Lanc & Tully

Memo

To: All AutoCAD Users

From: Tom Hanley

Date: 4/25/2003

Re: Drawing Cleanup Procedures

Attachments:

Drawing file and Project cleanups have a direct effect on network fitness. All CAD Operators are responsible for maintaining their projects and drawing files in an orderly condition. In many cases, no one but the originator will know if a certain layer is “junk” or vital to the drawing or if a certain layout should be part of a drawing file that the client might be sent at some future date.

Redundant Layers and Files

We have had incidents where drawings were misinterpreted because a user thought the latest version of a wetland layer was visible when in fact, that particular layer was “superceded” by one with another name. If you create a new layer, you bear the responsibility of making it clear to all users what the purpose of that layer is. You are also responsible for taking old information out of the record drawing to minimize confusion and error. If you are hesitant to delete information for fear that it will be recalled at some later date, wblock it out to a safety file and remember to go back and delete that file when you feel more confident. Make sure you name that safety file so that everyone seeing it will understand what it represents. Minimizing the amount of extra files you leave behind minimizes the amount of liability you extend to yourself.

Our objective is to leave a drawing file and the project folder in the most easily interpreted state possible.

The Purge Command

The Purge command is an excellent tool for cleaning out unreferenced layers, linetypes, textstyles, etc. It is both easy to use and powerful. It is also scary to some users that have removed or lost something they ended up needing right after it was deleted. Understanding what the command will do and how to recover gracefully will help make this command one of your favorites.

Q: “What does it do?”

A: Purge will clean out unused definitions and will reduce the drawing file size. That makes AutoCAD run quicker, helps you navigate through less layers when looking for a particular layer, simplifies the drawing file for other users to understand.

The top portion of the window allows you to choose between what you can and can’t purge. You can just leave it set to “View items you can purge”. I can’t really think of a good reason to use the other option. The middle area is a “directory tree”-like format that separates the different types of item groups in a drawing. If you left click on the little plus (+) sign next to an item group, it will expand the branch to see the individual items in that group. The bottom area allows you to confirm each item to be purged and to purge nested items. The confirm option is a confidence thing again. When you are comfortable with the command you will become daring and leave it off. Purging nested items should be done always. How the Purge All button works is fairly obvious but the Purge button is a little tricky. You need to select an item or a group in the middle section before clicking the Purge button. Only the selected items will be purged.

Ok, so now you’ve purged your drawing and you can’t find that Lanc & Tully standard layer for whatever you are trying to draw. No Problem… Use the AutoCAD “INSERT” command to insert either S:\Drafting Standards\ Layers-Design.dwg or S:\Drafting Standards\ Layers-Survey.dwg depending on whether you want the design or survey standard layers. All the standard layer definitions along with all the textstyles, dimstyles, and linetypes are back in your drawing.

Don’t forget to update the textstyles to the drawing scale with the fontchg.lsp button on your custom toolbar.

Please contact me if you have any questions concerning these procedures or need further clarification.

Thank You,

Tom Hanley