I finally gave up on layer settings for my CAD files

For years I kept every single layer separate in AutoCAD. Colors, lineweights, the whole deal. Then last year on a job for a hospital expansion in Cleveland, the lead architect told me I was wasting time. He showed me how he groups everything into just 5 layers and uses plot styles instead. Saved me about 3 hours on the next set of drawings. Anyone else ditch the old layer system and just go with plot styles?

3 comments

3 Comments

phoenix291mo ago

My old layer list looked like a phone book for a small city, I had over 80 of them. I was so stubborn about it until a project manager basically laughed at my plot preview. @the_rowan is onto something with that error stat, my own clutter was causing half my own mistakes. Switching to plot styles felt like admitting I'd been hand-carving each brick for years. Now my files are so clean it's almost boring.

cameronschmidt1mo agoTop Commenter

Totally agree, that switch was a game changer for me too. It forces you to think about the final print, not just the screen clutter. I've found it makes sharing files with consultants way less of a mess.

the_rowan1mo ago

I read a blog post that said 70% of drafting errors come from layer clutter. @cameronschmidt is right, cleaning that up before you share saves so much back and forth. It just makes the whole process smoother.