AutoCAD Plugin Installation and User Guide

Activate the AutoCAD Plugin

From the SpaceIQ application, complete the following steps:

1. In the top-right corner, click on your Profile Name, and then click on Settings.
   
2. From the left menu, click Integrations.
   
    
3. From the Third Party Integrations area, click the READ MORE link.
   
   The Integrations 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 SpaceIQ AutoCAD Plugin

From the downloads folder, run the AutoCAD Plugin-SiQ-Setup.exe file.

Use the installation wizard to complete the installation.

Open AutoCAD and active the Plugin

Open AutoCAD.

The SpaceIQ Plugin will display in the top menu.

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 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 active Open and Publish buttons.

File Size

The DMG files size needs to be below or equal to16MB. 

External References (Xrefs)

The SpaceIQ AutoCad Plugin uses only one drawing, meaning all external references must be part of a 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. Select an imported block reference to ungroup objects and run the EXPLODE command.

Mirroring

All objects are exported with default scale 1 for all axes. As the scale is not synchronized within SpaceIQ, 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 SpaceIQ web application will not be mirrored.

To get objects to render correctly in SpaceIQ, 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.

Publish a New Floor Plan

Open an AutoCAD floor plan, edit as needed, and click the Publish button.

The SpaceIQ 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 SpaceIQ Web App.
• Map + Selected Objects - This option will open a window for selecting objects (CAD file block references) to publish. You can move, delete, and create more instances of the selected object types later in the SpaceIQ 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 .

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 of later editing in the SpaceIQ Web App.
• Map + Selected Objects - This option will open a window for selecting objects (CAD file block references) to publish. You can move, delete, and create more instances of the selected object types later in the SpaceIQ Web App. See more in the Select Objects for Publishing section.

Then, click the Publish button.

Add blocks to an existing blocked Floor Plan

1. Open the existing floor plan, in AutoCAD using the SpaceIQ plug-in.
   
2. Select any object(s) within the floor plan that has not been blocked that you want blocked. You can select a single or multiple objects but anything that is blocked together will stay as one block.
3. 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 detailed as possible. For example, SpaceIQ Large Meeting Room Table, SpaceIQ Single Desk, SpaceIQ Single Soft Lounge Chair, etc. Note that any block name cannot be the same as any previous block.
   
4. When all blocks have been added click the Publish button in the SIQ plug-in tab through AutoCAD.
   
5. 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.
   
6. Click the Publish button and your plan will begin to upload to your SpaceIQ 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 SpaceIQ Web App. See Manage Furniture Blocks.

You can make the selection from the list or the drawing.

Select Objects from the List

Every listed AutoCAD block reference definition may appear in the CAD drawing 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 SpaceIQ 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.

Select Objects from the Drawing

You can point to required objects on the floor plan to select the relevant block reference:

1. Click the Select objects from the drawing icon, for example 
2. While pressed, the object selection pop-up will become invisible. It will display again when you finish your selection.
3. You can toggle the selection of one or more block references in the CAD drawing.
4. 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 the first block reference in the drawing.

Manual PNG Upload/Import

SpaceIQ	Customer
Cleans up the floor plan (remove unnecessary items, change colors, etc.) Plots file to .png format Uploads floor plan to customer’s SpaceIQ Web App. Note: There is a wait time depending on where the request falls in the queue.	Sends floor plan in true PDF or .dwg format to

Customer-Managed AutoCAD

SpaceIQ	Customer
No involvement.	Cleans up floor plan (remove unnecessary items, change colors etc) Changes unit, scales, and block furniture. Uploads .dwg floor plan and editable objects to SpaceIQ Web App.

SpaceIQ Map Editor Integration

SpaceIQ	Customer
Cleans up the floor plan (remove unnecessary items, change colors, etc.) Changes units, scales, and blocks furniture. Uploads .dwg floor plan file and editable objects to the SpaceIQWeb App. There is a wait time depending on where the request falls in the queue.	Sends floor plan in true PDF or .dwg format to autocad@eptura.com

Issue Reporting

SpaceIQ 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@eptura.com