About Sheet Templates

The sheet template lets you define the content and rules of the created sheets. It contains description of sheet format, work area layout, standard sheet dress-up (such as frame, title block, and background view), and generative views and tables.

This page discusses:

See Also
Creating a Sheet Template

Concepts

A sheet template is created and defined in a drawing template representation using a special drafting sheet.

Sheets can be created using sheet templates. During sheet creation, its content is driven by rules defined in the template: setup of sheet format, automatic creation of dress-up elements, and positioning. Additional commands let the user create generative views and tables as described by the template.

Sheets have link to the source template. This lets the sheets to synchronize from the changes made in the source template.

Sheet templates can be stored in the catalogs for later use.

Definition and Usage

A sheet template is attached to a regular sheet, which acts as its support sheet and main integration point to a drawing context (mostly for the tree and visualization).

In the tree, the sheet template feature is added as a direct child of its support sheet.

By default, the support sheet is named as ASD Template Definition. You can modify this name. This is not the template name. The template name is the name of the feature attached to this sheet.

The support sheet contains a special view used to define the background of created sheets. This view defines a dress-up template that is instantiated automatically in the background. This view is called as the background view dress-up template.

Notes:
  • The background view of the sheet template must not be used to define the background of the final sheet. Only the background view dress-up template has to be used.
  • You can only change the template name through properties.
  • You can copy the template by copying the support sheet. The target can be in the same or another representation.

    The sheet template feature itself cannot be copied. The support sheet must be copied.

In the tree, the sheet template node contains several sub-nodes such as: the list of zones and items, a node to edit the background dress-up template, and so on.

Definition of Sheet Format

A sheet created using a sheet template automatically takes the format defined by the template, and it can be synchronized if this definition changes.

Two types of formats are supported:

  • Standard: Standard format lets you specify an existing format predefined in the drafting standard XML file.
  • Custom: Custom format lets you specify the width and height of the format, regardless of predefined formats in drafting standard XML file. A sheet created with a custom format automatically recreates a local format of the same dimensions in the drawing.

Format Driven by Instance: The final sheet can control its own format, regardless of the definition by the template. Select this check box to prevent overriding a format defined by the user during sheet synchronization. In this case, the format information is used only once during sheet creation.

Definition of Work Area

Sheet template lets you define the physical space allocation of a sheet using margins and zones. This information lets you define a work area in which elements such as title block, views, and tables are positioned.

Margins: Definition of margins lets you define the usable work area of the sheet (as a restriction of the total sheet page size). After modifying the margins, the sheet template visualization is updated.

Definition of Dress-Up

Sheet template lets you define the standard dress-up for a sheet: Frame, Title Block, and Background.

A sheet created from a sheet template automatically instantiates the dress-up elements. It synchronizes along with the sheet template synchronization.

Frame
The following frame definition types are supported:
  • In Background View (default value): lets you draw the frame directly in the background view of the sheet template (for example, using a 2D component instance).
  • Frame Template: lets you re an existing frame dress-up template.

Notes:
  • You can select a frame template only from the current drawing representation. Only local and external selection from the catalog is supported.
  • You can configure margins to match the selected frame dimensions to prevent other elements from overlapping the frame area.
  • You have to manually adjust the margins according to the selected frame.

Title Block
The following definition types of the title block are supported:
  • In Background View (default value): lets you draw the title block directly in the background view of the sheet template.
  • Frame Template: lets you reuse an existing title block dress-up template.

Note: You can select a title block template only from the current drawing representation. Only local and external selection from the catalog is supported.

Title Block Placement Rules
Title block dress-up is positioned automatically in the sheet according to a placement rule.

This placement rule lets you define on which side of the work area must the title block be positioned.

Placement offset lets you position for fine-grained vertical and horizontal.

Background View Dress-up

Sheet template automatically creates a dress-up template used to specify the content of the background view using dress-up template mechanisms. The sheet created using a sheet template creates a dress-up instance object corresponding to this background dress-up template.

All functionalities provided by the dress-up template are supported.

Misc functionalities
In the area displaying the selected dress-up template, right-click and select any of the following:

  • Open: to open the current template in a new editor
  • Unset: to unset the current template.

Definition of Zone Items

Sheet templates let you define objects that can be created in a sheet through the definition of items.

An item is an element positioned in a zone that defines the template to be used for a specific type of object (view, table, or dress-up), and the positioning rule.

  1. In the Sheet Template dialog box, use Edit Items to create a new item.
  2. Configure the item to be placed: the type (view, table), the template to use, and the anchor point.
  3. Place the item by right-clicking in the sheet and selecting Add Item.

    You can move the item and change its size.

Notes:
  • You cannot modify an existing item.
  • The zone item functionality is mostly used in the context of batches.