TOPIC:

The 3ds file does not save the scale, but if you export as a VRML file, you will find that Navisworks uses the correct scale.

I saved the project as a .3ds file, and successfully imported the project into Navisworks, but the scale is wrong. Can you advise how to change the scale of the export file.

You can examine the DWG (or DXF) file using the Teigha Viewer software tool. This can be downloaded free from the Open Design Alliance web site .

(The DWG Import in Visual Building is based on the Teigha library source).

Using Teigha Viewer you can load the DWG file and explore the layers. We have also found this tool useful to save the DWG as a different DWG version, as some DWG version formats are better than others. So if you find you have a DWG import problem, load it into Teigha Viewer and save as a more recent DWG version. ( It supports DWG versions from DWG R10 to DWG 2013). You can also save as DXF.

Navisworks: You can export the 3D files as VRML or .3ds which can be imported by Navisworks Manager, but I believe Navisworks Freedom (free) can only import and view native Navisworks files .nwd.

Applicable to Visual Building Professional / Premium

I have been sent some DWG files. These DWG files are big and contain a lot of information that I'm not interested in, and I cant see the wood for the trees. The import mechanism allows me to disable specific layers and thus not import the unwanted data. Unfortunately I can not make sense of the DWG layer system (badly named). Do you have any suggestion how I can ignore specific data in the DWG without knowing what the layers are?

Are your 3D files compatible with Navisworks Manage or Navisworks Freedom?