Changing Line Color While Retaining Fill

[kwhitt]

I've got a CAD block of a range that I've exploded.  So far so good, as the fill is retained.  However, when I change the line color to something to more like 50% gray, I lose the fill and have a mess of lines to clean up.  Is there a way to do this without all the extra work of cleaning lines?  Thanks, Kevin

[DzinEye]

I don't know the reason it's changing, which is the root of your question, but I'm thinking you could leave the lines alone and just change the layer to 50% gray?

[kwhitt]

11 minutes ago, DzinEye said:

I don't know the reason it's changing, which is the root of your question, but I'm thinking you could leave the lines alone and just change the layer to 50% gray?

 

Mark - thanks for the reply.  That is exactly what I'm doing.  I change the layer to 50% gray on which all the segments lie.  I then select all of the segments and open all objects at once.  I tick the color by layer check box under the line style tab and the result is a jumbled mess with my fills lost.  Not sure if the fill is lost or the line drawing groups are the problem (which shouldn't matter if they're all on the same one).  This is typical behavior with any blocked object.  I don't understand why I am losing the fill just because I change the line color.  I thought someone here might have a work around.  Kevin

[DzinEye]

58 minutes ago, kwhitt said:

I then select all of the segments and open all objects at once.  I tick the color by layer check box under the line style tab and the result is a jumbled mess with my fills lost.

Ahh.. okay, so this is the part I was thinking you could avoid by changing the layer color in the ALDO... but if the lines are not already set to take the layer color I guess it's not an option.

[kwhitt]

13 minutes ago, DzinEye said:

Ahh.. okay, so this is the part I was thinking you could avoid by changing the layer color in the ALDO... but if the lines are not already set to take the layer color I guess it's not an option.

 

Mark - these segments were generated from a CAD block (GE Range).  So when exploded, they were on the fixture layer.  I tried to change the fixture layer's color and they remain black.  I moved all segments to CAD, Default layer and they remain black.  Not sure why...  The only way I am able to change the color is to open them (all at once or independently) and change within the DBX.

[DzinEye]

I can see from your pics that the mess of lines you get is all of the faces of the whole 3D model... not a 2D block.  
I'm assuming what you want for your light colored lines is just for 2D representation in a plan view.
Before exploding, try making a CAD detail from view  and using that for the 2D representation?

[kwhitt]

20 minutes ago, DzinEye said:

I can see from your pics that the mess of lines you get is all of the faces of the whole 3D model... not a 2D block.  
I'm assuming what you want for your light colored lines is just for 2D representation in a plan view.
Before exploding, try making a CAD detail from view  and using that for the 2D representation?

Thanks again Mark.  This was generated using a CAD detail from view.  Are proposing that I generate another CAD detail after exploding the 2D block?  I'll give that a try and report back.

[Alaskan_Son]

Kevin, I sent you a PM.

[kwhitt]

26 minutes ago, DzinEye said:

I can see from your pics that the mess of lines you get is all of the faces of the whole 3D model... not a 2D block.  
I'm assuming what you want for your light colored lines is just for 2D representation in a plan view.
Before exploding, try making a CAD detail from view  and using that for the 2D representation?

Well, that didn't work.  I get the same thing.  Is there an optimization function like "overkill" in AutoCAD that removes excessive or overlapping segments?

[kwhitt]

7 minutes ago, solver said:

Eric - how did you do it?  Did you change the color style before sending as CAD detail from view?  I am at a loss.  Thanks, Kevin

[DzinEye]

Hey Kevin,
I see you had the heavy-hitters helping you out, did you resolve this?
I think I never fully understood what you had going on... because if you change the layer color of any 3D symbol then it should change just as per Erics example.
Although I don't know why you aren't just using the 3D symbol, here's how you can get a clean line drawing...(no shading)

Use a an orthographic overview camera set to TOP VIEW from the 3D pulldown menu, then make a cad detail from that view.

[MarkMc]

If you have the 3D symbol why not just use CAD block management and insert the block? Explode, set to line color by layer, do whatever you want with the fills.

[kwhitt]

1 hour ago, DzinEye said:

Hey Kevin,
I see you had the heavy-hitters helping you out, did you resolve this?
I think I never fully understood what you had going on... because if you change the layer color of any 3D symbol then it should change just as per Erics example.
Although I don't know why you aren't just using the 3D symbol, here's how you can get a clean line drawing...(no shading)

Use a an orthographic overview camera set to TOP VIEW from the 3D pulldown menu, then make a cad detail from that view.

Hey Mark.  I had already created a CAD detail from view and it wasn't possible to change the line color of the blocked object.  Michael was helpful and got it sorted for me.  He taught be how to use Match Properties which basically selected all of the polylines that make up the fill.  From there, I was able to open only those object and change the lines back to invisible.  It worked quite well.

 

I have been creating CAD details from view for all my kitchen layouts instead of using plan views like I should be.  And I had already spent a good amount of time dimensioning/detailing the plan set.  I had to create a view with the kitchen footprint grayed out, so that I could locate plumbing for the island.  It's a plan our company has always done to minimize the unimportant.

 

Thanks again for the help.  Kevin

[kwhitt]

44 minutes ago, MarkMc said:

If you have the 3D symbol why not just use CAD block management and insert the block? Explode, set to line color by layer, do whatever you want with the fills.

 

15 minutes ago, solver said:

 

I did what Mark J suggested. Made a new CAD Block from the symbol, but maybe you don't have a symbol -- just the CAD Block.

 

Tell us more about what you are doing and why.

 

Mark - Yes, Michael was able to teach me CAD block management too.  Still so much to learn...

 

Eric - I had already started detailing a plan in a CAD detail that I sent over from plan view.  It became necessary to gray out the kitchen footprint for a detail I was working on.  Michael was able to show me two techniques to achieve this which I described above.

 

Thanks all for the input!  Kevin