Display issue between older and newer version of BricsCAD (or AutoCAD)

1LandSurveyor

Hi,

We have thousands of drawings created using BricsCAD V13 with the following settings
- Save format = DWG 2010
- Save fidelity = On

We have planned on updating all our Bricscad licences to the newest versions but we get a terrible issue with MText display using these newer versions.
See attached : when we open the same exact drawing using a newer version (like V18+), most of the MTexts are messed up in their width and insertion points...
The same thing happens if we open our drawings in AutoCAD...
Curiously, if we save a drawing using V18+ and save format = DWG 2010, we can open it in V13 and nothing appears distorted.

Can someone please help us?

Anthony Apostolaros

I don't know, but since no one else has answered:

I didn't see anything like that when I changed from v13 to v17 (4 years ago). i no longer have v13 installed, so I can't check to see if saving an old file with it would cause that problem.

I suggest putting everything you wrote into a support request, attaching the same files.

Knut Hohenberg

The problem is that the mtext objects in the dwg 2010 file contain column information that was not supported in V13 (probably by opening a file written by AutoCAD), but left intact on save. I first thought this could be fixed by running some lines of lisp in V13, to change the column setting from "dynamic" to "none" (2->0), but unfortunately, this property seems to be inaccessible to the lisp api of V13 as well. The only workaround I see at the moment is to save the file back to dwg 2004 format in V13 (getting rid of column information), it will then open correctly in later versions, but of course, this may cause degradation in other areas (I do not remember the features introduced in dwg 2004 and dwg 2010). Maybe Bricsys' support can provide a better solution...

1LandSurveyor

@Knut Hohenberg : You are absolutely right. That seems to be the real issue and saving in DWG 2004 prior to opening it in V18 works.
I wonder what feature loss or degradation happens to my old drawing converting them from DWG 2010 to DWG 2004... From what i tested, i found nothing yet.
I would also love to find a way to progammatically convert the old 2010 DWG drawing into a 2004 DWG upon opening of the file within Bricscad V18+... The thing is, the file has to be converted BEFORE it is opened in V18 or else, the damage is done and the conversion afterward does not help. So i must open it in V13, save it in 2004, and then only i can open it in V18+.

(Yes, I have the support team trying to help me as well)

RSW

There is an easier way to solve this format change rather than opening in V13 and save as DWG 2004 files. Both ODA File Converter and Autodesk DWG TrueView (if it is still called that way) can do a batch convert of V13's DWG 2010 files to DWG 2004 format. Just select the folder (use a copy just to be sure) containing the files and let it have a go at converting the files to DWG 2004 format after a while depending on the number of drawings all files will have been converted to DWG 2004 format.

1LandSurveyor

Thanks @RSW
That's a really good idea.
Altough, since we have legal obligations to maintain the integrity of our documents forever, i can not simply apply the conversion to my whole folder (there is often external references that could be degraded) and i will therefore only apply the conversion to one file at the time. But it could definitely become handy when needed.

My last hope would look something like a special setting in newer version of Bricscad that could detect older DWG version on opening and set MText Column property to «None», keep the new Defined width property as the old Width property and stop degrading the visual integrity of my older drawings...

Anthony Apostolaros

@1LandSurveyor said:
.... detect older DWG version on opening and set MText Column property to «None», keep the new Defined width property as the old Width property ....

It would be easy to write a lisp function that checks the version each time a file is opened, and makes that adjustment when appropriate. It would take me quite a while to do it, and I have no use for it, but there are people on this forum who could do it in a few minutes and who might be willing to do it for you just for fun. If not, try The Swamp.

RSW

An option you could look at are utilities like:
JTB Smartbatch https://bricsys.com/applications/a/?jtb-smartbatch-a1423-al2462
Dotsoft Toolpac https://dotsoft.com/toolpac.htm
CADPower from DesignSense https://bricsys.com/applications/a/?cadpower-v22-a1040-al1817

JTB Smartbatch can also execute the lisp as mentioned above by @Anthony Apostolaros on a batch of drawings as well as a few other things to clean up drawings.
Dotsoft Toolpac can, amongst other things, adjust variables in batch processing so you could try if it can update the Mtext Column property etc. that you want to be updated.
CADPower can probably do at least one of these two or both options as well but it has been quite a while ago that I used CADPower so you would have to check with them.

1LandSurveyor

@RSW
So JTB SmartBatch will definitly be our choice.

I've tried all other options provided and none of them works (ODA File converter, Autodesk TrueView, DotSoft, CADPower). As i explained earlier, these tools opens the drawing with a recent release of DWG and then saves it to the wanted format. By opening it prior to the conversion, the MTexts are screwed and the damage is done. ODA File converter for example, does not litterally open the drawings, but reads it according to a recent DWG definition, because the harm is done too.

JTB SmartBatch allows me to specify and use BricsCAD V13 to open and process my DWGs, thus doing the same thing as i did manually, which is working perfectly. The DWG are now displayed flawlessly upon opening in recent version of AutoCAD and BricsCAD.

As for :

@Anthony Apostolaros said:
It would be easy to write a lisp function that checks the version each time a file is opened, and makes that adjustment when appropriate. It would take me quite a while to do it, and I have no use for it, but there are people on this forum who could do it in a few minutes and who might be willing to do it for you just for fun. If not, try The Swamp.

Yes i saw the Idea too, but as for all other methods, using LISP after the drawing is opened is too late, the damage is done.

Anthony Apostolaros

Could you open the files in Bricscad v10 and let that lisp function process it?
Usually a Bricscad license entitles you to use any older version.

1LandSurveyor

@Anthony Apostolaros said:
Could you open the files in Bricscad v10 and let that lisp function process it?
Usually a Bricscad license entitles you to use any older version.

Yes definitely. That's exactly what I will do programatically using JTB SmartBatch to avoid doing this manually all the time. It will use Bricscad V13 to open the drawings, save them as an older format which opens correctly in newer versions and that's it. I will also use the tool to perform some purge operations and reduce our massive drawing library size.

ALANH

Using OBDX can you open set the save as 2004 its a variable, then save. Not sure as have not used OBDX.

In Autocad would run accoreconsole.

(vla-SaveAs (vla-get-ActiveDocument (vlax-get-acad-object)) "d:\test_1.dwg" ac2004_dwg)