How it works

Redrawing a scanned building drawing in three steps

Vecdraft has three steps. In the program they are called Tekeningen, Nakijken and Uitvoer: Drawings, Review and Output. For each step you can read below what the program does and what you do.

Drawings (Tekeningen)

You start a project by dropping your scans into the program. That can be a PDF, a TIFF or an image. If you already have a DXF or DWG, that works too.

Old drawings often share a sheet. Vecdraft splits such a sheet and shows you what it makes of each drawing.

The program

reads PDF, TIFF, images, DXF and DWG;
splits combined sheets into separate drawings;
works out the type of each drawing, such as floor plan, elevation or section, and its storey.

You

drop in the files;
check that type and storey are right;
choose which drawings to have redrawn.

Review (Nakijken)

Vecdraft redraws the walls, doors, windows and dimensions. Then it shows you the places it is unsure about. You see them one at a time, at the spot in the drawing they are about.

For each one you choose: it is right, you adjust it, or you remove it. You can also change anything else in the drawing.

The program

redraws walls, doors, windows and dimensions;
marks where it is unsure;
puts those points to you one by one.

You

go through the doubtful points;
compare the drawing with the scan underneath;
fix what is wrong.

Output (Uitvoer)

Once the drawing has been checked, you choose what you need. You open the DXF or DWG in your own CAD software and the SketchUp file in SketchUp.

What exactly is in the output

The program

writes DXF and DWG with fixed layers, line weights and hatching;
builds a 3D model;
makes a SketchUp file with tags, components and scenes.

You

choose the output you need;
carry on in your own software.

The program

How it works in three short videos

Recordings of Vecdraft with the sample project: a made-up building plan from 1931, not a customer's drawing. No sound; press play. The program is in Dutch.

Drawings (13 seconds). You open the project and see the six drawings Vecdraft cut from the sheet, each with its type and scale. Reading this sheet took seven minutes and is not in the video.

Review (23 seconds). You go through the points one at a time with Klopt, volgende (Correct, next). If everything is right, you mark the whole drawing as reviewed in one go.

Output (23 seconds). You create the DXF and DWG files and then open the 3D model to turn the building around.

Good to know

An AI assistant reads the drawing

Reading the drawing is done by an AI assistant. For that, the drawing goes through the Vecdraft service to the AI provider. The Vecdraft service does not keep your drawings; it only counts usage.

So you need an internet connection for reading. Review and output work without one.

More about your drawings and privacy

Your projects stay on your own computer

Scans, redrawn drawings and output are stored on the computer you work on. Vecdraft is a Windows program, not a website you upload things to for safekeeping.

You always check the result

An old drawing is not always clear: faint lines, handwritten dimensions, a stain in the wrong place. Vecdraft takes over the tracing, not your judgement. Expect to put every result next to the scan before you build on it.

Dutch program, Dutch drawings

The program itself is in Dutch, and it is made for Dutch and Flemish building drawings. This website is in English to explain what it does; the buttons and messages in the program are not.

See it on your own drawings

14 days free, 3 projects. That way you know what Vecdraft makes of your archive drawings.

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