Plainwacky Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 Hello - I have tried to import an AUTOCAD file (DWG and DXF) in Home Designer Pro 2020 with no success in displaying elevation terrain. The problem is, I have no idea what values in the file are elevation data, so I'm just guess, and each time I take a camera view, only to see that the terrain is flat. Is there a way to tell which values are elevation data? Chief Architect technical support recommended that I reach out to those in ChiefTalk claiming more people in this forum would probably have more experience with DWG files than those in HomeTalk. I have enclosed a DWG and DFX file. Hopefully someone can help me. Elevation Civil-base-050319.dwg ACAD-Civil-base-050319.dxf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopsaw Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 Almost everything in gray is elevation data. Do you have a PDF of this from your surveyor ? That perhaps has a key that tells you what all the codes mean otherwise you will need to use your knowledge of the site to determine what the short forms mean. Some are obvious but maybe not to someone who has not been on site. Just guessing "NG" might be Natural Grade, you have trees marked with their species and diameter, fences and fence lines, "GB" might be Gabion Basket. You will need to be careful though as some may not be measured at grade so they can not be used as terrain elevations. Get yourself a free copy of Autodesk DWG TrueView so you can have a quick look at the file the way it was meant to be displayed before you try importing it to Chief. https://www.autodesk.ca/en/viewers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_N Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 I agree with Chopsaw here. Viewing the file in autocad, it seems that the NG labels refer to Natural Grade. As an experiment try importing the layer for those points only and see how that works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plainwacky Posted March 28, 2022 Author Share Posted March 28, 2022 Chopsaw...not a good omen here. Last week I was cutting a piece of pipe with mine (metal blade) and it kicked up the pipe, pinning my finger against the saw pretty much ripping of the tip of my index finger. 5-hours in ER removing my nail (that was mostly hanging and it sewed back on...so far looks like it's healing. I have Home Designer and I don't see "NG" labels. Perhaps if I get the AUTOCAD free viewer, I can see what you guys are referring to. This is what I see in Home Designer...wish there was a way to just copy all the fields...instead I had to take snippets (see screen shots layers1-6). Another problem is, when I load the DWG file, the perimeter for the property is not aligned to the perimeter outline in Home Designer. (see last photo). Is there a way to get the elevation data in the DWG file into the Home Designer perimeter? Is there a way to import the DWG file with perhaps some rotation feature?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopsaw Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 Here it is in the viewer but you will want to do it yourself so you can zoom in. There is also a Layers dropdown. Fortunately it looks like your scale matches so you just need to be able to select everything and then calculate how much rotation is required and then do a point to point move to put it where it needs to be providing you have those tools in HD. Take care of that finger and don't cut metal without clamping it, but you know that now I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plainwacky Posted March 29, 2022 Author Share Posted March 29, 2022 Hey Chopsaw...I happen to have a 12" Dewalt. I was cutting thin wall pipe and the blade caught the pipe, bent the pipe, and this caused the left side to raised up...that's what I think happened. It happened so quick, I really didn't see it. I just knew something happened and my finger hurt like hell. When I was in the ER getting sewn up, I said to my better half...I have no idea where that pipe went and I was just hoping it wasn't sticking out of the windshield of my classic corvette. She said...leave it up to you to worry about your car while your finger is hanging. When I got home, I noticed blood splatters on the side of it..and the pipe on the floor...whew! Anyway... When you said, "select everything" and rotate it...when I select everything (the DWG file information) and rotate it to align with the perimeter in HD, the house and perimeter in HD also rotates. I can't figure out how to "freeze" everything I created in HD, and just move the DWG info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopsaw Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 Sorry select everything you have imported from the DWG file so it all moves together. If they are overlapped with your work you may need to turn off or lock all those layers or just create a layer set that only has the DWG layers turned on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plainwacky Posted March 29, 2022 Author Share Posted March 29, 2022 Apparently, I cannot create a layer and import the DWG file on that layer...that would be nice. From what I have read online; HD Pro has only a "Layer Display Options Dialogs" one for plan view and one for each camera type view...that's it. I'm at a loss here...I have tried to 'edit area" only selecting the DWG file elevation data within the perimeter and rotate that to line up with the perimeter in HD and if I have to adjust it, everything that I created in HD will also move. Maybe I just can't do this in HD?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopsaw Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 If there was a chance to do it over again I think that when you initially import it will come in and everything you just imported will be selected. Ideally you would move it to a clear area at that point so you could work with it without interfering with your other work then bring it into position when you are ready. You have a lot of layers in the imported DWG but I think it would be wise to keep those active since you have a lot of complexity to deal with. I am not familiar with HD but there are likely many ways to accomplish what you need in Premier. Perhaps someone who has HD experience can chime in here. There are a few people here that work both forums such as @solver or @DavidJPotter Otherwise you would need to post that specific question over there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennw Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 HD has Transform Replicate that you can use to rotate and then Point to Point Move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plainwacky Posted March 29, 2022 Author Share Posted March 29, 2022 1 minute ago, glennw said: HD has Transform Replicate that you can use to rotate and then Point to Point Move. I can move and rotate the DWG file information, the problem I'm having is that everything else that I don't want to move, moves and I'm not sure how or if I can somehow lock all the info I created in HD and just move all the info I imported that is in the DWG file. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plainwacky Posted March 29, 2022 Author Share Posted March 29, 2022 19 minutes ago, solver said: Did you look into how you might lock things? Hi Eric...if you look at the screen shots I provided, you can see the "layers" that are locked...but they are only visual as far as I know. Unless I am mistaken, are no "layers" in HD Pro or any HD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plainwacky Posted March 29, 2022 Author Share Posted March 29, 2022 I think the first thing I need to do is get the elevation data to show up. If I can't get/extract that data, it's not going to matter if I can align the DWG file info. I could always hand copy the data onto the HD program, but that would be very tedious and not as accurate. I'll check out that free AUTOCAD and see if I can make sense out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plainwacky Posted March 29, 2022 Author Share Posted March 29, 2022 I just uploaded the DWG file in the free viewer, and I can see the elevation. So, it's obviously there. Now I just need to figure out what parameter is the elevation data Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plainwacky Posted March 29, 2022 Author Share Posted March 29, 2022 1 hour ago, solver said: Open Layer Display Options. You will see all the layers in the current Layer Set. Plan view has a layer set, Camera Views have a layer set, Elevations/Sections have a layer set. You may choose to lock or to set a layer to display or not. Look at the various Edit Area options, and experiment with selecting things on locked or non displayed layers. You might also import your terrain info into a new file, then copy everything in you house plan file into the new terrain file. You said, "open the Layer Display Options"...I'm not seeing a "Layers Display Options". What I have done, is just import the DWF file information and labeling what I think is elevation data. Then in the plan view, I go to "Tools -> Display options" (Properties for working set) and all the terrain is checked to be visual. (see screen shot 1) I then take a camera view and look at the I see the perimeter of the property, but it's flat. (see screen shot 2) Then I go back to the plan view and take a cross section and look at those layers (see screen shot 3) All show the terrain is checked. One can see in the terrain perimeter in the second screen shot, but it's flat. Argh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopsaw Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 All three screen shots show that there is no "Terrain, Elevation Data" therefore flat terrain. I am not sure your posted files contain any transferrable elevation data. I think you have a lot of manual work ahead of you unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plainwacky Posted March 29, 2022 Author Share Posted March 29, 2022 6 hours ago, Chopsaw said: All three screen shots show that there is no "Terrain, Elevation Data" therefore flat terrain. I am not sure your posted files contain any transferrable elevation data. I think you have a lot of manual work ahead of you unfortunately. When I uploaded the DWG file in the free AUTOCAD program (see enclosed photo), I see the elevation...the hillside and valley. So, the elevation data must be there...right? Am I not understanding what you are saying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopsaw Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 2 hours ago, Plainwacky said: When I uploaded the DWG file in the free AUTOCAD program (see enclosed photo), I see the elevation...the hillside and valley. So, the elevation data must be there...right? Am I not understanding what you are saying? True. I also saw that in the DWG fie. I just don't think it is in a transferrable format. It would be nice if I was wrong and it would be worth pursuing if someone else knows the answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plainwacky Posted March 29, 2022 Author Share Posted March 29, 2022 1 hour ago, solver said: What I was trying to explain is that I didn't see a specific menu to "open the layers display"....that is why I posted the screen shot to show where they are. I didn't know if perhaps Chief Architect had a specific menu to open up the display layers for the plan, camera, elevation...which would be nice. Regardless, as I said, the terrain layers are selected as shown and thus still not seeing the terrain elevation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plainwacky Posted April 6, 2022 Author Share Posted April 6, 2022 Everyone give up on me? I have tired selecting what I think is the elevation data...so much so, I had to create a list...and I still can't get the elevation to display. Can anyone with Chief try to load the DWG file (see enclosed) and tell me if they can see the elevation? And if so, is there a way to export it, send it back to me, and see if I can open it up? Or would I be in the same spot? I contacted the company that created the file and they told me they are too busy. I reached out to Technical Support and they said I would have to upgrade to get help...I have upgraded multiple times and I can't keep dumping money into upgrades for my one project. Elevation Civil-base-050319.dwg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark3D Posted April 6, 2022 Share Posted April 6, 2022 upload your home designer file and i will have a go at it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plainwacky Posted April 7, 2022 Author Share Posted April 7, 2022 7 hours ago, Mark3D said: upload your home designer file and i will have a go at it Hi Mark....I appreciate any help you or anyone else van give me. What I did was just create a new plan (which would be blank) and import the DWG file and I see no elevation. I don't think you need the HD plan, but if I'm mistaken, please let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark3D Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 if you give me a plan with your model i will put the terrain in it if you want i also had no end of trouble with the cad file i think it has something to do with the contour line being blocked not sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glennw Posted April 7, 2022 Share Posted April 7, 2022 I had a bit of a play and had trouble also. And yes, the cad blocks are also troublesome. For a start, you will not get any elevation data without a terrain. So, the first thing to do is to create a terrain by either by importing the lot extents (the problem is that I don't think the lot extents are a closed polyline) or drawing the terrain in your plan before importing any terrain data. I think it would be best just importing the contour lines and then tracing over them with Elevation Lines/Splines - you could have had it done by now. That is the way I do it in almost every case like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plainwacky Posted April 7, 2022 Author Share Posted April 7, 2022 6 hours ago, glennw said: I had a bit of a play and had trouble also. And yes, the cad blocks are also troublesome. For a start, you will not get any elevation data without a terrain. So, the first thing to do is to create a terrain by either by importing the lot extents (the problem is that I don't think the lot extents are a closed polyline) or drawing the terrain in your plan before importing any terrain data. I think it would be best just importing the contour lines and then tracing over them with Elevation Lines/Splines - you could have had it done by now. That is the way I do it in almost every case like this. To create the terrain, this is what I do (see enclosed photos) 1. Set the Z-BNDY to Terrain Perimeter 2. Click on the property line (took a few times to click on it), then when it shows up (all grayed out) 3. Selected to close the perimeter 4. Defined the grayed=out area as the terrain perimeter. It shows up, but just no elevation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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