AutoCad 3d Objects into GDL objects

[Tom Krowka]

Is there any way to take Autocad 3d objects and convert them into Archicad GDL objects. I saw the enabler for Autocad to read GDL, but not vice versa. I thought I saw something about it on this forum.

[Anonymous]

yes u can.
Use file menu, gdl object , open object and choose dxf or dwg to import this fileformats. However if there is special file extension for ACAD objects then you cannot use it.
There is also backdraw using AutoCAD files. You cannot import smooth surfaced objects. Back in 6.5 (perhaps in 7,0 as well) there was a Wavefront object importer in ArchiCAD and if you used an inbeetveen translator you could import smooth surface objects.

[Dwight]

However, whenever this topic comes up, we should remember that while ArchiCAD can import AutoCAD objects as described above, they in no way become "useful" GDL objects with parametric potential. We can observe the code in the 3D Script in the object dialog, but it remains cryptic - blocks and planes mostly - that do not lead to geometric [and therefore editable] understanding.

As an aside, most object maker applications create fairly useless code since they merely describe surfaces, not relationships.