Problems with shared coordinates

[emmanuelbee]

I have a dwg site plan that I'm trying to link into revit using shared coordinates, when I link it, it keeps coming in at the wrong place not aligned with the building. I thought there might have been an issue with the site plan  so I copied and pasted the site plan into a new dwg drawing file and pasted at 0,0,0 so that I could keep the same coordinates. Now when I link it into the revit model using shared coordinates it comes in at the right place, aligned with the building. I dont why the original dwg file doesn't come in at the right place but the copied version of it does even though they are both using the same coordinates. Even though the copied version of the site plan works fine. I would preferably like to use the original site plan as it has a few xrefs in it. any solutions as to why the original file doesn't come in at the right place with shared coordinates in revit ?

[barthbradley]

It sounds like the first one (the one with the correct x,y,z coordinates) was not shared yet and it was probably landing at the default center position.  Typically, you Link in the Site, move it to the correct x, y, z position relative to your building and then Acquire it's Coordinates and record that position in the Project.    Had you done this already?  

....p.s. I would you be using the original site plan in your project. It's 0,0,0 origin is the geodetic marker for the survey.  

[emmanuelbee]

No I normally just copy the x and y coordinates of a specific point in the site plan and paste those coordinates on the same point within the revit model and then insert using shared coordinates. I used the same method for the copied version of the site plan and it worked but the original file doesn't work with shared coordinates when I link it into revit. I don't understand why

[barthbradley]

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@emmanuelbee wrote:

No I normally just copy the x and y coordinates of a specific point in the site plan and paste those coordinates on the same point within the revit model and then insert using shared coordinates. I used the same method for the copied version of the site plan and it worked but the original file doesn't work with shared coordinates when I link it into revit. I don't understand why

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How do you "paste those coordinates on the same point within the Revit model"?  

[emmanuelbee]

The outline of the building is also on the site plan so I select a specific point on the outline and get the coordinates for those points and then go into revit, select the same points using 'specifiy coordinates at point' and paste the x and y coordinates in there. i then use spot coordinates to make sure that every point I select has the same x and y coordinates as the one on my site plan in cad, that's how i normally know that every is correct. After that I link the site plan and insert it using 'auto shared coordinates' and normally it would come in on top of where my building is with everything aligned.

[barthbradley]

I understand that workflow.  Should work too.  Do you get this message when Linking in the Site By Shared Coordinates?

[emmanuelbee]

Yes i do 

[barthbradley]

Wow. Head-Scratcher.  Seems impossible this could happen.  

Thinking...

...maybe something to do with Project North/True North??? 

[emmanuelbee]

It's just so strange especially because every point I select in the Revit model shows as having the same X and y coordinates as in the dwg site plan

[barthbradley]

You say you've been copying and adjusting the Link's origin; is it possible you just Linked in the wrong file -- or copied coordinates from the wrong file?  

[Anonymous]

Did you make sure that the original CAD file's UCS is set to World? It could be possible that the UCS is set to something different, which is what you are looking at coordinate-wise, but then is linked using World. Possibly why the copy/pasted one into the new file works - because it's a new file and the CAD's UCS was definitely not changed.

[emmanuelbee]

yes the cad's file's ucs is set to world and another strange thing which i've noticed is when i zoom extent in the cad file it doesn't exactly center the view of the site plan. it zooms in but its almost as if there is something else in the background but I can't see anything else apart from the site, and there is nothing else to select.

[Anonymous]

Hate to ask such simple things, but is the 'plan' set to current UCS in CAD? 

[emmanuelbee]

yes

[barthbradley]

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@emmanuelbee wrote:

 i've noticed is when i zoom extent in the cad file it doesn't exactly center the view of the site plan. 

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Why would you expect Zoom Extents to center the site in the view? The survey origin (0,0,0) could be miles from the site. Not everything inbetween was mapped - hopefully.   

...want to post your site plan? The original, unvarnished one supplied to you.    

[Anonymous]

Have you tried aligning the original file CAD to Revit's 0,0,0? or just in the drawing file?  If your files for your building and CAD site are both aligned to Revit's origin at 0,0,0, and you have set the project base points to the same location, I think your file will come in to the correct location.  

Also, just to be clear, which file are you acquiring your coordinates from?

[emmanuelbee]

I'm not using acquired coordinates, I'm using shared coordinates and yes the cad's origin is at 0,0,0. 

[Anonymous]

To be clear your always are at the Revit origin when you open a standard revit template, but I am wondering if your project base points are unclipped or on weird positions in either one of the models...

[emmanuelbee]

I unclipped both the project base point and the survey point and then made sure that everything was on zero and then clipped them before i inserted the x and y coordinates from my site plan

[Anonymous]

"It sounds like the first one (the one with the correct x,y,z coordinates) was not shared yet and it was probably landing at the default center position.  Typically, you Link in the Site, move it to the correct x, y, z position relative to your building and then Acquire it's Coordinates and record that position in the Project.    Had you done this already?  

....p.s. I would you be using the original site plan in your project. It's 0,0,0 origin is the geodetic marker for the survey."

I think this first post is your answer then.  Inserting with shared coordinates only works if you have published or acquired coordinates from a different file as far as I know.  Otherwise, you might do better inserting the file project base point to project base point.  That sounds like what you are setting up in the rest of your described work flow.