Font Problems - Collaboration Project

We are using AutoCad LT 2004 here in the office. We received a file from another architect firm that we are collaborating with and we need use their title block.

However, when we open the cad file they sent us, the fonts are not showing up properly and the spacing is off. I think that the spacing is messed up b/c the fonts are botched up.

Could they be using a different kind of font file that i may not be using b/c i'm on autoCad LT? Were a little less experienced on this side with autocad so i'm not sure exactly where to beggining. I was thinking of going through the internet and downloading all these font files and just going through them one by one till i got it but that may not even lead me in the right direction.

Also when they sent over their *.dwg they included of course their reference files and a couple other files.

OCE - Color-Dependant Plot Style Table File

OCE600 - Plot Configuration File

acad - Font Map

I went through my options and directed the font mapping to that acad file but nothing changed.

Any ideas or maybe a path to start looking into would help.

I've got alot of AutoCad books here to do my research so even if your not sure just toss out ideas and i'll read up about it.

Thanks

Edit - Contains more noticed information that might help with reply

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More information: The title block is a blocked reference. Its not a regular text where i can change the text just by a drop down menu. And any edits to be done needs to be done in the properties

Also i've got to be missing some kind of file. no?

Attached is a pic to help

http://www.wkassociates.net/pics.JPG - What it currently is

http://www.wkassociates.net/pics2.jpg - Needs to look like

Rather than waste a lot of time trying to figure out which fonts you need, I would just shoot them an email and ask them to send you the fonts used in their title block. If they have requested you to use their block, I'm sure they would be willing to send them or at least tell you which ones you need.

ya but i hate looking like an ameatur

You won't look like an amateur. It's not your fault that they use some special non-standard font in their title block. They need to include that font when sending digital files out if they expect others to use their block. Do you know what the font is supposed to look like? Your only other option is spending hours online trying to track it down and hope you get the right one.

Here's a website that offers free fonts. It's pretty extensive:

http://www.fontfile.com/

Thanks for link, that web address will come in handy even if i don't find it with this project.

Here is a scanned .jpg of what the sheet should look like

http://www.wkassociates.net/pics2.jpg

Thanks again, big help

That looks like some true type font as opposed to an autocad font.

You will not look bad if you ask them for the font file, you are probably not the first to ask for it.

You will regularly run in to this issue when people use non-standard fonts, and even it they use standard fonts, there is no guarentee that the person on the rercieving end has your font installed.

Simply ask in a short concise professional mannor for the font file the used in their title block. Hopefully your request will find it's way to someone who knows what font was used.

Does LT have etransmit?

Ask them to etransmit the file. It creates a zip with ALL the files associated tot the DWG files; xrefs, fonts, etc. If they don't know about etransmit, then you don't look like an armature because you've taught them something

thanks a bunch guys

All the advice you've had is sound.

The amount of times I've had title blocks given to me in files which, when opened default to say 'simplex', and look stoopid.

It's not amateur to ask, it's professional. Remember the top of most drawing sheets state, 'IF IN DOUBT ASK'

If the client has spent money on creating a nice individual font for his logo/title block, good for him BUT he has to be prepared to share if he wants you to use his title block. Ask him for the font file or ask him to send the file using the ETRANSMIT deely which will send all data used in that file including fonts, blocks, xrefs plot styles et al.

One of the things that gets my goat is the inability of most firms to control their plotting effectivly.

Say we've done a 70 drawing set on 24x36. Our pages are 24x36, measured, with a ruler.

Structural comes in, it's 24.5x37. WTF?

Civil comes in, measures 25x35. WTF?

I get sent PDFs that can't be plotted to scale because the thing doesn't fit on a 24x36. WTF

One of the things that gets my goat is the inability of most firms to control their plotting effectivly.

 

Say we've done a 70 drawing set on 24x36. Our pages are 24x36, measured, with a ruler.

 

Structural comes in, it's 24.5x37. WTF?

 

Civil comes in, measures 25x35. WTF?

 

I get sent PDFs that can't be plotted to scale because the thing doesn't fit on a 24x36. WTF

word, homes

word

anyone know a fix to this?

i have a .shx font file in a titleblock that does not show up correctly.

on one cpu it shows up fine, on the other not in the parameters.

check all support paths and even copied that file to all the support paths.

i know i have the font, but why is it not showing up correctly on some systems?

thnx in advance..

One of the things that gets my goat is the inability of most firms to control their plotting effectivly.

 

Say we've done a 70 drawing set on 24x36. Our pages are 24x36, measured, with a ruler.

 

Structural comes in, it's 24.5x37. WTF?

 

Civil comes in, measures 25x35. WTF?

 

I get sent PDFs that can't be plotted to scale because the thing doesn't fit on a 24x36. WTF

roller copiers usually stretch a drawing

drawing borders should be blocks with editable attribute title blocks embedded so people can't go shifting margins over to squeeze something else in

I despair of some of the drawing 'practices' we've seen evidence of here, and that I've encountered as a contractor. Drawing sets often look a complete mess!

Computers were supposed to make things easier - not give us a reason to throw the rules out of the window and create chaos

mind you - notice how spelling has deteriorated since we all got spell checkers?

strix, I haven't read the whole thread but check the dates - I'm not sure who you are answering.

There seems to be a lot of dragging up of old threads recently. I tend to miss the (new) questions as I see there are a lot of replies and leave them alone.

oops - thanks DB - quote added in - didn't spot page 2!