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A drawing title is the information area for a drawing that is meant to be a
part of a plot sheet along with other drawings.
Many people draw their drawings right on the sheet they plan to plot it from
and just insert a title under the drawing (there is such a title available in
the architectural symbols
portion of the block library). These
people probably will not need a drawing title. A drawing title is mainly for
people who either XREF or insert (as a block) their drawings in to the sheet
that they are going to plot it from. Lets show you an example for a detail:
The above drawing is an example of a detail that has been drawn with a
drawing title. This particular drawing title uses a bounding box and title
information in boxes at the bottom. You may have yours look any way you would
like.
The detail above could then be XREF'ed into a sheet set up for plotting. Each detail
is an individual drawing that can be used later in a detail library or in
another project etc.
We are going to set up a generic version of the sheet title that was shown
above under Drawing titles.
Since this drawing title is going to be used with the
DWGSETUP command we should create it full
size (the size you would like it to measure on the
sheet of paper when plotted).
Note: Rather than create a title from
scratch you may also copy and/or modify a sample detail title that is located in
the "Custom" folder. The sample file is called "SAMPLE-TITL-Detail.dwg".
The sheet title shown in the above detail is set up with the information
shown in the image directly above. For this example we will be substituting some
special attributes for some of the text so that they can be updated with the TB-UPDAT
command. The 1"=1'-0" portion of the text indicating the scale will be replaced
with the scale attribute, the filename, date and initials will also use these
special attributes so that they may be automatically updated as well.
Construct the sheet title leaving the insertion of these special attributes
until last. The title portion of the sheet title might look like the image
above.
To insert the attributes we will use the
TB-ATTSETUP command. Type
TB-ATTSETUP at the command prompt and
the following dialog will appear:
For this example we will start with the drawing's scale so we will press the
"Scale" button from the above dialog. The following dialog appears:
Select the style, justification, width factor, and oblique angle desired for
this attribute. For the scale attribute block in our example we will use the
defaults and just press "OK".
Insert the scale attribute somewhere near the location it will end up and the
main dialog for the
TB-ATTSETUP command will reappear:
We will insert all of the attributes for the sheet title now and will format
them once all the attributes are in the drawing. Select the "File Name" button
and the following dialog will appear once again.
This time change the "Justification" to "Right" and press "OK".
Select a point somewhere near the location where it will go.
We need to also insert the "Date" and "Initials" attributes and they also
need to be inserted right justified. Insert these two attributes the same way as
the "File Name" one above. The attributes from the
TB-ATTSETUP command come in on
whatever layer is current so make sure the attributes are on the layer you use
for your title blocks. If they are not, change them so they are.
Now that we have all of the attributes in the drawing we can move and format
them as needed. If any of the attributes are the wrong size scale them or use
the TXTEDT command to specify their height.
Let's first move the scale attribute to it's location.
Now lets change it's color to green (use the "3"
command).
Now lets move the other three attributes to their locations and scale them
down slightly.
Oops...they are the wrong text style. We can use the
TXTEDT command to help us out. Let's change
the style to SIMPLEX and their color to 42 (change the color in the
TXTEDT command or use the "42"
command).
We now have a sheet title set up and ready to use with the
DWGSETUP command. We recommend locating
this file in the "Custom" folder
To add our new drawing title that we just created (in the example above under
Creating a drawing title) to the
DWGSETUP command press the
 toolbar
button or type DWGSETUP at the command
prompt. The following dialog will appear:
In the "Title Block" area make sure that "Insert" is selected and
then press the "Customize..." button. The following
dialog will appear:
We already have a detail set up in this command so we can either edit the
current detail entry so that it will insert our new file or we can create
another entry for our new detail. For this example we will add a new entry.
Press the "Add" button and the following dialog will appear:
First enter the "Text to be displayed" in the box. This is what you will see
in the main title block window when it is set to show the "insertion" titles and
title blocks.
For this example let's enter "Detail 2
Title". We will add the "Title" so that it will remind us that this
is a drawing title and not a title block. You may of course name this drawing
title anything you like.
Now let's press the "Browse..." button and locate the detail drawing title
that we just created. When everything is how you would like it press "OK"
The listing is added to the customization dialog. For more on customizing
titles and title blocks used by the
DWGSETUP command see
Customizing
the "Defined Title Blocks" list.
Press "OK" (give it a moment to find the title and title block files...) and
the new detail drawing title will now appear in the "Defined Title Blocks"
window whenever the
DWGSETUP command is run.
To see how to insert this drawing title see the
DWGSETUP command.
The title block is the information area for the entire plotted sheet.
There are many ways to create a plot sheet with a title block. Some people
set up a title block drawing for every scale that they use and create prototype
drawings to use when starting each new drawing. Many insert the title block in
paper or layout space and always bring it in full size (1:1) and rely on scaling
drawings in the viewports. If you are happy with the way you create sheets for
plotting then by all means stick to what works for you. We do however recommend
that you at least look at the
DWGSETUP and TB-UPDAT
commands to see if there is something that they can do that will help you with
setting up your drawings and keeping the information in the drawings accurate
and current.
There are two ways to insert a title block: you may INSERT it or you may
XREF it.
We recommend you INSERT drawing titles and XREF title blocks. XREF'ing your
title block has one big advantage over INSERTing it. Should you find an
error in the title block or need to make a change, fixing
or changing one file
will take care of all of the drawings in the set without having to open each one
individually. Not all people like XREF'ing and so you also have the option of
INSERTing the title block so that all of the title block information resides in
each individual drawing.
We are going to set up a generic title block that will be inserted for us by
the
DWGSETUP command so we should create it
full size (the exact size you would like it to measure on the
sheet of paper when plotted). We will also be inserting several of the special
attributes that will be updated by using the TB-UPDAT
command. But before we can draw our title block we need to know how big we can
make it before it starts getting cropped by the plotter.
Note: Rather than create a title block
from scratch you may also copy and/or modify sample title block files that are
located in the "Custom" folder. The sample files are called "SAMPLE-TBLK-24x36-both.dwg",
"SAMPLE-TBLK-24x36-insert.dwg", and
"SAMPLE-TBLK-24x36-xref.dwg". The "both"
dwg has both the "insert" and "xref"
information contained in it and is meant to be inserted. The "xref"
and "insert" files are meant to be used when
XREF'ing the title block so the "xref" file has all
the lines and information that should be the same in all the drawings and the "insert"
file has all the attributes and text that may need to change in each drawing.
When setting up a title block we have found it helpful to find out what the
"effective plotting area" is for your plotter first and then draw the title
block inside this area.
This "effective plotting area" size is also a good place to start
when figuring the sheet size values to be configured in to the
"Predefined Sizes" portion of the
DWGSETUP command for the sheet size being
used (see changing
the predefined size list). These values may need to be adjusted slightly
depending on your plotter model and configuration.
While there are many ways to find the "effective plotting area" we will
briefly explain two.
Use the effective plotting area value shown in the
plot dialog
Once your printers and plotters are set up in AutoCAD the
effective plotting area is shown in the plot dialog for the plot device and
sheet size
selected.
The "Printable area:" value (35.50 x 22.50 inches) is the maximum size that
you can make the border of your title block. When constructing a new title block
file start by creating a rectangle the size shown as the "Printable area:" and
then fit your title block inside this rectangle.
Trial and error method
If the above method does not work for you there is another method
that is a little less "elegant" but usually just as successful.
Create a rectangle the size of the sheet of paper. For this example we will
use 36"x24" and place the bottom left corner at the origin (0.0, 0.0, 0.0).
Then type some text without spaces (we typed the alphabet) and place it
similar to what is shown in the image above.
Plot the drawing using the following settings:
- Plot it with a scale of 1:1 (full size).
- For the "Plot area" press the "window" button and when asked to select the
window "Pick" (use object snaps these need to be accurate) the bottom left
corner of the rectangle for the first point and the top right corner of the
rectangle for the second point.
- Do NOT check the "Center the plot" box (AutoCAD 2000 and later)
- The remainder of the settings should be set to the way you would like to
normally have them when plotting.
When the sheet is plotted you will be able to see where your plotter's
plotting limits are.
Typically the bottom left corner of the rectangle is shifted to the plotter's
"origin" point (the bottom left most point that the plotter can plot) so the
left and bottom lines of the rectangle plot as shown above. This means that
those lines can be used as the bottom and left extents of the "effective plotting
area".
When we look at the text at the top of the sheet we see that the top of the
rectangle is not there and that the text is chopped off in the middle of the
"G". This shows us the upper limits of our plot area. Zoom in on the text at the
top of the rectangle and draw a line where the text was cut off in the plot.
Now lets do the same for the text at the right side of the rectangle.
The rectangle should look similar to this when you zoom back out.
Now extend the lines till they intersect the the rectangle and cross each
other as shown.
Trim the original rectangle and fillet the lines as needed to create a new
rectangle. You may also erase the text. This is the rectangle that represents
the "effective plotting area" for your title block. In other words anything
inside this rectangle will plot and anything outside it will get cut off.
You are now ready to construct your new title block inside this rectangle.
Regardless of which method you use there is a chance that a little tweaking
may need to be done to get it to plot just the way you like it. Centering the
title block in the sheet of paper, and adjusting the size slightly to allow the
plotter to cut the sheet at the correct length are some of the more common
adjustments but the list is long.
Once we have found the "effective plotting area" (represented above with the
yellow centerline) we can construct our title block inside it. For more on how
to find the "effective plotting area see above.
There are way too many issues both aesthetic and functional than can be
discussed here so we will not show you how to construct the majority of the
title block. What we will show you is how to insert some special attributes so
that they can be updated with the TB-UPDAT
command.
Let's start at the bottom right area of the title block. We would like the
information shown in red above to be replaced with some of the attributes for
the TB-UPDAT command so it will update
this information for us. If you are "converting" an existing title block the
text for these items may already be in your title block so you will be replacing
them with the attributes for the TB-UPDAT
command. If you are creating your title block from scratch the items in red
above may not be there yet. Either way we will insert the attributes the same
way.
If you are "converting" an existing title block draw some lines from the
insertion point of the text so that you may insert the attributes in the exact
same location as the existing text. Once you have the "placeholder" lines in
place you may erase the old text. If you are constructing the title block from
scratch locate the insertion points and draw lines similar to those "converting"
the title block so that you may insert the attributes easily.
To insert the attributes for the TB-UPDAT
command we will be using the
TB-ATTSETUP command. Type
TB-ATTSETUP at the command prompt and
the following dialog will appear:
We will start with the project number so we would press the
"Project Number" button from the above dialog. The following dialog appears:
Since the text we are using is centered between the lines above and below it
and should be right justified we will be using the middle right justification.
Otherwise the default values in the above dialog are correct. Press OK and the
dialog will close.
For the insertion point for our first attribute we will select the endpoint
of our "placeholder" line as shown above.
The attribute for the project number is inserted and the main dialog for the
TB-ATTSETUP command will reappear:
Insert the "File Name", "Date", and "Initials" as you did the "Project
Number" above so that you title block looks something like the image above. The
last attribute to insert for this portion of the title block is the sheet
number. Insert it the same as the others except instead of using "Middle Right"
justification we will use just "Middle".
When done, this portion of your title block should look similar to the image
above. The attributes from the
TB-ATTSETUP command come in on
whatever layer is current so make sure the attributes are on the layer you use
for your title blocks. If they are not change them so they are. Now it is time
to format the attributes so they look right in the title block.
We will use the TXTEDT command to do
this. Press the
 button or type
TE or TXTEDT
at the command prompt.
We will start with the project number attribute. Select the project number
attribute and the following dialog will appear:
We would like to match the size of the text to the left of the attribute so
we will enter the appropriate size in the "Height" box (if you do not know the
size of the other text first select the text to the left of the attribute using
the TXTEDT command and when the dialog
appears it's height will be shown in the "Height" box. Cancel the dialog and
then use the TXTEDT command on the
attribute). The other thing that we would like to change is the color. In this
example the attribute should be color "151" so select the color swatch and
change the color (for more on how to change the color see How
to select colors).
Note: With all of the attributes the text
value does not matter at this point because the TB-UPDAT
command will update them once the title block has been inserted in the drawing.
It is important however that you allow enough space for common values
that the TB-UPDAT command may change the
attributes to. We recommend changing the attribute's text value to the longest
value that you think it may ever get and then position it accordingly.
Once all of the values are to your liking press "OK" and the attribute will
be updated.
Correct the filename, date, and initials in the same fashion. As you may
notice with the filename attribute the value is too wide and will not fit in the
space provided. We have two choices either make the title block wider or make
the attribute for filename narrower. We will make the attribute narrower. Use
AutoCAD's DDMODIFY command to change the
width factor of the attribute.
Now we will change the sheet number attribute. We will once again use the TXTEDT
command and this time we will change not only the size and color but also the
text style as well.
Now this portion of the title block is finished. You may erase the "place
holder" lines and this portion of the title block is ready to go.
There are only two more attributes to insert and they all reside in the
"binding" area of the title block down in the lower left corner.
Create the "placeholder" lines from the insertion points of the two
attributes or locate where you would like the insertion points to be so they can
be selected easily
Use the
TB-ATTSETUP command once more and
insert the "Border Date" and "Border Time" attributes. Rotate and move them so
that they are located the way you would like them. Scale them if the size is not
correct. Finally use the TXTEDT command to
change any of the properties that you would like. We changed the style and color
above.
You may remove the rectangle from around the title block (make sure that you
have a copy of it saved somewhere so you may make other title blocks as needed
later) and you are left with a generic title block that the
DWGSETUP command can insert at any scale
desired. We recommend locating
this file in the "Custom" folder
but put it wherever your standard drawing title and title blocks are located.
To XREF a title block two drawings are required. One contains all of the
information that should be the same in every sheet. This is the file that will
be XREF'ed. The other contains the information that will be unique or will
change in every sheet. This file is inserted. To create these two files we first
start with the complete title block (see above for Constructing the title block).
Then we use AutoCAD's WBLOCK command to create files with just the
appropriate information. Let's first create the file that contains the
information that needs to change in each drawing. This typically is objects like
the attributes that are updated by the TB-UPDAT
command and any other objects (north arrows etc) and text (drawing titles etc.)
that may need to change depending on the drawing. They are shown in our example
title block above in yellow.
Type WBLOCK at the command prompt. You will see a dialog that looks
similar to one of the following:
Release 2000 and later
Release 14
Release 13
Enter the name for this portion of the title block file. One convention that
we like to use is to add the letter "I" (for insert) to the end of the standard
title block name to designate it as the file that contains the information to be
inserted. You may name it whatever you like.
We recommend locating
this file in the "Custom" folder
but put it wherever your standard drawing title and title blocks are located.
Release 13 Press OK. Press <Enter> when prompted for a block name and
enter 0,0,0 when prompted for an insertion point.
Release 14 Press "Save". Press <Enter> when prompted for a block
name and enter 0,0,0 when prompted for an insertion point.
Release 2000 and later Verify that the source is "Objects",
check the "Delete from drawing" option and verify that the base point is
X=0" Y=0" and Z=0". Then press the "Select objects"
button.
Now we can select the objects for the block. As described above this
includes anything that needs to change in each drawing (in our example the
objects in yellow).
Once these objects have been selected press <Enter> and the objects selected
will disappear (in AutoCAD release 2000 and later the dialog will reappear and
you should press "OK"). Now all that is left is the information that should be
the same in all of the sheets.
We will once again use AutoCAD's WBLOCK command to create the file that is to
be XREF'ed. Type WBLOCK at the command prompt.
Enter the name for this portion of the title block file. The convention that
we like to use adds the letter "X" (for XREF) to the end of the standard title
block name for this file to designate it as the file that contains the
information to be XREFerenced. You may name it whatever you like.
We recommend also locating
this file in the "Custom" folder but at least put it the same location
as the first file created so they will be together.
Release 13 Press OK. Press <Enter> when prompted for a block name and
enter 0,0,0 when prompted for an insertion point.
Release 14 Press "Save". Press <Enter> when prompted for a block
name and enter 0,0,0 when prompted for an insertion point.
Release 2000 and later Verify that the source is "Objects",
check the "Delete from drawing" option and verify that the base point is
X=0" Y=0" and Z=0". Then press the "Select objects"
button.
Now we can select the objects for the block. This time we select everything
that is in the drawing (all of the items that go in the other file should be
gone).
Once all the objects have been selected press <Enter> and they will disappear
(in AutoCAD release 2000 and later the dialog will reappear and you should press
"OK"). Now the drawing should be blank. To get our standard title block back (in
case you should want to insert it) either do NOT save your changes or use
AutoCAD's UNDO command and go back until all of the objects reappear.
Now both the insertion and XREF files have been created for use with the
DWGSETUP command.
So far we have created a title block to insert (see Constructing the title block)
and also one (consisting of two files) to XREF (see
Creating title blocks to use when XREF'ing).
Now let's add them to the
DWGSETUP command. We will start with the
title block to insert
and then the one to
XREF.
To add our new title block that we just created (in the example above under Constructing the title block) to the
DWGSETUP command press the
toolbar
button or type DWGSETUP at the command
prompt. The following dialog will appear:
In the "Title Block" area make sure that "Insert" is selected and
then press the "Customize..." button. The following
dialog will appear:
We already have a 24"x36" title block set up in this command so we can either edit the
existing entry so that it will insert our new file or we can create
another entry for our new title block. For this example we will add a new entry.
Press the "Add" button and the following dialog will appear:
First enter the "Text to be displayed" in the box. This is what you will see
in the main title block window when it is set to show the "insertion" titles and
title blocks.
For this example let's enter "24x36 Std Arch 2
Plot Sheet". We will add the "Plot Sheet" so that it will remind us that this
is a title block and not just a drawing title. You may of course call this title
block entry anything you like.
Now let's press the "Browse..." button and locate the title block
file drawing title
that we created. When everything is how you would like it press "OK"
The listing is added to the customization dialog.
Now let's move the listing up to be under the other title block. First select
our new entry and then press the "Move UP" button until our new entry is just
below the existing title block.
Looks great!
For more on customizing
titles and title blocks used by the
DWGSETUP command see
Customizing
the "Defined Title Blocks" list.
Press "OK" (give it a moment to find the title and title block files...) and
the new title block will now appear in the "Defined Title Blocks"
window whenever the
DWGSETUP command is run.
To add our new XREF title block files that we just created (in the example above under
Creating title blocks to use when XREF'ing) to the
DWGSETUP command press the
toolbar
button or type DWGSETUP at the command
prompt. The following dialog will appear:
In the "Title Block" area make sure that "XRef" is selected and
then press the "Customize..." button. The following
dialog will appear:
We currently don't have any entries for XREF'ed title blocks so let's add
one.
Press the "Add" button and the following dialog will appear:
First enter the "Text to be displayed" in the box. This is what you will see
in the main title block window when it is set to show the "XREF" titles and
title blocks.
For this example let's enter "24 x 36 Std Arch". You may of course call this title
block entry anything you like.
Now let's press the "Browse..." buttons and locate the title block
files that we created above under
Creating title blocks to use when XREF'ing. When everything is how you would like it press "OK"
The listing is added to the customization dialog. For more on customizing
titles and title blocks used by the
DWGSETUP command see
Customizing
the "Defined Title Blocks" list.
Press "OK" (give it a moment to find the title and title block files...) and
the new title block will now appear in the "Defined Title Blocks"
window whenever the
DWGSETUP command is run and XRef is
selected.
Typically you would not XREF a generic titleblock. It really doesn't make
much sense. However what this does do is allow job specific title blocks
to be created using this title block. See below under
Creating job specific titleblocks.
Creating a job specific title block is really a simple thing. It can be done
for both title blocks that are inserted and for title blocks that will be
XREF'ed.
Make a copy of the generic title block file(s) and place the copies in your
job folder. Then rename the copied title block file(s) adding the job number to
the beginning of the filename adding a dash to separate it from the generic
title block name.
That's it! For a little more detail lets look at an example:
We will be creating a job specific title block that we would like to XREF into our drawings. The project number is 2003-004 and the project folder is on the
X: drive and the path looks like this:
For this example file management scheme the "Dwgs" folder contains all of the
plot sheets and the title block drawings so this is where we should copy the
generic title block drawing.
Let's start in the "Custom" folder (or wherever you store your generic
title blocks).
Since we will be XREF'ing the title blocks in our example project we will
select the two files that we created for the 24"x36" title block (see Creating title blocks to use when XREF'ing,
we changed the filenames for this example) Highlight the two files that make up
the title block and then right click on them.
Select "Copy". Now locate the job folder on the X: drive and select the "Dwgs"
folder on the left side.
The contents of the "Dwgs" folder will appear on the right side. Right
click on a blank spot on the right side and select "Paste".
The two files will appear in the folder.
Right click on the first file we copied here and select "Rename".
Click the cursor at the beginning of the filename.
Now type the project number followed by a "-"
(dash). Then press <Enter>.
Do the same for the second file.
If you have several types or sizes of title block you may repeat the process
for as many as you like. Now you may open the files to be XREF'ed (the "X"
files) and modify them for this specific job adding client and project
information.
If the generic title block versions of these title blocks show up in the
DWGSETUP command then when working on a
drawing from the 2003-004 project these job specific title blocks will also show
up (see Adding a
title block to XREF to the DWGSETUP command, Adding a title block to INSERT
to the DWGSETUP command, and also see
How
a job specific title block file is located)
For setting up a drawing with a job specific XREF title block see XREF'ing job specific title blocks.
Drawing titles and title blocks are both inserted the same way, it is just a
matter of which you select to insert.
In the "Creating a drawing title"
section above we created a title for a detail and in the Adding the drawing title to the DWGSETUP command
section above we added this drawing title to the
DWGSETUP command. Now let's set up a
drawing using this drawing title.
Press the
toolbar
button or type in
DWGSETUP at the command prompt and the
following dialog appears:
First select the scale that
you would like from the "Predefined Scales" window. When the scale is selected the scale factor will be shown in the box at
the top. Should you require a scale not shown you may manually enter the scale factor in the box at the
top. See How to calculate a
scale factor. The DIMSCALE and
LTSCALE AutoCAD system variables will be set to this value so that
dimensions and linetypes will be scaled correctly.
If you would like to change
the predefined scales list, press the
button.
Select one of the predefined sheet sizes from the "Predefined sizes" list. If
the size you need is not shown you may enter the size in the "X" and "Y" boxes
at the top.
If you would like to change
the predefined size list, press the
button.
Note: These sizes are for a full size
drawing (1:1). The actual sheet size will be scaled by the scale factor
entered in the "Scale" box to the left.
Finally select the drawing title that we created and press "OK".
The
DWGSETUP command
will set the DIMSCALE
system variable, the LTSCALE system variable, set the limits, zoom "ALL" to
include all of the drawing in the screen area, and INSERT/XREF a title block (if
selected).
We created the title block (see Constructing the title block),
we separated the title block in to a file to insert and a file to XREF (see Creating title blocks to use when XREF'ing),
we added the title block to the
DWGSETUP command (see Adding a
title block to XREF to the DWGSETUP command), and finally we copied the
generic title block files we created to our job folder and modified them with
the job's information (see Creating job specific titleblocks).
Now we are ready to create a plot sheet in our job folder using our job
specific title block.
Press the
toolbar
button or type in
DWGSETUP at the command prompt and the
following dialog appears:
First select the scale that
you would like from the "Predefined Scales" window. When the scale is selected the scale factor will be shown in the box at
the top. Should you require a scale not shown you may manually enter the scale factor in the box at the
top. See How to calculate a
scale factor. The DIMSCALE and
LTSCALE AutoCAD system variables will be set to this value so that
dimensions and linetypes will be scaled correctly.
If you would like to change
the predefined scales list, press the
button.
Select one of the predefined sheet sizes from the "Predefined sizes" list. If
the size you need is not shown you may enter the size in the "X" and "Y" boxes
at the top. For this example we will be setting up a 24"x36" sheet so we
selected "24x36".
If you would like to change
the predefined size list, press the
button.
Note: These sizes are for a full size
drawing (1:1). The actual sheet size will be scaled by the scale factor
entered in the "Scale" box to the left.
Select "XRef" in the "Title Block" area (if it isn't already). In this example
we have set up three title block sizes for XREF'ing. Since we also copied these
three title blocks to our "2003-004" job folder and added the job number to
their filename they appear in the "Defined Title Blocks" window under "Job
Specific Title Blocks:" as shown above.
We would like to XREF in the title block that has been set up for the job we
are working on so we will select the "2003-004 24 x 36 Std Arch" title block and
press "OK".
The
DWGSETUP command
then sets the DIMSCALE
system variable, the LTSCALE system variable, sets the limits, zooms "ALL" to
include all of the drawing in the screen area, and INSERTs/XREF's the title block.
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