Old Via blocks

[Tim_L]

** sorry if this is in the wrong group, having trouble with post

Hi there,

I am using a network version of 2004 Electrical on Win 2000 platform. I see how to create and add to the symbol library one symbol at a time with no problems.

I have access to an old symbol library, which was created with Via 5 and Via 6. Is there a way to import the old library into the 2004 library in mass or am I going to have to add the old symbols one at a time?

Thanks for the help

[Anonymous]

Tim:
You have 2004 electrical correct? On your CD there should be a PDF file called "Getting Started".....or something similar. Print that file out and it should help you get a fair grasp of ACE 2004. If you cannot find it please let me know, and I will send you a file via e-mail that will help


Marty

[Tim_L]

Hello Marty,

Thank you for the reply. I have been through the entire ‘Getting Started’ section. That is fine even though lacking compared to the old Via tutorials (I used Via for about 10 years).

The question is this:

Can I import the symbol library created with Via 5 and Via 6

or

Will I have to add each custom symbol to the 2004 Electrical library individually?

Thank you

[Anonymous]

Not having ever used Via, here is my response. if the symbols were named using the same format (.dwg) and the same convection (having proper letters in appropriate places), and if the attribute definitions are the same, then I would say YES you could use them. BUT....I am guessing that all these items I have mentioned are not the same, so I am guessing your best bet would be to use the VIA geometry and add the ACE attributes, and name the block according to how ACE needs/wants them named, in affect establishing each block individually.

Marty

[Anonymous]

Are the attributes on your old symbols the same as Electricals? My company has been with this software since the ToolBox WD days and the naming convention has not changed. We have been able to bring all of our symbols along with each change in product name: ToolBox WD, CimLogic, Via WD and now Electrical. As with some of our really old parts, I have come across a lsp routine that will change the old attributes to new names, prompts and values at the symbol library level. If your symbols have the same naming convention and attribute naming, you should be fine. We keep our symbols seperated from Electricals and use the env file to map to our symbols, even though they use the same naming convention as Electrical. I hope this helps but if not, give me a little more detail and I'll try to provide better information.

[Anonymous]

Tim L,

There are a few conversion utilities specifically for converting the older
Via Schematic drawings to AutoCAD Electrical. If you look on the menu under
Projects -> Extras -> ECDS Legacy Conversion you should see 3 choices. It
has been awhile since I've looked at these so hopefully this information is
accurate.

The Attribute Convert, would probably be what you want to convert at the
library level. I would try one first and see if it does what you want. To
try one, activate the drawing and run the function. See if it creates the
new symbol in the folder you specify. To use this on a set of drawings will
be more work I think. I don't see any automated way to do this. But you
could create a script to run WD_CVT_ECDS_BLKS on a set of symbols. Let me
know if you need help setting this up once you've tried it on one.

The other ECDS conversion choices might also be of interest to you. They
would be used to convert a project of drawings created in Via Schematic to
AutoCAD Electrical. If you try these and need some specific info let me
know. There may be some setup required to map the symbols from the Via
Schematic to AutoCAD Electrical.

Pat Murnen




wrote in message news:5033225@discussion.autodesk.com...
** sorry if this is in the wrong group, having trouble with post

Hi there,

I am using a network version of 2004 Electrical on Win 2000 platform. I see
how to create and add to the symbol library one symbol at a time with no
problems.

I have access to an old symbol library, which was created with Via 5 and Via
6. Is there a way to import the old library into the 2004 library in mass
or am I going to have to add the old symbols one at a time?

Thanks for the help