Problem Description

My AECOsim Building Designer project uses millimeters as the standard working units, but when I open a GCT file I am getting Meters instead.  How are working units controlled in GenerativeComponents Extension?

Steps to Resolve

When working with *.gct files, GenerativeComponents uses the delivered "transeed.dgn" as its seed file which by default uses Meters as the master unit.  This seed file is common across a number of other formats such as DWG.   If you cannot work in GenerativeComponents using Meter as the master unit, there are a few options available:

1. Edit transeed.dgn which is set up to work with mm as the master unit.  Note that this will change how OBJ files are opened, which are unit-less like GCT files, and typically default to 1 unit = 1 meter (e.g. when exporting from MicroStation to OBJ there is an automatic conversion to meters).  OBJ file would then come in with 1 unit = 1 mm.
2. Open a DGN file in GenerativeComponents where the working units are based on the project’s seed file and save that session as a DGN file (vs. GCT).
3. Use the recently introduced "measurement units" in GenerativeComponents where units such as m, mm, ft, in, etc., can be assigned to variables independent of the DGN file’s working units.  GenerativeComponents will correctly convert those to whatever Master Units the active DGN file has.
4. Use the Export node to output your collection of nodes to a separate DGN file.  This node type includes a seed file input which if selected within the context of the active project should use the desired working units.

See Also

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