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I could use some insight from some clever people..... Sorry for the length of the post, but I feel more explanation will help you in understanding my situation. I also believe this is a situation that MANY designers/Engineers face. I have tried to be as concise and brief as possible. We do custom fabrication of steel structures. We have a "bread-n-butter" product, as well as accommodating many different custom steel projects. Quite often these structures need many "small", and widely different parts. Therefore, for each project the fabricators need: part dwgs / details / subassembly details / etc.. (Just to be absolutely clear...) Definition of terms: Part: A piece of steel to be welded to another piece of steel, to create an over all assembly. Detail: A zoomed in or additional notes/dimensions provided of a particular joint of a steel part to another steel part. Evolution of the process over the past year: Previously we have used a single .dwg file for each and every part/detail. I've introduced having all parts/details for the project in one .dwg file. And have them shown in viewports in a layout tab with a titleblock. I'd like to automate as much of this process as I can. (The process is up for review if you wish to offer alternatives.) Using AutoCAD 2013. Process: MODELSPACE: The overall design of the project is completed. Any/all parts, steel joint details, fabrication details, sub-assembly details are created in the same .dwg file. LAYOUT TAB / PAPERSPACE: We would like to have as many parts/details on one printed sheet as possible. A company title block is in the layout tab. Multiple viewports are created in paperspace (as many as needed to show all the parts/details). Each viewport would show one of the parts/details from modelspace. Pictures worth their memory size: --→----→----↓-- ↓ Link to all the above images on Imgur.com LISP routine explained in reply ↓ *Edit* Added example .dwg file: View Parts in Layout.dwg

Hello everyone, my work has asked me to start using autocad mep to detail drawings since I have a little autocad experiance over the years. computer is up and running,acad mep installed,trimble design link installed,ready to go. now what? What file format do i need to get started /dwg ? i assume. I just need a push start and a little help to get a project started. any suggestions would be appreciated. I will be taking a few courses but nothing scheduled for a month or so.