export to AutoCad 2000

[smoothbase]

I got rid of everything like textures , photos...

when I click to get the file into DXF I got the following message

"could not open the OpenDWG initialization file,"adinit.dat".Please reinstall VectorWorks

Any clue to get the job done

[smoothbase]

No problem it was the file, maybe corrupted? but I still have the problem to exort a huge file ,120MG and 20 layers to AutoCad 2000. I read a lot of your posts but when I export in DXF/DWG I got either only the active layers or all of the 20 layers but piled one over the others on the same layer or classe.

To see what happens I export as DXF then import the file back in VW.

Could somebody tell me what to do to export a 20 layer file in AutoCad. I did not understand the"you have to link the layers" solution before exporting

[jan15]

I re-wrote my first post, trying to make it easier to read.

DWG vs. DXF: I always export to DWG, not DXF. A long time ago, Autocad users told me that worked out better for them. Now I'm forced to use Autocad part of the time, and I haven't seen any difference between DWG and DXF exports, except that DWG files seem to be much smaller than DXF, especially smaller than DXF Text files.

I'm not sure what you mean by "piled up one on top of the others". Do you mean that objects which were on lower VW Layers are no longer covered up by solid-filled objects which were on higher VW Layers? If so, that may be because Autocad doesn't have layering and doesn't have fills associated with 2D objects.

It does have a primitive way of hiding objects, called a "Wipeout". You specify the perimeter of the Wipeout area, and everything in that area appears to be erased. Things drawn later are not Wiped out, and things moved or edited later are no longer Wiped out. The Wipeout is not an object; you can't move, edit, or delete it.

Usually my exports of VW v10 2D drawings open in Autocad with Wipeouts in all the right places to make the drawing look right. And somehow, when I import the DWG back into Vectorworks, it comes back with solid fills where all the Wipeouts were, and layered correctly within the single layer that they import into. I always think that's a miracle and a great feat of programming by the VW staff. But perhaps it doesn't always work, and that's what you're describing?

In any case, it's a nuisance trying to maintain the Wipeouts when I work on a drawing in Autocad. So I've just stopped using layering and solid fills for anything that's going to be exported to Autocad. I've had to stop using a lot of other features for the same reason. Autocad is very limiting.

If that's not the problem you're trying to solve, please explain further.

[smoothbase]

I was desperate thank you for your answer even if I am still a little bit puzzled. Indeed you are the first telling me something I have never heard about: I have to choose either layers or classes to export in DXF or DWG ( I do not know the difference between the 2of them but anyone told me I have to do the translation in DXF)

So my 20 layers will be classes in AutoCad which means anyone should open my 3D plans and 2D elevations and sections. But how to get the VW layers into AutoCad classes without having everything piled up one on top of the others in AutoCad. ( that is what I get when I import back the file in VW)

Could you help me again I will greatly appreciate your next reply

[jan15]

Unless it's changed in version 11, you have to choose whether to export Classes or Layers, since Autocad doesn't have both.

If you choose to export Classes as Autocad Layers, then all objects on invisible VW Layers are not exported. If you choose to export Layers as Autocad Layers, then all objects in invisible VW Classes are not exported.

If you take advantage of the layering (stacking order) of VW Layers, that won't work in the DWG file even if you export Layers as Autocad Layers, because Autocad doesn't support layering of its Layers.

In general, the biggest problems in exporting to DWG are questions of what to do with the many features that Autocad doesn't have.

[smoothbase]

thanks again for your time and your explanations. In fact when I export to AutoCad I got either only the active layer, the one which is opened, or all my 20 layers but piled up each one over the others so I have my project but it is unusable. I will try to export one layer by one layer. That means it will be like one VW layer=one AutoCad file. I am not sure somebody could overlay the layers in the same AutoCad file but at least they will get the plans,elevations and sections of the project. Do you think it is a good idea

thanks again

Jean-Pierre

[jan15]

I'm still not sure I understand what problem you're having. Perhaps you mean that objects in the exported DWG file are moved in the X and Y direction from their original locations, so that different drawings become overlapped. That can happen if the drawings are at different scales, since Autocad doesn't support drawing to scale.

If that's your problem, one easy way to solve it is to select the option "Rescale Layers To:" in the Export Options window. If the Autocad user is using the new system, with Paperspace and Viewports, he or she will have to re-size some drawings. If you want to avoid that, it's complicated.

There's a new and an old system for working with scale in Autocad. In the old system, you pretend that the drawing sheet is very large. If you draw a plan of a building that is 30 meters long, you pretend that the drawing sheet is 40 meters long. Scale is introduced when you plot. You scale down both the building and the make-believe drawing sheet, to fit the real paper size.

The biggest problem with the old Autocad system is creating drawings at different scales on the same sheet. The only way to do that is to draw one of the drawings inaccurately. That sounds ridiculous, but when I started using Autocad it was the only way to represent scale. Many people still use that system today. Selecting "Rescale Layers To:" results in a DWG file using that system.

The new Autocad system uses Viewports to show drawings to scale. You draw the piece of paper at its actual size in "Paperspace", and then you cut holes (called "Viewports") in that paper and you look through them at the building (which is in "Modelspace"), and you pretend that the building is far away so that it looks small. You can adjust how far away it is, and you can pretend different distances for different Viewports. That's even more ridiculous than the old system, but at least it allows you to draw everything at its correct size.

Now Vectorworks also has those ridiculous viewports, beginning with version 11. Maybe that helps in exporting to the new Autocad system. I don't have version 11, so I don't know.

In version 10, you can export everything full size (which is what the new Autocad system wants) by not selecting "Rescale Layers To:" But then it's possible that drawings which were at different scales will overlap. To avoid that, you can Save As "temporary.mcd", and change the scale of all layers to 1:1. Be sure to select "Scale Text" when changing the Layer Scale. Then what you'll have will look just like Autocad's "Modelspace", and you'll be able to see the problem. If some drawings overlap, you can move them. The arrangement of drawings in Modelspace doesn't determine what they'll look like on the print-out.

Then export from that temporary VectorWorks file, without "Rescale Layers To:". That will produce a DWG file with a correct Modelspace, and the Autocad user can easily create whatever viewports are needed to show all the drawings to scale, and can arrange them on the sheet in Paperspace. You should also send them a PDF file or a print-out to show them the correct arrangement on the sheet.

[ 10-13-2004, 10:01 PM: Message edited by: jan15 ]

[JHEarcht]

You don't have to export "layer by layer". But it is usually best to export sheet-by-sheet or view-by-view instead of a whole file. If you will setup "Saved Views" for each drawing sheet, VW will turn on all of the classes and layers associated with one drawing such as a Floor Plan. You can then export that sheet to DWG, and everything visible on the screen will export. Follow the same procedure for each sheet in a set. A list of Saved Views is available in the bottom scroll bar and in the Window menu. See page 3-30 in the VW User guide.

Good luck.

JHE

[smoothbase]

thank to both of you

I am still working with the "try and error" method, following your advices. It takes time to get back from the engineers.

But I now know that it is impossible to export a whole project with multiple stories in one file to AutoCad. If I choose DXF and classes I only export the layer opened on my desk and if I choose DXF and layers I export everything (all layers in the same scale) but in one AutoCad file that means a mess. I have already succeeded in exporting the roof plan and only the roof plan but now I am confident I will find out how to export my 6 story plans.

Thanks again and I will keep you inform

[jan15]

quote:

---

Originally posted by smoothbase:

... if I choose DXF and layers I export everything (all layers in the same scale) but in one AutoCad file that means a mess.

---

You have all the objects for a single story on a single Layer? If so, then you just have to make all Classes visible (both in the Classes dialog box and in Class Options), then export choosing Layers. But when you import back into VectorWorks, you have to choose Layers again. It will import with the same Layers as before, but with everything in one class.

It's no problem for the Autocad user. They can create a viewport for each story, with only the layer for that story turned on in that viewport. If they don't like working with the stories stacked, they can turn on one story at a time in modelspace and move each story to a different location.

If you want them to have distinctions between objects on the same story, you have to give up Classes and start using only Layers, for example "1st Floor Walls", "1st Floor Doors", "1st Floor Notes", "2nd Floor Walls", etc. And you have to use the Sheets menu in VectorWorks to show each story separately.

[smoothbase]

It is hard to explain but no I have not all my objects on a single layer, I have a project with several layers like 1st floor plan with Z and ?Z, 2d floor plan with Z and ?Z and so on until the 6th floor plan and the roof plan. Some layers with front view mostly in 2D,sections in 2d and 3D. I have also displayed some photographies of the existing buildings around.I built 10 views in the sheet menu ( I am still calling view in the sheet menu instead of viewport since I do not know exactly the difference )

Now I would like to export that huge file, 160MG, to AutoCad 2000.

I got a mess with the entire file and I think I am getting something when I only export the layer open on my desk. Then I export another layer and so on.The AutoCad guy gets all the independent files on the burned CD instead of one file like in VW, but he told me it does not matter .

If you think about a better answer to my problem I am still waiting

Thanks again for your time

Jean-Pierre

[jan15]

I'm sorry, Jean-Pierre. I still don't understand the organization of your file, nor what problem you're experiencing. But now that you've explained it in more detail, at least I understand that I don't understand.

Perhaps you could try again, explaining your system and the problem completely? Are there 10 Sheets in your file? Are there multiple Classes as well as multiple Layers in your file? And if so, what are the Classes used for? Do the Sheet definitions specify what classes are to be visible, as well as what layers are to be visible? What are the different Classes and Layers on each sheet used for? Why do you want to export everything in one file, if it's working all right when you export 10 separate files?

It would help to use the terms that VectorWorks uses. For example, you used the words View, Viewport, and Sheet as if they all mean the same thing. But those words have specific meanings in VectorWorks, and they describe three completely different and unrelated features of the program.