Saving a Detail Into the Detail System
- Why Use Our Save Detail Tool
- Do This First: Prepare Your Details for Saving
- Save Detail Overview
- Advanced Title Block Text Options
- Saving Existing Details Into the System
- Saving a PDF into the Detail System
- Saving and Editing Multiple Details from a Single Drawing
- Selecting CSI Divisions for Your Details (Optional)
- Reshooting the Detail Thumbnail Slide
- Related Webinars
- Troubleshooting
Once you've placed a Detail Template, you can save that detail into our detail system. You'll then be able to access your detail from the Detail Manager and the Detail Explorer.
Because the Detail Template will establish the boundaries and scale of the detail, it will provide our software with all necessary information to save the detail.
Why Use Our Save Detail Tool
We've engineered our Save Detail tool to make it quick and easy to save your details into our system. Whether you need to draw new details or simply save your existing ones, Save Detail automatically pulls them into our detail library for easy access. Save Detail allows you to:
- Automatically shoot a preview thumbnail slide of each saved detail.
- Give each saved detail a new title and/or number.
- Access your details quickly from a dialog box, where you can edit details, as well as add them to your projects and place them in your drawings.
Do This First: Prepare Your Details for Saving
Quick video
Before saving a detail into our system, you'll need to take a few steps to ensure the detail will save properly and appear correctly when placed on a sheet.
The bare minimum for this process is to place a Detail Template around your existing detail linework and save the detail into your library, but completing a few important steps will help you make the most of your detail library. See our recommendations for preparing details to save them into our system.
We also offer a Save an Old Detail into the Land F/X Library checklist to stay on track for each detail.
Save Detail Overview
Our Save Detail tool will only save details from within a Detail Template. Before you can save a detail, you'll need to place a Detail Template around it in the drawing where you've created or placed it.
You don’t necessarily need a fully complete detail in order to save it. You may have created a series of details for a project that are at an interim level of development, and your plan may be to finalize and finish them at a later date, but you want to reference them and place them into your drawing for now. After review and approval, you can easily Edit the details and Replace them in the drawing with the most recent versions. Also, our Update Details tool fires automatically any time you open a drawing that includes details. As a result, any details you've placed in that drawing will update to their latest versions (as long as you've saved the new versions under the same names).
Open the Save Detail tool:
F/X Details ribbon, Save Detail button
FX Details menu, Save Detail option
Or type FX_SaveDetail in the Command line
The Select Detail Number dialog box will open.
1. Expand the detail file tree to find the location of your choice for the detail you want to save. You can expand each category by clicking the plus (+) sign to the left of the category name.
2. If you want, you can add New, Edit, or Delete categories “on the fly” while saving your detail. More information >
3. If the detail category you're reviewing contains any existing details, they'll be listed in the pane near the top right corner of the dialog box
4. Click Browse to view the existing details listing.
5. To open an existing detail, highlight the detail in the listing and then click Open. The highlighted detail will open in a separate CAD drawing.
6. When ready to save your detail, give it a number from 01 to 99. Don't select an existing number unless you want to overwrite that number.
7. After giving your detail a number, click Select to save your detail with that number in the selected category location
After you click Select, the Save Detail dialog box will open.
1. Detail File: This series of letters and numbers indicates the location of the detail in our system, based on the categories and subcategories you assigned it while saving it into the Detail Explorer. The last digits (the Number field) will be autopopulated by the final number you gave for the detail (Note 6 from the Select Detail Number screenshot above).
2. Title: Enter a title for your detail. This title will always be forced to capital letters.
3. File Date/Drawn by/Checked by: (Optional) This information will show up when you print details, which will print out your detail library. You can also choose to add a text tag for the Drawn by and Checked by fields directly to your details, or to your detail title block template, which will autopopulate with the information you fill out here. More information
4. Description/Notes: (Optional) This information will show up below the thumbnail preview slide of the detail in the Detail Explorer. You can also choose to add a text tag for this field directly to your details, or to your detail title block template, which will autopopulate with the information you fill out here. More information
5. Add to Project/Copy to Project Detail Folder: Check one of these boxes to Add the detail to the current project's Detail Manager, or to Copy the detail to the current project's detail folder.
6. Save: Save your detail with the current settings
When you click Save, you'll see a message that the detail has been saved and you may discard the changes made to the current drawing.
Click OK to discard the changes and save the detail.
This current drawing of your detail has no real value to our system, so you can discard it safely once you've used Save Detail. However, many users prefer to save the drawing anyway, in case they need it in the future.
Add/Copy to Project When Saving
You may often save a detail with the intention of also adding it to a specific project.
If so, check the Add to Project option in the Save Detail dialog box before clicking Save.
Expand the pull-down menu (pictured to the left) to view the available projects. Select the project in which you want to include the detail.
Selecting a project from this menu will not only save the detail into the system but also add it to the Project Manager for the selected project.
In addition to Add to Project, you can check the Copy to Project Detail Folder option, if available. This setting is optional depending on how your firm operates with details. If you select this option, you'll go to Windows Explorer to find the project folder where you want to copy this detail.
Our Detail Category System
Our Save Detail tool allows you to make changes to the detail categories as you save your details as needed. In general, however, we recommend making these changes using our Detail Explorer, which we engineered specifically for that purpose.
Review the detail file locations carefully. Make these file categories and their subcategories work the way you work, and make them sensible for your firm. From the Detail Explorer, you can create new categories, rename existing ones, move details from one category to another, and generally make the file system conform to your office standards and practices.
Our default detail filing setup is based on the system established by the Construction Specification Institute (CSI) file classifications. You don’t necessarily have to use this system; we simply had to select a filing system when developing the software.
You can now choose from several standard detail organization lists on which to base your office's organization, such as the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI®) MasterFormat®. These lists are updated by our team, with periodic updates to each supported industry standard. More information and instructions
Advanced Title Block Text Options
We offer a few options for adding specific text tags to your saved details. These tags serve as placeholders for information you'd like to add to your details, and will autopopulate with that information when you set them up to do so. You can add these tags for the following items:
- Sheet Number
- Detail References (Referencing the Sheets Where the Detail Has Been Called Out)
- Multi-Line Title
- Reference Note Listing
- Drawn By & Checked By
- Detail Notes
You can choose to add any or all of these tags to individual details before saving them, or add them to a custom detail title block that will apply to all your saved details. Whether you're customizing a template or adding these tags to an individual detail, the technique is the same. See our Advanced Title Block Features section for instructions on each of these tags.
A few of these text tags pertain directly to text fields you'll see in the Save Detail dialog box:
- Drawn by: (text tag DRAWNBY)
- Checked by: (text tag CHECKEDBY)
- Description/Notes: (text tag DETAIL-NOTES)
For example, you can add the text tags DRAWNBY and CHECKEDBY to a detail before saving it.
DO NOT copy existing text from a detail or template to create these tags. Instead, use one of our detail-related default text styles, such as DETAIL TEXT.
Then, when saving your detail, type your desired text in the Drawn by and Checked by fields.
The DRAWNBY and CHECKEDBY tags will autopopulate with the corresponding text in the saved detail.
For the Description/Notes field, you'd add the text tag DETAIL-NOTES to your detail or template in the same way. For information on the remaining text tags, please see our Advanced Title Block Features section.
Saving Existing Details into the System
To save your existing details into our detail system, open the drawing file that contains the detail and remove any title block and border (or just move these items out of the way), leaving just the detail and its related callout text.
Insert a Detail Template with the same scale as the original detail. Then use Save Detail to save it into an appropriate location.
Saving a PDF Into the Detail System
We offer a couple of options for adding (saving) a PDF as a detail in our detail system.
Saving and Editing Multiple Details from a Single Drawing
Our Save Detail tool also allows you to create several details in one drawing and then save them to our detail system. If you want to make changes to several of these saved details, you can make all these changes within this same drawing. You can then use Save Detail to save all changes at once, in each of the individual detail files – all from the one drawing where you created and saved the details.
Saving the Individual Details
If you haven't already done so, place Detail Templates around each of the details in your drawing.
For instructions, see our Placing Detail Templates documentation.
Once you've placed a template around each of the details you want to save, you can save all the details from this drawing.
Before saving, you'll need to zoom to extents (type Zoom in the Command line, then type E for Extents). As a result, all details will be within view.
Note that if you only have one detail in view, the system will assume that you only want to save that detail.
Once you've zoomed to extents, open the Save Detail tool. Because you have more than one detail in view, the cursor will turn into a pickbox and the Command line will prompt you to Select detail boundary.
Use the pickbox to select the boundary of a detail you want to save.
The Select Detail Number dialog box will open.
Select a location, then click Select.
The Save Detail dialog box will open.
Type a name for the detail, and fill out any other necessary information.
Then click Save.
You'll see a message that the detail has been saved and you may discard the changes made to the current drawing.
Click OK to discard the changes and save the detail.
Repeat these steps for each detail in the drawing you'd like to save.
Once you've saved a detail, it will be available in the Detail Explorer, in the folder location where you saved it.
Note that the Save Detail tool automatically shoots a thumbnail preview slide. You can see this slide in the top right corner of the Detail Explorer – just above the detail title – when you have that detail selected. You can reshoot a thumbnail slide at any time if you're unsatisfied with it.
Editing and Batch Saving Changes
Once you've saved all the details in your drawing, you can make changes to the detail files and then save those changes – all without leaving the original drawing.
Open the original drawing – the one that first contained all the details. Make any necessary changes to the details in the drawing.
Now zoom to extents so all details in the drawing are within view. Select Save Detail. The Command line will prompt: Select detail boundary, [Window multiple].
Type W and press Enter.
You'll be asked whether you want to save all details in this drawing. Click Yes.
All changes you've just made to each of the individual detail files will be saved. You've just made and saved changes to multiple details without having to open multiple files – a huge time saver.
For more information on batch saving details, check out our Batch Detail Save Power Tip.
Selecting CSI Divisions for Your Details (Optional)
The Details Preferences screen includes an option to Set numeric division for all details.
If you have this option selected, you'll see a Division button in the Set Detail Number dialog box, which opens when you save a detail using our Save Detail tool.
This option requires a strong familiarity with CSI among your team, as well as a desire to save all details with a CSI number. If this is not the case, and if you don't work for a large firm that does large numbers of projects across the globe, you'll want to have this option unchecked in the Details Preferences. For more information, see the Set Numeric Division for All Details section of our Details Preferences documentation page.
A note on editing the Standard Details section
Although you can edit the CSI divisions to a certain extent, you will not be able to delete or renumber them if they contain Land F/X default details (that is, the details that are included in your installation).
For example, if you try to delete 32-84-03-13, you will be prevented because it contains our standard details for spray heads. If you want to adjust the standard section significantly for your office in a way that doesn't conform with CSI standards, you should use the Details section above the Standard Details section.
If you decide that you want to set a CSI division for each detail your office saves, you'll need to click the Division button pictured above when saving a detail.
When you do so, the Division dialog box will open.
Here, you can set a CSI division and subdivision for your detail.
In this example, we'll select the Driveway Ramps subdivision of the VEHICULAR REQUIREMENTS division.
Click OK when finished.
In the Select Detail Number dialog box, click Select.
Enter a name for your detail, and click Save.
Your detail will be saved within the Standard Details category in the Detail Explorer, in the division and subdivision you selected.
Reshooting a Detail Thumbnail Preview Slide
Quick video
Our Save Detail tool automatically shoots a thumbnail preview slide of each detail you save. You can reshoot a detail preview slide at any time if you're unsatisfied with it.
Related Webinars
- Saving your Detail Library to Land F/X: We go over the best practices for saving your firm's standard details into our system. This webinar will help you make decisions that will save time and money in the long run. (1 hr)
- Details for Beginners: Take a full tour of our detail system, where you’ll learn how to navigate our detail library, find the details you need, and use them in your drawing set. (1 hr 1 min)
- Detail Tips And Tricks: Learn some advanced techniques and best practices to create details that communicate your design intent clearly, including how to batch save details. (59 min)
- Design F/X Setup: Join us for a complete demonstration on how our software helps you manage and use construction details. We provide an overview of our entire system, from creating your detail drawings to compiling your detail library. (53 min)
- Creating a Detail from Scratch: Land F/X provides all the tools you need to draft your own details quickly and efficiently. Learn how our details tools will help turn you into a detail virtuoso. You’ll also pick up some recommended techniques for drawing up a detail from the ground up. (1 hr)
- Getting Started with the Detail Tools: We'll show you the basic tools you need to familiarize yourself with on the F/X Details ribbon, including setting your Details Preferences. (58 min)
- Detail Tips And Tricks: Learn some advanced techniques and best practices to create details that communicate your design intent clearly, including how to load a layer state, save a custom detail block, and place a detail template. (59 min)
- Details and Specifications: Tyson Carroll of Urban Tree Foundation queried industry leaders in the creation of landscape architectural details and specifications that satisfy the best possible construction documentation standards. Join us for an exciting look at his project. (46 min)
Troubleshooting
Issue: You received the message "You must select a division" when attempting to save a detail
Issue: You are unable to save details into the Detail Explorer
Issue: "No valid detail title block found" message when attempting to save a detail
Issue: "Bad DXF group (51)" message when attempting to save a detail
Issue: When batch saving multiple details, you received a "0 of XX details saved" message
Issue: You received an Error: Saving data message when trying to create a folder in the Detail Explorer
Issue: You want to create a mulitline detail title (a detail title with two or more lines)
Issue: You need to recover lost details or rebuild your detail database
Issue: Error: Unable to find detail title and detail file number when trying to save a detail
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.