Plex-Earth 5 offers the ability to import imagery and terrain into AutoCAD drawings, as well as the capability to publish 2D and 3D designs to Google Earth. Georeferencing, i.e. the process of adding geographic information to the drawings, is mandatory in order for the software to know where to place the images or the elevation data when these are imported. Similarly, designs should be in the correct X-Y coordinates in AutoCAD, so as when exported to Google Earth, to be positioned in the right area.
Adjusting the georeference settings of a drawing with Plex-Earth, can be done very easily, by clicking on the Set Georeference icon, in the "Project" panel.
After selecting the Georeference button, in the window that pops up, two options are displayed:
- Quick Georeference
- Coordinate System
In the following steps, all the necessary information is provided for defining the coordinate system of a drawing, for both options. As georeferencing is mandatory in order to use Plex-Earth 5, this is the first thing that must be done, before using any of the other software’s features.
Coordinate System
In most engineering projects, whether we start a drawing from scratch or work in an existing design, the coordinate system is usually specified and known. In this case, all that has to be done is to select it from Plex-Earth’s dropdown lists.
| NOTE: Plex-Earth supports over 3,000 coordinate systems worldwide. In the rare case where a system is not included in the list, contact us at support@plexscape.com, with its definition or EPSG code and we will add it for you. |
The exact steps are the following:
1. Click on the button Use a Coordinate System
2. On the window that pops-up next, click on Coordinate System
3. Then define "Country or Region", "Coordinate System" and "Units" and then Select
4. In the last window, you see the Coordinate System and Units you have chosen If you want to change them, just click on them and the previous window will show up. If you do not want to change something or add an Automatic Correction (see below), just click OK and you have finished your drawing's georeferencing.
NOTE: If you start a drawing from scratch, you will need to find the area of your project in your drawing. There is a quick way to do so:
a. Finish your georeferencing as described above
b. Open Google Earth and find your area of interest
c. Create a placemark of this location and save it
d. Just go to your drawing and "Import as KML" your saved location using the respective button of Plex-Earth. Choose to Zoom to your Import and you have just found your area in the drawing.
Quick Georeference
The previous method can be applied only when the coordinate system is known or when we just started designing. However, there are cases where an existing drawing has been designed without taking into consideration any georeference system or where the georeferencing system is unknown to us. What can be done then, is to associate a point in CAD with its known coordinates. The steps to do so, are described below:
1. After clicking the Georeference button, click on Quick Georeference
2. On the next window, select Click here to Specify location to give the latitude and longitude of your known point.
After clicking Geographic location, the following window appears. There you can either type the lat/long data of your point by clicking Enter Values or just copy and paste them from Google Earth by choosing Paste Location from Google Earth.
To copy your location from Google Earth you should do the following:
a. Find your point in Google Earth
b. Create a placemark on the point you want, right-click on it, and choose Copy
c. Go to Plex-Earth and choose the Paste Location from the "Paste Location from Google Earth" option. Plex-Earth will automatically get the lat/long coordinates from your clipboard. If you choose this option but no data are copied, Plex-Earth will notify you.
3. Then specify the point of your drawing to associate with the known point you just entered by choosing the drawing's point that corresponds to it.
4. Specify the units you want to work with and then click OK. Now your drawing is georeferenced.
You can see the steps of the Quick Georeference shown in the following video:
So what's new?
With Plex-Earth 5 georeferencing, there are some new features that have been implemented so your designing process can be easier.
Automatic Correction
In most of the cases, when we want to work with a specific coordinate system but also have data obtained by a local survey, small discrepancies are noticed between our drawing and geographical elements. For this reason, Automatic Correction is available. You can access it by the Georeference icon by using the Coordinate System option.
After clicking on Automatic displacement, you will need to specify a source point and a destination point in your drawing. After that, the correction in dx & dy terms will be displayed, as shown below. If you do not want to do further changes, just click OK.
You can change and remove automatic correction by clicking on dx and dy data on the above window.
Favorite Georeferencing is saved
After using Plex-Earth for a while, and have used various coordinate systems and quick georeferences when you click on the Set Georeference button of Plex-Earth, the following window will appear.
Plex-Earth 5 remembers the last choices you have done regarding georeference and offers them to you as a list. At the center, the latest georeference system you used appears. You can click on the arrows left and right to choose other coordinate systems you have used recently. If one of them is the one you want just click Select and you have successfully reapplied it to your drawing. If you want to delete a saved coordinate system from the list, just click the Remove from the List button under it. If the georeference you want to apply is not included here, click on the Create New button to add a new Coordinate System or Quick Georeference.
Georeference is saved on the drawing
If you are working concurrently on different projects at different locations, you will have been in the need of using different coordinate systems concurrently in AutoCAD. From now on with Plex-Earth 5 you can have every drawing open in your AutoCAD georeferenced differently with no conflict.
After finishing the Georeferencing process you are now ready to explore all the new features Plex-Earth 5 can offer you. Have a look at our new tutorials here, and explore all the new capabilities that are open.
Feel free to contact us at support@plexscape.com for any questions you may have and don’t forget to start your free trial today.