Detail Sheets Using Viewports

[Glen]

I really love the viewport functionality for creating multiple views and scales of the same object of a design layer. There is very little information in the manual on actually setting up detail sheets in VW11 using viewports.

I am particularly interested in being able to reuse a detail from another project. I have drawn details manually and am not sure how these will work in the new version. I read a suggestion to place the detail on your drawing and make a viewport of it for your sheet. Most of my projects have a number of detail sheets and I am not sure how to organize so many details using the design/sheet w/viewports method.

Any direction would help.

Thanks!

OS 10.3.7, VW11.0.1

[Grant M]

You could place your details on a design layer/s and create individual viewports for each one, or combine more than one into the same viewport (same scales obviously).

If you are drawing everything at 1:1 you could also detail certain junctions of a section (for example) and use classes to control the visibility in the section and detail viewport.

[Glen]

Currently I use a system of classes and layers for the detail sheets. Sometimes that can be problematic when dimensions from another class appear on the wrong sheet since all dimensions default to their own class. I was hoping for something more elegant.

Do you use a separate layer for each detail? Do you use a layer for each scale and then re-crop view each viewport you create from that layer?

[Grant M]

In Version 11 you can assign classes to dimensions as a default so the old problem of dimensions appearing on the wrong sheet is lessened. I used to minimise this by putting dimensions on a dedicated layer

I also use combinations of layers and classes to format a file.

although I typically draw details on a single layer, to scale. Mostly 1:10 although joinery might be 1:5 or 1:2.

I personally find it a bit pointless duplicating line drawings such as details, onto sheet layers via viewports. So a typical drawing set for me will have some drawings on sheet layers (those generated from a model) and some on design layers (details, schedules etc).

[Kevin]

Glen, I agree. I have never seen any clear direction on how to set up detail sheets. Under VW9 I put details in their own file, separte from the other drawings. So for each project I would have two files.

A single detail sheet would be composed of perhaps 6 or more layers, all at different scales.

I have not tacked detail sheets in VW11 yet. I will need to soon. I too would like to know how others are setting up detail sheets in VW11.

[Jonathan Pickup]

I think viewports are a huge leap forward when it comes to making details.

If you looked at a section of a building, I would have a lot of detail already, so I can make a viewport of a portion of the section. This means that if I update the materials on the section the detail will update as well. The viewport annotation can use used to add notes and more detail...

That way you don't have to have several layers for your details. I have covered this in my Essential Manual.

[Glen]

Thanks all for the input. I see the improvements to the dimension class issues I used to have. VW is moving in the right direction. I will probably employ a combination of methods using classes/layers and viewports for now.

[Jonathan Pickup]

when I first started using viewports I thought that i would usea combination of old and new methods. Not now, all I use is viewports to make drawings. You can draw anywhere and make drawings from what you?ve drawn.

My advice is to use viewports. They are really useful, very fast and efficient....

[jfmarch]

instead of looking at how to make viewports, i suggest asking yourself how to organize your details. and how you want to communicate the construction of the project. your have to balance the abilities of the cad program with the clarity of the drawing information. for example, it would be most effecient to have a sheet of details that are all the same scale, but if some are door details, some are sheetrock details, and other are millwork, that might not be the best way to organize the information. it comes down to good drafting and grapohics organization. once you bhave figured out the best organization, setting up the viewports is easy.

and yes, as jonathan says, that are really useful, fast and effecient. hope this helps...