Why Drawing Templates Matter
A drawing template defines the starting state of every drawing you create. Without a proper template, engineers spend time recreating borders, title blocks, and standard notes from scratch — or worse, copying from old drawings and inheriting outdated information.
A well-built template enforces consistency across a team. Every drawing starts with the correct title block, the correct projection angle (first or third angle, per your standard), correct text styles, and correct dimension standards. This is not a luxury — in regulated industries (aerospace, automotive, medical), drawing standards compliance is mandatory, and templates enforce it automatically.
Sheet Format vs. Drawing Template: Know the Difference
SolidWorks uses two separate files for drawing setup, and confusing them causes frustration:
- Sheet Format (.slddrt): contains the border, title block, notes zones, and any static or linked text. This is the “paper” behind the drawing.
- Drawing Template (.drwdot): contains the drawing settings — units, projection standard, dimension standard, arrow sizes, text heights, display state, and the default sheet format to load.
Both are required and work together. The template is selected when you create a new drawing. The sheet format provides the visual framework on each sheet. You can change the sheet format on an existing drawing without changing the template settings.
Setting Up a Sheet Format
Open any existing drawing or a new blank drawing. Right-click the sheet tab and select Edit Sheet Format. This enters sheet format edit mode — the drawing border and title block are now editable, while the drawing views are locked.
Border and zones
Draw the outer border as a rectangle. Add zone lines — typically A through H horizontally and 1 through 8 vertically for an A1 sheet — as thin construction lines with zone labels. Zone labels allow drawing notes to reference “see zone D3” for clarity.
Use exact dimensions. An A1 sheet is 841 × 594 mm. An A3 sheet is 420 × 297 mm. ANSI B is 17 × 11 inches. Match your standard exactly — mismatch creates paper scaling problems when printing.
Title block layout
Draw the title block in the lower-right corner of the sheet. Minimum required fields (per most standards):
- Company name and logo
- Part name
- Part number / drawing number
- Revision level
- Scale
- Sheet number and total sheets
- Projection angle symbol (first or third angle)
- Material (optional in title block, often in drawing notes)
- Drawn by / checked by / approved by (with date fields)
- General tolerance block
Linking Title Block Fields to Custom Properties
The power of SolidWorks drawing templates comes from linking title block text to custom properties. When a field is linked, it updates automatically from the part or assembly file — no manual entry required.
In Sheet Format edit mode, double-click a text note to edit it. Delete the static text and use Insert > Link to Property. The property selector lets you link to:
- Current document: drawing file properties
- Component in view: properties from the referenced part or assembly
For the Part Name field, link to the “Description” custom property of the component in view. For Part Number, link to “PartNo.” For Revision, link to “Revision.”
These custom properties must be defined in the part or assembly file (File > Properties > Custom). When the drawing references that part and the drawing sheet is set to pull from the component, the title block populates automatically.
Scale field
The scale field can be linked to the sheet scale property: use $PRPSHEET:”Scale” in the note text. SolidWorks updates this automatically when you change the sheet scale.
Sheet number
Insert sheet number with the note text: $PRP:”SW-Sheet Number” and total sheets: $PRP:”SW-Total Sheets”. These are built-in SolidWorks system properties that update automatically as sheets are added or removed.
Adding the Projection Angle Symbol
The projection symbol (ISO 128-30 / ISO 5456) must appear in the title block. SolidWorks provides predefined symbols: Annotations > Note > (insert symbol from library). Select the first-angle (ISO/JIS/DIN) or third-angle (ANSI) symbol as appropriate for your company standard.
If you operate internationally and deliver drawings to both ISO and ANSI customers, consider having two templates — one for each projection standard. Mixing projection symbols is a serious drawing error that leads to incorrectly interpreted geometry.
Saving and Deploying the Template
- Save the sheet format: File > Save Sheet Format. Name it descriptively: “CompanyName_A3_ISO.slddrt”.
- Exit sheet format mode: right-click sheet tab, select Edit Sheet.
- Set drawing options: Tools > Options > Document Properties. Set units, projection angle, dimension standard (ISO, ANSI, etc.), text heights, arrow sizes.
- Save the drawing template: File > Save As > Drawing Templates (.drwdot). Name it: “CompanyName_A3_ISO.drwdot”.
For team deployment, store both the .slddrt and .drwdot files in a shared network location. Add the folder path to each user’s SolidWorks file locations: Tools > Options > System Options > File Locations > Document Templates and Sheet Formats. Every engineer then has access to the latest templates automatically.
Maintaining Templates Over Time
Templates need maintenance when company information changes (logo, address, revision), standards update, or drawing format requirements from customers change. Establish a process:
- One person is responsible for the master templates
- Templates are stored in the PDM system or a controlled shared folder
- When templates change, communicate to the team so old drawings are updated before reissue
Never let individual engineers customize their own copy of the template and save it locally. Divergent templates create drawing standard compliance failures that are difficult to catch during review.
Key Takeaways
- Sheet Format and Drawing Template are separate files with different purposes. Understand the distinction before trying to build one.
- Link title block fields to part custom properties. Manual entry in the title block is an error-prone process that templates should eliminate.
- Store templates in a shared location accessible to the whole team. Deploy updates centrally, not file-by-file.
- Projection angle symbol, general tolerance block, and standard zone grid are mandatory — do not omit them from any professional template.
- Maintain one template per sheet size per standard. Separate ISO and ANSI templates prevent projection angle errors.
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