How-to guide · how to add a title block to a layout

How to add a title block to a layout in AutoCAD

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By Saumyajit Maity · Published 28 Feb 2022 · Updated 20 May 2024

The title block is the framed information panel around the edge of a drawing sheet — the part that names the project, the drawing, the scale, the date and the revision. It belongs in paper space, on the layout, where it frames the viewports and travels with the sheet to PDF or plotter. A drawing without one is hard to file, hard to issue and easy to misread.

This guide adds a title block to a layout the practical way: insert it into paper space, align it to the printable margin, and fill its fields. Doing the fields as block attributes — rather than loose text you retype on every sheet — is what makes a title block fast and consistent across a whole drawing set.

Step 1 — Work in paper space, not model space

The title block lives on the sheet, so it goes in paper space. Click the Layout tab and make sure the status bar reads PAPER (double-click outside any viewport if it reads MODEL). Putting the title block in model space is a classic beginner error — it then scales with the drawing and appears in the wrong place, or not at all, on the sheet.

With the layout active, you should see the dashed printable margin. That margin is your alignment guide: the title block border sits just inside it so nothing is clipped at the edge of the page.

Step 2 — Insert the title block

Type INSERT (or I) to open the Blocks palette, browse to your title block DWG, and place it. If your office has a standard title block, use that; otherwise insert a generic A1, A3 or ISO sheet border and panel. Drop it at the lower-left corner of the printable area so the whole block sits inside the margin.

If you do not have a title block yet, you can build one from a rectangle border plus a panel of cells along one edge. Once it looks right, select it all and run BLOCK to turn it into a reusable block you insert on every future sheet.

Step 3 — Align it to the printable area

Use MOVE with a precise base point — the corner of the title-block border — and snap it to the corner of the printable margin, or type exact coordinates. The goal is a consistent margin all the way round so the sheet looks deliberate and nothing prints off the edge.

If the title block is the wrong size for the sheet, do not stretch it freehand. Insert the correct size for the page, or scale it by the exact ratio between sheet sizes (for example A3 to A1) so the proportions stay right. A title block sized for one sheet and forced onto another always looks off.

Step 4 — Fill the fields with attributes

A well-built title block uses block attributes for the variable text — project name, drawing title, scale, date, drawn-by, checked-by, sheet number and revision. When you insert such a block, AutoCAD prompts for each value, or you double-click the block and edit the attributes in the Enhanced Attribute Editor (the EATTEDIT command).

Attributes beat plain text in two ways: you fill them in a single dialog instead of hunting for text to edit, and you can extract them into a drawing register or sheet index with the data-extraction tools. If your title block currently uses loose text, converting the key fields to attributes pays for itself across a project.

Step 5 — Add the scale, north arrow and revision details

Within the title-block panel, set the scale field to match the viewport scale on the sheet — if you have several viewports at different scales, note 'As shown' and label each viewport. Place a north arrow near the title block so orientation is unmistakable, and a graphic scale bar if the sheet may be photocopied or resized, since a scale bar stays true even when the print does not. Keep the north arrow as a block so the same symbol appears identically on every sheet, and rotate it to match the project's true north rather than redrawing it.

Keep a revision area in the panel and update it every time the drawing is reissued: a revision letter or number, a date and a short note describing what changed. A disciplined revision block is what lets a site team know they are reading the current drawing and not a superseded one, and it is the first thing a checker looks at when a query comes in from site.

Reusing the title block across every sheet

Once your title block is a block with attributes, it drops onto any layout in seconds and prompts for the sheet-specific values. Fold it into your layout template (.dwt) so every new drawing starts with the border already placed and only the fields left to fill.

For multi-sheet sets, keep the project-level fields — client, project name, address — identical on every sheet and vary only the drawing title, sheet number and revision. That consistency makes a set read as one coordinated package rather than a stack of unrelated drawings.

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Questions

Frequently asked

Should the title block go in model space or paper space?+

Paper space, on the layout. It frames the sheet and stays at full size regardless of viewport scale. A title block placed in model space scales with the drawing and lands in the wrong place on the plotted sheet.

How do I edit the text in a title block?+

If the fields are attributes, double-click the title block to open the Enhanced Attribute Editor (EATTEDIT) and edit each value. If they are plain text, double-click the text itself, though converting to attributes makes future edits far quicker.

What information should a title block contain?+

At minimum: project name, drawing title, scale, date, drawn-by and checked-by, sheet number and revision. Many also add the client name, project address, a north arrow, a graphic scale bar and a notes or revision panel.

Can I get the title block onto every new sheet automatically?+

Yes — add it to your layout template (.dwt). Every drawing started from that template opens with the title block already in place, so you only fill in the sheet-specific attribute fields.

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