How are the CAD models organized?

The Short Answer

Scan To CAD files are delivered using professional-grade layering, naming, and organization. Objects of the same type (e.g. walls, doors) will be grouped together. Software like Revit and Chief Architect will have default properties applied.

Each file is fully editable allowing your to adjust to fit your workflow. We aim to organize the files to help you get the most out of your preferred CAD software, but we are not yet able to support custom templates, layering, or naming. 

If you have any feedback, questions, or would like to learn more, please reach out to our support team at support@canvas.io.

The Long Answer

Layers/Tags (SketchUp)

The number at the beginning of the named layer (e.g. 1_, 2_, 3_) will help group together items of similar stature. The number behind the name (e.g. L1, L2) will indicate what level the item is located on (first floor or second floor).

Here's an example of a commonly layered model that has two floor levels:

Here is an example of disabling layers and how they can reveal/disable certain aspects:

In the above image, the ceiling layer is enabled as visible; in the image below the ceiling layer is disabled (or not visible).

Geometry Organization

In our supported file formats, model geometry is organized so that you can work with key surfaces independently as if you had made it from scratch. This allows you to edit and manipulate the model using standard tools in that program:

In Chief Architect and Revit, geometry is typically even more structured, in that walls are not just arbitrary geometry called "Wall," but an actual family or element. This is what allows for more advanced features like being able to generate construction drawings, generate cost estimates, etc. Revit and Chief Architect support in Canvas does support this added structure, but you may find that there are more fields that are empty, generic, or defaults. This is because we only have your scan data to work with, which does not capture things like wall thickness (which is assumed using construction standards) or material properties. Here are a few examples from Revit:

We do aim to use best practices when organizing geometry so that it is easy to take advantage of the features people most in our supported programs, but every person's workflow is different, and we can't customize our model organization to individual workflows without very large commitments of volume. We are, however, very happy to hear your feedback and make changes that can benefit all users. 

For more information on how to use and manipulate layers within your CAD program, we encourage you to reach out to the customer support teams for the software you use directly (for example, AutoCAD or SketchUp)