Topic: CTB Color Dependent or Not So Color Dependent?

[Jeff H]

I have never seen this used but for a ctb file does anyone set all colors to 'Use Object Line Weight'?
 
So if object's lineweight is set to Bylayer then it's Line weight will be the layers Lineweight or whatever the object is set to when plotted
 
I was wondering if any one did that so if you had 'Show Linewieghts' you could kinda see what you get and maybe set all layers with certain colors to a certain transparency to try to match its screening's value?
 
Was just wondering.

[Bob Garner]

Yes, I believe that is the way I prepare my drawings.  I will try to send out a template drawing that I use.  It contains a copy of my "Drafting Standards" explaining how this drawing is set up and how to print.

But remember, I don't follow company drafting standards.  However, for my "Engineering Study Dwgs", it's fast for me and the crew here at work knows my style and can quickly whip my stuff into company standards.

Later

[StykFacE]

I made the final switch to STB about six months ago. I cannot realize how crappy CTB plot styles over. I now wonder how I ever went so long using them.

[dgorsman]

One of our clients does this - object lineweight BYLAYER, layer lineweight set to a value, CTB specifies object lineweight.  Can't really see much advantage to this, beyond *maybe* if somebody needed to sub in their own custom CTB they don't need to know every single weight (except, of course, the client provides this...).  We use the client-supplied weight-by-object CTB for the full size and PDF drawings, and a weight-by-color CTB for 11x17 plots.

[sinc]

The only value I see to having every color in a CTB "Use Object Lineweight" is if you also change the other parameters for various colors in your plot style, for example if the screen colors that are in one range or group, they print with different parameters - for example, all screen colors that end in "1" (e.g. Color 41, Color 51, etc.) are set to print "Black, with Screen50", or something like that.

But if you're going to do that, I'd say switch to STB, where you can create named plot styles, using names that indicate what each plot style does, rather than reserving "color ranges".

Of course, we STILL have problems with Named Plot Styles in C3D (I don't think Autodesk tests their products with STB files much, if at all).  The problems are mostly minor, though (like leaders for labels that are in the dragged state, and the leader uses the wrong plot style), and there's ways to work around them.  And even with the problems, I greatly prefer STB to CTB.  It's just frustrating that Autodesk doesn't fix the problems, year after year.

[mjfarrell]

  It's just frustrating that Autodesk doesn't fix the problems, year after year.

Not only do they not FIX problems year after year.
They also introduce NEW ones.  Case in point, the Link Slope to surface generic Sub Assembly is now broken and will not honor the Cut(only) Fill (only) parameters and show proper negative slopes....

[Matt__W]

Not only do they not FIX problems year after year.
They also introduce NEW ones.