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Bad dwg export from AC11!

Anonymous
Not applicable
Graphisoft has ruined dwg export in AC11 again!

When AC11 saves to DWG, it exports blank Background fills too. This generates a big problem - the fills are exported as AutoCAD "wipeout" objects. "Wipeout" is an object that is used to mask other objects behind it, it mimics the AC blank Background fill.

And it really hides everything behind and in front of it!

"Wipeout" objects are put in the same layer as the main elements - walls, fills, etc. So they cannot be separated By Layer and deleted. Also "wipeout" is the only object in Autocad cannot be recognized by the "Filter" command! The "Filter" command is the equivalent of Find&Select.

So, we end up with a dwg file, stacked with unnecessary fills which cannot be removed, thus making the file unusable!


And most Autocad users don't even know of the existence of the "wipeout" object!

There was such a problem when AC10 was first released. I remember a lot of posts in this Forum about it! And it was reared with the latest hotfixes. Now it appears again! There seems to be a broken connection between the people who make the new releases and those, who make the hotfixes! Why do you make the same mistake again?!

P.S. A workaround:
Save as dwg! Then open the dwg in AC and remove all the fills with blank background with Find&Select! Resave as dwg!
9 REPLIES 9
Karl Ottenstein
Moderator
This sounds like a possible user error...??

Here is what is supposed to happen. If the 'blank' background is assigned the 'pen' indicated by the screen icon (see screenshot), then the AutoCAD wipeout is supposed to be exported. If instead the transparent pen is assigned, then no fill is exported. A white pen is yet another situation.

As to AutoCAD users not knowing what a 'wipeout' is... I think you'll find that most AutoCAD users do not have a clue as to half of the features in the software. 😉

Karl
pens.jpg
One of the forum moderators
AC 28 USA and earlier   •   macOS Sequoia 15.2, MacBook Pro M2 Max 12CPU/30GPU cores, 32GB
Isn't this (one reason) why it's suggested that one publish to and not save as DWG?
MVO.jpg
MacBook Pro Apple M2 Max, 96 GB of RAM
AC27 US (5003) on Mac OS Ventura 13.6.2
Started on AC4.0 in 91/92/93; full-time user since AC8.1 in 2004
Anonymous
Not applicable
Karl, I use all these pens - 91, -1 and 0. I have also assigned white colour to pen 19, as it is easier not no change it for each Library Object. Probably using a certain one of these pen would make AC skip the "wipeout", but this would change my workflow.

My trouble is this:
1. There was such a a problem in AC10.
2. It was solved.
3. Now we have it again in AC11.

Laura, I haven't used publish for dwg output. Doesn't Save as do the same:
save as.gif
kliment wrote:
I haven't used publish for dwg output. Doesn't Save as do the same:
I honestly couldn't tell you, as publishing was the way I was taught; of course, I haven't had any problems with background fills in ACAD, either.
MacBook Pro Apple M2 Max, 96 GB of RAM
AC27 US (5003) on Mac OS Ventura 13.6.2
Started on AC4.0 in 91/92/93; full-time user since AC8.1 in 2004
Karl Ottenstein
Moderator
kliment wrote:
Karl, I use all these pens - 91, -1 and 0. I have also assigned white colour to pen 19, as it is easier not no change it for each Library Object.
I'm out of ideas then.

Slightly off topic: The reason my pen 19 isn't white is that the US library maintains 91 as the white pen for compatability with all prior libraries...but which makes us incompatible with the international libs (unless we also map 19 to white when using those parts).

Cheers,
Karl
One of the forum moderators
AC 28 USA and earlier   •   macOS Sequoia 15.2, MacBook Pro M2 Max 12CPU/30GPU cores, 32GB
Wokka
Contributor
Kliment,
Any progress on this subject?
My consultants are asking for all fill sto be removed so they don't have the problem, but I still have to use the workaround.
Funny how I can't invoice the consultants for all this additional work I do to provide them with clean drawings for them to resubmit to me?!!?
Warwick Lloyd-Martin
3 D E N V I R O N M E N T
http://www.3de.com.au
Windows 11 Pro 64bit
ArchiCad 4.55>27 AUS
Lumion 12.5/2023
D5 Render
Anonymous
Not applicable
Thehe is some progress, but not in the right direction! I moved the project to AC10 and still work this way.

I am planning to buy a new computer next month and if a new hotfix is out by then I'll give AC11 a new try.

I used Autocad 2004. On monday I installed Autocad 2006, but there still isn't support for the Wipeout objects in the Filter command. Well, I expected this! 😉
Djordje
Virtuoso
Set your Model View Options for all the fills to Outline only, and your translator to Transparent background. It should work.

Just copy the views to DWG Out folder in the VIew Map (CTRL drag after selection) and change them all at once - apply the previously defined MVO. Then edit the Translator and use it in the Publisher.

A good discussion on similar, if not the same, topic is here:

http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=19924
Djordje



ArchiCAD since 4.55 ... 1995
HP Omen
Da3dalus
Enthusiast
I have the same problem. In my case, I really would like to avoid messing with the model views, as I'm actually just setting up the Publisher to export all of my drawing sheets (with drawings in model space). That way, the consultants have all of the information they need, as well as the plan background, and I can also do a quick export for when the client demands record drawings. Quick and easy!

For the most part, this works great, but it creates the "wipeouts", which aren't actually wipeouts (they only occur in annotations)... they are actually embedded "Raster Images" that you CAN filter in AutoCAD. You can tell by selecting a wall corner in AutoCAD, and looking at the Properties panel. Clicking the Selection box at the top will reveal that you have 2 Lines and a Raster Image!

You can fix this easily in the DWG by entering Model Space, going to Tools > Quick Select (or use the icon on the Properties panel), and set Object Type = Raster Image, and Operator = Select All, and hit OK. You'll have all of these nasty things selected, and you can hit Delete. Ta-Da, a normal AutoCAD drawing!

Sometimes I like to use opaque fills in my drawing sheets, and I don't want to spend time setting up new sheets with new Views with new Model View Options, so I use the workaround.

HOWEVER, it would be REAL NICE if Graphisoft could add an item to the DWG Translator Settings to turn this off. It doesn't really help AutoCAD files look any better. Unless I hear otherwise, I'll put it on a wishlist.
Chuck Kottka
Orcutt Winslow
Phoenix, Arizona, USA

ArchiCAD 25 (since 4.5)
Macbook Pro 15" Touchbar OSX 10.15 Core i7 2.9GHz/16GB RAM/Radeon Pro560 4GB