Using Templates in Civil 3D 2007

Introduction

As an application engineer, I get many questions from our clients regarding best practices for keeping a level of consistency from drawing to drawing and project to project. For a draftsperson, sometimes it is easier to accomplish a task his or her own way rather than taking the time to think about company standards and making the necessary adjustments. One way to help your drafters have the proper tools to keep drawings consistent is the use of a company template.

A template is a file with certain saved information that is a starting point for new drawings. Many types of information can be saved in a template file including basic drawing settings, text styles, line styles, dimension styles, object styles, label styles, table styles, layouts, and point groups. In Civil 3D, it is particularly useful to maintain a company standard template with object and label styles saved so that each draftsperson, regardless of the project or drawing, has access to the same styles as the other members of the design team. For example, two different drafters each creating an existing surface in different projects will have identical-looking surface contours because they both had access to the company standard surface style and applied it to their object.

Drawing Templates

Templates are saved as DWT files and Civil 3D 2007 comes right out of the box with a handful of useful templates to get anyone started. When a new drawing is created from the �File� pulldown menu and the �New�� command, it gives the user an opportunity to select a template from a list. Each workstation in a company can be set to read this template list from a network location which gives everyone access to the company standard template. Better yet, each workstation can be set automatically to select a certain template when the QNEW button is selected from the Civil 3D Standard toolbar. The template location setting is found on the Options dialog box here:

Templates can be modified by using the �Open� command then changing the file type to DWT. (This is obviously different than the �New� or �QNEW� command because these will begin a new DWG ready for editing.) This will bring up the default list of templates and give the user an opportunity to select a DWT. Once the file is open, it works just like DWG�s in terms of �Save� and �Save as��. Updates to the template file that are saved will be available to every person who accesses that template from that point forward.

With this in mind, it should be noted that it�s not a good idea to permit several people to change the company standard template. The task of updating the company standard should be given to one person, a Cad Manager or senior level drafter. If someone in the company other than the Cad Manager feels a change should be made to the standard, a process should be in place for documentation, review, testing, and implementation.

Making Changes

The simplest way to change a setting in the template is to open it as described above, make the change, then �Save.� Another way to accomplish this is to drag and drop styles from drawing to drawing using the Master View on the Prospector tab. Here is a step by step process using two files called �Target.dwg� and �_Company_Standard.dwt.�

A style has been created in the drawing �Target� that needs to be made available to those accessing the company standard template. For this case, it is a surface style called �City of Memphis Contours.� Step one of the migration process is to simply open the standard template file.

Step two is to switch to the Settings tab in the Toolspace and change the drawing view at the top of the Settings Tab to �Master View.� This will enable the user to see all the currently opened drawings and templates. Note here that the current open drawing will appear in bold print on the list. Make sure the template is in bold print.

Step three is to find the surface style called �City of Memphis Contours� under the drawing called �Target� and select the style with a simple left-click.

Finally, use the left mouse button to drag that style into the drawing window depositing the style into the open company standard template drawing. Then save and close the template.

Multiple Templates

Oftentimes, it may be necessary to use different templates in different situations. Here are some examples:

Survey staff may use a particular template for the creation of new topographic maps after survey data has been collected. This template may have an exhaustive list of Point Groups ready to accept the survey data that most drafters may not need.
Different clients may prefer a unique appearance of some entities. A template can be saved for specific clients.
Different applications may require different settings and styles. Land Development projects may have a different look than Road Design projects.
Templates can be saved at different scales. The company standard template may exist on the server in a variety of drawing scales taking away the extra few steps to change the scale of components in the drawing.

In the end, each company will have to decide what is in their best interest and put a plan in place to standardize the appearance of their plans. The responsible use of templates is the first step in creating a design environment in which it is just as easy and efficient to create drawings the correct way as it is to create drawings haphazardly.