Lesson 2 is essentially two lessons tied into one-creating a title block template applying AutoCAD Fields to traditional methods, as well as creating a Sheet Set Template to utilize the Fields in the title block.  Needless to say, be prepared for a long, but extremely useful lesson. There are many tasks that need to be undertaken for all of this to work, but I’ll break it down and work through it in a logical order.

Using AutoCAD Fields within your title blocks and in coordination with the Sheet Set Manager, is arguably one of their best uses.  You probably already know how much time is saved on a project using title blocks that you’ve already set up and using Fields within those setups will push that even further.  First, we need to be on common ground in regard to how to set up a title block template.  Typically, a drawing border and plot stamp are incorporated with the title block, which is then externally referenced into a drawing with the project-level information already filled in.  The sheet-level information is then inserted into the drawing as a block containing attributes to be entered or edited.  The use of Fields in the title block will be much the same, with the exception that Fields will be inserted into the attributes contained within the blocks.

Now that that is taken care of, it is best to start out this technique by using a preexisting title block template that you have.  If you don’t have one developed yet, that’s perfectly fine, but I would speculate that creating a brand new title block using Fields would be much easier after you have a better understanding of how they can be implemented.

There is one more thing before jumping into everything.  Start separating the information within the title block into project-level and sheet-level categories.  This will need to be determined to decide which information goes in the x-ref or the block.  You’ll need to keep in mind during this process attributes can’t be edited through an x-ref.  Likewise, a Field inserted into an attribute cannot acquire information about the current sheet through an x-ref.  The image above displays the information most typically found in a title block.

We are now going to define our title block information in attributes.  It is quite possible to make all of the project-level information in the title block attribute definitions for ease of use in the future.  However I am going to focus on sheet-level information in this lesson, as simply defining an attribute should be pretty basic once you have completed this tutorial.

Let’s start by defining an attribute for the sheet number.  Defining the sheet number attribute with the desired layer and text style current is the best place to start out, but all of this is editable from the properties palette afterward, so it isn’t a must.  Enter “ATTDEF” at the command line.  Once in the Attribute Definition dialog box, begin entering the tag and prompt you wish to display on the block that will be created later.  These areas aren’t that important, but defining them as something easy to communicate and making sure they fit in the title block are key.  Also, don’t use any spaces within the “Tag” area, as AutoCAD will not allow it.  Now either click the button to the right of the “Default” area or right-click and select “Insert Field” from the short-cut menu in order to open the Field dialog box as shown below.

In the Field dialog box, select “CurrentSheetNumber” from the Field names box and the format you would like it to appear.  Pick “OK” to return to the Attribute Definition dialog box.

You’ll now see “####” in the “Default” area, as that is AutoCAD’s placeholder for Field data. Continue through the rest of the dialog box defining the size, orientation, style, and mode of your attribute. Select “OK.”  You should now see something similar to the image below on your screen.

You’ll notice that I chose a tag that would fit into the space provided in the title block.  This is just an extra touch for better usability and communication.  Other attributes in the title block that can be defined in the very same way are “CurrentSheetTitle”, “CurrentSheetDescription”, “Date”, “TimeStamp”, and “FileName”.  The rest of the information will take slightly different steps throughout the way.

Well, this seems like a good stopping point for today.  We need to finish defining the attributes for our sheet-level information, w-block out that information into its own file to be inserted later as a block, create a Sheet Set Manager .dst template incorporating the special features we’ll have in our Fields, and finally create a drawing within the sheet set to reference the title block border and text into.  I told you this one is a doozey, but it pays off dividends once you have it mastered.