Title blocks filled automatically: create the sheets and fill in every title block from one table, in Revit and AutoCAD

Title block data comes in two kinds:

The rule that saves the work: each value is typed once, in its own place, and the title block reads it. If a value is typed by hand on every title block, changing it means opening every sheet.

In Revit, the title block is a family with labels tied to parameters:

• Project Information, on the Manage tab: values that are the same on every sheet, such as the project name or the client.
• Sheet parameters: number, name, issue date, drawn by, checked by, approved by.

For custom values, such as an engineer's license number, the label needs a shared parameter, loaded in the family and in the project, and assigned to Project Information or to Sheets, not both. If a title block label isn't editable in the project, that step is usually what's missing. We cover it in Revit shared parameters.

Set up this way, changing the client's name is changing one value: every sheet shows it.

Creating sheets in bulk. In a sheet list schedule you can add rows for sheets that don't exist yet, with their numbers and names. Then, when you create a new sheet, you pick several of those placeholder rows and a title block, and Revit creates them all in one pass.

Filling data in bulk. In the same sheet list you can edit parameters for many sheets at once, such as drawn by, checked by or the date. Revisions and signatures in bulk are covered in revisions and signatures on many sheets.

What Revit doesn't include: creating sheets from Excel, with their views placed, or applying a numbering rule. That's what Dynamo or a plugin is for.

In AutoCAD, the title block is a block with attributes. To make it fill itself:

1. Create a sheet set with the Sheet Set Manager and define its properties: project, client, engineers and anything else you need.
2. In each title block attribute, insert a field that reads those properties or the sheet's own data, such as its number and title.
3. Change a value once, in the sheet set properties, and every title block shows it. If one doesn't update, resave all the sheets in the set or regenerate.

If the title blocks already exist without fields, the Express Tools help you edit multiple title block attributes: ATTOUT exports the attributes to a file you edit in Excel and ATTIN brings them back; GATTE changes one attribute in every matching block.

In Civil 3D, plan production creates sheets from view frames using a template that already includes the title block, and can create or use a sheet set in the same step. We cover it in automated plan production.

With the title block set up properly, what's left is managing the set:

• Creating sheets from the project's sheet list, with their views or viewports.
• Numbering by the client's rule, such as discipline, number and revision, plus the sheet number out of the total.
• Checking that everything matches: the title block scale against the view scale, dates, engineers and file names.
• Mixing programs: one submittal with Revit, AutoCAD and Civil 3D sheets in a single index.
• Switching formats when another client asks for another title block.
• The sheet index, current for every submittal.

The idea is simple: one Excel table with every sheet and its data, and a tool that applies it.

With Dynamo, in Revit, a script reads the Excel file, creates the sheets with their numbers, names and title block, and fills their parameters. It's a good way to start.

With a plugin, the same comes out with one button, in Revit, AutoCAD and Civil 3D, with the numbering rule, the data checks and the export to PDF. We cover bulk export in a plugin to export PDF and DWG in bulk.

We build custom plugins for Revit, AutoCAD and Civil 3D. For title blocks and sheets, a typical plugin:

• Reads your project's sheet table in Excel: number, title, scale, sheet size, discipline and data.
• Creates the missing sheets with the right title block, and updates the existing ones.
• Fills in the title block with project and sheet data, including the engineers and their license numbers.
• Numbers sheets by your rule and works out the sheet number out of the total.
• Checks before submitting: scales, dates, empty values and duplicate names.
• Builds the sheet index and, if you need it, exports everything to PDF.

How we work:

1. Diagnosis (1 week, free): we look at your title blocks and your submittals, and write down the rules.
2. Prototype (1 to 2 weeks): we validate the logic on one of your projects.
3. Development (2 to 4 weeks): the plugin, tested on your own models.
4. Installation: an installer for the whole firm, a button on the top toolbar, a manual and documentation.
5. Support: updates with every new release of Revit, AutoCAD or Civil 3D.

The source code belongs to your company: the plugin is yours.