So, I just started a new job this week in a new drafting field for me, AV/IT. It's a mixed AutoCAD/Revit environment that I had no problem being mildly productive in almost immediately. Their CAD standards are good for what they do, but they are not really documented. I found a couple documents that hadn't been updated in a very long time but no mention of line weights in them for either platform. Interesting reads, none the less. So, I end up going to the .ctb file, figuring that is what the Revit ones are based off of, so that I can start documenting what they have and verify that the two programs plot the same. So, this .ctb is assigning the linewieght, by object. I had already noticed that their objects had colors set to, by layer. Simple, elegant, and very Revitish. I couldn't wait to plot a set of drawings from each platform. Plotter is broken. Has been for quite some time and no one cares. They use a printing service to plot and send hard copies. I see lots of wasted dollar signs in my head, plus I had done all this research about their pen settings and it looked like they really do have a good system established and I couldn't wait to get my hands on a set of drawings from both AutoCAD and Revit to make a comparison.
All of a sudden, it all came together me. No one, absolutely, no one had a set of drawings laid out. Not even a single sheet. No rack for hanging drawing sets, no flat files, nothing. No file cabinets, not even a working fax machine. They are almost paperless! It's so very bittersweet. The hard copies have always been a priority for me. Stamp and sign and deliver paper in one fashion or another. I'm gonna miss having pile of drawings with important chicken scratch on them.
So yeah, lineweights by layer, using a .ctb that is not color dependent and is able to be overwritten by object. In the end, it sounds so very Revitish, but the ability to do it in AutoCAD has been around for quite some time. I knew it was possible, it's cool to see it being used. How effectively is yet to be determined, but I'm liking it so far.