Auto-Draw Walls

Learn about the Auto-Draw Walls tool in Hamina Network Planner.

In some cases, you can save a lot of time by using the Auto-draw walls tool in Hamina Network Planner to automatically draw walls on the map! While this can save a lot of time and effort, there are some specific requirements that the map files must meet to be useful for the Auto-draw walls tool.

Compatibility

Separate Layers

Wall types must be on separate layers, for example:

• Interior walls

• Exterior walls

• Windows

• Doors

• Stairwell walls

Often, we see CAD and PDF files that have everything (including walls, furniture, and fixtures) on one layer. When this happens, you can assign materials to individual layers, so Hamina Network Planner can't automatically draw walls.

Vector Graphs (in PDF files)

For PDF files, the floor plans must be drawn with vector graphics. It is not uncommon to see PDF files that use bitmap graphics, which the Auto-Draw Walls tool cannot use. The floor plans in the PDF file must be drawn with vector graphics (which probably means that the PDF was produced with a CAD tool).

Too Much Complexity

Some CAD and PDF files are simply too complicated. For example, they might draw many parallel lines to represent one wall. While Hamina Network Planner tries to account for this, it might not be able to determine where the wall is.

Too Big

Some CAD or PDF files are just too big. If you're working in a warehouse or manufacturing environment, you might find that the environment is just too big for Hamina to handle. Fortunately, those environments typically have lots of repetitive shelves (which are better drawn, copied, and pasted with attenuating objects), or they have relatively few walls that are in straight lines, and are easy to draw. Consider manually drawing large environments such as warehouses, big box stores, and manufacturing facilities.

Automatically Drawing Walls

1. In the Simulation view, in the toolbar, select the Auto-draw walls tool.

2. In the Auto-Draw Walls pane on the right, look through the Choose layer menu to see which layers are relevant to your design. Mousing over each layer will highlight it in yellow on the map. Look for layers such as:

   1. Interior walls

   2. Exterior walls

   3. Windows

   4. Doors

   5. Stairwell walls

3. Click on a layer to select it, and it will turn blue on the map.

4. In the Select material list, choose the material you would like to assign to that layer

5. Repeat the process for all relevant layers. Ignore layers that aren't relevant such as fixtures, furniture, and plants.

6. Once all of the layers are chosen, click the blue Import Walls button the bottom of the Auto-Draw Walls pane.

7. View the results, and see if the Auto-draw walls tool did a good job with your specific CAD or PDF file.

It's important to assign materials to all of the relevant layers before importing walls. The Auto-draw walls tool creates a "skeleton" of the walls, and connects them all together. Importing one layer at a time will leave gaps in the "skeleton", making for a less-than-ideal import.

Uh-oh, wall import didn't work very well? Delete all of the walls and try again, looking for better layers to select, and making sure that all relevant layers are assigned before clicking Import Walls. If it still doesn't work very well, you can contact us for assistance at [email protected]. Heads up though, sometimes the way forward is just just manually draw 'em. We recommend some music, a drink, and a good mouse for manual drawing.