Cad Block In Layout


JenniZ
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I want to place CAD blocks that I've created in just a layout page but when I try and place it on a layout page from my library it is too big.

These are details I don't want to see in my elevations so I'm trying to figure out how to save a CAD block to scale correctly in just the layout.

I tried searching for this but nothing has come up and I've also watched a few videos but it hasn't helped.

Thanks

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Your CAD Blocks were created at "Real World Size"  so if you want them to appear at a scale of 1/2"=1'-0" you would need to reduce the size to 1/24.

 

An easier way to deal with this is to place your details in CAD Detail Windows in a Plan File and then just send to Layout at 1/2"=1'-0" Scale.  I never use the Library for Details.

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Or you can just resize it in the layout and then save to your lib. I always save details to my lib. Too many details in a cad box might slow the program down. This works as long as you don't care about the scale of the details. For me it doesn't matter, I don't want anyone scaling the details anyway.

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  • 1 month later...

Joe, when you say you never use library for details I assume this is because you want to have details in real world scale, but what if you added them to plan first and then sent to layout?

 

I've been basically going back to older projects to find earlier details or something similar enough, but have reached a point where I would like to build a more structured library, and this seems to work well for me. The only annoying part is if I can't decide the size of the detail ahead of adding notes, I will have to rescale all text. Can't quite seem to figure out how do this easily with annotations.

 

What is the suggested workflow? To work in real world scale in plan and then set scale when sending to layout, or set the anticipated layout scale already in Plan drawing sheet setup?

 

My view on this is that I would like to always work in real world scale in plan, but then when I set the scale sending to layout (or rescaling in Layout) I would like to switch the annotations to a corresponding scale as well. Is there a way to do this?

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Joe, when you say you never use library for details I assume this is because you want to have details in real world scale, but what if you added them to plan first and then sent to layout?

 

I've been basically going back to older projects to find earlier details or something similar enough, but have reached a point where I would like to build a more structured library, and this seems to work well for me. The only annoying part is if I can't decide the size of the detail ahead of adding notes, I will have to rescale all text. Can't quite seem to figure out how do this easily with annotations.

 

What is the suggested workflow? To work in real world scale in plan and then set scale when sending to layout, or set the anticipated layout scale already in Plan drawing sheet setup?

 

My view on this is that I would like to always work in real world scale in plan, but then when I set the scale sending to layout (or rescaling in Layout) I would like to switch the annotations to a corresponding scale as well. Is there a way to do this?

I know your question is for Joe but I would like to comment on your question as well.

 

I have totally rebuilt my plan templates mostly on what I have learned from Joe and Perry. I have worked with setting up my details in the layout plan in the past and have recently changed everything into a plan and sending it to layout. I found that working in both scales can get confusing sometimes and so I made a decision to real world scale for that reason. I believe Perry is very well organized and is used to his method but I just cant seem to get used to that particular method. I like to keep everything to real world scale. Works best for me. I made a plan called "details, notes & other" and I keep all my details in it. The best way I found to access the details is to open the plan and select the detail you want in the project browser to open it and send to layout.

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Yeah, I've searched around on different threads and there was even a poll on this topic (that had voted on as well :) ) but I'm not entirely convinced about the plan model.

 

For one, it seems much more logical to keep it in the library as it is always available, as opposed to updating a new detail into the correct plan. I'm also a big believer in working in real world scale.

 

But regardless, how do you handle text if you decide a particular detail needs to be in a different scale? Do you know you will send all your details in a certain scale so your text is already set for it?

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All my details are set at 1/2" scale and all my text for 1/2" scale is set at 2.5". I don't remember any time when I ever used any other scale. There has never been a need. You can make a detail size as small as 1/4" per foot and still read a 2.5" text size though.

 

I understand what you are saying about the library. That's why it is a hard decision to make because its very handy to take details right out of the library and drop it in the layout plan. Its easy to send the details from the plan file also, it is just a matter of getting used to it. I'm not going to try and sway you one way or the other. Just stating what works for best for me. 

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Thanks, I will start using the library as that makes most sense to me, and I can always move to plans if I run into trouble.

 

However, the issue is annotation, I typically have details in several different scales. It needs more thought but I think I would like to see some sort of link between the drawing sheet setup scale and the annotation layer, the annotation size should ideally adapt to the scale used to send to Layout.

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I really don't want anyone in the field scaling anything on my plans, If you use the lib. you should at least draw it to scale so it looks correct even though it may not be to scale on the detail pages. Also provide plenty of dimensions as needed so they don't have to scale them.

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Basically, when you create a detail in the Plan and add it to the Library it is in "Real World Units".  If you then just add it from the Library to the Layout it comes in at the Layout scale (1"=1") so a 2x4 created in your Detail will be much larger than you intended on your Layout Page.

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Hmm, that workflow didn't occur to me. I would add it to plan first as a cad detail to get the proper name and scale and have it listed in the project browser, and then send it to layout.

That is exactly what I do - but I have a set of "Detail Plans" with my Details already in "CAD Details" - so I skip the Library.  Many of my Details have already been sent to Layout from these "Detail Plans" so when I open the Layout I can go directly to the correct CAD Detail in the Detail Plan it came from.

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Hmm, that workflow didn't occur to me. I would add it to plan first as a cad detail to get the proper name and scale and have it listed in the project browser, and then send it to layout.

 

That's what I was trying to explain but Joe put it in better words.

 

Good job Joe!

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