2004

112 | Chapter 10 Organize Drawings and Apply Standards
Define Standards
To set standards, you create a file that defines properties for layers, dimension
styles, linetypes, and text styles and save it as a standards file with the .dws
file name extension.
Depending on how you organize your projects, you may decide to create and
associate more than one project-specific standards file with an individual
drawing. When you audit the drawing file, conflicts may arise between
settings in the standards files. For example, one standards file specifies that
the layer
WALL is yellow, and another standards file specifies that it is red. In
the case of conflicts, the first standards file associated with the drawing takes
precedence. If necessary, you can change the order of the standards files to
change the precedence.
If you want to audit drawings using just a specific plug-in, you can specify
the plug-in when defining your standards file. For example, if recent changes
to a drawing are limited to text changes, you may want to audit the drawing
using only the layers and text styles plug-ins to save time. By default, all plug-
ins are used when auditing drawings for standards violations.
To create a standards file
1 On the File menu, click New.
2 Enter a template file name or press
ENTER to continue.
3 In a new drawing, create any layers, dimension styles, linetypes, and text
styles that you want to be part of the standards file.
4 On the File menu, click Save As.
5 In File Name, enter a name for the standards file.
6 In the Files of Type list, select AutoCAD Drawing Standards (*.dws).
DWS files must be saved in AutoCAD 2004 format. To create a DWS file in
AutoCAD 2000 format, save the file in the AutoCAD 2000 DWG format
and then rename the DWG file using a .dws extension.
7 Click Save.
To associate a standards file with the current drawing
1 At the Command prompt, enter standards.
2 In the Configure Standards dialog box, Standards tab, click the + button
(Add Standards File).
3 In the Select Standards File dialog box, locate and select a standards file.
Click Open.