External drawings are drawing files created in another application. After opening an external drawing, the software allows to do the following:
-
Copy the entire content of the external drawing.
-
Copy only the selected graphical elements of the external drawing.
-
Paste the selection into a composite drawing.
You can open drawings that have the following file extensions:
*.igr (SmartSketch)
*.dxf (AutoCAD)
*.dwg (AutoCAD)
*.dgn (MicroStation)
Prior to opening an external drawing, define the manner in which Smart Electrical will import the external drawing.
To set import options for external drawings
-
On the Smart Electrical menu bar, select Tools > Options.
-
On the Options dialog, select the Foreign Data tab.
-
From the Format list, select MicroStation or AutoCAD.
-
In the Import group box, select Options.
-
In the dialog that opens, from the Options list, select Symbol or Groups.
-
If you set your import setting to Symbol, the graphical element that you paste from an external drawing into a composite drawing will be treated as a non-smart symbol. You can associate this symbol with a plant item and attach a label to it as needed. Also, if the external graphical element that you pasted in needs to be disassembled in the composite drawing, right-click the external graphical element and then on the shortcut menu, select Convert to Group and then ungroup it as you would ungroup any group in a composite drawing. Note that the Convert to Group command is not available if a label has been attached to it or if the symbol has been associated with a plant item. Note that this conversion is irreversible - you will not be able to convert it back to symbol.
-
If you set your import setting to Groups, the graphical element that you paste from an external drawing into a composite drawing will be treated as a group of graphical elements. You can associate this group with a plant item and attach a label to it as needed. You can ungroup this external graphical element if needed.
To open an external drawing
-
On the Smart Electrical menu, select File > Open > External Drawing.