If the file is really important, ask for hard copy or image to accompany it. Ask the exporter to perform multiple consecutive purges in order to remove nested blocks. The exporter must purge any unused/unnecessary blocks and unused/unnecessary layers. These may creep in to your drawing later once youÕve imported it (see below). The exporter must eliminate ÔcometsÕÑtiny fragments of drawing miles way from the main drawing area. The exporter must not use paper space (an AutoCAD device which achieves similar results to MiniCadÕs use of scaled layers and layer links). You may need to scale the entire file up (typically by a factor of 12 in the case of surveys) or down. Surveys especially (due to surveyorsÕ use of decimal feet instead of feet and inches) are frequently off. Have the exporter include a graphic scale in the drawing.

Note that DWG is a more efficient file format (generating smaller files) and equal to DXF in terms of compatibility, but DXF files reportedly compress to a slightly smaller size than DWG, in spite of being much larger uncompressed. MiniCad 7 reads up to AutoCAD version 13 DXF and DWG. Let the exporter know what file format and version you need. Importing to MiniCad 7 Before importing a file, it is important to communicate with the exporter (the person from whom you are getting the file, who is probably an AutoCAD user). For the sake of thoroughness, we will cover both MiniCad 7 and VectorWorks 8. That said, VectorWorks 8 (thanks in large part to Diehl Graphsoft, Inc.Õs membership in the OpenDWG Alliance) makes great strides in bridging the inevitable gap between MiniCad and DWG. While we attempt to cover the basic mechanics of file translation, there are so many dialects and nuances of DXF and DWG, that only experience will allow for smooth translations, and imperfection is inherent to the process.

As a result, as with any translation, importing and exporting via these ÔuniversalÕ formats is imperfect at best, and results can be quite variable, depending on the version of a drawingÕs native application. In addition, features of one software platform (such as MiniCad or VectorWorks) are not necessarily implemented on another (such as AutoCAD). What we should stress first and foremost is that DWG and DXF (the former in particular) are proprietary formats and subject to change over time. We highly recommend for further reading the article by Dave Weber, DXF Made Easy, available at: Although WeberÕs article was written at the time of MiniCad 6, it is nonetheless thorough, informative, and useful. Importing and Exporting DWG and DXF in MiniCad and VectorWorks Introduction The following is based on our common experience and MiniCad 7 and VectorWorks manuals (MiniCad and VectorWorks are products of Diehl Graphsoft, Inc.).

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