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Exploring Drafting
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 identify
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 fi le names to
identify information such as the project code and
drawing discipline. Your school may already
have established conventions for naming fi les.
If so, make sure to follow the conventions.
In some projects, drawing fi les include
“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
CAD File Management and
Storage Practices
File management plays a critical role in
organizing CAD projects. Once you start
working with CAD fi les, you will fi nd it
necessary to set up an organization of storage
folders that permits quick retrieval. Establish
a system that makes it easy to locate fi les for
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 architectural
building project and subfolders that are named
to identify the different plan drawings created
in each phase of the project. A system such as
Goodheart-Willcox Publisher
Figure 7-22. A typical CAD program help system provides a comprehensive resource for locating help topics.
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