AutoCAD Plugin Installation and User Guide
SpaceIQ (SiQ) AutoCAD Plugin Overview
The SiQ AutoCAD® plugin integration enables you to easily update your floorplans and synchronize those changes between SiQ and AutoCAD.
After a quick installation of the SIQ AutoCAD plugin, you’ll enable a seamless, bi-directional synchronization between SiQ and AutoCAD. This means that when you modify a floor plan within SiQ, those changes automatically synchronize to the original to AutoCAD file. If you prefer, your AutoCAD specialist can modify .dwg floor plans within AutoCAD, and those changes automatically synchronize to SiQ through the plugin.
Regardless of your preferred editing platform, the SiQ AutoCAD Plugin ensures that both your SiQ and your AutoCAD floorplans are up to date.
This is what you can do with your SiQ AutoCAD Plugin:
- Upload floor plans directly from AutoCAD to SiQ.
- Store AutoCAD .dwg floor plans in your secure SiQ cloud account.
- Download, open, and edit AutoCAD .dwg floor plan files stored in the SiQ Web App.
- Modify floor plans within SiQ.
- Edit and publish AutoCAD block subsets as separate objects in SiQ
- Automatically sync floorplan changes between SiQ and AutoCAD.
- Publish and edit AutoCAD block subsets as separate objects in SiQ. Note: Elements that are part of a single background image are not editable.
Supported AutoCAD Versions
The SiQ AutoCAD Plugin currently supports these AutoCAD versions:
- Autodesk AutoCAD 2016
- Autodesk AutoCAD 2017
- Autodesk AutoCAD 2018
- Autodesk AutoCAD 2019
- Autodesk AutoCAD 2020
Notes:
- The SiQ AutoCAD Plugin is not compatible with Mac OS.
- Integration is limited to Autodesk AutoCAD; no other CAD software is supported
If you have questions about your AutoCAD version, then email support@spaceiq.com
Contents
Activate and Install the SiQ AutoCAD Plugin
Activate the AutoCAD Plugin
Click on your Profile Name in the top right corner and then click Settings. The Setting screen displays. From the left menu, click Integrations.
From the Third Party Integrations area, click the READ MORE link. The Integration screen displays.
From the left menu, click General Integrations and then for the AutoCAD Plugin click the Activate button.
The AutoCAD Plugin dialog displays.
In the AutoCAD Designer Name/Other Notes field, enter the email address of the person you are activating the plugin for and then click the Activate button.
You will receive an Activation email. Open the Activation email and click the link to download the plugin.
The plugin is downloaded to your Downloads folder.
Install the SiQ AutoCAD Plugin
From the downloads folder, run the AutoCAD Plugin-SiQ-Setup.exe file.
Use the installation wizard to complete the installation.
If a warning dialog displays stating .NET Framework 4.7.2 or later update is already installed on this computer. Then click the X to close the dialog and continue with the installation.
Open AutoCAD and active the Plugin
Open AutoCAD.
The SiQ Plugin will display in the top menu.
Important Note: SiQ Plugin Menu
If you do not see the SiQ Plugin in the menu, then close your drawings and display the Start tab. With the SiQ Plugin displayed in the menu, you can open your drawing(s).
From the menu, click SiQ.
From the ribbon click the SiQ icon.
The SiQ menu displays and the Open and Publish icons will be inactive.
Click the Activate icon to activate the plugin. The activation code dialog displays.
In the Enter activation code field, paste in the Activation Code from the email.
Click the Activate button. The dialog changes to Plugin is activated.
Click the Close button.
When you click the SiQ icon, you will see the Open and Publish buttons are active.
SiQ Plugin Commands Overview
You’re ready to use the SiQ AutoCAD plugin. Let’s take a quick look at the ribbon.
The icon in the ribbon are:
- SpaceIQ - Shows plugin version and links to the SpaceIQ web page .
- Open - Select which SiQ floor plan to open in AutoCAD.
- Publish - Upload new floor plan or update an existing floor in SiQ based on the current version of the floor plan in AutoCAD.
- Settings - Configure the plugin.
- Activate - Enter the plugin activation code.
Before You Publish Prerequisites
There are few prerequisites before creating a new floor plan or updating an existing one.
External References (Xrefs)
The SiQ AutoCad Plugin uses only one drawing, meaning all external references must be part of one floor plan. To insert external files into the main drawing:
Run the XREF command to show the External References screen.
Right click the external file and from the pop-up menu select Bind.
Select an Insert option and click the OK button.
Imported external references are grouped as single-block references. To ungroup objects, select an imported block reference and run the EXPLODE command.
Mirroring
All objects are exported with default scale 1 for all axes. As scale is not synchronized within SiQ, it will always show objects with its default scale. That means if a block reference is mirrored in the AutoCAD drawing, its corresponding image in SiQ web application will not be mirrored.
To get objects to render correctly in SiQ, create a new block with mirrored drawing elements. Use that new block instead of the mirrored one. That way all objects will have positive scale values.
Using your Plugin
With the plugin activated and all prerequisites net, you’re ready to publish a new floor plan or modify an existing one.
Publish a New Floor Plan
Open an AutoCAD floor plan and edit as needed and then click the Publish button.
The SiQ AutoCAD plugin will display a previously created searchable list of locations and buildings. Select the floor where new or revised published content will reside and then click the Save button.
When you have completed the edits, select an option:
- Just the Map - All objects (block references) will be exported as part of the floor map without the possibility for later edit in the SiQ Web App.
- Map + Selected Objects - This option will open a window for selecting objects (CAD file block references) to publish. You will be able to move, delete, and create more instances of the selected object types later in the SiQ Web App. See more in the Select Objects for Publishing section.
Then, click the Publish button.
Open an Existing Floor Plan
From the SpaceIQ ribbon, click the Open button.
Select the drawing and then, click the Open button.
The floor’s AutoCAD file will download into a working folder and automatically open .
If the original source of the floor plan was not a CAD file (PDF is a common file format), you can’t download a CAD file for the floor plan from SiQ. After the file is opened, the AutoCAD plugin will download object position data from SiQ. Objects that have been moved, added, or deleted in the web application should update accordingly.
When you have completed the edits, select the required option:
- Just the Map - All objects (block references) will be exported as part of the floor map without the possibility for later edit in the SiQ Web App.
- Map + Selected Objects - This option will open a window for selecting objects (CAD file block references) to publish. You will be able to move, delete, and create more instances of the selected object types later in the SiQ Web App. See more in the Select Objects for Publishing section.
Then, click the Publish button.
Add blocks to an existing blocked Floor Plan
- Open the existing floor plan, in AutoCAD using the SiQ plug-in.
- Select any object(s) within the floor plan that has not been blocked that you want blocked. You can select a single object or multiple objects but anything that is blocked together will stay as one block.
- Type block and then press the Enter key. The Block Definition dialog displays where you can name the block. Naming the block can be as simple or as detailed as you would like. For example, SIQ Large Meeting Room Table, SIQ Single Desk, SIQ Single Soft Lounge Chair, etc. Note that any block name cannot be the same as any of the previous blocks.
- When all blocks have been added click the Publish button in the SIQ plug-in tab through AutoCAD.
- The Select Objects for Publishing dialog displays. In this dialog you can select all new and existing blocks that you would like to be published with the floor plan.
- Click the Publish button and your plan will begin to upload to your SiQ Web App.
Select Objects for Publishing
When you select the Map + Selected Objects publish option, the Select Objects for Publishing dialog displays.
This allows you to identify which types of objects (AutoCAD block references) admin-type users can later move, delete, or duplicate in the SiQ Web App. See Manage Furniture Blocks.
You can make the selection from the list or from the drawing.
Select Objects from the List
Every listed AutoCAD block reference definition may appear in the CAD drawing itself as multiple object instances. For example, the list will contain one chair item, but that chair can appear in many places in the drawing.
Select which blocks to publish as separate objects in SiQ by ticking the checkbox next to the object’s preview. Or you can select all objects (not recommended unless the number of objects is small) by marking the checkbox in the column header.
To select multiple blocks, check the first block and then hold the Shift key, and then check the last block. Then click the top checkbox to check the selection.
Select Objects from the Drawing
You can point to required objects on the floor plan to select the relevant block reference:
- Click the Select objects from the drawing icon, for example
- While pressed, the object selection pop-up will become invisible. It will display again when you finish your selection.
- You can toggle the selection of one or more block references in the CAD drawing.
- To finish click the right mouse button anywhere on the drawing or press the Enter key, Space key, or Escape key.
Your chosen blocks will be selected in the object list.
- Highlight Selected - Highlights all references in the drawing of the selected objects in the list.
- Highlight Background - Highlights everything except selected objects in the list.
- Highlight Clear - Clears all highlights. Double click on the object in the list will zoom into first block reference in the drawing.
Manage AutoCAD Changes Process
SiQ offers three options to manage AutoCAD changes to your floor plans, depending on who does the work.
Manual PNG Upload/Import
SiQ | Customer |
---|---|
|
|
Customer-Managed AutoCAD
SiQ | Customer |
---|---|
|
|
SiQ Map Editor Integration
SiQ | Customer |
---|---|
There is a wait time depending on where the request falls in the queue. |
|
Update your SiQ AutoCAD Plugin
The SiQ AutoCAD Plugin has an automatic update system. Since the AutoCAD plugin is just one part of the SiQ system, it depends heavily on the backend part of the application. That means that when the backend is being updated, the plugin must be updated, as well. Therefore, updates are required.
When a new version is posted to the SiQ server, your plugin will open an update wizard window that requires two clicks:
Click the Download button.
Click Update to install.
Troubleshooting
The following troubleshooting items will help you diagnose and solve problems.
Situation | Description |
---|---|
Blurry Images The problem appears when scale of block instance is set much larger than 1 because image will be enlarged that many times on SiQ Web App. Since image is a bitmap with limited resolution, large scale will affect image quality and it will apparently become blurred. |
To avoid large scale values, increase the size of the original block geometry so block instances inserted in the drawing will have scale values of 1. |
Block References Appear Mirrored in SiQ Currently, the SiQ Web App does not support negative scale values and mirroring. Block references mirrored with negative scale values in AutoCAD will not appear mirrored in SiQ. |
If there is a need for mirrored block instance, make a copy of the block and mirror new blocks geometry. Then replace mirrored block instances with instances of the new block. |
Text Publishing Text publishing is not currently supported. |
Convert text object into geometry. AutoCAD supports exploding text objects with command: Express tools > Modify text > Explode text. |
Improperly Rendered Images Plugin is not generating images properly. |
Complete the following:
|
Issue Reporting
SiQ encourages you to report any issue with your AutoCAD plugin so we can quickly track and fix the problem. Gather the following information:
- Exact steps that resulted in the issue. The more details, the better so we can replicate the problem.
- Environment specifications: Operating system version, AutoCAD version
- Sample AutoCAD drawing, if possible
Then send the information to this email autocad@spaceiq.com