Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!me!sun
Newsgroups: comp.lang.postscript
From: sun@me.utoronto.ca (Andy Sun Anu-guest)
Subject: Re: AUTOCAD -> PostScript
Message-ID: <90Jul5.213455edt.19844@me.utoronto.ca>
Organization: University of Toronto, Department of Mechanical Engineering
References: <9735@discus.technion.ac.il> <90Jul4.151140edt.19579@me.utoronto.ca> <1990Jul5.204032.7793@kth.se>
Date: 6 Jul 90 01:35:02 GMT

In article <1990Jul5.204032.7793@kth.se> d87-jse@kth.se (Joakim Sernbrant) writes:
>
>Another quirk with the driver is that it doesn't handle different
>line widths at all. I have written a program that converts AutoCad
>ADI plotfiles to either PostScript or Calcomp PCL language; and it
>handles different linewidths. This allows our users to just make
>the plot (to a file); and only later decide if they want it on
>A4 paper or A1 film. It also saves them from exiting AutoCad to
>reconfigure it each time they select a new device.
>  Since I have written this program at work, I'm not sure if I
>can distribute it here. If there is enough interest I can investigate
>the matter. (btw it's in TurboPascal 5.x).
>
>Jocke
>
>--  Joakim Sernbrant, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
>--  Internet:  d87-jse@nada.kth.se
>--

It makes sense for the AutoCAD PostScript driver to ignore the setlinewidth
PostScript command since AutoCAD itself does not allow linewidth
manipulations anyway. My above statement (and thus the comments made by
the above poster) is not exactly correct since commands pline and trace DO 
allow linewidth variations, and those effects can be handled by the PostScript 
driver, although they do it the stupid way (drawing multiple lines to increase 
the width instead of using setlinewidth). However, I have to admit that 
altering the linewidths in the drawings by pline or trace is a bit awkward. 
I will like to see future versions of AutoCAD having linewidth as an
attribute of an entity.

Andy