select layer

bear with me, very new to this software, Autosketch. I have drawings created in AutoCad, what I want to do is to select a specific layer and change the line size & color of all the lines in that layer in a few mouse clicks. so far I have not been successful. my general problem is: the drawing looks good on the screen, but printed it is hard to read. Use a HP 110plus to print with if that helps at all.

 

must hsve been frozen brain...
well, i knew it must be simple:'
edit -select -modify-add -layer

works like I want, I think.

but wait, i'll post aniother dumb question soon enough, like where to find symbols, or is AutoDeskSymbol the best way to go? slb extension...

 

but wait, i'll post aniother dumb question soon enough [...]

Sorry, nes. I hold the record there. But you can go for the gold by asking
questions that no one can answer.

 

here is what i am working on now...
importing a line drawing (preferably in TIF format, but could be acrobat pdf, photoshop pdp or jpeg) , somehow adjust it to scale, then layer a mechanical drawing on top of that.
for example. scan a hand drawn wall layout then draw an hvac layout on top of that . sounds simple, but yet so far from my limited skill level. I am getting unpredicatable (and unusable) results.

also looking for autsketch9 reference guide/book that is both simple and in depth. couldnt find any Orielly publications.

 

nes111 wrote...

Tell us what's happening/not happening and we can try to diagnose the problem.
A couple of small tips:
- make sure that your pen colour/style/width are all set to "by layer", then simply changing the layer they are on, or the layer properties will change them.
- use the "Property Painter" to copy the attributes of one entity to another entity/group of entitys. (you can draw a selection box to 'paste', but it must encose the end points of the lines to apply the changes)
- The "Selection Modifier" takes a bit of getting used to, but it is a very powerfull tool: select(/deselect all entities matching a specific criteria.

I couldn't find anything either (by any publication house) - but it's not that hard to pick up, and here is a good place to pick up some information & "how to" hints.

Hope the above is of some use

Gadget

 

Sorry, nes. You lose. Gadget had an answer. Try another question, maybe
Gadget will be befuddled.

BTW, I like his answer. Who said Pommeys (or Ozmaniacs) know bupkis? I
didn't.

H, hoping one day to answer a question but hold little hope anymore.

 

yes, one of the problems was the lines were not a discrete layer, but selection modifier with AND's and NOT's qualifiers get me close. neat. and was able to select every thing else to grey out. How can I save a selection modifier command? (so i can reuse it later).
A minor problem I have is setting the "scale" of a fill. what is the setting that brings hatch lines closer?

embedding was elusive, it seems to show up as an icon, but not in the menus. Still hit or miss when I try to layer over the TIFF. New layers seem to default to not wanting to be placed over the TIFF layer. So far I haven't been able to set a PDF file as a layer so it is visible (only an icon is visible..what use is that?).

for every step forward, the more it seems i don't understand!
But basically I find the screen image a lot different than printer image, as far as "readability". ie. a hairline red line looks fine on screen, but printed it becomes somewhat obscure.

 

property painter...hmmm...i was looking for that, seems useful, but haven't mastered it (or even found it).

 

yes, one of the problems was the lines were not a discrete layer,

It's one of the things lacking that I have noted in the "Suggested Improvements in AS9" thread.

Just decrease the scale slightly and see what works; existing fills can be changed by going into the "edit entities" dialogue (r-click or edit menu)

When you choose to insert an object, there is a tic box asking if it should be inseted as an icon. Menus to edit the imported object can be accessed through R-clicking or the "verbs..." button on the toolbar.

Bitmap images and fills are a headache to work with; basically you have to send them to the back, then select another layer on top of them, then work on this layer. I'm still not 100% on what will and will not work, and how to order them properly. If you work on the layers above it's OK, but as soon as you select the bitmap image, it appears to bring it to the front untill you go to another layer.
I have had a response from Autodesk on this issue - but I still have to try a few times before getting the results I want.

If you get/have a program that can edit PDF's then it can be done. If you don't then you have to 'cheat':
- Open the PDF in the editing package, select the page/area you want, copy, open sketch, move to the layer you want, paste. This will embed the object as native to the editing package - editing it within sketch with the toolbar & tools of the package it was opened in.

In the "Print" dialogue, there is an option to set how fine a 'hairline' line prints - set this to .2 or something and you should get better results.

BTW the "Property Painter" looks like a broom and is up beside the copy/paste icons.

 

Hello Harvey

Couldn't help but notice Pommy Ozmaniac, and thought I let you know I'm
still alive.

BTW going to look at the new A6 tomorrow!

Paul J

 

A6 is fine but have you seen the Discovery ?

 

In

Try using PDF995 from here: http://www.pdf995.com/
Installs as a printer driver.

Al