Question about blocks and block libraries

[Ronf2882]

I have found articles and tutorials on creating blocks, and saving them. None of them cover if I should be making many blocks in the same drawing file or saving them each in its own file. I am making blocks that are roadway signs for plan drawing, and I plan on making a lot of them. I'm just not sure the best method to organize things. Also I am very new to autocad only been using it for a week.

 

Also I plan on placing these blocks into the tool palette when finished to be easily usable within my future drawings. Not sure if it makes a difference but I am also placing in scale, rotation, and flip grips in all of them.

[Dadgad]

Welcome to the forum.

Usually in autocad we draw everything full scale, which makes me wonder why you feel you need a SCALE parameter added to what sound like dynamic blocks?

You can organize them either way, as separate drawings, or in a LIBRARY style drawing which will contain a great many different blocks.

[Ronf2882]

Which way is easiest? I am not sure how many I will end up with but just to start I think I will have somewhere around 100 blocks for now.

When saving multiple blocks to a single file do you spread them all out in the drawing space so they are able to be seen or make them one at a time with the block editor and then delete them from the drawing so they are not in use?

 

Nothing in our plans is drawn to scale, they are only plans for temporary traffic control showing where the work area is, where and which lanes will be closed and what signs will be used. We place an icon on the plan that represents the sign and outside the roadway we place an image or drawing of the sign with a line pointing to the icon(s) nearby that are that sign so these blocks are really just used as a label in a non scaled drawing.

[dbroada]

There is no "best way".Having each block in a file of its own is easy to maintain and providing you path their folder they are simple to insert from the command line or using the INSERT dialogue. Having all the blocks in one drawing makes them impossible to insert from the command line but make them easy to insert from Design Centre or by dragging them off a palette.

 

I now favour putting them all in a group drawing and creating a palette group. How you arrange this group drawing is again entirely up to you. You don't even need them on display to drag them into your drawing as the palette or design centre will create an icon of the blocks. I would keep them on display though as you can then see them to modify them if necessary and there is less chance of somebody purging them from the drawing.

[Ronf2882]

ok awesome I'll keep them all in one drawing, that sounds like the better way for me.

Can I make them in a new drawing and save it. then insert it into the library drawing and have it work the same way?

[dbroada]

Try it!

 

I would expect it to work.

 

Although you can see your block as a drawing, AutoCAD knows it as a "Block Definition". That way, when you change one block you are actually changing its definition and ALL the blocks (not quite true if the block has attributes) within the drawing change to suit.

 

You can only have one block definition per block in one drawing which means that if you insert a drawing containing blocks you insert all those blocks into that drawing. However if you already had Block_A in your base drawing and the inserted drawing also had a Block_A in it the default action is to not update the Block_A definition, even if it is different. This is VERY important! You can get blocks to be redefined by right clicking on the palette or design centre.

[Ronf2882]

awesome thank you for the help. working on my second block right now i'll try putting them both into one file when its done

[Ronf2882]

ok got a problem with my second block, I got everything done but when I use the scale handle the flip handle doesnt stay in place in relation to the object, and when I use the roatate handle the visibility selector rotates in an egg shape and doesnt stay with the object. Im really confused as I had both of these working correctly at one point and do not know what I changed.

The way It should work and was actually working at one point is that scale will scale everything, keeping the action handles where they are in relation to the object, rotate works the same. however FLIP should ONLY flip arrows and the slanted lines located in the barricade (this is still working thankfully) but somehow i managed to break rotate and scale. rotate is important i can live without scale.

 

heres a link to the file:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B1bDx0CgneGSRV9Fb1VrZTVRYVk

 

any idea how i screwed this up? was it from resizing the entire block down to a lot smaller size, and including the parameters and actions in the scaling I had to do? I originally made it way too big.

[dbroada]

No answer but two things......

 

It is easier if you post the drawing file rather than link it through a file share. I was able to get to your file this time but most file share services are off limits by our corporate IT department. You have to go to the "Advanced" page where you will find the appropriate management options.

 

Secondly, can you save your file to 2010 format. I am unable to open your block. By saving back an issue you sometimes break a newer feature but by the sounds of your problem I will still have access to all the relevant bits.

[Ronf2882]

oh nice I didnt even realize I could attach a file to the forum post. saved it as a 2010 file, thanks so much for taking a look at it.

Small T3 3.dwg

[dbroada]

I can't see where this is going wrong but I just deleted the rotation action and recreated it. I forgot to include it in the scale set but it looks (to me) to be OK.

 

If this had been my block I would have paid more attention to getting everything symetrical about the 0,0 point. (This is why I use snap & grid but everybody else here says you don't need them.) I think your symetry line is just a little bit away from x=0 so you may be getting a slight rotation of the set when you flip but I don't think this is why your rotation is moving quite so much.

 

Small T3 3-2.dwg

[Ronf2882]

ok I will have to work on getting a little better positioning, still new at this. will try the snap grid for the next one. maybe in the morning I will try and re-do the rotation and just remove the scale for one less problem, thank you for the help.

[Organic]

It seems like you are over complicating it in my opinion. Why even give it a rotation parameter?

 

I would (and have) create the 100 road signs, then make each one of them a block although then put each of them into a Signs reference drawing. Then whenever you need a road sign, open the Signs reference drawing and just copy and paste it into the drawing you are working on (manually rotating it as needed).

 

I agree with centring blocks about the 0,0 point.

[Ronf2882]

the only reason i was going to put in a rotation action was because appx 75% of the time they will have to be rotated when placed so i figured this would save time in the long run, but maybe it wont.

[ReMark]

The option to rotate a block is there when it is inserted. Just give some thought as to what part of your geometry makes for a good point to rotate the block around.

[Mike_Taylor]

Alot of this comes down to preference. I, like yourself, find I am rotating my blocks (receptacle/light switches etc) all the time so I included the rotation right on the block. It saves tones of time when deal with with strange angles (using the reference feature in your rotation).

 

Also, do yourslef a favor and give the blocks logical base points (I cant stand when a basepoint in a block is way out in space).

 

I also much prefer everything set up through one drawing file and inserted through pallettes. I essentially have a pallette set up for each type of block I will be using (IE. Receptacle, Fire Alarm, Lifesafety etc...). We then have the all of our blcoks organized through this way in the "Master Template". To ensure the Names are unique they are as follows Rom-1100 (Direct Connection Symbol). We then have text underneath with all of the visibility state each block has (we have one block for all of our sprinkler heads so we have text specifying the types of sprinkler heads inlucded in that block).

[tzframpton]

You are on the right track. I use a single DWG file as a "block repository" and I keep all blocks neatly organized inside the single DWG file. I then create my Tool Palettes from these files, then set all the Tool Palette Properties to each one as needed.

[genmech]

I prefer to use multiple drawings based on what blocks are in them, ex:one DWG for electrical,one for Mech and another for paperspace objects. this way i still have a organized system but it is easier to update my tool palette when i add a new block by deleting the old palette and creating a new one from design center.

[mts5143]

I there a way to put buttons on the ribbon, say in the "Home" tab, so that I can click it and insert one of my blocks that way?

[genmech]

just set up a tool palette that you can drag off of. when i am running a single monitor i dock it to the right side of the screen and auto-hide it. not in the way and then if you need a block. bam quick and easy. one my dual monitor set up i have my drawing screen on one side. my ribbion design center, layer manager and command line set up on the other. large drawing area. and if i need something its just a short move. it seems confusing to some people but i love it.