Large and complex drawings can sometimes slow down CET. By following the tips below, you can improve performance and make your workflow smoother.

Keep One Floor Plan per Drawing

Limit your drawing to a single floor plan. For projects with multiple floors, save each floor as its own drawing file rather than placing all floors in a single drawing or using Alternatives. This approach keeps file sizes smaller and helps maintain steady performance.

Clean Up Imported Files

• CAD Plans: Clean up your CAD file before importing. Keep the file size under 1 MB if possible.
  • Remove unnecessary layers, hatching or extra lines.
  • Consider turning off X-REFs from the CAD Settings dialog
  • See for more tips in optimizing CAD imports: Tips for Importing Large CAD Files
• SketchUp Files: Simplify models by removing excess details before importing into CET.
  • If you are using models from the 3D Warehouse, look for files that have low polygon count (i.e. less than 50,000 polygons) and a small file size.

Adjust Settings for Commercial Interiors Library Models

When a drawing contains many Commercial Interiors Library (CIL) symbols, performance may slow down because of the complexity of the models. To improve speed:

1. Navigate to the Commercial Interiors Library component tab.

2. Under Settings, turn on Enable reduction.

3. Adjust the Model quality for the Working and Render space.

   • Lowering the Working quality (e.g., to Very Low or Box) makes it faster to navigate and edit your drawing.

   • Working quality only affects how items display while you work—it does not impact the data associated with the symbol.

   • Rendering quality can be adjusted to improve rendering time.

You can raise the quality again at any time

Use Blocks and Favorites

Take advantage of blocks, component blocks, and favorites. These tools make it easier to insert, copy, and edit products. 

Remember that a Favorite does not have to be a workstation or a standalone object. It can be an entire department or area within a drawing, or anything in your 2D or 3D drawing views. Breaking portions of a design into Favorites, which can easily be placed when needed, saves on the processing of the program.

Adjust Graphics Settings

Open the Control Panel and check your Graphics tab settings. Consider lowering or temporarily turning off higher graphic settings:

You can always turn them back on for final presentations.

Freeze Unused Elements

Freeze products or architectural elements that you’re not actively working on—especially those with complex graphics. Frozen objects appear as flat, gray objects on the floor. When frozen, CET does not have to regenerate their images every time, thus saving on processing time.

Use Tagging for Organization

Apply tags to help organize calculations and areas in your drawing. This makes it easier to show or hide parts of your design as needed. 

Use Schemes and Embed Them

Create schemes for finishes or product options, and embed them into your drawing. 

Keep Accessories in Picklists

Add accessories such as monitor arms, keyboards, and work tools in a picklist. Then, show their location and details in your typicals for clarification. Keeping the main plan clean helps improve speed.

Use the Clean-Up Drawing Tool

The Clean Up Drawing Tool helps reduce the size of your drawing by identifying large objects that may not be needed, such as CAD files, images, SketchUp objects, or empty blocks.

See for more information: Clean Up Drawing Tool