Converting commercial file to Edu

[Anonymous]

I have just downloaded Archicad17 and am a student still coming to grips with Archicad. I have been sent some house plans from a commercial user and when I open the file, all the plans appear on one 'page' and there is nothing in the 'layout book'. Do I need to something different when opening a file from a commercial user?

[Barry Kelly]

It looks like you have opened a DXF or DWG file?
It may have been saved like this from Archicad but it will no longer be an Archicad file.
You need to open a PLN file to get the full model and layouts.

Barry.

[Anonymous]

Hi Barry, thank you. Yes it is a DWG file. Does this mean I won't be able to access it at all? Like I said, I am hoping to make some additions to it...

[stefan]

It's simply a Drawing (lines, text, dimensions). You can do what you want with it, but it contains no 3D model. That you have to create from scratch, using the DWG as reference.

It is better to start from an ArchiCAD template (included with your install) and then use File > External Content > Attach XRef, so the DWG will not mess up the layers, line types and hatches in your project.