Line Weight in Paper Space

[zdas04]

[Using AutoCAD 2006] I've got a project where I need line weight differentiation. In Model space the lines all appear just the way I want them to. In Paper Space all lines are one pixel wide. I've been all through eng-tips search, through AutoDesk's FAQ's, knowledge base, and their forums with no help. They keep saying I need to click the LWT icon (but no indication of what it looks like) or use the LWEIGHT command with the "On" parameter. By the way, that does nothing. I've tried Page Setup Manager, Plotter Manager, and Plotter Style Manager and the lines in paper space are still one pixel wide.

I'm about to move my title blocks, dimensions, and annotations into model space, but I thought maybe someone had solved this and I'm just missing a stupid check box somewhere un-intuitive (to me).

David

 

[borgunit]

The LWT button is on the status bar at the bottom of the AutoCAD window (along with SNAP-GRID-ORTHO-etc...)

"Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects." — Will Rogers

 

[zdas04]

There that bugger is, now I see why there isn't an icon listed. It doesn't do anything for my problem.

David

 

[borgunit]

You can fall back on the Plot Preview to see how they will appear also.

"Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects." — Will Rogers

 

[borgunit]

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/item?siteID=123112&id=2868817&linkID=2475323

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/item?siteID=123112&id=3133999&linkID=2475323

"Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects." — Will Rogers

 

[zdas04]

borgunit,
The "plot preview" of the paper space looks just like the plot to paper--the lines are a single pixel wide. I just noticed that the lwt button in Model Space makes the lines wide or narrow, but it does nothing in Paper Space.

I saw both of those knowledge base articles yesterday and neither of them solve my problem. I've redrawn rectangles as a series of polylines that show up thick in model space and thin in paper space.

I also created a new blank layout without any title blocks or other artificats that I created and the lines still show up as 1 pixel.

David

 

[IFRs]

I draw thick lines in model space, and plot from paper space with no trouble, so it can be done. As a trial, start a new drawing, make a polyline with some thickness in model space, go to paper space, create a viewport, zoom in, plot and see what happens. If it works or not in a new drawing, that tells you something.

 

[zdas04]

It did not work in a new drawing, or a new viewport in an existing drawing.

David

 

[zdas04]

I just went in and zoomed to a single detail and hit the LWT and I could see a difference. I guess I just need to make the lines REALLY wide (it is a site plot that is 300' X300'.

Sorry for the confusion.

David

 

[IFRs]

In the plot dialog, check the box "scale lineweights" and read up on how it works in help. I have never used it, but there is lots to learn no matter how long you have been at a thing. I wonder if it will help, or if you have already tried and it did not??

 

[pittsig]

I don't have Autocad installed on the machine I'm working on so this is going by memory...

Somewhere there is a box that you can check or uncheck that is called something like "use paperspace lineweights" or "display paperspace lineweights" or something to that effect - it's either on the pulldown where all the linetypes installed are shown (edit linetypes?) or on the Layer manager.

It effectively toggles the layers either as you said so the lineweights display correctly in modelspace but not paperspace, or correctly in paperspace and not modelspace.

 

[zdas04]

There is a "more options" button on the plot menu that has a radio button to "scale line weights". If you zoom WAY in you can see a difference between this button being checked and not being checked.

This whole process is really ugly. In model space my line weights are so thick that there is no detail. In paper space the same lines show us as slightly thicker than normal. When I create a .pdf the lines look thin. When I convert that to .jpg (to include the drawing in an Access Database), most of the lines just disappear. I've tried a dozen different ways to create the .jpg (the AutoCAD jpgout command it by far the worst), and found an add-in for Acrobat that gives the best results and they still suck.

When I draw the simpler sites in FreeHand everything is so easy, in AutoCAD it is just stupid (but FreeHand doesn't do dimensioning as well).

David