The Right Way to Reuse Drawings in AutoCAD (No More Clutter!)
Smarter AutoCAD workflows, plus a wild tool for civil designers.
Hey All,
We’re almost at the weekend!
I’m particularly excited for this weekend, it’s my Wife and I’s 14th anniversary and we’re going away for a couple days sans kids! Time to relax, go for a nice dinner, and have an adventure together at a spa resort.
Thinking back recently to when we were first married reminded me of a common issue for designers when pulling from legacy/dated files, especially those new to the industry or working alone/in small teams. If you’ve ever gotten a new project and thought “I’ll just copy/saveas this old detail or entire drawing to start my new drawing…”
10 minutes later, my “New” clean project has 25 outdated layers, two old plot styles, a bunch of exploded blocks and even a viewport I didn’t need 🤦♂️.
That’s when we need to remind ourselfs, there’s a right way to do this. And if you’re like me, juggling multiple clients, standards, and legacy files, this week’s tips are going to save your sanity (and your layer manager).
💡 Quick Tip: Transform and Standardize Layers instantly!
When working with old legacy drawings or client-provided files, it can be a pain to combine their layers into our nicely organized standards.
Thats where the LAYTRANS (Layer Translator) command comes in. LAYTRANS to map old layer names to your current standards, instantly moving all of the old objects, linework and text onto new designated layers and properties in one easy to use dialog box.
Check it out and more in todays video: AutoCAD Copy From Old Drawings/Projects the Right Way! (AutoCAD Copy Tricks)
Feature Video:
Must-Know Copying Tricks in AutoCAD: Re-use Old Drawings w/ Time-Saving Workflow
In today’s new video, I show you how to stop using messy workarounds and start using real productivity tools built right into AutoCAD when you need to copy or start from an old project drawing or simply want to save time by copying layouts, layers or blocks from another file.
You’ll learn:
The right way to reuse title blocks, details, and layouts
How to avoid importing messy layers and styles
Secret pro commands like LAYTRANS and ADC that I use daily
Click here to watch now
This is a must-watch if you’re tired of cleaning up your drawings every time you re-use something.
Tool of the Week: Blackshark.ai
High-resolution 3D environments, from the creators of Microsoft Flight Simulator.
If you’re in civil, infrastructure, or site planning, this one’s wild.
Blackshark.ai lets you import accurate 3D context (roads, terrain, buildings) into your design environment using satellite and map data. It’s great for:
Conceptual renderings
Client presentations
Real-world design reviews
You’ll look like you spent weeks building a model—when you actually just imported it.
Check out: https://blackshark.ai
If you haven’t yet, check out my full AutoCAD Fundamentals & Workflows Course — it’s helped thousands of drafters and engineers level up their career and speed up their drafting by hours every week.
Check out the AutoCAD Fundamentals & Workflows Course here!
That’s it for this week!
Let me know how you re-use old drawings, blocks and templates to save yourself time!
Cheers and happy drafting,
Brandon
P.S. If you’ve got a colleague you know is going to SaveAs an old drawing and completely mess up a standard, forward this email or send them a link!
They’ll thank you later.