Optimizing Layer States and Symbol Placement for Building Sections and Callouts

Right now, we are in our VDCI A3.1 sheet file, and I believe you understand that we're showing the roof plan, and that the roof plan is down in model space, the view is at eighth inch equals a foot, and when we inserted our symbols for the building sections, and that we brought them in on the appropriate layer, but scaled them up by a scale factor of 96, because we were going to be presenting this image at an eighth inch equals a foot. I'm going to go back to paper space. Now, I'm over in my 2.1 file, and one thing we consistently have in drawings, is we're consistently referencing information across a sheet, and so I'm showing where the building sections are on my roof plan.

I need to also show where they're going to be on my floor plan, so now I'm going to go into my CAD 301 plan model file. In my 301 model file, and I believe you know this, we have a whole bunch of layers, and we have layers that are shown for the roof plan and the floor plan in this model, but one thing we have not done yet, is we have not created a roof plan layer state. So, let's go to layers.

Let's go to the layer states manager, and I'm going to create a new layer state that I will call roof plan, and I'm going to say, turn off layers not found in the state. So, again, what that means is that when we add other layers into the drawing, those layers will not be reflected in the roof plan layer state. So, I've created the roof plan layer state, and I'm going to close, but what I'd also like to do is to create a layer state for my floor plan.

So, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to go into layers, do a right button. I'm going to say select all, and I will turn all the layers on, so I will turn on the layers by clicking the on and off button.

I'm now going to take my annotative dims 96, turn it off, my annotative sims 96, turn it off. I will then scroll down, select a roof, a roof vent, I'm holding the shift button, go to the light bulb, turn it off, and close. So, I'm looking here, and I'm making sure with all confidence that I'm really showing the layers that I need to see in my floor plan, which is fine, and it looks correct.

Learn AutoCAD

• Nationally accredited
• Create your own portfolio
• Free student software
• Learn at your convenience
• Authorized Autodesk training center

Learn More

So, I'm going to go back to layer states manager, and I will create a new layer state that I will call floor plan. Again, turn layers off not found in the layer states, and close. So, we're showing the information for the floor plan.

What we need to do, though, is we need to get our building section information into our floor plan sheet file. So, here's what I'm going to do. Go back to layer states, and I will say roof plan.

I'm going to say make it current, restore it, and close this. So, you can see that we have our symbols that we need. What we're going to do is we're going to take the symbols and copy them on top of themselves, and then, once they've been copied onto themselves, we're going to change that selection set to become the annotative symbols 48 layer.

So, what I'd like you to do is write down a-anno-sims-48. That's the layer name we're going to be using. Now, check this out.

If I were to say copy, and if I selected this, this, this, this, and the polyline here. So, I'm in the copy command, and I selected them, enter to say I'm done selecting. Base point anywhere.

Destination at the ampersand, then enter. And now, it's asking for more, and I will hit ENTER to say no more. Now, there's an old command called change, and the best way to get to this is typing the word change and then hit ENTER.

Look at the prompt. It says select objects, type P, then enter for previous. That selected our initial selection grouping.

Enter to say I'm done. I'll change properties, P for properties, LA for layer, a-anno-sims-48. Enter, enter.

So, what we've done now is we've taken that information, and we have copied them on top of themselves and moved them to the layer a-anno-48. So, let me do this. I'm going to go into my layers, floor plan, and I will restore the floor plan.

And you can see here are my symbols. So, I'm going to do this. I'm going to undo.

So, I'm going to go undo, undo, undo, erase, crossing. It found one, so I'm back in my old stage. So, again, I'm doing it again.

I'm going to say copy. I'm going to select these, select these, here, here, and this. Enter to say I'm done.

Base point anywhere, I just pick destination at, then enter. It's saying the next set I want to copy, no more, I hit ENTER. So, I've said copy these entities, base point anywhere, destination at, meaning put them on top of where they are.

Then I'm going to type the change command. P for previous selection set, enter to say I'm done. P for properties, LA for layer, a-anno-sims-48.

Enter, enter. CTRL + S to save. I'm now going to go back to layer states, and I'm going to restore my floor plan layer states.

Remember, though, that these symbols are scaled up at a scale factor of 96. So, I need to scale them by 50% so that they will then be at a scale factor of 48. So, let's make that happen.

I'm going to use the scale command. I will put a window around the symbol, and I will also get the polyline. Enter to say I'm done.

My base point can be at the quadrant of the symbol up here, and I will type in.5, then enter. So, what this has now done is it's taken the entire symbol and made it half the size, including the width of the polyline. And one of the nice things is if you think about the 3.1 drawing and what will become the 2.1 drawing, is that now, since the symbols, including the polylines, are at 96 in the 3.1 file, they're at 48 in the 2.1 file, the width of the polyline will be the same in both drawings.

So, again, when I scaled it, I purposely put it up here so that I would not be moving where my polyline is. Now I'm just going to say move, put a window. And for right now, I have ortho on, and I'm just going to move it down into that area.

Pan down to here. I'm going to say scale. Do a window.

Get the polyline from the quadrant of the circle. Type in.5. And now move P for previous. I'm going to just move it up.

So, again, what's happened is we've scaled it and we've arbitrarily moved it right now. Now, since we're doing this, let's go on and get them into their actual position relative to something. If I were to say what's the distance from the end of this no plot to the end of that no plot, you can see that it's a foot.

Delta X and delta Y. If I were to say move the previous selection set from the end of the big hat perpendicular to the no plot and then move previous back 12 inches, now I have my section hat and the polyline 12 inches in from my innermost dimension string. I'm going to come down here and pan. Move window and this from the end of the hat perpendicular to the innermost dimension string and then move the previous selection set down by 12 inches.

We've gotten that correct. Now, if I'm looking here, I have my symbol that's been scaled down. I have the polyline scaled down.

Same thing down here. I have the jog that I need to consider. This polyline here lines up perfectly with that there.

And then this one comes over and goes down and the end here lines up here. I don't need to scale this. What I need to do, though, is change the width of the polyline to ensure consistency between the polyline widths.

So I will pick on the polyline, do a right button, go to properties, and I will give it, it's showing a global width of 3 inches. I will give it a global width of 1.5. And I hit escape and I close the interface box. I'm going to scale this one too.

Scale. Window. And here.

From the end. I'll say the quadrant of here. 0.5. Scale.

I'll do a crossing. Get the polyline. From the quadrant of out here.

0.5. Now, you can see that we have an issue where we have the section symbol on top of our callout for the enlarged plan. We randomly, in many ways, positioned where the callout symbols were. We need to move them.

We do not want to move the building section because that's going to be consistent throughout the set. So I will say move. I will choose these.

Enter to say I'm done. And I'm going to put it down there. Right about there.

What I'm doing is making sure that the polyline callout symbol is not touching on top of one of the spaces that I have. I'm eyeballing it so that it's halfway through. We have the symbol.

Now, I need to position it. You can see that right now this section symbol, the distance from the quadrant of here, perpendicular to the building, is right about 10 inches. So it's pretty close to the building.

A little bit closer than I prefer, but I'm not going to worry about it that much. So I'm going to say move crossing. I'm going to say from the quadrant of the symbol perpendicular to the building.

And I will get on the line. Then move previous. And I'm going to move it back, I'm going to say, about 30 inches.

Well, that's not good enough because it's on top of this symbol. Move previous. I'll say another 30 inches.

I'm going to move it another foot. Move previous 12 inches. Now the distance should be 6 feet.

Distance from the quadrant perpendicular to the house is 6 feet. I'm going to take my polyline, take the grip, I'm going to stretch it to the left 36 inches. I've just chosen an arbitrary length.

Three feet is a regular number, but an arbitrary length so that the polyline slices through the building. I'm now going to say move window from the quadrant over here, perpendicular to the building. I'll choose the window.

And then move previous to the left 6 feet. Choose the polyline. Take the grip.

Go to the right. I'm going to say 30 inches. Escape.

So I've gotten the symbol to go into the building. I don't want it to encroach into the enlarged area. Zoom extents.

I can save the file. Something else I'd like to do while I'm here because this sort of bothers me, that is the size of our callout. So I'm going to go on and draw a rectangle and get closer to the columns.

And I'm going to go back to draw revision cloud. Now you can see that it's showing an arc length of 3 feet. I think that arc length is a little bit too long.

So A for arc length. I'm going to say 18 inches. I will hit ENTER.

And it's saying select object. I pick. And I go outside and pick.

It's saying reverse direction no. Enter. I'm going to type MA for match properties.

Here's my source. Here's my destination. Erase that revision cloud.

So erase. And then I'm going to move the delta. Ortho is now off.

Closer to there. So I've simply tightened up my revision area. Zoom extents.

Save the file. I'm now going to go back into my 201 drawing. And I have to reload the XREF.

Again, balloon notification is not showing up. But you can see the highlighted triangle. So right button, reload drawing XREFs.

CTRL + S to save. We can see the building symbols. I'm going to go to my 301.

Reload the XREF. And what you'll notice is, again, there's no change. Because all the changes were made to the other drawing.

CTRL + S to save. Okay. Now we're ready to start working on the building elevations.

And so let's get ready for another fun time.