Following on from last month’s post about defining a Coordinate System, this time I’m going to explain how to make use of AutoCAD MAP’s geodetic functionality to transform a drawing between coordinate systems using the AutoCAD MAP Query command.
The first step is to assign the coordinate system to the source drawing using Map->Tools->Assign Global Coordinate System, save and close the drawing. Then open a new drawing and assign the destination datum to this using the same command.
With the required coordinate system set in the new drawing, set up the transformation operation using the Map->Query->Define Query menu. Under Query Type, Click the Location button and set the option to ALL and click OK. Under Query Mode set the option to DRAW. Under Options, click the Drawings button and in the next Dialog click Attach. Browse to your source drawing and add it to the selected drawings list. Click OK till you get back to the Define Query Dialog and then click Execute Query. When you then zoom extents you then should see your data in the new coordinate system.
While the source drawing is attached in the query definition you cannot open both drawings at the same time. To stop this happening, use Map->Drawings->Define/Modify Drawing Set and Detach the Source drawing.
