Exporting to A'cad 2004

[Guest]

I tried to email a file of a 2 storey house to an Autocad 2004 user.

The file has 5 layers: plans & elevations. I first saved the file as a .dxf and sent it as an attachment. The recipient could open it, but only the top floor plan showed.

How can I get email it so they can access all the layers?

I'm running an iMac, OS10.2.9, VWA 10.5.0

[Robert Anderson]

Make all the layers visible. DWG export is view sensitive, so only visible layers will be exported.

[Guest]

Robert

Thank you for that.

I have made all the layers visible - it looks a terrible jumbled mess on my screen - do I now just make a dxf export file with .dxf on the end? And does Acad 2004 see the layers as different colours?

Regards

DW

[P Retondo]

David, because of the differences between AutoCAD and VectorWorks, you will have to export each floor as a separate .dwg file. Your colleague will be able to put them together using the standard AutoCAD side-by-side or xref system.

AutoCAD can actually do the same kind of things we do in VW, but it's not set up to do them easily and most users have different habits. So they miss out on the pure good sense of building each floor on top of the one below.

[Guest]

Peter

Thank you. I had the feeling that was the way to do it, but as you say, the recipient doesn't get the relationship between the now separate files.

Ah well, that's their loss, isn't it. I will point out to them the advantages of switching!

Regards

DW

[weeves]

Another way is to move your plans onto one layer. Go to layers then classes and make all visable. Then > Organize>Layer options>Active only. Then go thrue your layers cutting and pasting on one layer. Each layer you cut and move into the one selected layer, just move it over right after you paste, say about 150 feet. Put you floor plans in the middle, elevations above... Purge unused obects and layers. ...Then export the one layer with everything on it into one dwg file.

[katebjohnson]

To expand upon weeves comments above: I make a layer called ACAD. Move a copy of everything to that layer. I also follow up with PDF's of my sheets. This helps the Auto cad user see how I intend on displaying the info.

[Vitanaut]

There is a far simpler way to do this.

Change the default selecvtion in the export dxf dwg dialog box from classes to layers then check to export invisible layers.

I frequently do this with 20 layer files with no problem. Just make sure all the classes you want to export are visible. I must say that I don't know how this works with saved sheets though.