topic DWG/DXF Font Conversion File? in Collaboration with other software

DWG/DXF Font Conversion File?

Thomas Holm — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 10:25:55 GMT

I usually Import or Merge DWGs, but this time I'd like to Place it as an external drawing. Thus I run into the font issue - I don't like seeing the Autocad TXT font that's too thin on the Mac, so i want to exchange it for Arial Narrow.

Since the placed Drawing is an uneditable entity, i need to do this at translation time. So I read the Help file about the Font Conversion File:

"A default version of this dictionary is installed during ArchiCAD installation. It is country- and platform-dependent but otherwise standard. You may wish to duplicate and alter the default dictionary."

Now please tell me: Where the f is it???

Re: DWG/DXF Font Conversion File?

Thomas Holm — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 17:02:01 GMT

Lasercad's eminent support person Ben Odonnell gave me the solution, see the attached image that I take the liberty to reproduce, since I can't find this location in the Archicad Help.

Re: DWG/DXF Font Conversion File?

Thomas Holm — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 17:34:19 GMT

Houston, we have a problem!
I was a bit hasty in my last reply in this self-conversation. Didn't test before posting
The font conversion function needs an .xml flie (as stated in the Help section).
But the file supplied is a .txt file. And the dialog refuses to let me select a .txt. Its the same in the AC11 INT and the SWE versions.

What gives?
Is nobody using this function?

Re: DWG/DXF Font Conversion File?

Eduardo Rolon — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:09:39 GMT

Have you tried just changing the extension to XML intead of txt. AFAIK a XML file is just a text file.

Re: DWG/DXF Font Conversion File?

Brad Elliott — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:20:21 GMT

I'm on 10 and I don't know about the txt file but can't you just set the font in the Font-style conversion window in the DXF-DWG Translation Setup? I've done it before with success.

Re: DWG/DXF Font Conversion File?

Thomas Holm — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 22:55:04 GMT

ejrolon wrote:
Have you tried just changing the extension to XML intead of txt. AFAIK a XML file is just a text file.

At home now, I'll test that tomorrow. I know it's a text file, but like HTML I thought it had to be formatted in some special way to be interpreted as XML.

Whatever I think it's a shameful error to distribute the program with a template conversion file in the wrong format! Somebody should have noticed this before, AC11 has been in circulation for 6 months now.

On the other hand, if a text file will do, why ask for an XML? This reeks!

Re: DWG/DXF Font Conversion File?

Thomas Holm — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:06:58 GMT

Brad wrote:
I'm on 10 and I don't know about the txt file but can't you just set the font in the Font-style conversion window in the DXF-DWG Translation Setup? I've done it before with success.

I thought so but it didn't work when I tested. It seems Autocad Styles are not equivalent to Fonts. (But then, why have the ability to translate styles to fonts? Or is it fonts to styles that's meant?)

It's fully possible that I did something wrong though. But when I entered TXT as the Autocad "style", and Arial as the Archicad "font", nothing happened.
Another source of confusion might be that I don't know if this option works both ways (although "Font conversion file" does according to the Help text).

This is one of the important reasons for separating the import and export translators - some options only work one way, and it's not always clear which case applies. (Wish poll posted).

Re: DWG/DXF Font Conversion File?

Eduardo Rolon — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:09:33 GMT

Software make our life easier… perish the though.

As I tell my students in software A+B is not necessarily equal to B+A and if it is it may be a coincidence.

Re: DWG/DXF Font Conversion File?

Thomas Holm — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 23:41:16 GMT

Software make our life easier… perish the thought.

What I'd really like is the person at Graphisoft who is responsible for this chapter to come forward and explain. Or at least point to some more thorough documentation of the process.

Re: DWG/DXF Font Conversion File?

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 22:32:26 GMT

I never thought that INT or USA users with standard western encodings would have such a problem. I found back in ArchiCAD 7 there were in the Greek version some conversion files (XML? I can't remember) character by character for the DWG/DXF translator so the encoding was right and you could change the font manualy later. There are no such files after AC7 and I could not make the old ones work with newer versions. Everything usefull here is in my full interest.
PS. XReadcfg.txt in the addons folder has to do with the conversion of text codings in texts, part names, even dialogues inside archicad UI between MACs and Windows. I am in Greece so when I work with some greek libraries when this txt is wrong I see cyrillic Chars instead of the greek ones or the dates (in greek as my system) show ?????/???? etc.
PSS. I can find the old files and attach them here. They are not my work I think it is the greek translator of ArchiCAD that owes the copywrites but if anyone interesting in these I will call and ask him.

Re: DWG/DXF Font Conversion File?

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 23:12:09 GMT

Sorry Thomas I just saw that you are from Sweden, so forget about INT users they may not have any problem with encodings.

Re: DWG/DXF Font Conversion File?

Thomas Holm — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:11:22 GMT

I did some work with the translation config files in AC 5 or 6 or something, I don't remember. At that time XML hadn't come into fashion yet, so it was all text files. (In cases like this, I really can't see why you'd have to use XML when text files do fully well!).

In this case, it's not a matter of life and death to me, it's just that I want font mapping when dragging an external drawing instead of having to Open or Merge it to edit.

I still haven't had time to test this thoroughly. I doubt that a text file really becomes an xml-interpretable file by just changing the extension, but it's fully possible that the capability to interprete the text file remains within Archicad. I still regard it as a bug that the program ships with a Font Conversion file that is not selectable within the program because it's format is wrong.

I'd appreciate very much if you could send me a copy of the working Xreadconfig file that you have. I realize I won't be able to use it, but I may be able to understand its format. I'll PM you my email.

Re: DWG/DXF Font Conversion File?

Thomas Holm — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:00:18 GMT

Thomas wrote:
ejrolon wrote:
Have you tried just changing the extension to XML intead of txt. AFAIK a XML file is just a text file.
At home now, I'll test that tomorrow. I know it's a text file, but like HTML I thought it had to be formatted in some special way to be interpreted as XML.

I've tested it now. Doesn't work. As I thought, changing the extension doesn't make a file .xml format. Gives the attached error dialog.

Now I'm back at square one. Where is the "supplied" font conversion file? Please?