Topic: Keeping Sheet Manager Off

[PHX cadie]

How do I keep the "Sheet Set Manager" off

Apparently I'm doing something wrong, I've toggled it off, (Ctrl 4),  turned it off under the tools pulldown and hit the close X, yes even tried the help, but when I open a another dwg .......there is.
CAD 05

 Thanks

[PHX cadie]

Got it.

Had to delete a .dst file that must have associated with the dwg

[sinc]

You ARE using the Sheet Set Manager, right?  It is one of the most-handy additions to Autocad in recent years.   

In any case, you might want to check out the system variable SSLOCATE.  It controls whether or not the SSM opens when you open a drawing that is part of a sheet set.

[PHX cadie]

No   

We're not using it at all. I did ask the boss once when I first got here and it sounded like it was more trouble than its worth if a project has allot subs involved. I don't know, but if you're saying its a worth while tool maybe I should do some lunch time studying.
Thanks

[Krushert]

You ARE using the Sheet Set Manager, right?  It is one of the most-handy additions to Autocad in recent years.   

So far I will have to disagree with you.  I used it on one project and found that it was a tool that had to tightly managed.  I don't need another tool that needs to be managed which in turn takes away my drawing time.  I used it for a project that had numerous publishing's on an average of two a month.  I thought great way to plot the drawing set.  I had to keep updating the sheetset and then reorganizing the drawings with in the set so that they plotted in order when ever a drawing or file was added. 

I only used it on that one project (about six months) and gave up.  Now that maybe not enough time but I did feel I gave it a good try.  We also are just an Artist (architectural) house.  Everything else is farmed out.  Plus typical there is only one drafter doing the bulk of the work so he/she knows status of the set. 


I am saying this to find why this being hailed as a great tool.  This had a lot of write up.  Just trying to stay objective because I was probably using it wrong.

[sinc]

No   

We're not using it at all. I did ask the boss once when I first got here and it sounded like it was more trouble than its worth if a project has allot subs involved. I don't know, but if you're saying its a worth while tool maybe I should do some lunch time studying.
Thanks

I thought it was relatively simple to get working.  That was in 2006, though - don't know how much or if it changed from the 2005 version.  (I now use the 2007 version.)

SSM + Fields have saved us tons of time.  Our title blocks are preconfigured so that they automatically attach to the correct fields in the Sheet Set, eliminating a ton of typing.  Changing the issue date of an entire set of plans is as simple as changing one field in the SSM and hitting PUBLISH.  Plus, no more of those silly errors, where one page on a set of plans has the wrong issue date or wrong number of pages, etc.  And now, when the boss comes in and says "I need a copy of such and such...", I don't even have to interrupt what I'm doing.  Without closing or opening any drawings, I just right-click on the sheet set in the SSM and publish it to the plotter (or publish it to the laser printer reduced to Ledger size using a Page Setup Override, or publish it to PDF, also with a page setup override).  (The SSM can have multiple sheet sets open simultaneously, and it doesn't care...  This is a big plus for us Land Desktop users, who are used to being stuck in SDI mode...)  I can even publish multiple copies of an entire sheet set with a single command - no need to "babysit".

Sheet Sets also make it much easier to navigate through files from another company.  On those rare occasions I get an Etransmit of a sheet set from another firm, it is always so much easier to find what I need, especially when the plan set contains 30 or 50 or 100 pages, and almost twice that many DWG files...

Unfortunately, the ability to "browse" a sheet set from the SSM, i.e. open a DWG file by clicking on the sheet in the SSM, was broken in Land Desktop 2007, but it's now possible to publish straight out of Land Desktop (instead of being forced to use Map to PUBLISH), so it's something of a wash.

[Dinosaur]

I don't think you can chalk it up to user error Krushert.  We tried it with a host of similar problems.  At the time we had 4 phases of the same project at various stages of completion.  Each phase set had a few common sheets that were still in progress and we had to choose whether to make separate sheets and edit each or not have those in the sheet set.  It was really no choice as one of the phases was still in r13 Eaglepoint and needed to stay that way because of the design software used.  More than once, the r13 set had a file updated to 2004 after a plot.  Those plus multiple tabs using different scales that required adjusted LTScales and settings to work properly and certain renegade operators changing the layout plot settings for individual plotting situations just wasted way too many plots and it was set aside.  We have now eliminated most of these problems but the moment has passed and our sets all reside in the same folder and are small enough to just plot individually as the sheets are finished.

[sinc]

In any case, you might want to check out the system variable SSLOCATE.  It controls whether or not the SSM opens when you open a drawing that is part of a sheet set.

Oh - there's also the SSMAUTOOPEN system variable.  I think there's supposed to be some difference between SSMAUTOOPEN and SSLOCATE, but as near as I can tell, they work exactly the same (at least in 2007).  If either one of them is set to 0, the SSM won't open when you open a drawing that is part of a sheet set.

[sinc]

I don't think you can chalk it up to user error Krushert.  We tried it with a host of similar problems.  At the time we had 4 phases of the same project at various stages of completion.  Each phase set had a few common sheets that were still in progress and we had to choose whether to make separate sheets and edit each or not have those in the sheet set.  It was really no choice as one of the phases was still in r13 Eaglepoint and needed to stay that way because of the design software used.  More than once, the r13 set had a file updated to 2004 after a plot.  Those plus multiple tabs using different scales that required adjusted LTScales and settings to work properly and certain renegade operators changing the layout plot settings for individual plotting situations just wasted way too many plots and it was set aside.  We have now eliminated most of these problems but the moment has passed and our sets all reside in the same folder and are small enough to just plot individually as the sheets are finished.

Yes, all those problems can be avoided easily enough, except for maybe that one about the R13 files being updated.  The SSM writes some linking info into the drawing, and I don't think that behavior can be suppressed...  In 2005 and later, it will also update fields, if you have that option enabled (and it is by default).

[PHX cadie]

I have to admit, when I first came to the new place I was very excited about the fields and the ability to autonumber the sheets w/ fields, but the boss, nor I understand how to make that work w/ several subs on th project.
If you have this worked out, I'd love to know. Maybe just a clue and I'll study up 

[CADaver]

...  plus multiple tabs using different scales that required adjusted LTScales ...

  ?? huh?

[Dinosaur]

?? huh?

We were just starting using 2005 upgrading directly from r13 and we were still struggling to even plot a single sheet out of our old 650c plotter.  Many of them with multiple sheets in them still had named views in paperspace instead of individual tabs for each drawing.  Most of our sheets had minimal if any dimensioning and what dimscales were in use were all over the map settings wise.  Even the projects that converted up had several sheets that were rooted in r13 and plotting these was a very special pleasure.  In short, before a plot someone had to open the drawing and preview the plot of each sheet or something would almost certainly be wrong.  It was definitely not a fun conversion to new software.

[Krushert]

..... In short, before a plot someone had to open the drawing and preview the plot of each sheet or something would almost certainly be wrong.  It was definitely not a fun conversion to new software.

Exactly

I forgot about that problem.

When we toggle the tilemodes back forth, the ltscale changes to reflect the proper scale.  We have users that will save and close the drawing in model space.   When we tried to publish the drawings they have wrong Ltscale for Layout tab.  The problem is compounded when layers are left either turn-on/turn-off that should not be.  I don’t know how XREFs are manipulated when the sheet set manager is used for publishing. 

As a result, I have created a lisp routine to handle these issues for us by semi-automating the plotting process.  It gives us some control back.

[Dinosaur]

We now have most of these technical problems solved.  We have started giving each tab a page layout that includes all of the plotting parameters for a normal plot job and could now use Sheetset manager without most of the problems.  There is only one roadblock right now to implementation and that is in our workflow.  We are a 1, 2 or 3 man shop depending on . . . , thus at plot time we have one or two people finishing off the drawings and plotting while someone else is running bluelines - yes, the company is a dinosaur as well.  We don't have the luxury of plotting everything out in one shot until after all of the plans are approved and by then we don't need to plot anymore.

[Krushert]

We now have most of these technical problems solved.  We have started giving each tab a page layout that includes all of the plotting parameters for a normal plot job and could now use Sheetset manager without most of the problems.  .....

Okay so how are you solving the Ltscale issue and Layer problem.
Come on share man!  Share!