Autodesk 00128-051462-9310 - AUTOCAD 2008 COMM UPG FRM 2005 DVD, User Manual

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The example shown above exports to the IFC file structure shown below.
Exporting a Drawing Without External References
Use this procedure to export a drawing as an IFC file when the drawing does not contain xrefs. The drawing for export
must be active on your drawing screen.
The drawing you are exporting is mapped to (Ifc)Building by default. You can add descriptive information about the
file being exported.
1 Open the drawing that you want to export as an IFC file.
2 Click File menu
➤
IFC
➤
Export To IFC.
3 In the Export to IFC dialog, for Project Name, enter a project name for the drawing.
4 For Project Number, enter a project number for the drawing.
5 If you want to change the default value for Export IFC File to, enter a new name; or click Browse, navigate
to the desired file, and select it.
6 Enter a description of the file for export, and click Export.
How IFC Files Are Imported
When you import an IFC file, drawing files are created that correspond to each part of the IFC project structure. The
files will be xrefed together into a main host file that represents each part of the file structure in the IFC file.
In some instances, you may need to turn on some display components for them to display after you import an IFC file,
such as surfaces of spaces. For more information, see “
Display Representations ” on page 451.
Importing IFC files result in the drawing files being organized at the same level. The drawing files (with xrefs) display
as shown below after import.
Drawing files (without xrefs) display as shown below after import.
When you import an IFC file, you specify a name for the top level drawing that is created from the IFC file. This drawing
contains xrefs only. For example, importing an IFC file and naming it Small Office Building, creates a DWG called
Small Office Building.dwg that contains all of the xrefs that correspond to each part of the project structure contained
in the IFC file. During import:
■
A site drawing is created if the IfcSite exists in the IFC file. This file is created using the top level drawing name
with the IfcSite name appended and is referenced into the top level drawing. If there was no site name specified
in the IFC file, no site drawing is created.
■
A building drawing is created using the top level drawing name with the IfcBuilding name appended. This file is
xrefed into the top level drawing. (Please note that AutoCAD Architecture uses the Project Name from the Export
to IFC dialog as the IfcBuilding Name. This is noticeable if you are importing an IFC file that originated in AutoCAD
Architecture.) Using the Small Office Building example above, the drawing name would be Small Office
Building-Commercial Project.dwg because Commercial Project was the IfcBuilding name in the IFC file.
■
A Storey drawing is created for each IfcStorey contained in the IFC file. The files are created using the top level
drawing name with the name of the IfcStorey appended. These files are referenced into the project file.
How IFC Files Are Imported | 129