Defining a coordinate transformation

The Layer Properties dialog box provides an alternative to using the Georeferencing toolbar to define a coordinate transformation.

To open the dialog box, double-click the CAD feature layer in the table of contents, or right-click the layer and click Properties on the context menu.

Transformations tab

The Transformations tab enables you to work with a coordinate transformation as a property of the feature layer. Applying the transformation affects all features in the dataset.

Enable Transformations

The Enable Transformations check box is used with the Apply button to perform or temporarily disable the transformation.

Choose a transformation method

The Transform By section enables you to use one of three methods to define the transformation.

Link to a world file

Clicking the World File radio button displays a text box and a browse button. By default, this property is set to specify a universal world file (esri_cad.wld) in the same folder where the CAD drawing is saved. This provides the mechanism by which universal world files work. If a universal world file does not exist, then it defaults to specify a world file with same name as the CAD drawing (prefix). This provides the mechanism by which standard world files work.

You can override these default settings by clicking the Browse button and setting it to an alternate world file. Navigate to the world file and click Open.

Define displacement coordinates

Clicking the Coordinates radio button displays text boxes that enable you to define the transformation in terms of how the dataset extents are transformed. The displacement vectors are described as From- and To- coordinates, similar to how the CAD Dataset Properties dialog box displays this information. The first two rows (from top to bottom) is the lower left extent, and the second two rows define the upper right extent. If the dataset is not transformed, the From- and To- coordinates display the same values.

Define an angle and a scale

Clicking the Rotate, Scale, Translate radio button displays text boxes that enable you to define the transformation in terms of its scale and rotation about a fixed x-y coordinate origin.

Related Topics

12/16/2013