Setting up a Metric Template File in DraftSight

Setting up a template file in DraftSight will allow you to quickly create engineering drawings that have
preset units, drawing area, and layers (line types). When you start a new drawing in DraftSight you
can open the template file and do a Save As to create a new file.

1. Open DraftSight.
A. Double-Click on the DraftSight icon on the desktop.

2. Select the drawing units.

A. From the Main Menu select Format > Unit System.
B. The Options Drawing Settings dialog box will appear.
o
o
o

Length: Set Type to Decimal and Precision to 0.00 (2 decimal places).

Units Scale Block Units Format: Select Millimeters from the pull-down list.
Click on OK.

3. Format the drawing area.

Note: You will input X,Y coordinates to specify a drawing area of 280mm x 215mm. This is the size of a sheet of
paper. The X,Y coordinates for the lower left corner of the drawing area will be (0,0). The X,Y coordinates for the
upper right corner of the drawing area will be (280,215)

A. From the Main Menu, select Format > Drawing Boundary.

B. The Command Window at the bottom of screen will prompt you to specify the lower left
corner. Type 0,0 (X,Y values) and press the enter key. You will then be prompted to
specify the upper right corner. Type 280,215 (X,Y values) and press the enter key.

4. Turn on the grid.

Note: The grid is for visual reference only. It does not print.

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

Type grid in the command line and press the enter key.
The command Window will prompt you to specify grid spacing.
Type 10 and press the enter key.
A grid will appear on the drawing area.
From the Main Menu select View > Zoom > Fit.

5. Format the color of the drawing area and the size of the icons.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.

From the Main Menu select Tools > Options.

Click on the Systems Options icon.
Click on the plus sign next to Display to expand the list.
Click on the plus sign next to Screen Options to expand the list.
Make sure the Use Large Icons box is checked.
Click on the plus sign next to Element Colors to expand the list.
Next to Model Background use the pulldown arrow to select black.

6. Fomat the Dimension Style.

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.

From the Main Menu select Format > Dimension Style.

Click on the plus sign next to Dimension to expand the list.
Click on the plus sign next to Linear Dimension to expand the list.
Use the pulldown arrow to set the precision to 2 decimal places (0.00)
Click on OK.
Continued>>>

7. Format the layers.

Note: Think of layers as the different line types that you will use in the drawing.

A. From the Main Menu select Format > Layer.

B. The Layers Manager dialog box will appear.
C. The first layer for construction lines is set up for you. It is named 0. Change the line
weight of this layer to 0.05mm.
D. Use the New button to create the following layers:
NAME

COLOR

LINE STYLE

OBJECT LINES
HIDDEN LINES
CENTER LINES
DIMENSIONS

GREEN
RED
BLUE
YELLOW

CONTINUOUS
DEFAULT
HIDDEN (SELECT OTHER > LOAD>HIDDEN) DEFAULT
CENTER (SELECT OTHER > LOAD>CENTER) DEFAULT
CONTINUOUS
DEFAULT

8. Save the template file.

LINE WEIGHT

A. From the Main Menu select File > Save As.

B. Name the file MM_TEMPLATE and make sure to save it in MY Documents as shown
in the graphic below.