Gentleones,

I've been using an ancient CAD program called DrafixCAD for about a zillion years now, and we really shoehorned our typical drawings into its model-free environment. Alas, DrafixCAD is no longer supported (it was last updated in 1996, if I remember correctly), so it's time to move to a supported CAD system. DraftSight is awfully attractive. But I'm unsure of how to proceed with creation of drawings such as the ones we created with DrafixCAD.

Our typical application isn't that unusual: we build systems, each of which is generally a rack of equipment which is connected together with wires and cables. A normal drawing for us, therefore, consists of a page of notes, some pages of parts lists, a page showing the physical layout of the rack (one or more side views, a front view and a rear view), and several pages of blocks with lines between them to show what plugs into what.

I'm not sure how to factor this into the DraftSight paradigm, shared with numerous other CAD programs, where there's a single model per file and multiple sheets, which allow multiple views of the model to be presented on separate sheets. But here's what I think I should do:

The model should be the rack's views, front/sides/back, all in the same "model" tab.

Sheet 1 can be our notes. Sheets 2+ can be our parts list.

Sheet 3 can be a view of the model for the front and rear parts of the model.

Sheet 4 can be the side views, again with viewports of the model showing only the side views.

Sheet 5 can be the interconnect diagram, full of blocks and lines and text and stuff.

Do I lose any capability (drawing, tools, etc.) by constructing these other non-viewport based sheets? I.e., is this the way DS was intended to be used?

Thanks in advance,

Bill