Discover how to create, modify, and manage symbols in enlarged plan drawings using AutoCAD. This article explains the process of duplicating symbols, modifying the scale factor to suit the requirements, and managing various layers in AutoCAD to ensure appropriate display in different viewports.
Key Insights
- The article emphasizes the importance of modifying symbols only once in drawings to avoid redundancy and unnecessary modifications in case of any changes.
- AutoCAD allows users to create new layers with identical characteristics to existing layers, modify symbols in the new layers, and create appropriate new leader dimension styles for those symbols. This helps ensure consistency and manageability in plan drawings.
- It is possible to manage the visibility of symbols in different viewports by freezing certain layers in specific viewports. This allows for a more organized and logical display of drawings in AutoCAD.
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We've just completed our keynoting for our eighth inch drawing and also for our quarter inch. And as I mentioned in the last video, we normally only place keynotes in drawings one time. The reason is so we don't have to modify them in more than one location if a change occurs.
But I'm trying to give you the experience of taking existing symbols, modifying the scale factor so they can be used in multiple occurrences. So what we're going to do is take the keynote symbols that we have in our kitchen plan and also use them in our enlarged kitchen plan. So let's go into our plan model file.
What I need to do is turn some layers off. I'm going to go into layer states and make Floor Plan my current layer state. This will turn off any of my annotative 96 scale factor annotations.
I'm also going to go into layers. I'm going to turn on my Annotative Dims 24 layer and turn off my Annotative Dims 48 layer.
What we're seeing now is the dimensions that we will use on our enlarged kitchen plan, because that drawing is at a scale factor of one-half inch equals one foot. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to use the Copy command.
I'm going to choose the symbols and the arrows. I'm selecting them all. So I've chosen all my symbols.
Enter to say I'm done. Base point anywhere. Destination point.
So again, I have now copied the symbols on top of themselves. Now I need to move the previous selection set to be on the layer for the annotative symbology. But you can see that I have layers for ANO sims 48 and 96, but I do not have an annotative symbols layer for 24.
So I'm going to pick the symbols layer, right-click, and choose New Layer. That creates a new layer with characteristics identical to the ANO sims 48 layer. I will name it ANO sims 24.
And I will make that my current layer. So again, I've gone into the Layer States Manager, and I've created a new layer called ANO sims 24, which is a duplicate copy of the ANO sims 48 layer. I'm now going to type in CH (for Change).
I typed it in. P for Previous. Enter.
P for Properties. LA for Layer. And A-ANO sims 24.
Enter. Enter. So again, I took my symbols,
Copied them on top of themselves. Then I made a new layer, ANO sims 24.
I came back and changed the previous selection set to the properties to Layer ANO sims 24. I'm now going to take my ANO sims 48 and turn that layer off. Now I have my symbols that are too large.
So I'm going to Scale this symbol using an arbitrary base point and a scale factor of 0.5. Scale this symbol using an arbitrary base point and a scale factor of 0.5. Scale this symbol using an arbitrary base point and a scale factor of 0.5. Scale this using an arbitrary base point and scale factor 0.5. Scale these using an arbitrary base point and scale factor 0.5. I'm going to say Scale. I'm going to choose all of these four together, all the four symbols. Base point right about here.
Scale factor 0.5. Now, I noticed that when I did my copying, I did not copy the one for the range. So I'm going to copy this symbol ortho on straight down. Copy it to there.
Double click. Give it a value of 10, because I believe that was the symbol number that we used for our range. I'm going to move it down so it's out of here.
Now I'm going to move these symbols from here to here. So I'm pointing. I'm going to move these symbols down and maybe move these symbols up a little bit.
And again, I'm moving them together so I have a nice alignment going on between everything. So I'm going to take my entry closet and move that symbol into there. Move this symbol over to here.
Move this here. And I'm just placing them graphically in a logical place. Then I'm going to also say move these symbols.
I'm going to have to do some stretching. I'm going to say Stretch Crossing. Notice where I'm selecting.
I'm not getting the base point of the symbol. I'm purposely staying away from the dimensions. So Stretch Crossing from here with ortho on over to here.
And I can use the Extend command to here. Choose the grip. Move it perpendicular to here.
And then I'm going to say Stretch Crossing. I'm going to go from the end of here. Take off my ortho.
And I will use Nearest to a point on the line so I'm maintaining the angle. I'm going to erase that. MI for Mirror.
Choose the symbol. The base point will be the midpoint of here. Ortho on.
Go up. And I've got it. Control-S to save.
Zoom Extents. Zoom Realtime. And save the drawing.
So again, what we've done is taken symbols that we previously had on the annotative symbology layer for a scale factor of 48. We created a new layer, ANO sims 24.
We copied the symbols to the new layer. We then scaled the symbols once they were on the new layer. And we created an appropriate new leader dimension style that we used for those symbols.
Zoom Extents. And I'm going to save the file. Now I'm going to go back and purposely make zero the current layer.
And once again, save the file. We're going to have something happen in just a minute. So let's begin by going back to our IE2.1 file.
I'm going to go into my A2.1 file. And I'm going to reload the Xref. And do you see what's happened in here? You can see that we have the annotative symbology 24 appearing.
The reason, and I know that you know this, is that in our plan model file, we just created a new layer, ANO sims 24. And that layer is on in the model file.
When we update the Xref into this sheet file, this sheet file is seeing that information for the first time. Since it's seeing it for the first time, it says, oh, I see that it's on in the model file, so you want it to be on in me. So again, what we need to do is go to layers, go to the plan.
We're going to take ANO sims 24, and we're going to turn that layer off in this drawing. Because we do not want to see that layer in this drawing. Zoom Extents.
Zoom Realtime. And save the file. Now let's go over to our VDCI-A301 drawing.
Let's reload the Xref. And Lo and behold, look what's happened here. Those same symbols are appearing.
Because, again, the last time we were in the A301 drawing, and we had the Xref involved, the Xref did not contain that ANO sims 24 layer. But now the Xref contains it, so we need to turn the ANO sims 24 layer off in this model file. Zoom Extents.
We're going to save this file. Now I'm going to go over to my A2.2 drawing and reload the Xref. What you'll notice is that we can see our symbols in the enlarged kitchen plan, and they appear correctly.
So everything is fine at this point in time. Now, what we're about to do is an extra step that is not necessary, but it's prudent to be aware of it. Because the ANO sims 24 layer is turned on in the drawing.
But remember, in this drawing, because we had multiple viewports, we were managing information by viewport. So what I'm going to do is I want to keep my ANO sims 24 layer on in this viewport. But I'm going to go into this viewport here for the Jack and Jill bathroom.
I will go to layers. I'm going to choose Plan Model, ANO sims 24. I'm going to slide over and say freeze that layer in this viewport.
I'm going to go in here to the guest bathroom. Go to layers. Slide down ANO sims 24.
And I will freeze that layer in this viewport. Double click in the fireplace area. Go back to layers.
Model, ANO sims 24. And again, I want the layer on in the drawing, but I'm going to freeze it in the viewport. And then go back to paper space.
Control-S to save. And this drawing is now complete. We have now completed our keynoting for our floor plan, our roof plan, and our enlarged plan.
The only thing we have left to keynote will be our building elevations, which we will tackle in the next video. So have fun working on this, and I will talk to you in a few minutes.