Origin offset for DXF in Volo View

[VELCROW]

I have SW2010, and Volo View 3.0. When I export multisheet drawings to one DXF file and read it in Volo View, the origin is off by about 0.2" on the first sheet, and .75" on subsequent sheets. I have to go into page setup in Volo View for every sheet and fix it.

Is there any way to change the default origin offset for DXF exports in SW?

 

[MikeHalloran]

Didn't AutoDesk stop supporting, or acknowledging the existence of, Voloview, years ago? I remember it as being huge, slow and very, very buggy.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[VELCROW]

Can you recommend a free alternative? I just need to view and print DXF exported from SolidWorks, black lines on white background.

 

[MikeHalloran]

Bentley offered a nice one a while ago.
It was _much_ smaller than VV, and worked a lot better.

Dassault Draftsight does more than it's advertised to do, and seems pretty solid.




Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[VELCROW]

A colleague tried Volo View Express, and it automatically centered the drawings, but it resized later sheets.

I tried DraftSight, which is pretty nice. It brings in the DXFs with the same offsets as Volo View, so it leads me back to SolidWorks as the culprit.

Any thoughts on how to fix it? I have a macro to make DXFs, so if there is an API to change the origin, that would work.

 

[MikeHalloran]

It may be rooted in that Solidworks "We don't need no stinkin' origin" philosopy/crap. I think I have managed to move SW models to change the origin, but they don't make it easy. Where's the origin of the first item in your feature tree?

If you look at the DXF file itself (you need a text editor that can handle super large files), you may be able to edit it directly to change the global origin. Not that I've done it, but the format is at least documented.





Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[DraftingMan]

VELCROW,

Have you thought to try DWGTrueview from Autodesk.

It work very well as a viewer for DWG's and DXF's and it is free.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?siteID=123112&id=6703438

John H. Dunten, CD
Certified Drafter

 

[VELCROW]

I downloaded TrueView, but it won't install on my machine, says it won't support the OS (W764, which is on the list of supported OSs)

 

[DraftingMan]

VELCROW,

Be sure to pick the 64-bit version.

John H. Dunten, CD
Certified Drafter

 

[VELCROW]

Oops, my bad.

I installed the 64-bit version, and sheets 2+ are offset.

It seems like this is a pretty significant bug, although the workaround is not too bad.