TPC writes DXF and DWG files from the Export dialog box. You can use all of the graphics options to draw your survey, then write a copy of it to a DXF or DWG file.
When importing a DXF / DWG file, check for existing point labels and update the coordinates of the existing point with the imported data.
Some CAD programs assume that a block that is defined to be ‘1 unit or less wide and 1 unit or less high’ is always multiplied by the drawing scale. These blocks are called ‘Unit Blocks’ or sometimes ‘1X1’ blocks. The scale of any object that uses these blocks is always set to 1.0 since the unit block itself is multiplied by the drawing scale. By default, if TPC reads a scale for an object that references a unit block, it forces the unit block to become a regular block and the drawing scale is not applied.
Turn this option on to retain the unit block setting, forcing any object that references this block to be multiplied by both the object scale and the drawing scale.
Turn this option on to ignore the objects on the imported layers. Once imported, you can always Notice the layers via the Layers dialog.
Windows 95/98 allows a limited number of resources to be open at one time. Each object being imported onto a layer that is not ignored creates its own region, thereby using some of the limited resources. If you import a large drawing in Windows 95/98, you could run low on resources. Newer versions of Windows do not have this resource limitation.
If TPC does not have a corresponding hatch type, it can explode the hatching into its component entities. You could potentially end up with thousands of small objects.
If TPC does not have a corresponding entity (drawing object), it can explode the entity into its component entities. This option can potentially create a lot of small drawing objects.
Consider two points to be the same if their coordinates are within the specified tolerance of each other. This is critical when determining if one line starts at the same point that another line ends at. In CAD, you may have drawn one line from the end point of another and while they look OK, they may actually have slightly different coordinate values.
Include the elevation of the endpoints of lines, arcs, polylines, etc.
Set the attribute of the exported entities to derive their color from the layer they are on. In AutoCAD this is the BYLAYER setting.
Set the attribute of the exported entities to derive their line types from the layer they are on. In AutoCAD this is the BYLAYER setting.
When this option is on, TPC does not include a STYLE table in the DXF header and does not include the font style attribute (7) with TEXT entities. Turn this option on if your CAD does not support True Type font names.
Include block and XREF scale factors (INSUNITS) in the drawing based on the coordinate units of the survey. AutoCAD uses this value to scale the exported DWG if it is inserted into another DWG as an XREF.
Writes the point symbols to the DXF file as blocks. The block definitions are included in the header portion of the DXF file and INSERT is used in the entity section to specify the block name and location to use for a point symbol. This option cannot be used with the Entities Only option because it doesn't write the header section where the blocks are defined. Available only for DXF files.
When you write symbol blocks, you can snap to the insert point of the block in your CAD program, rotate and scale the block, etc.
If this option is turned off, TPC draws each block by drawing the entities (lines, arcs, circles, etc) within the block. A tick mark would be drawn as two lines, with the intersection of the lines being the position of the point.
Some programs, like Microsoft Word 6.0, include DXF file filters that read DXF files but do not accept blocks in DXF files. If you insert blocks and read the DXF file into a program like this, you will not get any point symbols. In these situations, you must turn off the [ ] Write symbol blocks options and let TPC draw each symbol with the individual line, circle and arc entities that make up the block.
Turn this option on to write just the entity section of the DXF file. TPC does not include any header information with the DXF file. Available only for DXF files.
You may need to use this option if you get an error when reading a DXF file into your CAD program.
Use the traverse layer names to build the layer names used in the DXF file. See the discussion on layers below.
TPC uses text alignment values (Top-Left, Top-Center, Bottom-Right) etc to position text in a drawing. If your CAD program does not support these text alignments, it may draw the imported text horizontally or not at all. Available only for DXF files.
To accommodate this, TPC can compute the insert point that corresponds to the Left-Baseline position of the text. Using this option, TPC writes only the position and the text angle to the DXF file. This option is important for older versions of Design CAD and Generic CAD.
In other CAD programs, text size is a factor of the drawing height. This means that as you scale the drawing, the text size changes. Often times, you then have to rescale individual text because it got too big or too small.
TPC eliminates this problem by factoring the text size for you when it writes the DXF file. The DXF file will be written so that when plotted in CAD at the same scale selected in Drawing View, the text size will be the same as it was in Drawing View.
TPC creates layers based on entity layer names, traverse layer names or both.
Let’s say that you have the following traverses in your survey and that you want to put all the data for the lots onto a layer called “Lots” and all the as-built data onto a layer called “AsBuilts”.
Note: To see which layer name each traverse is using, include the letter L in the Traverses Manager format.
Starting with Version 4.5, TPC groups all drawing objects by layers. For instance, all the point symbols are on the layer ‘TPCSymbols’. If you do not specify traverse layer names or choose not to use them, TPC uses these entity layer names instead.
This is the method you would use to draft a site survey. You might have one drawing with the point descriptions turned on to help identify where the improvements are located. Then you might want to turn off all of the descriptions and just show the location of the buildings to the lot lines. Setting up layering based on entities can be a real help.
Layer names can only be modified in the Layers Dialog (available in the Professional edition). If your edition does not include a Layers Dialog, you will not be able to modify the entity layer names.
You can combine the traverse layer name with the entity layers by including an asterisk “*” in the traverse layer name and turning on [X] Use Traverse Layers in the DXF Settings dialog. The * is replaced by the entity layer name to form a new layer.
For example, if a traverse's layer name is “UTILITY*” and the entity layer name for point symbols is “PTS”, the combined name would be “UTILITYPTS”.
Using DXF
Using DWG
Layers
Working with Drawing Objects
Converting Drawing Objects to Survey Points