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Exporting CAD Plans

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đź’ˇ
You can upload your construction plans digitally to CENDAS. To fully utilize all features, the plans must meet certain requirements and be correctly exported from the CAD tool you are using.

➡️ Export plans from Revit

Export DXF file

CAD plans can be uploaded in DXF format in the CENDAS app. Normally, exporting a plan (with multiple layouts/sheets) should not take longer than 1-5 minutes. Please follow these steps:

1) Go to the “Sheets” area and select the sheets you want to export.

 

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2) Make sure each layout (sheet) has a plan frame and that no visible components lie outside the plan frame.

 

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3) Go to File → Export → CAD Formats → DXF

 

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4) Choose the following settings:

a) Export: <In-Session View/Sheet Set>

b) Show list: Sheets in Model

c) Select the sheets you want to export.

 

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5) Click on ..., go to the General tab, select Export rooms, areas, and spaces as polylines and press OK

 

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6) Click Next...

 

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7) Select file type AutoCAD DXF 2018 Files and press OK. Make sure the checkbox Export views on sheets and links as external references is unchecked.

Note: Please avoid using long file paths with many folders for saving the DXF files, as this can cause export errors (not all elements will be exported).

 

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Export PDF file (optional)

This is an optional step. CENDAS automatically generates a PDF file for each layout. However, if you want to replace the PDFs generated by CENDAS for any reason, you can do so by following these PDF export steps:

1) Note the size of your sheet. Check the properties of the sheet to see the sheet width and height. You can also see if it is a predefined size (A0) or a custom size (this will be important in the next steps).

 

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2) Go to File → Print → Print or Batch Print

Note: Only Revit 2022 and later have the "Batch Print" option.

If you want to add batch printing in earlier Revit versions, you can install this plugin:
https://diroots.com/revit-plugins/revit-to-pdf-dwg-dgn-dwf-nwc-ifc-and-images-with-prosheets/

Otherwise, you can print the sheets individually.

 

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3) In the PDF printer setup, go to Properties

Note: We recommend using the program PDF-XChange to perform the following steps. Other programs with similar functions can also be used.

 

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4) Set the custom size for your sheet and press OK

 

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5) Go to Settings and

a) Select Custom Format for size

b) Select No Margins for paper placement

c) Select the correct orientation for the sheet

d) Click OK

 

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6) Press OK again to print the PDF file

 

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7) Make sure the PDF file has the same size as the plan you measured at the beginning. You can open the PDF file and check its properties.

 

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➡️ Export plans from AutoCAD

Export DXF file

CAD plans can be uploaded in DXF format in the CENDAS app. Normally, exporting a plan (with multiple layouts/sheets) should not take longer than 1-5 minutes. Please follow these steps:

1) Make sure each layout to be exported has a frame and that no visible elements lie outside this frame. If you want to use the model space as a plan in CENDAS, please make sure the model space also has a frame.

 

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2) Go to AutoCAD → Save As → Other Formats

 

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3) Choose the file type (AutoCAD 2018 DXF or older) and click Save

 

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Possible improvements (optional)
  • Not all components are shown in CENDAS because they are in an external reference.

    CENDAS cannot see components that are in external references (XRefs). However, you can include these in your DXF plan by doing the following:

    1) Go to the Insert tab and select External References under the arrow to check if XRefs are present.

     

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    2) If yes, right-click on the XRef file and select Bind.

     

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    3) Select Bind again and press OK

     

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    4) The XRef file is now integrated into the main plan and can be read by CENDAS.

     

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  • The DXF file contains 3D components that CENDAS cannot read.

    We currently do not support 3D components. To solve this, you can export the plans in DWG format and then convert them to DXF format using the following steps, which will make the 3D components two-dimensional and thus readable by CENDAS:

    1) Download and install the ODA File Converter from the following link: https://www.opendesign.com/guestfiles/oda_file_converter

    2) Start the program and follow these steps:

    a) Input Folder: Select the folder where the DWG(s) are located.

    b) Output Folder: Select the folder where the converted DXF file(s) should be saved.

    c) Check the Audit box

    d) Input files filter: Select *.DWG.

    e) Output version: Select 2018 ASCII DXF.

    f) Press Start

     

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Export PDF file (optional)

This is an optional step. CENDAS automatically generates a PDF file for each layout. However, if you want to replace the PDFs generated by CENDAS for any reason, you can do so by following these PDF export steps:

1) Determine the size of the plan using the measuring tool in AutoCAD.

Note: You must measure the frame in millimeters.

 

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In the following example, the height is 841 mm

 

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2) Press PLOT

 

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3) Select DWG To PDF.pc3 as the printer

 

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4) Change the size of the PDF layout by following these steps:

a) Click on Properties…

 

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b) Go to Device and Document Settings then Custom Paper Sizes and click Add...

 

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c) Select Start from Scratch and click Next

 

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d) Enter the size you measured earlier and select Millimeters

 

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e) Select 0 as the margin for all printable areas

 

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f) Give a name to your custom PDF size, click Next and then Finish

 

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g) Click OK

 

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h) Select Apply changes only for the current plot and confirm with OK

 

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i) Select the custom PDF size you just created

 

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j) Under “What to plot” select Window and set the correct drawing orientation

 

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k) Now you can select the area for the PDF file. Click the upper left corner and then the lower right corner. This way you can precisely define the area you need.

 

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l) Now you can click OK and save the PDF file.

 

5) Check the result by opening the PDF file and comparing its dimensions with the dimensions you measured.

 

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Note: When creating plans, you can use standard frame sizes such as A0. This way, when printing, you only need to select the paper format and do not have to create a custom paper size. However, make sure that your sheet frame size matches the standard size (e.g., A0).

 

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➡️ Export plans from DDScad

Export DXF file

CAD plans can be uploaded in DXF format in the CENDAS app. Normally, exporting a plan (with multiple layouts/sheets) should not take longer than 1-5 minutes. Please follow these steps:

1) Open the layout you created in DDScad

 

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2) Make sure the plan you want to export has a frame and that no elements lie outside the frame. To check if elements are outside the frame, turn on the visibility of all layers. To do this, go to the settings of all layers and make sure all are set to On, Thawed, and Unlocked.

 

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3) The frame must consist of a single block. In other words, the plan frame must not consist of multiple blocks as shown on the right. If you want to use multiple blocks, please create a separate frame around these blocks.

 

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4) Enable the export of attributes. Go to Tools → Options and set Export object attributes to DWG/DXF.

 

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5) Open the file menu, click Export and select DXF/DWG.

 

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6) Select DXF as file type and press Save.

 

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Export PDF file (optional)

This is an optional step. CENDAS automatically generates a PDF file for each layout. However, if you want to replace the PDFs generated by CENDAS for any reason, you can do so by following these PDF export steps:

1) Use the measuring tool of DDS-CAD to measure the height and width of the plan frame.

 

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2) Click Print.

 

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3) Select a PDF printer and go to Settings.

Note: We recommend the free program PDF24 Creator for this.

 

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4) Open the Layout tab and the advanced settings.

 

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5) Enter the previously measured individual plan size as Custom page size dimensions under Paper/Output → Paper Size and then press OK three times.

 

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7) Select the newly created Custom page size under Paper.

 

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8) Open the Margins tab and enter 0 mm in each field.

 

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9) Set the orientation and drawing scale.

 

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10) Under Batch → Check Orientation, select and click Print.

 

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11) If you are using PDF24 Creator, then click Save as PDF.

 

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12) Finally, you can check the dimensions of the PDF file.

 

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➡️ Export plans from Trimble Nova CAD

Export DXF file

CAD plans can be uploaded in DXF format in the CENDAS app. Normally, exporting a plan (with multiple layouts/sheets) should not take longer than 1-5 minutes. Please follow these steps:

1) Go to your created layout.

 

Step 1.jpg

 

2) Please delete all elements outside the layout frame.

 

Step 2.jpg

 

To check this, please turn on all layers (visible). Afterwards, you can turn off the layers again.

 

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3) The frame must consist of a single block. In other words, the plan frame must not consist of multiple blocks as shown below. If you want to use multiple blocks, please create a separate frame around these blocks.

 

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4) Go to File, select Export and choose DWG/DXF Export Current Area (2D).

 

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5) Save the file as AutoCAD 2013 DXF file.

 

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6) Click OK.

 

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Export PDF file (optional)

This is an optional step. CENDAS automatically generates a PDF file for each layout. However, if you want to replace the PDFs generated by CENDAS for any reason, you can do so by following these PDF export steps:

1) Click File and select Print....

 

Step 9.jpg

 

2) Open the advanced settings and select your PDF printer.

Note: We recommend the free program PDF24 Creator for this.

Then open Properties.

 

Step 10.jpg

 

3) Click Advanced....

 

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4) Under Paper/Output, select the Custom page size as Paper Size.

 

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5) Enter the size of your layout frame in mm as Custom page size dimensions and press OK twice.

 

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6) Now select the Custom page size as Size under Paper and select the correct orientation next to it.

 

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7) Activate the Preview to check the future PDF and press Print.

 

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8) Save the file as PDF. If you use PDF24 Creator, click Save as PDF.

 

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9) Please check the size of the PDF file in a PDF viewer. It should have the same size as the plan.

 

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⏭️ All done?
Learn here how to upload the plans:
đź”·Upload plans
 
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đź”·Organize plans in folders
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