AutoCAD 2021: Layouts and Views

by John Flanagan

AutoCAD 2021:  Layouts and Views

Upon completion of your designs, you must assemble and organise your design data so that it can be effectively communicated to the consumers of that data. You use layouts and viewports within those layouts to create views of your designs so that they can later be output to various file formats or plotted to paper.

Creating New Layouts

Command Line: Layout > New: If layout 1 exists, the new layout will be named layout 2. Right click on the layout tabs to rename them.

Use the New Layout button to the right of the layout tabs to quickly create new layouts. If you run out of room an overspill is created.   

Creating Layouts from Templates

Command line: Layout > Template:

Status Bar: Right click > From Template: In the Select Template From File dialogue box, select the type of file, such as DWT, DWG, or DXF from which you want to import the layouts.  

Copying an Existing Layout

When you want to reuse the page set up and viewport information from an existing layout in the current drawing, you can copy the layout without recreating it.

Command Line: Layout > Copy

Status Bar: Right click on a layout thumbnail > Move or Copy

Tip: 

You can also create a copy of an existing layout by dragging on the tab to another location on the tab list while holding the CTRL key.

Import Layouts Using Design Centre

1. Activate the drawing in which you want to add a new layout.
2. Click the Blocks & References tab > Content Panel > Design Centre.
3. In Design Centre, Folders list tab, locate and expand the source drawing or template file.

4. Under the source drawing, click the Layouts category.
5. From the right pane, drag the desired layout to the target drawing.

Renaming Layouts

Command Line: Layout > Rename

Layout thumbnail shortcut menu: Rename

Creating Named Page Setups

Command Line: PAGESETUP

Menu: Page Setup

Shortcut menu: Right-click the Model or Layout thumbnail. Click Page Setup Manager

Ribbon: Output tab > Plot panel > Page Setup Manager