Projecting cad files in arcgis

Note: Once the projection file is added to the Favorites folder, it cannot be added again unless the file name is changed. Note: Keep in mind: The CAD data may not align exactly with the available reference data, because of inaccuracies in one or both sets of data. When the final version of the projection file has been achieved, click the Add to Favorites button one more time.

To display hidden files and folders, open the Control Panel and click Folder Options. On the View tab, under Advanced settings , click Show hidden files, folders, and drives , and click OK. There are two options for using the custom projection file to define the projection for the CAD data. This is case-sensitive.

If the CAD file has spaces in the name, the above process does not work. Note: Three chapters in the book titled 'Lining Up Data in ArcGIS: A Guide to Map Projections, Second Edition' are devoted to detailed instructions for this process, and address such questions as identifying custom units, or creating a custom projection file for rotated CAD data, which are too technical to address in this article. For additional assistance, contact Esri Support Services on the web, or by phone at How can we make this better?

Please provide as much detail as possible. Contact our Support Team. Request Case Start Chat. Translation Feedback How can we make this translation better? Get notified about latest updates to this technical article? Yes No. The Rotate , Move , and Scale tools allow you to manipulate the dataset without using control points.

Adding control points is the best practice for conducting a precise georeference. Control points allow you to snap specific CAD features in your dataset to corresponding features in your control data.

To update the map display based on the control points created, click Apply. In the Control Point table, you can modify the numeric values of your control points as you create them. After adding control points manually or loading them from a world file. Using the Spatial Reference Properties dialog box correctly names and saves the file automatically.

To link a projection file to a CAD dataset, the following criteria must be met: The projection file and the CAD drawing must have the same name prefix. For example, MyDrawing. The projection file must exist in the same folder as the CAD drawing. When these two conditions are met, the spatial reference travels with the CAD drawing in a Catalog window as a hidden file. If you copy, delete, or rename the CAD dataset, its projection file is also modified by these operations and maintained as a property of the dataset.

You can import a coordinate system from other CAD datasets or from ArcGIS formats such as shapefiles, rasters, or geodatabase feature classes. To create a universal projection file, right-click the coordinate system in the list box and click Save As.

Defining a spatial reference with the Define Projection tool can be performed in a Catalog window or in a geoprocessing model.