DWG and DXF Files

JetStream Roamer's .dwg and .dxf file reader uses Autodesk's ObjectDBX technology and so is guaranteed to read all object geometry and information for those third party applications that utilize the ObjectDBX Framework.

The reader currently supports all surface (shaded) entities (3D faces, rectangular meshes, polyface meshes, circles, extruded lines and so on), including Proxy Graphics and custom objects such as ACIS based entities (3D Solid, Region), lines, points and snap points. Complex entities (shapes, dimensions, text) are not supported. The structure of the drawing is preserved including xrefs, blocks, inserts, AutoCAD color index, layers, views and active viewpoint. Entities are colored using the AutoCAD Color Index (ACI), so will match those in an AutoCAD "shaded" view.

There is also an .nwc file exporter for AutoCAD - see for more details.

Supported Entities

• All 2D and 3D geometry, including arcs, lines, polylines with non-zero thickness, ACIS objects (regions and solids), polygon and polyface meshes, 3D faces and surfaces.

• Points and snap points

• Lines, polylines, circles, arcs with zero thickness.

• Named views.

• Layers.

• Colors.

• Blocks, inserts and multiple inserts.

• Groups.

• External references (xrefs).

• Hyperlinks.

• Entity handles.

• Attributes.

• Textures (requires a valid JetStream Presenter license).

• File properties.

Unsupported Entities

• Lights.

• Splines.

• Multi-lines.

• Linetypes.

• Dimensions and leaders.

• Raster bitmaps.

• Text or multi-line text.

• Construction lines (xlines and rays).

• Hatching.

DWG and DXF File Reader Options

Setting the .dwg and .dxf file reader options

1. Go to Tools, Global Options, DWG/DXF

   The DWG/DXF dialog is displayed

   

2. Enter the Faceting Factor (the value must be greater than 0). The higher the value, the more JetStream will facet rounded entities and therefore the smoother they will appear. See for more information.

3. Enter the Max Facet Deviation . This will facet entities to within the specified tolerance. See for more information.

4. Check the Split by Color check box if you want to be able to select parts of compound entities in JetStream. For example, a window object from Architectural Desktop may be split into a frame and a pane. If this check box is not checked, then you will only be able to select the window object as a whole, whereas if you check this check box, you will be able to select the individual pane and frame. However, the names of the pane and frame will be based on their color.

5. From the Default Decimal Units drop-down, choose the type of units that JetStream will use when opening .dwg and .dxf files that were created with decimal drawing units. Note that .dwg and .dxf files do not specify the units they were created in. If the units turn out to be wrong, they can be easily changed using the File Units and Transform function (see for more details).

6. Check the Merge 3D Faces check box if you want to reduce the complexity of the model as seen in the selection tree by interpreting ajoining faces with the same color, layer and parent as a single item. Leaving unchecked leaves these entities as separate items in JetStream.

7. Check the Merge Lines check box if you want to reduce the complexity of the model as seen in the selection tree by interpreting ajoining lines with the same color, layer and parent as a single item. Leaving unchecked leaves these entities as separate items in JetStream.

8. Check the Convert Off check box if you want to read layers that are switched off in .dwg and .dxf files. They will be converted but hidden in JetStream.

9. Check the Convert Frozen check box if you want to read layers that are frozen in .dwg and .dxf files. They will be converted but hidden in JetStream.

10. Check the Convert Entity Handles check box if you want to read entity handles as a property attached to the item in JetStream.

11. Check the Convert Groups check box if you want to retain the groups from .dwg and .dxf files, adding another selection level to the selection tree. See for more information on selecting objects and the selection tree.

12. Check the Convert XRefs check box if you want to convert any external reference files contained within the .dwg file. Unchecking this will give you more control over which files you append into JetStream.

13. Check the Merge XRef Layers check box if you wish to merge the layers of external reference files into those of the main .dwg file. Leaving this unchecked will keep the external reference file separate within the selection hierachy of JetStream.

14. Check the Convert Views check box if you want to convert the named views from the file into JetStream viewpoints.

15. Check the Convert Points check box if you want to read any points from .dwg and .dxf files. See for more information on how to display these in JetStream.

16. Check the Convert Lines check box if you want to read any lines and arcs from .dwg and .dxf files. See for more information on how to display these in JetStream.

17. Check the Convert Snap Points check box if you want to read any snap points from .dwg and .dxf files. See for more information on how to display these in JetStream.

18. The Loader for 2004 dwg combo box allows selection of which version of ObjectDBX is used when loading AutoCAD 2004 .dwg files. This allows you to select support for the correct version of object enablers that may be used within the file. Please note that once any particular version of ObjectDBX is loaded, which occurs during reading of a .dwg or .dxf file, that the version in use will not change until JetStream is restarted.

19. Check the Load Material Definitions check box if you want to load material definitions into JetStream from Autodesk Architectural Desktop .dwg files.

20. Check the Use ADT Standard Configuration check box to force reading of Autodesk Architectural Desktop .dwg files using the Standard display configuration. If unchecked, geometry and materials will be read in according to whether they are displayed in the currently saved display configuration.

21. Check the Convert Hidden ADT Spaces check box to perform conversion of space objects that lack any visible 3D geometry in ADT (for example if they lack floor or ceiling thicknesses). This will result in corresponding hidden objects appearing in JetStream Roamer. The normal behaviour for space objects that have visible 3D geometry in ADT is unaffected.

22. The Material Search Paths edit box may contain file paths in a semi-colon separated list that will be searched for texture files used in Autodesk Architectural Desktop materials. Default Autodesk paths are automatically searched and need not be entered.

    Note

    For Autodesk Architectural Desktop materials to be read into JetStream Roamer, a valid Presenter license is required.

23. Clicking the Advanced button will open a dialog which giving you the option to read object information from various third party applications that are built on AutoCAD.

    

    Check those applications you wish to read information from.

24. Click OK to set these options or Cancel to exit the dialog without setting them.