172 Exploring Drafting
a given project. For example, you may want
to establish a top-level folder for each project
and include subfolders named to refl ect their
contents. Using this approach, you might
decide to have a top-level folder for an archi-
tectural building project and subfolders that
are named to identify the different plan draw-
ings created in each phase of the project. A
system such as this one might have subfolders
with names such as First Floor, Second Floor,
Electrical, HVAC, and Plumbing.
It is also important to establish consistent
fi le naming conventions to accurately iden- fi
tify the contents of fi les. This makes it easy
to locate fi les and improves productivity. It is
common, for example, to use prefi xes in file fi
names to identify information such as the
project code and drawing discipline. Your
school may already have established conven-
tions for naming fi les. If so, make sure to
follow the conventions.
In some projects, drawing files include fi
“references” to other fi les. For example,
when creating an electrical plan drawing
in a building project, you typically need to
“reference” data from the fl oor plan drawing
to help locate features based on dimensions
in the fl oor layout. If the fl oor plan is “refer-
enced” by the electrical plan, it becomes a
“dependent” of the parent fi le. When opening
the parent fi le (the electrical plan), the soft-
ware must be able to locate the reference file fi
(the fl oor plan). If the fi le cannot be located,
you must supply the fi le path. This is another
reason to maintain an orderly fi le storage fi
system. Make sure to organize your projects
so that fi les referenced by other fi les can be
located by the software.
Saving, Backing Up, and
Archiving Files
Whether working with manually created
drawings or CAD fi les, the need for secure,
organized archives of original drawings is of
utmost importance. Storing manually created
drawings in physical fi les requires a secure
facility, adequate organizational techniques,
and plenty of space. At the same time, proper
storage of CAD drawings creates an entirely
different set of problems and challenges.
Since CAD drawings are electronic files, fi
there must be a means of storage that protects
against cybertheft, hardware failure, and
fi le damage. Preventing the loss of work fi
is a primary concern in every project. As
most computer users are no doubt aware
of, computers do go down periodically.
Hardware fails and occasionally, power fails.
Hours of work can be lost in the blink of an
eye if fi les are not saved to hard drives and
servers frequently.
It is for these reasons that most CAD fi rms fi
establish a protocol of fi le storage and backup
strategies. This protocol usually requires
that employees save and back up their work
at regular intervals. Generally, these strate-
gies are very in-depth routines. A good file fi
storage protocol is designed so that every-
thing possible is done to guarantee that valu-
able work and hours are not lost.
Your CAD instructor will probably set
up a similar protocol for saving and backing
up fi les. Methods will vary, but fi les are typi-
cally saved on a network server and backed
up to another location so that valuable work
is not lost. It is definitely to your advantage to
follow your instructor’s fi le storage and orga-
nizational techniques without variation. Not
following an accepted protocol may result in
you having to refer to the old saying—“If you
do the crime, you will pay the time!” In other
words, if you don’t consistently save and back
up your work often, there is always a chance
that you will end up doing it again.
A typical protocol for achieving safe
and reliable fi le storage may include the
following:
1. Save your work every 15 minutes.
2. Save fi les to a network server rather than a fi
local hard drive. Save to a network server
with automatic fi le backup capability, if
possible, to ensure fi le security.