What file formats and programs does Scan To CAD support?
The Short Answer
Canvas produces professional-grade CAD files that are fully compatible and editable with the following programs:
SketchUp
$0.18 per square foot, delivered files: 3D .skp, 3D .dwg and 3D .dae
Revit
$0.18 per square foot, delivered files: 3D .rvt, 3D .ifc, and 3D .dwg
Chief Architect
$0.18 per square foot, delivered files: 3D .plan, 3D .dwg, and 3D .dae
Archicad
$0.18 per square foot, delivered files: 3D .pln, 3D .dwg, and 3D .ifc
2020 Design Live
$0.18 per square foot, delivered files: 3D .kit, 3D .dwg, and 3D .dae
Canvas Measurement Report
$0.18 per square foot, delivered file: .pdf only of a 2D floor plan plus a data table of object quantities and key dimensions including a few vertical
2D Drawings (PDF and AutoCAD)
$0.12 per square foot, delivered files: 2D .pdf, 2D .dwg, and 2D .rvt
You can download our sample data package to experiment with real, Canvas-generated CAD models for yourself! Complete pricing information.
The Long Answer
Canvas can produce professional-grade CAD files usable in a variety of 3D and 2D software. We directly support SketchUp, Revit, Chief Architect, 2020 and AutoCAD, but you can use the same files with a variety of other programs.
Directly Supported
SketchUp
Version: 2021
Your .skp file will open right in SketchUp, design-ready, with all the groupings, layers, etc. that you would expect as if you made it yourself. Using Canvas with SketchUp should be very plug and play, and you can learn more about how the two programs work seamlessly together here.
As long as you are using SketchUp 2021 or later, this should have no effect on usage of your 3D model besides that you may see a notification that the file was saved in an older version of the program than your own.
Revit
Version: 2018
Your .rvt file will open right in Revit, design-ready, in the correct families, and overall function as if you made it yourself. For Revit users incorporating Canvas into a BIM workflow, our Revit output is targeted at a LOD 200 specification.
Revit files cannot be "saved down." Our Revit output is always in the oldest version available from Autodesk.
Chief Architect
Version: Premier X12
Your .plan file will open right in Chief Architect, design-ready, with geometry in the correct elements as if you made it yourself (i.e., doors are doors, walls are walls, etc).
2020 Design
Version: Design Live v13
Your .kit file will open right up in 2020, design-ready, organized as if you built it from scratch.
Unfortunately, 2020 Design Live does not make their files backward compatible and these will not work on earlier versions.
2D Drawings (PDF and AutoCAD)
AutoCAD Version: AutoCAD 2013. PDF files will be compatible with any PDF reader.
Your 2D .dwg file will open right in AutoCAD, design-ready and editable. We also include a PDF with annotated dimensions which can be easily shared with anyone without special CAD software, as it can be opened by the native PDF reader that comes pre-installed on most smartphones, tablets, and computers.
Note: AutoCAD files are delivered in inches, so you may want to re-scale the model you receive depending on your preferences. Information on converting units in AutoCAD here.
Indirectly Supported
Home Designer Pro
Home Designer Pro is a slimmed down offering from Chief Architect, and differs from Chief Architect Premier which is fully supported. We have enabled our Chief Architect files to be compatible with Home Designer Pro, but depending on your version of Home Designer Pro, you may run into certain limitations using Chief Architect files. Please see Home Designer Pro's breakdown here. Regardless of version, you will see a dialog box when opening the file informing you that the model was not created in Home Designer Pro, but if your version of Home Designer Pro supports Chief Architect files, you will have no problem manipulating such files generated by Canvas.
Vectorworks
Canvas does not offer direct support for Vectorworks, but our Revit output includes an .ifc file that can be imported into Vectorworks. If you plan on using 2D plans with Vectorworks, you may prefer using the .dwg included with 2D floor plans designed for AutoCAD. Since the .ifc and .dwg files are designed for Revit/AutoCAD, there may be some differences in how Vectorworks handles different elements, so we recommend downloading a sample file to test with first, which you can download here.
AutoCAD LT
We have not thoroughly tested AutoCAD LT, but we have validated the 2D .dwg file from our 2D Floor Plan output with AutoCAD users. We are unaware of any issues using the 2D .dwg file from the 2D Floor Plan output with AutoCAD LT. 3D .dwg files generated from other outputs, however, may not work well with AutoCAD LT as the product is not optimized for 3D use.
AutoCAD Architecture
We have not thoroughly tested AutoCAD Architecture, but we have validated the 2D .dwg file from our 2D Floor Plan output with AutoCAD users. We are unaware of any issues using the 2D .dwg file from the 2D Floor Plan output with AutoCAD Architecture. We have heard of some customers using the 3D .dwg (from other output options) with AutoCAD Architecture, but we recommend validating this workflow yourself with our sample data package.