Import and Export

Import and Export

DXF

The main exchange route with AutoCAD, Civil 3D, and everything else.

Export — File → Export DXF…

Writes ASCII DXF tagged AC1032 (AutoCAD 2018 class).

Survey points are written as native POINT / AcDbPoint entities at world coordinates, with per-point layer and ByLayer colour. Each carries its identity in GOSURVEY XDATA — point ID, label style, description — so a GoSurvey DXF round-trips with full survey identity, while any other DXF reader still sees a plain valid POINT.

The log reports DXF export — wrote <path>. Anything excluded is stated: DXF export — excluded ….

Known gaps. Aligned dimensions are written as exploded lines plus text, not associative DIMENSION entities. Some entity types have no export branch yet and are silently absent — check the log line that reports exclusions, and see Known Limitations.

Import — File → Import DXF…

Brings in model-space geometry: lines, circles, arcs, ellipses, polylines, and common annotations.

The log prints the imported bounding box, and a robust box that excludes outliers, so a stray entity at a wild coordinate is visible immediately.

Binary DXF is not supported — Binary DXF is not supported — in AutoCAD use Save As → ASCII DXF.

Survey points on DXF import

Importing a DXF keeps the survey points already in the session. Only the CAD geometry is replaced. So importing CSV points then a DXF, or a DXF then points, both keep everything.

Reconstructed points are merged with the existing ones. Non-colliding IDs are added directly; a colliding ID opens a prompt to overwrite the existing point or offset the imported IDs — N imported survey point ID(s) conflict with existing points; choose overwrite or offset.

Civil 3D

Civil 3D COGO points are custom objects and are not written as standard DXF entities, so they cannot be recovered from a plain DXF, no matter which program reads it.

The route that works: export the points from Civil 3D as a PNEZD or PENZD CSV and use IMPORTPOINTS; use DXF for the linework. Either order is safe.

The same applies to Plant 3D drawings, whose contents are largely AcPp* custom objects requiring Autodesk's object enabler. No third-party reader can reach them.

DWG

File → Import DWG… / Export DWG…

DWG goes through an external converter. The menu items stay disabled until one is found:

DWG needs a converter: install the free ODA File Converter, or set GOSURVEY_DWG_CONVERTER to ODAFileConverter.exe or accoreconsole.exe.

Hovering an enabled menu item shows which converter is in use.

Export warning

Because DWG is written through DXF, export is lossy, and GoSurvey says so before it writes:

GoSurvey writes DWG through DXF, so this export drops:

• block definitions and inserts (geometry is written exploded)
• paper-space layouts beyond the first
• elevations, block attributes, multileaders and tables
• Civil 3D objects, proxies and anything else GoSurvey does not model

If the target file already exists, the dialog escalates: "<file> already exists. Overwriting it will permanently discard the data listed above." with an Overwrite button.

Import is subject to the same modelling limits in reverse.

Failures name the cause — a missing converter, a timeout, a file that is not a DWG (is not a DWG file (no AC#### format tag)), an empty output, or a converter exit code.

Native DWG reading, with no converter, is planned.

Survey point CSV

IMPORTPOINTS / IMPPTS and EXPORTPOINTS / EXPPTS.

Import gives a live preview, a validation summary, an optional header-row skip, and a per-row problem report. Export offers the same presets plus an optional header row, and adds a tab to the Reports panel.

CSV coordinates are world values, converted into the drawing's frame in double precision.

Full detail: Survey Points

Survey point JSON

The Create points panel and the Viewpoints table both have Save and Load buttons that write and read the whole point database as JSON, defaulting to gosurvey_points.json. Useful for moving a point set between drawings without going through CSV.

FBK — Autodesk Field Book

Traverse Editor → Import .fbk…

Import an Autodesk Field Book (.fbk) raw data file. Replaces the current traverse with the imported stations, backsight and observations.

This replaces the current traverse. Sample files are in the repository under samples/.

Full detail: Traverse Editor

3D models — IMPORTMODEL

Command: IMPORTMODEL, GLTF, IMPORT3D

Imports a mesh as reference geometry.

Usage

IMPORTMODEL                                          ← file browser, unit scale 1 at 0,0,0
IMPORTMODEL "C:\models\tank.glb" 0.0833 1000 2000 0  ← path, scale, insertion X Y Z

The bare form opens a file browser and states what it assumed: IMPORTMODEL — unit scale 1, insertion 0,0,0. Use IMPORTMODEL "<path>" <scale> <x> <y> <z> to place it otherwise.

A DWG import warns first — Converting the DWG's 3D solids via <converter> — this can take a few minutes on a large model.

On success:

Imported tank.glb — 184320 triangles, 12 parts, scale 0.0833.

Anything not imported is named, never dropped in silence:

Not imported (geometry only): materials, animations, cameras.

The unit scale must be a non-zero finite number.

Set the visual style to Shaded and use ORBIT to look at an imported model. See Views and Navigation.

PDF

• In — as a snappable raster underlay, PDFATTACH. See PDF Underlays.
• Out — as a plotted sheet, from the Layout ribbon. See Plotting.

Common problems

Related

Survey Points · Files and Drawings · Coordinate Alignment · PDF Underlays · Traverse Editor