DGNIMPORT Conversion Table

The following table lists the DGN objects and features that are supported for import, and notes on the scope of the translation.

DGN to DWG Conversion Table

MicroStation

Autodesk Product

Notes

Geometric Elements Geometric Objects The following DGN elements are translated into DWG objects: line, SmartLine, LineString, multiline, shape, complex chain, complex shape, arc, ellipse, curve, B-spline curve, and pattern. Pattern elements are limited to simple pattern styles. Bitonal gradient properties are also supported.
Levels

Layers

DGN levels are mapped automatically into the equivalent DWG layers. Invalid DGN characters in level names are converted to spaces.

Colors Colors All colors are translated using RGB values either to the ACI (AutoCAD Color Index) or TrueColor index as appropriate.
Line Styles Linetypes

For the correct display of linetypes, the MicroStation .rsc (resource file) that is referenced by the DGN file must be available on your computer in a valid AutoCAD Support File search path when you import or attach the DGN file.

Dynamically scaled line styles (Standard DGN Line Styles 1-7) are converted into fixed-scale linetypes. The resulting linetypes take into account the current zoom factor in a view in the DGN file when they are imported or attached as a DGN file into AutoCAD.

Note:

To import standard V7 line styles correctly, you must “Fit View” and “Save Settings” in MicroStation first.

Cells

Blocks

Cells are converted into blocks. Tags that are associated with cells are converted into constant-mode block attributes.

Text Elements, Text Styles Single-line Text Objects, Multiline Text Objects, Text Styles Missing SHX text fonts are converted into the AutoCAD text font specified in the FONTALT system variable. The acad.fmp file (AutoCAD) or aclt.fmp file (AutoCAD LT) can be used to map SHX text fonts to DGN text fonts.

TrueType fonts and SHX fonts in AutoCAD are exported to MicroStation V7 as Engineering. This can result in many visual differences.

Tables Tables Cells that represent tables in DGN are imported as blocks.
Dimensions, Dimension Styles Dimensions, Dimension Styles The size, spacing, style, and shape of dimensions may vary slightly. Dimension associativity is maintained whenever possible, and the correct dimension values are always maintained.
Fields Fields

In general, fields are translated as static text. The exceptions are fields that behave identically in both products. This includes the Date fields CreateDate, SaveDate, and PlotDate, and the Document property fields Author, Filename, and Filesize.

Fields are converted to text when “Explode Text Nodes to Text Elements” is checked in the Import DGN Settings dialog box.

Raster Images Raster Images These image file types: .bmp, .cal, .tif, .png, .tga, .jpg, .pcx, .gif, .rlc, .bil, and .pct are supported. All other image file types are not.
DGN References DWG References .dwg and .dgn file types are supported. Other non-DGN file types such as .cel, .h, .s, .d, .rdl, and .cgm are also supported.
DGN Design Model DWG Model The selected design model in a DGN file is converted into a DWG file.
DGN Sheet Model DWG Layout Only the sheet models that reference the primary design model are imported. DGN sheet models are translated as layouts in a DWG file.