topic Re: WMF dashed line issues in AutoCAD LT Forum

WMF dashed line issues

Anonymous — Wed, 04 May 2016 20:24:07 GMT

I recently started using AutoCAD LT 2017 and I have discovered that any dashed or hidden lines that I have created in a dwg file become solid lines when exported as a wmf. I have attached example .dwg and the exported .wmf files.

I use the wmf files in word documents and Illustrator since they are vector base images, and I have never had this issue with older version of LT going back to LT 2001. You may need to insert the .wmf file into a word document to see the issue unless you have a program that will display wmf files on your computer.

Any thoughts?

PS, I am not allowed to attached .wmf files here, rather worthless when it is a filetype that you can created using AutoCAD.

Re: WMF dashed line issues

pendean — Thu, 05 May 2016 12:57:35 GMT

We use PNGOUT for MsWord and dwg or DXF imports with Illustrator.

BTW you do know you can zip files (aka compress using Windows terms) to post them if their file formats are not uploadable, right?

Re: WMF dashed line issues

Anonymous — Mon, 09 May 2016 13:29:33 GMT

Thank you for the reply.

No, I did not realize that I could zip a file to upload it.

As for using PNGOUT, I did know this before I posted my question. Even though it does show the dashed lines, as does BMPOUT, both of these file formats have serious issues. The problem with using PNGOUT and BMPOUT is the fact that though they do show the dashed lines, the images are crap and the bitmap image is larger that document it will be going into. In these formats, the areas where lines and arcs meet are moved around in the image, text becomes blurred as does the overall look of the image. The wmf file is a vector image that, obviously, remains sharp regardless of how big the image is in the document and the files size is only 4kb. The png image is 138kb and the bmp image is over 4mb. I have attached the png, bmp and zipped wmf versions of this image for your reference.

The problem still remains that AutoCAD LT 2017 converts dashed lines to straight lines when output as a wmf file. This was not a problem when I was using AutoCAD LT 2011 or any of the LT versions I have used prior to LT 2011. This is what I still need help resolving.

Re: WMF dashed line issues

pendean — Mon, 09 May 2016 13:54:35 GMT

Resolution and dashed lines look good to me in your PNG and BMP files, which lines on the WMF are supposed to be dashed exactly? And is it me, or is the scale of the WMF content significantly larger than the PNG and BMP files? And where is the WMF content in the PNG or BMP images?

Attached is a WMF from LT2017: I see all the dashed line I placed for each linetype. Can you not repropduce it? Attached is the DWG source file too.

Re: WMF dashed line issues

Anonymous — Mon, 09 May 2016 14:53:37 GMT

The figure 1 wmf was created using LT2011 and was accidentally zipped and attached, I have attached the correct zip file as well as a zip file of a line test created on my computer using LT2017 and one created from the dwg you attached. As you should be able to see, no dashed lines appear in any of these wmf files.,

I inserted the .wmf file you attached into my word document and sure enough the dashed lines appear as dashed lines just like in the dwg it was created from on your computer.

That would tell me that there is a setting that I need to change in my version of LT2017, but there is nothing I can find that tells me what that setting or preference might be.

FYI, the image quality and file size of the png and bmp files I attached is not acceptable for the documents I create for my company. Regardless of what anyone else thinks of my requirements I must get the highest quality image at the smallest files size that can be achieved without losing that quality. Using wmf files is the only way I have found that meets both of those requirements, which is why I need to get this wmf issue I am having resolved.

Re: WMF dashed line issues

pendean — Mon, 09 May 2016 15:12:03 GMT

What is your method for WMF creation? That may be where the fix needs to take place.

Re: WMF dashed line issues

john.vellek — Mon, 09 May 2016 16:16:54 GMT

Hi huskerr111,

I took the drawing from the thread, performed a WMFOUT and the resulting file appeared fine. Please describe the process you use to create your WMF files.

Re: WMF dashed line issues

Anonymous — Mon, 09 May 2016 17:44:41 GMT

Once the dwg has been saved I select all and go the pulldown and select export - Other Formats. I then select metafile as the export format and the drawing is saved. I have also used WMFOUT as well as using the cursor and right click to selected and output the drawing as a wmf. The only issue I seem to be haivng is the dashed lines.

I have varied the lintype scale to increase and decrease the line spacing of the dashed or hidden lines, but nothing seems to work, almost as if some setting is converting all dashed lines to continuous. I have tried other export formats and is looks like only the photo formats; png, bmp and jpeg will show the dashed lines, but the image quality is poor, and the file sizes are too large for use in the docuemnts I am creating.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Re: WMF dashed line issues

Anonymous — Mon, 09 May 2016 17:46:19 GMT

Please see my reply to John for the detail of how I export/output to wmf files.

Re: WMF dashed line issues

john.vellek — Mon, 09 May 2016 18:07:28 GMT

HI huskerr111,

With your drawing, I turned PSLTSCALE off and then back on. I then entered the viewport and set LTSCALE to 5 so it was more legible on the screen. I was then able to WMFOUT. I have attached the resulting file. Please post how your results are different if you follow these same steps.

Please hit the Accept as Solution button if my post fully solves your issue or answers your question.

Re: WMF dashed line issues

Anonymous — Mon, 09 May 2016 19:51:16 GMT

I switch to a different drawings and tried everything you have listed. in the same order and different orders 5 or 6 attempts later and there are still no dashed lines.

Attahed is my results as well as the original drawing I was using for this attempt.

Re: WMF dashed line issues

pendean — Mon, 09 May 2016 19:58:36 GMT

I used your exact method and I'm unable to reproduce the problem, sorry.

Re: WMF dashed line issues

Anonymous — Mon, 09 May 2016 20:08:31 GMT

It really seems like there is an output or export setting that is incorrectly set from installation, any thoguhts on that possiblility? Another would be the possiblilty that my display board may not be compatible with this version of LT, is there a list of compatible display boards anywhere easy to find?

I am getting close to doing an uninstall and reinstall of LT to see if that might solve this issue.

Re: WMF dashed line issues

Anonymous — Mon, 09 May 2016 20:13:34 GMT

Nope, my video card is listed as compatible - NVIDIA Quadro 2000.

Re: WMF dashed line issues

john.vellek — Mon, 09 May 2016 20:21:45 GMT

Hi huskerr111,

I have made a Screencast to show you my experience with your drawing. Perhaps part of the problem is that it is not a drawing from a version of AutoCAD as indicated by the screen that first pops up. At any rate, you can see that it works fine on my end.

Does this happen on more than one workstation? If you log on as a new user (administrator level) does the problem still exist?

Would you be willing to reset settings to default?

Re: WMF dashed line issues

pendean — Mon, 09 May 2016 20:34:23 GMT

If you're going to do all of that, then try a reset first
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-reset-AutoCAD-to-defaults.html

This is how you backup your customizations and settings if you want
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-import-and-export-backup-settings-to-and-from-AutoCAD.html

Re: WMF dashed line issues

pendean — Mon, 09 May 2016 20:50:02 GMT

Are you seeing the lines appear dashed in LT2017 when you "export" to WMF?
I did a quick little experiment: I zoomed out until your content was a dot on my screen, ran REGENALL command, then used Zoom Window several times to get your content back on screen without having the system perform a regen on it's own. The lines no longer appear as dashed on screen and neither are they dashed in the WMF I created from them.

REGENAUTO and REGENMODE need to both be on and you might have to actively REGENALL to ensure all the lines you want dashed appear as dashed. Your video card may be fine with LT2011 but chokes under LT2017.

Re: WMF dashed line issues

Anonymous — Tue, 10 May 2016 13:44:32 GMT

I am seeing the same thing that you describe, but I do not see how that pertains to this issue since it still does not give me dashed lines when I use WMFOUT. BTW, REGENAUTO is an invalid command in my version of AutoCAD LT, but REGENMODE is on.

The Graphics card is listed as compatible with LT 2017, NVIDIA Quadro 2000. All the other commands I use seem to work fine, or at least they perform as well as they did with LT 2011. This is really the only issue I am having.

Re: WMF dashed line issues

Anonymous — Tue, 10 May 2016 14:10:09 GMT

Good Morning pendean and John.

The issue has been resolved.

The issue is with the hardware acceleration being turned on. I turned off acceleration and WMFOUT worked properly showing dashed lines as dashed lines. I have attached the wmf file I created after turning accelaration off. I turned acceleration back on and the dashed line issue reappeared.

It looks like the NVIDIA Quadro 2000 graphics card is not fully compatible with LT 2017.

Thank you both very much for you assistance.

Re: WMF dashed line issues

pendean — Tue, 10 May 2016 14:15:32 GMT

I use both full AutoCAD and LT, so my variable names may have gotten mixed up.

Glad you fixed the video card.