Moving from one file to another

[Cbeckwith]

I have version 12.5. I need to copy a class from one file to another file so that all the properies of the one I am copying from go exactly into the same footprint as the one I am copying to. Can this be done easily?

[Jonathan Pickup]

if the class does not exist in the target file, then copy and paste any object with the class..

[Cbeckwith]

I want to copy the entire class with all its properties into the target file. What about the Scale size, does it have to be the same from the original to target? Will it put it into the footprint of the target exactly like what is on the original file? Do I make a class on the target and just copy all components of the original class to the target class it just made? I can't afford to make a mistake when I get ready to do this. Thanks for your input, by the way.

[Jonathan Pickup]

when you say "copy a class" do you mean copy everything on that class from the original file into the target file?

[Cbeckwith]

When I set the Origin, Scales, page size and printer sizes the same and go to the Class in Active Page view, copy all the objects on the class page, then copy to the target drawing, it paste them not in the right place, usually in the upper part of the page. Is there a way to make sure when pasting into the target, the match is perfect? or do I have to live with moving the data around to match the drawing in the target file?

[G_Hannigan]

You refer to "footprint". Do you only need to create a new Class in the second file or do you need to copy & paste a selection of objects, that are assigned to the same class, into the new file, to a particular location?

If the latter, in the first file: Select Objects, Copy, switch to new file Edit, Paste in Place. Scale is determined by the layer setting.

I can't afford to make a mistake when I get ready to do this.

?? You can Undo & try again. Are you being tested?

[G_Hannigan]

When I set the Origin, Scales, page size and printer sizes the same and go to the Class in Active Page view, copy all the objects on the class page, then copy to the target drawing, it paste them not in the right place, usually in the upper part of the page. Is there a way to make sure when pasting into the target, the match is perfect? or do I have to live with moving the data around to match the drawing in the target file?

Use "Edit>Paste In Place", not "Paste".

[Guest]

Layer scale, print settings, page origin, and some of the other desired options are not class properties, but either layer or drawing properties.

The best thing to do is to create a template file using the desired settings. Take a file that is like what you want to use. Delete all the items you don't want and go to File>Save as Template.

Use this to create new documents from rather than the default template file. (When you go to File>New, choose New from Document Template rather than New Blank File)

If you have a project that's already been started and you want it to follow these settings, either change them in the file, or copy the elements into a new file created from the template file.

[Cbeckwith]

It is closer, but off, by roughly 20', but I can probably live with this. It just creates a little more work for me. Thanks, George

[Cbeckwith]

It is already setup on a template now, but these drawings were done a few months ago, before I had 12 on my system. I am using .dwg files imported into Vectorworks and then having to transfer classes that were done earlier to imported files from dwg format.

Thanks for your input Kathie.

[G_Hannigan]

The misalignment may be due to a difference in the Origin in the .dwg files and that of the VW files. If there is a difference in location when you Copy & Paste in Place from on VW file to another VW, check that the origin is the same in the two files.

The default Origin in a VW file is in the center of the page. In Autocad (.dwg) the Origin (0,0) is usually at the lower left.

It's probably best not to move the Origin in VW.