Import and Export
Bring in a DXF, DWG or SVG and turn its lines into walls; send the plan out as DXF, DWG, SVG or PDF, the drawings as a PDF set, and the building as IFC4 for a BIM program. Everything is read and written in the browser.
Every property, and what it does
The rows of Settings, Imports and Settings, Exports, and the commands that do the same.
Imports
Settings, Imports. The panel shows what will arrive before anything does.
| Field | What it does | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Drawing | A DXF, DWG or SVG, chosen or dropped on the plan (IMPORTDXF, IMPORTDWG, IMPORTSVG). | DXF, DWG, SVG |
| Project file | A whole Home 3D Plan project. What was open is kept as a version first. | .hdp |
| Units | What the file states, or the unit you pick when you know better. | Auto, Millimetres, Centimetres, Metres, Inches, Feet |
| Scale | A further factor on the file. | A factor |
| Place | Keeps the file's coordinates, puts its corner at the origin, or centres it on the plot. | Keep the file's coordinates, Corner at the origin, Centre on the plot |
| Storey | The storey the drawing lands on. | Any storey |
| Layers | Merge with your layers by name, prefix each with the file name, or put everything on one new layer. | Merge by name, Prefix with the file name, One new layer |
| Blocks | Kept as blocks or exploded into their lines. | Keep as blocks, Explode into entities |
| Text | The file's text, brought in or left out. | Keep, Leave out |
| Walls from lines | Turns imported lines into walls: pairs of parallel lines into one wall at the measured thickness, with openings where both faces break (TOWALLS). The lines move to a hidden layer. | Double line, Centreline |
| Thinnest wall, Thickest wall | Lines closer or further apart than these are not a wall. | Millimetres |
| Unpaired lines | Lines that pair with nothing become walls at a thickness you give, or stay as lines. | Become walls, Stay as lines |
| Gaps | A gap in both faces of a wall at the same place becomes an opening. | Become openings, Ignored |
Exports
Settings, Exports.
| Field | What it does | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Plan drawing (DXF, DWG) | The plan for any CAD program (EXPORTDXF, EXPORTDWG). | DWG release R2000 or R2018 |
| Plan drawing (SVG) | The plan as a vector image (EXPORTSVG). | SVG |
| Plan sheet (PDF) | The plan on a page at a scale (EXPORTPDF, PLOT). | Scale, sheet, portrait or landscape, MONO |
| Detail set (PDF) | The drawing set as a book: plans, ceiling plans, a layout per trade, schedules, rooms and the site. | |
| Sheet set (PDF) | Every sheet you laid out, one page each. | |
| Building model (IFC4) | The building as typed IFC elements in their storeys, for a BIM program. | IFC4 |
| Building take off | The walls, slabs and openings counted. | CSV or a workbook |
How import and export work
Open Settings, Imports
Choose a DXF, DWG or SVG, or drop it on the plan. The panel says what it holds before it comes in.
Set how it lands
Units, scale, place, storey, layers and blocks, then Import. One import is one undo step.
Make walls
Walls from lines (TOWALLS) turns the drawing's lines into walls and openings.
Send it out
Settings, Exports writes DXF, DWG, SVG, PDF, a PDF set, IFC4 or a take off.
Import and export questions, answered.
Can I open the plan in AutoCAD?
Yes. Export it as DWG (R2000 or R2018) or DXF from Settings, Exports, or with EXPORTDWG and EXPORTDXF.
Can I turn a DWG into a 3D house?
Yes. Import the DWG, then Walls from lines turns its wall lines into walls, with openings, and the 3D model is built from them.
Can I export to Revit or ArchiCAD?
Export the building as IFC4 from Settings, Exports. BIM programs open IFC.
Does my file leave my computer when I import it?
The panel reads the file in the browser and shows what it holds before anything is imported.
Read on
- Underlays: Trace over a scan or a PDF.
- Layers: Layers kept on the way in and out.
- Import and export docs: PDF, DXF, DWG, SVG, IFC and underlays.