Introduction

This guide describes a process of adding object overlay with support of external raster editing tool called SuperEdit.

An overlay is a vector layer that can be linked to objects like Rooms in HDC.

Once the raster documents are imported to HDC after scanning, they can be picked up by a data editor and loaded to SuperEdit. 

SuperEdit provides multiple advanced raster editing tools such as multi-point calibration, noise removal, raster snap, magnification glass and more. 

This allows for overlay creation in an easy and efficient way. 

Retrieving original Raster Image from HDC

Navigate to the drawing you would like to add overlay to. Open Composite Drawing Manager (CDM) and select raster drawing. 

On the Content Info tab you will find a Download button that will trigger download of the original raster drawing. 

Save the drawing on your computer.

Open

Creating an Overlay in SuperEdit

Open the exported drawing in SuperEdit application. Curently the raster parameters must me moved manually (eg. scale)

 It is important that the scale, resolution and units of the drawing are the same as in HDC. Otherwise imported spots will not fit automatically. 

Change the document mode to TDC by selecting: Document → Switch to TCD (Tessel Composite Document) mode.

This mode allows users to add vector layer on top of raster image. Draw desired number of spots (vector elements).

Observe layer names used - proper layer names can be used later to properly map them to global layers in HDC, or setup proper user rights for local layers.

Open

Exporting Overlay

To export Overlay, select vector drawing and run export macro. Under Options select Macro command.

On the Macro popup, select ExportAsSvg.mcr and select Run command. 

Check the desired target path and file name and confirm by selecting OK.

A new file will become available in the selected directory with .svg extension, in this case package6.svg as seen below:

Importing Overlay to HDC

Once you have obtained the export file from SuperEdit application (*.svg file) you can create a new Overlay drawing in HDC,

by selecting Add Vector on the CDM toolbar.

Once the Overlay is created, a file exported from SuperEdit can be imprted on Import tab to this specific Overlay Drawing.

 Multiple imports of the same file will result in duplicated spots.

Select proper External Information Domain for matching layers. If the layers are not matched, they will be added as local layers.

It is useful to have a proper domain defined, as spots from recognized layers will be imported to Global Layers.

Other spots can be imported to specific private layers with proper security set.

For more information on Layers Mapping, please refer to domain configuration and  Layer Mapping tab.

A checkbox "Add unmapped layers" can be unchecked, if you wish to import only recognized layers to Global Layers. 

If this option is checked, all layers will be imported.

Result of the import can be observed on the drawing:

Summary

The Overlay can be now used to create links between objects and the drawing. More on that in Guide: Creating Object Overlay on Drawings