Each new drawing is created from a template; the default template is specified by the default drafting standard set in Application Options. A common template eliminates the most repetitive tasks.
Use drawing templates to standardize your design process and make it more efficient. Drawing templates can contain custom settings for sheet formats, borders, title blocks, sketch symbols, and predefined views. Templates also control the default styles and standards used for the appearance of views and annotations. When you start a drawing, the title block, border, sheet size, revision tables, and other elements come from the template. In addition, when you create a new drawing file based on a drawing template with sheets with predefined views, each view in the new drawing is placed in accordance with the custom view settings defined in each view on the sheets in the drawing template.
You can use or modify one of the predefined templates. To enforce conventions and automate repetitive tasks, create your own templates or modify the existing templates to adhere to your company's standards.
Drawing templates are stored in a Templates\%Language% folder specified by the current project. The Templates item in the Folder Option node in the Project list shows the location of Autodesk Inventor template files. Files in the Templates\%Language% folder are available for selection in the New Drawing dialog box.
Setting up Drawing Resources, Sheets, and Default Views
The Drawing Resources folder in the Drawing browser contains folders for sheet formats, title blocks, borders, and sketch symbols that you can use to add and set up new sheets.
You can add a sheet format to the template for each sheet definition you need in a new drawing. Once you add a sheet format to a drawing, it can be used to add new sheets to that drawing. A sheet format specifies a formatted sheet that includes standard elements such as a title block and border, and drawing views. To make customized sheet formats available to new drawings, create them in a template file that you use to create new drawings. Define a sheet format for each sheet type that you use.
The sheets in a drawing can each be created with a different sheet format. To change the format of the first sheet in the drawing, add a sheet with the appropriate format, and then delete the first sheet.
Automate View Creation with Custom Sheets and Sheet Formats
When you create a new drawing file based on a drawing template with sheets with pre-defined views, you are prompted to select a component for each sheet. Each view is placed in accordance with the custom view settings defined in each view on the sheets in the drawing template. To automate the repetitive task of defining view settings in a new drawing file, define these settings in a drawing template file.
Drafting Standard and Styles
The active drafting standard specifies styles used to format dimensions, text, line weights, terminators, and other drawing annotations and properties.
To ensure the correct drafting standard in all drawings, use the Style and Standard Editor to specify the drafting standard in a template.
DWG Templates
To create DWG files fully editable in AutoCAD, translate Inventor drawings to AutoCAD DWG format. Translation exports files more accurately, and less cleanup in AutoCAD is needed.
Inventor needs a valid drawing template file when opening AutoCAD .dwg files. The default drawing template file (Standard.dwg) is located in the Templates\%Language% folder. If appropriate, you can replace the default template with a customized Standard.dwg file.
- Download the files from
Autodesk Knowledge Network
Inventor Language Packs.
- Open each downloaded template in the current version of Inventor and save it.
- Move the template file to C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor xxxx\Templates\%Language%.
When you use a template to open an AutoCAD file, all AutoCAD data is removed, except for block definitions. Any AutoCAD data that needs to remain on a sheet must be placed into a block.
Guidelines for Creating Drawing Templates
- Create title block formats, custom borders, and sketch symbols before creating the sheet formats.
- Copy and paste resources from the browser of one drawing to the browser of another.
- Rename sheet formats, borders, title blocks, or sketch symbols. Select the object to rename and slow-click the name to enclose it in an edit box, and then enter a new name.
- Sort the drawing resources by name in the browser. Right-click the Sheet Formats, Borders, Title Blocks, or Sketch Symbols entry, and then select Sort by Name.
- Reorder the drawing resources. Drag a sheet format, border, title block, or sketch symbol and drop it at the appropriate position in the browser.
- To copy drawing resources from one source file to multiple destination files, use the Drawing Resource Transfer wizard.