Filled Regions and DWG Exports

NOTE: This is a re-post from the HOK BIM Solutions blog

This sounds like an odd paring for a blog post subject, but they are unpleasantly related.

When a view contains the following items and you export to a CAD format, you will likely experience loss of data:

• Families with nested Generic Annotation such as Security Devices, Fire Alarm Devices, Electrical Fixtures, etc.
• A large filled region covering a big portion of the view, usually to identify areas of work and areas outside of work.

This issue was filed with Autodesk Support and it has been known for at least 3 to 4 years. It seems that regeneration of the nested families fails, which results in the absence of these devices in the export. They are actually still in the view, but since in most cases there is no geometry visible in plan except the nested annotation itself, you end up with no object representation. The following are some workarounds, some more acceptable than others, depending on your situation:

1. Delete/hide the filled regions before exporting;
2. Change the filled regions to Solid Fill and everything will export as expected. You will then need to open each exported file and change the hatch to something other than solid within the CAD editing software;
3. Do not use component families with nested annotation. This is obviously not an acceptable solution for MEP (#2 or #1 seem to be the only viable solutions), but might be acceptable for Interiors, where they can simply show these devices through the use of Generic Annotation families placed directly in the view. These can be scheduled within Note Blocks if required, however this workaround means you cannot make these objects visible in other views to properly coordinate your work, or see them in elevations, sections and 3D views.

There is no good workaround for this issue and the best is probably #2. Let’s hope the Factory can get this fixed sooner rather than later.

Filled Regions and DWG Exports