Import

Menu: File / Import

Lets you import files in several formats.

Using the Command

Choose the Import command. In the Files of Type box, find the type of file you want to import, locate the file in the browser, and click Open.

DesignCAD imports the following file formats:

DWG and DXF: AutoCAD formats. Blocks are converted to DesignCAD blocks, with the following limitations:

•   DesignCAD explodes nested blocks from the original drawing. Only the outer block level is retained.

•   Rotated attributes in scaled blocks are not "skewed" as they are in AutoCAD. Example: There is a 45-degree attribute definition in a block definition. Insert the block at X-scale=1.5, Y-scale=1.0. The Attribute gets distorted. When imported into DesignCAD, the attribute is not distorted; it remains at its original angle (relative to the block) and text size.

IGES: A standard format that many CAD systems support. DesignCAD supports the following IGES entities for input:

•   100 - Circular Arc

•   102 - Composite Curve

•   104 - Conic Arc

•   106 - Copious Data

•   108 - Plane

•   110 - Line

•   112 - Parametric Spline Curve

•   114 - Parametric Spline Surface

•   118 - Ruled Surface

•   120 - Surface Revolution

•   122 - Tabular Cylinder

•   124 - Transformation Matrix

•   212 - General Note

•   214 - Arrow

•   318 - Define Subfigure

•   408 - Insert Subfigure

•   412 - Rectangular Array

WMF: Many Windows applications can read Windows Metafiles, and the Import command allows you to bring those files into DesignCAD.

HPGL: The Hewlett Packard graphics language. You can configure other applications for an HP plotter, send the plotter output to disk, and import that file into DesignCAD.

XYZ (or XY): DesignCAD can import text files containing X,Y or X,Y,Z coordinates. The following conditions apply to the Import XYZ command:

•   The coordinates for each point should be on one line. They must be separated by either a space, a comma, a semi-colon, or a tab.

•   Individual line or curve entities must be separated by at least one empty line in the text file.

•   Any line which starts with a semi-colon is treated as a comment.

•   Comments may appear anywhere in the file.

You can connect the points with straight lines or smooth curves, or you can mark their position with a plus sign or small circle. If you choose to mark the points, you can set the size of the mark or circle in the edit box. The size is set in Drawing Units.