dxf files are not visible in AutoCAD

[bluequad]

Having created a file in QCAD in dxf format, it will not open in AutoCAD. There is something there, because the crosshairs pick up a dashed line for each component of the drawing but becomes invisible once the cursor moves away.

I was lead to believe that QCAD files were interchangable with AutoCAD. Do I have to save the file in another format?

[andrew]

You might have to change the color of your entities (or layers) from black to something else. QCAD displays black lines on a black background in white, Autocad does not.

[hungerburg]

So in QCAD a black line gets rendered white, if the background of the drawing surface is pure black (zero, not one, two...255). I prefer drawing on a silver board (192). Background colour is an "application" preference, not a "drawing" or document preference and is not saved in the DXF file.

One could say, the DXFormat is underspecified for omitting such a preference. Or is it just QCAD? I rather draw draw black lines than those candy coloured lines I see so often. Still, other people have to look at my drawings with their software, and autocad is wide spread. Is there another way to help them, than writing with a white pencil a hint into the area, like:

"Please use a light background to view this drawing correctly."

Regards

--
peter

[bluequad]

Thanks for that Peter. Actually, Andrews reply worked because I changed the drawing colour to Red in preferences and it opened in Red in AutoCAD.

I suppose one can then change the colour to what you want thereafter.

Someone posted a reply to a similar question a little while ago and made a series of changes in AutoCAD, but I haven't tried this.

Keith

[andrew]

One could say, the DXFormat is underspecified for omitting such a preference. Or is it just QCAD?

The background color of the drawing area is definitely a user preference, not a drawing / document setting in CAD. The vast majority of people draws on a black background. A few people prefer a white background (matches the print).

QCAD automatically adjusts the display color of black and white entities, so they are never invisible. Autocad and other CAD systems might not do that.

[faber]

reading your comment looks like the major problem is the setting of the color of the layer; didn't you experience huge differences when opening the same file in autocad and qcad?
Unfortunately I am not currently able to have the same results...
I "have" to use only the same software (qcad) if I want to handle the dxf file without problem; if I try to open it using autocad (lite version) is a little disaster.