About Collecting Project Data

Collecting project data from your layout in order to create accurate schedules is an important part of any building design project. Scheduling tends to be one of the most complex and time-consuming tasks in creating construction documents. AutoCAD MEP 2023 toolset provides the flexibility to create and use schedule tables that are linked dynamically to your AutoCAD MEP 2023 toolset objects. Dynamically linked schedule tables allow you to create and update schedules throughout the design process, rather than waiting until the end of the project. Schedule tables also maintain accuracy between your design layouts and the associated schedules. For information on adding schedules to drawings, see Schedules.

Schedule tables can be added to your drawings or exported to an external spreadsheet. The following steps provide an overview of the process of creating schedules:

• Add property sets to the object type that you want to schedule. You can apply property sets by tagging equipment, or by adding object or style-based property sets from the Extended Data tab of the Properties palette. If you want to create a custom property set, you can create or edit the property set definition in Style Manager.
• Specify property set values as desired for fields that can be edited manually. You can do this when you tag an object or add property sets, or you can do it at any time using the Extended Data tab of the Properties palette.
• Use a schedule tool to add a schedule. The schedule format is based on the schedule table style. The schedule table is populated with the property set values from the selected objects.
• Modify the schedule table style, if necessary, using Style Manager. You can modify the appearance of the headers and columns in the table, and you can specify what property set data to display.

AutoCAD MEP 2023 toolset provides a collection of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing-specific schedule tags, such as those for HVAC, piping, equipment, plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, and circuit schedules. AutoCAD MEP 2023 toolset also provides a collection of schedule table styles you can use or customize to meet your needs. Available schedule table styles include styles for creating equipment, fixture, and lighting schedules. You can access default schedule tags, property set definitions, and schedule table styles in drawings located in \ProgramData\Autodesk\MEP <version>\enu\Styles.

Schedule tables and the associated object properties are customizable. Customizing can be as simple as rearranging, adding, or deleting columns from a schedule table style, or as complex as creating a custom-defined report specific to a unique design or project.