SiteGIS — Import Guide (sample)

What's in your pack

Eight files. This guide tells you which one you need at each step.

File	Role	Used in
site_gis.dxf	Site linework — contours, boundaries, flood layers, services	Step 1 · Merge
site_terrain.xyz	Terrain survey points for the Mesh	Step 2 · Mesh
site_aerial.png	Aerial photo underlay	Step 3 · Aerial
SiteGIS – editable, keep pen index.xml	DXF translator — keeps pen numbers exact	Setup
import-guide.html	This guide	—
SITE_MANUAL.md	Plain-text version of this guide	Reference
summary.txt	Sources + disclaimer	Reference
site_preview.pdf	Reference preview	Reference

Before you start — unzip the pack

ArchiCAD's file dialogs can't see inside a zip folder — none of the eight files above will show up until it's extracted.

Right-click the downloaded pack (the .zip file) and choose Extract All… (Mac: double-click the zip to expand it) — then work from the extracted folder for every step below.

Checkpoint

You should now see a normal folder containing the eight files above — not a zip icon.

If something's off

Can't find a file in ArchiCAD's Open, Merge, or Browse dialog? It's almost always still zipped. Extract the pack folder first, then try again.

ℹ About the screenshots: the images through this guide are an indicative example from a sample site — not your specific SiteGIS-ordered site. The values shown in the copy boxes above each relevant step are yours; the pictures just show where to click.

Setup — first pack only

ArchiCAD needs a small settings file so SiteGIS's pen numbers arrive exactly as sent. Install it once; it sticks for every future pack.

Go to File ▸ Interoperability ▸ DXF-DWG ▸ DXF-DWG Translation Setup…
Click Browse… and open SiteGIS – editable, keep pen index.xml from your pack folder — it sits right next to the DXF.
Click Save Settings & Close.

Checkpoint

The translator now appears in the translator list — you won't need this dialog again.

DXF-DWG Translation Setup dialog with SiteGIS editable keep pen index highlighted in the translator list

If something's off

No Browse… button / list won't take it? Copy the .xml into C:\Users\<you>\Graphisoft\DXF-DWG Translators <version> <locale>\ (e.g. …Translators 27.0.0 NZE\), then reopen the dialog.
Locked-down office machine? Duplicate the built-in 02 For editable import translator, rename it SiteGIS – editable, keep pen index, and under Settings ▸ Attributes ▸ Pens and Colors set the pen-colour conversion table to identity. (The built-in 04 Keep Pen Index Number looks right but is export-only — it never shows in the Merge dialog.)

Still stuck? Reply to your delivery email — I'll sort it same day.

Why this works

The DXF stores each line's pen as a colour index number. Without this translator, ArchiCAD "helpfully" snaps each colour to its nearest match and your pens arrive scrambled. This translator maps every index straight to the same ArchiCAD pen — 24 stays 24, 207 stays 207.

Merge the linework

Bring the site linework — contours, boundaries, flood layers, services — into your plan.

Open the project you want the site in (or a fresh file from your office template).
Go to File ▸ Interoperability ▸ Merge… ▸ Merge from File…
In the file dialog, switch Files of type to DXF File (*.dxf), select site_gis.dxf, then click Open.
A What do you want to merge dialog appears — leave Merge content of Model Space into current View selected (the default) and click OK.
A Select missing file alert may pop up now — or at any point during the merge — asking to link txt.SHX (a font ArchiCAD doesn't have). Click Skip all — a default font substitutes; nothing is lost.
In the Merge DXF-DWG Model Space dialog, leave every field at its default: Align Merged File's Origin and Rotate to Survey Point unticked · all three Specify On-Screen boxes unticked (Insertion Point X = 0, Y = 0 · Scale X = 1, Y = 1 · Rotation 0°) · Anchor Point = Drawing's own origin · Import Model Space content as GDL object unticked.
Set Translator to SiteGIS – editable, keep pen index, then click Merge.
A DWG/DXF Partial Open layer picker appears with every SITE|… layer ticked — leave them all ticked (or click Select All) and click OK.

Checkpoint

Your plan now shows contours, boundaries and site layers, and your Layer list has new layers named SITE|….

Plan view after merge showing contours, boundary lines and site linework

If something's off

Everything landed miles from your drawing? A Specify On-Screen box was left ticked. Undo, merge again with all three unticked and X = 0, Y = 0 — SiteGIS draws everything at a local origin, so 0,0 is always correct.
Colours look wrong? The translator wasn't set to SiteGIS – editable, keep pen index. Undo and merge again.
A layer missing from your plan? It was unticked in the DWG/DXF Partial Open layer picker. Undo, merge again and leave every SITE|… layer ticked (or click Select All).
Contour labels look too big or small? They're sized for 1:100 plans (0.25 m text → 2.5 mm printed). Drawing at another scale? Rescale the text, or tell me your sheet scale and I'll bake it into your next pack.

Still stuck? Reply to your delivery email — I'll sort it same day.

Why this works

The pack is drawn at a local origin in metres, so it merges at your project origin with no scaling or repositioning. Layers land by exact name; any SITE|… layer your template lacks is created automatically.

Build the terrain mesh

Turn the terrain survey points into a real, editable ArchiCAD Mesh.

Switch to the storey at Project Zero — in a stock template that’s your ground floor; in the example below it is the storey named 0. Sea Level/ Datum. The new Mesh takes its height from the storey you place it from, so this one choice decides whether every level you later read off the terrain is real.
Go to File ▸ Interoperability ▸ Place Mesh from Surveyors Data…
In the file dialog, switch Files of type to XYZ files (*.xyz) — it defaults to *.txt and rejects the file otherwise (the folder shows only summary.txt until you switch the filter). Select site_terrain.xyz.
Set Surveyors Unit to meter and Placement to Original location. Leave Zoom to the new mesh unticked and Project Zero is above Sea Level by at 0.0000 — SiteGIS heights are already true sea-level (NZVD2016).
Click OK — the mesh lands at 0,0, aligned in plan with the contours, as a native editable Mesh.

ℹ Which layer does it land on? Your own — automatically. ArchiCAD's Place Mesh always uses the Mesh tool's current layer, usually your template's terrain layer (e.g. Site & Landscape - Terrain in a stock ArchiCAD template). The .xyz file carries no layer of its own, so there's nothing for SiteGIS to override — every firm's mesh just goes onto their own terrain layer, zero setup required. Want it on a different layer? Set the Mesh tool's Layer in its settings before placing, or select the mesh afterward and change its layer.

Checkpoint

Back in plan, the mesh shows immediately as a triangulated surface sitting under the contours and site boundary — no need to jump to 3D to confirm it landed. Press F3 any time to see it rendered in 3D.

Then check the level, once. Plan position looking right says nothing about height. Open summary.txt and find its LEVEL CHECK line: it names one point and the RL the mesh must read there above Project Zero. The SITE|RL Check tick in the DXF marks that exact point. Measure it with a Coordinate Dimension — if it matches, every level you take off this terrain is real. If it doesn’t, see If something’s off below, and don’t correct it by eye.

Plan view showing the triangulated terrain mesh placed under the contours, boundary and site linework

If something's off

Can't select the .xyz file? The dialog filter is still on *.txt — switch Files of type first; typing the path doesn't work on some builds.
Mesh sits above or below where you expect? Measure it before you change anything — re-placing it the same way lands it in exactly the same spot, and the reading tells you which of three things happened. Your pack ships the check: summary.txt’s LEVEL CHECK line names one point and the RL it must read above Project Zero, and the SITE|RL Check tick in the DXF marks that point with rings at RL 0.000 and at that RL. Read the level there with a Coordinate Dimension (the Level Dimension tool only gravitates to specific elements) and note the difference.
- Difference is zero — the terrain is anchored correctly; nothing to do.
- Difference is a constant (the same at every point) — that constant is the level of the storey you placed the mesh on, which is exactly where its reference plane sits. It is not a data error and the shape of your terrain is unaffected — it is the right shape at the wrong height. Delete the mesh, switch to the storey at Project Zero, and run Place Mesh from Surveyors Data again with the same file and the same settings; it will read true. Your contours, boundary and services are unaffected — they merge at absolute height and never moved.
- Difference varies across the site — that is not this issue. Reply to your delivery email and I’ll check the run.
⚠ Never use Apply to All in Mesh Settings to correct a level — it sets every point to one height and flattens the terrain.
Flat or coastal site and the mesh looks broken? Sparse contours can leave gaps — this is a known data limitation, not your error. Reply to your delivery email and I'll check the run.

Why this works

site_terrain.xyz is a grid of real ground points. Original location keeps X and Y aligned with the merged contours, and the heights come in exactly as written — landing at true RL provided you place the mesh from the storey at Project Zero.

Heights in the file are absolute NZVD2016 elevations and SiteGIS applies no vertical transform to them — the number in the file is the number on the ground. But a .xyz carries no datum of its own, so ArchiCAD measures them from the new Mesh’s reference plane — and that plane is the storey you place the mesh from (its level), just as the layer comes from the Mesh tool. Place it from a storey at RL 20 and the whole terrain sits 20 m high: the right shape in the wrong place. Place it from the storey at Project Zero and the plane is 0, so the heights in the file are the heights in your model. That is why the pack ships a named point and an RL to check it against, and why the check is worth the one minute.

Place the aerial photo

Drop the aerial photo under your linework at exactly the right size and position.

⚠ Don't rotate the image. It's pre-rotated to match your drawing — the transparent corners are normal.

Double-click the Figure tool in the toolbox (Document section — it sits with Fill, Hotspot and Drawing, no submenu to hunt through) to open its settings.
Click Open… and load site_aerial.png from your pack.
Turn Keep Proportions OFF.
Under Figure Size, clear the top field (width, marked with a horizontal ruler icon — no text label), then type —. Clear the field below it (height), then type —. Clear each field before typing — typing over the old value multiplies it. Set Layer (bottom-left of the same dialog) to SITE|Aerial, and set Anchor to bottom-left. Click OK.

Values for this site

Width
—
mm

Height
—
mm
Click on the plan to place it, snapping the image's bottom-left corner to the bottom-left corner of the SITE|Aerial rectangle that arrived with the merge. (No rectangle visible? Place the corner at X = —, Y = — mm.)
If the photo covers your linework: right-click it ▸ Display Order ▸ Send to Back.

Checkpoint

The aerial sits under the linework and the buildings in the photo line up with the drawn building outlines.

Plan view with the aerial placed under the contours and site boundary, buildings aligned

If something's off

Photo is a weird size? A size field was typed over instead of cleared first, or Keep Proportions was still on. Reopen the Figure settings and re-enter both values.
Photo doesn't line up with the lines? It was rotated during placement. Delete, place again axis-aligned — the rotation is already baked into the image.

Still stuck? Reply to your delivery email — I'll sort it same day.

Why this works

ArchiCAD can't georeference a raster image, so SiteGIS pre-rotates the aerial to true north and ships its exact placed size; the SITE|Aerial rectangle in the DXF is the snap target. One note: the aerial photo is usually newer than the drawn building outlines (which councils compile periodically) — where they disagree, trust the photo.

That's the site in.

Mesh with real levels, flood and services context, aerial underlay.

Finished plan view — aerial, contours, boundary and terrain mesh all aligned

Finished 3D view — terrain mesh built and textured

Anything look wrong on your site — a layer missing, mesh odd, photo misaligned? Reply to your delivery email and I'll re-run it same day.