dash styles

['ilima]

I imported a file from autocad and my dash styles were overwritten somehow. Is there any way to replace them with the correct ones? can you bring dash styles over from one project to another?

I have many classes dependent on those dash styles to appear correct - how can i get the right style into the right place for the classes to properly read from?

Thanks!

[Benson Shaw]

Your desired dash styles (are they the defaults or custom?) may not be overwritten. In the attributes palette can you scroll down through the dash style list to see if they are at the end? Also look in File/Document Prefs/Dash Styles - Here is a list of all the styles in your drawing, plus options to create and delete styles. You may need to delete some of them if you have to restore your desired ones. A VW drawing can contain only the 10 VW default dash styles and up to 22 custom styles.

Here is one way to get your desired dash styles into a drawing. Open a new blank drawing. All those ACAD dash styles will not be in this new drawing, only the VW default dash styles. Create new objects with the desired dash styles. Select the objects and paste them into the drawing requiring the styles. The pasted objects will bring their dash styles, which will show up in the Attributes Palette dash list, and in the Document Prefs dash style list.

Good Luck!

-B

[mike m oz]

All true Benson, but... The import protocol should be to create custom dash styles for the imported line styles and not overwrite the VW ' default' dash styles. Then this issue would not keep coming up ad infinitum.

[Benson Shaw]

Absolutely correct, Mike, as always. I think the problem here is lack of import protocol or option to preserve the VW default styles and their familiar order in the attributes palette. At least I did not find it in the customize import panes. The ACAD import removed/overwrote some required styles and 'ilima wants them back.

In my test I created a new VW file (10 default dash styles) and imported a dwg. After import, the defaults are gone, replaced by 10 ACAD styles (in this test import). The new styles list has some items similar to the VW defaults, but some defaults are missing. Worse, if prior to the import, I create objects in this drawing with VW default dash styles, the object dashes are remapped with the ACAD import styles.

This seems like a bug. In my opinion, import should not alter existing items in the drawing. The 10 default styles and any custom styles should stay in place during import, with the imported styles filling the other style "slots" until no more slots remain. When the import process runs out of slots, VW should offer a dash style remap option pane - similar to the text remap pane.

'ilima does not indicate whether the desired dash styles are the VW defaults or custom styles. In my suggestion, desired styles are added back into the list. If any of these pasted styles are defaults, the paste action is restorative. Unfortunately, if any of the remapped styles are nearly same as the new, pasted styles, then the style list includes what appears to be duplicates.

-B

['ilima]

Benson, You are perfectly correct as to the trouble i am facing. Yes, the desired line style were the VW defaults, plus a few custom I had added. I would have no problem with the Autocad styles coming in IF they did not re-order the styles in the palette, thereby messing up all the objects relying on those styles. I agree completely that it seems like a bug, and your suggestion sounds like a perfectly logical solution.

A further complication to this is that the line styles can only be recognized via graphics rather than by say a set number, or set name, so when they do get re-ordered in the palette it can be very difficult and time consuming to find and apply the proper one again.

Mike - how would one do this exactly? When the file is imported it automatically puts the new line types on the top of the list, bumping out whatever was there before...

Thank you both for your time and suggestions - quite helpful!

[mike m oz]

'ilima, there have never been any indications that this problem can be solved, and I suspect we just have to grin and bear it.

If you don't need to directly use the imported information you can resort to Design Layer Viewport referencing it in from a shuttle file. This will allow you to see and snap to the information without acquiring the Autocad line styles, Classes and Blocks.

[Jonathan Pickup]

my advice has always been to import DXF files into a new drawing, never into an existing drawing.

I like Mike's suggestion that VectorWorks should be able to import better, and i would suggest that when you call the import function, there should be a dialog that tells people:

"VectorWorks suggests you import DXF/DWG files into a new file only. This file does not appear to to be a new File. would you like VectorWorks to start a new file for you?"