Instructions

For
Using PTW Exported DXF Files as External Reference Drawing
in AutoCAD

There are four types of documents in PTW that can be exported to DXF file format and opened in
AutoCAD. These documents consist of one-line diagrams, TCCs, schedules, and Reports.

Additionally, these PTW documents can be converted into AutoCAD Drawing (DWG) files and
used as an External Reference to be automatically updated in AutoCAD after being exported in
PTW.

PTW has two AutoCAD extension applications, PtwAcad.arx and PtwAcad2005.arx, used for
conversion of PTW generated DXF file to DWG files and XREF. The PtwAcad2005 application is
compatible with AutoCAD 2005 while PtwAcad is compatible with earlier versions of AutoCAD.

Please follow the instructions below to use this enhanced feature of PTW in AutoCAD
environment.

Installation
1. From the AutoCAD command line, type “appload”
2. A ‘Load/Unload Applications’ dialog appears.
3. Select PtwAcad2005 (AutoCAD 2005) or PtwAcad (earlier versions of AutoCAD) from the “bin”
folder of the PTW installed directory
Default PTW installation directory: C:\PTW32\bin\PtwAcad.arx
4. Press the ‘Load’ button on the dialog to load this application. You can also add it to the list of
automatically loaded applications each time you start up AutoCAD.
5. At the command line, you should see the message ‘PtwAcad.arx or PtwAcad2005.arx
successfully loaded’.
6. Exit the dialog.

Converting DXF files to DWG files

1. At the AutoCAD command prompt type in “Ptw”
2. You should see “Select an option [UpdateXref DxfToDwg]:”
3. Type in “D” or “DxfToDwg” and then press enter.
4. A “PTW Convert .DXF to .DWG” window will appear.
5. Select the PTW project folder that contains the DXF files and open the project file (*.prj).
6. PTW Extended Application will then create *.DWG for all the *.DXF files in that project.

Attach XREF *.DWG files in AutoCAD

1. Type in “Xref” in the AutoCAD command line.
2. Select the DWG file you want to attach as the External Reference and drop it into the AutoCAD
drawing one at a time.

Update External Reference

1. Go back to PTW and modify any one-line diagram, TCC, schedule, or report.
2. Open any of above modified document types, select “Export” from the “Document” pull-down
menu in PTW and press OK.
3. Go back to AutoCAD drawing and in the command line type in “Ptw”.
4. The “Select an option [UpdateXref DxfToDwg]:” will appear.
5. Type in “U” or “UpdateXref” and press enter.
6. The External Reference drawings will then get updated to the latest changes that were made in
PTW.

Other Notes:

Modifying AutoCAD configuration file so that the extensions are loaded automatically
In earlier versions of AutoCAD, the initial application-loading file needed to be edited manually for
automatic loading. The following is a guideline for such a case. Consult the AutoCAD manual for
further information.

1. Shut down AutoCAD if running.

2. Open the existing or create an AutoCAD application loading configuration file named “acad.rx”.
3. The “acad.rx” file should be in the “Start in” directory shown in the AutoCAD shortcut property
page. Usually it will be the default AutoCAD installation directory.
Default AutoCAD 2002 installation directory: "C:\Program Files\AutoCAD 2002\acad.exe"
4. Add to the ‘acad.rx’ configuration file the path of PtwAcad.arx or PtwAcad2005.arx.
Default PTW installation directory: “C:\PTW32\BIN\PtwAcad.arx”
5. Save the file.
6. To test the automatic loading of PTW AutoCAD Extension, shutdown the AutoCAD and start it
again.
7. At the AutoCAD command prompt enter “Ptw”
8. You should see “Select an option [UpdateXref DxfToDwg]:”

Methodology

Assuming you have properly installed the PTW extension application for AutoCAD:

“UpdateXref”

1. The current AutoCAD drawing will be scanned for external references (XREF).
2. Any XREF that is not ‘Up to date’ will be reloaded.
3. ‘Up-to-date’ is defined as an external reference to an AutoCAD drawing (.DWG) that has a
corresponding data exchange format (.DXF) file generated by PTW with an earlier last modified
timestamp.
4. If the .DXF file is older than the .DWG file, the .DWG is recreated from the .DXF file and
reloaded into the AutoCAD drawing XREF.

“DxfToDwg”

1. To create an XREF, a drawing file (.DWG) is referenced by the XREF command in AutoCAD.
2. The DXF files are created in the PTW environment but the .DWG files needed for XREF will be
created in AutoCAD .
3. The AutoCAD extension application supplied by PTW will scan for all .DXF files in a PTW
project directory and convert them into .DWG files.
4. Once converted, the .DWG files can be attached as XREF from within AutoCAD.