MAPIINSERT Bug?

[Todd_Rogers]

I have noticed that in 2024, when I use MAPIINSERT, it reads it as inches and I have to scale the image from 0,0 x 1/12. Has anyone else noticed this? I have checked my UNITS, Drawing Settings, etc.

[Joe-Bouza]

I have seen this before. is this not being read from the world file?

[Todd_Rogers]

The projection file is set to state plane, which is in feet.

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> The projection file is set to

Please try to use _MAPCONNECT instead of _MAPIINSERT.

AFAIK command _MAPIINSERT does not read any project files, it only uses world-file or internal georef-data (if the file has them) for position (insertion point) and scale, but does not do any GIS transformation between geographical coordinate systems.

- alfred -

[Todd_Rogers]

When I use MAPCONNECT, it comes in correctly. The file was produced from Global Mapper and Global Mapper creates an .ecw file with .prj and .eww files to go with it. The actual dialog box for MAPIINSERT actual says inches. I have never seen this happen before.

[Cadguru42]

---

@Alfred.NESWADBA wrote:

Hi,

>> The projection file is set to

Please try to use _MAPCONNECT instead of _MAPIINSERT.

AFAIK command _MAPIINSERT does not read any project files, it only uses world-file or internal georef-data (if the file has them) for position (insertion point) and scale, but does not do any GIS transformation between geographical coordinate systems.

- alfred -

---

The problem with MAPCONNECT is that it's much slower performance for just panning/zooming around the model space. Unless something's changed, it used to be impossible to adjust the fading/transparency of the images as well. The quality of the images also seem to be lower. 

As for @Todd_Rogers 's question, I also have noticed that in 2024 the units are defaulting to Inches instead of whatever the drawing units are. 

[andrewpuller3811 · Accepted solution]

The units shown in the dialogue are generally the units of the drawing you are inserting the image into.

I just tested switching the units in a drawing, using the units command, and the mapiinsert dialogue changed to reflect the target drawing units.

Not sure what is happening if you have checked the insert units using the units command.

[Neilw_05]

For raster images, Rasterdesign has been my go to for transforming images. So far it has been very consistent. It will actually transform images pixel by pixel to the coordinate system used in a project, as long as it is georeferenced somehow or the source datum is known.

Maybe not the answer about a bug, but we all know the incessant need to find workarounds.

[rl_jackson]

World file or not INSUNITS must be 0

Thats my take....

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

@Cadguru42 

>> The problem with MAPCONNECT is that it's much slower performance

Well, but it respects transformations according to geographic coordinate systems and it can handle larger files (compared both to _MAPIINSERT).

Also: I also just asked to try this method to see there is a difference or not, it was not a suggestion to solve an issue.

@rl_jackson 

>> World file or not INSUNITS must be 0

Sorry, I do not understand why this has to be set to 0. For me that's the worst setting in the current times of drawing- and data-exchange. In that case the setting in the options is used and when you send a dwg to someone else who has different settings in the options all insertion processes fails.

- alfred -

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

@Cadguru42 

>> I also have noticed that in 2024 the units are defaulting to Inches

>> instead of whatever the drawing units are

May I ask which "units" you are referring to?

A world file does not have units, it just has a coordinate for insertion and a size of a pixel, but both are just numbers and none of them have units assigned.

I also tried with 2024 my files (dwg in meter and world-file coordinates are values with meter) ... working well.

- alfred -

[Todd_Rogers]

@andrewpuller3811 that's the first thing I checked. Unfortunately, that's not the fix.

[Todd_Rogers]

@rl_jackson Yeah, I always have my stuff set to unitless.

[Todd_Rogers]

Ok, so, I changed from Unitless to US Survey Feet, and the dialog box is actually different for MAPIINSERT. It actually gives me an option now to select Feet from a list. If you use UNITLESS, then that option is NOT in the dialog box. Never noticed this before. SMH. Learn something every day.

[rl_jackson]

Interesting, when you use the check box in the drawing settings of C3D sets INSUNITS to Feet even though the drawing is set to US Survey Feet, this is why I have consistently set INSUNITS to Unitless. And I'm not the only one as that is also the same setting used in the FDOT State Kit (Just read this as I was recently approved to do work for the state). What gives here, I've on numerous occasions seen where it set to anything but 0 would cause shifts in data on import. I too will look at this...

[Cadguru42]

Another aspect that shows that Autodesk has put Map 3D into maintenance mode for over a decade is that the units in the MAPIINSERT dialog only have Feet. There is no option for US Survey Foot as a unit.

In this example, my C3D Drawing  Settings are set to US Survey Feet as well as the ACAD UNITS. When I go to insert this TIFF file that has a world file with it, the default units for insertion is Inches. There is no option for US Survey Feet as an insert unit. Maybe the MAPIINSERT dialog reads the ACAD UNIT, but since US Survey Feet isn't available it just defaults to inches?

There's also still the issue that MAPIINSERT ignores the embedded header UNIT in a GeoTIFF and other georeferenced imagery. That's happened since C3D/MAP 2013 when they changed the behavior of MAPIINSERT and Autodesk has refused to correct this.

[pghcivil3d]

Yes, this has been a long standing issue that has been reported to Autodesk many times. Basically this command doesn’t support US Survey Feet and you need to set the drawing units to UNITLESS bring the image in and then set your units back.