New 2d library parts from Illustrator.

[Anonymous]

Hi all
What i'm trying to do is make new 2d library parts of trees, cars etc much like the already existing 2d elements. So the workflow I thought seemed most logical is: import the image into illustrator, Live Trace, export to a folder and then import into Archicad. However I ran into trouble. No matter the size of the exported file (I tried both dxf-dwg) it hangs the computer (12Gb ram). And this is just an export of outlines. With fills the file is even larger. I think it has to do with the settings in Illustrator. And althought I played around a bit with the Live Trace settings the exported file just seems too big. Can anyone help out?

[NCornia]

I have done the same thing you are attempting, but using Inkscape not Illustrator and had no issue. Inkscape is the leading open source equivalent to Illustrator. It also has a bitmap trace function. You will also need to install the Better DXF output plug-in to get a usable dxf for ArchiCAD to read.

Inkscape: http://inkscape.org/download/?lang=en

Better DXF Plug-In: http://www.bobcookdev.com/inkscape/inkscape-dxf.html


You might also want to see this tutorial about creating billboard objects. They are often significantly smaller in file size an quite easy to make if you ave a photo editing program like PhotoShop or GIMP.

http://education.heise.com.au/DEB201-2010/Archicad%20Mini%20Tutorial%2013b%20-%20Creating%20Billboar...

[Anonymous]

NCornia

thanks for your suggestion. I tried Inkscape but couldn't really assess the results as everytime I tried to import the result into Archicad it crashed no matter what settings I used. Also I couldn't find an outline trace, which is what i'm really after. But I will continue looking into this.

Thank you once again

[NCornia]

The "trace bitmap" feature in Inkscape is located under Path>Trace Bitmap. Once you have achieved a desirable trace and have done any necessary clean up you go to File>Save As and change the extention to DXF. Remember, you will need the "Better DXF Output" plug-in I mentioned before.

On the ArchiCAD side I simply go to File>Open and open the DXF file I saved.

HTH

[Anonymous]

What I really want is the outlines but without the coloured fills. Like the 2d trees in the archicad library.That is why I mentioned Illustrator in my first post.Is there something similar in Inkscape?

[NCornia]

Yes, in Inkscape, in the Trace Bitmap dialog box select "Edge Detection" under the Mode tab. (I have used Sonic The Hedgehog as an example, my daughter loves him)

I imported the JPEG file. Selected Trace Bitmap with Edge Detection Selected and the black and white outline to the right of the original is the result. I then deleted the original JPEG and saved the file as a DXF*(see below). In the "Desktop Cutting Plotter" dialog box that appears I select the Robo Master output option and deselect the LWPOLYLINE option.

I then opened the DXF in ArchiCAD and as you can see by the selection mostly splines are created. But they are selectable and editable for further refinement. This method is very effective for creating crown moulding and other profiles.


*Note: This time I used the default DXF output format that comes with Inkscape - using my MAC this time and the Better DXF plugin is not available for MAC but it seems to work fine despite that.

[Anonymous]

NCornia,

when I create an object and save as dxf then archicad seems to find it too heavy. So I tried something different. Saved as DXF, opened it in Autocad, saved as DWG and then open with Archicad. This seems to work better. An even lighter solution is to save as JPG and open as an image file in Archicad. The only drawback is that the outlines seem a bit off, because they are image lines instead of drawing lines. I found that playing around with the Edge Detection, and assigning low values fixes this somewhat.