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Industry Standards For File Names
POSTED ON 1 AUGUST, 2017 BY GRAEBERT
The following sections describe file name standards created by several industry groups: American Institute of Architects Construction Specifications Institute California Department of Transportation
The following article is an abstract of the eBook ‘Best CAD Practices’ by Ralph Grabowski. Graebert is happy to share with you some of the experience accumulated by Ralph as a CAD expert and as compiled in his eBook for which the reference can be found at the bottom of the page. Feel free to share feedback in the comment section below.
AIA File Naming Convention
The American Institute of Architects uses a file naming system based on its CAD Layer Guidelines (Chapter 3). You will see some similarities between the file and layer names, although layer names are more extensive.
The AIA naming convention recognizes two types of CAD files:
Model files contain the model drawn full size, but plotted to scale Sheet files hold non-model parts of the drawing, such as dimensions and border places on layouts or sheets; plotted full size The overall structure consists of the following code sequence:
Position Description 1 Agent responsible 2 Dash placeholder or discipline specific code 3 Sheet type number 4-5 Sequence number
For simpler projects, a format like A-102.dwg is used:
Position Code Description Meaning
1 A Agent responsible Architect 2 – Placeholder 3 1 Sheet type Plan view 4-6 02 Sequence number Second drawing . dwg File extension DWG file
In summary A-102.dwg is the second (02) drawing (dwg) of the architectural (A) plan (1).
For more complex projects, two letters are used for the agent responsible. For example, AI refers architectural interior drawings. Thus AI102.dwg is the second drawing of the architectural interiors plan. Notice that “I” replaces the dash placeholder.
DISCIPLINE CODES Here is a list of discipline code letters you can employ for drawing file names: A Architectural plan C Civil and site plan D Demolition plan E Electrical plan F Food services plan G Graphics and signage plan I Interior design L Landscaping plan M Mechanical plan P Plumbing plan S Structural plan T Tenant plan U User-defined plans ——— And here’s a list of drawing type codes letters for file names: B Blocks (symbols) and external references C Composite drawings D Detail drawings E Elevation drawings N Enlarged plans P Plans S Section drawings T Text schedules W Wall sections
Position 1 Agent Responsible Codes File names begins with the agent-responsible code, such as A for Architect. Here are the code letters:
Code Agent Responsible
A Architectural B Geotechnical C Civil D Process E Electrical F Fire Protection G General H Hazardous Material I Interiors L Landscape M Mechanical O Operations P Plumbing Q Equipment R Resource S Structural T Telecommunication V Survey and Mapping W Distributed Energy X Other Disciplines Z Contractor and Shop Drawings
Position 2 Discipline-Specific Codes For project that are more complex, you can use a second code that subdivides disciplines. For example, the “A” for architecture is still employed, but the dash (-) placeholder is replaced by another code.
I don’t list them all, as the list goes on for several pages. Here are the ones available for architecture and telecommunications:
Discipline Code Meaning
A — Architecture AD Architectural Demolition AE Architectural Elements AF Architectural Finishes AG Architectural Graphics AI Architectural Interiors AS Architectural Site AJ Miscellaneous AK More miscellaneous
T — Telecommunications TA Audio Visual Cable, music, closed-circuit television systems TC Clock and Program Time generators, bell program systems TI Intercom Intercom, public address systems TM Monitoring Monitoring, alarm systems TN Data Networks Network cabling, equipment TT Telephone Telephone systems, wiring, equipment TY Security Access control, alarm systems TJ User Defined Miscellaneous TK User Defined More miscellaneous
OTHER UDS SPECS
In addition to organizing drawings by file name (module 01), the CSI’s Uniform Drawing System also specifies (module # in boldface):
Position 3: Sheet Types Finally, comes the sheet types. The numbers 0 through 9 designate the type of sheet, as listed in the following table.
Digit Name Use
0 General Symbols legend, notes 1 Plans Horizontal views 2 Elevations Vertical views 3 Sections Sectional views, wall sections 4 Large-Scale Views Plans, elevations, stair sections, sections that are not details 5 Details Detail drawings 6 Schedules, Diagrams Tables, BOMs 7 User Defined Typical detail sheets, miscellaneous 8 User Defined Miscellaneous 9 3D Representations Isometrics, perspectives, photographs
Positions 4-5: Sequence Number The two-digit sequence number orders the sheets in the set of drawings. The numbers range from 01 to 99; 00 is unused.
Positions 6-8: Supplemental Drawings The AIA permits three more digits to indicate revision status: Code Meaning R Revision drawing X Final drawing A, B, C… Other versions
Going back to the original example, A-102-R1.dwg refers to revision 1. The
supplemental drawing is segregated from the rest of the file name by a dash; in this case, it is not a placeholder.
NB: Industry standard File names for Construction Specifications Institute and California Department of Transportation will be published in the upcoming weeks.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ralph Grabowski is a CAD expert with 30+ years experience. He is the author of several best-selling books related to most leading CAD programs. Ralph writes also in a variety of CAD news portals and magazines. More than anything, he is renowned as the founder and editor of the upFront.eZine newsletter and the blog WorldCAD Access.
NB: The views and opinions expressed by the author in this article or in the eBook do not necessarily reflect those of Graebert as a company or publisher of this blog.
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