How to Import Multiple Files into Vectorworks with Accurate Placement?

[Milindsinh Solanki]

Hello,

In our office, we usually import 3D topography models along with GIS building blocks for context models from government sites. These files typically contain multiple folders, and each folder has different building files. If I download one tile block, the zip file will include all the buildings in their respective folder names. The file formats of the models can be 3DS or FBX.
 

I would like to import all the building files at once into Vectorworks, ensuring that each file is carefully placed in its respective location. something like "Batch import" or "Mass import" . What are the best ways to achieve this?
 

Please find the attached image to show what we are trying to achieve.

[Milindsinh]

BUMP

[BartH]

You should be able to build a script that searches a set of sub-folders for all files by type, and builds a list of files to import and then imports each one.

Ideally, with a dialog box to verify which files to import. Not my area of expertise.

 

Managing errors in placement could be tricky. 
 

@Pat Stanford  or @Jesse Cogswell might be able to point you in a direction.

 

 

 

[Jesse Cogswell]

I think I could write you a menu command to do this...kind of.  The scripting functions for importing files are very limited, but there is a function for importing 3DS files that I think would work in this case.  No luck on FBX, which is, as far as I am currently aware, not a file VW can currently import at all.  There are several topics about it in the Wishlist forum, though, so that might be changing some day.

 

As imagined in my head, the command would open a dialog with a box on the left displaying all 3DS files found within a selected file folder (with a button to select a new folder).  There would be a box on the right displaying chosen files.  You would select the files from the box on the left, then press a button adding the selected files to the box on the right.  When you press the OK button to close the dialog, all 3DS files located in the box on the right would be imported.

 

That being said, the 3DS import function currently only has the option to place the imported objects directly on the drawing, which options to use the original file's coordinate system or to specify new coordinates.  There are no controls for managing those imported assets in regards to where they land in class/layer space or Resource Manager organization.  Feasibly, the assets would be placed on the currently active layer, so I could include a way to select which layer each file would import to.

 

Unfortunately, there are no scripts to manage .zip files, so any assets would have to be extracted into a folder beforehand.

 

Any possible chance you could post or DM one of these .zip files and I could take a look?  I don't have a lot going on next week, so I think I could whip something up in relatively short order.