Those of you new to Autodesk may ask, what is a DWG?
Developed by Autodesk, DWG is the the core file format for AutoCAD software and AutoCAD-based products. With DWG files circulating throughout virtually every design industry, DWG technology has made the DWG file format one of the most commonly used design data formats.
So what does this mean for the Project Cooper user? It means that any DWG you create in Project Cooper can be shared with someone using AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, or any other product which opens DWG files. For example, you can send a Project Cooper file who uses AutoCAD and they will be able to open it.
At this time, Project Cooper can not open DWG files that originate in AutoCAD or other "upstream" AutoCAD based products. The primary suggested purpose for Project Cooper (at this time) is for the creation of drawings from scratch.
A couple questions:
Can this file be atttached (as a reference)to another dwg file that was created in AutoCad 2010, or 09?
Can the linework be cut and pasted into an existing acad file?
Can a user create symbols and add to the existing symbol lib, or create new libraries for his or her specific disipline?
All very good questions. Here are some answers for you:
Q: Can this file be atttached (as a reference)to another dwg file that was created in AutoCad 2010, or 09?
A: Yes. The DWG created in Project Cooper can be used as an external reference just like any other DWG.
Q: Can the linework be cut and pasted into an existing acad file?
A: Yes. This is one of the main workflows for Cooper - meaning that we hope people will create drawings in Project Cooper that they share with people who use AutoCAD. Our reccommendation would be that you open the DWG that you create in Project Cooper in AutoCAD and then manipulate the linework in AutoCAD.
Q: Can a user create symbols and add to the existing symbol lib, or create new libraries for his or her specific disipline?
A: Not at this time. This is definitely a feature that is under consideration. Right now, the best that a user could do would be to just create a symbol and cut and paste it between drawings.
To ask you a question, is that last feature (allowing for the creation of custom symbol libraries) important to you? How would you use it for the types of drawings that you create?
To be clear, Freestlye-created .dwgs can be opened in "upstream" versions like LT and ACAD? I have used a trial version to create some basic elements that I would like to use as a crude product library for Industrial Control Systems. The circuit blocks you have loaded are great, but not neccessary for my drawings. I can create my own blocks and I don't have a problem copy and pasting the products from one drawing to another, but I do have two issues with this process:
1. I cannot group the elements to create a singular piece to copy and paste. Please let me know if there is a way to do this.
2. When I select all pieces of a single element and copy and paste to a new drawing, the text boxes do not follow. Please let me know if I am doing something wrong.
Yes. DWG files created in AutoCAD Freestyle can be opened in AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD, etc. The drawing geometry will appear just as it did in Freestyle.
Answers to your specific questions below:
1. You are correct. We do not currently have a group feature. This is a popular customer request and something that we are considering for a future release. Are the symbols that you'd like to create for your product library items which are custom to your workplace or are they somewhat generic and we just don't happen to have them in our library? (we are always looking for ideas of things to add to our libraries)
2. Cut and paste with text left behind - I will have our testing team look into this scenario to see if they can reproduce it consistently. You are just trying to copy and paste between Freestyle drawings, correct?
For item 2 can you please provide a little more information? Are you selecting/copying/pasting a selection of geometry/text? Do the source drawing and the new drawing have the same units setting/size or are they different?