Whether you know it not, you have already used templates to begin
a new drawing. AutoCAD uses a template every time it
starts up. If you do not designate your own template, AutoCAD
will use a default one.
A template is a drawing file that includes some of the
following settings:
-
Unit type and precision (DDRMODES)
-
Drawing limits (LIMITS)
-
Snap, Grid, and Ortho settings (Status Bar)
-
Layer organization (LA)
-
Title blocks (Tutorial)
-
Dimension and text styles (DDIM, ST)
-
Linetypes (LT)
-
Common blocks (Tutorial)
In most cases, you do not want to set these things every
time you begin a drawing. By having a template with all
of these parameters pre-set, you can work more efficiently,
faster and consistently. There is no difference between
a template file (DWT) and regular DWG other than the extension.
Most CAD businesses use a company-wide template that is updated from time to time. Occasionally, you will use a client's template. When you start a project, you will be told which template you are to use.
Creating a Template
To create a template drawing, you first have to set up any
parameters that you feel you would need (see the list
above) in a regular drawing. Once you have this, you
can save your drawing as a template. Do to this, press CTRL+SHIFT+S to get the ‘Save As' option.
You will see this dialog box:
You have to change the ‘Files of type' setting from a DWG
file to a DWT (template) file.
Once you've changed this, make sure you save it in the folder
where you can load it later.
To use the template for a new drawing,
type NEW to start a new file and select
the template you want.
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