Space Management - Floor plans

Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
• Drawings
  • What is a Drawing?
  • Drawing Status
  • Importing a Drawing — Step by Step
  • Other Drawing Actions
• Layouts
  • What is a Layout?
  • Layout Status
  • Creating a Layout
  • Preparing a Layout — Linking Spaces / Subspaces to Shapes
  • Activating a Layout
  • Editing an Active Layout
  • Archiving a Layout
  • Exploring Layouts

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Drawings

What is a Drawing?

A Drawing is an original CAD file that has been imported into the Space Management application. The application accepts DXF, DWG & SVG files — the most common formats produced by AutoCAD and other CAD software.

Once imported, the file is converted automatically into an SVG format that can be displayed and interacted within a web browser (Tech note: rendering DXF / DWG files within the browser is complex, vendor-specific and would require additional browser extensions – far from ideal). So, in order to ensure a better user experience, the SVG conversion step happens automatically. SVG drawings can be viewed natively in all modern web browsers, on desktops and tablets, without needing additional extensions.

Drawings are not directly linked to a specific floor at import time.

That connection is made later, when you create a Layout. This means the same drawing could in principle be reused across multiple layouts.

Drawing Status

Every drawing moves through a series of statuses as it is processed. Understanding these helps when troubleshooting an import.

Status	What it means
Importing	The file has been uploaded and is being validated and parsed. The drawing is locked — no further actions are possible until this step completes.
Imported	The file has been successfully uploaded and a preview SVG has been generated. The drawing is ready to be prepared (layer mapping).
Preparing	The layer mapping is complete and the system is running the background conversion process to generate the final usable SVG.
Prepared	The conversion is complete and the drawing is ready to be used in a Layout.
Failed	The conversion process encountered an error. Check the import log for details. The drawing may need to be deleted, corrected and re-imported.
Active	The drawing is linked to one or more active Layouts and is in use.
Archived	The drawing has been retired and is no longer in active use.

Importing a Drawing — Step by Step

Importing a drawing is a guided multi-step process. Because DXF/DWG files can be large and complex, some steps run as background tasks — the import wizard will keep you informed of progress.

1. Launch the Import command

   Navigate to Settings > Floorplans > Drawings.

   Go to Actions > Click Import.

   This opens the import wizard.

2. Select your DXF / DWG / SVG file

   Drag and drop your file into the upload area, or browse your file system to select it.

   Only .dxf or .dwg or .svg file extensions are accepted.

   The system validates the file format immediately — if the file is not a valid file, the wizard will show an error and stop.

3. Wait for the preview to generate

   The system uploads the file, parses its contents, and generates a Preview SVG — a basic visual rendering of the drawing.

   While this is happening, the drawing status is 'Importing'. Once complete, the status changes to 'Imported' and the preview is shown on screen.

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Note that the import and conversion process occurs in the background by a server process.

If you don’t want to wait until completed, simply click “Back to list” and do other things until the drawing status becomes “Imported”.

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4. Prepare

   Once the preview is generated successfully you will have two options:

   • You can go back to the list view of drawings.

   • Choose to prepare the drawing.
5. Click on Prepare (You can do this from the Drawings grid also. Select the file you want and go to Actions > Prepare)

   • Review the drawing Name (defaults to the filename without extension — you can change it).

   • Set the Scale: this tells the system how many real-world centimetres one unit in the DXF file represents.

     • For most modern DXF/DWG files, 1 unit = 1 cm, which is the default.

     • The default scale is derived from the DXF/DWG file, but always crosscheck it before proceeding
     • Getting this right is critical — the scale determines all area, perimeter, and distance calculations!
   • Optionally, you can select an existing Drawing Preparation Standard

     • a Drawing Preparation Standard is a configuration file that contains layer mappings that were saved for reuse. In most buildings, each floor drawing contains the same layer names. If that is the case, you can accelerate the layer mapping process by saving and reusing a Drawing Preparation Standard.

   • Map layers

     • A DXF/DWG file typically contains many layers (sometimes hundreds).

     • All the layers appear with their original name and a checkbox that indicates if they are visible (ON) or invisible (OFF) in the original file. You can toggle layers on/off depending on if you need them for Space Management or not
     • You need to tell the system which layers contain which type of information. For each layer, either exclude it (if it is irrelevant, such as furniture or annotations) or map it to a Layer Class.
     • The available Layer Classes are:

       • Background = all layers that show background context only

       • Construction = layer with closed polylines that represent columns/shafts
       • Spaces = layer with closed polylines that represent spaces
       • Space Identifiers = layer with texts that represent space names
       • Subspaces = layer with closed polylines that represent subspaces
       • Subspace Identifiers = layer with texts that represent subspace names
     • When a Drawing Preparation Standard was selected, the layer mapping is loaded from there, and you only need to verify if everything is correct before proceeding. You can always overrule the layer mappings manually.
     • When no Drawing Preparation Standard was selected, all the layers are by default mapping to “Background”. You must change the mappings manually.
   • Click on Proceed
6. Proceed

   Once the layer mapping is complete, click Proceed.
   The system asks if you want to save the current layer mapping as a Drawing Preparation Standard, which you can reuse later when preparing other Drawings that have the same layer names.

   The system starts the background conversion process, which generates the final usable SVG. The drawing status changes to 'Preparing'. You can wait for the outcome or close the wizard and return later.

7. Check the outcome

   When the background process finishes, the status changes to either 'Prepared' (success) or 'Failed'. If it failed, open the import log to see the error details.

   A prepared drawing is ready to be used in a Layout.

Other Drawing Actions

Action	When available	What it does
View	Status: Imported, Prepared, Active, or Archived	Opens the usable SVG in the browser for visual inspection. Supports zoom, pan, and layer visibility toggling.
Prepare	Status: Imported or Prepared	Re-opens the preparation step so you can revise the name, scale, or layer mappings. Useful if you made an error during the initial import.
Export	Status: Prepared, Active, or Archived	Downloads the drawing file in DXF / DWG or SVG format to your local file system.
Delete	Status: any (where not linked to active layouts)	Permanently deletes the drawing record and its files. Cannot be undone.

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Layouts

What is a Layout?

A Layout is the connection between a Drawing and the Space data for a specific Floor. It takes the graphical shapes in a drawing and links them to actual Space records in the system — so that the floor plan becomes interactive, data-driven, and searchable.

A single Floor can have multiple Layouts. For example, one layout might be used for occupancy planning (showing who is allocated to which space), while another is used for maintenance (showing technical zones). Each Layout is independent and can be based on the same Drawing or different drawings.

Illustration:

Layout Status

Layout Status	What it means
Draft	The layout is being prepared. Spaces are being linked to shapes on the drawing. Other users cannot use this layout yet — only the person preparing it can see and edit it.
Active	The layout has been activated and is available to all users for viewing and exploration. Only one active version of a layout exists at a time.
Archived	The layout has been retired. It is retained for historical reference (for example, for 'time travel' queries into the past state of a floor) but is no longer in active use.

Creating a Layout

To create a new Layout Go to:

Settings > Floorplans > Layouts > Actions > Add

1. Name, Description

   On the right hand side ‘Add’ panel provide an appropriate Name and Descriptions for the Layout.

2. Select a Floor

   Select a Floor for which you want to create a Layout.

3. Select a Drawing

   Select a drawing you want to use

   Thumbnails should help selecting the appropriate drawing and avoid mistakes.

4. Select a Start date

   Provide a Start date for the Layout.

   This is important for lifecycle management! The Start date of a Layout determines from when it is valid.

   Sometimes a floor undergoes changes in interior design and this leads to a new Drawing being imported and prepared. The Start Date of a Layout also determines which Spaces and Subspaces can be linked: only the ones that are active on this date.

5. Submit

   Click the Submit button and wait. You should see a success message, Preview of the drawing on the left and General layout info on the right. You can also notice that this will be the Version 1.0 of the layout & the status will be ‘Draft’.

Preparing a Layout — Linking Spaces / Subspaces to Shapes

Once a layout is created in Draft status, the next task is to link each Space / Subspace record to the corresponding graphical shape (polygon) on the floor plan. This is the most important step — it is what makes the floor plan truly interactive.

How linking works

• The layout preparation view shows the SVG drawing on the main canvas, with a panel listing all active Spaces / Subspaces for this floor on the side.
• Under the drawing preview, there is a dropdown with options – Link Spaces, Link Subspaces. Select an option based on your requirement. Now on the right hand side you will see a panel with heading ‘Link Spaces’ or ‘Link Subspaces’ based on the earlier option you selected.
• Shapes on the drawing are colour-coded to show their link status:

  • When a Space / Subspace is linked:

    • It will be colour filled based on the ‘Space type’ or ‘Subspace type’.

    • By hovering the mouse on this Space / Subspace, a tooltip will show the details of the Space / Subspace it is linked to.
  • When a Space / Subspace is not linked:

    • They will not be colour filled.

    • By hovering the mouse on this, their outline will be highlighted temporarily to give you an idea of their geometric details.

Now there are two ways of linking polygons on the drawing to appropriate Spaces / Subspaces.

Automatic detection (Step A — recommended first)

The system attempts to automatically detect which space identifier text labels in the drawing correspond to which space records. If the drawing contains a Space Identifiers layer (mapped during import), the system uses this to auto-link shapes to space records. This can link many spaces at once with no manual effort.

Manual linking (Step B — for what automatic detection doesn’t find)

• Find an unlinked shape on the canvas, click on it.
• On the right hand side you will see the Link Spaces or Link Subspaces window (Depending on your selection on the drawing layers). Here you will see the list of available Spaces / Subspaces you can select to link with the polygon selected.
• Select the appropriate Space / Subspace & repeat this process.

Unlinking (Step C — for corrections)

• When wrong links between shapes and Space/Subspaces are defined, you can easily unlink them
• On the right hand side panel, each linked Space/Subspace has a “link” icon when it’s linked to a shape
• Simply click this icon to unlink

Activating a Layout

Once all spaces/subspaces have been linked to their shapes and you are satisfied with the result, you activate the layout to make it available to all users.

• In the Layout edit page, on the top-right corner, you can see ‘Activate’ button. Click on this this button to Activate the Layout.
• The layout status changes from Draft to Active.
• The layout is now visible and usable by all users.

Editing an Active Layout

If you need to make changes to an active layout — for example, when discovering wrong links — you use the Edit command.

• Select the active layout and click Edit.
• The system creates a new version of the layout (e.g. version 2.0) with Status 'Draft', as a copy of the current active version.
• Meanwhile the previous active version remains visible to all other users while you work on the new draft.
• When the new version is ready, activate it. The old version is automatically archived and users will automatically see the new version.

Archiving a Layout

When a layout is no longer needed, you can archive it. Select the layout and click Archive.

You must specify an End Date, from which the Layout is no longer valid. The layout's status changes to Archived and it is removed from the active view.

Archived layouts are retained in the system for historical reference. They can be viewed in 'point in time' queries — allowing you to see what the floor plan looked like on a specific date in the past.

Exploring Layouts

The Explore Layout feature lets you view a floor plan layout and see how spaces are mapped on the drawing — without making any changes.

How to Access

1. Go to Settings → Floorplans → Layouts.
2. Select a layout, click Actions, and choose Explore.

Moving Around the Drawing

Use the navigation controls on the right side of the canvas to:

• Zoom in or out to get a closer or wider view.
• Centre or Reset the drawing to return to the default view.

Clicking on a Space

You can click on a polygon to select it and view its details. Keep in mind:

• Only one polygon can be selected at a time.
• Only polygons that are linked to a space or subspace can be selected. Polygons that exist on the drawing but are not mapped to any space or subspace cannot be clicked or selected.
• When selected, the polygon highlights with a blinking red outline, and the right-hand panel shows its details — such as name, code, area, and type.

Colouring Options

At the bottom of the screen, use the colouring dropdown to colour-code the drawing. The options are:

• No colouring — the plain drawing with no overlays.
• Space types — colours spaces by their type (e.g., Meeting Room, Office).
• Subspace types — colours subspaces by their type.
• Space and Subspace types — colours both together.
• Allocation types — colours spaces based on how they are allocated (e.g., by department).

Right-Hand Panel

This panel shows a summary based on what you have selected. When no polygon is selected, it shows an overview of the entire floor. When you click on a mapped polygon, it shows the details of that specific space or subspace. When a colouring option is active, it also shows a breakdown by type, including counts, area, and percentage.

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Note: Explore mode is view-only. To make changes to a layout, use the Edit action instead.

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