About Importing IGES Data Into a Drawing
The Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) transfers graphical and textual information between computer aided design systems. When reading IGES data into a drawing, note the following:
• You can set up and modify configuration options to selectively filter and process data that is specific to the type of entities that the IGES file format supports for import. The Import IGES dialog box is context sensitive and displays these configuration options as User Interface options with default values in addition to other import options. You can view and verify the current settings at runtime and revert to original settings, if necessary. These configuration option settings are saved to the current_session.pro file when you complete the import of 2D data from the IGES file. The Import IGES dialog box displays the saved values for these options as the default values the next time you open Import IGES in the same session of the Creo application.
• When the imported drawing sheets vary in size, drawing sheets of different sizes are created depending on the information contained in the imported file.
• If the drawing sheet size matches the standard Creo drawing sheet size, the drawing is placed on the standard size drawing sheet.
• If you do not specify the drawing sheet size in the file, the drawing is placed on a standard Creo drawing sheet size that is closest to the outline of the imported file.
• The lower-left corner of the drawing is the origin of draft entities in the drawing. When the system reads an IGES file into the drawing, it places the file relative to the drawing origin.
• Draft entities are created using the units specified in the drawing setup file. For example, if the drawing setup file sets the units to inches, and the units for the IGES data is in millimeters, the units of the IGES entities are converted to inches during the translation. For example, 25.4 mm in the IGES file becomes 1 inch in the drawing.
• Multiple-line text is imported as a single multiple-line note or as multiple single-line notes with the original fonts.
• Typically, the IGES file values do not override the settings of the drawing setup options. Arrow size and style, text size, and parallel/horizontal dimensioning are examples of areas where differences can occur.
• When you import drawings, some line styles might appear different. For example, when you import drawings from CATIA, dots can look like dashes, and spaces can appear larger.
• When you choose Modify and Value for an imported dimension, you are placed in Modify, Text, and Line modes to edit the selected text line of the dimension. IGES does not represent the value of a dimension as a parameter, but only as graphics. Thus, the displayed text contains an "@O" (oh) that is inserted to set the origin of the line of the text.
• Dimensions associated with the draft entities before the import retain their association to the same entities after the import. If dimensions were not associative before import, you can link these non-associative dimensions to the relevant draft entities after import. You can also recalculate dimension values after the import.
Diagrams, Drawings, Formats, Notebooks, and Reports
You can import IGES files containing geometry and annotation into a diagram, 2D drawing, format, notebook, or report. IGES files with 3D model entities use the view definitions to place the geometry in the drawing. The resulting entities are 2D draft entities.
When you import IGES files that contain geometry and annotations:
• You can place IGES groups on separate layers on import. You must set the iges_in_group_to_dwg_layer configuration option to yes. The IGES groups are converted to layers with the name IGES_GRP_<line number of the IGES group>.
• The proper drawing format is automatically selected if the format of the imported IGES drawing corresponds to a standard size (portrait or landscape) drawing.