TIP! Swap Block / Update Block /Library Swap

[caddude1]

Those of you who are using AutoCAD Electrical for  mixed AutoCAD version drawings will usually need to include mechanical layouts of some type (panel layouts and enclosure layouts, etc.). When working with mechanical layouts, best practice is to scale your item (panel, enclosure, etc.) at 1=1, and scale your title block to fit. It is preferred to stick with even numbers (2, 4, 8 etc.) if possible when determining the scale factor. You are expecting a result as shown in the (block_scale_example), where the title block is the full width matching the drawing border.

 What happens when your title block needs to be updated (in this example, I am updating to a new version to correct the company address) and your title block is drawn other than 1=1? If you select the swap/update/library swap, and proceed as shown in the (error_1) example, you will get a result you were not expecting. Note two things here! The "retain old block scale" option was not selected, and the title block no longer is sized properly!

 This can be cleaned up, if you correct the scale factor on every sheet where things went wrong (not a good time - I can tell you from experience), and there is no harm done. However, it is better to pause and look at all of your choices before you just make the leap and proceed. Take a look at the (fix_1) example. I have selected the "retain old block scale", retaining the existing sizing. You will find that by selecting this dialog box, the resulting drawing is correct! Often, just taking a moment to see what options are available in a dialog box will save you considerable time!

[Kent1Cooper]

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@caddude1 wrote:

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 What happens when your title block needs to be updated (in this example, I am updating to a new version to correct the company address) ....

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This is a perfect example of a situation in which you should use an XREF for the title block, rather than a Block.  Update the address [or anything else] in the source drawing, and it will be fixed in every drawing that references it, automatically.  No swap/update/library-swap operation required [you don't even need to open the drawings for updating], and therefore no question of whether a scaling option is set correctly.

[caddude1]

I agree sir. The xref is a practical way to go, and effective if used when a drawing package is started.

However, in my situation, the drawings have been worked on by many people for many years. It would not be practical to try and reset the drawings with xref title blocks at this time, as there is rarely the time to do more than the bare minimum updates when releasing a job.