Go into Edit > External reference..
Look out so the Display-box is ticked. Now use the >-button to search for the file.
Open
Now the program will ask for a few coordinates. First it is Origin. Most advisable would be 0,0.
Next step is to sort how the drawing should be orientated. Here it is advisable to select a coordinate along the x-axis, entering a coordinate 1,0 is possible if you don't want to click out the direction in the 3D-space:
Third point is the direction of the Y-axis of the drawing. Select a point in the positive Y-direction to define a plane in which the drawing will be inserted in:
When the third point is selected, a dialogue-box will appear where the selected layers will be shown in the FEM-model. If you have dual screens, the window might pop up on the first screen:
It is possible to tick the Do not show empty layers to condense the list with used layers. Check that the scale is 1 unit = 1mm, depending on the scale of the drawing ofcourse. Be aware of that only the selected layers will be shown in FEM-Design, so after setting the unit scale and layer filters select the layers that will be imported.
Press OK.
Now the drawing should appear in the modelling space, if not then the following steps might guide you on the right track.
If the drawing isn't shown, but a filepath near the insert point is shown, then the Display-option might not be set.
Open up the External reference-command again and select Properties, then right-click on the filepath-text.
Be sure to tick the Display-box.
OK
Now the drawing should be shown in the modelspace.
Using the polylines of the prepared dwg-drawing in the model we can now speed up the modelling by using the Line by selection-tool for plates, walls and beams among other objects.
