Autocad File Compatibility

[Florentina Holcombe]

Themain problem will be that when they open your files in Autocad it'll try to scare them by saying that the file was saved by a non-Autodesk app. I don't think there's anything you can do about that.

If they can get past that, there shouldn't be any problem with them using your files and vice versa. The only problem I've ever seen is when I work on a gnarly old file that an Autocad user sent me, i.e. something originally created in a very old version and then Saved As hundreds of times over the years, and full of resources accumulated along the way, and with proxy objects created by Autodesk's add-on programs. When that happens, I sometimes have to use Recover to open the file, but I'm always able to do so. Then I purge all that old stuff, and in very rare cases that process has resulted in me returning to them a file that they can't immediately open.

I've never seen any resistance. When you tell them what you're using, they may ask about compatibility and whether it's going to cause them any problems. Just tell them it's fully compatible and they won't even notice it except for Autocad's nag screen (which Autocad users can choose not to see). And guarantee that in the unlikely event of problems arising you'll take care of it with the help of Bricsys' excellent support.

I'm familiar with the "not developed or licensed by AutoDesk" warning.

(I don't know if it still exists in current releases.)

I collaborate constantly with colleagues / clients exclusively using AutoCAD.

I've never received comments from any of them with compatibility concerns.

Regarding the warning message: Just instruct them to set DWGCHECK variable to zero...no more warnings.

I recall when I first read about Autodesk putting that warning up. rather than cause me to be think the 3rd-party DWG file may cause problems, it caused me to think (more) poorly about Autodesk. It felt like Autodesk was engaging in some sort of name calling, by saying their drawings created by their products are "real" and the people using other software are using some sort of illicit software.

"AutoCAD's definition of what is Trusted and what is not is somewhat arbitrary. A messed-up drawing that will cause you no end of problems may be Trusted, while a perfectly clean one may be Untrusted. As a result, the feature in its current state is of very limited use. Rather than engaging in what looks suspiciously like a marketing exercise, I would prefer Autodesk put its efforts into utilities for diagnosing and repairing problem drawings, well beyond the current capabilities of Audit and Recover."

Well, after over a year working on BC and collaborating with other Acad users - there has been a few issues:

with mLeaders created in Autocad and not properly opened in BC & vice versa (annoying one).

The second one - hatches - in Autocad some created in BC caused issues.

What is more we had problems with binding some of dwgs in BC, had to do that in ACAD.

and forget about dynamic blocks in BC, that one could be troublesome (for yourself). Cannot even be exploded in BC.

I have a few major problems with Bricscad to Autocad compatibility. I have downloaded V19 but not installed it yet so I have no idea if either of these two issues has been resolved. One, Bricscad seems to break the relative path links to drawings in a sheet set, that is when you open autocad on a different machine with different drives the drawings are all missing. I work from home so this is a major problem for me as I am not working on my clients servers. The second is that when going from autocad to bricscad, the viewports all reassign gibberish scales and so I lose annotative text.

Which means I still need autocad to print or I have to go an correct them if someone else works on them, or if I work from another location on my laptop. I posted on the forum about the first issue and no one replied but haven't had much chance to look into the second issue yet to see if other people have encountered it or have a resolution

Ruth

But why? VW is a terrific application for creating production drawings. Plus, if ther are changes made to the design during production, its so easy to view the changes in 3D by modelling. The strength of VW lies in its ability to be used as a complete CAD system- stick with VW and abandon ACAD.

Many of us have for years lobbied Richard Diehl and his incarnations of DiehlGraphsoft and now, Nemetcheck North America for ACAD compatibility. We have pretty good transferability now. However jfmarch is correct in that ACAD is a difficult beast to use compared with Vectorworks.

Why did we want ACAD compatibility? So we could send files to our various consultants who seem to like particular CAD prograqms with "vertical market" bells and whistles, like COGO or civil engineering.

However I do all of my work in Vectorworks because, as jfmarch states, VW is the best program to do it all in. There are few limits VW imposes. I can get Automatic and semi-automatic views via VW's 3D and 2D features which are not attainable without a $12,000.00 plus investmenet in multiple software packages which Autodesk sells or authorizes 3rd parties to develop.

One of the classier features in Vectorworks is the Spreadsheet/database integration which can automatically - and I mean automatically - generate schedules, keynote blocks and other items which, to do in ACAD requires exports to third party software (e.g. Excel) and then an import or Windows type data link to pull back into ACAD drawings for plotting. It is so time consuming to generate some items in ACAD that only a few, very heavy in investmented overhead, firms dare tackle.

9. The introduction of "classes" as ACAD "layer" equivalents is a start. To be effective, the designer must be vigilant in working in the correct class at all times so that line weights can be easily identified(assuming the translators work seamlessly which they dont). Personally, I cant be bothered to do this .

10. One of the great assets of working in VW is the ability to draw lines the way you want to without categorizing them by layer or using colors (which have nothing to do with the output) to represent line weights. (In ACAD 2000i it is now possible to view actual line weights on screen.)

True the dxf translation is far from easy. It is easier though if you plan for the translation. Don't use things that will create problems. Autocad will not handle overlapping forms for example. Also standardize fonts and line standards between platforms. Much of the planning process is spelled out in an appendix in the manual. Follow it closely. One last thing...stay out of paperspace!

My husband runs an IT company and he has few spare computer due to cut down of staff. so asked him for it and he says that now days usually, tools are available to check compatibility of computer for the software, so you find out the tool and give it to me. so I can run and check which computer will be suitable for you.

You don't need a tool. AutoDesk publishes the minimum system requirements for each piece of software it offers. Compare those specs to the specs of the computer/monitor you'll be using. Note the emphasis on the word minimum. It is my opinion that one should always exceed the minimum specs because they will also be running other programs in the background. On any given day besides the OS and AutoCAD I have MS Outlook, MS Office (Excel, Word and Access), Acrobat Reader, Draftsight and a browser open and running in the background. If you truly need to put a system through its paces then find and use the Cadalyst Systems Benchmark Test available at the Cadalyst magazine website.

A couple of things, watch out for Intel graphics only, we had to get new computers when going from 2013 -16 as the intel graphics card was not supported. The second thing is if using a large screen check that the graphics card can dirve it at a higher resolution, again this was a problem with the older Intel graphics card. Generally if it has a non intel graphics card it should run better.

Generally the machine with the best and fastest processor, the most RAM and best Graphics Card, even better if Autodesk has a driver for it (not an integrated, but dedicated) , an SSD would really improve things. If they have integrated Graphics, you will not likely be happy with any of them.

He has one particular machine in mind, which was used earlier by web developer in his firm, so he thinks it should be powerful enough for my purpose. And being in IT, they know about latest thinpgs available so he says there should be a tool, because it is available for some other softwares he had tried.

Hello! A few years ago, I used Samsung Galaxy Tab3 and Tab4 for surveys. We are currently setting up a M&E system in Cameroun and I wanted to buy the same kind but they are no longer available e ink writing tablet. Are there any suggestions for good tablets with 7-8" screens, 3G and Wifi, and 2MB RAM with a decent battery? Thanks

Hello! A few years ago, I used Samsung Galaxy Tab3 and Tab4 for surveys. We are currently setting up a M&E system in Cameroun and I wanted to buy the same kind but they are no longer available. Are there any suggestions for good tablets with 7-8" screens, 3G and Wifi, and 2MB RAM with a decent battery? Thanks

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