Load Drawing

Drawing > New/Open > Open

The dialogue for loading (= opening) HiCAD drawings depends on whether you are working with or without HELiOS (PDM), i.e. whether or not you manage your drawings in the database.

• Procedure without HELiOS
• Procedure with HELiOS

Please note:

• If a drawing has already been loaded when you call this function, and has not yet been saved after changes, HiCAD asks whether you want the drawing to be backed up.
• If you want the drawing that has already been loaded to remain in HiCAD, select an empty field in the Switch drawing tab of the ICN by double left-clicking it. Up to 18 drawings can be loaded simultaneously in this way.
• You can open HiCAD drawings that are not managed with HELiOS directly via the Windows File Manager, Explorer or similar. To do this, simply double-click the file name.
• Depending on the current setting of the Start Centre, the dialogue for loading drawings is automatically displayed once you start HiCAD.
• If the program crashes while trying to save a drawing, the corresponding folder will contain, besides the (faulty) drawing, a backup of the original drawing with a tilde (~) prefix. During loading of the drawing, HiCAD checks whether such a backup file exists. If this is the case, HiCAD asks you whether you want to load this backup file instead.

Each drawing has a 3-D assembly ID. This ID specifies the 3-D assembly structure for different automatic procedures like connections and links in steel engineering or for adding front plates to beams etc.

Procedure without HELiOS

1. Select the Open drawing function from the Ribbon or the QuickAccess toolbar, or use the CTRL+O key.
2. Choose path and name of the desired file.
3. ClickOpen.

Please note:

If you open a drawing via the Explorer that has already been opened on another workstation, HiCAD will display a preview image with the Open drawing, read only checkbox. If you want to open the drawing in read-only mode, activate the checkbox and click Open. The drawing will then be loaded, without any further queries, in read-only mode.

If you do not activate the Open drawing, read-only checkbox, HiCAD will issue the following message:

Click OK, then confirm with Yes to open the drawing in read-only mode:

A saving of the drawing with the same name and to the same location is not possible.

The above-described behaviour of drawings that have already been opened on other workstations is the preset default behaviour. It can be specified with the ISD Configuration Editor, via HiCAD > COMMON > HiCAD_HELiOS_interface > OpenLockedDocumentsRead Only. The following options are possible:

Procedure with HELiOS

1. Select

Load drawing, via DB document master

if you want to load the file via the document master data, and

Load drawing, via part master

if you want to load the file via part master data.

2. Select the drawing file via the document, resp. part master data.

• You can use the result lists in HELiOS to load several files in one step. Up to 18 drawings can be loaded at the same time. If you have used the result list to select more files than can currently be opened in HiCAD, you can open the remaining files subsequently without having to select them again. To do this, select Drawing > New/Open > Docu > Reload .
• In a part-oriented designing process, you assign so-called part masters to parts and drawings. Drawings would typically be loaded together with links. If your designing process is document-oriented, you can permanently switch off the suggested links: In the system file ALGPAR.DAT, change the number coming after the line
  
  Use default Helios/HiCAD configuration - Helios/HiCAD-Standardlösung benutzen.
  
  to 0.

 Related Topics

Start Centre • Working with Several Drawings • HELiOS PDM Functions