VisualARQ 3 Feature Feedback: Export to AutoCAD DWG

[Eugen]

Hello!
This thread connects directly with this topic:

Layout & Drafting: What's the plan?

Hi, I’m a long-time user since V4 and absolutely love Rhino. In my field of architecture, it is an amazing tool for designing and visualizing ideas. Yet very few people use it as a main Program for producing plans and drawings, the workflow is always relying on programs like archicad, vectorworks, revit or even Illustrator for achieving a finished layout of your project. I think that’s a shame. It looks like some improvements are being made for the layout management in the current WIP. But sinc…

Your initiative is a very good chance make progress with the whole ‘layouts in Rhino’ topic!

@enric

Currently, it is possible to create a plan view or section view object in the model,

In this other thread I mentioned the idea to place vaPlan/SectionView directly on a Layout. Have you given this some thoughts?
Since it is already possible to copy/paste a vaPlan/SectionView from model to layout space, why not support placing it directly there?

What’s the pros?

• The model space is left uncluttered (very important).
• 2d plans remain where they belong: in a 2d layout! Dimensioning can already and should be made there, again, to keep the 3d clean.
• saving the file as DWG and opening it in AutoCAD already opens the 2d drawing (in the layout, of course).
• Layout compositions can be made.

@enric

Solid hatches are not supported.

That I don’t understand. I just tested it: create a vaPlanView, copy/paste it into the Layout space, save the DWG, open it in ACAD - solid fills show up.

Fixes that would be needed:

• As of now, if running a vaUpdate on a VA view on a layout, it gives the error:
  
  Would it be hard to make this possible?
• A ‘Scale’ parameter should be added to the vaPlan/SectionViews on the Layouts, for obvious reasons.

This option (vaPlanSectionViews on Layouts) would not be meant as the one and only way to bring VA drawings over to 2d dwgs, but it sounds fairly straightforward, and it looks (can be mistaken) like it’s not hard to implement.

One ‘disadvantage’ would be that the 2d drawing in the DWG would reside in the Layout space in AutoCAD (or whatever people use then). This is unusual, but actually it’s clean. One could copy/paste it back over there if needed.
However, it’s a general contradiction to try to keep model space clean in Rhino, but clutter it in AutoCAD. What’s the cleanes solution for this?
Thanks!
Eugen