First Available Item in Drawing

Hunting through a crowded drawing to figure out whether the next section is a C or a D gets old fast, and on a sheet full of details and datums, it’s easy to get it wrong. First Available Item in Drawing checks every view and datum reference in the drawing and hands you the next free letter for each, instantly.

What it does

• Finds the next available view identifier, checks every section and detail view already in use and returns the first free letter, so you never second-guess a reference again.
• Finds the next available datum identifier, scans existing datum references the same way, independently from view identifiers.
• Keeps section and detail identifiers separate on request, if your drafting standard numbers sections and details on their own tracks, it honors that split.
• Scales from a single sheet to a full multi-sheet drawing, get the answer for the whole document, or narrow it down to just the sheet you’re working on.

How It Works

Launch the command from the active drawing. The tool automatically scans existing views, detail views, and dimension callouts, then identifies the first available identifier according to the configured rules. The result is returned instantly, eliminating the need for manual searches throughout the drawing.

Where it fits

Included from the Starter plan up, so it’s available to every user of the Suite regardless of tier. It’s built for the moment you’re about to place a new view or datum and don’t want to scroll back through the whole drawing to check what’s already taken, a small, constant time-saver on any drawing dense enough to make manual counting unreliable.

Full documentation