Now this could well be of interest to VersaCADer's. If you are uisng VersaCAD pretty much in your own universe as-it-were, with little interaction or need to edit AutoCAD drawings, this may mean little to you. On the other hand if you want to get an AutoCAD "drawing" - not just the .dwg file - but a file that is a useable representation of the finished-printed drawing - here it is!
There , of course, conditions attached.
The sender would need to be using AutoCAD/AutoCAD LT 2008 and this new tool. That said, it does offer hope (short of VersaCAD implementing some kind of paperspace environment) a greater visual fidelity between systems.
JimL
New News
In a recent VersaCAD newsletter (delivered via e-mail) - Volume 7, July 2006, Number 1 - three items appear that would be of interest to VersaCAD'ers:
VersaCAD 2007 for Windows is soon to be in the works: "Work is started on next year’s VersaCAD release which will sport a brand new database. The goal: unlimited file size, improved portability, increased functionality while maintaining the familiar, productive interface. Keep tuned for updates on this project." "Increased Functionality" - there's one to watch for. VersaCAD, though "old", is stills more than able as a CAD product. It will be interesting to see what those new functions will consist of!
VersaCAD Mac is also in the news, as it appears that every Mac user's favorite subject (or one of them) - Universal Binarys - is a work in progress for the Vacd Mac Edition
Last, is the VersaCAD's staff experimenting with Google SketchUp and a ShetchUp model of the 'well worn' Cabin.2d drawing. To read the latest edition of their newsletter - drop them an e-mail and ask for it. - http:/www.versacad.com
It’s Been A While
Perhaps some readers of this Blog have wonder if I was still alive or not. Well I am still here! It has been a while since my last post. I see VersaCAD 2006 has been issued, with some added features, most notably the Project Navigator and a chain feature undoer the Group menu. I, however, can not attest to these feature as I have only access to VersaCAD 2003 :(
I must admit that of late I have been observing the Mac/OSX marketplace. There are a couple of interesting products out there. Vectorworks being one. Perhaps with more features that required for most VersaCAD users. The other is PowerCADD. A 2d-centirc product. I was prosing it’s WildTools “plugin” and could not help but note certain abilities that reminder me of VersaCAD. It “3D Tools” put me in mind of VersaCAD’s ‘ahead-of-its-time’ Group -> View option for creating isometric views.
Could not help but think about the potential for the VersaCAD Mac edition. First and foremost, as I may have mentioned in previous posts, The Mac Edition NEEDS the same full tool set as does the Windows edition, including CPL programming and menu customization. Second (and this would include the Windows version as well), the ability to handle in some form AutoCAD’s paperspace/viewports. Even if only to able to offer, as an option, importing a vector equivalent of the printed paperspace layout.
What are your thoughts concerning VersaCAD, now and in the future? What not leave your comment!
Jim L
Editing VersaCAD Hatch Patterns
Best kept secret - Hatch pattern editor for VersaCAD - Windows-based application. Who knew? Not me at any rate. I saw this reference in the Nov 8/05, Issue #450 of Ralph Grabowski's upFront.eZine http://www.upfrontezine.com/2005/upf-450.htm. Scroll down to the "Below the Radar" section and note the item on HatchKit
An application (Windows Based) for the creation and editing of CAD hatch patterns - including, amongst others - VersaCAD! Wow, cool! I dropped Archway an e-mail. Seems Mike has heard of this - in fact I understand that there is reference to this product in the info included with VersaCAD 2004. (Poor me, I have 'only' VersaCAD 2003)
Check it out at www.cadro.com.au/hatchkit
Know of any other "externals" that work either directly or supplement VersaCAD in some way? Leave a comment, and we all can check it out :)
Screened Fills with VersaCAD
Here's a tip for creating screened fills or lines in VersaCAD. For example, working in AutoCAD, I oft times used Acad colour 8 or 9 (Grey or light grey) for solid fills of "existing" linework. On top of that, those colours are screened or toned if you will with a 50 or 20% screen - fading them even further into the background. You can use the following tip to get the same net effect in VersaCAD.
Select "Pen Table" from File on the Windows tool bar menu and click the "colors" button down in the HPGL Defaults area. No matter even if your output device is monochrome only. For each "normal 100% fill" pen/color - click the pen number, then the color swatch button and click the black tile. Repeat for each normal color.
For those pen you wish to be screened fills do as above, but select one of the grey tones. (Suggestion: In VersaCAD do Output/Display/Color/Index and you can adjust the corresponding screen colour to match if you want!). Save the results as, say "screened.ptb". Now, choose Pentable from Output/pRinter for printing!
Also, remember, some colours (VersaCAD color 12 for example, light yellow) will print as shaded greys anyway on a monochrome print device.
Try this. Create a rectangle and Hatch it with a close space hatch (a seemingly solid fill). Make sure you assign under properties the pen number representing your screened color. But wait. draw a diagonal line across your solid hatched rectangle assigning a normal pen - then plot. I think you will be amazed by the results - by the possiblities!
JimL
CPL Programming Macros
One of the more powerful features of VersaCAD for Windows/DOS is the ability to automate and customize with the CPL programming language. Straw poll: How many of you V-cadders make use of CPL? And Would you be interested in shareing some of you "time savers" with fellow users?
Jim L
VersaCAD MacIntosh OSX
How many VersaCAD Mac users are there out there?? I think that the Mac edition is one with a future (No matter if it is a G5 Mac or an Intel based Mac). That said, there are some significant differences between the Mac version and the Windows version.
To but note a few...
- The Mac editions have no built-in programming language. Oh, sure, I guess one could do something (perhaps even alot?) with hypercard stacks, but how many of today's Mac owner have the hypercard application? VersaCAD for Windows (for DOS for that matter) has the CPL programming environment. C-like in nature, it allows the user "direct access" to the drawing environment. In fact whole "applications" can be done with this utility.
- Menu Customization. The Windows flavour lets the user customize the user interface - the menu, to add, for example custom routinees, such as might be programmed in CPL.
- Some native windows command options are missing in the Mac variant. Example is Windows VersaCAD to Subset a Group, Build Fence an group with a "Totally In" option
On a slightly different note, I see in the latest of Archway News, that Archway is offering a VersaCAD/Sketch-Up bundle for 2D/3D work. (See recent - Sept/05 - Newsletter at archway.com NOT Versacad.com site). Now, If VersaCAD Mac had the same functionality as Windows.... Sketch-Up has a Mac version... Wel I know what my next computer purchase would be.
Hey!, how about you VersaCAD Mac users... You out there??
Paperspace and Viewports - Part II
Last post I wrote about using AutoCAD's DXB output to generate a facsimile of a paperspace layout for use in VersaCAD. This produces probably best, visually looking, equivalent. There are short comings – text is not text, but line strokes, all objects a lines, of line segments – etc. But!, it “looks right”.
Now, if it is editable objects and text you need, here is another work around. This will give you and AutoCAD dwg file with all the ‘modelspace’ objects in tact AND reproduce the elements (e.g. titleblock, general text etc etc) that may be in the current papersapce layout. Get the AutoCAD drawing in Release 10 format!
In my testing I saves and AutoCAD drawing in release 2000 format, the using a conversion utility (there are several of them – Google for them) I converted to R10 format. Then run ther VersaCAD translation utility to convert from AutoCAD R10 to VersaCAD 2d. What you get is the autocad modelspace information (perhaps not the most gracefully laid out) and somewhere at it’s real world size, the paperspace drawing element.
At this point it would be helpful to have a hardcopy of the drawing in hand. You now need to re-construct the drawing – probably group scaling the paperspace stuff up. Group moving (or even Construct Break Fence Grouping) elements to re-compose the drawing. The end product, for the effort of some or many group operations is a reconstruction of the AutoCAD papersapce drawing WITHOUT having to actually drawing anything
Cheers!
AutoCAD Paperspace and Viewports
While VersaCAD'a drawing translator does a fine job of converting DWG to .2d there are some real world shortcomings. AutoCAD's Paperspace, Viewports, and X-References. Is there a work around if you wish to receive and work on/use dwg's with these features? Yes - providing the 'sender' is cooperative that is.
By and large what you want from the AutoCAD user is the drawing - drawing in the sense of what one would otherwise see as the print output document. The paperspace layout (- AutoCAD speak) - the "printed page" as-it-were can be produced from AutoCAD in a form YOU can use. And, as such, it will contain the "drawing" as the draftperson intended the recipent to see - complete with X-Refernces (including clipped ones at that).
How can this be accomplished? The AutoCAD used must install the AutoCAD DXB plotter. (And there's part of the rub) If the ACAD user knows what they are doing - no problem.
DXB (drawing interchange binary) file formats are supported using the DXB nonsystem file driver. This is commonly used to "flatten" 3D drawings to 2D. Or, in our case, to project so-to-speak, the paperspace layout, viewports and all on to a "flat" drawing. The AutoCAD user, having created... er... plotted a DXB file, they then need to issue the DXBIN command in a blank drawing. They Save this drawing in an AutoCAD 2000 format and send to you.
What you get on translation, is a complete representation of the AutoCAD drawing's Paperspace layout, except.... Ah yes, "Except". All objects will be on one level, one colour. Text will not be text, but the indivudual line strokes. At least you - the VersaCAD user - now have a starting point of a Viewport instensive, X-Reference filled AutoCAD Drawing in YOUR VersaCAD Program.
VersaCAD User Site
Mention on VersaCAD's Customer User page is a Mr. James Beavers (see http://www.versacad.com/versacad/cust-jamesbeavers.htm While Googling "VersaCAD" I came across the site for Whitney Design Group. While not a lot (none?) of VersaCAD images, there were alot of Mr. Beavers' work, including more of the Hotel Project featured onVersaCAD's site. Thought that this might be of some motivational use to other VersaCAD/ Rhino users...
JimL
