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You can interface directly with CAD in the Drawing View. This topic discusses the options and when each is preferred.
Exporting a Drawing to CAD
Exporting a TPC drawing as a CAD file is easy. You just select the CAD file type to use and export the drawing. See Exporting a Drawing to CAD.
Creates a New CAD Drawing
When you export a TPC drawing as a CAD file, you are creating a new CAD file. If you want to update an existing CAD file, you will want to open that CAD file in the CAD View and transfer drawing objects to it (see below).
Importing XReferences (XRef)
Beginning with TPC Desktop 2018, TPC added support for CAD Xreferences. Importing a CAD file into a TPC drawing as an XRef has a number of advantages and is one of the preferred methods.
•the XRef drawing can update the XRef in the Drawing View any time it gets updates. This keeps you up to date on project changes.
•Only the XRef is stored with the drawing and the survey, so they are smaller and open/save faster.
•XReferences stay on their own layers, so you can easily ignore, isolate, etc. them.
•You can perform commands on the entire Xreference or individual XReference objects, give you the best options available.
•XReferences are now the preferred way to include CAD drawings in TPC drawings.
See Importing XRefs into a Drawing.
Transferring Objects with the CAD View
You can send drawing objects from the Drawing View to the CAD file that is open in the CAD View. This updates the CAD file so that when you save it, it includes the objects sent from the Drawing View.
This is the preferred method when you are asked to provide your survey information to a existing CAD file.
See Sharing Objects with the Drawing View.
Importing CAD Files
Importing a CAD file into a drawing used to be the only way to use CAD inside of a drawing. Now that TPC can insert a drawing as an XReference or transfer specific objects into the drawing from the CAD View, this method is not recommended.
This method has the following disadvantages
•Importing a large CAD file into a TPC drawing will make that drawing large, after which, TPC will require extra time to save and open this survey.
•The CAD file is static. Changes to the CAD file will not be reflected in the TPC drawing unless it is re-imported.
See Importing CAD Files into a Drawing.
Calibrating CAD Files
When you use CAD files that are not on the same CRS (Coordinate Reference System) as your survey, you can create a calibration between the CAD file and your survey. Now you can calibrate CAD data coming into your survey and reverse calibrate drawing data going back to the CAD file.
See Calibrating CAD Files.
Related Topics
CAD View
CAD Files
Recorded Demos
Editions
Personal, Premium, Professional
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