Understanding CAD Standards

Quick answer: CAD Standards let you associate one or more DWS (standards) files with your drawings, then check whether layers, linetypes, dimension styles, and text styles comply. You can do this from within BricsCAD directly, or with a separate standalone application, standards_app.exe, for checking drawings without opening them in BricsCAD first.

Two Ways to Check Standards Compliance

• Inside BricsCAD: using the CAD Standards commands, found on the CAD STANDARDS ribbon panel.
• Standalone: running standards_app.exe, found in the BricsCAD installation folder by default.

Checking Standards Inside BricsCAD

1. Run STANDARDS to associate one or more DWS files with your current drawing, and choose which plugins to check against.
2. Run CHECKSTANDARDS to compare the current drawing against those standards for the chosen plugins, then validate or ignore each recommended fix. This uses the LAYTRANS command behind the scenes to map layers between your drawing and the standard.

Using the Standalone standards_app.exe

Run standards_app.exe (by default in C:\Program Files\Bricsys\BricsCAD V26x64) to open the CAD Standards Validation dialog. It’s built around:

• File menu: manage CHX files, which store a list of drawings, standards, and checking options together. New, Open, Save, and Save as all work as you’d expect; CHX files can come from ACAD or be built from scratch here.
• Drawings: the list of DWG files to check, with buttons to add, remove, and reorder them.
• Standards: the list of DWS files to check against, managed the same way.
• Plugins: which categories actually get checked (see below).
• Options: checking behaviour (see below).
• Output: the results of the check.
• Start Check / Stop Check: run or halt the checking process.
• View Report: opens the results in a readable window.
• Export report: saves the results to a LOG file.

Creating Your Own Standards (DWS) File

You don’t need a special tool to create one: define your layers, dimension styles, linetypes, and text styles in an ordinary DWG file the way you want them standardised, then save that file with a .dws extension.

The Four Plugin Categories

Only checked plugins are actually considered during checking:

• Layers: names and properties comply with the standard
• Linetypes: names and properties comply with the standard
• Dimension Styles: names and properties comply with the standard
• Text Styles: names and properties comply with the standard

Checking Options

• Autofix properties: automatically applies the standard’s properties to the matching object.
• Check external references: includes Xrefs in the check.
• Check drawings using their associated standards files: checks drawings that already have their own standards file attached.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I create a CAD standards (DWS) file? Set up your layers, dimension styles, linetypes, and text styles the way you want them in an ordinary DWG file, then save it with a .dws extension.

What’s the difference between checking inside BricsCAD and using standards_app.exe? Inside BricsCAD, STANDARDS and CHECKSTANDARDS check your currently open drawing. The standalone standards_app.exe can check drawings without needing to open them in BricsCAD first.

Can BricsCAD fix standards violations automatically? Yes, if you turn on the Autofix properties option, matching objects get the standard’s properties applied automatically rather than just flagged.

Does checking include external references by default? No. You need to turn on the Check external references option specifically if you want Xrefs included.