Using Layouts to Set Up a Print - AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011: No Experience Required - page 760

of the strengths of AutoCAD is its ability to adjust existing objects in the drawing
easily.
External references are typically used in the generation of sheets because,
when combined with strong file management standards, they can dramatically
reduce clutter in drawings. By grouping similar sheets together into a single file,
you can do a large portion of your layer management from model space. Because
features such as layer states are much easier to use in model space; you'll gener-
ally strive to manage as many layers as possible from model space.
With this in mind you have a choice to make when any two sheets become
dissimilar. Let's use the floor materials layer as an example. It is only shown on
one sheet in the entire plan set. Since layers frozen or turned off in model space
remain that way throughout the entire drawing, you cannot manage that par-
ticular layer in the A-100.dwg model space. There are a couple of ways to address
this problem.
First, you may determine that the dissimilarities between it and the other
drawings in your set are dramatic enough to justify creating a separate sheet file.
Because the layer is used only in a single sheet throughout the entire plan set,
you may also choose to further categorize your design by creating a floor finish
model file. That way you wouldn't have to concern yourself with turning that
layer off in your other plan sheets, but you could easily reference it into the plan
sheet or sheets that needed it.
The other option is to create a viewport override for that layer. Since these
are hard to track and manage, using viewport overrides is a less than optimal
approach, but used sparingly they can be the right option in some situations. As
you create your own plan sets, the method you choose will most often be deter-
mined based on the time required for each option. For instance, overriding just
one layer in 10 viewports will probably take much longer than simply creating
another sheet file for that special case.
This section will allow you to see both approaches employed to manage the
contents of your viewports. The A-100 series of drawings will require you to cre-
ate some viewport layer overrides, whereas the layers for the A-200 series will be
managed entirely from model space.
Setting the Linetype Scale
Before you begin configuring the layers in each viewport, let's be sure the layers
are displaying correctly. You may have noticed that the rooflines are not dashed,
in both model space and paper space. This is because the two variables that