Topic Title

Hi all,

Our office has come over from the stone age and just learning the ropes of using Xref's. We have a few questions in regards to how we should be setting up our drawings files for each job....

Our office has a number of jobs, with a number of large jobs being shared around the office. We set up a drawing folder for each job and in that folder are a series of CAD files for the working drawings as a whole. These are the following files that we tend to set up for each job to allow us to work on files individually.....

- plans file (with all plans - site, floor, founds, roof etc)
- file for elevations
- file for sections
- file for detailing
- file for services
- print file

There are a number of both internal and external Xrefs between these files to get it to all work. Then ultimately all xref'd to the main print file for plotting. (find this is a lot easier to set up sheets rather than using data cads standard system).

does our system seem normal?

The main question we have is that we like to save our work at different 'stages' throughout the drawing process. So when we have finished say....the drawing set for building consent, we like to save that file, copy all files to a new folder and begin the 'construction drawings'. Or if a client makes major changes, we would save what we have done, copy all files to a new folder and keep going (just in case they want to go back to the original design). However, we seem to be having a few problems with xrefs still linking back to old 'stages' and we get circular references all over the show. This even seems to happen when we Pack n Go files. Is there anyway of copying these all over cleanly without having to go through and 're define' all the xrefs to the 'new files'. Any settings that we could be missing or have wrong?

note, when we set up a new folder (for the next 'stage') the location of the files changes, and also the name of the main file changes.

Any help or thoughts would be much appreciated.

Regards,

Harry

My file structure is similar - except I don't create a final "print file". What I do is use the Pak-N-Go to save milestones and just continue on - never copying files out to different folders.

My file structure is similar - except I don't create a final "print file". What I do is use the Pak-N-Go to save milestones and just continue on - never copying files out to different folders.

Just my opinion, mind you. Listen to this guy, he know from what he speaks.

Disclaimer: I don't actually use DataCAD. I just write it.

Dave

That is close to how I've done it - the main difference is a Border file and no Print file. The Border file has a full size (12" scale) of the border with any information that is common to all sheets, like the project title and dates for various sets. The border is XRef'd into each of the other files, and a layer for each sheet you need in that file is used to add the sheet number and title, etc. Place the Border XRef into an MSP sheet at 12" scale and then add the MSP details to layout the sheets.

Thanks for the reply guys. It sounds like we are on the right track which is good.

MtmArch: Yes, we have looked at doing it that way. But I suppose it still comes back to the same question.... When we do a Pack 'n' Go the xrefs seems to still track back to the oringal files? So In theory the internal xrefs keep the same 'path' and become external xrefs in the new file. Are we doing this wrong, settings we have wrong? or is that what happens and you just have to manually change the 'file path' to the new file?

Neil: Looks like a good way to do it, will give that a go. Cheers

Hear from you soon,

Regards.