Exporting QCAD Drawings into AutoCAD

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tlw29177
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Exporting QCAD Drawings into AutoCAD

Post by tlw29177 » Fri May 27, 2022 10:37 pm

I am new to QCAD and have created a drawing and saved as a DWG using format “R32 (2018) DWG Drawing [OpenDesign]”. Then after importing it into AutoCAD for a customer, I noticed that the lines are very thin and in some cases not dashed, etc. Then, when while still viewing in AutoCAD, I tried to change the line size and styles, etc, the changes are not applied. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Husky
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Re: Exporting QCAD Drawings into AutoCAD

Post by Husky » Fri May 27, 2022 11:49 pm

Hi,

is your ACAD version able to read R32? Maybe try to save the drawing in R18 or so and see what happens. If that doesn't solves the issue please attache the drawing to your post. Thanks.
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tlw29177
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Re: Exporting QCAD Drawings into AutoCAD

Post by tlw29177 » Sat May 28, 2022 6:03 am

Husky, thanks for your reply. I am running "AutoCAD 2023 for Windows" but I can not determine if I can run R32. Do you know where to find this in AutoCAD? Within QCAD, I saved the file is R18 and it was no better. I have attached a screen shot showing the QCAD file and compares to the same file imported into AutoCAD.
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QCAD file vs Imported into AutoCAD.png
QCAD file vs Imported into AutoCAD.png (421.84 KiB) Viewed 4004 times

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Husky
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Re: Exporting QCAD Drawings into AutoCAD

Post by Husky » Sat May 28, 2022 6:15 am

tlw29177 wrote:
Sat May 28, 2022 6:03 am
I saved the file is R18 and it was no better.
Thanks for testing - that means that isn't the issue.

Thanks for the screenshots but I need the dwg to help you efficient.
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tlw29177
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Re: Exporting QCAD Drawings into AutoCAD

Post by tlw29177 » Sat May 28, 2022 4:17 pm

Sorry Husky. I have attached the DWG.
PWC Dock Plate.dwg
(22.35 KiB) Downloaded 184 times

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Husky
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Re: Exporting QCAD Drawings into AutoCAD

Post by Husky » Sat May 28, 2022 8:48 pm

Thanks for the drawing!

In short - just to make a complex topic digestible:
You chose to use the line typ "ISO dash space" which has a definition of A,12,-18 meaning the first line is 12 and the gab is 18 units long. Your drawing unit is inch what means we are talking about 12 inch dash and a 18 inch gab. That's a lot ... :wink:
Those ISO lines are typically used with a line scale. Your line scale is 1 (no scale). If you change that for those lines to something like 0.025 then it will work respective in your ACAD application.
However - I would recommend to chose a different line type like Dashed to avoid to much trouble. Dashed has a much more realistic definition regarding line and gab dimension. There are ... I think ... 3 dashed lines available in QCAD - use what works best for you.
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tlw29177
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Re: Exporting QCAD Drawings into AutoCAD

Post by tlw29177 » Sat May 28, 2022 10:00 pm

Husky, I really appreciate your patients in working with me. I took your recommendation and simply changed the LineStyle to "Dashed". The lines were fairly close together so I changed the LineScale to 2" and now it looks fine.

However, After saving the file and opening in AutoCAD, everything looks the same as before. The dashed lines are still solid lines. However, within properties they are shown as "Dashed". As with all the other parameters, that appear correct within Properties but aren't displayed correctly and can not be changed.This is my main concern. I have attached the new QCAD file "PWC Dock Plate R32 (Dashed & 2" LineScale).dwg".

From what I have read on other postings, am I saving the file in the correct format? As I mentioned earlier, I used “R32 (2018) DWG Drawing [OpenDesign]”. My version of AutoCAD is 2023. Is there a QCAD save option for 2023? It is not shown on my list.
PWC Dock Plate R32 (Dashed & 2in LineScale).dwg
(22.41 KiB) Downloaded 166 times

tlw29177
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Re: Exporting QCAD Drawings into AutoCAD

Post by tlw29177 » Sat May 28, 2022 10:17 pm

Husky, This is a screen shot of what the file looks like when imported into AutoCAD 2023.

Screen Shot - AutoCAD 2023.png
Screen Shot - AutoCAD 2023.png (591.62 KiB) Viewed 3930 times

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Husky
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Re: Exporting QCAD Drawings into AutoCAD

Post by Husky » Sat May 28, 2022 10:37 pm

Ok, I see ...

As I said - line type mastering can be complex. If I play with Line Type AND scale I get this result in an ACAD product. How does it looks on your machine ...

Husky-2022.05.28-02.png
Husky-2022.05.28-02.png (46.4 KiB) Viewed 3927 times
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PWC Dock Plate_mod.dwg
(22.41 KiB) Downloaded 158 times
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tlw29177
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Re: Exporting QCAD Drawings into AutoCAD

Post by tlw29177 » Sun May 29, 2022 1:37 am

Husky you are the guy!!! It worked perfectly! So the key is using the ACAD dashes and adjusting the LineType Scale. ACAD must refer to AutoCAD. Thank you so much!

One last question and then I will promise to leave you alone. How do adjust the line thickness. I assume that is by using LineWeight in AutoCAD. But when I adjust it to be thicker, it doesn't appear to change. What am I doing wrong? See attached AutoCAD screen shot.
Screen Shot 2022-05-28 at 7.28.50 PM.png
Screen Shot 2022-05-28 at 7.28.50 PM.png (98.48 KiB) Viewed 3916 times

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Husky
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Re: Exporting QCAD Drawings into AutoCAD

Post by Husky » Sun May 29, 2022 6:00 am

tlw29177 wrote:
Sun May 29, 2022 1:37 am
How do adjust the line thickness. I assume that is by using LineWeight in AutoCAD. But when I adjust it to be thicker, it doesn't appear to change. What am I doing wrong? See attached AutoCAD screen shot.
Sorry, I don't know ACAD good enough to be able to help you with that. :oops: I'm sure this question ask in an ACAD forum will be answered in no time ... :wink:
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CVH
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Re: Exporting QCAD Drawings into AutoCAD

Post by CVH » Sun May 29, 2022 10:53 am

Husky wrote:
Sat May 28, 2022 8:48 pm
line typ "ISO dash space" which has a definition of A,12,-18 meaning the first line is 12 and the gab is 18 units long. Your drawing unit is inch what means we are talking about 12 inch dash and a 18 inch gab. That's a lot ...
True but not ...
In QCAD I never get a dash 12inch long or a gap of 18 inch.
Plus the fact that all linetypes are auto centered what affects the pattern at both endings.
Husky wrote:
Sat May 28, 2022 8:48 pm
Those ISO lines are typically used with a line scale.
In qcad.lin one can read:

Code: Select all

;;
;;  ISO 128 (ISO/DIS 12011) linetypes
;;
;;  ISO line types are typically scaled with line weight
;;  (e.g. for line weight 0.25 use ltscale 0.25).
;;
tlw29177 wrote:
Sun May 29, 2022 1:37 am
I assume that is by using LineWeight in AutoCAD. But when I adjust it to be thicker, it doesn't appear to change.
In QCAD we can opt to view our drawing on screen with 'Screen-based Linetypes' or not.
By preference we can auto switch to 'Screen-based Linetypes' when in model view.
It has a distinct difference when zooming in/out.
With 'Screen-based Linetypes' a line drawn in "ISO dash space" always looks dashed.
And the thickness of the line on the screen is only a hint.
We can also opt for 'Scaling line type patterns by line weight' by preference as advised for ISO.

Bottom line:
ISO dash space, Drawing/Paper unit: inch, Imperial patterns, Global linetype scale:1, Linetype Scale:1,
QCAD Scaling line type patterns by line weight, Model space, QCAD not 'Sreen-based'.
Measured on screen, corrected for a round pen:
- Weight 0.25: dash=0.118108, gap=0.177167, 0.009843 wide.
- Weight 0.50: dash=0.236174, gap=0.354330, 0.019685 wide.
- Weight 1.00: dash=0.472438, gap=0.708646, 0.039372 wide.
- Weight 2.00: dash=0.944870, gap=1.417323, 0.078739 wide.
Meaning:
- Dash & gap relate directly to the lineweight as opted.
- A dash 0.472441 long is simply 12mm in inch and 0.708661 is a match with 18mm.
- the Weight itself is also simply mm converted to inch.

Comparing linetypes in qcad.lin and qcadiso.lin for the metric system we observe that all but the ISO types are converted values.
The above shows that QCAD converts ISO types when used in a non-metric system.

A line is dashed identical with Lineweight 0.5 & LineType Scale 0.5 ...
... or with 0.25 & 1 or with 1 & 0.25, all regarding the pen size.
- Dash & gap relate to the LineType Scale factor.

Additionally, dash & gap also scale with the drawing Global linetype scale setting.
And all this may again differ on paper too. :wink:

Regards,
CVH

tlw29177
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Re: Exporting QCAD Drawings into AutoCAD

Post by tlw29177 » Mon May 30, 2022 9:24 pm

Husky, the problem of me not seeing line weight adjustments on my screen was because, I am viewing the screen in "2D wireframe" in AutoCAD! It shows all lines as very thin. When Plotted or saved as PDF, all the line weights show up correctly. I guess I have lot to learn. Again, thanks so much for all your help. Tom

tlw29177
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Re: Exporting QCAD Drawings into AutoCAD

Post by tlw29177 » Mon May 30, 2022 9:34 pm

Hi CVH, I appreciate the detail that you provided. I need to keep and study more thoroughly as I have al lot to learn. But as you can see in my last response to Husky, the problem of me not seeing line weight adjustments on my screen was because, I am viewing the screen in "2D wireframe" in AutoCAD! It shows all lines as very thin. When Plotted or saved as PDF, all the line weights show up correctly. Thanks for your help. Tom

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Husky
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Re: Exporting QCAD Drawings into AutoCAD

Post by Husky » Mon May 30, 2022 11:07 pm

tlw29177 wrote:
Mon May 30, 2022 9:24 pm
... thanks so much for all your help. Tom
Anytime! :wink:

Husky
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