Importing DWG & CTB - Line Weights

[rrichard]

Hi,

I am trying to import a DWG using vectorworks 2012 and am trying to use a CTB file to apply specific line weights. I have a few questions.

When I import the DWG using the CTB file to map lineweights, it applies the correct line weights to the appropriate lines but leaves the lines colored. Our DWG drawings use colored lines to represent 9 different black and grey lines which are converted to shades of black within the CTB file during plotting in autocad, but we also use colors to assign to other lines which we want printed in the assigned color.

Is there a way to use the map colors to lineweights during DWG import to turn these specific lines from being colored to being their apropriate black and grey lines while maintaining the other colored lines? I know you can turn the whole drawing to black and white only, but that turns colored lines that we want to remain colored into black lines.

I have tried to use custom selection based on the different color of our lines recognized in the CTB and then changed them to black. This leaves the other lines the apropriate color, but does not change the color of lines within symbols or groups. Is there a way to use the custom selection and have this select lines within symbols and groups in order to change the colors within these without converting everything in the drawing drawing to groups, and then ungrouping everything ?

If I take the whole drawing, convert to groups, then ungroup everything, then apply black color to the 9 colored lines which we use in Autocad, I get the desired result. But then all of my block/symbols are no longer symbols.

Also, when I do the custom selection, it only choses the lines within the viewport. Then on each individual sheet I am forced to again use the custom selection tool to convert my 9 colored lines that should be black on each sheet.

Is there a way for the custom selection to select specific colored lines on all sheet layers, withing all drawing layers, and within all individual groups & symbols?

It would be the easiest if Vectorworks would do this automatically upon importing the DWG and allowing you to not only apply a lineweight to a color, but a new color to the imported color.

Also, some of our autocad layers are invisible and automatically do not print from autocad. Is there a way to make a class visible in the drawing but to not have it print wihtout having to manualy turn these layers off when printing?

Thanks for any help !

[Tonero Michele]

On 1/8/2012 at 12:38 AM, rrichard said:

Hi,

I am trying to import a DWG using vectorworks 2012 and am trying to use a CTB file to apply specific line weights. I have a few questions.

When I import the DWG using the CTB file to map lineweights, it applies the correct line weights to the appropriate lines but leaves the lines colored. Our DWG drawings use colored lines to represent 9 different black and grey lines which are converted to shades of black within the CTB file during plotting in autocad, but we also use colors to assign to other lines which we want printed in the assigned color.

Is there a way to use the map colors to lineweights during DWG import to turn these specific lines from being colored to being their apropriate black and grey lines while maintaining the other colored lines? I know you can turn the whole drawing to black and white only, but that turns colored lines that we want to remain colored into black lines.

I have tried to use custom selection based on the different color of our lines recognized in the CTB and then changed them to black. This leaves the other lines the apropriate color, but does not change the color of lines within symbols or groups. Is there a way to use the custom selection and have this select lines within symbols and groups in order to change the colors within these without converting everything in the drawing drawing to groups, and then ungrouping everything ?

If I take the whole drawing, convert to groups, then ungroup everything, then apply black color to the 9 colored lines which we use in Autocad, I get the desired result. But then all of my block/symbols are no longer symbols.

Also, when I do the custom selection, it only choses the lines within the viewport. Then on each individual sheet I am forced to again use the custom selection tool to convert my 9 colored lines that should be black on each sheet.

Is there a way for the custom selection to select specific colored lines on all sheet layers, withing all drawing layers, and within all individual groups & symbols?

It would be the easiest if Vectorworks would do this automatically upon importing the DWG and allowing you to not only apply a lineweight to a color, but a new color to the imported color.

Also, some of our autocad layers are invisible and automatically do not print from autocad. Is there a way to make a class visible in the drawing but to not have it print wihtout having to manualy turn these layers off when printing?

Thanks for any help !

hi,

with vectorworks 2018 I have the same problem!

[Benson Shaw]

On 7/31/2012 at 3:38 PM, rrichard said:

Also, some of our autocad layers are invisible and automatically do not print from autocad. Is there a way to make a class visible in the drawing but to not have it print wihtout having to manualy turn these layers off when printing?

If printing from vwx viewports/sheet layers (recommend best practice), then the dwg no print layers can be turned off in the vwx VP layer & class controls. They will remain visible in the design layers. ACad drawing imports usually need some manual work to adjust layer and class visibility in design layer views/saved views,  and with viewport OIP controls on sheet layers.

 

Sometimes template saved views and VPs can reduce the initial manual adjustments. But check closely with each import!

 

In all fairness, file exchange among any creators, same or different software, usually  requires at least some attribute and visibility adjustment because of varying/evolving  drafting protocols, skill, drawing organization, and end use. Experience between the parties to narrow these differences can reduce the adjustment effort.

 

Even same creator can have problems. You should see corrections I have to make when working with one of my old drawings! Visibility, classing, attributes, general organization. . . Seemed like a pretty good drawing file, in pretty good software 5 or 10 years ago. Now it seems, to be polite, not up to my standards!

 

-B

Edited December 30, 2017 by Benson Shaw
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[Tonero Michele]

9 hours ago, Benson Shaw said:

If printing from vwx viewports/sheet layers (recommend best practice), then the dwg no print layers can be turned off in the vwx VP layer & class controls. They will remain visible in the design layers. ACad drawing imports usually need some manual work to adjust layer and class visibility in design layer views/saved views,  and with viewport OIP controls on sheet layers.

 

Sometimes template saved views and VPs can reduce the initial manual adjustments. But check closely with each import!

 

In all fairness, file exchange among any creators, same or different software, usually  requires at least some attribute and visibility adjustment because of varying/evolving  drafting protocols, skill, drawing organization, and end use. Experience between the parties to narrow these differences can reduce the adjustment effort.

 

Even same creator can have problems. You should see corrections I have to make when working with one of my old drawings! Visibility, classing, attributes, general organization. . . Seemed like a pretty good drawing file, in pretty good software 5 or 10 years ago. Now it seems, to be polite, not up to my standards!

 

-B

 

Importing the file in VectorWorks with a ctb seems simple to me, I do not understand that importing technical problems can occur.

I'm sure that, having little knowledge of the program, I'm the one who did not use the right command.

I will try with assistance.

Thanks anyway.

[Art V]

What may help is to make sure the dwg file you are importing has all colours set to bylayer and that the objects are in the proper layers, then you can use the class properties in Vectorworks to make the changes you want with regard to line thickness and colour.

In AutoCAD you can have layers visible and set to non-plotting in viewports but Vectorworks does not yet have a similar setting so those classes need to be turned off in Vectorworks as explained by  Benson Shaw, but if the layers are off/frozen then they should come in as classes that are turned off in Vectorworks as well and should not show up in viewports nor print.

[Tonero Michele]

10 hours ago, Art V said:

What may help is to make sure the dwg file you are importing has all colours set to bylayer and that the objects are in the proper layers, then you can use the class properties in Vectorworks to make the changes you want with regard to line thickness and colour.

In AutoCAD you can have layers visible and set to non-plotting in viewports but Vectorworks does not yet have a similar setting so those classes need to be turned off in Vectorworks as explained by  Benson Shaw, but if the layers are off/frozen then they should come in as classes that are turned off in Vectorworks as well and should not show up in viewports nor print.

What you propose is always a gimmick, I do not understand why simply, since there is the ctb, no matter how the drawing is printed in dwg, ie with thicknesses and colors of the correct lines without additional processing. It seems to me a logical and simple thing.

 

Best regards

[Art V]

On 1/3/2018 at 9:19 AM, Tonero Michele said:

What you propose is always a gimmick, I do not understand why simply, since there is the ctb, no matter how the drawing is printed in dwg, ie with thicknesses and colors of the correct lines without additional processing. It seems to me a logical and simple thing.

Unfortunately it is not really a gimmick, I've seen too many cases of manually assigned colours and line thickness to objects instead of using bylayer that may mess up things badly when importing because these do not match the CTB settings. Colours and line thickness in a CTB file would help but may not necessarily be correct as for e.g. I use multiple CTB's in dwg files depending on output size or output purpose so at any given point there may be one CTB attached to the DWG file that is for a specific output purpose that may not be the default intent for which you want to import.

The best practice is to have all lines to be bylayer for colour, line thickness and line type. This also makes correcting things in VW quite a bit easier. There are dwg based standards where each combination of colour, line type and line thickness has its own layer just for exchange purposes and it is mandatory to set all objects and symbols to bylayer, purely for reasons of exchanging with other CAD and drafting programs. Then you don't even need a CTB file (which is the purpose in this case).