DGN Support in AutoCAD 2008

AutoCAD 2008 includes new support for V8 DGN file format. When you have an AutoCAD drawing open, you can use the DGNEXPORT command as well as the plain old EXPORT command; you’ll see to new V8 DGN format in the file type list. The Export DGN Setting dialog box provides various options for handling externally referenced drawing files. If the drawing you are trying to export contains xref files, you can choose to translate all of those DWG files to DGN files; you can bind the DWG files into a single DGN file; or you can choose to ignore the externally referenced DWG files.

   

In AutoCAD 2008, you can attach a DGN file as an underlay to your AutoCAD drawing, similar to attaching a DWF file as an underlay. If the AutoCAD drawing that you are trying export currently has a DGN underlay, you can choose whether or not you want to export that DGN underlay file. You can also specify a seed file, which is like a template file. AutoCAD 2008 includes four seed files, two imperial and two metric, either for 2D or 3D. These seed files and the option to specify master or sub units help define how the exported DGN file is created.

After exporting an AutoCAD drawing to a DGN file, you can open it in Microstation, attach it to an AutoCAD drawing as a DGN underlay, or you can import it. There is a new DGNIMPORT command and you'll see the new V8 DGN file type if you use the plain IMPORT command. You can specify how you want AutoCAD to handle external file for the DGN drawing you are importing and you can also control how it converts text and units during the import process.

As I mentioned previously, you can attach a DGN file as an underlay to an AutoCAD drawing. You might remember in AutoCAD 2007 that the Xref Manager was updated to become a central location for all externally referenced files including dwg files, DWF files, and images. In AutoCAD 2008, the Xref Manager has been updated to include DGN files. When you attach a DGN file as an underlay, you can view and snap to the geometry in the DGN file without being able to edit it.

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