Exporting (in outline) to dxf

I'm using Illustrator to create some large letter forms that I need to export into an AutoCad format, so that they can be cut out of steel on a computerized plasma table. I'm able to size the letters and outline them in Illustrator and export them to dxf, but I have been told by the shop with the table that they can't use the files. They say that the "line has no weight." I see that there is a box I can check while exporting the file that allows me to "scale line weight," but I don't know if this is right. Would anyone know how I might be able to specify line weight, or otherwise streamline the exporting from Illustrator to dwf for cutting out a letter-form outline?
Thanks!
The file in question is attached

Hi ET, it's important to realize that what you see in Outline mode.. is just a wireframe and has no content whatsoever. So, if you view the file in Outline mode, that's not what is save or exported. What is saved and exported is the Preview Mode. So you'll need to work in that. I'm gathering that you're under the impression that Outline mode is a savable format. It's not. Everything is in Preview mode. Outline mode is only for illustrator and does not transfer to other formats.
Switch back to preview mode, select the "R" and simply hold the shift key and tap x on the keyboard. This will reverse the fill and stroke giving the character no fill and a solid 1pt black stroke. You can then reduce the stroke weight if you want.
I can't say with absolute certainty that this will correct the vendor issues with the file, however it would be the first thing I try because it does give the object a line weight. Outline Mode paths have no weight and are for on-screen viewing only.

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Any way to export an outline, preserving its hierarchical structure?

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Hello,
fosnola wrote:
> Thank Wilmut,
> I have just retrieved it.
>
> I see that there remains many things to code which is not too surprising as actually the
> code supposes that a drawing file only contains one page and it does not really retrieve
> other position if the different elements which can appear in the same group :-~
a small message, just to give some little news. I have done some improvement in this code and the result of this file's conversion can be found in http://www.loria.fr/~alonso/tmp/vid.odt . But do not expect that all conversions will be <<so good>>, ie. there remains some problems in this code which can make many conversions very bad :-~
Note:
as I begin to understand how the main content of a spreadsheet/database are stored and can be retrieved, I try to create a small tool to retrieve this data and convert them in CSV. It may fail on some files (I have only a few files to test) and/or may fail to retrieve some data ; if somebody want to test it (and report problems) , it can be found in http://sourceforge.net/projects/libmwaw/files/ ( mwawCVSOSX.zip ).

PDF Export with Outlined Text, keeps non-outlined text box behind

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I agree with the gentlemen above, but have on occasion been forced to outline fonts for printers as I have no authority to choose which printers my company works with.
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Exporting to DXF

Hi everyone. I'm new here and have a question
concernig the Illustrator 9 program that we have here at school.
I'm a high school sculpture teacher and I'm trying to help one of my students get his art work scanned into Illustrator, get the basic shape traced and exported as a DXF for a laser cutting machine. Can someone give me some advice? We already have the shape traced but when I export it as a DXF and send it to the laser cutting guy he emails back saying that he can't read it. Maybe I missed a step somewhere along the line. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

it could have to do with your export options. you will have to ask him which autocad interchange dxf file format he wants and the details to select in the export dialog window.

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Hi,
Could anyone can tell me how can i export essbase outline to excel.
thanks

Hi,
Please do the below to get all dimension members as in hierarchy in excel.
Select "All levels" in Hierarchy excel in Options.
Select "Navigate without data"
Select appropriate indentation
Select "Allow double click operations" in mouse operations
Put the dimension that you need all members, in row.
double click the dfimension name and you will see you full dimension hierarchy [obviously without data].
Cheers
RS

How to export Essbase 9.3 Outline

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the easiest way is to use the outline extractor found free at www.appliedolap.com. With it you can export the outline in mutiple ways and include the properties you want. (things like formulas, udas, consolidateion properties, etc).
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I hope somebody can help?! Many thanks.

Niffo,
Of course I understand the importance of accuracy, especially if the design will be transfered to physical fabrication. But what I'm suggeting is that you aren't losing "image size," but rather losing "line weight" or at least its reference. As a result, you may be seeing a different dimension. Consider this oversimplifcation:
Dimension A = the distance between the lines.
Dimension B = the distance between the line weights at their outer extents.
Could it be that the dimensions of your drawing are being measured at different points pre-dxf export and post-dxf import?
I don't know, but this is the possibility I was presenting in my previous post.

How to rename existing members in an Essbase Outline

Hi there,
I would like to do as follows:
1. List all members at Level-0 of a specified dimension (or parent member) that have names matching a wildcard string. e.g. names begining with 'JWC'.
2. Delete the Level-0 members that satisfy the above condition. I must verify the list from 1 above before deleting the members.
3. Rename remaining/existing members at Level-0 of the dimension (or parent member) specified above by attaching a required prefix to the existing name.
Note:
1. I am working with an historical cube and I must preserve past year data. Hence I cannot select "Remove Unspecified" on the dimension build rule as my current data set contains data for current year only.
*kp> The level-0 members that I need deleted contains data for current year only, hence I can safely delete them.
2. I am expecting some sort of script/s (CALC or Maxl?) that will allow me to do the above tasks (List, Delete, Rename) without any manual input.
3. I must get this done by 31 Jan and before rolling out the oldest year data. Hence I urgently need your help here!
Kind regards,
Kamlesh.
Message was edited by:
user616142

Thank you for your response. Being a novice, I must
say that I am quite hesitant in taking steps that I
am unfamiliar with, esp when dealing with a
production cube that takes about 6hrs to load when I
have a limited timeframe! However with additional
guidance (see my kp>comments below), I may be able to
try your method.No problem, we were all novices once upon a time ;-)
> - export the outline using the Olap Underground
Outline Extractor
(http://www.appliedolap.com/default.asp?ID=51)
p> Can I export the outline to just any location as I
believe it will simply be a text file?Correct.
> - do the necessary clean up to the exported
outline text file
kp> If this is the same delete & rename steps I want
done, then I need help on some kind of script that
will allow me to do this as it involves 1000s of L0
members. (I am also considering the tips from Glenn)
> - make a backup of your cube
kp> I did. Just curious - the L0 members that I need
deleted have actually been added via a change I made
to the dim build rule. I had saved the cube folder
before running the rule. I would normally restore the
entire folder so that all components are in sync.
Just one doubt: can I copy/paste the changed dim
build & data load rules to another location, restore
the cube from backup, and then simply copy/paste the
saved rule files to replace the old ones? This will
save me from having to delete the new L0 members.My suggestion is to tear down and rebuild based upon the edited outline export. If you find it easier to work in the outline directly, or to modify your load rules, that is your choice.
> - export L0 data in columns from cube
kp> Will the same Olap Underground Outline Extractor
utility enable me to do this?No, this is a standard operation in Essbase. You should be able to do an export either from a MaxL session or from the console. Check the docs for details.
> - build a load rule to load the export (so you
can ignore errors from records that will no longer
load)
kp> Is there anything I need to be aware of here as I
must get all the data reloaded onto original cube.If the members to be deleted have no data, then there should be no errors. If they do have data but the members will not be rebuilt, you will have to redirect where the data should load to. That will either mean editing the load data to point to the new member names, using alternate aliases, or recreating the load data for the new member names. Hard to be more specific as you situation may vary.
> - reset and rebuild the cube using the edited
outline export file
kp> I am assuming I can manually delete the parent
members and then run the rule based on the export
file to rebuild the dimensions?Yes, the idea is to edit the outline text file to meet your new requirements and then to build the cube again. You can either manually clear the dimension of all members or rebuild with the revised outline file using a Remove Unspecified option load rule.
>
Thank you for your suggestions.
Regards.Hope it helps. Be sure to document the actual steps you use for the next time you have to do this (and there will be a next time, trust me ;-)

Export data in a particular order

Hi all,
I want to export data in a particular order of dimension by the DATAEXPORT command.
I use the below script :
SET DATAEXPORTOPTIONS
DataExportLevel "LEVEL0";
DataExportDimHeader ON ;
DataExportColFormat ON;
DataExportOverwriteFile ON;
FIX ("FY11","Submitted","Budget",@RELATIVE("Entity",0),@CHILDREN ("Period"))
DATAEXPORT "File" "," "file.txt";
ENDFIX;
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"Entity","Allocations","Projects","CostCentres","FinancialYear","Version","Scenario","Account","Period"
I want in the order of Scenario,Version,Year,Entity,CostCenter,Allocation,Project,Account,Period.
Is it possible?
Many thanks.

The only way to do it would be to change the order of the sparse dimensions in your outline. The export exports in outline order

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NI Motion assistant
Version 2.6
Labview full development system 2012
I need to read a CAD file and export the XYZ coordinates.
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It's possible with Motion assistant to enter a dxf file and to export XML file.
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unclebump wrote:
Send me a pm, I have a cad program that can read dxf files and spit out the coordinates. Is this a one time thing or do you need to do it over and over?
Or you could look at something like this
http://www.ransen.com/pointor/DXF-to-XYZ.htm
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I have tried several different export options for the dxf and a dwg and a pdf all with the same results..

Have a look at Concatenate.
http://rj-graffix.com/software/plugins.html#concatenate
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Michiel Enschede wrote:
-More imported: how can I export an selected area of an movie?
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Mark the in and out points on the timeline - on the timeline then press I key for In and O key for Out then export (File->Export) or send to Compressor if you like

Newbie needs some help

Hi -
What I have is some artwork from a customer in a PDF format. I am taking that artwork, converting it to a JPEG, bringing it into my CAD software (solidworks/photoworks) as a decal, and overlaying the artwork onto the finished design. My problem is the imported artwork has a "white background" for lack of a better term, behind the colors. This background essentially hides all the stuff directly behind the decal.
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Joe

You might be able to bring a pdf into your CAD program and AI also
exports to dwg and dxf.
Can you take a screen shot of the file and post it here by using the
camera icon in the text input form when posting a response here?
The white background may not actually be there but if there is a shape
it can be selected the same as you would in A CAD program
with a selection tool.
The selection tool is a black arrow and the direct selection tool is
the white arrow it is used to select a single path that might be part
of a group of paths
most people use this more often then the black arrow.
You can also go tot he layers panel and expand the layer even if
everything is collected on one layer and click at the right side of
each path to select the path you look at the art on the canvas to see
which
path is selected it will be highlighted showing the path. when you
have the one you want to delete you hit delete or back key on the
keyboard. Then either save the file as a pdf or export as dwg dxf
ortiff or png or jprg or what you think looks best when you bring it
back into your program.
Select part of the art with the direct select tool with the path highlighted blue
The same file with the path deleted

New AppleScript command in KN4 - woohoo!

It's only one addition, but it makes all the difference.
You can now set the body text of a slide via AppleScript. It doesn't sound like much, but it means we can now create 'complete' presentations via scripting, making my attempts at an Aperture to Keynote export far far easier - we can set the title of the slide to the image name, and stick whatever EXIF/IPTC info we want in the body text.
Example script:
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Ian
Message was edited by: Ian Wood

Hi, Ian,
Keynote (like Powerpoint) is, at root, a visually presented outline.
Choose View>Outline to reveal the "outline structure" of your slides in the left column of the page display. What you will see there (assuming your slides are not completely composed of pictures and animations), is a full outline structure of the text of your slideshow. Titles are Level 1 headings in the outline, and then each paragraph of the body text of the slides will be at whatever outline Level you made them.
The sad thing is that this outline respresentation is kept entirely internal to Keynote--despite the fact that outline structures are represented and created by many programs. So, if you wanted to make (or had a lot of) outlines in, e.g. Word or OmniOutliner or even a mind mapping program, you would be out of luck getting these outlines into Keynote to make presentations from them. And there is reason to do so--one's outlines may be repurposed in various way in one's workflow, and it is without doubt that there are many better programs in which to create and manipulate outlines than Keynote.
Similarly, if you wanted to get the outline of your presentation /out/ of Keynote. Keynote's idea of a handout is to produce thumbnails of slides--which I find entirely useless. What would be useful is being able to export the outline (e.g. in OPML format--a standard for outlines).
If your body of outlines or the place you like to work on outlines, is Word, you can work around this deficit by using Powerpoint as a go-between. To get to Keynote: open a Word outline in Powerpoint and save it, and then open that in Keynote. And for the other direction, export a Keynote presentation to Powerpoint, open in Powerpoint and save that as "Outline (RTF)" and open that in Word to get an outline Word document. You need a third-party solution to move between OPML and either of these apps.
For anyone who makes presentations with textual substance, Keynote's inability to move outline structures in and out is a glaring omission. (If you look at Steve Job's keynote presentations, they are all pictures and titles, not textual content to speak of. Maybe that is what everyone is using these things for.)
So, anyway, that is the issue I was adverting to. If Keynote gave one the least bit of access to the outline structure of the body text of a slide, one could Applescript one's way around this lack in the program, but amazingly, the only command which delivers the body text of a slide strips the outline structure off of it before you get your hands on it!
All Best,
Greg

Formatting files for PC's using AutoCad machine control

I sent a series of line drawings (Illustrator 12.0.1, OS 10.4.1) to a water-jet cutter who asked for the drawings in dxf format. He controls his CNC machine with a PC running AutoCad program. The drawings imported into his program OK but he says AutoCad doesn't like the Illustrator segments, particularly the long bezier curves and he has to go over every drawing adjusting the control points and adding others to get the CNC machine to perform properly. (Dumbing down???)
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James,
George needs less segments/anchor points. The bezier curves that Illustrator creates when exporting to DXF is a nightmare for a waterjet cutter. It is interpreting the bezier data as many tiny individual line segments that make up an arc. He would be better off exporting version 8 AI ( everything higher than 8 is PDF based ) if his vendor could import it. They are definitely "cleaner" when importing into CAD vs the DXF export from AI and DXF import into AutoCAD. I am assuming the vendor cannot import AI, that is why I recommended www.kandusoftware.com
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Exporting (in outline) to dxf

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