Problem with importing AutoCAD in proper scale

[Anonymous]

How do I import AutoCAD 2004 files from a surveyor at the right scale into my ArchiCAD 9 drawing? I have tried both Open and Merge. Supposedly their scale is 1:30 and I have set my drawing to 1:30 also. It opens up in a new drawing and is coming in very small, and the AutoCAD drawing is miles away from my origin.

It also seems that some of their numbers (contour line elevations) did not come in, but everything else did. I can see where the contour numbers would be located , but nothing is in the text box.

Importing it into PlotMaker 9, the drawing was huge! Way bigger than a normal sized page! (However I can't use it as well if it is in Plotmaker.)

I have been using ArchiCAD for a little over a year and have been loving it. I think I'm reasonably proficient, but I am still learning new tricks! I would be grateful for any help.

Thanks
Gail

[Link]

At a glance I think the key to solving your problem is setting the drawing units to one foot, instead of one inch. This is always the case with surveyor/civil drawings.

Cheers,
Link.

[Anonymous]

Link,
Thanks for answering. If you mean setting the drawing units in the translator settings to 1 foot, instead of 1 inch; that doesn't work! I have tried also all the various buttons under scale factor. All that seems to do is change the size of their text, and not the drawings. I have tried setting the constant factor to 1:1 and 1:10 with no result. Likewise, I have tried importing at 1:60 and 1/4" = 1'-0".
Maybe I'm not looking in the right place for the drawing units?
Gail

[Link]

Can you zip the file and upload it?

Cheers,
Link.

[Anonymous]

The zipped file is more than 256 KB. It won't attach. I'll try to find some way to make it smaller.
Thanks,
Gail

[Anonymous]

Link,
I've gotten it down to 68 KB, but I had to save it out of ArchiCAD, so it might not act the same way.
Gail

[Link]

I really need the original.

Cheers,
Link.

[Anonymous]

Link,

I've gotten it to work! I used File/Open from my ArchiCAD solo project, with the drawing units at 1 foot as you suggested and "always use scale set in the ArchiCAD window" button pushed and I have been able to open the DWG at 1/4" scale in its own project file twice. Now I just have to copy and paste it to my project and clean it up a bit. Merge still doesn't work, but I've got what I wanted.

Thank you very much!

Gail

[Anonymous]

I never even get to upset if someone on the Autocad end messes up what they send.

The basic rule in the US is that if it's from someone who drew the DWG/DXF in feet and inches you set the translator units to 1 inch and if it's from someone who uses decimal feet set the units to 1 foot.

Next, always choose "Always used the scale set in the currently active ArchiCAD window"

Bring the drawing in and measure along a dimensioned element. If the scale is wrong you could go crazy (short trip for me ) trying to figure out what the AutoCAD user did. Don't wast your time! If it didn't come in right do this...

First, go into the Layer Settings and create a new Layer Set named "as_received"; that way you can always get back to where you began.

Next, Show and unlock all layers, and, with the arrow tool active, Select All.

Next choose Edit/Resize, click at the beginning if the longest dimensioned element, click on the end, leaving the cursor there at type "R" and the known dimensional value of the element.

The entire drawing will be resized to its actual value. It's FAST and EASY; and, it saves a LOT of frustration

Woody

[Anonymous]

Thank you Woody,
I wish I'd thought of that! Instead I did get crazy (extremely short trip for me). Simply resize. Oh well.
I did unlock and show all the layers, but the contour elevation numbers were never there - so I called him for the numbers; low tech, but it worked!
Thanks again.
Gail