Is Mapping the answer ?

[Adrian2]

Dear Folks;

I'm using SW2006 SP1 and want to save a SW drawing as an autocad file. I have already defined the autocad drawings layers within my solidworks drawing. That works fine.

When the drawing is converted to .dwg format my object lines and hidden lines are on the same layer. So inside autocad I have to use use qselect by linetype to get them converted back to their own layer.

Also, even though the text is defined as "romans" within solidworks options, when it gets converted to dwg it reverts back to autocad "standard" textstyle.

Is it possible to make a map file to correct these problems during the conversion process and if so , how do you do it.

Best Regards

Adrian Dunevein

http://www.aaadrafting.com

 

[ctopher]

Sorry, I'm not sure how to do it. Never wanted to. I don't see why you would want to convert back to AutoCAD.
Maybe also ask in Autodesk forum.

Chris
Systems Analyst
SolidWorks/PDMWorks 05
AutoCAD 05
ctopher's home site (updated 06-21-05)
FAQ559-1100
FAQ559-716

 

[Heckler]

Here is what SWx Help directory says about what you're wanting to do. I've ran the test and I will let you know if it works once a designer comes into the office since I don't have ACAD on my computer.

In the Export Options dialog box, select from the following DXF/DWG options:

Version. Select the type supported by the target system. The SolidWorks DXF and DWG translators support all AutoCAD® versions up to and including AutoCAD 2002.

Fonts. Select either TrueType or AutoCAD STANDARD only. If you select AutoCAD STANDARD only, the drawFontMap.txt mapping file is used. See AutoCAD Font Support for details.

Line styles. Select AutoCAD Standard Styles to map SolidWorks line fonts to the original AutoCAD stock line types. Line font weight is mapped to the closest AutoCAD line weight value. AutoCAD line weight value mapping is only supported for AutoCAD Version setting R2000 and higher. Select SolidWorks Custom Styles to use the SolidWorks line styles.

Custom Map SolidWorks to DXF. Implements mapping. See DXF/DWG Mapping.

Don't show mapping on each save. Prevents the SolidWorks To DXF/DWG Mapping dialog box from appearing every time you save a drawing with Custom Map SolidWorks to DXF selected. The map file specified in the Map file box is used.

Map file. Select a previously saved map file, or browse to the desired file.

1:1 Scale output. Exports the drawing using a model geometry scale of 1:1 and enable the Base scale list. The paper or sheet scale is not normally used when you enable this option. Select Warn me if enabled to see a warning message if the option is enabled. You can turn the warning off in the warning dialog box, and this option allows you to turn it back on.

Base scale. Refers to the basis used for the 1:1 scale output of the geometry, based on the various drawing view scales on the sheet. If you have a view selected, the view scale and count values for this selected view appear in the Base scale list. If no view is selected, the view scale with the highest count is displayed by default. Count indicates the number of occurrences of this scale in the drawing document.




SolidWorks accurately displays AutoCAD® fonts when you import DXF/DWG drawing files, even if AutoCAD is not installed on your computer. SolidWorks has added True Type fonts to support the most popular AutoCAD fonts. The fonts are mapped using the default mapping file located at \Data\drawFontMap.txt.

In the default mapping file, the left column lists the AutoCAD SHX or True Type font from the source drawings. The right column lists the SolidWorks or Windows True Type font that the AutoCAD drawing text is being mapped to in the new SolidWorks drawing. You can edit the mapping file as needed. When mapping additional AutoCAD fonts to SolidWorks or Windows True Type fonts, note the following:

Both font lists must be the simple font names, without extensions

The SolidWorks or Windows True Type fonts must be available in the operating system's \Fonts directory. For example, for Windows NT and Windows 2000, this is System drive:\WinNT\Fonts, while for Windows 9x it is System drive:\Windows\Fonts. If the True Type font is not available, the SolidWorks drawing document default font is used.

The SolidWorks or Windows True Type fonts are also available to use in SolidWorks original documents. When you save SolidWorks documents as DXF or DWG files, you can use the drawFontMap.txt mapping file to reverse map any SolidWorks or Windows True Type fonts back into AutoCAD SHX or True Type fonts. When the drawing files are opened in AutoCAD, the exact fonts are used - no substitution of default fonts is required. This improves the visual fidelity of the drawing files.

The following list shows the fonts contained in the default mapping file.



Best Regards,

Heckler
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SW2005 SP 5.0 & Pro/E 2001
Dell Precision 370
P4 3.6 GHz, 1GB RAM
XP Pro SP2.0
NIVIDA Quadro FX 1400
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"Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success." - Henry Ford

 

[Adrian2]

Thanks Heckler;

Apparently the drawfontmap.txt file is used when reading in autocad drawings to solidworks. This works fine.

When you export to dwg format, it appears you need to set up a new font map file. Strangely enough, If you try to use the exisitng one, you get an error saying that this is a SW98+ mapping format and the file needs to be updated.

I tried creating a new mapping file and I solved the problem with the text fonts. It appears that the mapping file option gives you control over layers and linetypes too.

I will do more experimentation and see if I can get the file to translate exactly to the format required as the mapping dialogue box seems pretty easy to use.

Many thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

Best Regards

Adrian