DXF importing

This question is not strictly GIS, but is to do with spatial data
(groundwater protection boundaries), so please forgive the abuse.

Our National Groundwater has had some work done creating boundaries
around various abstractions - the company that did the work produced the
maps using Autocad version 12. As an afterthought, National also bought
the DXF files that the company had produced.

We've been given these files and asked if we can import them. I've tried
the v.in.dxf but after looking like it had imported, when I tried to run
v.support, GRASS couldn't find the file ??

I've since tried a number of packages that supposedly import DXF (Corel,
FastCad, W4W) and all have a problem with these files. I believe it is
something to do with the maps using Autocad's 'paperspace' and
'modelspace' option. We've since got hold of a copy of Autocad 12, but I
blowed if I can produce a 'simple' DXF file with just the basic
boundaries in. As an example a boundary of 2 lines and 2 polylines (arcs
of a circle) were in a file of 150 Kbytes. I've tried deleting the
paperspace labels plus the associated grid lines to leave just the four
segments of the required boundary, but on exporting the map to DXF, it's
still about 120 Kbytes, and GRASS still objects.

Can anyone tell me how I can persuade Autocad to to produce a 'simple'
map rather than all this flashy paperspace stuff ??

Thanks in advance, from a very frustrated person,

Steve Culshaw
NRA North West
e-mail : nra@cix.compulink.co.uk (use this for general usage)
or sculshaw@cix.compulink.co.uk (Private - only checked at best
biweekly)

In info.grass.user you write:

This question is not strictly GIS, but is to do with spatial data
(groundwater protection boundaries), so please forgive the abuse.

Our National Groundwater has had some work done creating boundaries
around various abstractions - the company that did the work produced the
maps using Autocad version 12. As an afterthought, National also bought
the DXF files that the company had produced.

We've been given these files and asked if we can import them. I've tried
the v.in.dxf but after looking like it had imported, when I tried to run
v.support, GRASS couldn't find the file ??

v.in.dxf creates many files, one for each layer of the dxf file. Make
g.list vect in your location, there should be filess with prefix you gave
and some other (weird?) letters specifying layer name in dxf file.

I've since tried a number of packages that supposedly import DXF (Corel,
FastCad, W4W) and all have a problem with these files. I believe it is
something to do with the maps using Autocad's 'paperspace' and
'modelspace' option. We've since got hold of a copy of Autocad 12, but I
blowed if I can produce a 'simple' DXF file with just the basic
boundaries in. As an example a boundary of 2 lines and 2 polylines (arcs
of a circle) were in a file of 150 Kbytes. I've tried deleting the
paperspace labels plus the associated grid lines to leave just the four
segments of the required boundary, but on exporting the map to DXF, it's
still about 120 Kbytes, and GRASS still objects.

Can anyone tell me how I can persuade Autocad to to produce a 'simple'
map rather than all this flashy paperspace stuff ??

Thanks in advance, from a very frustrated person,

Steve Culshaw
NRA North West
e-mail : nra@cix.compulink.co.uk (use this for general usage)
or sculshaw@cix.compulink.co.uk (Private - only checked at best
biweekly)

v.out.dxf works, it just doesn't import labels. I wrote a version that
imports the labels into GRASS paint/labels files, but tthere is no angle of
rotation in paint/labels file.

Olga