Change DWG Plot Style from "stb" Style to "ctb" Color

[andrewp]

howdy all...

Question: Can I take an existing drawing and change the Plot Style from "stb" Style to "ctb" Color?

I'm trying to figure out how to plot someone else's drawing, with the "stb" configuration, to a monochrome print that will emulate how the drawing's creator intended it to be.

Also, I try to take that same drawing base, and use it for my drawings. but it still retains the "stb" style. How do I manipulate the "stb" configuration to plot the way that I want, for my use? Or, how can I change it to "ctb" to be similar to all of our drawings?

Thanks in advance...

[Mike.Perry]

Hi

Have a browse of the following threads -

Why are .ctb file's hiding?

Plot style tables unavailable in a particular drawing

Complete ignorance of STB's

Fonts error message/No Keyboard commands allowed

Plot Style ctb Missing

missing pen settings - plotting

Difference b/w stb and ctb

CTB -> STB conversion

Have a good one, Mike

[andrewp]

Mike

thanks for the threads... it'll make for some good reading... i guess I'll have to get used to stb's and try to figure out how to manipulate them...

thanks again

[sinc]

thanks for the threads... it'll make for some good reading... i guess I'll have to get used to stb's and try to figure out how to manipulate them...

I highly recommend it. They are significantly superior to CTBs, and practically the same thing. It just takes getting used to using lineweights via the actual lineweight setting, instead of the old way.

The only drawback (at least with 2004) is that it is harder to mix normal and bold text with shapefonts. It is necessary to create two different text objects, and keep them manually synched. The problem is caused by an inability to control lineweight or plot style using text formatting codes. This annoying drawback is not enough to warrant using CTBs over STBs, though, IMHO.

BTW, frequently a black-and-white drawing using an STB file can be plotted out with the default monochrome.ctb plot style that comes default with Autocad. Convert to ctb (using "convertpstyles"), then plot using monochrome.ctb. Of course, this depends to some extent on how the drawing was made, but frequently this will give good results (often identical to using the STB).