Import & Export

On the Drafting tab, the Import & Export group contains the following tools.

2D Sticker

In CADMATIC, a 2D sticker is a group of one or more 2D drafting objects that are stored in the library or the project database, in Document Production > 2D Stickers.

You can import a 2D sticker and manage the members of the object set as individual drafting objects.

Import 2D sticker | Export objects in a set as 2D sticker

Import 2D sticker

You can import a 2D sticker from the application database.

Do the following:

  1. Select 2D Sticker > Import 2D sticker. The Select 2D Sticker dialog opens, listing the stickers in the application database.

  2. Select the sticker to import and click OK.

  3. Pick a target location for the sticker.

Export objects in a set as 2D sticker

You can export a set of drafting objects as a 2D sticker that is stored in the application database.

Do the following:

  1. Select 2D Sticker > Export objects in a set as 2D sticker.

  2. Pick the objects to include in the set and press Enter.

  3. Pick a base point for the sticker. The Database for the 2D Sticker dialog opens.

  4. Select whether to store the sticker in the project database or the library database and click OK. The Edit Object Attributes dialog opens.

  5. Enter a descriptive name for the sticker, select the application where to use the sticker, and click OK.

Drawing

You can import a 2D drawing from an external file, rescale the drawing, and move the drawing to its designated place.

Import | Rescale | Move | Delete

Import

You can import a 2D drawing from these file types: DWG, DWT, DWF, DWFx, DXF, and DGN.

The imported entities are assigned to an import group whose group type is "DXF", and the import group can be selected if you use the rescale, move, or delete command.

All blocks in DWG files are exploded, and all entities that are not directly compatible with CADMATIC entities are exploded into simpler entities.

Prerequisites

Do the following:

  1. On the Import tab, select Drawing > Import. The 2D Import Settings dialog opens.

  2. Define the import settings:

    • File – Click Select and select the file to import.

    • Layout – This field lists the layouts that contain some entities. Select the layout that contains the entities to be imported.

    • Name – Enter a unique name for the import group.

    • Scale – Define the scale of the drawing by entering a specific scaling factor. Scaling factor 1 imports the drawing using its original dimensions. The initial scale depends on the sheet size; the tool scales the imported sheet so that it fits into the drawing area.

      Use autoscale – If you select this option, the scaling value is ignored and the program applies a reasonable default size to the drawing.

      Note: If the sheet is very large but the imported entities are near the origin, the imported drawing might appear very small and near the lower-left corner.

      Tip: You can also rescale the drawing after the import.

    • Layer – Click Select to select the default target layer for the imported entities.

      Try to map layers from import by name – If you select this option, entities whose layer can be found from CADMATIC are automatically mapped, and those that cannot be mapped based on layer name are assigned to the default target layer.

    • Use annotation property defaults – Select this option if you want the imported entities to use annotation property defaults, and then click Select to select the annotation property defaults to be used.

  3. Click OK. The drawing is imported and a preview image is shown. You can change the scale of the drawing with the Set scale (I) command.

  4. Move the drawing to the intended location, and click or press Space to accept the location.

Rescale

Select Drawing > Rescale to change the scale of an imported drawing. You are prompted to select the import group, define the base point, and define the new scaling value.

Move

Select Drawing > Move to move an imported drawing. You are prompted to select the import group, define the base point, and define the target point for the move. You can move the drawing as many times as needed, and then press Enter to accept the final location.

Delete

Select Drawing > Delete to delete an imported drawing. You are prompted to select the import group to be deleted.

Reference Drawing

A reference drawing is a 2D drawing imported from an external file (DWG, DWT, DWF, DWFx, DXF, DGN) that is attached to a work view, drawing view or diagram, and serves as a visual aid for the insertion of 3D design objects, 2D diagram symbols, or 2D annotations. Reference drawings can be resized, repositioned, and customized in terms of line weight and color, without altering the original drawing. Reference drawings can maintain their link to the original file, or they can sever this link in the import and store a copy of the original drawing in COS. In both cases, if modifications are made to the original, the reference drawing can be updated through a reload, and unnecessary reference drawings can be hidden or removed entirely.

You can use the Manage Reference Drawings dialog to manage the reference drawings of the active diagram. For each imported drawing, you can see their name, status, visibility, file name, file modification date, file path, file size, and scale. The Status column indicates if the imported drawing still matches the original file, or if the drawing is not linked to the original file.

Add | Remove | Reload | Change path | Edit | Move | Rescale | Rotate | Mirror | Properties | Visible

Add

You can import one reference drawing at a time and place the drawing in the active diagram.

Prerequisites

  • To import the entities to the same layer where they are in the import file, Layer configuration must contain the required layers.

Do the following:

  1. On the Drafting tab, click Reference Drawings. The Manage Reference Drawings dialog opens, listing the previously imported reference drawings.

  2. To import a new drawing, click Add. The Reference Drawing Import Settings dialog opens.

  3. Define the settings for file import:

    • File – Click Select and select the file to import.

    • Include copy and break connection to original – Select this option to import a copy of the drawing file to COS, linking the reference drawing to this copy instead of to the original file on the disk. This copy can then be modified in COS and the changes reloaded to the reference drawing, but no changes can be reloaded from the original file.

    • Layout – This field lists the layouts that contain some entities. Select the layout that contains the entities to be imported.

    • Name – Enter a name for the reference drawing. The names do not need to be unique: you can import the same file with the same name multiple times, if needed.

    • Scale – Define the scale of the reference drawing by entering a specific scaling factor. Scaling factor 1 imports the reference drawing using its original dimensions.

      Use autoscale – If you select this option, the scaling value is ignored and the program applies a reasonable default size to the drawing.

      Tip: You can also rescale the reference drawing after the import.

    • Layer – Click Select to select the default target layer for the imported entities.

      Try to map layers from import by name – If you select this option, entities whose layer can be found from CADMATIC are automatically mapped, and those that cannot be mapped based on layer name are assigned to the default target layer.

  4. Define the settings for the reference drawing:

    • Fixed lineweight – You can select to use the same lineweight for all imported entities, instead of using the lineweights of the import file. This fixed lineweight can be the lineweight of the layer or a lineweight you select from the list.

    • Fixed color – You can select to use a fixed line color instead of the colors used in the import file. This can be the color of the layer or a color you select from the color picker.

    • Define Custom Area – Select this to import a smaller area instead of the whole drawing. You are prompted to define the area to be imported by picking two corner points.

    • Control Layer Visibility – Select this to define from which layers to import entities.

  5. Click OK. The drawing is imported and a preview image is shown. You can change the scale of the reference drawing with the Set scale (I) command.

  6. Move the reference drawing to the intended location, and click or press Space to accept the location.

    The imported drawing is listed in the Manage Reference Drawings dialog.

Remove

You can select and remove a reference drawing that is no longer needed. This also deletes the potential copy of the drawing file from COS, but not the original drawing file from the disk.

Reload

You can reload the selected reference drawing using the current import settings, especially when the drawing file has changed. If the reference drawing is linked to the original drawing file in the file system, a modified file is indicated by the Status column displaying 'Outdated'. However, if it is linked to a copy of the drawing file in COS, the status always remains as 'Up-to-date'.

Change path

You can re-select the drawing file of the selected reference drawing from the file system. This can be useful, for example, if the file has been moved away from its original location.

The button is disabled if the drawing has been imported without linking it to the original drawing file in the file system.

Edit

You can edit the underlying drawing file of the selected reference drawing. The drawing opens in the application associated with the given file type, such as CADMATIC Viewer/2D Symbol Editor.

Move

You can move the selected reference drawing to a different location.

You are prompted to define the base point and the target point for the move, and you can reposition the drawing as many times as needed. Press Enter to accept the final location.

Rescale

You can change the scale of the selected reference drawing.

You are prompted to define the base point and the new scaling value.

Rotate

You can rotate the selected reference drawing around a point defined by picking a point from the drawing.

You are prompted to define the amount of rotation to be applied.

Mirror

You can mirror the selected reference drawing across a line defined by picking two points from the drawing.

Properties

You can modify the properties that were used when importing the selected reference drawing. Accepting the changes prompts you to reload the drawing.

Visible

You can set the selected reference drawing to be either visible or hidden. This affects both the drawing views and exported drawings.

A reference drawing must be visible to use the commands Move, Rescale, Rotate, and Mirror.

Image

You can import an image from an external file, rescale the image, and move the image to its designated place.

Import image

You can import an image from these file types: BMP (.bpm), JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg), PNG (.png) and TIFF (.tif, .tiff).

Do the following:

  1. Select Image > Import image. The Select an image to import dialog opens.

  2. Select the file to import and click Open.

  3. You can move the image by clicking (or pressing Space) near the highlighted lower-left corner and then clicking again to accept the new location.

  4. You can rescale the image with the Rescale (I) context-menu command.

  5. Press Enter to accept the imported image.

  6. Press Enter again if you want to import another image.

Rescale

Select Image > Rescale to rescale imported images. You are prompted to select the images, define the base point, and define the new scaling value.

Move

Select Image > Move to move imported imaged. You are prompted to select the images, define the base point, and define the target point for the move. You can move the images as many times as needed, and then press Enter to accept the final location.

Delete

Select Image > Delete to delete imported images. You are prompted to select the images to be deleted, and then you can press Enter to delete the images.

Table

Tables are special drafting objects that can be imported from a Microsoft Excel file. They can also be copy–pasted from a third-party application. The look of a table is defined in the Table Style that the table is using; Table Styles are defined in the Drawing Styles configuration object. If the table is very large, you can split the table during import into several smaller tables that are still managed as a single table entity, or you can choose to import just a particular range of cells. Imported tables remain linked to the original source file, which allows the contents of a table to be updated if the source file is modified after the import.

Import table

You can import a table from a Microsoft Excel file.

Prerequisites

  • Table style for formatting the table.

Do the following:

  1. On the Drafting tab, in the Import & Export group, select Table > Import table. The Import Table dialog opens.

  2. Define the import settings:

    • Table style – Select the table style to use.

      Note: You can change the table style in the table properties after the import.

    • Layer – Select the layer to which to import the table.

      Note: You can change the layer in the table properties after the import.

      The layer assignment can influence the colors of the table if the table style configuration adopts any of its colors from the layer. If the document is exported with layers included, the layer assignment dictates which layer the table will use in the exported document.

    • Excel file – Select the file to import.

    • Sheet – If the file contains more than one sheet, select the sheet that contains the data to be imported.

    • Area – Select whether to import the whole sheet or a range of cells. You can specify the range manually or pick the cells from the Excel file.

    • Date format – If the table contains date values, select how you want the dates to be displayed after the import.

    • Row height, Column width – Select whether to import the row heights and column widths from the Excel file or to apply fixed values. If you enter a single fixed value, it will be applied to all rows/columns. If you enter multiple fixed values in a comma-separated list, these will be applied to the respective rows/columns, and the last value will be applied to any remaining rows/columns that have not been assigned a specific value.

      Note: You can change the row heights and column widths in the table properties after the import.

    • Special rows

      • Select Title row if you want the first imported row to be formatted as a title row.

      • Select Header row if you want the first row (if not using a title row) or the second row (if using a title row) to be formatted as a header row.

      If you allow a large table to be split into smaller tables, the title and header rows are repeated in each additional table.

    • Max rows – Specify how many rows to import (including title and header rows) before splitting the remaining data into a separate table.

      Split direction – Select whether the splitting should place the additional tables on the left side or the right side of the first table.

  3. Click OK. The table is imported and it is attached to the cursor.

  4. Move the table to its intended position—you can change the base point from the context menu—and pick the insertion point.

Manage tables

You can update the contents of imported tables if the source file has been changed.

Do the following:

  1. On the Drafting tab, in the Import & Export group, select Table > Manage tables. The Imported File Statuses dialog opens. Tables whose source file has changed display the status "Outdated".

  2. Select the outdated tables you want to update, and click Update content.

  3. Click Done.

Modify tables

You can use most of the Modify tools also with tables. For example, you can use Drafting > Modify > Edit to select a table object and display its control points, as shown below.

When control points are visible, you can do the following:

  • You can move the table by clicking and dragging the corner point. Alternatively, select Move Table (M) from the context menu.

  • You can resize the table and its elements by clicking and dragging the control points.

  • You can edit the table properties by selecting Properties (I) from the context menu.

    Table Properties

    In the Table Properties dialog, you can change the layer, change or reset the table style, and adjust row heights and column widths.

  • You can edit the table properties or the properties of an individual row, column, or cell by selecting the applicable entity from the Properties sub-menu.

    Properties

    In the Properties dialog of rows, columns, and cells, you can change the text's style, height, color, angle, and alignment, and change the fill color.

Import Blocks

You can import blocks from a DWG or DXF file. After selecting the file, the Import Block(s) To 2D Symbol dialog opens for selecting what to import from the file.