Exporting/importing to and from ACAD

[Liz]

Hi I also use vectorworks 9.5.2 with the Architect thing. When I export to ACAD 2000 all the lines seem to go haywire ...different sizes etc so my technicians have to go through and fix them all. How is that solved.

2.If I export a whole file with several layers, they don't export..only the viewed layer exports and can be editted

3. If I import a acad2000 file , the walls import all broken up in hundreds of lines which is a nightmare to work with.

Answers please...what am I doing wrong??

[jan15]

First issue:

I'm not sure what you mean by "go haywire ...different sizes etc", but it sounds like it might be a scale issue. AutoCad only knows one scale, which is 1:1, so to avoid confusing AutoCad I always convert a whole VectorWorks file to 1:1 scale before exporting to DWG. If you want to try that, be sure to check the "Scale Text" box in the "Layer Scale" window.

Issue 2:

AutoCad doesn't have both Classes AND Layers. It only has Classes, which it misleadingly calls "Layers". So you have to decide whether you want to export Classes OR Layers as AutoCad "Layers", and indicate that by checking a box in the "DXF DWG Export Options" window.

--If you choose to export LAYERS as AutoCad "Layers", then there's an option to export invisible Layers either as invisible "Layers" or not at all.

--If you choose to export CLASSES as AutoCad "Layers" (this is the default setting, since Acad "Layers" are really Classes; they aren't layered one on top of another), then invisible Layers are not exported. To export those invisible Layers, you have to change to the sheet on which they're visible, and then export a separate file showing the contents of that sheet.

Issue 3:

I don't know anything about this, since I never try to work with the junk files that are typically produced in AutoCad (I just import them to trace from, or occaisionally to use as a grey background). But I wonder what you mean by AutoCad 2000 "walls". Do you mean MLines? Clarifying that may help someone else to answer your question.