Displaying Reoccurring Data in a Drawing Set

I started this off as a CAD-a-Blog QUICK TIP, but it got too long, but, do you ever need to show the same information, a name, number, amount, etc. on many of your drawings in a set ? Is that information subject to change through the drawing process? One way to deal with this is to use fields and sheet sets.

To set it up with sheet sets, open your sheet set manager. Load the sheet set you need. Right click on the sheet set name. Then open the properties window. At the bottom of this window is a button, EDIT CUSTOM PROPERTIES. Click it to open the Custom Properties window.

Here you can add any bit of information to your sheet set. Click the ADD button and fill it out. Give it a NAME and a default value. Click ok and close all of the windows.

Now go to your drawing file. Edit the text you want the info to show up in. This can be Mtext, Dtext, Leader Text, Multileader text, or in a dimension. Wherever there is text you can add a field, which is what we are going to do.

In your text editor, press CTRL+F, or right click and then click ADD FIELD. This opens the FIELD manager window thingy (I don’t know what it’s actual name is, sorry.) In the FIELD Category pull down menu, select SHEET SET. This will bring up all of your field options in that sheet set.

Go to the sheet set (in the Field Names menu), in the sheet set navigation (yes it’s complicated, but you’ll get it quick enough) browse to your sheet set (it should open up to the proper one automatically). Then select your field property in the PROPERTY menu at the bottom right corner, then click ok, ok, ok, etc.

When done, you will see the information displayed in your text. Do that on every sheet wherever you need it and when the info changes, just go to the sheet set manger, load your sheet set, open the custom properties again and edit that value. Bingo!! All instances where your field “links” to that value will be updated.

This is a real quick "how to set it up" kind of a tip. I plan on getting into it more deeply in later posts.

Happy CADDING!!

Displaying Reoccurring Data in a Drawing Set

I started this off as a CAD-a-Blog QUICK TIP, but it got too long, but, do you ever need to show the same information, a name, number, amount, etc. on many of your drawings in a set ? Is that information subject to change through the drawing process? One way to deal with this is to use fields and sheet sets.

To set it up with sheet sets, open your sheet set manager. Load the sheet set you need. Right click on the sheet set name. Then open the properties window. At the bottom of this window is a button, EDIT CUSTOM PROPERTIES. Click it to open the Custom Properties window.

Here you can add any bit of information to your sheet set. Click the ADD button and fill it out. Give it a NAME and a default value. Click ok and close all of the windows.

Now go to your drawing file. Edit the text you want the info to show up in. This can be Mtext, Dtext, Leader Text, Multileader text, or in a dimension. Wherever there is text you can add a field, which is what we are going to do.

In your text editor, press CTRL+F, or right click and then click ADD FIELD. This opens the FIELD manager window thingy (I don’t know what it’s actual name is, sorry.) In the FIELD Category pull down menu, select SHEET SET. This will bring up all of your field options in that sheet set.

Go to the sheet set (in the Field Names menu), in the sheet set navigation (yes it’s complicated, but you’ll get it quick enough) browse to your sheet set (it should open up to the proper one automatically). Then select your field property in the PROPERTY menu at the bottom right corner, then click ok, ok, ok, etc.

When done, you will see the information displayed in your text. Do that on every sheet wherever you need it and when the info changes, just go to the sheet set manger, load your sheet set, open the custom properties again and edit that value. Bingo!! All instances where your field “links” to that value will be updated.

This is a real quick "how to set it up" kind of a tip. I plan on getting into it more deeply in later posts.

Happy CADDING!!