Drawing revision tracking: how to know which drawing is current

Issued revisions and working versions are not the same thing

A drawing goes through many versions before it leaves the office: plots for internal review, passes after markups, late coordination fixes. A revision is a version you issued. It went to a client, a consultant, a building department or a contractor, and it got a revision number on the sheet.

You need both records. Revisions are the public record, the number a contractor quotes when asking which drawing to build from. Versions are the private record, what you open when someone asks how the sheet looked before Tuesday’s change. Track only revisions and you lose the history between issues; keep only files and you lose track of what was actually sent.

Numbering schemes vary. A common pattern uses letters (A, B, C) before construction, then numbers from the issued-for-construction set onward. Other offices run one sequence for the whole project, and some number per sheet instead; Revit supports either. Pick one scheme, write it into your office standard, and use it on every sheet.

Revision clouds, deltas and the title block revision schedule

Revision clouds

A revision cloud is the scalloped outline around the area that changed. It tells the reader where to look. Draw clouds on their own layer, or as revision objects in your CAD or BIM tool, so they can be cleared later without touching the drawing.

Deltas, or revision tags

A delta is a small triangle holding the revision number, placed next to or on the cloud. It tells the reader which revision the change belongs to, and it must match a row in the revision schedule. A cloud without a delta is a change nobody can date.

The title block revision schedule

Every sheet’s title block carries a revision schedule, sometimes called the revision block or issue block. It holds one row per revision: the number, the date, a short description and the initials of whoever made it. Write descriptions that say why, not just what: “Addendum 2”, “Permit comments, round 1”, “Site instruction 04, stair guard revised”. “Revised per comments” tells nobody anything six months later.

Issue logs and drawing transmittals

The revision schedule records one sheet’s history. An issue log records the whole set’s. It is a grid with sheets down the side and issue dates across the top. Each cell holds the revision that sheet was at when it went out, and each column says who received the issue and why: for review, for permit, for pricing, for construction.

A transmittal is the cover document for a single issue. It lists the date, the recipients, the purpose, and every drawing included with its number, title and revision. Keep a copy of each one. When someone asks what a contractor was given, the transmittal and the issue log answer it in a minute; a search through sent email takes an afternoon and can still be wrong.

Superseded drawings: retire the old revision on purpose

When a new revision of a sheet is issued, the previous one is superseded. The danger is not that the old file exists but that someone keeps treating it as current, and building from a superseded sheet is an expensive mistake.

Retire it deliberately. Mark the old revision superseded or void, pull it from every set people work from, and send the new revision with a transmittal that says what it replaces. Archive superseded drawings rather than deleting them; you will need them to show what was issued and when.

Permit resubmittals add rules of their own. Many building departments want every change clouded and tagged with a delta, a written response to each plan review comment, and sometimes a full replacement set rather than only the changed sheets. Requirements vary by jurisdiction, so follow the comment letter and your authority’s resubmittal instructions. Our permit submission checklist covers what a set needs before it goes out.

Back-check markups against the version they were made on

A markup only means something against the drawing it was drawn on. A reviewer redlines version 3. The drafter picks up the comments and plots version 4. The reviewer back-checks version 4 against the marks on version 3, comment by comment, before anything is issued.

This is where tracking quietly fails. If the redlines sit on A-201.pdf and that file has since been overwritten, version 3 is gone. If two reviewers marked up different plots, half the comments refer to a drawing that no longer exists. Every mark needs the version it was made on and a status: open, picked up, back-checked, or not taken, with a reason.

In SketchWeave, the Markup List shows every mark with its status and the drawing version it was made on, and earlier versions are one click away, so the back-check compares like with like. See Markups & Sketching.

Where drawing revision tracking breaks down

The symbols are rarely the problem. The breakdowns come from where drawings live and who keeps the record up to date.

• Files in email. Every attachment is a copy. The current drawing becomes whichever was sent last, and nobody can say which that was.
• The spreadsheet nobody updates. An issue log kept by hand drifts from the set as soon as a deadline gets close. A wrong log is worse than none, because people trust it.
• A folder of PDFs named A-201_final_v3_REV2.pdf. A filename is not a revision. Two files can both claim to be final, and neither says what changed.
• Plotting over the issued PDF. Once the file that went out is overwritten, you can no longer show what you sent.
• Clouds without schedule rows, or rows without clouds. The drawing says one thing and the title block says another.
• Old clouds left on by accident. Three rounds of clouds on one sheet hide the change the reader actually needs to see.

A simple revision control process for a small studio

You do not need a document controller, just a one-page convention and one place where drawings live. Here is a process a small studio can keep up with on a deadline:

1. Write the convention down. Numbering scheme, cloud and delta style, how to word schedule descriptions, and who is allowed to issue.
2. Give each sheet one home. Plot to one folder, and never edit or overwrite a PDF that has been issued.
3. Keep every version. Storage is cheap; a missing version in a dispute is not.
4. Cloud and tag every change after first issue, and add the revision schedule row in the same sitting.
5. Back-check each markup round against the version it was made on before the next issue.
6. Issue with a numbered transmittal and record it in the issue log the same day.
7. Retire the superseded revision: mark it, pull it from working sets, archive it.
8. Check before every issue that each sheet in the package is the revision the transmittal says it is.

How SketchWeave keeps drawing versions under control

SketchWeave is not a CAD program; you still draw clouds and deltas in Revit, AutoCAD or Archicad. It keeps the record around them, in the browser, with nothing to install.

• Every drawing is version-controlled. Earlier versions of a sheet’s drawing are one click away when you need to back-check.
• Plots land on the right sheet. Point SketchWeave at the folder you plot to, and each newly plotted drawing is synced and matched to its sheet, ready for the team. On Team Pro, each Autodesk Forma publish attaches the latest PDF to its sheet.
• Whole sets file themselves. Import a PDF set and any page whose sheet number already exists becomes that sheet’s next drawing version; the rest become new sheets.
• Markups keep their version. The Markup List records the drawing version each mark was made on, with statuses you can customize.
• Issues are recorded. When you build a submission, Assemble merges each sheet’s current drawing into one PDF, in order, and records which version of every drawing went out.

See how the set fits together on Drawing Set Management, and how an issue is put together on Submission assembly.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a drawing revision and a drawing version?

A version is any saved or plotted state of a drawing, including the ones that never leave the office. A revision is a version that was formally issued and given a revision number on the sheet. Every revision is a version, but most versions are never issued.

What is a delta on a construction drawing?

A delta is a small triangle containing a revision number, placed next to a revision cloud. It ties the clouded change to a row in the title block's revision schedule, which records the date and a description of that revision.

Should revision clouds be removed at the next revision?

In many offices, yes: the previous round's clouds are cleared when the next revision is issued, while the deltas and the revision schedule rows stay. Some owners and building departments require earlier clouds to remain, so check the project or permit requirements first.

How should drawing revisions be numbered?

There is no single standard. A common pattern uses letters for issues before construction and numbers from the issued-for-construction set onward. Other offices run one numbered sequence for the whole project. Choose one scheme, write it down, and apply it to every sheet.

What does superseded mean on a drawing?

A superseded drawing is one that a later revision has replaced. It should be marked superseded or void, removed from any set people work from, and archived rather than deleted so the issue history can be shown later.