Dear WM,
The DXF vector format for the Height Adjustment while very useful is unfortunately not using the standard file format specification. I would suggest looking into some sample files on the web for a better reference.
Currently when using this tool WM often crashes when importing DXF files from Max, Maya, and ArcGIS.
Hi Philip,
Agreed – there was an issue where perfectly well-formed DXFs would crash the importer. I have a hotfix ready that fixes this issue – I am planning on releasing it soon. Feel free to send to support@world-machine.com or post here any test case DXFs that you have that have been currently giving WM problems!
I am having similar issues. I have tried different types of splines from 3DMax, closed and open, but each crashes on import. Also, there are different versions of the .dxf that Max prompts you to choose, I tried AutoCAD 2010 DXF also the 2012 and 2004 version. Is there a specific one that is compatible?
Also, is there a detailed help/explanation on the import dialog settings for this?
Thanks for any help.
Hi there,
This is a popular feature, so I will try to get the hotfix out ASAP on this.
In terms of the import dialog, the import things are:
How to map the shapes from whatever scale you’re using to design your shapes to World Machine’s units. The default is assuming the units are in meters, but you can set any scale factor you want with the custom scale factor option. So for example, if you actually were measuring in centimeters, you’d enter .01 in the custom scale box.
The resulting size of your import after the plan scaling in World Machine is shown in the “Scaled Extents” report.
You can choose to Center the shapes which will import them centered around zero, or you can uncheck and import them in their native location – this is useful if you have lots of different shapes that need to all keep their relative positions.
Elevation scale.
This allows you to linearly remap the elevations contained in the DXF in some way. Note that the default just scales them by the same scaling factor you choose for the plan scale, so if your units are correct you should be good to go and not need to do anything there.
The only caveat to watch out for is make sure that your Project elevation min and maxes are low/high enough to fully contain your imported shapes. If this is not the case, you’ll get a warning about it in the warnings box, And the imported elevations will be clipped when they go out of range.
just an update:
I’m going to roll out the update in an hour or so. It contains the DXF import fix, RAW file import type autodetection, and a few minor UI tweaks. I’ll post an announcement when this happens!
Thanks a lot for the information, can’t wait to use this feature when it is in working shape again.
Give 2.3.1 a try and let me know immediately if it does not fix your issues!
(Also, note that DXF import is currently limited to only polylines. Other shape types may be supported in the future)