Importing a site plan

[Anonymous]

Hi all.
I'm completely new to Archicad. I've watched some basic guides and now want to learn by starting a new project. But my first hurdle is trying to bring a PDF site plan into Archicad.
I think I would like to trace a site plan for the project of of this PDF.
So far I was able to bring the PDF in via "external content/place external drawing".......but I don't know how to then scale it up (scale should be 1:1250)
I tried to go another route by scaling it up in Autocad first....but then I could n't figure out how to bring this into Archicad.
Can anyone show me the best way to approach this?

[Anonymous]

If you set the scale of the view in ArchiCAD first this will often bring the PDF in at the right size but this depends on a few other things and may not always work. The best thing in any case is to check the actual scale by measuring a known dimension in the PDF and then using the Resize command to adjust it. It is easiest to do this graphically buy first clicking (tracing) the known dimension in the placed PDF and then typing the correct value in the Tracker. Piddling around in AutoCAD will just be an exercise in frustration, not just because it's AutoCAD but because it won't likely do any good.

[Anonymous]

"It is easiest to do this graphically buy first clicking (tracing) the known dimension in the placed PDF and then typing the correct value in the Tracker"

Mathew - I am very new to Archicad. I brought the PDF in via "file/external content/place external drawing". I placed a dimension which says "0.582" (see attached PDF). I want this dimension to be 7150mm:
1. I'm presuming 0.582 is the dimension as is, in metres....but how do I make sure?
2. I clicked on the dimension line as shown in the attachment, but I'm not sure how to "then type the correct value in the Tracker". I have worked out that when I type "n" the tracker appears, but it's value says 15833 not 0.582! So I know it has nothing to do with the dimension!

[Laszlo Nagy]

In Options\Project Preferences\Dimensions you can check in what unit length dimensions (and other types of dimensions are displayed).
This looks pretty much like it is in meters.
So you will have to modify the percentage number for the placed Drawing so that 0.582 meters becomes 7.150 meters. Which is a bit more than 1200%.

[Anonymous]

Thanks laszlonagy! I have been able to do it another way - let me know if you think its OK?
I knew the plan was 1:1250 so I brought the PDF site plan and then I went to Document>Floor Plan Scale and typed in 1:1250. I measured it afterwards to check and the dimensions are correct. The only thing I'm concerned about now is that when I go to the View Map in the Navigator, the site plan I have just brought in is in the Ground Floor Plan view as well as the site plan view. Should n't it be in the site plan view only and only exist as a trace in the other floor plan views?

[Laszlo Nagy]

The Worksheet Tool is good for bringing in Site Plans.
Then you can use that Worksheet as a Trace Reference in the Floor Plan whenever you need to see the site plan.

[Anonymous]

Hi. I had to leave this project for a while and am restarting it just now. So I would like if someone could tell me the best way to get started.
As mentioned previously, I have a PDF of the site plan at 1:1250. I would be grateful if someone could give me a CLEAR STEP BY STEP method of bringing in the PDF and scaling it, so that I can create a site plan in Archicad.
Previously, I brought in the PDF through File>External Content>Place External Drawing. However, this then appears on the Ground Floor Plan and I want to be able to draw the ground floor over the scaled up PDF site plan and then turn the PDF site plan off - so that I can see clearly the ground floor I have created.
I tried following laszlonagy's instructions...

The Worksheet Tool is good for bringing in Site Plans.
Then you can use that Worksheet as a Trace Reference in the Floor Plan whenever you need to see the site plan.

...but the worksheet tool was only allowing me to use a .dwg. Can the worksheet tool also bring in PDFs to act as trace references?

One more thing...the site is sloping and I would like to recreate the site in Archicad so that I can place my building in context i.e. within the sloping terrain and with the adjoining buildings modeled as blocks.

I am sure this is very basic stuff but for me it is really important that I know a way of beginning a project in Archicad, beginning from an imported site plan, then recreating the site with context in AC and also creating floor plans based on this but with the original imported site plan (whether PDF, JPG, DWG etc..) no longer visible.

PS. I have attached a JPG of site

[David Maudlin]

Fursa wrote:
...but the worksheet tool was only allowing me to use a .dwg. Can the worksheet tool also bring in PDFs to act as trace references?

Yes, use the Figure Tool or Drawing Tool to place a pdf file on the Worksheet.

You should add a Signature to your Profile (click the Profile button near the top of this page) with your ArchiCAD version and operating system (see mine for an example) for more accurate help in this forum.

David

[Thomas Holm]

I frequently do this.
If you place the pdf on a layer of its own it's easy to hide.

Also, I usually place and draw site plans and terrain on a story below the lowest story of a building. Easy to Trace&Reference then.

To scale it, select it and open the drawing tool settings dialog. Change the unit of your choice.

If you need to change it's proportions (that's often needed if it is originally scanned) you will have to convert the PDF to JPG or TIFF. But I see you already did that... 😉

Edited:
I should add that to make a PDF transparent, which I sometimes need, the only way I've found is to convert it to TIFF (if it's a bit-mapped image) or DWG (if it's a digital vectorial line drawing originally).
To make a TIFF use Mac Preview, Adobe Acrobat Pro pr Photoshop.
To convert a PDF to DWG, Adobe Illustrator works.

[Anonymous]

Thank you Thomas and David. Both your comments have been helpful.
I also found Eric Bobrows thread - Video Tip - How to Trace 2D Drawings to Create Your Model - very helpful:

http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=31445&start=0

As I'm a beginner I really am not sure about a lot of really basic stuff, but if I can just take the first few steps in the right direction I feel it will all flow. But it is those first few steps that are the really important ones.

Thanks again!