If you have done a fair number of translations and worked out how some of this is done, then you will enjoy having it written down someplace you can access when the next translation gets thrown in your lap.įigure 1. If this is your first real look at controlling translation results, then you'll be amazed at how much stuff can be controlled. Okay, Where's All the Translation Stuff Hiding in MicroStation? With that in mind, let's look at what MicroStation offers to help you accomplish your goal, starting with translating an AutoCAD file into MicroStation V8 format. Turning a messy translation into an good submission with minimal additional work assumes that you understand the translation process and have the right tools. Keep in mind, when I say "minimal additional work", that Axiom has worked with hundreds of customers in resolving all the different problems they face when the translators don't provide a complete solution. There is the possibility of a good translation that can be turned into a perfect submittal with minimal additional work. A perfect submittal is far more likely with no translation than if translation is involved. Is there any such thing as a perfect, one-shot translation of a project? I hate to say it, but not in the real world there isn't. While some of these differences were reduced over the years, the design practices they fostered still remain in the form of CAD standards that customers want followed.įrom Messy Translations to Perfect Submittals Although everything was displayed on the screen with the same weight or line thickness, it would plot with different thicknesses based on the color. Also, line weight wasn't a display property in the early days of AutoCAD. In AutoCAD, color and line type were usually assigned to a named layer's properties and the element would inherit those properties when placed on that layer. For example, before V8, each element, on any of the 63 available MicroStation V7 levels, was created with a specific color, weight and style that was set independent of the level it was placed upon. This second reason stems from the inherent differences in how the programs store and display information (reason #1), particularly in their earlier days.
![autocad change to architectural units autocad change to architectural units](https://forums.autodesk.com/autodesk/attachments/autodesk/248/52431/1/AutoCAD_Units_HatchAreaPropertyPrecision.png)
There are solutions, but in order to implement them, you first need to have a bit of understanding about the two underlying reasons for messy translations between MicroStation and AutoCAD. If you've done a few, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Unfortunately, translations aren't as easy as they sound. Why Isn't Translation Just "Push a Button" and Everything Is Wonderful? Things like degree symbols, "plus/minus" symbols, diameter symbols and fractions don't display correctly after translations.Also, closed shapes in MicroStation don't always come across as expected in AutoCAD.
![autocad change to architectural units autocad change to architectural units](https://i.all3dp.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/13161247/4_set_units_autocad-642x671.jpg)
Sometimes tags will get converted to text - or AutoCAD blocks will translate as shared cells when your standard requires normal cells in MicroStation. Some elements are translated incorrectly.There are reference file problems which can include the wrong files referenced, the wrong scale used, wrong attachment level display or level symbology assignments as well as incorrect clipping or masking of reference data.Things like element color, line weight, line style, line style scale, level names or fonts have incorrect or inappropriate symbology.I've listed some of these common problems below.
![autocad change to architectural units autocad change to architectural units](https://designscad.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/stadium_classic_dwg_block_for_autocad_84335.gif)
There are also other problems that can occur, which take a bit more work to correct.
Autocad change to architectural units how to#
I'll go over what to do and how to prevent these in this article.
![autocad change to architectural units autocad change to architectural units](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a3/29/e8/a329e8d6e96d31ecaddb141b9b1c7aea.jpg)
If you know what to do, the above problems aren't that difficult to prevent.