CBCL Limited

Sheet Set Manager Tutorial

CBCL Design Management & Best CAD Practices

2013 REV. 02

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“To be the most respected and successful Atlantic Canada based employee-

owned firm, delivering multidiscipline engineering and technical services.”

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CBCL Limited AutoCAD Tutorial

Using the Sheet Set Manager

Contents

1. What is The Sheet Set Manager (Page 3)

2. What are the Benefits (Page 4)

3. Sheet Set Manager Components (Page 5)

4. Sheet Set Manager Field Category Definitions (Page 6)

5. Sheet Set Manager Overall Procedure Reference (Page 8)

a. Step 1 - create sheet set project (Page 9)

b. Step 2 - add sheets to sheet set (Page 11)

c. Step 3 - create viewports with named views for cross-referencing (Page 14)

d. Step 4 - add a cover sheet complete with drawing list (Page 18)

6. Tips and References (Page 21)

a. Sheet Set Manager File Management Tips (Page 21)

b. Sheet Set Manager Field Character Tips (Page 21)

c. Sheet Set Manager View Tips (Page 22)

d. Sheet Set Manager View Callout Tips (Page 22)

e. Sheet Set Manager Drawing List Table Tips (Page 23)

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1. What is The Sheet Set Manager

The Sheet Set Manager (SSM) is a Tool Palette introduced in AutoCAD 2005 that acts

as a document control tool for project drawing sheets.

A defined Sheet Set is an organized collection of sheets which can either be started

from scratch from a predefined template file or pre-existing sheet set, or as imported

layout tabs from existing drawing files.

Each sheet defined in the Sheet Set Manager is essentially a hyperlink to a particular

layout tab in a drawing file designed to help automatically populate and control project

and drawing information from within the Sheet Set Manager.

Managing sets of drawings manually can be complicated and time consuming, but with

the Sheet set manager, a lot of the upfront “leg work” greatly reduces potential errors,

and makes global modifications easier.

The image below show the Sheet Set Manager palette with discipline subsets defined

from the CBCL template DST file before any sheets have been added.

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2. What are the Benefits

Using the Sheet Set Manager helps eliminate a lot of repetitive steps either at the initial setup or throughout the entire course of the project. Below is a list of examples of how using the SSM will save time and help eliminate mistakes.

B Arrange Quick Access To Drawing Files With Hyperlinks: Ensures that the correct

drawings are being opened, and eliminates time consuming searches through numerous

sub-folders.

B Manages Project Data And Keeps It Consistent. Ensures that every sheet is using and

displaying the same project information [e.g. “Yarmouth” vs. “YARMOUTH” vs. “Town of

Yarmouth” across multiple drawings] and correct project information [e.g. some drawings

say “Phase 1” vs. other drawings saying “Phase 2”]

B Modify Project Data Globally Without Opening The Drawings: If a project name or project

number has to change, it only has to be done once through the Sheet Set Manager

properties, and the change will reflect globally on every drawing in the set

B Maintains Accurate Cross-Referencing: All cross-references for Details, Sections,

Elevations, etc. will be accurate, and if the source data has to change [e.g. changing a

detail number] it only has to be done once via SSM properties, and all cross-references

will be globally updated.

B Ensures All Users Are Using Same Format Of Callout And View Label Blocks:

Eliminates any inconsistent looking callout blocks or section bubbles across multiple

drawings and disciplines, and thus prevents operators from using symbols out of their

own “personal library” that does not adhere to company-wide standards.

B Ensures all Users Are Using the Same Format Title-Sheet: Prevents users from merely

doing a “Save As” of a previous job using a potentially outdated title-sheet, which can be

easily replaced if that is the case.

B Creates a List of all The Drawing Sheets in the Project: Inserts an automated linked

table listing all the drawings in the set providing drawing the number and drawing title. If

sheets are added or removed from the SSM, the drawing list table will update

B Print or PDF Sheets Without Opening Drawings: Every drawing in the set, or just

selected drawings, can be published in various formats en masse without having to open

all the drawing files

B Archive Sheets, Drawing Files, and Associated Files in One Step: Collects and saves

every related file associated to the SSM and/or individual drawing files and archives

them in a ZIP file.

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3. Sheet Set Manager Components The image below lists the various components of the Sheet Set Manager palette

Right-clicking on the Sheet Set Filename activates the pop-up menu which offers the

various options to manage the Sheet Set

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4. Sheet Set Manager Field Category Definitions As previously mentioned, in order to automatically populate the title-block with project

and sheet data, the Sheet Set Manager uses FIELDS to extract information from the

project Sheet Set Manager.

In the graphic below, it shows the FIELD command dialog box with the “SheetSet” Field

Category active displaying the different fields available used to extract sheet set data

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There are basically five root categories for Sheet Set fields:

1. Current Sheet: These fields extract information from a drawing sheet that would

only pertain to that particular sheet, like: Drawing Number, Drawing Title, and any

other custom sheet properties like the design team

2. Current Sheet Set: These fields extract information from the current sheet set

that would apply globally to every drawing in the package like: Project Name,

Project Number, and any custom sheet set properties not available as a default

like the client name

3. Sheet Set: These fields extract basic information from the Sheet Set of a different

project (i.e. a different DST file) which can be useful if reference must be made

between projects that have been broken up into different phases

4. Sheet Set Placeholder: These fields are used in block attribute definitions for

View Label details and Callout blocks in order to extract sheet and view related

data like: Detail Numbers, Sheet Numbers, Detail Names, and Viewport scale.

5. Sheet View: These fields are used to extract basic information about the attached

sheet View names from either the current sheet set or from a sheet set in a

different project.

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5. Sheet Set Manager Basic Procedure Guide

What follows is a basic step-by-step procedure guide on the steps that it takes to create

a full-functioning Sheet Set (note: this procedure guide does not go into a lot of detail on

how everything works, but enough to create a useable sheet set).

The image below shows where the predefined Sheet Set DST template files are

located:

L:\CAD Standards\General\Sheet Set Manager Templates\

As you can see in the image above, Sheet Set DST files have been created for both

Metric and Imperial units using either AutoCAD 2011 or 2013.

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Step 1 (create sheet set project)

The first step is to create a new Sheet Set using a predefined CBCL template and fill in

the appropriate project information.

1. Enter the command SHEETSET to open the Sheet Set Manager (SSM)

a. Click on the ”Open” pull-down menu and select “New Sheet Set”

b. Select “An Example Sheet Set” [Next->]

c. Select “Browse to Another Sheet Set to Use As An Example, and navigate to appropriate

template DST file on the network [Next->]

2. In the Sheet Set Details, fill in the Name of “New Sheet Set” (i.e. project number and name),

project “Description” (optional), and browse to the project folder on network to save the DST file.

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3. Click on “Sheet Set Properties” button and fill in project information (When creating a Sheet Set

from a template, the references to “Label Block for Views”, “Callout blocks” and “Page Setup

Overrides File” defaults have been predefined within the DST template). [OK]

4. When creating a new Sheet Set from one of the CBCL templates, the discipline subsets (where

each discipline saves their drawing sheets) will automatically be created. (note: each discipline

references the same predefined title-sheet except for the cover sheet)

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Step 2 (add sheets to sheet set)

Once the Sheet Set project has been created, drawing sheets can now be added.

Below the graphic example there are two methods describing how to add sheets to the

Sheet Set, the most common method is Method #2 (“Import Layout as Sheet”).

1. Add new sheets to the Sheet Set by right-clicking on the appropriate discipline sub-set and

selecting either “New Sheet” or “Import Layout as Sheet”

Method #1

The “New Sheet” option will create a new empty drawing and you will be given the option to SAVE the

drawing file complete with a Drawing Number and Description. The Description entered will be part of the

filename.

Method #2

The “Import Layout as Sheet” option is the most common method where existing Layout tabs are added

to the Sheet Set project. Ensure the proper Title-sheet definition is being used, and the attribute data will

get filled in accordingly.

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2. Once a sheet has been added in the Sheet Set Manager, simply right-click on the sheet and

select “Properties” to add custom data to appear in the Title-sheet including Drawing Number,

Sheet Description, Sheet Number, and Design Team (as well as Revision or Issued information

accordingly)

TIP! If you have not been supplied with all the pertinent information, the field is blank by default and the

information can be added at a later date.

TIP! The Sheet Set Manager does NOT recognize blank spaces if you wish to leave a line totally empty.

If a space is entered in the field, the title-block attribute will insert “---“as a default value.

To prevent the “----“ from appearing, enter the Alt code “255” in the field (i.e. hold down the Ctrl key and

enter 255 from the number pad on your keyboard)

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The image below shows the result of what the title-block will look like once its Fields extracts global

information from the Sheet Set (i.e. Project Name & Project Number etc.) and specific information from

the individual Sheet (i.e. Drawing Description & Drawing Number etc.)

LEGEND

[RIGHT-CLICK ON EITHER SHEET SET OR SHEET PROPERTIES]

CATEGORY HEADER

“Sheet Set or Sheet Data To Be Entered”

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Step 3 (create viewports with named views for cross-referencing)

Once the modelspace items have been created (i.e. plans, sections, elevations, details,

etc.), they are ready to have Viewports created for them. To take advantage of the

Sheet Set Manager’s cross-referencing function, View names need to be saved for each

type of viewport item.

1. With the VIEW command, save View names for all model-space design components (i.e. Plans,

Sections, Elevations, Details, etc.) that will be featured in individual viewports (View names

should be saved as what best describes the view in question) and then save the drawing.

NOTE: When defining the view, make sure the appropriate Annotation Scale (e.g. 1:20, 1:50, 1:500 etc.)

is set first (this will be used to properly scale the viewport in Step 3)

TIP! When creating a View, use the “Define Window” option and draw a window around the limits of the

modelspace items as close as possible. This window will act as a reference for the size and shape of the

Viewport boundary (once the Viewport has been placed in the Layout, it can still be resized)

TIP! After defining a View Name, it is good practice to also define a “View Category” for each type of

detail to reside under which allows you to quickly access a particular detail via the Sheet Set Manger in

the same way it is quick to access a drawing sheet. For example, if there are a number of “road” type

details (e.g. asphalt paving, curb & gutter, etc.), and then those details would reside under a View

Category called “ROAD”. At the time when a new View Name is being created, click on the “View

Category” pull-down to see if the particular View Category has already been created, and if not, it can be

created by enter the category name in the View Category field. To access the details quickly through the

Sheet Set Manager, click on the “Sheet Views” tab, click on the “View by Category” button (icon looks like

a folder) in the title-bar, and then simply double-click on the desired detail view under its particular View

Category (the drawing sheet will open an automatically zoom in to that detail view)

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2. With the Sheet Set Manager open, a reference link of the project folders containing the drawings

with the saved View names. Click on the Model Views tab, right-click on “Add New Location” and

select “Add New Location”, browse to the project folder accordingly and click “Open”.

3. To add the saved Views as viewports on to their respective sheets, expand the drawing file in the

Model Views tab, right-click on the desired View name and select “Place on Sheet”. A scaled

viewport with a View label block definition will be placed on the sheet as seen in the image below.

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The View Label uses the predefined block “DETAIL” which contains predefined attributes where the

default values are FIELDS that extracts “Sheet View” information. Once inserted, do NOT explode

the block (or any block).

The image below shows what the “DETAIL” block looks like by default when inserted. The word

“DETAIL” is an attribute and can be manually overwritten to say “SECTION” or “ELEVATION” (etc.) if

required. If the block is not associated with a Sheet Set project, the default field attributes can also

be overwritten if desired.

4. To assign a number or letter to the detail view, click on the “Sheet Views” tab on the Sheet Set

Manager, right-click on the detail view and select “Rename & Renumber”, and enter a detail

number in the Number field as required.

Once a Detail View has been assigned a number, a callout block can been placed anywhere

throughout the entire drawing package (regardless of the discipline) which will extract the Detail

Number and the Drawing Sheet the detail resides on (see step 5 below).

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5. To place Callout Blocks for each Detail view, navigate to the drawing Layout tab, click on the

“Sheet Views” tab on the Sheet Set Manager, right-click on the detail view in particular and select

the “Place Callout Block” fly-out menu and select the type of callout (i.e. Detail, Section, or

Rectangle). The callout block will have the detail & sheet number automatically filled in.

Like the View Label, the “Callout Blocks” uses block definitions which contain predefined attributes

where the default values are FIELDS that extracts “Sheet View” information. If a Detail View is

renumbered, all of the Callout Blocks that make reference to that detail will be updated automatically

the next time the drawing is Regenerated or Reopened.

The image below shows what each callout block looks like by default when inserted. Both the

Rectangle and Section callout blocks have dynamic properties in which their appearance can be

changed to suit the situation. If any of these blocks are not associated with a Sheet Set project, the

default field attributes can also be overwritten if desired.

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Step 4 (add a cover sheet complete with drawing list)

1. To add Cover Sheet, right-click on the Cover Sheet subset and select “New Sheet” and enter “00”

for the drawing number, and “Cover Sheet” for the Sheet Title. The subset has been defined to

use a cover sheet layout tab from the predefined CBCL title-sheet template.

2. To create a Drawing List on the cover sheet, right-click on the Sheet Set Filename header and

select “Insert Sheet List Table” (as seen in the image below)

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3. In the Sheet List Table dialog box, select the “CBCL Drawing List Table” as the table style, click

the checkbox “Show Subheader” on, click on the “Subsets and Sheets” tab and ensure all the

necessary sheets to appear on the cover sheet are checked on, and click the OK button.

Once the Drawing List table is inserted, it looks like image as seen below on the leftL.

But when plotted , the table lookks like the image as seen above on the right.

TIP! In the event that sheets are either added, removed, or modified, the Sheet List Table can be

updated. Simply click insideany one of the table cells, right-click and select “Sheet List Table” fly-out

menu , and then select “Update Sheet List Table”

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Below is an image that shows which Sheet set fields are define in the cover sheet

NOTE: Each time the drawing package is issued, the “Revision Description” and “Revision Date” will have

to be changed to reflect how the drawing package is being issued.

NOTE: If possible, the cover sheet Layout tab should be created in a drawing file where a Key Plan can

be created using a Viewport of the model space contents (i.e. a Civil Site Plan or Architectural Floor Plan,

etc.)

NOTE: If a client logo is available (preferably in CAD format), then it needs to be inserted next to the

CBCL logo matching the overall height or whatever has the better presentation.

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6. Tips and References

Below is a collection of tips (some of which have already been mentioned in this tutorial) that will make using the Sheet Set Manager a little easier.

a. Sheet Set Manager File Management Tips • In the event that a user must work on two or more jobs at once, the Sheet Set Manager has

the ability to have more than one Sheet Set open at a time. When done working in a Sheet Set project, simply right-click on the Sheet Set file name and select “Close Sheet Set”

• In order to preserve a version of the drawing package after each submission and/or Record Drawing stage, the Sheet Set project can either be Archived or eTransmitted (both of which collect the electronic files and save them in a compressed ZIP file). The difference between Archiving and eTransmitting is that the Archive function will include all the template files used in addition to all the project files.

• More than one user can access the Sheet Set at any given time, but the users will see a “padlock” icon next to all the drawing sheets that are already being accessed.

• In order to make changes to the properties of either the Sheet Set project, or the individual sheets, a single or blank drawing must be open in order to make edits to the Sheet Set.

• The Sheet Set Manager has an “automatic refresh” which can slow AutoCAD down (especially is multiple users are simultaneously working within the same Sheet Set project). To turn this automatic refresh off, enter the command SSMSHEETSTATUS and set the value to 0 (i.e. “zero”). To refresh it manually, click the “Refresh Sheet Status” button which is located in the “Sheets” title-bar.

• If you are not currently working in a Sheet Set project, close the Sheet Set file by right-clicking on the Sheet Set file name and select “Close Sheet Set” (this will increase AutoCAD’s overall performance)

• Another way to increase performance of the Sheet Set Manager is to minimize all the drawing subsets that you do not work in. Having each discipline’s subset expanded showing its list of drawing sheets will slow AutoCAD down. Simply click the subset’s tree “ [-] “ button to minimize the drawing list (to expand it again, click it when it looks like “ [+] “).

b. Sheet Set Manager Field Character Tips

• The Sheet Set Manager does NOT recognize blank spaces if you wish to leave a line totally

empty. If a space is entered in the field, the title-block attribute will insert dashes like “---“ as a

default value. To prevent the “----“ from appearing, enter the Alt code “255” in the field (i.e.

hold down the Alt key and enter 255 from the number pad on your keyboard)

• There are many characters which can’t be used in a Sheet Set field including: \ < > / ? “ ; : * | ,

= ‘ (because these characters are used in programming languages). But there is a trick using

Alt codes in order to sneak some of them in including:

o “ (left double quote) = Alt 0145

o “ (right double quote) = Alt 0148

o ‘ (left single quote) = Alt 0145

o ‘ (right single quote) = Alt 0146

o , (comma) = Alt 0130

o ; (semi colon) = Alt 59

o Ø (diameter) Alt 0248

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• If the default Sheet Set attribute values have been overwritten, they can be replaced again

simply by accessing attribute value through the attribute editor, and press “Ctrl F” in the

attribute field to launch the FIELD command, access the Sheet Set values, and select the

desired value.

c. Sheet Set Manager View Tips

• When creating a View, use the “Define Window” option and draw a window around the limits of

the modelspace items as close as possible. This window will act as a reference for the size

and shape of the Viewport boundary (once the Viewport has been placed in the Layout, it can

still be resized)

• After placing a Viewport in the Layout tab, the View Label (i.e. block definition “DETAIL”) is

also placed in the Layout tab. If you wish the View Label to be placed in Modelspace, simply

use the CHSPACE command and send it through the Viewport accordingly.

• When placing a Detail View in the Layout tab, the Viewport boundary will be placed on

whatever layer is set current.

• After defining a View Name, it is good practice to also define a “View Category” for each type

of detail to reside under which allows you to quickly access a particular detail via the Sheet

Set Manger in the same way it is quick to access a drawing sheet.

d. Sheet Set Manager View Callout Tips

• The callout block used for sections is defined as “SECTION CALLOUT” which has been

defined with Dynamic Properties. This means it contains features to change its appearance

including: rotating the section arrow while the text stays horizontal, includes different types of

section lines that can be independently stretched and mirrored, and has a visibility state for an

Elevation Arrow which can also be independently rotated.

• The callout block containing a rectangle is defined as “RECTANGLE CALLOUT” which also

has been defined with Dynamic Properties. The rectangle can be stretched to change its size

and shape, and the callout bubble and leader can be mirrored around all four sides.

• References can be made to Sheet Set items without using callout blocks or view labels. If a

note within a Text, MText, or an MLeader object must make reference to a Sheet Set item, a

FIELD (press Ctrl F) can be used to access and insert the Sheet Set item. For example, if a

general note says “For General Notes, See Drawing 2”, the number “2” can be a FIELD to

access the Sheet Set drawing number. Inserting a Field works for Matchlines where if the

drawing number being matched to changes, the Matchline note referencing the drawing

number will automatically update after a Regen.

• Detail callout blocks should not be placed too early during the design process in case Detail

Views are removed or reshuffled to other drawings. Changing a detail number or renumbering

the sheet it’s on will not affect the callout reference link, but if a detail view is removed or

relocated to another sheet, then any callout blocks will lose their dynamic links will have to be

replaced or re-associated.

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e. Sheet Set Manager Drawing List Table Tips

• In the event that sheets are either added, removed, or modified, the Sheet List Table can be

updated. Simply click inside any one of the table cells, right-click and select “Sheet List

Table” fly-out menu , and then select “Update Sheet List Table”

• A drawing can removed from the Drawing List Table simply clicking inside any one of the

table cells, right-click and select “Sheet List Table” fly-out menu , and then select “Edit Sheet

List Table Settings”, click on the “Subsets and Sheets” tab, and un-check the drawing that you

do want to appear in the Drawing List Table. Then follow the procedure listed above to

update the table.

This Tutorial was prepared by the CBCL Limited CAD Systems Analyst. Your comments are welcomed. Please direct any

responses to Murray Clack (murrayc@cbcl.ca) or 902-421-7241, Ext. 2326.

Rev 01 - This was initially prepared in January 2013.

Rev 02 - Revision: September 20, 2013 (Revision attributes defaults removed from SSM)