CAD/DXF drawings

High quality maps and printouts can be prepared using your own CAD application to combine your maps and site plans with the CAD/DXF files (provided by OTISS). The trees can be exported as a CAD/DXF file. This file is intended to be opened by a CAD application and merged with your existing background maps, site plans and other information.

This facility is intended to be used by people who are familiar with CAD and are able to manipulate the drawing objects to suit their requirements for colour, style, layout etc.
  • Each item is plotted using the UK O.S. Grid Reference as coordinates. For example, an item at location ‘TL 05635 04970′ will be plotted at x=505635 y=204970 (in metres) or x=505635000 y=204970000 (in millimetres).
    • Each tree’s location centre, radius, reference and species are each plotted on separate layers so that you can change and manipulate them with your CAD application.
    • Each furniture’s location centre, width, reference and type are each plotted on separate layers so that you can change and manipulate them with your CAD application.
  • The DXF file contains only the tree/item information, it does not contain a background map.
  • The items selected for the inclusion in the DXF is governed by the Site and Survey filters at the top of the web page. At present the column filtering is ignored when compiling these reports.

Tips for using the OTISS CAD/DXF drawings

  • When you open the file in some CAD applications, may have to use the ‘Extents’ or ‘Fit to window’ command to locate the items.
  • In many CAD applications, all the items in a single layer can be selected by first selecting one of the items and the using the ‘select similar’ facility. Once selected, they can all be manipulated as required.
  • In AutoCAD, it seems to work best if you load the DXF file and save it as a DWG file; then use the DWG file when inserting into your own maps and drawings. When inserting the items into your drawing, you can load them as a single block; or the more flexible approach is to tick the ‘Explode’ checkbox in the Insert dialog and load them as individual entities.
DXF Layer Description of the Tree Layers
TreeLocation Layer This layer contains the small circles that represent the tree trunk. The line colour and thickness can all be changed using the layer’s properties. The circles can be removed by hiding the layer.
TreeCrownRadius Layer This layer contains the larger circles that represent the crown radius. When the DXF is generated you have to option of using the actual recorded crown radius or of using a fixed radius for all the trees. The line colour and thickness can all be changed using the layer’s properties.
TreeReference Layer This layer contains each tree’s reference number, which is plotted beside the tree using the TreeText text style. The text colour can be changed using the layer’s properties, and the text font and height can be changed using the text style’s properties. The text can be removed by hiding the layer.
TreeSpecies Layer This layer contains each tree’s species name, which is plotted beside the tree using the TreeText text style. The text colour can be changed using the layer’s properties, and the text font and height can be changed using the text style’s properties. The text can be removed by hiding the layer.
TreeText Style This text style is used for both the Reference and Species text. The text font and height can be changed using this text style’s properties. In some CAD applications, you may need to re-apply the text style to the text items to make the change – please consult your applications’s reference manuals.
DXF Layer Description of the Furniture Layers
ItemLocation Layer This layer contains the small circles that represent the furniture centre. The line colour and thickness can all be changed using the layer’s properties. The circles can be removed by hiding the layer.
ItemOutline Layer This layer contains the larger squares that represent the ‘width’. When the DXF is generated you have to option of using the actual recorded width or of using a fixed width for all the items. The line colour and thickness can all be changed using the layer’s properties.
ItemReference Layer This layer contains each item’s reference number, which is plotted beside the item using the ItemText text style. The text colour can be changed using the layer’s properties, and the text font and height can be changed using the text style’s properties. The text can be removed by hiding the layer.
ItemType Layer This layer contains each item’s type, which is plotted beside the item using the ItemText text style. The text colour can be changed using the layer’s properties, and the text font and height can be changed using the text style’s properties. The text can be removed by hiding the layer.
ItemText Style This text style is used for both the item’s Reference and Type text. The text font and height can be changed using this text style’s properties. In some CAD applications, you may need to re-apply the text style to the text items to make the change – please consult your applications’s reference manuals.