Points

DXF/DWG or DWF Points act either like a locus in a Vectorworks file (a drawing aid that is not printed), or like a symbol that is visible and can be printed. Select whether to import points as Loci or as Symbols. The default behavior is to import as symbols if the point style has specified a real world size (that is, it is zoom invariant and always prints the same), or as loci if the point style is specified as a percentage of the pixel size of the drawing window (that is, it varies with the zoom level). Select Use Guides Class to import points as Symbols in the Vectorworks Guides class; this allows them to be hidden. In the Vectorworks program, use the Show/Hide Guides commands to toggle their display.

MultiLines

Multilines (or “mlines”) are similar in some ways to walls in a Vectorworks file, in that they can have breaks that are “healed” and can be connected to other multilines. There are several significant differences between multilines and walls, but an option is provided to import multilines as walls. Do not select this option unless all multilines in the DXF/DWG or DWF file are intended to be walls.

When you import multilines as walls, the wall heights may need to be adjusted. To do so, select Tools > Custom Selection, select all walls, and change their height in the Object Info palette.

Tables

Select Grouped Text and Lines to import each table as a group of independent objects and text that will precisely reflect the format and structure of the original table; select this option if you only need the graphical representation of the table and do not intend to alter the table or its content.

Select Worksheets to create a worksheet resource and place a worksheet object in the drawing. The worksheet has the attributes of the original table and can be more easily modified.

Block Attributes

“Attributes” in a DXF/DWG or DWF file are similar to linked text in a Vectorworks file. Select how to handle attribute conversion into Vectorworks symbol linked text. Regardless of the selection, record formats will be created based on the attributes found during import, and imported blocks with attributes will have record formats attached.

Choose a Linked Text Handling method from the list. Depending on the file to be imported, not all options are available.

Preserve Look and Links

This option should be selected when available. The attributes will display as they did in the DXF/DWG or DWF file, and they will be converted to symbol linked text.

If the file contains invisible attributes or attributes that override the attribute definitions, this option is not available.

Preserve Look

This is the next best option. The attributes will look and print as they did in the DXF/DWG or DWF file, but some symbol text may become unlinked, if necessary, to preserve the look. Symbol record field updates are not reflected in unlinked text. With this option, an individual symbol could have a mixture of linked and unlinked text.

Preserve Visible Links

This option is available when the DXF/DWG or DWF file contains attributes marked as “invisible.” This type of attribute is converted into a record format attached to a symbol, but is not converted to linked text. The look of the drawing should be preserved, but minor changes to visibility are possible. The advantage of this method is that linked text is preserved for all visible attributes.

Preserve All Links

The link between record fields and symbol text is preserved with this option. Any invisible attributes will become visible. The look of the DXF/DWG or DWF file may not be preserved, but the symbol text will not be unlinked.

Hide All

All attribute text is hidden upon import. The information is still attached to the object in record format, but it is not visible.

Group Record Fields

Each block attribute imports as a record format field. Select Group Record Fields to group those fields into a single record format. The Vectorworks program groups sets of attributes into record formats if they have the same set of field names. For example, if two blocks (symbols) have attributes with field names of “color” and “part number,” both blocks are converted with the same record format. If one of the blocks has “color,” “part number,” and “price,” while the other only has two of those, then the blocks are converted with different record formats. When grouped, the record format name is created from the names of the first few fields in the record format.

Deselect Group Record Fields to create one record format per field, with no grouping. Without grouping, the record format uses the same name as the record field.

Blocks

Ignore Block Clipping

Select Ignore Block Clipping to import a clipped block as a normal scaled or unscaled Vectorworks symbol, which may look very different from the original image.

Deselect Ignore Block Clipping to import a clipped block as a cropped design layer viewport (Vectorworks Design Series required) or as a cropped layer link. This can create many layers in the Vectorworks file, and the created objects cannot be manipulated easily.

Dimensions

Convert Dimensions to Groups

By default, the import process automatically creates custom dimension standards to match the dimension styles in the DXF/DWG or DWF file. If a dimension was customized in the DXF/DWG or DWF file after the style was applied, the converted dimensions may not match the originals; select Convert Dimensions to Groups to convert the dimensions into groups instead.