Sheet Setup and Management

Note: The following catalog of content covered in this webinar is time stamped to allow you to follow along or skip to sections of the video that are relevant to your questions. You can also search for content on this page using the FIND command in your browser (CTRL + F in Windows, Command + F in Mac OS.)

• Intro/TOC
• Overview of the Sheet Index in Land F/X
• Drawing File Arrangement
• Recommendations for Sheet Setup
• Demonstration of Setting Up Sheet Files
  • Making an Easily Accessible Title Block
  • Setting Up a Sheet File
  • Adding Design Files to the Sheet File
  • Creating a Detail Sheet File
  • Plotting Options

0:00 – 3:59: Intro/TOC

4:00 – 4:51: Overview of the Sheet Index in Land F/X

The Sheet Index is a Land F/X tool for managing sheets associated with your project.

Using our Sheet Index, you can easily organize, edit, and add to the sheets associated with each Layout tab in your drawing – including your detail sheets.

Accessing the Sheet Index (4:22)

The Sheet Index is accessible through the Project Manager in the F/X Admin tab and the Sheet Index button located in the F/X Details tab.

Within this dialog box, you can clearly reference the sheet number, title, and DWG file that have been set up for this project.

4:52 – 6:19: Drawing File Arrangement

Today's example drawings (4:52)

For this presentation, we'll be working with the following files:

• Base file
• Site and hardscape plan
• Planting plan
• Irrigation plan

All design files are using the same project data.

Today's example drawings (5:30)

We will be creating individual DWG files for each sheet we set up.

These files shall be appropriately named to correspond with their sheets.

6:20 – 13:19: Recommendations for Sheet Setup

File organization (6:20)

File organization is ultimately up to your office, but we provide our recommended organization structure.

We recommend that you create a unique DWG style for each sheet and Xref your design files into these sheet files. Why?

• It removes the possibility of losing your sheets due to issues in the design file.
  • Example: Proxy Object drawing corruption is a real thing that can cause odd scaling issues, inaccurate data, and more.
  • To clean a drawing properly of Proxy Objects, you need to create a clean export of the important drawing objects in Model Space. If any of your sheets are within the design file, you can say goodbye to those when you clean the file.
• Keeps everything organized. If you need to make adjustments to your design files, go to the design file. If you need to make adjustments to a sheet, you'll know exactly where the corresponding file is.

Before using a base file or any consultant file as an Xref, you'll absolutely need to clean that file.

The majority of severe issues we see in tech support step from drawing corruption. These issues could have been avoided with proper drawing cleanup.

How the drawings are compiled (11:47)

13:20 – end: Demonstration of Setting Up Sheet Files

File organization (13:30)

Starting a new drawing (14:18)

Setting the units (14:35)

Setting up a layout page using the Page Setup tool (14:49)

Making an Easily Accessible Title Block (16:00)

The two methods for saving a title block:

• Block method: Saving a title block into the block library (17:00)
• Xref method: Saving a title block as a DWG and bringing it in as an Xref (18:03)

Placing text in a title block and adding an attribute that allows the text to take on different values for different situations (19:10)

Saving the title block as a block in our Discipline Graphics library (21:50)

Setting Up a Sheet File (23:20)

Bringing the saved title block into a sheet using the Discipline Graphics tool and configuring the sheet (23:20)

Adding Design Files to the Sheet File (24:30)

Bringing in a sheet for an irrigation plan as an Xref using our FXref tool (24:30)

Freezing unneeded Xref layers (25:40)

Creating a viewport window using the Make Viewport tool and scaling the viewport (26:38)

Opening the Sheet Index and adding a sheet (28:53)

Assigning a layout to a sheet (29:55)

Saving the sheet file (30:48)

Setting up a sheet as an Xref using the WBLOCK (Write Block) command (31:48)

Bringing in a sheet template and setting up another sheet (34:55)

The attribute method of bringing in a sheet (36:55)

Bringing in a planting plan (39:29)

Saving a sheet with a title block as a template (40:37)

Bringing in a site plan sheet (42:00)

Creating a Detail Sheet File (48:30)

Opening a new drawing for the detail sheet (48:40)

Placing a Sheet Template (50:00)

Setting up a sheet for the details in the Sheet Index (50:55)

Placing details on the sheet (51:10)

Plotting Options (53:40)

Opening each sheet file and plotting them individually (54:10)

Batch plotting (generally preferable if you need to plot multiple sheets) (55:10)