The CAD Standards feature makes it easier for others to understand and follow consistent drawing organization practices by maintaining common names and style settings. Standardized drawing organization is particularly useful in collaborative environments where many individuals might contribute to a drawing.
A drawing file that's saved as a drawing standards file (DWS) can be used as the standard against which to check drawings in progress. Standards define a set of common properties for named objects such as layers and text styles. You can create, apply, and audit standards in drawings to ensure consistency.
Named Objects for Standards-Checking
You can define standards for the following named objects:
- Layers
- Text styles
- Linetypes
- Dimension styles
- Multileader styles
Standards File
After you create a drawing with the layers, linetypes, and styles that you want to maintain, save the drawing as a standards file (DWS). You can associate this standards file with one or more drawing files. As work progresses on the drawings, alerts are displayed when any standards do not conform.
How a Standards Audit Works
When you check a drawing for standards violations, each named object of each specified type is checked against the standards files associated with the drawing. For example, each layer in the drawing in progress is checked against the layers in one or more associated standards files.
A standards audit can uncover two types of problems:
- An object with a nonstandard name is present in the drawing being checked. For example, a layer named WALL is present in the drawing but not in any associated standards files.
- A named object in a drawing matches the name of one in a standards file, but their properties are different. For example, in the drawing the WALL layer is yellow, but the standards file specifies red for the WALL layer.
When you fix objects with nonstandard names, the nonstandard objects are purged from the drawing. For example, let's say a drawing includes a nonstandard layer, WALL, and you want to replace the nonstandard name with the standard name, ARCH-WALL. If you choose Fix in the Check Standards dialog box, all objects are transferred from layer WALL to layer ARCH-WALL and then the layer WALL is purged from the drawing.
Standards Plug-Ins and Properties
The auditing process uses standards plug-ins, applications that define the rules for the properties that are checked for individual named objects. Layers, dimension styles, linetypes, multileader styles, and text styles are each checked against their corresponding plug-ins. You can specify which plug-ins to use when checking a drawing for standards violations. Autodesk or third-party developers may add standards plug-ins for checking additional drawing properties.
All plug-ins check all properties for each named object with the exception of the layer plug-in. The following layer properties are checked when using the layer plug-in:
- Color
- Linetype
- Lineweight
- Plot style mode
- Plot style name (when the PSTYLEMODE system variable is set to 0)
The following layer properties are not checked by the layer plug-in:
- On/Off
- Freeze/Thaw
- Lock
- Plot/No Plot