little time for some things to sink in. But it’s all worth it.
Good luck!
Dave.
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Dave Hein, P.E.
Dave Hein, P.E.
Right now I don't have a plotter, but my printer is capable of printing as large as ANSI B (11x17). So I do exactly what you describe. My primary project template includs four (4) separate layout tabs, two for landscape 8.5"x11" and two for 11"x17" landscape. One of each is a main title page and the other is a typical drawing sheet border block. The main DWT file that contains these has the basic standard layers I always start with, my text styles, my dimension and multi-leader styles and so forth. I almost always start my project work, be it a construction plan or exhibit from this template. Combined with a set of custom Tool Palettes and I hit the ground running.
AutoCAD installs with a standard template location. Search for DWT files on your system and you'll find it. If you want to change back to it you can do so within Options Files. But there's no reason you can't store your templates in another location and point your system to it. I do that myself since I've created a separate folder for them. One other thing you can do is once you create a custom template for yourself you can change the QNEW setting so that AutoCAD will always select it when you start a new drawing.
Keep plugging away. It's a windy path sometimes.
And yes also to the other new 
comment above... USE fields in your border blocks where you can!
Dave.
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Dave Hein, P.E.
Dave Hein, P.E.
Not at all. If I can't answer your questions there are lots of others here who can.
My system may not be the best or even the most efficient, but it works well enough for me and I'll continue to use it until I learn even more tricks... one of which just became available in LT this year: Sheet Sets.
I finally figured a lot of this out using the following reference:
"AutoCAD Secrets Every User Should Know", by Dan Abbot, published by Sybex.
And another I can't live without anymore are the Autodesk Official Training Guides. They're pricey, but worth it. If you're using 2012 now order and wait for the most current version that will ship in a month or so. Right now the version I have is this:
"Mastering AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011", by George Omura, published by Sybex.
I've got other references too, but truthfully I seem to always revert back to these for the final word.
Again, good studying. Learn one new thing a day and pretty soon you'll feel pretty good about yourself.
Dave.
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Dave Hein, P.E.
Dave Hein, P.E.
If the files are old they likely had a PAT file that is no longer loaded in the current acadlt.pat file or in a file in the Autocad search path.
You will either need to find and load these files at the bottom of the acadlt.pat file or place them individually in a file in the Search Path. I keep most of my unique patterns as individual files in the Support folder and leave the core PAT file alone.
Of course you can just go ahead and rehatch the missing items with another similar pattern if you have one.
Regards, Charles Shade
CSHADEDESIGN | AUTOCAD LT | LT-KB | DYNAMIC BLOCKS
Please mark Accept as Solution if your question is answered. Kudos gladly accepted. ⇘
The acadlt.pat file is an ASCII text file that you can edit with a simple editor like Notepad. What Charles is saying is that if that old hatch pattern was a custom one that isn't available in your default .pat file, you can add the pattern by grabbing the code and putting it at the end (bottom) of your current acadlt.pat file. This could be true if the file you're working on was originally created by someone else. Odds are you don't know what that code is however.
The easiest route is probably just to re-hatch it with one of the standard patterns you have in your installation as Charles suggests. This would also be a good time for you to explore the HPLAYER system variable too. Get in good habits. We'll leave that hint to you to work out on your own.
Dave.
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Dave Hein, P.E.
Dave Hein, P.E.
Did you need help with title blocks? If so please let me know I'd be happy to assist and help.
Sarah Emmsley
Technical Support Specialist
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