CAD Standards

Drawings are easier to interpret if you set standards to enforce consistency. You can set standards for layer names, dimension styles, and other elements; check drawings against these standards; and then change any properties that do not conform.

You can create a standards file to define common properties in order to maintain consistency throughout your drawing files. Standards define a set of common properties for named objects such as layers and text styles. You or your CAD manager can create, apply, and audit standards in drawings to enforce consistency. Because standards make it easier for others to interpret drawings, standards are particularly useful in collaborative environments, where many individuals contribute to the creation of a drawing. You can create standards for the following named objects:

• Layers
• Text styles
• Linetypes
• Dimension styles

Standards File

After you define standards, you save them as a standards file. You can then associate the standards file with one or more drawing files. After you associate a standards file with a drawing, you should periodically check the drawing to make sure it conforms with the standards.

Define Standards

To set standards, you create a file that defines properties for layers, dimension styles, linetypes, and text styles, and you save it as a standards file with the .dws file name extension.

Depending on how you organize your projects, you may decide to create and associate more than one project-specific standards file with an individual drawing. When you audit the drawing file, conflicts may arise between settings in the standards files. For example, one standards file specifies that the layer WALL is yellow, and another standards file specifies that it is red. In the case of conflicts, the first standards file associated with the drawing takes precedence. If necessary, you can change the order of the standards files to change the precedence.

If you want to audit drawings using just a specific plug-in, you can specify the plug-in when defining your standards file. For example, if recent changes to a drawing are limited to text changes, you may want to audit the drawing using only the layers and text styles plug-ins to save time. By default, all plug-ins are used when auditing drawings for standards violations.

To create a standards file

• Click the Application button, and click New menu -> Drawing.
• Enter a template file name, or press Enter to continue.
• In a new drawing, create any layers, dimension styles, linetypes, and text styles that you want to be part of the standards file.
• Click the Application button, and click Save As -> AutoCAD Drawing Standards. DWS files must be saved in the current drawing file format. To create a DWS file in a previous drawing file format, save the file in the desired DWG format, and then rename the DWG file using a .dws extension.
• In File Name, enter a name for the standards file. Click Save.

To associate a standards file with the current drawing

• Click Manage tab Cad Standards panel -> Configure.
• In the Configure Standards dialog box, Standards tab, click the plus (+) button (Add Standards File).
• In the Select Standards File dialog box, select a standards file. Click Open.
• Repeat above steps if you want to associate additional standards files with the current drawing.
• Click OK.

Standards Violations

You can audit a drawing file for violations of standards and then fix violations. The Batch Standards Checker audits more than one file at a time.

After you associate a standards file with a drawing, you should periodically check the drawing to make sure it conforms with its standards. This is especially important when more than one person is updating the drawing file. For example, in a project with multiple subcontractors, one subcontractor may create new layers that do not comply with the standards you have defined. In that case, you need to be able to identify the nonstandard layers and fix them.

You can use the notification feature to alert users that a standards violation has occurred while working in a drawing. This feature allows you to fix a standards violation just after it has occurred, making it easier to create and maintain drawings that comply with standards.

Check a Single Drawing

You can use the CHECKSTANDARDS command to view all standards violations in the current drawing. The Check Standards dialog box reports each nonstandard object, along with any suggested fixes.

You can choose to fix or ignore each reported standards violation. If you ignore a reported violation, it is flagged in the drawing. You can turn off the display of ignored problems so that they are not reported as violations the next time you audit the drawing.

If no fix is provided for the current standards violation, no item is highlighted in the Replace With list, and the Fix button is not available. If you fix a standards violation that is currently displayed in the Check Standards dialog box, the violation is not removed from the dialog box until you click the Fix or the Next button.

Once the entire drawing has been audited, the Checking Complete message is displayed. This message summarizes the standards violations that were found in the drawing. The message also shows the violations that were fixed automatically, the violations that were fixed manually, and the violations that were ignored.