IINSERT Image Units - add US Survey Feet

[gherrmanRQ549]

IINSERT needs to add US Survey Foot as an Image Unit. I use orthoimagery that's been projected to a State Planes Coordinate system. Each image covers 2500 x 2500 US Survey Feet. That means it should be inserted as 2,500.005 x 2,500.005 Imperial Feet [2500 * (1200/3937)/0.3048] which is the only option for drawing units.

[ChicagoLooper]

@gherrmanRQ549 

<<It definitely happens that people use vanilla AutoCAD to try to do Civil work.>>

Yes, it happens that 'people' do that, but just because they do doesn't mean they should. Patients that need a wisdom tooth pulled prefer a qualified dentist using dental pliers, not a machinist with vice grips. 

@gherrmanRQ549

<<For example, if the Westchester imagary I use didn't have a metadata text file or TAB file, I might not be able to tell if its NAD83, NSRS2007, or NSRS2011.>>

Yes, the image projection is freely given by Westchester County. MrSID projections, howerver, don't require a separate file because the projection is 'embedded' in the image itself. When it comes to MrSIDs, the disclosure of a projection might be preferred but it's not an absolute necesscity. 

[Cadguru42]

I know this is an old thread, but I just ran into an issue with this on a major 12 mile long water main project and I'm sick of having to troubleshoot what's going on every time. 

Map 3d's MAPIINSERT has not been updated by Autodesk to understand that there's a "new" unit called US Survey Feet that was introduced with ACAD 2017. This is a big problem.

I have a drawing that's using OH83-SF, US Survey feet. We have TIFs (some GeoTIFFs, some with world files) and these images were created with US Survey feet. However, when using MAPIINSERT the scaling bug shows up where it thinks the image is unitless and always adds 1750 scale to everything. Switching tabs between Source and Insertion always multiplies the x,y, and z by 1750. 

The problem is that MAPIINSERT does NOT understand there's a new core ACAD unit named US Survey Feet, so it treats these images as being unitless. Changing the ACAD unit to be FEET (international feet) seems to insert the images mostly correct, but I'm not sure if it's doing a strange shift between international feet and US Survey feet. I'm going to create a drawing that's using OH83-SF as the coordinate system, change the ACAD unit to Feet (international feet), insert the images, save the drawing, then XREF that drawing into our project files that are using OH83-SF and US Survey Feet for everything. I'm assuming that Map 3d/C3D will scale the image drawing upon insert from I-feet to US survey feet. 

Autodesk needs to address this Map 3d defect, but as usual Autodesk will ignore it and never fix it. Map 3d hasn't been worked on by Autodesk in almost 20 years, which is why this is even an issue after 8 years having a "new" core unit. 

[ChicagoLooper]

@Cadguru42 wrote

<<...and these images were created with US Survey feet....>>

I've seen this happen many times. Too many times. The images often don't have the projection the user thinks it has. Would it be possible to upload 3 or four images for verification?

[Cadguru42]

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@ChicagoLooper wrote:

@Cadguru42 wrote

<<...and these images were created with US Survey feet....>>

I've seen this happen many times. Too many times. The images often don't have the projection the user thinks it has. Would it be possible to upload 3 or four images for verification?

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I can't upload them, but they were made using Ohio State Plane NAD 83 South Zone US Survey Feet specifically for this project. The problem is that MAPIINSERT does not recognize the ACAD unit of US Survey Feet, so it won't read the GeoTIFF header properly. Adding as a FDO connection works and all other GIS software read it fine. It's just MAPIIINSERT that won't insert the images properly because Autodesk refuses to update Map 3D to actually read core AutoCAD's unit of US Survey Feet even after 8.5 years. 

[Cadguru42]

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@choalchristan wrote:

To add US Survey Feet as an option in the "INSERT Image Units" in AutoCAD, follow these steps:

1. Check the Units Setup: Go to UNITS by typing in the command line. Here, set the Insertion Scale to US Survey Feet if it’s available.

2. Change the Image Units: When inserting an image, AutoCAD typically defaults to the drawing units. Ensure your drawing units are set to US Survey Feet beforehand, so the image adopts those units.

3. Adjust in Raster Design (if using): If you’re using AutoCAD Raster Design, check the settings within the Raster Tools to ensure compatibility with US Survey Feet.

If you don’t see US Survey Feet as an option, ensure that your AutoCAD version supports it, as older versions may only list International Feet

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I don't think you understand what's going on or didn't bother to read the earlier posts. This is about MAPIINSERT, which is a Map 3d command that's included with C3D, does not recognize US Survey Feet as a unit even with M3D/C3D 2025. Because of that, it chooses unitless and the defect with the Image Correlation dialog (where insertion point & scale multiplies the x, y and scales just by switching tabs) kicks in.