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Delete Classes and RETAIN Original Graphic Attributes


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I've worked with a number people who INSIST on making classes with line weights.

Not only is it pointless, but it adds needless complexity.

 

Anyway, when grabbing details and whatnot from old project libraries, often I'l bring something into a current drawing with these line weight classes.

 

Obviously, I can delete and convert classes, but I would like to be able to delete these classes, assign them to the "None" class while retaining the original graphic attributes of the offending classes, the original line weights, specifically. Ideally, I'd be able to assign new line weights when converting/deleting, but that's probably asking for too much.

 

Is the ANY way to do this? 

 

If NOT, and I keep trying, it would be a GREAT Feature Option for Classes.

Especially if you want to make classes from imported drawings and details conform to your standards.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Evil Classes.jpg

Edited by jeffharris
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If I understand correctly:

User the Eyedropper tool to pick up the target lineweight

Then take a look at the Select Similar Tool to select all objects with a this lineweight

Then assign all those objects to the None Class. Eyedropper the correct lineweight upon them and delete the offending class.

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3 minutes ago, bcd said:

If I understand correctly:

User the Eyedropper tool to pick up the target lineweight

Then take a look at the Select Similar Tool to select all objects with a this lineweight

Then assign all those objects to the None Class. Eyedropper the correct lineweight upon them and delete the offending class.

 

Sure, I realize I can do it that way, but it's time consuming.

I also have symbols with the offending Classes, which means I'd have to dig into every one to change the Class.

I want to do it GLOBALLY, in an entire drawing file, in one shot.

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I know a designer who does this and I think it's a habit inherited from Pen colours/Pen weights from the days of Rotring pens and pen plotters.

  • Make sure that the None class has "Use at Creation" deselected
  • Select all the objects whose classes you want to delete
  • in the attributes palette select "Remove by class settings"
  • with the objects still selected, in the Pen style menu select use class style and in the colour below select "Color by class"
  • Delete the offending classes!
  • The objects should keep their pen weight but change their color.

There's probably a script that will do this but this approach took me less than 30 secs

 

Hope that works for you....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I was just looking and there are a lot of threads about ADDING By Class to objects, but none I can find that REMOVE By Class from objects.

 

It is certainly scriptable.

 

Just to confirm, you would like a script that will access EVERY object in a drawing and change ALL attributes of EACH object that are currently set to By Class to the SAME setting as the current class of the object but without the By Class setting.

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52 minutes ago, Pat Stanford said:

I was just looking and there are a lot of threads about ADDING By Class to objects, but none I can find that REMOVE By Class from objects.

 

It is certainly scriptable.

 

Too bad my scripting skills are close to nil.

 

52 minutes ago, Pat Stanford said:

Just to confirm, you would like a script that will access EVERY object in a drawing and change ALL attributes of EACH object that are currently set to By Class to the SAME setting as the current class of the object but without the By Class setting.

 

YES!

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1 hour ago, markdd said:

I know a designer who does this and I think it's a habit inherited from Pen colours/Pen weights from the days of Rotring pens and pen plotters.

 

Not really. I assign different line weights, , etc. for graphic clarity and to make beautiful drawings.

I don't do flat, generic, visually boring AutoCAD diagrams.

 

One of the best things about Vectorworks is the ability to draw in an almost painterly fashion using all the different lines, colors, hatches, fills and other attributes.

 

Quote
  • Make sure that the None class has "Use at Creation" deselected
  • Select all the objects whose classes you want to delete
  • in the attributes palette select "Remove by class settings"
  • with the objects still selected, in the Pen style menu select use class style and in the colour below select "Color by class"
  • Delete the offending classes!
  • The objects should keep their pen weight but change their color.

 

Yeah, that's doable, but on a gradual, object by object method. Hunting down every object with a specific class would take forever.

I wanted an everything in a particular class in an entire drawing solution. A magic bullet. 

 

Quote

There's probably a script that will do this but this approach took me less than 30 secs

 

That's a good idea, I'll do a little Googling to see if I can find something like that.

Edited by jeffharris
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  • 9 months later...

We encounter this problem in our office all the time. When we get like drawings exported as dwg from Revit it comes with thousands of classes and symbols and all line weights are set by class style. All methods you have suggested in this thread so far would be way too time consuming. We need to get rid of all the symbols and classes and assign them to one class to import into the VW drawing e.g. as a flat background. However the only way to do this currently makes you loose all the line weights and graphics. 

What I would like to do is once all symbols are converted to lines to pick them all up and have an option to de-select class style but at the same time keep their line weights and maybe line stiles too. To our utter frustration it seems currently VW does not offer this as an option. I wonder why this was never addressed since this is a problem since many years? 

Anyone here who has a one or two step solution where you can pick up all elements at the same time? 

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Have you considered the "Shuttle File" method? Import the Revit file into a blank VW file. Then reference that file into your working file using a Design Layer Viewport.  All of the Classes will be isolated in the Shuttle File and you will still be able to see and snap to the drawing. If you need to update, just delete the information from the Shuttle File and import the new Revit into to.

 

If you search Shuttle File in the forums there is a lot more information available.

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19 minutes ago, Pat Stanford said:

Have you considered the "Shuttle File" method? Import the Revit file into a blank VW file. Then reference that file into your working file using a Design Layer Viewport.  All of the Classes will be isolated in the Shuttle File and you will still be able to see and snap to the drawing. If you need to update, just delete the information from the Shuttle File and import the new Revit into to.

 

If you search Shuttle File in the forums there is a lot more information available.

These aren't Revit files, just Vectorworks files from various projects and clients I've gathered over time.

It's really a case of Class abuse. Tons of redundant or useless classes I want to eradicate.

 

I've done the Open or Import into in a separate file and delete or rename classes. It just takes too much time.

 

It would be great if there were a "Convert Class…" command in the Class tab of the Organization dialogue, with a way to assign new attributes, or retain some or all of the existing graphic attributes. I can't be the only user who could benefit from a feature like this.

 

 

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Hi Pat, 

Thank you for your response. What you propose works if one is very happy with the graphics etc.. However, in most cases we want to manipulate the import since some of the graphics often does not work. Or we want to use portions of it as lines and combine it with the real VW drawing/file etc.. We had countless situation where we would have needed to do what Jeff and I were describing. 

 

Also even when export into a separate file and only x-referenced into the main file, e.g.  like with a view port reference, we find we have to remove symbols, since they can give problems or make the main file unstable. Also almost all the time we have to change the line colors if we get files from other consultants. In the enormous time pressure we are mostly under often we do not have the time to wait till the consultants react to our request and re-export their files, or they tell us that they do not have the time and resources to change the colors etc.. These are the realities of life when working with a whole army of different consultants on large projects as we do. So often we have to do it from our end in a great rush. Now here with the colors we encounter the same problem: VW does not let me change the colors in one go if the lines are assigned to a class style. 

Edited by Christian S
spelling mistake
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