Collaboration with other software
About model and data exchange with 3rd party solutions: Revit, Solibri, dRofus, Bluebeam, structural analysis solutions, and IFC, BCF and DXF/DWG-based exchange, etc.

Convert surveyor's DWG into AC 8.1

KeesW
Advocate
I have an architect/planner who still uses Archicad 8.1. He has been given a DWG from a surveyor and wants to be able to use it in 8.1. Can this be done and what conversion steps are necessary?
Cornelis (Kees) Wegman

cornelis wegman architects
AC 5 - 26 Dell XPS 8940 Win 10 16GB 1TB SSD 2TB HD RTX 3070 GPU
Laptop: AC 24 - 26 Win 10 16GB 1TB SSD RTX 3070 GPU
6 REPLIES 6
DGSketcher
Legend
Assuming the installation is standard then the following guidance comes from the 8.1 manual...
Opening DXF/DWG Files
You can open DXF and DWG format files in ArchiCAD or PlotMaker as Drawings or Layouts. Choose File/Open and then select the file you need in the directory dialog box. The Translator Management dialog box appears. Here you can choose the Translator to use for converting the file.
You can also open a DXF/DWG file as a Library Part by choosing the File/GDL Objects/Open Object command. This will open the Library Part master window where you can configure the new object obtained from the entire file. If you choose File/GDL Objects/Import from DXF/DWG, the blocks of the translated file will be converted and placed in a new library folder.
Hope that helps, but they are running 14 year old software!
Apple iMac Intel i9 / macOS Sonoma / AC27UKI (most recent builds.. if they work)
Erwin Edel
Rockstar
DWG trueview (free application from Autodesk) would be able to convert the DWG back to version 2010 or some such, as I would imagine 8.1 won't be able to open the more recent versions.
Erwin Edel, Project Lead, Leloup Architecten
www.leloup.nl

ArchiCAD 9-26NED FULL
Windows 10 Pro
Adobe Design Premium CS5
Barry Kelly
Moderator
Erwin wrote:
DWG trueview (free application from Autodesk) would be able to convert the DWG back to version 2010 or some such, as I would imagine 8.1 won't be able to open the more recent versions.
That is a good point.
Version 8.1 must have been back around 2003 or so it won't be able to open any new DXF/DWG file formats.
Will probably need to be converted back to AutoCAD R14 format.

Barry.
One of the forum moderators.
Versions 6.5 to 27
Dell XPS- i7-6700 @ 3.4Ghz, 16GB ram, GeForce GTX 960 (2GB), Windows 10
Lenovo Thinkpad - i7-1270P 2.20 GHz, 32GB RAM, Nvidia T550, Windows 11
Erwin Edel
Rockstar
You are right, 2010 is not nearly old enough

I hadn't had coffee yet
Erwin Edel, Project Lead, Leloup Architecten
www.leloup.nl

ArchiCAD 9-26NED FULL
Windows 10 Pro
Adobe Design Premium CS5
DGSketcher
Legend
ACLT 2017 and I assume full blown Autobad will save back to R14/LT97/LT98 assuming someone has a copy to back date the DWG file. There is a chance some things may go missing or not appear correctly so ideally get a hardcopy of the original drawing for comparison.

The manual is dated 2003.
Apple iMac Intel i9 / macOS Sonoma / AC27UKI (most recent builds.. if they work)
Erwin Edel
Rockstar
DWG TrueView can convert DWG to older version and is a free application from Autodesk.

I actually use it to verify (ussually wrong) claims of 'unreadable' DWG files I still have to send to 3rd parties and in the past have used it to convert down when ArchiCAD was a bit behind the most current DWG format or when working in older versions of ArchiCAD on long running projects.
Erwin Edel, Project Lead, Leloup Architecten
www.leloup.nl

ArchiCAD 9-26NED FULL
Windows 10 Pro
Adobe Design Premium CS5