Managing and updating blocks

[kzD1219]

How are you all managing blocks?  Are all blocks in a separate folder or are they just in the templates/dwg files? We have about 10 templates and while most have the standard ones, I am coming across more and more new or duplicate blocks with different names. 

Would you go through each block and see if that symbol is under another name and remove one of the duplicates?  Save them all in a file folder?  We have both metric and imperial blocks so that makes things just a bit harder.

[RobDraw]

I much prefer a separate block library to having them in templates. Much easier for managing/updating.

I've found that this type of thing is usually better handled by starting from scratch. That way it is done correctly all the way through, hopefully eliminating duplicates and old content.

[dgorsman]

I too work with separate DWG files rather than templates.  I also make heavy use of folders and search paths to keep things organized.  In some cases there are only one or two blocks that need to be changed and not the hundred or two others, so rather than having a full template for every combination I only need to create a new file in a higher-priority search path with the same name.

Most of our third-party tools also expect their content to be as individual files.

[ArchD · Accepted solution]

We have directories for block libraries and detail libraries. Most blocks and details are in a single file, so two dwgs total. We do have some specific block library drawings as well, but those are usually specific to client needs. Keeping them in one file allows me to make sure they all use the same font styles, layer properties and all that, keeping them all consistent. 

Once they are created, I've created tool palettes that are shared for everyone. I periodically update the palette to include new blocks or details. When I update the palette, each user needs to re-add them to palette groups if they use them. Already established blocks get any updates that are done to them as soon as they bring them in, or when they redefine them in drawings that already contain the block definition.

[kzD1219]

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@ArchDwrote:

We have directories for block libraries and detail libraries. Most blocks and details are in a single file, so two dwgs total. We do have some specific block library drawings as well, but those are usually specific to client needs. Keeping them in one file allows me to make sure they all use the same font styles, layer properties and all that, keeping them all consistent. 

Once they are created, I've created tool palettes that are shared for everyone. I periodically update the palette to include new blocks or details. When I update the palette, each user needs to re-add them to palette groups if they use them. Already established blocks get any updates that are done to them as soon as they bring them in, or when they redefine them in drawings that already contain the block definition.

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I have never thought about putting the blocks into one drawing and then saving them that way.  Great idea!  Do you actually have the blocks inserted into the drawing so when you open up the drawing you can physically see the blocks you have?  Are the blocks inserted to model space or layout space?  

I have also started making my own tool palette, but need to start sharing it within the company once it is complete.  Is it easy to share a tool palette from a directory that everyone has access to?  If you don't mind me asking.

[ArchD]

Technically your block library drawing doesn't need to have the blocks in model space or paper space as long as the block definition is in the drawing. In my setup I have a drawing with all the blocks in model space with rectangles and titles to categorize them all. My tool palette has separators and titles that correlate to the categories to organize it better.

Sharing a tool palette is a bit more difficult due to this ungodly lag spike when switching palettes after making edits to the palettes. So to share it without this lag spike, I have our shared tool palettes on a shared server that is locked for read only to everyone including me. When I need to make a change:

1. I have a temporary tool palette location on my local drive and a profile that has just this single location pathed to the temporary tool palette location
2. While using this profile and with the tool palettes set to read/write I make my changes.
3. Once I have them the way I want them I export all of my palettes to an export folder in this temp palette location.
4. After the export, I shut down AutoCAD and delete the AcTpCatalog.atc and Palettes folder.
5. After those are deleted and only the export folder remains I restart AutoCAD and import each of the exported palettes.
6. Once they are all imported I close out of AutoCAD so that it writes a new AcTpCatalog.atc and Palettes folder.
7. I then set those two to read only.
8. Back on the shared server I delete the shared version of the AcTpCatalog.atc and Palettes folder then copy over the one from my local drive.

It's important to make sure that everyone has only Read permissions for the shared palettes. When you delete and copy over the new ones, you must make sure you set it to read only for yourself. If anyone has read/write permissions it will cause duplicate sets of palettes when they close their session if the tool palette was updated while they had AutoCAD open. 

When a new palette is updated, they need to be re-added to any custom palette group any user may be using them in. This is a clue to let them know that there have been changes so you may want to send out an email letting know of any changes you've made so they know of the new tools they can use.

Also, when adding a shared tool palette to user support folder paths, make sure it is added to the bottom of the list so that any personal changes they make are saved to their personal paths and not the shared path. 

One more thing to keep in mind is that when you add blocks to the palette, you may want to go to the properties of them all and give them a UNC path name instead of a mapped drive to allow for everyone access to them regardless of their server mapping.

[hencoop]

I keep details as Views in category specific drawings (Water Details, Sewer Details, EC Details, etc.).  These are kept in a Details folder that is copied to each project folder structure.  It would be great to just use them from a single network location but invariably a PM will direct changes to a detail specific to his project.  I have to make project specific copies to avoid unintended detail changes in other projects.  Because they are defined as Views in these drawings, they can be easily placed on detail sheets in each project's Sheet Set on an as needed basis.

I keep blocks that are not details in a common network folder.  They are essentially parts in a part library, e.g. pumps, valves, pipe supports, access hatches, bolts, nuts, structural steel shapes, etc.  They have descriptive names that include sizes and the view (pl, sc, el) represented.  I use a lisp routine to write out all new blocks from a project drawing to a local project folder or to this common network folder.  The routine filters for block names that I don't catalog (AutoCAD / C3D blocks) and if I choose to write them out to a local folder I can review them and eliminate any blocks that I don't want to catalog.

We use Windows Explorer with Large or Extra Large Icon display coupled with the search function to find a block and place it in a drawing.  The icon gives a clear picture of the part and together with the description the correct block is easily identified.  We can just drag-and-drop them in a drawing.