VW Reference file

[jeff prince]

Can someone explain how I might accomplish the following:

 

1. develop a site model in VW in a file named "site"

2. develop a building in VW in a file named "building"

3. reference "building" into "site" and reposition the building it in X,Y,Z as required.

....some days pass, two parties work on each file independently...

4. update "site" to reflect changes in "building"

 

I read the help menu and I'm more confused than ever.  In AutoCAD, we would create "site" and "building" and xref.

[Ross Harris]

Piece of cake!

In the site file, go to View>Create Viewport - when the 'create viewport' dialog opens, go to the layer drop down and select your site layer.

 

The 'select viewport source' dialog box will open - select the 'external document' radio button, then click 'choose' and browse to your building file.

Once selected, Click OK and that should be it 😀

 

It will help immensely if the building ground floor has been modeled at a z height of 0 upward - you'll need to lift the building model once imported to the site model file up to the correct level relating to the site mesh - the finished floor level will be in the OIP whenthe referenced model is selected.

 

[jeff prince]

@Aspect_Design Thank you for the explanation, they should hire you to write their help menu 😉

 

And now another question...

 

Why does the building's X & Y position report differently than its actual position?  I'll explain...

 

I was able to get this to work on a very large georeferenced site consisting of various pieces of survey data.  The "site" file has all geometry located in a local coordinate system (basically a customized UTM zone).  As I move around the digital site, the coordinates are reported as expected and other georeferenced data is snapping into position as expected. The building file I referenced was constructed with the primary building corner located at 0,0,0.  I brought it into the site, repositioned it to its correct location (see image below).  Funny thing is, when I select the building, its X & Y coordinates do not make sense for its actual location, they are off by 1000s of meters (see highlighted OIP).  The Z coordinate is what I entered (meters above sea level for a coastal project) and it worked great per your original advice (setting FF to z=0 in the building file).

 

The X & Y coordinate issue does not seem to be an issue, but it is annoying.  I want to make sure I'm doing this correctly before locating a dozen buildings and starting a design.    At the very least, it appears as if the contractor is building the first phase of this project in the correct locations!