Create Read-Only Templates for a Shared Server

Learn about creating templates to eliminate repetitive tasks.

A common template eliminates the most repetitive tasks. Templates are easy to construct and provide significant time saving benefits. You can create templates with different units of measurement, drafting standards, file properties, or other defaults, and then use them to create new files. Save your customized templates with a meaningful name. Once you save the file in the Templates folder it displays in the New File dialog box. Do not overwrite the default templates: you may need them again.

Part and assembly templates set the default units of measurement, file properties, and other defaults for models. Drawing templates set the drafting standard, drawing resources, file properties, and other defaults for drawings. Presentation templates set the file properties for assembly presentations.

Part Templates:

Consider the following:

Turn on origin planes: When creating part models, it is a good practice to reference work planes and origin planes as much as possible. To make it easier, turn on the origin planes. Make all three origin planes visible for easy reference.

Set Dimension Display: Tailor dimension display conditions for your requirements.

Set Default Tolerances: Customizing default tolerances for dimension values helps you match part feature and sketch dimensions to the standards of your company with appropriate precision.

Set the default Material and Appearance: To make your mass properties more accurate, set the default parts material in the Styles and Standards Editor.

Create Custom Properties: Custom properties are useful for adding information to bills of materials, parts lists, and other drawing annotations.

Assembly templates

Consider the following:

• Change the sizes of the origin work planes to better accommodate the average size of the assemblies you create.
• If you use differing units of measurement in different assemblies, create different templates for each.
• Define the columns and format for the bill of materials.

Sheet metal

Consider the following:

• Any model geometry that is useful as a starting point including faces or contour flange base features. Sheet metal styles for bends, sheets, corners, and material type. These values are the default for all sheet metal parts based on the template.
• Parameter names and values you customize in the Parameters dialog box. Establish your own parameter names, enter instructions or other explanatory text in the parameters list, or set up your own parameters.
• Change the sizes of the origin work planes to better accommodate the average size of the sheet metal parts you create.
• If you use specific settings for certain types of sheet metal parts, create different templates for each using the appropriate sheet metal style.

Drawing templates

There are some components it is useful to define in your customized drawing template.

For additional information on CAD Manager workflows, including where to go for technical support, access the CAD and IT Managers' resource .