Use the File > Interoperability > DXF-DWG > DXF-DWG Translation Setup command to open this dialog box.
Use this dialog box to define how elements in ARCHICAD will be interpreted when exported as DXF/DWG files, and vice versa: how the elements in DXF/DWG files will be interpreted when imported into ARCHICAD.
For general information on data exchange using DXF/DWG files, see Working with DWG/DXF Files.
Managing Translator Files
In the top part of the dialog box, translators are listed and identified according to the following fields:
•Name: The length of Name can be anything within the limits enforced by the file system of your machine.
•Project and Partner: You may store up to 255 characters in these fields (127 in Japan, China or Korea).
To enter data into these fields click the Rename button. Use the splitter bars to edit column width.
The list of Translators can be sorted by any of the fields, by clicking on the field’s title button.
The buttons to the right of the translator list are used for translator management, as described below.
Create New: Click this button to create a new Translator:
A dialog will ask you where to locate and what to name the file. (Default location: the place where the DXF-DWG Translators are stored; default name: New translator.Xml). Enter the necessary details and click the Save button to return to the main Translation Setup dialog.
•The new entry appears in the Translator list and gets selected. It is filled with default values, which you can adjust to fit your needs.
Duplicate: Click this button to duplicate a Translator:
•Duplicate creates a copy of the selected translator, with an identical file name augmented by “_Copy.”
•Then make the necessary translator rule modifications in the new translator.
Rename: Click this button to rename and edit information about a Translator:
•A new Dialog will open where three text fields enable you to set the Name, Project and Partner information of the selected Translator.
•When you have set these values, click on the Rename button to apply changes and return to the main Translation Setup dialog.
Delete (available if the translator is not locked): Click this button to remove unneeded translators. An info dialog then appears: if you continue with the delete action, you will delete the translator’s XML file, and you will lose all those translator settings permanently. However, the same dialog box also gives you the option of just removing the translator from the list in the dialog box, rather then deleting the file entirely.
Remove (available if the translator is locked): This action will remove the translator from the list in the dialog box, but will not delete the translator XML file from your system. If, at a later time, you need the removed translator after all, you can reintroduce it into your list.
Browse: Click this button to access an existing Translator file. A file dialog appears where you have to find and select one or more relevant Translator files.
•Some of the files you selected may be either damaged translators or XML files created for other purposes. The add-on screens the files and accepts only the good ones. At the end you get a report about the accepted and rejected files.
•Alternatively, you can drag and drop files from any kind of file system window (e.g. from a Find File dialog) onto the surface of the dialog. The dropped files will go through the screening procedure described above.
If you make a mistake while editing settings and fields in the Translation Setup dialog box, click on the Revert Changes button at the bottom left corner of the dialog. This command will restore the status quo that existed when you launched the dialog. If you created new files before clicking the Revert Changes button, you will have to create them again, because these files are not saved to disk until you finish the operation with OK/Open/Save commands.
If you started data exchange (Open or Save of any kind) and made some Translator modifications that you want to preserve, but don’t want to continue the data exchange operation, click on the Save Settings & Close button. Your Translator modifications will be saved, but your original Open or Save command will not be executed.
Location: This field displays the path of the selected translator file and cannot be edited.
This is a multi-line edit box containing information about the selected translator. You can edit its contents with a single click.
DXF/DWG Settings Panel
This panel contains the settings of the conversion rules themselves. The conversion rules for data exchange between ARCHICAD and AutoCAD fall into six main group:
•Drawing Unit
•Open Options
•Save Options
•Attributes
•Miscellaneous
•Custom functions
Depending on how you access the Translator Setup dialog box, not all settings groups will be available: if you access the dialog box during an Open operation, Open Options will be listed, but not the Save Options, and vice-versa. If you open the dialog box from the File > Interoperability > DXF-DWG menu, all options groups are listed.
The options displayed in the dialog box at right depends on the settings option you click from the hierarchical menu at left.
Moreover, the options themselves will vary depending on the type of elements being imported or exported.
Drawing Unit (DXF/DWG Translation Setup)
Open Options (DXF/DWG Translation Setup)
Save Options (DXF/DWG Translation Setup)
Attributes (DXF/DWG Translation Setup)
Layers (DXF/DWG Translation Setup)
Pens & Colors (DXF/DWG Translation Setup)
Line Types (DXF/DWG Translation Setup)
Fills (DXF/DWG Translation Setup)
Font-Style Conversion (DXF/DWG Translation Setup)