Below is a summary of the new features for the import/export of AutoCAD 2000 files in MicroStation/J v7.1, MicroStation PowerDraft v7.1, MicroStation PowerScope v7.1, Project Review, and Viecon.review (all versions are v07.01.01.36 and above).
Line Weight to Line Weight Mapping
AutoCAD 2000 line weights can be mapped to MicroStation line weights via DWG BASIC methods:
MbeWeightWeightTable.addImportEntry AcadLineWeight, MsLineWeight
MbeWeightWeightTable.addExportEntry AcadLineWeight, MsLineWeight
MbeWeightWeightTable.addImportExportEntry AcadLineWeight, MsLineWeight
MbeWeightWeightTable.addImportEntryFromFile TableFileName[, EnvVar]
MbeWeightWeightTable.addExportEntryFromFile TableFileName[, EnvVar]
MbeWeightWeightTable.addImportExportEntryFromFile TableFileName[, EnvVar]
where:
- AcadLineWeight is the line weight index in AutoCAD
- MsLineWeight is the line weight index in MicroStation
- TableFileName is the name of the table file that maps the weights. The text file can be edited using any text editor (for example, MicroStation Basic Editor, Notepad, Word, etc.). The first column is AutoCAD line weight and the second is MicroStation line weight.
The following example will convert AutoCAD line weight 30 (0.3mm or 0.012") to MicroStation weight number 2. In the second and third examples, entities with weights BYLAYER/BYBLOCK will be converted to the weights according to the layers or blocks they belong to. In the final example, those with weight DEFAULT will be forced to be weight number 3.
Example: MbeWeightWeightTable.addImportEntry 30, 2
More examples:
MbeWeightWeightTable.addImportEntry MBE_WEIGHT_ByLayer, -1
-
- will use the line weight of the layer an entity is on and map that line weight index to MicroStation line weight.
MbeWeightWeightTable.addImportEntry MBE_WEIGHT_ByBlock, -1
-
- will use the line weight of the block an entity belongs to and map that line weight index to MicroStation line weight.
MbeWeightWeightTable.addImportEntry MBE_WEIGHT_Default, 3
-
- will map AutoCAD line weight DEFAULT to line weight 3.
Like color and linetype, AutoCAD 2000 line weight has BYLAYER and BYBLOCK. The behavior in line weight is the same as it is in color and linetype. Map BYLAYER/BYBLOCK to -1 to obtain the line weight value of the layer/block. If BYLAYER/BYBLOCK is mapped to a valid MicroStation line weight index, any entity with BYLAYER/BLOCK will be forced to use that line weight value, instead of the value of the layer/block. Another special value present in line weight is DEFAULT. Similar to BYLAYER/BYBLOCK, DEFAULT may be mapped to -1 to get the default value of an entity. Any other value will force DEFAULT to be set to that specific value.
Make a Copy of Attached Image File on Export
By default, if a raster attachment in a DGN file is an AutoCAD supported format, the resultant DWG image attachment will reference the same raster file without copying it. If the raster format is not supported by AutoCAD but can be converted to a TIFF file, which is a supported format in AutoCAD, the raster file will be converted to a TIFF file with the same root name and in the same path but with a .tif extension name.
There is an option to copy an attached raster file to a user-specified destination:
MbeDWGExportSettings.copyRasterFileTo = "javascript:void(null);"
will make a copy of the attached raster file to folder c:\delivery\imagefiles\. If a raster format is not supported in AutoCAD, a converted TIFF file, instead of the original file, will be copied to this folder. Consequently the resultant image attachments in the DWG file will reference those in the new folder, instead of those in the original folder.
If an asterisk character (*) is used for file location, raster files will be copied to the directory to where the DWG is exported.
Make an AutoCAD UCS from a MicroStation Rotated View
A rotated view in MicroStation is oriented, but it is not true in AutoCAD where the cursor and UCS icon are always aligned with view. This is acceptable as far as data is concerned. If an oriented look is desired, however, the following option can be turned on so that a UCS will be created to orient the view in AutoCAD. Because in a UCS coordinate readouts may be different than they were in MicroStation, this option is not recommended for general purposes.
This item should have the following setting:
MbeDWGExportSettings.convertRotatedViewToUcs = MBE_On
where MBE_on will convert rotated view to UCS and MBE_Off will not.
Convert Special Characters
When exporting texts, special symbols such as ±, 1/2, Ø, or any other ASCII value that is greater than 127 can be (or not) converted to AutoCAD special codes prefixed with %%. The following setting can be used for such a purpose:
MbeDWGExportSettings.convertSpecialCharacters = MBE_On
This setting makes the translator convert all special symbols, except for multibyte language, to AutoCAD codes. This setting will produce the effect that the characters look the same. However, each of these characters is prefixed with %%. Sometimes this is not desirable, particularly if you map a font to a shape file that supports special symbols in AutoCAD as they do in MicroStation. In that case, consider using MBE_Off to not convert these characters.
Unsupported AutoCAD 2000 Objects
The following AutoCAD 2000 objects are not supported:
- RText
- Arc Aligned Text
- Wipeout
- Layouts other than the active one
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