A drawing came to me with a "Sheet" layout but no "Model" space or any way to edit

[tylor_reedS4YPD]

I received a file that someone needed help getting out of Sheet layout and no apparent way to do such thing.  We tried to convert it and copy/paste into the Model space to be able to modify the dwg but nothing worked.  I ended up finding a save as option that saves your current layout in the model space of a new drawing. Problem solved, for now. 

I am still very rusty with AutoCAD and I'm not sure if the way I went about converting it was the best approach or why it came to us that way in the first place.  I was wondering if there was another way and if that is normal to receive a drawing with only a Sheet layout and why you would want to send it that way? 

Thank you

[cadffm]

Hi,

there was a model tab, but empty, right?

Copy/paste doesn't work: For usual it should work, but sometimes there is a problem, depending of the file content.

>>" I was wondering if there was another way and if that is normal to receive a drawing with only a Sheet layout"

No, for usual you draw in Model tab

and you can use layout tabs to create a layout - with titles frames and viewports, to show the model tab content.

>>"and why you would want to send it that way? "

You can draw all in layout tab, it's on you (the creator) , but very unusual.

Often such files came from another program what export data this way  to save in  .dwg file format.

Perhaps it was an Inventor .dwg

Without your original .dwg, we have to guess.

[imadHabash]

Hi,

You can not guess what are the circumstances that the drawings made under it.BUT for sure it's unusual to have such an empty MODEL drawing.

[pendean]

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@tylor_reedS4YPD wrote:

... if that is normal to receive a drawing with only a Sheet layout and why you would want to send it that way? 

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Ask the file creator what program they are using (not AutoCAD most likely), and if it is indeed AutoCAD, ask them why they draft in LAYOUT and not modelspace.

OR was it a bound XREF?

[moneumiko]

Can you attach the original 'faulty' file?