Importing Dwg's - Again

[HumbleChief]

I thought I had a grip on importing DWG's but I have a truss layout that comes in every color but black unless I explode every block and re-color every line. There must be an easier method.

 

Here's the DWG file but when I import I get all the crazy colors but no way I can find to change everything to black.

 

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

VALDES DWG TRUSS LAYOUT.zip

[HumbleChief]

What a horrible feeling. Cannot import this DWG in a readable fashion to save my life. Tried every option, every setting, just get all the great ACAD colors and wonderful jumbled layers. Opened in Draft Sight - even more lost. What do you do when faced with such things? Do you all have to know a little bit of ACAD to succeed? Lost.

 

Is there a quick Draft Sight or ACAD tutorial I might look at?

[Kiwideziner]

If you import the dwg in with all to there own layers you can then change the layer colors in CA Layer display options dbx

[Kiwideziner]

here is a plan file

valdez ex dwg.plan

[HumbleChief]

Thanks Graeme but I get pretty much what you have with all the different layer colors with no way I can find to change them except choose item, expand block, choose color, next-next for many many different elements.

 

Like each text item is a block of some kind in Rich Text. Select block, unblock, select text, open RT dbx, select text, change to black - for each text item? Is that really how it's done?

 

When looking at the plan you posted I get the following - screen shot. It still has many many elements that are different colors but if I 'select all' they can't be changed so it seems they have to each be chosen, exploded, color changed rearranged etc.? Plus there are white text elements off the screen as well. No way to change all at once? Could have sworn I was OK at this but this one has me flumoxed.

 

[HumbleChief]

Done and defeated.

[Kiwideziner]

Text is the only problem all the rest can be changed to black in 2 secs literally. just select all.

Text with arrows seems to get blocked by CA this always causes a headache.

[HumbleChief]

Text is the only problem all the rest can be changed to black in 2 secs literally. just select all.

Text with arrows seems to get blocked by CA this always causes a headache.

Thanks again for the post Graeme. You're right it does only take 2 seconds, literally, to do 1/50th of the work required to get a usable DWG. The text and arrows are the time consuming bit and in this case there's a LOT of text and arrows. I'm trying a different strategy and will see if I can learn some ACAD and change the original to read all/more black. What do others do with DWG's? Just thrash through it? Is there a better way?

[Gary_M]

Thanks again for the post Graeme. You're right it does only take 2 seconds, literally, to do 1/50th of the work required to get a usable DWG. The text and arrows are the time consuming bit and in this case there's a LOT of text and arrows. I'm trying a different strategy and will see if I can learn some ACAD and change the original to read all/more black. What do others do with DWG's? Just thrash through it? Is there a better way?

 

Larry, as you start going through it remember that a lot of the colors that are used in autocad  are user set for working with a black screen. Have you tried changing your CA background color to black just to see what you can work with? It would be worth trying out I would think.

[HumbleChief]

I ended up looking up some tutorials and learning a bit of ACAD (or DraftSight in this case) and changed the background to white then changed each layer in DrafSight to black. There were a LOT of layers and I didn't get them all but it looks OK in Chief now.

 

Still curious what others do. Anyone? Do you import DWG's Gary? How do you handle all the various ACAD layers and colors?

[HumbleChief]

Larry, as you start going through it remember that a lot of the colors that are used in autocad  are user set for working with a black screen. Have you tried changing your CA background color to black just to see what you can work with? It would be worth trying out I would think.

Thanks Gary. I can see all the elements, I just can't change them without painstakingly going through each and every block, changing colors one at a time. If that's how it's done then that's how it's done and I'll muscle through when needed. Was just curious as to what others did.

[Gary_M]

Since I work with autocad as well it's not much of a problem for me. When you are going to have someone send you a dwg ask them to make all the layer colors whatever you want to see them in. It takes all of 2 seconds to do IF they are using layers correctly. I say that because in autocad you can make any given thing whatever color you want irrespective of the layer color. That is "bad form" but a lot of people do that. If that is the case then if all the blocks are exploded in the drawing then you can draw a marquee around everything in the drawing and change the color as well. Even that only takes a few more seconds but then the blocks and perhaps some other entities are just bits and pieces then which can be a pain to work with. So, that is how it works!