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Draftsman Templates Creation

Created: April 12, 2022 | Updated: May 19, 2022 | Applies to version: 5

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Parent page: Streamlining Board Design Documentation with Draftsman

A Draftsman document can use templates to define its page properties (Sheet template, *.DwsDot), and for new documents, a range of predetermined content (Document template, *.DwfDot). Both types of templates can be created from the PCB drawing file (file extension PCBDwf) that is currently open in the editor by saving the document as one of the template types. A Template document may be reopened, edited, and saved to modify its content and properties.

Sheet Template

Sheet (page) templates contain the graphics information for a page, including sheet sizes, parameters, and zones and border settings. Objects created with the editor's graphics tools (such as lines, rectangles, circles, and text) are also included – for example, a constructed Title block and content.

If using an automated sheet numeration parameter in a Title block, note that two System types are supported for documents: the conventional SheetNumber parameter and the GOST compliant SheetNumber_OneSheet parameter. The latter will not report the current sheet number when only one sheet exists in the Draftsman document (as per the GOST 2.104-2006 drawing standard), and will otherwise deliver the same numbering as the SheetNumber parameter.

A Sheet Template can be used to define the graphic format of a new or existing drawing document and is also saved as part of a Document Template.

To save the current drawing document format as a Sheet Template, select the File » Save Copy As (or just Save As) command and choose Altium Draftsman Sheet Templates (*.DwsDot) from the Save dialog's Save as type selection filter. Any elements that are incompatible with the Sheet Template format will be removed, such as placed drawings or additional pages. Before saving, an alert dialog will detail the pending action if incompatible elements exist.

As with other Altium NEXUS documents (Schematic, PCB, etc.), the Save As command will replace the existing source file in the project structure (in this case, a Draftsman drawing document) with the newly saved file (a Sheet Template document). The source document (*.PCBDwf) is not deleted from the project folder on disk.

A better approach is to use the Save Copy As option, which will save the new template to the nominated directory while leaving the source document (and project contents) intact.

Note that a saved Sheet Template can be applied to a Draftsman document page from the Properties panel Template section under the Page Options tab. Select the  option then select a template from the dropdown. Alternatively, click the button to locate and load a specific Sheet Template.

Document Template

Document Templates define a Draftsman document's content and (optionally) its style properties. The template supports multi-page documents, data for the main document attributes (tables and lists, drawing types, etc.), and elements created by the drawing Editor that do not depend on the PCB's design content.

To save the current drawing document format as a Document Template, select the File » Save Copy As (or just Save As) command and choose Altium Draftsman Document Templates (*.DwfDot) from the Save dialog's Save as type selection filter. All of an existing drawing document's content and attributes, with the exception to those that relate to data extracted from the PCB design, will be saved as a Document Template. If the source drawing document has a specific page style (as might be applied by a Sheet Template) these graphical elements and attributes will be saved with the new Document Template.

Any elements that are incompatible with the Document Template format will be removed. Before saving, an alert dialog will detail the pending action if incompatible elements exist.

A multi-page Draftsman document might typically contain assembly drawings, drill tables and drawings, layer stack and BOM tables, and fabrication drawings. When saved as a Document Template, the data from the current PCB is retained to define a drawing content 'shell'.

When subsequently used as a template for a new drawing document, the project's current PCB data is loaded into the shell in place of the template PCB data, therefore, recreating the document format and its type of content.

For a custom Document Template to be available in the Templates area of the New Document dialog it must have been saved in Draftsman’s registered Templates Location. The location path can be viewed, or changed, in the Draftsman - Templates page of the Preferences dialog.

Edit a Template

Both Sheet and Document templates can be opened as free documents in Altium NEXUS and edited accordingly. Open a template by selecting File » Open and choose Altium Draftsman Sheet Templates (*.DwsDot) or Altium Draftsman Document Templates (*.DwfDot) from the browser filter options.

An open Document Template will include the PCB design data that applied when the template was created, and also the Sheet Template properties that were active when it was created. If a Sheet Template defined the page properties in that Document template, it will need to be reapplied if the Sheet Template has changed in the interim.

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