DWG/DXF import

All about importing AutoCAD files into Rayon.

Rayon supports almost all concepts native to the DWG or DXF formats, offering a lossless import experience.

DWG import compatibility

Rayon supports most of AutoCAD's concepts. It is important to understand how each one gets mapped in Rayon. We outline here what each concept translates to in our software...

Geometries

AutoCAD geometries are converted into Rayon shapes. Very few changes happen here. As of now, Rayon supports AutoCAD's main geometric concepts: line, polyline, circle, rectangle, etc.

More on shapes here.

Layers

Layers are converted into Rayon layers. Rayon layers serve the same function as AutoCAD layers: they store entities. However, 2 things are important to consider:

• Occlusion — In Rayon, layer ordering defines the scene ordering. In other words, the order of layers defines which entity comes above which other. In this way, layers control occlusion in Rayon, which differs from AutoCAD.

• Styling — In Rayon, the style of things (shapes, blocks, etc.) is not controlled at the layer level, but at the style level. Styles in Rayon are distinct from layers, and offer more customization options. When importing into Rayon, our software will... (1) translate the layer color into the color entities take in wireframe mode, based on their layer. (2) translate the viewport color into a Rayon style.

Annotations

AutoCAD annotations are converted into Rayon annotations. Very few changes happen here. As of now, Rayon supports AutoCAD's main annotation concepts: dimensions, leaders, angular dimensions, texts, etc. More on annotations here.

Blocks

AutoCAD blocks are converted into Rayon blocks. Regular blocks import directly, and dynamic blocks are supported natively: their parameters and actions are converted into Rayon parametric blocks. More on blocks here.

Viewports

AutoCAD viewports are converted into Rayon views. More on views here.

Layout space

AutoCAD layout spaces are turned into paper canvases. More on canvases here.

Xrefs

AutoCAD Xrefs are converted into Rayon references. However, for the time being, Rayon does not support advanced Xref features (eTransmit packages, for instance). More on Xref import here.

Others

There are still a few concepts that Rayon does not support natively.

• Advanced Xref features (eTransmit)

• AutoCAD Architecture add-on features (walls, schedules, etc.)

• CTBs

• 3D files

• A few drawing concepts like XCLIP and ray lines.

Importing options

Please note that DWG/DXF, PDF and image import is capped at 25 MB, and that pop-up blockers need to be disabled for the import to work properly.

Import can happen either from the project manager or from the editor.

From the project manager, click on Import in the top right of the screen and choose a file.

From the editor, you will find the import option in the Menu in the top left corner of the screen. The following steps to import will then be similar.

You will then be offered a few import options to toggle (model name, whether to keep empty layers, blocks, etc.). Clicking on Import will take you to the import window.

In the import window, you will be invited to specify the scale of your drawing. This will happen in 2 steps...

• First, draw a line of a known distance.

• Then, pick the unit you deem most representative of the distance you drew. Note that at this step, Rayon will only ask you for the unit, and will not allow you to change the distance specified.

• Press Continue to complete your import.

The editor will then open. To complete your import, click on the canvas to Pick an insertion point. That's it! Your file is imported into a new model. Please note that if the scale of the resulting import doesn’t look right, you can scale your model after import.

Importing Xrefs

In Rayon, Xref files are imported as references. During the import flow, if your DWG contains Xrefs, an option to import missing Xrefs will appear in the import bar.

When clicking on Open Xref, a panel will open, prompting you to upload missing DWG files.

For each new DWG you upload, a blue tick will appear to confirm the upload. Once all Xrefs have been loaded, you can click on continue to scale your model and Import it to your workspace.

In your model, the Xrefs panel will allow you to upload missing references, as well as update them.

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