Everything you want to know about the CED CAD Standard
Answer
The CED CAD Standard is a set of guidelines and templates for working in CAD.
Watch this video overview for an introduction to the Standard.
What's included in the CED CAD Standard? The user's guide is linked as a PDF below (CED_CAD_Standard_Users_Guide.pdf).
The CED CAD Standards overview poster. This is included as an Arch D size PDF in the CAD Standard ZIP package download below.
How do I get started?
First, click the link below to download the CAD Standard package as a ZIP archive (CED_CAD_Standard_2024-1.zip).
As this is a ZIP archive, after downloading, right-click and select Extract All to "expand" the ZIP into a standard folder.
Make note of where your CED CAD Standard folder is saved. For example, move it out of your downloads folder and into a general coursework folder, or wherever you routinely store your CED files.
Finally, install the standards, using the images below. These images are from the included user's guide linked below.
Now what do I do?
With these three files in place on your computer, you have everything you need. Simply open CED Template Decimal.dwg or CED Template Architectural.dwg, depending on the units you need, use SAVEAS to make a new copy of this file, then start working.
To shortcut this process, the Standard also includes these files in .dwt format, the AutoCAD template file. When you place the .dwt files as shown in this image, they will appear as default options when you create a new file in AutoCAD.
What about MACs?
If you're running AutoCAD on a Mac, only the CTB file is applicable. The location is found in a slightly different manner; go to File>Plot Styles, then paste the ced.ctb file in the location that opens.
If this preferred method does not work, you can also find the location for your CTB file in your CAD Preferences (Options, then Application, then Printer Support File Path, then Plot Style Table Search Path). This folder will be in your Library, and you'll need to use Finder to access your library. So with this CAD Preferences window open so you can see the file path:
1. Open a Finder window.
2. Select Go from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
3. Hold down the Option key to reveal the Library folder option in the dropdown menu.
4. Navigate to the folder location shown in CAD Preferences and paste ced.ctb here