Mask over mfgr's dwg

[Anonymous]

This dwg file was downloaded from the manufacturer's website. When I set the arrow over anything within the dotted line margin around the detail, the whole area is filled with the green fill. I need to work with this detail, and I can't figure out how to access the drawing elements to adjust it. Any suggestions? I have a similar request into the mfgr who seems mystified, too.

[Dave Seabury]

Bob,

Select the drawing, go to EDIT>RESHAPE>Explode into current view.
You will be presented with 2 options. One option keeps the orginal the other does not.

David

[Erich]

Be aware that doing this will pollute your layers and line types with any that are present in the .dwg file. Depending on your layering and line types systems, this may or may not be easy to clean up and thus may or may not be a big deal. If it is an issue, you may want to explode the drawing/details into a blank ArchiCAD file, change all layers and line types to something compatible and then copy/paste into your working file.

[Karl Ottenstein]

Explode should be a last resort. You see a single element because the dwg was placed with the drawing tool. If indeed you need to edit the elements, consider simply opening the DWG in a separate instance of ArchiCAD (File > Open, then select DWG as type, and adjust the translator as needed), adjust the layers, do your editing and go from there - perhaps simply copy/pasting the elements into your "real" file after you've changed all of the elements to proper layers. If all you need to do is turn off some dwg layers, the new layer functionality within the drawing tool in AC 14 lets you do that without any impact on the ArchiCAD layer structure.

Cheers,
Karl

[Anonymous]

Karl wrote:
...If all you need to do is turn off some dwg layers, the new layer functionality within the drawing tool in AC 14 lets you do that without any impact on the ArchiCAD layer structure.

Hey Karl,

Thanks for pointing out that nice little feature! It would have been a while before I would have spotted it myself

Would it have made sense for GS to actually publicise this a little more? It isn't mentioned in anywhere in the new features guide in the reference manual, only in the drawing section near the back on page 2312.

For those who use dwg details from manufacturers, this could be a massive productivity booster!

[Karl Ottenstein]

Peter wrote:

Karl wrote:
...If all you need to do is turn off some dwg layers, the new layer functionality within the drawing tool in AC 14 lets you do that without any impact on the ArchiCAD layer structure.

Hey Karl,

Thanks for pointing out that nice little feature! It would have been a while before I would have spotted it myself

Would it have made sense for GS to actually publicise this a little more? It isn't mentioned in anywhere in the new features guide in the reference manual, only in the drawing section near the back on page 2312.

For those who use dwg details from manufacturers, this could be a massive productivity booster!

You're welcome, Peter. 😉 Agree that GS kind of buried this one, especially since many people had submitted wishes for this.

It is on page 51 of the PDF AC 14 Reference Guide (New Features section). Strangely, it is under "Coordination with Engineers". True, this is a major use. But, all of us use manufacturer (and other) dwgs for details and all kinds of things, and so people might not notice it buried in that section. Here's what's on that page, for anyone interested who does not have AC 14 yet:

Drawing-Based Data Exchange
Despite their increased reliance on model-based data exchange, architects and engineers still rely
on each other’s CAD drawings to use as a reference in their respective models. The following
features improve the export and import of DWG files in ArchiCAD:

• New options in Drawing Tool Settings enable you to control a drawing’s visibility based on
the layers of the linked file, independently of the project’s layers. This way, you can place a
DWG in your project without importing all the source file attributes, yet still control the
visibility of its layers.

See Embedded Layers in ArchiCAD Help.

• Support for DWG formats used by all Autocad 2010-based applications

• Other usability enhancements:

- Save Marquee area as DWG: save only the parts you need from the window

- When opening XREF file, filter the imported drawing by layer (Partial Open)

- XREF Manager shows feedback on translator used by each XREF file

Basically, you get an Embedded Layers popup from the Drawing Tool settings that lets you turn off any layers in the dwf/dxf/dwg that you do not want displayed, all with no impact on the project layers. But, many other new features as you can see, too.

Cheers,
Karl

[Anonymous]

Thanks to all of you for this discussion. After I posted my message, I continued to "fool around" with this detail and found that I had mistakenly used the "Place External File" route instead of "Merge" to bring it into the model file. However, as Karl warned in his response, my layers were seriously corrupted in the merge process and it's taken a couple of hours to weed out the manufacturer's layers. I use a lot of mfgr details, and you've shown me a way to avoid bringing unwanted layers into a project when I use dwgs, and I appreciate that.

[Anonymous]

Karl wrote:
...It is on page 51 of the PDF AC 14 Reference Guide (New Features section). Strangely, it is under "Coordination with Engineers"....

I must have skimmed that bit and missed it. We don't really co-ordinate with engineers digitally, so I didn't pay too much attention on that section. We still get hand-drawn drawings and sketches from the structural engineer!

[Laszlo Nagy]

Bob wrote:
Thanks to all of you for this discussion. After I posted my message, I continued to "fool around" with this detail and found that I had mistakenly used the "Place External File" route instead of "Merge" to bring it into the model file. However, as Karl warned in his response, my layers were seriously corrupted in the merge process and it's taken a couple of hours to weed out the manufacturer's layers. I use a lot of mfgr details, and you've shown me a way to avoid bringing unwanted layers into a project when I use dwgs, and I appreciate that.

You probably also have to clean up your line types and fill types, because those attribute types are also created when a placed DWG/DXF Drawing is exploded.