Why Your CADD Files Don't Talk to Each Other
AutoCAD can't natively open an Intergraph file, and vice versa. Every proprietary CADD system speaks its own dialect, so surveyors need a translator.
A client asks for a "digital deliverable," and the request sounds simple, until you learn their CADD system isn't the one you used to draw the survey. Every major CADD vendor treats its graphic data format as proprietary. That single fact creates an entire sub-industry of file translation that most people outside surveying never think about.
Two Ways to Deliver Digital Data
There are really only two routes for handing over survey information digitally: as numeric text data, or as graphic files. Text is the easier route, essentially a formatted list a word processor could produce, but clients almost always want something CADD software can actually draw from, not a raw list of numbers.
A text file with coordinates and descriptors. Easy to transfer, but the client's software has to do the drawing itself.
A ready-to-open drawing file. Convenient for the client, but only if it matches their exact CADD system's format.
Direct Translation vs. Neutral Format
When graphic files are needed, there are two ways to handle the mismatch. A direct translator reads one CADD system's format and outputs directly into a second system's format. It's usually the fastest, most foolproof route, but it's also often the most expensive, since it requires programmers deeply familiar with both systems.
A neutral format takes a different approach entirely. It's a nonproprietary format designed specifically to move data between systems, with public documentation. IGES (Initial Graphic Exchange Specification) is one ANSI-standard example. Two of the most common in practice are AutoDesk's DXF and Intergraph's SIF, with DXF now more widely accepted, particularly among PC-based CADD users.
Test Yourself: Match the Format
Why This Keeps Being a Problem
before a CADD update breaks it
vs. direct translation
Most CADD vendors release at least one new software version yearly, and many of those releases change the graphic data format itself. That means direct translation software can become outdated within a year, and pinpointing whether a failed translation happened on the surveyor's end or the client's end is often genuinely difficult to diagnose.
Data standardization will become more important in the future, and surveyors should be searching for methods that make system integration easier.
What Surveyors Actually Do About It
In practice, this means asking clients about their CADD preference early, checking with software vendors about translation capability, and sometimes relying on specialized CADD service bureaus that have invested heavily in cross-format translation. On construction projects feeding into a client's GIS system, confirming the deliverable format upfront saves everyone a painful mid-project surprise.
FAQs
DXF (Drawing Interchange Format) is now more generally accepted than SIF, particularly among PC-based CADD users.
Not necessarily. It's usually faster and more foolproof, but often more expensive, and multiple direct translators may be needed to cover different client systems.
Because both vendors treat their graphic data formats as proprietary, some form of translation, direct or neutral, is required to move data between them.
Physical transfer via diskette, magnetic tape, or tape cartridge is generally more reliable than modem transfer for large, cumbersome CADD files.
Yes, confirming a client's CADD system and translation needs early avoids costly compatibility surprises at delivery time.
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