DWG Import - Scale Appears Fixed

[Anonymous]

Scenario: dwg from japanese architect in metric imports at the same scale (or no scale) regardless of any settings in the translator or the scale set in ArchiCAD before import.

Question: is if possible for a dwg to act like a figure/drawing that comes in at the same size? Or am I missing something new in AC10? I have always been able to match the scale either in the translator settings or in ArchiCAD, but I was told that the dwg was produced at no scale. Since I am autocadphobic, I don't understand how this is possible.

I know I can just resize the drawing elements in ArchiCAD or drop it in as a drawing, but I would prefer to import or merge it.

[Thomas Holm]

Mabe wrote:
BTW, since you are in Stockholm, do you know my ArchiBud Stig Bengtssen? (He will attest that I'm not as stupid as I may sound.)

Mabe, you overestimate me. I've never USED Autocad. I've just had to put up with numerous translation issues, first from/to Microstation, then Archicad.

And I know Stig Bengtsson. He doesn't post often, but I think he's a frequent lurcher in ths forum

Finally, I don't think you're stupid either. But we frequent posters sometimes don't express ourselves clearly enough, because we often see more than one possible reason for the troubles people tell about, and try to cover everything in one breath. In your second (I think) post I got the impression that you hadn't got the dwgunit setting from your Jap friend, and since that is crucial, I thought I should stress it. You might however be able to solve this if you can measure something with a known size (use the dimensioning tools) right after a translation test - provided you know what drawing unit setting you used in the translator!

[Anonymous]

Thomas, your explanations are quite clear, thank you; I did not provide much detail thinking the issue was simple. My preference is to just place the dwgs as drawings (so I can control the layers). There are several buildings, the tallest is 42 stories, and in the dwg file all plans are on one story (or i guess it's the model space). To make them useful underlays, I like to minimize the necessary drawing elements, put them in a layer, then stack each floor in the appropriate story (to see if the structure really aligns.)

Setting my AC scale at 1:500, I can merge the dwg (or place as a drawing); then resize down by a factor of 1000 to get to the correct scale. There is no translator that I have been able to set that automates the resize. It's really not that big of a deal, but I was perplexed by the fixed scale.

As the design develops and the ArchiCAD plans establish control, this issue should go away (and we'll see what new issues surface.)

So, I will check with our partners and get back to you.

[Thomas Holm]

OK. to dig into this issue, the first thing to do is to import the dwg into a clean (empty) Archicad file.
- first create an empty project
- use the layer manager to remove all layers (except the Archicad layer, it won't go)
- use the File > Open command to select the the dwg file. Don't double click or Open it yet
- with the file still selected, select a Translator with the drop-down menu below the file list. I'd start with KEEP INDEX NUMBER
- Now click the Settings... button to the right of the translator name
You get a new dialog. Click Create New - this will let you save your translator as a new list without changing the default settings.
- Call it Test Translator or whatever' and Save
- Now start checking the translator settings. Drawing unit is the first one in the list. Select it, right-click Help, and in Archicad Help, navigate to Index>D>DXF/DWG CONVERSION>Drawing Unit.
Read it.
you can go on like this.
- When you've set all settings you want, click Save Settings & Close, and you'll be back to the file list.
- NOW, click Open.
Try dimensioning something known to check if it's right or scaled. If you did this right, and the japs really drew in 1:1, you should get a correct dimension. Arrowheads and text may be wrong, but their size is set by the scale factor, which should not change the drawing elements.

When you're done, save the file. I would save it as a .mod (module file) and Hot-link it into my project. You can at any time go back and edit this module. When you open the main project again, you should check that the module''s correctly updated if you do.

[Anonymous]

Thomas, Thanks for this procedure, but I am pretty familiar with setting up custom translators so that exhanges back & forth can be seamless. I thought there might be some secret handshake that would fix all. For some reason, after re-opening with the drawing unit set to 1mm, the imported elements have decided to change with changes in the scale. I had been having memory issues, so the only difference is that I rebooted. All is well and I thank you for taking the time to elaborate.

[Thomas Holm]

Mabe wrote:
All is well and I thank you for taking the time to elaborate.

You're welcome. I'm sorry if I get too excited. But do come back and tell us how you resolved this issue with the Japanese file!

[Anonymous]

I have no idea how the issue resolved itself. I have since opened other dwg files and the drawing elements scale correctly. But I have a slightly better understanding of autocad. Of course, I have yet to send any files to Japan....