The conventions that make a drawing readable: line types, symbols, hatches and abbreviations, defined for each set in its legend.
Drawing symbols and legends are the conventions a drawing uses to say things without words: line types, symbols, hatches and abbreviations. The legend is the key that defines them for a given set. Two sets can use the same symbol for different things, so the legend of each set is what counts.
Each office and each discipline has its own standard symbols, and many countries publish national drawing conventions. On a project, the information standard or a shared template should fix one legend for the set, so that all teams' sheets read the same way. Model-based drawings produce most symbols automatically from the model; hand-drawn symbols and text are where errors and inconsistencies tend to creep in.
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