Import DXF
Import DXF plans (floor plans, site plans) into VICUS Buildings, set the unit of measurement and use them as a drafting template with snap points
Overview
VICUS Buildings imports DXF drawings (floor plans, sections, site plans from CAD programs) via an import plugin as a background drawing. The drawing serves as a drafting template: when drawing rooms and surfaces, the mouse pointer snaps to points, lines and intersections of the DXF drawing, so that floor plans can be traced to scale.
The menu entry is only present if the DXF import plugin is installed.
Access
- Menu Import > DXF file …
- alternatively the button
DXF in the Import area of the Add geometry panel (tooltip Import DXF drawing)
After selecting the file, the Import DXF drawing dialog opens.
Import dialog
| Option | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Name: | File name | Display name of the drawing in the navigation tree (required field). |
| Unit of measurement: | Auto | Unit of the drawing coordinates: Auto, Meters, Decimeters, Centimeters or Millimeters. With Auto, the unit is determined automatically from the drawing dimensions. |
Via show detailed settings, further options are available:
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Import text (experimental) | Adopts text elements (labels) from the DXF file. |
| Define custom center point: | x/y coordinate used as the center point of the drawing. |
| Move drawing to center point | Moves the drawing to the coordinate origin during import - helpful for plans with very large coordinate values (e.g. state coordinates), which otherwise lie far from the origin of the 3D scene. |
The Convert DXF button reads the file and shows the result in the log (number of imported layers, lines, polylines, arcs, circles, points, etc.). Only afterwards is Import DXF enabled, which adopts the drawing into the project.
Unit of measurement and scaling factor
If the scaling factor stored in the DXF file header differs from the automatically determined one, the Choose scaling factor dialog asks which value should be used (each with the resulting width and height in meters). After the import, a message reminds you that the scaling factor can be changed afterwards: “If the scaling factor is not set correctly, you can adjust it by double-clicking the DXF node in the navigation structure on the left.”
Good to know:
Check the scale immediately after the import with the Measure tool on a known distance (e.g. a building edge or door width). A common error are plans in millimeters instead of meters - the drawing then appears too large by a factor of 1000. In this case, correct the scaling factor by double-clicking the DXF node in the navigation tree before you begin tracing.
Drawing in the navigation tree
The imported drawing appears in the navigation tree with all layers of the DXF file:
- Visibility: Show and hide the drawing or individual layers via the visibility icons.
- Appearance: Double-clicking the drawing opens the settings (including scaling factor, text size, line width).
- Positioning: The drawing can be selected like other objects and moved or rotated via the transformation tools.
Using as a drafting template
For tracing floor plans, the following workflow is recommended:
- Import the drawing and check the scale.
- Switch to 2D mode and activate the snap options - the snap supports drawing points, lines and intersections of the DXF drawing.
- Draw rooms with the drawing tools along the plan lines; the room height is preset per storey.