From AutoCAD to UNI-Collect, import smoothly

20/06/2021 / 2 min read

All right, we’ll put our hands up and admit to it. We are not the company 'AutoCAD' or its Service team. We are marXact, offer you UNI-Support, and are able to integrate your AutoCAD data in our UNI-Solutions. So helping you learn how to draw in AutoCAD, is not our cup of tea. But because you can import directly from AutoCAD in UNI-Collect, we can help you how to do that best. We have 4 pieces of advice for you.

1. Points and (poly)lines

When you want to import your drawing into UNI-Collect, make sure that they only consist of points and (poly)lines. These are the objects you need to draw in AutoCAD and transfer to UNI-Collect smoothly. UNI-Collect, your survey tool, needs points and (poly)lines to stake out or measure your desired area.

2. Drawings on coordinates

Make sure that your drawings are made on coordinates. Create references points on location and go from there. That does not have to be difficult. For example, if you want to draw the to-be interior of a garden, the 4 corners of that space could be your reference. Points you can export via UNI-Cloud and UNI-Collect.

3. Elements contained

When you import your AutoCAD drawing to UNI-Collect, be sure that it only contains the elements you actually need to survey. You can easily copy your drawing in AutoCAD and remove all ‘extras’ you don’t need when surveying. By copying the drawing, you still have the original file with all information you need for other parts of the assignment.

There is no general way of removing additional information. There are several commands to remove items quickly, but they vary per AutoCAD version used. This includes the year of publishing as well. Please check the version you use and spend a few minutes on Google to learn the commands, you will earn that time back with future projects.

4. Save as DXF (or DWG)

This tip works with all AutoCAD versions. Save your drawing as a DXF file, that is the only extension that works with importing in UNI-Collect. You can also save your AutoCAD drawing as DWG, which can be imported in the UNI-Cloud.

Preparation

As we said, 4 pieces of advice. Four tips that will help you import your AutoCAD drawings into UNI-Collect quickly, that we’ve learned over time. This still does not mean we are AutoCAD experts, just that we know our UNI-Solutions to the bone and how you prepare to work with the best.