SLW210 Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 I always redraw every drawing for which I used a *.pdf when starting. The image (or *.pdf) is then deleted. Maybe I was misunderstood, that is all I use PDFs for, tracing over to create a file, then delete. I only convert files, that have very little dimensional information and the lines become too thick for tracing accurately. With the Underlay option, conversion is really not necessary as often as it was previously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack_O'neill Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 How many serious projects are built using PDFs? Do you think they used PDFs to construct the "Chunnel"? Maybe we should just do our drawings on an Etch-a-Sketch. My old boss at the dinosaur wouldn't have known the difference. He'd have thought it was some newfangled laptop, and would have grumbled because he couldn't close the lid to protect the "sensitive" information on the screen. What gets me are the great numbers of architectural firms and others that will absolutely refuse to give out dwg files. I've had them argue with me over the phone that "we can't send live drawings, you might change something". I told the guy that I wasn't asking for access to his network, just copies of the drawing files. If I changed something, you'd still have the original, it wouldn't change yours, and what would I gain by doing that anyway? "There's proprietary information in the dwg files"...yes, which you just sent me both paper and pdf versions of, so what could be in the dwg that's not in those? "you'd know all about our layers and linetypes!" So? You can have an almost unlimited number of layers, and with 255 characters you can name them anything you want. Why would I care what yours are? And on an on... I realize that you have to protect certain parts of your company's information and practices and all that, but if you trust a vendor enough to send him paper or PDF files, why not send the actual DWG if he asks for it? The idea behind converting these other file types to an autocad format is to try to save time and I get that. You got to get it all done as fast as possible, and if someone has already drawn it, why draw it again? Even if you get a dwg, you have to be very careful to check that persons's work before you base your own around it. I can't tell you how many times I've found fudged dimensions, or dims that had one extension line at the right spot and the other had snapped to the wrong element and stuff like that. I'm usually hanging curtain wall off a building, or filling openings with custom doors and windows, so accurate dimensions are crucial to what I do. It may seem like it takes longer to redraw, but if you save a truckload of aluminum and glass by finding an error on that set of drawings, the extra couple of hours you spent redrawing that elevation is nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankman Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 (edited) [video=youtube;9J9-Qr7oz-4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J9-Qr7oz-4 My old boss at the dinosaur wouldn't have known the difference. He'd have thought it was some newfangled laptop' date=' and would have grumbled because he couldn't close the lid to protect the "sensitive" information on the screen. [/quote'] Boss sounds like a real IT guru! A know-it-all tech support! Edited March 2, 2011 by Tankman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLW210 Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 How many serious projects are built using PDFs? Do you think they used PDFs to construct the "Chunnel"? Maybe we should just do our drawings on an Etch-a-Sketch. Remember the post about using Paint instead of AutoCAD? http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?18342 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack_O'neill Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 Remember the post about using Paint instead of AutoCAD? http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?18342 That was hilarious in that it happened to someone else. Unfortunately, I've been in similar situations. At least now I know that it's not just me that winds up working for morons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack_O'neill Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 [video=youtube;9J9-Qr7oz-4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J9-Qr7oz-4 Boss sounds like a real IT guru! A know-it-all tech support! That youtube thing is hilarious! I love it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankman Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 That youtube thing is hilarious! I love it!! To indicate how old I am, I've had the video on my PDA for years. Whenever I need a chuckle I take a peek-a-boo.......again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack_O'neill Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 You know, the sad part about it is that it actually works that way. Back in the old days when I was a cad manager, I had the same discussion countless times. There is another thread going about people who refuse to change how they do things, and sometimes its simply because they can't or won't understand how to cope if things don't follow the step by step process. Just like this fellow, if the book is upside down, no one will turn it over for fear or screwing up. Either that, or you have the opposite, a guy that would cut the binding thinking he'd showed initiative and solved the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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