Microsoft KB Archive/287464

= Visio2000: Update for Display, Conversion, Import, and Export of Kanji Characters in DWG/DXF Files =

Article ID: 287464

Article Last Modified on 10/17/2005

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Visio 2000 Service Release 1

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This article was previously published under Q287464



SYMPTOMS
This article describes the DWG and DXF conversion feature update for Visio 2000 SR-1.

This update corrects behavior that is related to Japanese or Kanji (double-byte) characters when you export, import, or convert DWG or DXF file formats in Visio 2000 SR-1.



RESOLUTION
A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that this article describes. Apply it only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English version of this fix should have the following file attributes or later. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.   Date         Time   Version     Size       File name -  06-MAR-2001  13:47  5.0.2920.0  1,481,488  Q287464-en.exe After the hotfix is installed, the following files will have the listed attributes or later:   Date         Time   Version     Size       File name ---  29-JAN-2001  13:12  6.1.0.1329     36,864  CadAuth.dll 29-JAN-2001 13:14  6.1.0.1329     32,768  CADConv.vsl 29-JAN-2001 13:13  6.1.0.1329  2,371,584  Dwgcnvt.dll 29-JAN-2001 13:13  6.1.0.1329  2,228,224  VisioDWG.dll



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.



MORE INFORMATION
This update addresses the following issues.

Kanji Characters Typed in Visio and Exported to DWG or DXF Appear Indecipherable in AutoCAD LT
When you type Kanji text and export it to DWG or DXF format, the text is not properly translated, which results in the exported characters being unreadable.

This problem occurs when you have a TrueType font that is not supported in the DWG viewer, and the DWG viewer applies the Arial font to the characters by default. Because there is no Arial font for Kanji text, the characters are unreadable when you export them.

The new behavior of this update is to use a stroked vector-based font (.SHX) to display Kanji characters.

Access Violation When You Convert an Imported DWG or DXF Drawing Image That Contains Layer Names with Double-byte Characters
This problem occurs because AutoCAD R14 limits the length of symbol table names to 31 characters. When Visio reaches this limit, the string is truncated. If the truncation occurs in the middle of a double-byte character, an access violation occurs.

The error handling facilities allow the conversion routine to complete, but the remainder of the drawing is not converted. When the conversion completes, the exception handling code causes Visio to quit.

This update resolves this problem.

AutoCAD LT Cannot Open DXF and DWG Files Generated by Visio 2000 SR-1 If the File Contains a Symbol Table Name Longer Than 32 Characters
Symbol table names contain entries for named strings, such as style names and layer names. AutoDesk cannot read a symbol table name longer than 32 characters.

The new behavior in this update truncates the symbol table name to 31 characters in the exported DXF file. Additionally, the update makes sure that truncation does not occur in the middle of a double-byte character.

Incorrect Informational Message If You Convert a DWG Drawing with R15 Data, Edit, and Then Save as DWG
If you convert a DWG drawing that contains data from AutoCAD Release 15 or later, and you then edit and save the drawing as a DWG or DXF file, you receive the following message:

The file you are saving contains AutoCAD Release 13 data. The converter does not support writing files of this version. The data will be saved in Release 12 format. Data specific to Release 12 will not be saved.

Click Yes to continue.

The informational message is the correct and expected behavior, but the release information in the message is incorrect. The informational message is supposed to say that the file contains AutoCAD 2000 or Release 15 data, and will be saved in a Release 14 file format.

Because of the complexity involved in changing this message, Microsoft decided to document the inaccuracy in this article, but not to change the dialog box. If you apply this update, the only time this dialog box is displayed in Visio is when you open, edit, and save a DWG file in the AutoCAD Release 14 or later file format.

Problems Displaying Bigfont Dynamic Text and Bigfont Multi Text with Kanji Characters from AutoCAD 2000 LT in Visio 2000
In Visio 2000 SR-1, when you open DWG drawings that were created in AutoCAD 2000 LT and use either the Bigfont Dynamic Text (DText) or Bigfont Multi Text (MText) in Kanji, the drawings have problems displaying all characters. Either the characters are not displayed, or they are represented instead by question marks (&quot;?&quot;).

With DText, this problem occurs because Visio does not contain the correct stroked font (.SHX) to resolve a DText character's fonts. With MText, the fonts are not processed to an accurate font resolution.

This update resolves both of these problems.

TrueType Kanji Fonts in a DWG or DXF File Appear Indecipherable When Viewed in Visio 2000
DWG and DXF files that contain TrueType-based Kanji fonts are displayed improperly in Visio 2000 SR-1. The cause is the same as in the issue described at the beginning of this section. This problem occurs when a TrueType font is not supported by the DWG viewer. By default, the viewer applies the Arial font to the text, which is what occurs on export.

The new behavior in the update is to use a stroked vector-based font (.SHX) to display Kanji text.

Visio Quits When You Convert a DWG or DXF Drawing Image That Contains a TrueType Kanji Text Block to Visio Shapes, and Then Double-Click the Text Block
During the conversion of the DWG or DXF text block into vector information, Visio stores each font stroke in a separate Geometry section. Because a single Kanji character can contain 30 to 40 strokes for large, complex characters, even a small amount of Kanji text can exceed the 255 Geometry section limitation.

This update just truncates the Kanji text block so that the 255 Geometry sections threshold is not exceeded. The final character in the truncation may not contain the full number of strokes to completely render the character.

NOTE: When you convert a text block to Visio format, Visio translates the TrueType Kanji text blocks into vectors that you cannot edit as text in Visio 2000 SR-1. In these cases, the converted text must be for display purposes only. To work around this behavior, delete the text block and retype it. However, note that if you &quot;round-trip&quot; the file through DXF or DWG, the same behavior may result. As another alternative, place the text blocks in a separate layer while in AutoCAD, and do not convert or edit the text layers while in Visio. When you export the file in DWG or DXF format from Visio, the text in that layer does not change, and you can still edit it in AutoCAD.

Exception Error or AutoCAD LT 2000 Stops Responding When You Save DXF Files with Double-byte Characters in Visio Layer Names
When you save a Visio 2000 SR-1 drawing as a DXF file from a U.S. operating system, and the file contains layer names with double-byte Kanji characters, if you open the exported DXF file in the Japanese version of AutoCAD 2000 LT, the program stops responding.

This problem occurs because the generated DXF file has the DWGCODEPAGE value improperly set for a Japanese code page.

This update resolves this problem.