Working With Sheet Sets (SheetSets)
The Sheet Set Manager is a tool palette that allows you to access and work directly with all files in your drawing's sheet set.
To open the Sheet Set Manager, type SSM in the AutoCAD Command line and press Enter.
Sheet Sets Overview
For optimum efficiency and organization, we recommend having a single DWG for each sheet in your sheetset.
Further, and most importantly, we highly recommend including the Sheet Number and other sheet set fields as Attributes in your sheet title block. (Note that the sheet number will be a field within an attribute.)
Our software does not have full access to the SheetSet database. As a result, when your sheet set fields are just MText entities on any given sheet, the potential exists for confusion between the Sheet Number field and other fields.
When the Sheet Number is a block attribute, the system assumes the Sheet Number is the one with one of the following attribute tags:
- SHEETNO
- SHT#
- SHEET:
- SHEET
When the Sheet Number is a Field object MText, the following will be excluded:
- any field longer than 12 characters
- any field with more than one "/" character
- any field with more than one "-" character
- any field with more than one "." character
- any field with a space
- any field consisting of all characters
- any field consisting of all numbers
- any field consisting of a single hyphen and all numbers
This field capability only works with fields in an MText object – not fields in a Text object.
The system then looks in order of largest text first – under the assumption that a sheet number is typically the largest text on the plan, much taller than the sheet title or any other text.
As you can see, this logic can be error-prone. Moreover, by default, it will incorrectly ignore sheet numbers such as 101 or L 101.
We're continuously adding to and improving this logic. However, it still follows best practices to have SheetSet fields as Attributes.
The Sheet Index
Our Project Manager dialog box includes a section called the Sheet Index, where you can manage, add to, organize, and edit the sheets associated with each Layout tab in your drawing. For information and instructions, see our Sheet Index page.
Note that the Sheet Index does not link with the SheetSet Manager. Instead, it looks to see whether the current layout has sheetset info, and it then tries to determine the sheet number. The Sheet Index does not look for a title or process changes. Therefore, you should be able to pull up the Sheet Index and see the correct sheet number highlighted. You can then edit it and enter a title if you wish.
Related Webinars
- Sheet Set Manager and Land F/X: The AutoCAD Sheet Set Manager provides a fantastic method for coordinating large drawing packages with multiple DWG files. The Sheet Index, available within the Land F/X Project Manager, is another incredibly easy-to-use tool for organizing your drawing sheets. We'll cover the specific roles played by each, then show you how to set them up for best use with your Land F/X projects. (1 hr 7 min)
Troubleshooting
Issue: Sheets Are Being Added to the Index Autonomously, Even Though They Have Been Deleted
Issue: My Non-Plot Layers Are No Longer Visible in Paper Space
Contact
- Land F/X
Our software tailors AutoCAD® to the needs of landscape architects, irrigation designers, and other professionals. We automate your most tedious tasks and ensure accuracy, giving you more time to design.