support for shx fonts

[Jershaun]

Hi

Support for *.shx fonts would be great. ATM the company I work for uses AutoCAD and I can see why they use it. Their client specifies the title block style and it's full of shx fonts with various colours (specifying different thicknesses to the text).

If Vectorworks could support this "feature", I could motivate Vectorworks in the office.

Please consider, thanks.

[Ray Libby]

.shx aren't actually fonts, they are a file that describes a typeface in autocad. I could be wrong, but I don't see VW ever supporting this and I don't know of any other program that does. Also, Autocad now ships with true type fonts that match .shx.

[Jershaun]

OK, I understand.

Firstly however, one cannot assign pen thicknesses to True Type fonts. Just normal or bold.

Secondly, that's a major stumbling block because my company's clients are extremely stubborn and are not forward thinking and do not like change, so therefore their title block needs to remain un-touched (look wise) and cannot seem to be "tampered" with.

I know VW can do so many things AutoCAD can AND cannot do, so I don't see why it can't do this thing which AutoCAD can do (which is old technology btw.)

Nemetschek, please look into this.

Thanks,

[AndiACD]

Hi all,

i know loads of VW users want it to make the coffee and take the dog for a walk, but if i might offer an outside the box(VW box,that is) view of things. . . . . . .

If i need a particular font in VW that misbehaves, i open it in a vector grafics app like illustrator, do any fiddling that it might need, then open it in VW. Works like dream(haven't tried that with 2009 yet though).

i know this means messing around with other packages to get what you're after, but what few seem to realise is that requesting so many "do it all" scenarios to a drawing program just increases the "Bucket of Bolts" factor that AutoCAD suffered from, to our beloved VW.

i'm sure what you require is justified, but, it is a technical drawing program after all . . . . . .

[bonus]

Shaun, I have exactly the same problem. A stubborn stupid client who want's things to remain as they've been for the last ten years, specially with the ISOCP "fonts".

I've tried to figure out a work around with NNA last october and they claim they have a couple of guys looking into it. We have not reached any conclusion yet though other than "VW does not support ISOCP fonts".

I understand what you say AndiACD and I agree. We can't expect VW to do it all. But this issue proved to be of such importance in my case, that I now must switch to AutoCad if I want to be in business at all with at least 5 projects. Even the true type ISOCP fonts are a mess to handle.

[AndiACD]

One thing that would help matters, is if those that produce fonts kept them up to date with the systems they are used on today and kept them independent/transferable or just plain usable anywhere.

There are some lovely old fonts that have been left in the annals of past systems.

[jan15]

... Their client specifies the title block style and it's full of shx fonts with various colours (specifying different thicknesses to the text). ...

Wouldn't it be better to do that with a bitmap image? Even in Autocad that would be easier to do and less likely to go awry.

The only good reason for creating company logos in Autocad was that it didn't support bitmap images till about 10 years ago. And maybe because Autocad LT still can't attach them and has to use a huge chunk of storage space to put images into DWG files as OLE objects.

[Jershaun]

Hi jan15

Thanks for your suggestion. However the fonts in the title block isn't only for the clients logo but in other editable text such as drawing numbers, rev numbers, drawn by, etc.

The only work-around that I can see (which may help you as well, bonus) is only do the title block in AutoCAD and pdf it from AutoCAD, then in Vectorworks import the pdf (with a live link so changes from AutoCAD will update in VW) in Sheet Layer. I haven't tried this though.

[bonus]

Wow! new community look. Nice! More VWish, more macish...

In my case the logo is no problem - it's a bitmap.

I have to use the same ISOCP all over the whole drawing - not just the title block.

On top of that I can't get the title block attributes (inserted data) to work properly when it's exported to dwg. It's there on the screen, but my client has not been able to pick up the meta data necessary for their automatic filing system.

Working with Acad users is a p.i.t.a. It's like going back to silent b/w movies.

The best thing would be Acad to get a heartstroke and die intantly.

The second best thing would be if VW supported ISOCP.shx and ttf. I don't know how hard that would be to accomplish?

[AndiACD]

bonus,

it died a long time ago, some just haven't realised it yet . . .

i found my original Autocad install "Floppies" recently(shows how long ago that was) but my lack of memory of the App indicates how much better the experience was in MiniCAD and VW, i'm sorry the need to maintain a connection is still causing some so much hassle.

Edited December 16, 2008 by AndiACD

[jan15]

Perhaps some indication of the future of SHX fonts may be gleaned from the fact that Revit, to which Autodesk has been trying to shift Autocad users, apparently doesn't support them.

[KTIPH]

I agree that the .shx fonts could definitely be sidelined but when clients give a standard drafting protocol which states that ISOCP fonts must be used with a certain thickness, what is one to do?