Export from Layout Space to New Drawing in Model Space - Large Sized Files

[Anonymous]

I have several large size drawing to export from Layout space to a new drawing.  These drawing can be up to 27mb to 30mb in file size.  Sometimes it takes close to an hour, if it exports without failing.  (Failures are coming from hatchings in the drawings.  I have to make sure any hatch is not visible.)   Is there a better way to export form layout space to a new drawing with out taking so long.  I have 5 or more Layout tabs to export in each drawing.  I have several layers stacked on top of each other to mimic each floor lever of a tower,  Each level has equipment, duct work and notes,  Then I use layout space to freeze layers in each viewport as needed.  Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

Sam

AutoCAD 2015

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous,

In order to better answer your question, is it possible for you to attach a drawing or drawings that illustrate what you are attempting with your workflow?

Large files can take some time to run certain functions on but I would like to see with what in particular you are dealing.

[Anonymous]

No I can not send drawings. Proprietary building plans. What I have are multiple floors to a tower(s) with equipment placed on some of the floors. Each floor lever is a layer and with layers I need to place my duct work. So each level may have 5 or more layers depending on level of detail I may need for the customer to our shop drawings. Depending on who gets the drawing depends on what they see. I use layout space to create the drawings to plotted and exported. In each viewport I freeze or turn off layers that are only needed for that particular floor level. May have two floor levels on the same drawing with the same vp scale. This way I can batch plot of I need to. Now I need to export the drawings for customer approval. I don't want to sent my original because I have lots of other information on the drawings that the customer does not need to see. Not sure if this helps.

Sent from my iPhone

[M_Hensley]

Why don't you make several copies of the drawing using Windows Explorer, then open each copy and delete what you don't need then use CHSPACE command to move things from layout to model space.

[Anonymous]

Doesn't that kind of defeats the layout space purpose.  If I need to make copies and delete all the data not being used in the that particular viewport, I should just scale the areas needed and add title blocks in model space then have to keep track of the dim scales and title block scales. That's the way I use to do it years ago.  Since going to layout space and spent lots of time setting everything up like dims and title blocks to work properly it just seems like a step backwards.  I didn't realize exporting would take so long on such large drawings.  Then I have to go to each drawing and scale them up to the correct scale.  There should be a scale factor that you could use to avoid this issue.  Most of the time I have only one viewport or maybe two but they are the same scale so setting a scale to export would be great.  I have to scale everything back to 1:1 for customers and engineers to accept the drawing files. 

[M_Hensley]

You would get better responses if you would include a drawing or two that illustrates what you have and what you hope to end up with. They don't need to have any proprietary information, just some generic objects (lines, circles, squares) to represent them.

[john.vellek]

Hi @Anonymous, in re-reading your post I think the command you want to try is EXPORTLAYOUT. Once you have everything configured in the viewports on a layout, run this command and it allows you to capture the data on the layout and puts it into modelspace of a new dwg.

If you have multiple layouts you could possibly create an Action Recorder Macro to help automate the export....or perhaps a script would work as well.

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

[Anonymous]

Is there a way to set a scale factor to the export so I don't have to go in and scale everything back to 1:1 scale and Dim Update all the dimensions to the correct size like it was on my layouts.  This is a hassle having to scale and fix dimensions.  I see no other easier way to do this.  If I have to do this in model space will be even harder and more time consuming to create the layouts in model space.  I would have to copy each set of layers that compose of each floor level and then add title blocks to scaled up to fit around the objects I'm keeping.  Then the ones that I have at a larger scale in the viewports, I would have to copy, erase and trim for each scaled up view.  Which seems to take as long as exporting to a new drawing.  Either way it takes me over a day to create 14 drawings from layout space to model space so my clients can use and print them.  I thought layout space was the way to go, seems it takes just as long with huge 30mb drawings as it does if I did it the old way I did years ago.  Sorry I couldn't post any drawings, company rules state that I cannot transmit any data unless its to our direct customer or supervisor. 

[lovecraft]

Is there any reason why you couldn't use COPYBASE to grab all the objects you need from Modelspace (I'm assuming all of your dimensions and annotations reside in Modelspace.....if not, then you would obviously have to use CHSPACE to place them there or use a separate COPYBASE from the source Paperspace to the target Paperspace for those objects separately).  I don't know whether this is the most efficient workflow and I guess it would still require you to lock and/or freeze layers as required to get the results you're after.  Any comments?

LC 

[john.vellek · Accepted solution]

HI @Anonymous,

Without seeing some samples, my next suggestion would be to use the ExportLayout and then scale the entire contents of your model by the scale factor.

[Anonymous]

Export layout is what I was doing at first.  So I'm really back to waiting 6 to 8 hours to convert 14 -16 drawings to model space and then go in and scale everything to 1:1 scale and fix the dimensions since they were in model space at a specific scale.  What do we have to get Autodesk to fix this problem.  I see it as a problem since we have no control on how the drawing is export such as scales, dim scale, ltscales and so forth.  I have noticed when exporting form layout space in to model space when using viewbase on a 3D model, it exports 1:1 no matter what scale the views are on layout space.  Just my thoughts.  This project has become a headache because it takes so long to export the drawings.  Especially when you have a Boss hovering over you wanting immediate results.  I guess I should have done it the old way and views spread all over model space with title blocks at different scale along with leaders and dims.  Sorry not happy with results when exporting to model space.

Sam 

[john.vellek]

HI @Anonymous,

Is it possible to make a copy of the drawing (so as not to destroy the original) and explode all the dimensions and such in modelspace before you export the layout? does that help you at all?