Update attributes in Titleblock FAST

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I have a company Titleblock, with defined attributes drawing number, rev, description etc...  How do I update a projects worth of drawings fast?  If all drawing need a rev change before I issue to the client how can I do this without opening each drawing??

Is Sheetset the best way, or do i need a script to do this?  I have struggled with starting my sheetset so I wonder if this is the best option.  Is there a beginner guide to sheetset?

Ta

[WarrenGeissler · Accepted solution]

Sheet Set is the best way to go - but here's the good news:

You DON'T have to learn EVERYTHING about sheet sets to do what you want. All you have to know is:

1. How to add existing layouts to a sheet set (drag and drop)

2. How to create custom properties in a sheet set (right click sheet set name - properties)

3. How to use fields (add field - sheet set field)

You don't need to learn all the model view, sheet view, sheet fields to do this.

[john.vellek · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous,

I agree with Warren that Sheet Sets might be a great way to accommodate this process.  If you can zip up a sample set of drawings and a titleblock, I am happy to take a look at it and give you some instructions on how to easily incorporate this into your workflow.

There is also a Blog series on Sheetsets that might be interesting to you.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Thank you very much.  I just cant figure out the starting bit to get Sheet Set Manager to work.  I have tried some info on the web, but I must be missing something.  These projects are now so much bigger, that I dont want to spend hours updating revs or details on 50+ drawings.

I have attached a few drawings and the title block I have started with.  I am not sure if publishing from model or layout space is best.  In the past I have scaled the border to fit when publishing layouts in model space.  Does it matter with Sheet Set Manager?  

Thanks for your help on this.

Thanks

Julie

[john.vellek · Accepted solution]

Hi @jp587,

I took a quick look at this for you.

First, I suggest working in paperspace for your sheets.  This allows you to take advantage of sheetsets.

I opened your files and they all gave me a warning indicating that they were not created in AutoCAD. I ran EXPORTTOAUTOCAD on each one to convert everything to AutoCAD geometry.

I then created a new sheetset and rt-clicked on the name to import layouts of your drawings.

I then modified your titleblock to fit on an A2 paper size with a slight margin.  I also modified the attributes so they would point to the Sheetset and sheet properties and custom properties.

As you will see in  my video, when you modify a sheet number and title those changes will be reflected in the sheet as expected. Modifying properties of the sheetset will also be updated in the fields on each sheet. This allows you to make the changes in the Sheet Set Manager and it will update all of your sheets.

Other possibilities include build a drawing list/Index from the sheet set manager as well as publishing .

I hope this gets you started with sheet sets.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for prompt response. Yes, we had these created in another CAD package which we are no longer using.  

I just have a couple of queries.

"I also modified the attributes so they would point to the Sheetset and sheet properties and custom properties."  What did I set wrong on the attributes?  How do I create more if I need be?

Is this easy to create from scratch?

I like the drawing list automatically compiled.

If I update one of the title blocks on the drawing is there a way to update all drawings in the set? Or would I delete/purge/insert from a template file?

Thanks

Julie

[john.vellek · Accepted solution]

HI @Anonymous,

If you use BE (Block Editor) to open the titleblock, you will see that the attributes are made with Fields instead of plain text.  A field is inserted and then links to properties in the Sheetset.

If you update the titleblock with new attributes or geometry, you can either remove the others, purge and then insert the new one of you can use Design Center to grab the new one, insert it into the existing drawings and set it to redefine the existing ones.  After you do that you might need to run Attsync or Battman to update the  text values.

There are plenty of videos that show how to add fields but if you like, I am happy to make one for you as well. Is there anything special you want me to show you?

Did you try double-clicking on a drawing in the sheetset manager? It can be a great way to navigate between drawings or layouts.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[Anonymous]

Thank you very much.  A great start to getting my sheets working great. Thank you.