Improve line weights

[Eric Milberger]

Currently line weights by color makes no sense.  Make weights of a line apparent when on the screen. and only use colors for colors.

Considering the high resolution screen we have today - why should it be a guess or have to remember a color to note a width.

[Laszlo Nagy]

So, to clarify the wish: currently, a Pen defines both the Color and Line Width of elements generated with that Pen.

So, would you like Color to be a separate attribute type, and Line Width to be another separate attribute type so that they could be specified independently for elements? Is this what the wish is about?

[Eric Milberger]

Correct as color does not mean weight anywhere except here.  Weight /thickness should be thinness and thickness has nothing to do with color.

It does not mean you cant have 10 weights of one color.  And the weights need to read more correctly on the high resolutions we have today.

[Laszlo Nagy]

OK, understood.

[Eric Milberger]

I wanted to be clear

Weight is weight and should be recognizable from each other.  With the high res screens today it needs to be relative to the resolutions

I dobt you need more that 10line weights.

For the color it should have meaning.  If it is red is prints red.

We should not require a cheat sheet to explain wat pen 120 is

And if I am adding it would be nice if the chart showed pens by groups  ( Differrent Styles if neccessary ( Plans, sketches, ghost etc.  NAMED Group/pen sets

[Barry Kelly]

Do you have the on screen option for true line weight turned on?

That will show the various pen thicknesses.

It may still be tricky to distinguish a 0.1mm black line from a 0.15mm black line, unless they are close to each other.

That is why colour can play a role.

0.1mm is black, 0.2mm is red, 0.3mm is green, etc.

You can mode with true line weight turned off (it is better to do this in my opinion).

Then you have an alternate pen set where all of the pens are black but with the same line weight.

The drawings you place on the layouts can all be told to use the 'black' pen set.

You can then print black plans.

You don't need to print black plans though, you can simply use your coloured pen set if you are happy to print with those colours.

Barry.

[Eric Milberger]

When I go to pick a linestyle 

here is what I get  THERE is to WEIGHT SHOWN

NOTE that the weight is more important than the color as when you create a print or blueprint there is nothing but one Color Black/Blue and a weight

So for me to use this I have to REMEMBER what weight is for what color  Rather than select a weight and assign a color to a visible weight and have no clue what the weight is.  I can get by with 10 Line weights for any job.

I can even go without ANY colors at all as I will be creating a B&W drawing to begin with

Not discounting color - I have always used a few but a color in this program never represents a weight which is more important.  If you don't see it, it is not there,

Right now as a Novice -  to use this chart  - I need to create a drawing showing each color with each weight.

[Barry Kelly]

When you select a pen, you can see the line weight as you choose it.

I actually model with coloured pens, the colours mean nothing to the drawings except pen weight.

pen 1 black 0.1mm

pen 2 orange 0.2mm

pen 3 green 0.3mm

etc.

I then use a monochrome pen set when place the drawings on the layouts.

Same pen weights, but just the pen colours I want to print.

Barry.

[Eric Milberger]

The point that is being mixed as this is arbitrary and overcomplicated.  There is NO line here just an arbitrary square that you have to sramble around on a grid to find what with.  Without moving your mouse where is the 1.28 width pen?  It could be anywhere and more than once

[Barry Kelly]

That is why you set up the pen sets to work as you want (some pens you don't want to touch if you are using the default Graphisoft template and libraries).

In my case the first 5 pens are 0.1mm, 0.2mm, 0.3mm, 0.4mm, 0.5mm.

Of course there are more pens, but these are the main five that I use (a bit like the old drafting pens from manual drawing days).

I know their colour and I don't care what I use them for, wall beam, line, slab, roof, etc.

If I want a thin line, I use pen 1, and if I want a thick line I use pen 5.

Straight away by the colour I know what they are without turning the on-screen line weight on.

They all print black in the end but with the same thickness.

Of course you can set up pens sets in other ways.

Some have pens for walls, roofs, structural, plumbing, text, etc.

Each to their own.

But if you are only going to print in black, then a different colour pen for each pen thickness is all that you really need.

Barry.