Visio2002: Block Entity Colors Are Not Maintained in Visio Masters When You Use the Convert CAD Library Macro

In Microsoft Visio, when you use the Convert CAD Library macro to convert symbol libraries in your CAD drawing files (.dwg) to Visio masters, block colors may not be maintained in the masters on the Visio stencil.

This behavior can occur because the Convert CAD Library macro incorrectly handles the conversion of block colors in your CAD drawings to Visio masters. As a result, block entity colors may not be maintained in the masters on the Visio stencil.

To work around this issue, use the Convert CAD Drawing command to convert the CAD drawing to Visio format, and then drag shapes from your drawing to the stencil. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Start Visio.
2. On the File menu, click Open.
3. In the Open dialog box, click AutoCAD Drawing (*.dwg,*.dxf) in the Files of type box, locate the CAD drawing that you want to convert, and then click Open.
4. In the CAD Drawing Properties dialog box, click OK to accept the default drawing properties.
5. Right-click the inserted CAD drawing, point to CAD Drawing Object, and then click Convert.
6. In the Convert Wizard - Step 1 of 3 dialog box, click Select All to convert all layers, and then click Next.
7. In the Convert Wizard - Step 2 of 3 dialog box, choose whether you want to delete or hide the converted layers or levels, and then click Next.
8. In the Convert Wizard - Step 3 of 3 dialog box, select the option that you want to convert dimensions and hatch patterns, and then click Finish.
9. On the File menu, point to Stencils, and then do one of the following:
   • If you want to create a new stencil, click New Stencil.
   • If you want to view and modify the document stencil, click Document Stencil.
10. Drag shapes from your drawing to the stencil.
11. Save the stencil. To save the stencil, do one of the following:
    • If you are creating a new stencil, click the stencil title bar, and then click Save.
    • If you are working in the document stencil, click Save on the File menu.
12. Specify a name and location where you want to save your file, and then click Save.

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

Convert CAD symbol libraries into Visio format when you want to use them in your Visio diagrams. A symbol library is a CAD drawing file (.dwg) that contains blocks. A block is a single entity composed of one or more grouped entities. When you convert a CAD symbol library, each block in the CAD file is converted into a Visio master and placed on a stencil.

For more information about CAD symbol libraries, type CAD symbol libraries in the Ask a question box or the Answer Wizard, and then press ENTER to view the topics.

For more information about converting CAD drawings to Visio format, type convert a CAD drawing in the Ask a question box or the Answer Wizard, and then press ENTER to view the topics.