CompuServe Thread

#DXF Import

5 messages in this thread
#30454From: MARK A. MEIERDec 27, 1992 3:44 PM
To all AutoCAD v12 and 3DS v2.x users: Could anyone test something for me? I have created an AutoCAD drawing which has layers which end in a number (like L1, L2, L3…). When I DXF this out (binary), and read it into 3DS (by layer), the numeric ordering does not remain the same (L1 becomes object L01, L2 becomes L03! and L3 become L02!). |Is anyone willing to take the time to try to duplicate this for me. I can duplicate it with any layer names which end in numbers and I would like to know it is something wrong I'm doing. Thanks, Mark
#30469From: MARTIN G FOSTERDec 27, 1992 9:40 PM
Mark, I don't have Acad 12 but I'll import your .dxf into 3ds2 as a test, if you like. Minimize your file as much as possible, zip it up with pkzip and e-mail it to me and I'll look at it right away. That behaviour, however, doesn't sound outlandish and might just be the way 3ds does the import.
#30515From: John K. JordanDec 28, 1992 7:37 PM
Mark, I tried your DXF export puzzle using ACAD v12 and 3DS r2.01. I got similar results when DXFOUTing by ENTITY/BINARY, selected by Crossing (except that L1 became L02, L2 became L03, and L3 became L01). With DXFOUT/BINARY (not by entity) however, everything was in order. I had created the layers in order (L1, L2, then L3), then created the entities in the same order, one per layer. A little experimenting seems to indicate the objects may be created numerically in 3DS in the order in which they are selected in ACAD, either by their internal list order, or by manual selection in the ENTITY mode: the entity I picked first was always named L01, etc. JKJ (works summers as an entity picker)
#30533From: MARK A. MEIERDec 28, 1992 11:54 PM
#30454-DXF Import John K. Jordan 71174,711 JKJ, Thanks for testing the DXF/Layer issue for me. I appreciate it. Mark
#30534From: MARK A. MEIERDec 28, 1992 11:56 PM
Martin Foster 70303,456, I guess your right. The behaviour might not be 'outlandish', but it seems rather illogical. (If layers A, B, C come in as A01, B01, C01, then why not have L1, L2, L3 become L01, L02, L03 or L101, L201, L301). Since L2 becomes L03, the name has been altered beyond recognition, ie there is no way to recognize what was called L2 anymore since anything unique to it name has been destroyed. The program has arbitrarily renamed the geometry. With 3 layers, no problem. With 50 or so, this _is_ quite significant. I first encountered this when I created some architectural geometry (similar looking columns, beams and joists)in AutoCAD with numbered layer names expecting to keyframe them in order to show the construction sequence. I did this according to my storyboard, only to find they were actually all out of order. At the time it struck me as sensless searching about and learning how 3DS had renamed everything. Not deadly, not unavoidable, but not good either! Mark