Question

Shape to DWG - how to unfreeze layer properties?

  • 2 October 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 4 views

I am creating a DWG file from a Shape file. All features of a certain type in the DWG file have distinct colors, line widths and layer names. When users open the DWG file in AutoCAD, they cannot change the properties globally using the layer table. They can only change the properties interactively per feature. How can I remedy that using FME AutoCAD writer settings?

Thanks, Gido

2 replies

Userlevel 1
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Hi @gidolangen,

to unfreeze layers in your writer, you can open up the writer feature type by double clicking on it and setting the Layer State under Frozen to No.

However, if I'm understanding your question description correctly, is your problem rather that the Layers Properties Manager doesn't show the layer properties written out (ie. each layer is in the properties manager is red and default)? If so, I'd recommend using a template file.

A template is an existing DWG file that contains the line-styles, layer properties, or blocks etc. that you would like to be applied in your written product. This template can be applied in two places: in the writer (in the navigator pane, under 'Template File'), and in the DWGStyler transformer. There's more info about template files in this tutorial here.

Thanks for the answer. Yes, I need to use a seed file and set the autocad_color value to "ByLayer".

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