oldguy

Now, I am not an ADT user, but.... Especially when sharing with 'regular' AutoCAd ussrs, is the not a option to export or save as "plain autocad' (No, I'm sure that is not the correct phrase/function). Such an export is normall used when Autpdesk object enableres are not available. This may help in the case of Architectural Objects Jim

While not a VW user ( :cry:), I am an A***CAD user, would be glad to look at these drawings - if apptopriate - and offer my 'informed' 2 cents worth..... if you care... jim(dot)longley(at)abitibibowater(dot)com

Someone is sure to ask, or should - IS this Vista Business 64(bit). Otherwise, Vista (32) will only see/use 3GB or there abouts

AutoCAD 2009 1.26GB Download (zipped) - expands to 3.5GB for installation files. Final application install is 750 MB. So.... just how big is Vectorworks? - zipped?? Point is, it is and can be done JimL

Though not a free workaround.... If conversions and version compatiblility were issues, one workaround could involve installing asa Windows Virtual Machine (VM ware or Parallels) and running Autodesk's DWGTureView. This gives you a "true" DWG Viewer and Plotting *AND* included DWg Convert to save back to AutoCAD 2004 format.

When I import a dwg it maintains all the info. * Mostly, unless, for example, any Xref?s a Clipped I don't need to retrace over acad lines or anything? are you talking about dimensions, or the layers? they don't translate? All this seemed to work impressively well in my limited demo use You can indeed work with Acad reasonably well, based on my brief experience with VW 12 Demo - can not fluidly edit a file back and forth. Example: (and this is a limitation for me, as per question posed at outset) Importing and AutoCAD drawing with Xref's (not bound), VW does a fine job a preserving the visually fidelity. It effectively binds the Xrefs. Problem with 2-waying a drawings like this is, if I were to send you, for example, a drawing to edit for me ? a drawing that required one or more xref?s to provide context. I would expect to have returned to me my drawing as sent (but with edits) ? without My Xrefs having been bound in. I would have expected to load your edits and have AutoCAD insert the Xref?s that (the ?originals?) were still on my computer. Does that make any sense??? (Does to me ) Second, VW (as of VW12) would not clip the Xref?s if they had been clipped in the originating DWG. This one can have a large impact visual impact on the resulting import as compare to the same drawing printed from AutoCAD. The ultimate answer, If one needs to edit and faithfully roundtrip a DWG, you need AutoCAD. If you are the originator of your own work you can dictate your own CAD needs. VW fills the Bill!. Not ?perfect? imports, but allows ?you? to obtain useable CAD data to reduce your own work load. Capable enough that you can share your VW data with others. Needless to say, if I were contracting out to you to edit ?your? VW drawing you would/should expect nothing less back than that which you sent for changes ? including classes and (VW)layers either intact or added too depending on nature or scope of work I were to do for you Am I ranting on? Sorry.

I'll chip in my $0.02 CDN (now worth an actual $0.02) I use, still do, AutoCAD. I consider Vectorwork as viable MAc-Based CAD system. I do not use VW, because I need to work on other's AutoCAD files - not simply exchange info, but must edit "their" dwg file - in tact. Each release moves VW closer (and this may be a bad thing for tried and true VW users) to being aa "AutoCAD Editor". Viewports (release 11??) was a big step. The whole WorkGroup referenceing improvements in 2008 (near as I can tell, as I have not yet sought a demo from Canadaina reseller) seems to bring closer the whole AutoCAd X ref thing. The object for myself (a narrow view at best) would be able to round trip a dwg without any appearent lose (from the AutoCAD user's perspective) in Viewports, Page Layouts and References (both DWG Xref and Image Inserts) For example, when I return and AutoCAd dwg to it's owner (so-to-speak) I do not want the Xref's to have been 'bound', but only return the parent dwg. The Owener, on opening, should have any recent Xref load from own system (unless, of course, I required to make changes in those as well, in whcih case, they too would have been returned - as separate files) IS VW 2008 a major upgrade was the question. Was it complelling? From what I observe, YES Was/Is it enough for my particular situation/work flow? - Not yet. I a wait VW 2009 with anticipation JimL PS Oops! Missed Rotate Plan View (??) Another biggy for the AutoCAD converter Hummm, maybe VW 2008 1/2 One other suggestion for NNA You have (had?) an VW for AutoCAD User publication - make it free to download. Short of a demo version, this might be the next best way for us low life AutoCAD users to understand HOW we can transition.

Perhaps a couple of other differences.. DWG is a binary file, hence much more compact, as versus the DXF which is ASCII text, and therefore much more bloated in size. "Why use DXF?". Theoretically, mind you, the programming to convert DXF to 'what-ever' is done within a full documented format - not a reversed-engineered one. For more educational reading on DXF (NOT!) see http://autodesk.blogs.com/between_the_lines/2007/04/autocad_2008_dx.html Happing reading

For the record - Yes, it can X-ref into PaperSpace JimL Using AutoCAD 2004 (Pardon my language, plese)

If you receive a DWG from and are suspicious of the version, refer to this webpage for determining the file version. ?Open? the dwg file with a text file editor and you will see something like: "AC1018 L L ? ...etc etc" In this case, the dwg file is a so-called AutoCAD 2004 format drawing (as it format change was introduced with AutoCAD 2004 and was subsequently used in 2005 and 2006 The next change in format occurring with AutoCAD 2007. Quite possible this may end up being referred to as the AutoCAD 2007 format file ? especially if the newly announced AutoCAD 2008 uses the same binary file format

Leave to the government to be on different platforms Both applications should be able to co-exist if the will exists. It would be more difficult if one were exchanging file with different independant companies. However (the 'will") with in the same "firm" - level of government it could be simple First Standards: if all department could agree a a set of CAD standards, then each (AutoCAD/ Vectorworks User) would know what to expect from the other (when importing/exporting) Example" Colours?penWeights, Acad Layers,VW Classes And yes, sadly, each may have to consider the "limitations" of the other, and agree not ot use such features for drawing file that will go back-and-forth. JImL

For those Vectorwork users on the Windows platform (Or Mac users with Bootcamp and/or Parallels) you could download the free DWG TrueConvert and save yourself the trouble of asking the 'supplier' to Save As. See DWG TrueConvert

If I may be of assistance, I do consider myself a somewhat knowledgable AutoCAD user. If DWG file in question does not contain ang "classified" information I would be glad to have a look at it and comment Forward to longleyje at bowater.com Jim L

The Drawing Web Format is just that, a format primarily for web viewing. Even with some 3rd party apps that run inside AutoCAD that will import DWF, you do not get an "intelegent" dwg. That is, for example, Text is not text, but is a collection of line/arcs that "look Like" text ('till you try to edit with text editor). Possible work around, at least on Windows platform (unless you can find a Mac DWF viewer) is: Download/install Autodesk free DWF viewer. Install/Configure an Encapsulated Postscript capable print/Adobe Distiller and print to file, creating an ".eps" file. I do believe VW will import an eps file, but have no idea as to quality of the import

quote: Originally posted by Travis: Armstrong is mostly right. . .which is first cousin to being "mostly dead". (A reference to a very funny scene from the greatest movie ever made: Princess Bride) Sometimes with printing, you need a miracle from MiracleMax, or at least assistance from the Man in Black "As You Wish"

One posibility is to instal a Postscript printer such as found at adobe: Adobe Postscript Printers http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=1500 Or try this alternative: http://www.sketchpad.net/postscript-printer-winxp-1.htm This creates a postscript file. This can inturn be distilled into a PDF document using such tools as Ghostscript, see: http://www.noliturbare.com/ click on the GhostScript GUI link Lots of work? - Yup, but free. Or, less work, but will cost you - as per Katie's suggestion I personally use full-fledged Adobe Acobat (but the company was buying ) JimL

Katie: "The percentage of opacity isn't supported on Windows" Idle curiosity question(s) Is that ?Not Supported? for viewing only? That is to say, if created in the Mac version, would the drawing at least print correctly from a Windows platform? Though ?not supported? would the drawing files ?round trip? with the opacity information in tact ? Mac created -> Windows Edited -> back to Mac again Just curious?? JimL

Some work arounds: If you had contact with someone with a PC they could install AutoDesks's DWF viewer and, again, "IF" they had a PDF-printer, print the DWF drawing to PDF. Now, I am NOT a VW user, but, I do believe you can make use/import a pdf document, at least as 'background image'. There is at least one Mac based viewer that I know of CADViewer by Tailor Made: http://www.cadviewer.com/products/cv.htm This may help JimL

Old Age!! Mr. Williams more or less answered that in the DXF/DWG forum Please for give an "oldguy"

This does appear to be a step in the right direction for those who must regularly inter-act with AutoCAD users/drawings. Perhaps someone at NNA could comment: ... While binding is fine in order to get a VW drawing file that is visibly like the hardcopy version as printed from AutoCAD, how do the 'bound' Xref's appear in Vectorworks - as symbols or as drawing objects (lines etc...)? And, if VW "understands" the native DWG file format enough to Bind Xrefs, does VW keep track of this so it can, in effect, un-bind the Xrefs on export to a DWG file? Now, perhaps the simple answer would be, if one needs to interact regularly with and edit AutoCAD drawings for an AutoCAD client, perhaps then, one needs AutoCAD . Take for example.... A client sends a AutoCAD drawing (the parent dwg) and associated Xref(s) (the child drawings) and wants me to edit/revise/add to the Parent Dwg. Binding on the VW side is fine ? it gives me the full picture/context of the drawing I am to work one (e.g. adding wiring info to a drawing that has the building outline Xrefed into it). I open/edit/save etc several times until complete. Time to export to DWG to return to client. Do I (or could I in the future?) have the option to export the ?Parent? only but with the AutoCAD Xref information still intact. What the client receives back is the parent only, and if the Xref info is intact, the client, when he opens up the parent, AutoCAD will load the Xref?s (perhaps even changed ones!) from ?His? files. Lost you??? JimL

Here's what little I know: A vectorworks user receives an AutoCAD drawing file that contains has X-refs (but NOT bound - inserted as if a block/symbol) AND the individual X-refs are also available to the vectorworks user. On importing sais drawing into Vectorworks, most will import well, including acad paperspace viewports - but the X-ref's will NOT be resolved. I persume, the work around at this point, would could be to import each individual dwg, saves as vectorworks drawing and then utilize workgroup referenceing to fudge/emulate the look/functionality of the original AutoCAD drawing. Now, here's the question. If one exports this Vectorworks drawing (containing workgroup refernces) what does the Autocad user/see get on the other end? A drawing with sysmbols/block where the X-refs/Workgroup references were? Or AutoCAD X-ref's I guess, what I am really trying to find out is to what extend will an AutoCAD dwg with X-ref's round-trip Acad-to-Vworks-to-Acad???? Clear as mud on a dark night???? JimL

Yes in AutoCAD 2004. I used a LISP program to convert all splines to polylines, and for good measure I saved as a AutoCAD 2000 format drawing. Now, I could try to tell you what the LISP program did, but I had simply 'Googled' for "convert spline to polyline" and found and download the LISP file (from code archives at http://www.cadonline.com/ if one is interested) JimL

Have forwarded (via e-mail) to Paolo a DWG with splines converted to polylines (would have attached here if I could have figured out how ) Perhaps he will lets us know how it works JimL

To create a PDF on a Windows platform you will need a third party package that install a "PDF Printer" Several are avaiable from free to expensive: example Adobe's Acrobat (That's the 'full' version, not the Reader) Another option would be to inquire of your print shop as to what they have for a printer. You could install drivers for that printer on your own computer (that "printer" would of course "print to File" as a port - since to don't acctually have one conected to the Parallel port or what ever). In this circumstance, when you print to this physically-non-existant printer, Windows will ask for a file name. It is that file - and it may be large - that you could send to the printer. it maybe large enough so as not to be able to be e-mailed. Ask your printer if they have an FTP site for plot file transfers OldGuy

*IF* as the originator of this thread has stateed, the output device required and HPGL file to cut paper, then a PDF, or a PS or postscript file will NOT work. If you examine witha a text editor either a PDF file or an HPGL file you will see and entirely different set of commands. If this cutter gizmo works similar to a "old fashion" pen plotter: Move Pen; Pen Down; Move Pen; Pen Up - etc. etc. youe can see why ONLY HPGL will work. A snipit for HPGL ".plt" file: ... IN;SC;PU;RO90;IP;IW;VS15 Here IN initlializes the plotter and starts plotting SC sets the scale (none in this example) PU is a Pen UP Command Next, in this example is an RO - Rotate Coordinate - 90 degress this example etc. etc. Here's the more crucial stuff for a pen/cutteer type of device - the HPGL commands for "drawing lines": PUPA8784,14583;PDPA8784,14587,8780,14587,8780,14583,8784,14583;PUPA8782,14582;PDPA8780,14582,8780 Meaning.... PUPA: "Pen Up" "Plot Absolute" (As the pen is UP this simply moves the pen (cutter) to the specified coordinates PDPA: "Pen Down" "Plot Absolute" (as now, the pen is DOWN, we are now cutting (drawing) a line through a series of paired X,Y points - a continuous zizzag line if you will) Anyway, that's why PDF/PS just may not work for the Originator unless we can get an HPGL format file. Oldguy