Problems with Linked AutoCAD Files

We're just getting into Revit Structure (we have the latest build: 20070607_1700) and because of time constraints of the project we decided to handle the typical details in AutoCAD ( v2008 ) and link them into Revit. That is where we are running into a number of problems. I have attached 3 screenshots: "cad" is the print preview of the actual CAD file and "link1" & "link2" are of the actual link showing in Revit. I have indicated the 4 items on the screenshots.

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Ellipses: the hatch patterns are showing up as solid in some of the details we link in to Revit (link1), but not all of them (link2).

Rectangles: text that is underlined in CAD (%%u) is missing the underline once linked into Revit.

Arrows: the nice even spacing between the text and the line in CAD is gone in the link when the text gets shifted up.

Yellow highlighting: all of the text in CAD has apparently had the width factor changed once linked into Revit.
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Are others experiencing any of these issues? Are there any settings, fixes, etc., for either AutoCAD or RST2008 that will solve these things? Is it just my inexperience?

It really makes the linking of CAD files a useless excercise and makes our drawings totally unacceptable & unprofessional. How would anybody feel if we sent our structural drawings to you like this?

PLEASE - somebody shed some light on this for me. Many thanks in advance.

:banghead: :confused:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jsr13

We're just getting into Revit Structure (we have the latest build: 20070607_1700) and because of time constraints of the project we decided to handle the typical details in AutoCAD ( v2008 ) and link them into Revit. That is where we are running into a number of problems. I have attached 3 screenshots: "cad" is the print preview of the actual CAD file and "link1" & "link2" are of the actual link showing in Revit. I have indicated the 4 items on the screenshots.

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Ellipses: the hatch patterns are showing up as solid in some of the details we link in to Revit (link1), but not all of them (link2).

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As far as hatch patterns are concerned, I would suggest you to explode the pattern in AutoCAD and then import/link the CAD file in Revit. By doing so, you should be able to import the actual hatch pattern and get rid of the solid fill you are currently seeing in Revit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jsr13

Rectangles: text that is underlined in CAD (%%u) is missing the underline once linked into Revit.

Arrows: the nice even spacing between the text and the line in CAD is gone in the link when the text gets shifted up.

Yellow highlighting: all of the text in CAD has apparently had the width factor changed once linked into Revit.
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For the remaining issues you are having with the Text, have you made sure to use the "default" option for the lineweights for all your layers (esp. layers containing the text) in AutoCAD before importing your drawing into Revit? I am assuming you already know how to setup your import layers file in Revit.

Though this may not be directly related to your problem, some additional information you might want to know is that Revit Structure supports only TrueType fonts. However, you can map your .shx fonts in AutoCAD to Revit TrueType fonts by editing the file "shxfontmap.txt" (which you can find in the "Data" Folder of your Revit Structure Installation directory..something similar to C:\Program Files\Revit Structure 2008\Data). To edit this file, first type in your Autocad .shx font you are using in your drawing and give a space/tab and type in the TrueType font you want to use in Revit. This method of mapping text fonts will give you more control on how your text appears in Revit. If you still have concerns, posting your .dwg file might help me look into this further.

Hope this helps,
Srinivas Vemuri
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AEC Application Specialist
Ideate Inc.

On the text issue, percent codes don't work in ttf fonts, so %%u can't be used. We are redoing our details to conform to Revit and them export out to CAD until our transition is complete.

In regards to %% shortcuts a find and replace can be used along with the windows character map shortcut in the autocad detail.

Example %%C can be substituted for alt+0216 (Ø)
The symbold may vary dependant upon text style so check your map.

I've been having the same problems. And in a couple details, the text doesn't even print, even though I can see the text in Revit (although it has the same issues of width factor and/or text wraps getting narrower). I'm using the most common font - Arial with no modifications. The text layer in Autocad is the same as the leaders, and as you can see from the images, it's just the text that doesn't show, so it can't be an issue with the layers. Not sure about lineweights for text, but I'll check it out. Check out the JPG's I've attached showing the detail from Autocad to Revit to Revit-printed.