TurboCAD 2015 Pro

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Has anyone out there got TurboCAD 2015 Pro?

I ask because I have a contributor who has this but is unable to produce files I can read with 21 Deluxe (they have tried exporting them as V.19 files but TC21 says they contain elements it cant handle, then crashes when I tell it to ignore them).

He can't produce satisfactory PDFs either.

I suspect that some particularly advanced PRO-only feature has been used and that this is causing the problem, but I have no idea what it is.

If someone out there with TC 2015 could either translate the files to PDF for me or offer a simple solution*, I'd be very grateful.

Neil

*The obvious solution of me upgrading to 2015 PRO is beyond my pocket, especially just for one article…

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

Get the originator to print the drawings out so you can scan them in for redrawing.

[Paul LousickParticipant @paullousick59116]

Get him to print the files with a different pdf printer instead of the one in TurboCad.

Lots of free ones to download like PDFCreator, Bullzip PDF, doPDF, etc

[GarryCParticipant @garryc]

Hi Neil

I think If he saves in Collada format you can import into google sketch up (free) and then create a pdf from there…

Happy to have a go for you if you want to email – if I can do one I'll do the rest for you..

Cheers

Garry

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Why would you go for paper or pdf, both of which require redrawing, when it is already in electronic format? Seems like a waste of someone's time to me, and introduces possible errors. I appreciate this doesn't help you in this instance. Input once, use many.

dxf usually works, at least between turbocad, autocad and draftisight

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

Drawings are normally redrawn for the magazine for various reasons, standard size and format of text for instance.

[GarryCParticipant @garryc]

Duncan, I assumed pdf was probably for ease of print / distribution to others or electronic access for the digital magazine, all obvious possibilities…and Neil did say he wanted them translated into pdf… so why such a negative response to folk who are only trying to help, I certainly didn't want to waste anyones time, least of all my own..

Edited By Garry_C on 17/08/2015 13:24:06

[Jeff DaymanParticipant @jeffdayman43397]

Neil Wyatt you have a PM, JD

Garry C – don't be discouraged by any negative comments. The minute anyone tries to help someone, or offers sensible suggestions, the bashing starts, on many online forums. I just ignore it. I do enjoy your "my little engine thread" by the way.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Thanks all,

Bit of explanation – I have paper versions, but they are complex and I know I will get it in the neck from the author or you lot if the printed drawings are full of mistakes!

They need to be PDF so that after I've looked them over they can be imported into Indesign by our designers without risk of errors. Although the translation process can go wrong, I've yet to find a pdf that doesn't look the same whatever machine or OS it's looked at on.

I think Paul's suggestion is probably the easiest – not sure why I didn't think of it – it's what I used to get folks to do before I got Turbocad21.

Neil

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

JS has figured out a workflow for me – export to DXF, open in another program, remove a few random lines and save as PDF.

Thanks John and others for offers of help & suggestions.

Neil

[Gary WoodingParticipant @garywooding25363]

Drawings produced by TC Pro versions are not always readable by the DeLuxe versions – ie. DeLuxe can only handle 3D models as TC Surfaces, not solid models.

The PDF facilities of most versions of TC are rather "iffy", so I and most other TC users do a normal print and direct the output to a PDF virtual printer. For those who don't know, a PDF virtual printer looks like a normal printer in the pull-down list of printers you get when you want to print something. If you currently have just one printer you're probably unaware that the printer name you see is actually an entry in a list. After installing one of the PDF printers mentioned you will find another entry. After choosing the new printer you simply print exactly as you would to a real printer, and you will be prompted to choose a name and destination for the PDF that is produced.

I use PrimoPDF, which is totally free and doesn't bombard you with adverts. The others that Paul mentioned are also good, but my favourite is still PrimoPDF.

I feel that exporting as DXF so that another program can create a PDF is rather long winded.

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

No sorry Neil misunderstood.

I was able to open a test file sent and played with saving it in DXF and DWG format, something I believer the owner could not do. I was able to but for some reason it had spurious lines connecting views. Easily handled but should not be there.

I then tried saving in TC's own PDF format which to say the least was dire, big fat lines and missing text.

Then as Gary says above print using a third paty PDF printer, in my case PDF Factory, not a free one but works for me and like many programs you use what you are comfortable with.

This came out perfect so it is a direct conversion TC2015 into a remote PDF printer.

My apologies if I miss led anyone but it is easy to miss lead Neil

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Garry,

Neil did not actually sat he wanted them as pdfs in his first post, and I don't consider my reply to have been negative. You can alter the font, text size etc of a dwg without redrawing it, starring again from a pdf is asking for errors to creep in

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Oops misread it

yes he did say he wanted a pdf, Still be better with a dwg so you can amend format etc without redrawing it.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

The ideal is for people to submit me drawings as a PDF, that way all I have to do is pass on to the designer with any comments.

The big advantage is the author knows exactly what he has sent me and then the designer generally only has to change things like fonts, line weights and colours which should not create a risk of introducing errors.

Any file format change risks creating errors. Today I had a query back for another article, because I had cropped out a dimension when converting a drawing to PDF.

Neil

[GarryCParticipant @garryc]

Unbelievable – I clearly don't belong then..

[Jeff DaymanParticipant @jeffdayman43397]

Posted by John Stevenson on 17/08/2015 18:43:09:

Forum posts and emails leave a lot out like body language and you need a thicker skin to belong in these places to allow for this.

No room on here lads for prams and if anyone is throwing any toys out, I'll have them.

What a terrific attitude! It should really make people feel welcome to the forum. Not a great example as a moderator, in my opinion. Where's the warning on the masthead for needing a thick skin here?

[IanTParticipant @iant]

I use CutePDF Writer – it's free and works completely seamlessly with TurboCAD printouts.

So Gary W called it correctly in terms of what TC users normally use I suspect.

Regards,

IanT

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