CADVANCE News

December Issue                                                         12:1

We are happy to inform those concerned about the short cut keys working only if the 'Alt' key is held down that this problem has been addressed and resolved.  Thank you all for your patience and understanding.  The update is now available on the Downloads page for CADVANCE 2000 users.  

AE Tools 2000 users: Service Pack 1 is now available by download from the Downloads page.  Please download and install at your earliest convenience for optimal performance.

What's New!
  •  January 8-10, 2001 we will be hosting an internal training for our dealers and distributors, covering our new facilities management, network management and cable management applications.  (SpaceManagement, AssetManagement, Connect IT and CFM 2100)  All current users or those just interested in learning more about it are invited to join us.  If you are interested in attending, please contact us as soon as possible, at cadvance@fitinc.com, or call Shari Goudreault at (714) 956-3171.
  • December sale!  Buy additional licenses of CADVANCE 2000 for only $995 each!  A savings of up to $500, but for a limited time only (offer ends 12/31/00).  Contact F I T, Inc. or your local dealer for details.

 

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Create your own custom Linestyles

In CADVANCE, there are 16 different Linestyles that can be used.  There are 10 Linestyles  included, but you can also create your own Linestyle, re-name a Linestyle, and specify how it appears on the screen and plotter.  Since a line styles appearance can vary depending upon the printer or plotter you are using, it may be a good idea to create your own line styles.  To add your line styles to the Line Style dialog box, you must first create or define them.

Defining Custom Line Styles
To define custom line styles, use Windows Notepad or a word processor to edit the CAD.LNS file in your CADVANCE working directory.  You can define any number of line styles in the CAD.LNS file. Each line defines one line style. Line style order is not important because line styles are assigned by name.

Line Style Syntax (40 characters max.)

         NAME|FIT(DEF)S-LEN,P-LEN
        
For example
: ASTYLE|A(..---.)10,2.5

NAME|   Names the line style (8 characters max.). The vertical
             pipe marks the end of the line style name.

FIT        Indicates how line styles are to fit between end points, either
             Fitted or Accumulated (defined below by F or A).

  • F (Fitted)  - A whole number of line style definitions is fit in to each line segment, arc or circle. In other words, the line style restarts at each vertex. If a segment is shorter than half a definition, it is drawn with the SOLID line style.

  • A (Accumulated) - Each subsequent line segment in a line set starts at the accumulated point in the line style definition. In other words, the line style continues from one segment to the next.  Accumulation also applies to objects that share end points and are drawn consecutively (such as line-arc-line).

(DEF) Defines the line style with a series of hyphens, periods and
spaces, and must be enclosed in parentheses.  Never begin or end a line style with a space.

S-LEN [Optional] - Sets the displayed length of dashes and spaces in
whole pixels. This is optional unless plot length is defined.  The default is four pixels for dashes or spaces. Dots are always displayed as one pixel.

P-LEN [Optional] - Sets the plot length of dashes and spaces. Use
decimal inches for English units or millimeters for metric units, each without leading zeros. The default is .125" or 3mm. Dots are plotted as a pen down with no lateral movement.

When you are finished, don't forget to Save your changes.  To add your new line styles to the Line Style dialog box, open CADVANCE and:

  •  Choose Options/Line Style (ALT, O, L).

  •  Select a Style Name box.

  •  Type the name of a line style defined in CAD.LNS.

  •  Choose OK.

For more information, please refer to the CADVANCE manual.

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Q:


Why does Cadvance 99 (or 2000) Draw Dimension Setup 2 not take me back to "Previous" or let me click "ok" regardless of whether I try to modify the symbol name in the Marker box?

A:

ARROW.SYM and SLASH.SYM are the dimensioning symbols that come with Cadvance 99/2000.  This problem is occurring because Cadvance can find neither ARROW.SYM nor SLASH.SYM.  To fix this problem, do the following:

a) Go to Options/Path.

b) Click "next".  This will take you to the symbol paths.

c)  ARROW.SYM and SLASH.SYM should be located in one of  the 
directories (it doesn’t matter which one) in Options/Paths/SymbolPaths.  
If they are not, then put them in  one of those directories.  Next, make sure 
the item “Search?”  is check-marked in the directory of your ARROW.SYM and SLASH.SYM, so that your Cadvance.ini file WILL LOOK FOR  THE 
SYMBOL IN THAT DIRECTORY.  If the box isn’t check- marked, Cadvance 
cannot look for the symbol.

d)   File/Save/INI/Cadvance.ini

e)  Close Cadvance

f)   Open Cadvance.  Your Cadvance.ini file is now set up to look  at the 
symbol path for ARROW.SYM and SLASH.SYM, so your Dimension 
Parameters Setup dialog box #2 should function  properly and return you to 
“Previous” when you request it.

Q:
Using the two internal line styles DOT and DASH will not correctly plot when a weight is applied and the default line weight size is altered. The styles merge into SOLID lines.  Why is this?
A:


Multiple line weights for DOT and DASH are not supported. This is because of capping. A cap is placed on the end of each line. This cap is a semi-circle, so as the width of the line grows, so does the height of the cap. Eventually, the drawn portions of the line merge into a solid line. The solution is to define your own dot and  dash linestyles and if you are going to use them with increased weights, you'll need to make sure the separation is sufficient to account for capping.  See above for instructions on how to create your own line styles.