ArborTrail plan builder
Overview
The ArborTrail Plan Builder program is a small utility program which converts a DXF CAD file into a special custom file which the PDA based ArborTrail program can then load and display.
A DXF file is a special file format which enables Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawings to be shared between different CAD software programs. It is known as the Drawing Interchange File Format. The idea is, that a CAD drawing, produced in say AutoCAD, can be saved as a DXF file and then loaded by a different CAD program such as TurboCAD.
The majority of ArborTrail users are likely to be using AutoCAD which normally uses its own file format (DWG); a format which is much more efficient than the DXF format. However, AutoCAD provides options with the Save As.. file command, to save as a DXF format if required.
DXF CAD files generally have a large file size when compared to the actual CAD data content. They also contain a lot of information which is not needed for the purpose of displaying a site layout. ArborTrail Plan Builder strips out all unnecessary data, and stores the actual required data in binary format to save memory.
Originally, It was possible for ArborTrail to directly load a DXF file and then convert it internally but this process proved to be very slow and memory intensive. Subsequently, it was decided to have a stand alone program available specifically to carry out this process.
The drawing files which ArborTrail Plan Builder creates are very simple. They do not contain many items such as colour, line-width, donuts, text, etc which the DXF file may include. They are intended to only show an accurate representation of the site with accurate tree centres.
Once the plan has been used within ArborTrail for tree locating, the drawing is discarded. It has no further use. The resulting picked tree positions are stored within the ArborTrail tree schedule and NOT the drawing.
ArborTrail Plan Builder requires some CAD experience to use. Its necessary to have a basic understanding of CAD drawing components and the way in which layers work. Most DXF plans will convert directly without problems, but some do not. It depends on how the original CAD drawing was constructed.
This Manual will hopefully guide you through many of the common problems which you may encounter when converting DXF files.
The ArborTrail Plan Builder program is a small utility program which converts a DXF CAD file into a special custom file which the PDA based ArborTrail program can then load and display.
A DXF file is a special file format which enables Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawings to be shared between different CAD software programs. It is known as the Drawing Interchange File Format. The idea is, that a CAD drawing, produced in say AutoCAD, can be saved as a DXF file and then loaded by a different CAD program such as TurboCAD.
The majority of ArborTrail users are likely to be using AutoCAD which normally uses its own file format (DWG); a format which is much more efficient than the DXF format. However, AutoCAD provides options with the Save As.. file command, to save as a DXF format if required.
DXF CAD files generally have a large file size when compared to the actual CAD data content. They also contain a lot of information which is not needed for the purpose of displaying a site layout. ArborTrail Plan Builder strips out all unnecessary data, and stores the actual required data in binary format to save memory.
Originally, It was possible for ArborTrail to directly load a DXF file and then convert it internally but this process proved to be very slow and memory intensive. Subsequently, it was decided to have a stand alone program available specifically to carry out this process.
The drawing files which ArborTrail Plan Builder creates are very simple. They do not contain many items such as colour, line-width, donuts, text, etc which the DXF file may include. They are intended to only show an accurate representation of the site with accurate tree centres.
Once the plan has been used within ArborTrail for tree locating, the drawing is discarded. It has no further use. The resulting picked tree positions are stored within the ArborTrail tree schedule and NOT the drawing.
ArborTrail Plan Builder requires some CAD experience to use. Its necessary to have a basic understanding of CAD drawing components and the way in which layers work. Most DXF plans will convert directly without problems, but some do not. It depends on how the original CAD drawing was constructed.
This Manual will hopefully guide you through many of the common problems which you may encounter when converting DXF files.
