it's all in the details

[sturner]

here's the deal, i have this ambitious project to organize all of our cad details company wide. this will include updating the drawings so they all look the same: text, layers etc.. my issue is the current systemis be inadequate. (mostly it is a unorganized mess)

my goals are:
1. i need to develop a system that is easy to use/learn and is flexible for future growth.
2. it needs to be used in multiple offices over three states and an ungodly # of local municipalities.

we currently use a number system(in one office) that works well and keeps things organized. so i thought to follow that. here is my current idea:
100 = state i.e. Delaware
110 = county i.e. Sussex
111 = local municipality i.e. Georgetown
_100 = general category/discipline i.e. SWM, Grading
_010 = specific category i.e. notes, manholes
_001 = the detail drawing
so a filename could look like this: 231_498.dwg

i know some do not like the whole number thing. maybe I'm making it more than it needs to be, but i need some help. if anyone has any input i'd appreciate it.
-sean

[Homerloew]

If you use numbers 0-9 in each place to represent something (4?? = a state and ?3? = a county and ??8 = a city) you will be limited to ten states, ten counties, and ten cities. This is based on having a certain number represent a state (4 will always represent Ohio).

[sturner]

yea it is limiting. it's the addition of states and tiring to keep the filenames unique. that is making it difficult for me.

[Homerloew]

A lot would just depend on what you do. Different disciplines require and allow different things. My numbering system has taken 2 years to refine. The question is, do you have the ability to experiment to find what works best for you?

Sometimes I catch myself trying to do TOO much. I have to remember KISS......Keep It Simple Stupid.

[sturner]

Sometimes I catch myself trying to do TOO much. I have to remember KISS......Keep It Simple Stupid.

OH YES i must constantly remind myself of that!
i do have the time to play around with it. i will try to explain how the current system works.
each directory has a number assigned to it 01=temp storage of details, 02=title blocks. to expand on the title block directory a subdirectory would be .01=company title blocks, .02=baltimore county title blocks. under the company title block is each individual drawing file. .01=8.5x11 sheet. so if i want a 24"x36" company title block i would look for 02.01.015.dwg. (please let me know if i failed to explain it well.)
this works well and i would like to not reinvent the wheel. but i need to expand it to use MD, DE and PA.

[thomas-p]

We are about to do the same thing here where I work. We don't have but one state to deal with, luckily. I'm not sure of the way it will be done for sure yet, but what we are think about now is. all details go under a folder called details. Then making a subfolder for Civil, Utilities, W-WW, Transportation. The Utilities folder we are placing all the Utility company's details under here. We are making a sub folder for each county and then a subfolder for each utility company. This seems to work well. This part we've been doing for a while. Under the the Civil part will be Civil type details. The naming is the part we are working on for these and the idea we are looking at now is. D_ for drainage details, P_ for paving, L_ for landscaping, F_ for fencing, M_ for misc. After for example drainage stuff. D_P_NameOfDetail, for all drainage pipe details. Name of Structure being a short description of what the detail is. Like CMES18 for a 18" Concrete Mitered End Section detail. So the file name for this would be D_P_CMES18.dwg. This is just an idea of what we are think of right now.

[Phil Ferguson]

One of the ideas we picked up this year at AU was to create a "warehouse" drawing of standard blocks and then use tool palettes to insert blocks into a drawing. Now I know that we are talking about details (and a lot of them) but could this "warehouse" idea be implemented here as well? May minimize (but not eliminate) the need for creative file naming...Just an idea that may get thoughts moving in a slightly different direction.

[tatriest]

Yes, Phil, I think it might be better for them to put their details in "warehouses." I have my FOUNDATION details in one DWG file, blocked with descriptions. I am then able to open the Design Center, right-click on the FOUNDATIONS.DWG file and choose 'Create Tool Palette'. The process creates an image and description on its very own tool palette. These new tools are just LINKS to the blocks. So, when the block is updated, the next time the tool is used, it pulls in the updated block.

Terry

[sturner]

hmmm. i could create toolpalettes for each state/county and have tabs for the dicipline. or even create a menu pull down if there are too many details.

cool!