Managing Drawing Revisions

[Will UK]

We are a small private architectural practice in the UK and have been using Vectorworks for some time. I'm looking for assistance with the management of drawing revisions. We are now structuring our drawings using viewports however we would like to be able to refer back to previous drawing revisions. Is there a way this can be done without duplicating layers and hence substantially increasing file size? How do other users manage revisions?

Thank you for your help.

[Dieter @ DWorks]

Everytime there is a new design or adaption, we save the file under a new name, that way we have all the designs that were ever made.

[Petri]

What a strange way of working - you should do the exact opposite!

Obviously you don't need workgroup referencing and are not worried about some team members amending superseded versions of the design.

[Will UK]

That's an option. My problem with that is that one VW file may contain 20+ drawings and copying the entire file for an amendment to a few of the sheets seems excessive. I can see that it provides the most complete solution though.

[Will UK]

What's your suggestion Petri?

[Petri]

How do other users manage revisions?

With the disc space prices we have, I would not worry about file sizes. However, copied layers may become confusing, so they should be deleted when obsolete.

But about the procedure: the current version must always have the same name and be in the same location in the network. Versions are made as copies, with the date perhaps as a part of the file name.

According to Caesar, Belgians are the most courageous of all Gauls, so I would strongly advice against the Belgian revision management protocol, unless you are at least as courageus.

EDIT

There must also be only one current version. If more than one person is working on the same "file", Workgroup Referencing is the solution.

Edited November 21, 2007 by Petri

[Peter Eichel]

You could use your revision block & revision tool to identify and describe each revision. This won't allow you to keep the old drawings but you'll know what you did and have fewer files to manage. Normally, drawings use letters to identify preliminary (not for construction)revisions with a switch to numerals for released drawings, starting at 0.

This, by the way, is how Michelin Tires manages their drawings (when their not being "creative" with our pension plan).

[Dieter @ DWorks]

What a strange way of working - you should do the exact opposite!

Obviously you don't need workgroup referencing and are not worried about some team members amending superseded versions of the design.

You did not get it!

I will try explain it further for you:

(I now I wasn't exactly clear)

We begin with a first file for the first design.

When we then need to change the design, we use 'SAVE AS COPY' to save the 'OLD' design in the archive folder of the project.

If you have references, you can open the copy and delete the references while holding all the objects.

Then change the name of the copy so that it starts with the date.

So what is done is that the current design is saved into 1 static file.

This way you create a history and will never loose all settings of viewports, references, etc...

And the file without a date in its name is the current one.

Edited November 21, 2007 by DWorks

[Pat Stanford]

I agree, disk storage is so cheap that file sizes don't matter.

My suggestion would be to create a folder for each project. All of the files would be within that folder. Set up any WGRs to be by relative location. That way VW will look in the relative location to the current file for the WGR files. If you have something that will not change (like a title block), that could reference a fixed, but always accessible location.

When you release a version, make a copy of the entire project folder and move it to an archive location.

Actually, I do something similar as part of my backup procedures. I have a folder for each project called Current Versions. Before I start work for the day I make a copy of the folder and date it. That way I can go back to any date and find where I was on the project. If I get to many copies, you can eventually throw away the backups.

If you are on the Mac, you could create a simple AppleScript or Automator action that would move and rename the folder for you.

Pat

[Pat Stanford]

We begin with a first file for the first design.

When we then need to change the design, we use 'SAVE AS COPY' to save the 'OLD' design in the archive folder of the project.

If you have references, you can open the copy and delete the references while holding all the objects.

Then change the name of the copy so that it starts with the date.

So what is done is that the current design is saved into 1 static file.

This way you create a history and will never loose all settings of viewports, references, etc...

And the file without a date in its name is the current one.

If you are using WGRs, then this is not enough. If you just move a single file and the WGR is then updates, you will get a mashup of old and new data. If you are using WGRs then you must duplicate the entire folder and use WGRs that use relative locations.

If you are creating stand alone files, then your method is great.

Pat

[Petri]

Now, dear Vercingetorix, you are starting to make sense.

[Dieter @ DWorks]

If you are using WGRs, then this is not enough. If you just move a single file and the WGR is then updates, you will get a mashup of old and new data. If you are using WGRs then you must duplicate the entire folder and use WGRs that use relative locations.

If you are creating stand alone files, then your method is great.

Pat

You can brake them in the copy. That way you got a file that will never change again. That's what i mean by static file.

[michael john williams]

You could use Issue Manager, but todate we have not used it and it seemed too complex for a small uk practice but we are now reconsidering this now we have 2008.

Currently we issue in DRAFT [big red text in our titleblock] until approved and then revisions are just key work stages ie planning, building control, etc and these are revisions and saved with a post fix to the file A, B or C etc. So we always have a file copy of each work stage.