What Can Be Saved in a Template

Most drawing settings and named style information that are used when you start a new drawing
can be saved in a template. There might be drawings where you don't use all the linetypes or
styles in the template, and that's ok, but the drawing template should include the standards you
need to get started.

Here's some of drawing settings that can't be stored in a drawing template:

 User interface elements, such as the Quick Access toolbar or ribbon changes

 Custom hatch patterns

 Custom applications, action macros, scripts, AutoLISP programs

 Shape files

Using Existing Templates

Autodesk provides several templates that are installed with AutoCAD. These templates can be
accessed from the Start tab on the Templates drop-down list.

Note: Starting in AutoCAD 2022, click the New drop-down to access the templates installed with
AutoCAD.
While these templates are a good place to start, chances are they're not going to have the
settings you might need.

The templates installed with AutoCAD are located:

Note: The template storage location can be changed to a shared location so all AutoCAD users
in your company share the same templates. The list under Templates is updated if the template
storage location is changed.

Opening and Saving a Template

To make a change to a template, you'll need to open it. Opening a template is like opening a
drawing.

1. Choose Open from the Quick Access Toolbar.

1. Or at the Command prompt type, open.

2. In the Files of type drop-down list, choose Drawing Template (*.dwt)

2. Select a template and click Open. For this exercise, we'll select acad.dwt.

Note: Changing the template only affects new drawings, and does not affect any drawings that
were previously created using that template.

The template name appears on a drawing tab with a .dwt extension and is ready for editing.

Saving and closing a template is like saving a drawing. Click Save or Save As from the Quick
Access Toolbar to save the template and keep working.
For this exercise, I'll create a new template by clicking Save As and give the template a
name, MyTemplate, and click Save.

In the Template Options dialog box, enter a description for the template and leave the rest of
the defaults as they are and click OK.
Changing the Default Template for a New Drawing

Now that you have a template created and saved, let's start using it. By default, when you start
a new drawing, AutoCAD creates the drawing from the template specified in the Default
Template File Name for QNEW, in this case, acad.dwt. Let's change this setting to start a new
drawing using the new template.

1. In the drawing window, right-click and choose Options.

Or at the Command prompt type, options.

2. Click the Files tab and expand Template Settings > Default Template File Name for
QNEW.

3. Select the file path and choose Browse.

Or double-click the file path to browse.

2. From the Select a file dialog box, browse to and select the template file you want
AutoCAD to use as the default for a new drawing, in this case MyTemplate, and click
Open.
 1. Click OK to close the Options dialog box.

Now when you start a new drawing, AutoCAD will use MyTemplate.

Editing and Testing Template

So far, we talked about where the templates are stored, how AutoCAD uses a template when
you open a new drawing, and how to create a new template from one of the provided sample
templates.

Now let's get into editing a template. Editing a template is like editing a drawing. Follow the
steps above to open MyTemplate.

Think about what you would like to have already setup when you create a new drawing and
consider adding the drawing settings to MyTemplate.

Here are a few drawing settings that might be useful:

 Turning the grid display off

 Adding standard layers

 Creating text and dimension styles

 Having a title block available to insert

 Setting drawing units

All of these are drawing settings that can be added to a template so the next time you create a
new drawing it's ready to go.

An easy way to test the changes to the template is to first save it, then click the + on the
drawing tabs to create a new drawing. Keeping the template open for testing makes changes to
the template very quick.

Note: If you are not seeing the template changes in the new drawing make, sure you have the
Default Template File Name for QNEW in the Options dialog box set to use MyTemplate.

Import Styles and Layers from DesignCenter

DesignCenter can be used to add layers, named styles, and blocks, to a template.

1. In this exercise, open MyTemplate.dwt.

2. Click View tab > Palettes panel > DesignCenter

Or at the Command prompt, type adcenter.

Add the layers, blocks, and styles from Landscaping.dwg to the template.

In DesignCenter, navigate to Landscaping.dwg and drag the drawing into the drawing area of
the template.
Note: If you only want the block definitions available to insert from the Blocks palette press Esc
after the drag and drop. Otherwise, the blocks will be inserted into the template drawing
window.

Now the named styles, blocks, and drawing settings that are defined in Landscaping.dwg are
now available in MyTemplate.

Create a new drawing to test MyTemplate and verify the blocks are available in the new
drawing.
Note: You can use PURGE to remove the named styles, blocks, and drawing settings, or any
other information you don't want to have in a template.

What if you need to go from an updated template to an existing drawing? Let's say you want to
import some named styles, blocks, and drawing settings from your updated company template.
These styles were added to the template after you started your drawing, so they weren't
brought in from the template.

In a previous Have You Tried, we talked about adding named styles from an updated template
into an existing drawing. That information can be found in the Have You Tried: Import
Styles under the Import Multiple Styles section.

Templates can be a powerful tool for enforcing standards in your office and a time-saver when
creating new drawings. They are not difficult to setup and can be easily created, edited, and
shared as office standards change.