How do I load a raster image such as a jpeg, tif, or bmp?
To place an image on the screen:
- On the Image menu, choose Attach Raster Image.
- Locate the image on your computer using the Select Image File dialog box and choose Open to begin placing the image on the screen.
- In the Attach Image dialog box, check Specify on screen under Insertion Point and Size and click on the OK button.
- Set one point on the drawing screen for the location of the image by clicking one time with the left mouse button.
- Press the Enter key to place the image on the design screen or drag the mouse to scale the image and set a second point to complete the command.
Once the image is on the screen, you may need to scale the image to the correct size. You must first determine the distance between two known points such as the width of a sidewalk or the length of a wall. Once you measure a distance, divide the actual known distance between the two points by the measured distance to determine the scale factor.
To measure a distance between two points on the image:
- On the Tools menu, choose Inquiry.
- On the Inquiry menu, choose Distance.
- Set two points on the screen a known distance apart. The measured distance will be displayed in the Command Line at the bottom of the screen.
To scale the image:
- Divide the actual known distance by the measured distance to determine a scale factor. For example, suppose the garage on the front of the house measured 2.1079 units. Dividing the actual known distance of 20 feet by the measured distance of 2.1079 gives you a scale factor of 9.4881.
- Select the image with the mouse.
- On the Modify menu, choose Scale.
- Set a base point any where on the screen from which the image will scale.
- Enter the scale factor in the Command Line and press the Enter key to scale the image.
After the image is assigned to its own layer and scaled, it is best to disable or lock the layer. This will prevent you from accidentally moving the image during the design process.
To disable or lock the image layer:
- On the Settings menu, choose Explore Layers.
- Locate the Image layer in the list.
- Under the Locked column, click on the word No to switch the setting to Yes or click on the Lock/Unlock icon in the toolbar.
- Click on the X in the top right corner to close the Layer Explorer dialog box.
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