Project templates provide a starting environment and standards for new projects. Consider these recommendations and guidelines when creating custom project templates.
Content location
A project template may contain custom families like titleblocks, model elements, such as doors and windows, and annotation elements, such as element tags and view references. Before creating the project template, designate a location to store these custom families so they can be accessed easily. Consider keeping custom content separate from Autodesk-supplied content.
Naming standards
Having a clear naming standard will make the template organized and easier to use. As you work through each item on this checklist, consider the naming standard you will follow for all elements (families, views, materials, etc.).
Annotation
A project template should include the annotation families you plan to use in the project. By loading the annotation into the template it will not need to be loaded when first used in the project. This method saves time and reduces errors caused by loading the wrong family.
- Use the Annotate
TagLoaded Tags and Symbols tool to see a list of possible tags for the project, and load any typical tags into the template from this dialog. Edit the tag families as required to match your project standards. - View tags (callout, section, and elevation) are system families and are composed of nested annotation families. On the Manage tab, use the Additional Settings tool to access the view tags type properties and change or edit the nested families, as required.
- Load other annotation elements such as grid heads, north arrows, and any other annotation families you typically use in projects.
- Annotation also includes text and dimensions. These are system families, so edit the type properties or create new types for text and dimensions as required for your project standards.
Remember to save any edits made to annotation families to your custom content folder.
Titleblocks
Create titleblock families for all of the different sheets needed to document your projects. Load the titleblock families into the template to save time and reduce errors during project development.
Save all edited titleblock families to your custom content folder.
Viewport types
Viewport types define the titlemark appearance when a view is placed on a sheet. Consider how sheets are typically laid out and create all of the viewport types you need for your projects. You may consider creating viewport types for instances when you do not need a titlemark, for example, you may not need a titlemark for a presentation. Or, you may create a viewport type for an instance where you want titlemarks with additional graphics to help organize sheets. Make as many different viewport types as needed in the template file so they don't have to be created as the documents are created
Content
Create basic system family content in the template. Create enough content to cover typical uses in your project. Include information such as keynote and type marks in the element parameters. As you create system family types you will use materials in the definitions, so begin to think about how materials will be defined in your projects.
- Walls
- Floors
- Ceilings
- Roofs
- Curtain walls
- Curtain panels
- Mullion/Profiles
You should also include loadable content in the template. As loadable content (such as doors, windows, columns, and beams) is placed in the template, consider how these items appear in a schedule. Include all of the shared/project parameters needed for the content loaded into the template. By including parameters in content loaded in the template, schedules will be easier to create in the project. Populate parameters in the loaded content with the appropriate information.
Views/Schedules/Sheets
- First Floor Plan
- Reflected Ceiling Plan
- Exterior Elevations
Add empty schedules to the project template. The schedules can be formatted one time in the template, eliminating the need to do this process for each project. Creating schedules in the template also acts as a check to make sure the content included in the template has all of the parameters needed for scheduling.
The template should include a "cartoon set" of sheets with views and schedules placed. This set can be modified as the project is created, but having a cartoon set included in the template gives the project a road map of how sheets will be organized in the project.
View types/Browser sorting
Consider adding project or shared parameters to the Views category in the template. These parameters can be used in the project to help organize the Project Browser as the project progresses. To determine the parameters you need to add, begin by thinking about how you typically organize and classify your project drawings and sheets. For example, you might want to classify plans into floor plans, furniture layout plans, enlarged plans, finish plans, and so on.
Filters
Create view filters for common use cases in a project. When the filters are included as part of the template they can simply be applied to a view rather than having to build a filter each time it is needed. Filters use element parameters to apply a visibility override. For example, a filter could be applied to highlight rated walls and doors in a view. As you create filters in a project consider adding those filters to your template files when it is a common view you would like to create.
Placeholder links
If projects are going to require collaboration where models will be linked together, consider adding a placeholder link in your template project. The placeholder link is a blank project. In the template you will be able to set visibility controls on the link to control how a linked model will be displayed. When the template is used for a project, the placeholder link is directed to the linked model and the visibility controls in the template are applied to the linked model. This can save time when working with linked models because common visibility settings can be set once in the template rather than each time a link is created.
View templates
Create view templates for different view types used in your project. View templates are a quick way to assign visibility settings in your views. Creating view templates in the template project will ensure consistency of views from project to project.
Materials and hatch patterns
Create a library of common materials in the project template. When making materials consider not just the appearance but how you are going to keynote them, or use them in a material takeoff. For example, you might want to make different materials to represent different sizes of a wood stud or different thicknesses of wallboard. These materials share an appearance but would be keynoted and scheduled differently in a material takeoff.
Fill patterns for material surface and cut patterns are also defined in the template and should be purpose built for each material. This will help reduce errors when selecting fill patterns for new materials.
Line styles
Define line styles for the template using the ManageSettingsAdditional Settings tool. Line styles defined in the template should be purpose built for the use in the project. For example, instead of a linetype named "Dash" which is assigned to demolished elements and overhead casework, instead make 2 line styles named "demolition" and "overhead casework." Purpose-built linetypes will reduce possible errors when selecting a linetype for use.
Object styles/Lineweights
Set the object styles and lineweights in the project template so the output graphics meet your requirements. Start by setting the object style lineweights. These are set relative to one another to represent how you want elements to display graphically next to each other. To help with setting object styles in the template:
- Create a sample plan detail using elements from different categories which use different object styles.
- Duplicate this view and change the scale so each view shows the same elements but will be printed/shown at different scales.
- Compare the on-screen and printed appearance and adjust the object style settings, as required.
- After the object styles are defined, make adjustments to the object style lineweights for each scale to ensure the required output.
These steps may need to be done multiple times as you refine the object styles and lineweights for each view scale.