Referencing / Importing Worksheets & Schedules - How?

[jckii]

I want to create door, window and finish schedules from my floor plan / model drawing and then either reference or import them into a separate file, so that they are automatically updated in that file when I make door/window/finish changes in the original model. Anyone know how to do this?

[jfmarch]

as far as i know you cannot import or reference worksheets into another file. worksheets with database headers have to be in the same file where the data is being extracted.

i'm not sure why you would want to do this, but here is my idea. you'll have to have a seperate file where the worksheets reside and then workgroup reference all the relevant plans where the symbols you want to collect reside. then try to recalculate your worksheets. hope this helps.

[acepernich]

Here's what I do:

In your source file (the one with the worksheet), show the worksheet on some layer, make a symbol of that visible worksheet, then delete the image.

In your target file, reference the source file and import the worksheet symbol. You can then show the worksheet on any layer, as usual.

A down side is that whenever you open the target file, you are asked if you want to replace the worksheet (if you are set up to regen workgroup references automatically). Answer is yes.

[krw]

you can put the worksheets in your target file. this is what we do. the doors are drawn in a plan file, referenced into sheet A1.1. the the schedule is also in file A1.1 and it grab info from the referenced plan. We have a file for every physical sheet we print.

If I have a large plan I put door ids on a notes layer in the target document. if the plan changes I change the ids in the target document. This works because we usually only want door ids on the floor plan. I put room ids in the source file so i can reference them in with the floor plan file and the rcp without duplicating them.

[jckii]

krw -

Thanks - yours is the most logical answer to my question and was the route I had thought of proceeding along too.

So do you operate on a system of "a master plan", appropriate layers of which are referenced into separate files for each of sheets A2.1, A2.2, A2.3 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors? And then you reference the same "master plan" into another file for sheet A5.1 (Dorr Schedules) and again into A5.2(Window Schedules)? This is currently my proposed method and is similar to how I have use AutoCAD in the past - however VectorWorks experts warn me against this and advocate the "single file" method for which VW does, I admit, seem more ideally designed. Trouble is getting this to work for a project of 120,000Sf and a team of 10 people all needing access to at least some the drawings all at the same time.

I'd be really curious to hear how someone in a larger office (as you seem to be) sets up their entire drawing set, and how this works for you.

[krw]

"So do you operate on a system of "a master plan", appropriate layers of which are referenced into separate files..."

In short, yes. However I put the schedules (door, room finish) on the same sheet as the floor plan so I am not referencing into another file. All of my door and room info is already in the target file.

If you wanted, you could create an 'ID tags' layer in your plans source file then refence this into your target 'schedules' file to use the worksheet functions. You would keep the id tags layer invisible and just update your worksheets whenever the info changes.