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saving sheet format

Question asked by Alan Knapper on Apr 6, 2016
Latest reply on Apr 6, 2016 by Alan Knapper

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I'm just getting into SW 2D, and am attempting to create some sheet formats.

I can get a title block added in, and that saves just fine.

However, when I change the Doc Properties in Options, those will not save into my new format.

If I save as a template, it keeps the properties. If I use that same template file and save as a format, it converts those properties back to default.

If I save as a DRW, then try to save as a format, it converts the properties back to default.

What's happening here, and how can I fix it?

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Deepak Gupta Apr 6, 2016 12:08 PM
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Sheet format does not save document properties, those are controlled by template.

However you can export drafting standard and then you can apply those to files as required.
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- Alan Knapper @ Deepak Gupta on Apr 6, 2016 12:30 PM
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  But what is the fine line between a template and a format? Aren't they essentially the same thing, and if so, why don't they act the same?
  
  And if not, why isn't it possible for them to act the same, anyhow?
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  - Deepak Gupta @ Alan Knapper on Apr 6, 2016 12:42 PM
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    A sheet format is a child part part of template. You can assume a template as assembly and sheet format as a child component.
    
    So both are different things.
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    - Alan Knapper @ Deepak Gupta on Apr 6, 2016 1:02 PM
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      I understand that they're different, but shouldn't the child begin with all the attributes of the parent, and be manipulated from there? My current experience with this has it going the other way, where the format needs manipulation to create the template.
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  - Eric Blankinship @ Alan Knapper on Apr 6, 2016 1:06 PM
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    Alan,
    
    What you are going to want to do is create both sheet format and template. I setup something similar for my company recently. The template .drwdot will save the title block information, custom properties, standard used, & few other things. If put into the right location or if you change the file location to point to where your template is saved it will be accessible on File>New. (Do note if you change the file location you will either need to copy the existing solidworks .prtdot & .asmdot files or will need to create your own) Also to note if you want to use multiple templates make sure you are set to "advanced" mode in the new file creation or it will default to the first template.
    
    Now the only downside to this is that you can't replace out existing drawings if the title block information gets changed. So you will also then want to save off sheet format version .slddrt and save in right location or change file location of where sheet formats are pulled from. Now on any existing drawing you can simply replace the title block information by right-clicking on the sheet in the tree and selecting properties.
    
    The way I had setup the templates for my company was for us to fill in the title block information through custom properties so anytime we needed to update our drawing sheet formats the information would automatically transfer over and be in the right location.
    
    Not sure how much of this information was useful or what you knew already but figured I'd just give you a broad overview of my own experiences with SolidWorks templates in the hopes it might help you.
    
    ~Eric
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    - Alan Knapper @ Eric Blankinship on Apr 6, 2016 1:22 PM
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      Eric, thanks,
      
      If you've created your drawings using the template (with customized properties intact) and replace the format, does that affect those properties, or do the customizations remain?
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      - Eric Blankinship @ Alan Knapper on Apr 6, 2016 1:46 PM
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        Alan,
        
        When I change the format the properties remain intact. If you have any additional properties on the new sheet that the old one didn't have those will be added to the properties list but it won't replace any existing properties. So your property list might get longer but all the information should remain the same. For this reason you want to make sure that the property is give the exact same name in all sheet formats so you don't get redundancy. I had a few instances during setup when testing changing over to new sheet format where I got "Drawing Number" & "Drawing No." as I used different names in the different templates.
        
        ~Eric
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Glenn Schroeder Apr 6, 2016 1:21 PM
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See #2 atFrequently Asked Forum Questions
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- Alan Knapper @ Glenn Schroeder on Apr 6, 2016 1:51 PM
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  Thank you. I didn't think to look in FAQ.
  
  There's a lot of information there. Maybe a little more than my brain can absorb in a sitting, but I think I get it. Deepak had it right but reversed, which is partially what confused me: Template is the child of Format. Format has the graphics the way you want it, Template has the graphics and settings.
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- Eric Blankinship @ Glenn Schroeder on Apr 6, 2016 1:58 PM
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  Glenn,
  
  Thanks for posting that information. Took a quick glance through it and it seems to cover most of the differences between .slddrt & .drwdot. One thing that might be useful to add though is for multi-user having the settings all changed via copy settings wizard. Also in the image you show setting up file location for document templates which would work for the .drwdot, .prtdot, & .asmdot but also worth mentioning having to path sheet formats as it pulls differently for .slddrt. Otherwise that seems to be a really thorough and great explanation of the system. I think I'll bookmark the page to direct other users to it in the future.
  
  ~Eric
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