Publishing Plotmaker to DWG, only want on screen

[tsturm]

I am trying to send to our consultants updates of Sketches which were issued of plan changes during construction.

In my Plotmaker layouts, we import our full floor plan and then pull in the edges of the drawing to show only the area we are changing.

The problem is when we make a DWG of this drawing, we are sending the whole floor plan, not the partial plan in the Sketch.

Is there a way to get Plotmaker to make a DWG of the visible drawing?

I understand the layout page (title block) is saved out in Paper space and the drawings are in Model Space. But could Graphisoft make Plotmaker so that the only thing being written in the DWG is what is visible on the page?

Anyone got a way to do this without going into the PMK and making changes? Or using another method such as the Detail Tool?

[Djordje]

tsturm wrote:
I am trying to send to our consultants updates of Sketches which were issued of plan changes during construction.

If it is not necessary for them to work on this, publish to DWF.

tsturm wrote:
The problem is when we make a DWG of this drawing, we are sending the whole floor plan, not the partial plan in the Sketch.

Is there a way to get Plotmaker to make a DWG of the visible drawing?

AFAIK only with the Detail tool, which on one hand is good - you can have a master sheet with all the revised areas marked as details. Been using it heavily recently for an interior remodel.

tsturm wrote:
I understand the layout page (title block) is saved out in Paper space and the drawings are in Model Space. But could Graphisoft make Plotmaker so that the only thing being written in the DWG is what is visible on the page?

Not really AFAIK; not the way it works in AutoCAD too. You have to clip ModelSpace - maybe Xref clipping can help there.

HTH,

[Anonymous]

I didn't try this but maybe work fine. When you are saving to .pmk there's an option to "Save visible layers only". Maybe this could work, you tell me.

[Djordje]

YA.H.VE wrote:
I didn't try this but maybe work fine. When you are saving to .pmk there's an option to "Save visible layers only". Maybe this could work, you tell me.

Nope. It does not crop.

However - there is a coupl eof VERY unsatisfactory workarounds.

You can specify a marquee and print the marquee to a HPGL PLT file, and then place these into PlotMaker ... losing quite a bit (autotext in markers, for example).

Another one is to publish from PlotMaker to DWG, then open the DWGs in ArchiCAD with the "Paperspace with modelspace content" option, and to re-publish as DWG; no paperpspace, possible problems with scaling.

Of course, all this would be unnecessary if only the view can be cropped to marquee.

In fact, the ONLY way that you can crop the plan is to use the detail tool, AFAIK.

[__archiben]

Djordje wrote:
In fact, the ONLY way that you can crop the plan is to use the detail tool, AFAIK.

yep. but you lose all of your text in the process . . .

there really is no satisfactory, efficient solution.

the best method is probably the double-publish way that djordje explained earlier in the topic . . .

~/archiben

[Erika Epstein]

Correct me if I am wrong,
but in 8.1r1/v1 there is a new button in the fill pencolor settings,the last one, which looks like a televsion set(sort of). If this fill selection is set to your background color it acts as a mask in plotmaker when you save out to dwg.

[Djordje]

Erika wrote:
Correct me if I am wrong,
but in 8.1r1/v1 there is a new button in the fill pencolor settings,the last one, which looks like a televsion set(sort of). If this fill selection is set to your background color it acts as a mask in plotmaker when you save out to dwg.

You are right.

[tsturm]

So How can this masking help me get the information I want?

Can I use the masking feature to "crop" the other regions of the plan?

Has anyone done this before?

What is the result when a DWG file is created from Plotmaker?
Does the mask effect still hold?

[Erika Epstein]

HI,
In the 8.1 on-line "Welcome to ArchiCAD 8.1" help there is a blurb, but I have not been able to get a dwg that the "wipeout" fill converts as it should. I have tried from both archicad and plotmaker. I think this is an example of how the documentation of a feature is not clear enough in explaining the steps to successfully using the feature. I hope someone else here can explain it, if not I will ask when I attend ACUwest (Karl are you listening?)
Thanks in advance ,
Erika

The following is what is written in the online feature section:

Welcome to ArchiCAD 8.1 > New Features in ArchiCAD 8.1 > Better DWG/DXF Compatibility > Window Background Pen

Window Background Pen

The Window Background pen color palette, in both ArchiCAD and PlotMaker, has a Window Background Pen option: the pencolor marked will produce a fill background color (with number -1) that is identical to the current window background color.

If the background pen is set to window background (-1), any fills that are empty (or 0%) will be converted to an AutoCAD Wipeout.

A Patch object's background fill color is assigned the window background pen color (-1): as a result, the patch will be displayed correctly when the background color changes. When the Patch is converted to AutoCAD, its background is transformed to an AutoCAD wipeout (WPOut) without a frame, and will be displayed correctly.
Note: If you are using an AutoCAD version preceding AutoCAD 2004, Wipeout is available as part of "Express Tools." Wipeout is integrated into AutoCAD 2004.

[Laura Yanoviak]

The AC9 help is the same -- verbatim -- that is to say, not very helpful. I have tried exporting from both AC and PM with the various "Fill Background Color" Display Options (the wipeout being an empty fill with fill background color -1) with mixed results.

Doesn't work at all in pre-AutoCAD 2004 (even with Express Tools loaded). Exporting from AC to AutoCAD 2005 works "as it should" -- the information is still there, only hidden behind the wipeout). Doesn't work at all from PM -- even tho the layout appears and plots correctly, once published to a dwg the wipeouts have disappeared (as if the fill background color is 0).

Has anyone else had any success with this, or does GS have anything helpful to add???