Method and device for referencing external files in CAD (computer aided design) system

Abstract

The invention relates to a citing method and a citing device for external files in a CAD (Computer Aided Design) system, a computer readable storage medium and a computer terminal. The citing method comprises the following steps: creating at least one first general citing rule file independent of a citing file according to at least one citing condition, and independently storing the first general citing rule file in an extensible file format; and according to the selected at least one first general reference rule file, referencing the at least one referenced file. According to the method, the reference rule file independent of the referenced file is adopted and can be repeatedly used by the user, repeated setting of reference conditions is avoided, and the efficiency and accuracy of collaborative drawing operation of the user are improved.

Description

Priority application

[0001] The present application claims the priority of Chinese invention patent applications (i) CN201810778814.6 “A method and system for timeline management of CAD graphic data”, (ii) CN201810779355.3 “A method for referencing external files in a CAD graphic system”, (iii) CN201810779485.7 “A hierarchical display system for references in a CAD graphic system”, and (iv) CN201810777826.7 “A method for viewing reference changes in a CAD graphic in an editable drawing environment” filed on July 16, 2018, and these four priority invention patent applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to a method and device for quoting external files by a CAD system in a Computer Aided Design (CAD) collaborative design system. Background Art

[0003] There are three characteristics of CAD collaborative design projects: first, there are many disciplines, many graphic files, and the reference relationship between graphic files is intricate; second, the format of the drawing files is complex, and most of them are binary data, and the data is relatively random; third, the file size of the drawing is large, ranging from a few MB to hundreds of MB. With the improvement of computer hardware technology, the size of the drawing files may be even larger in the future. Especially in the process of promoting collaborative design projects, engineers of various disciplines need to constantly refer to each other's CAD drawings to draw their own drawings (for example, water supply and drainage engineers need to refer to the architectural drawings that are being drawn and not yet completed by architectural engineers when drawing water supply and drainage CAD drawings). The references between the collaborative parties may also be multi-level (for example, HVAC drawings refer to electrical drawings, electrical drawings refer to water supply and drainage drawings, and water supply and drainage drawings also refer to architectural drawings). In addition, the drawing process often requires repeated modifications and repeated selections between different versions.

[0004] Traditional CAD systems have many drawbacks in terms of file management, transmission and storage, as well as file reference functions (e.g., external references). For example, CAD file storage and transmission data overhead is high and inefficient, and it is often inconvenient for CAD users to view CAD file versions created and edited at different times. In addition, due to the limitations of the external reference reference method, a series of problems have arisen: (i) the current CAD drawing has a single filtering method when referencing external files, making it difficult to accurately focus on the elements that the current user is most concerned about; (ii) it is difficult to conveniently handle nested relationships, and it is cumbersome to switch between the nesting modes of "overlay" and "attachment"; and (iii) it is impossible to view changes in the content of the referenced drawing while editing the current CAD drawing, and it is very troublesome to switch between the editing interface and the viewing change interface. These all negatively affect the efficiency of CAD collaborative design work, and even have the risk of causing confusion in collaborative design projects. Summary of the invention

[0005] In response to the above technical problems, the present invention provides a novel CAD collaborative design system, which includes four sub-inventions (i.e., invention A, invention B, invention C and invention D) and various variations and extensions based on these four sub-inventions.

[0006] The present invention first discloses a timeline management system (and method, computer storage medium, computer terminal) for CAD files, including: a first data summary file and an incremental database; the first data summary file includes a first data item index table and first data summary information; the incremental database stores first data detailed information corresponding to the first data summary information; the first data item index table is used to search the first data detailed information corresponding to the first data summary information in the incremental database; and the data summary file is set to be associated with a first restore point. The present invention adopts a data summary file and an incremental database to manage CAD files, which can reduce the amount of data transmission during file restoration by transmitting incremental data, and can also quickly and accurately restore CAD files by preserving the integrity of the information in the data summary file.

[0007] In another aspect, the present invention also discloses a method for referencing external files in a CAD system, a referencing device, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer terminal. The reference method comprises the following steps: creating at least one first universal reference rule file independent of the referenced file according to at least one reference condition, and independently storing it in an extensible file format; and referencing at least one of the referenced files according to at least one selected first universal reference rule file. The present invention adopts a reference rule file independent of the referenced file, which can not only be reused by users, but also avoids repeated setting of reference conditions, and improves the efficiency and accuracy of users' collaborative drawing operations.

[0008] On the other hand, the present invention also discloses a hierarchical operating system (and method, computer storage medium, computer terminal) referenced by a CAD system, comprising: a first file, including at least one first element; a second file, including at least one second element; the at least one first element is copied and superimposed into the second file; the at least one first element is associated with a first control point, and the at least one first element can be independently operated through the first control point. The present invention solves the problem that the external reference method in the existing CAD system is difficult to convert the nested content display mode (i.e., between the overlay type and the additional type), allowing CAD users to easily and quickly choose to display or hide the nested content, making multi-level drawing reference / reference more convenient and quick, and improving the work efficiency during CAD drawing collaborative design.

[0009] On the other hand, the present invention also discloses a method (and system, computer storage medium, computer terminal) for viewing reference changes in a CAD drawing in an editable environment, which includes the following steps: DS101 obtains a first file and a second file; DS102 the first file references the second file and superimposes the first element on the second file into the first file; DS103 obtains a third file; DS104 obtains the first change element of the third file compared with the second file; and DS105 superimposes the first change element into the first file. The present invention allows CAD drawing users to view the update status of referenced drawings while continuing to edit the current CAD drawing, thereby solving the technical problem in existing CAD systems that it is necessary to display and view the changes of referenced drawings outside the current CAD drawing, and then return to the current CAD drawing to continue editing, thereby improving the convenience and efficiency of CAD collaborative design.

[0010] Compared with traditional CAD systems, the CAD collaborative design system provided by the present invention allows CAD files to be stored according to a timeline, and versions created, modified, and updated at different times can be restored and consulted conveniently and quickly; and the use of summary files and incremental databases reduces the amount of data transmission and ensures the accuracy of file restoration, thereby improving the efficiency of the entire CAD system in file management.

[0011] The new reference method not only allows CAD drawing engineers to easily filter the contents of referenced files, but also allows them to share the reference rules they set with other collaborators; the multi-level display method avoids many problems caused by nesting in existing external references, and increases the flexibility when referencing external files; finally, the present invention copies and overlays the referenced content (which can be filtered and selectively displayed) into the currently edited CAD file, thereby achieving simultaneous editing of the current file and viewing changes in the referenced content through the same interface, making collaborative work more convenient and efficient. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the prior art descriptions. In all the drawings, similar elements or parts are generally identified by similar reference numerals. In the drawings, each element or part is not necessarily drawn according to the actual proportion. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the sub-inventions B and C of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0013] Figure 1a A flowchart of an embodiment of a method for referencing an external file in a CAD system invented by B;

[0014] Figure 1b A flowchart of another embodiment of a method for referencing an external file in a CAD system invented by B;

[0015] Figure 2 An example of a standard layer combination plan in a CAD system invented by B;

[0016] Figure 3 An example of creating a new drawing in a CAD system invented by B;

[0017] Figure 4 An example of introducing drawings into a CAD system invented by B;

[0018] Figure 5 An example of drawing entities in a CAD system invented by B;

[0019] Figure 6 An example of drawing entities in a CAD system invented by B;

[0020] Figure 7 An example of a new reference rule in a CAD system invented by B;

[0021] Figure 8 An example of setting and saving a reference rule file in a CAD system invented by B;

[0022] Fig. 9 An example of importing reference files and reference rule files into a CAD system invented by B;

[0023] Fig.10 An example of adding a new filtering rule to a CAD system invented by B;

[0024] Fig.11 A functional module diagram of an embodiment of a device for referencing external files in a CAD system invented by B;

[0025] Fig.12 A flowchart of another embodiment of a method for referencing an external file in a CAD system invented by B;

[0026] Fig.13 A functional module diagram of another embodiment of a device for referencing external files in a CAD system invented by B;

[0027] Fig.14 A schematic diagram of a partial hardware structure of an embodiment of a computer terminal invented by B;

[0028] Fig.15 A schematic diagram of a partial hardware structure of another embodiment of a computer terminal invented by B;

[0029] Fig.16 A schematic diagram of an embodiment of a user-defined reference condition in a method for referencing an external file in a CAD system according to the invention of reaction B;

[0030] Fig.17a and Fig.17b A flowchart of a hierarchical display embodiment method cited by the C invention CAD graphics system;

[0031] Fig.18 A schematic diagram of the entity figure in drawing c of the embodiment of the invention C;

[0032] Fig.19 A schematic diagram of the entity figure in drawing b of the embodiment of the invention C;

[0033] Fig. 20 A schematic diagram of the entity figure in drawing a of the embodiment of the invention C;

[0034] Fig.21 The hierarchical tree relationship diagram cited in the embodiment of the invention of C;

[0035] Fig. 22 A schematic diagram in which a reference to drawing c is removed from drawing a of the embodiment of invention C;

[0036] Fig.23It is a schematic diagram of the embodiment of the invention C with referenced drawings b and c removed from drawing a;

[0037] Fig.24 A flow chart of an embodiment of a hierarchical operation method cited by the C invention CAD system;

[0038] Fig.25 A flow chart of an embodiment of a hierarchical operation method cited by the C invention CAD system;

[0039] Fig.26 A schematic diagram of an embodiment of a hierarchical operating system used in the CAD system of the invention C;

[0040] Fig. 27 It is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the CAD collaborative design system of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0042] Herein, suffixes such as "module", "component" or "unit" used to represent elements are only used to facilitate the description of the present invention, and have no specific meanings by themselves. Therefore, "module", "component" or "unit" can be used mixedly.

[0043] It should be noted that the various sub-inventions in the present invention (A invention, B invention, C invention and D invention) can be combined to derive other technical solutions, solve more technical problems and produce more technical effects. Therefore, the descriptions of each sub-invention in this article can be mutually verified, explained, illustrated, combined, combined and integrated. For example, some embodiments of the inventions B, C and D can be combined to form a more efficient and convenient technical solution for referencing external files. The combination of the invention A and other sub-inventions allows the edited and modified CAD files to be more efficiently stored and shared with the collaborative parties.

[0044] However, the description of each sub-invention in this article may involve some identical or similar terms. If these identical or similar terms conflict or contradict in understanding and meaning, the understanding and meaning of these terms in the description of the sub-invention to which they belong shall prevail. For example, the terms "first document", "second document", "referenced document" and so on may appear in different sub-inventions. In this case, the "first document" in invention B shall prevail in terms of its understanding and meaning in invention B, and the "first document" in invention C shall prevail in terms of its understanding and meaning in invention C.

[0045] "Entity": In this article, an entity refers to the graphic data on a CAD file that is displayed on the CAD drawing interface. An entity has attributes, which are data values ​​that control specific visual characteristics of an entity or element (such as visibility, color, and line style). In different embodiments, an entity may also be referred to as a "pixel" or "element".

[0046] "Object": In this article, objects refer to information on CAD files that will not be displayed in the CAD drawing interface, such as layers, text styles, dimension styles, etc. In this article, "style" refers to a named collection of attributes used to classify and define specific geometric and text elements (such as line styles or text styles).

[0047] "Element": In this article, element refers to all possible information on a CAD file, including "entities" and "objects", and can also be blocks, groups, and unit definitions based on "entities" and / or "objects".

[0048] "File": In this article, file refers to various files that can be run in the CAD system and are used to draw, edit, modify, store, and view CAD drawings. Common CAD file formats include, but are not limited to, DWG, DXF, DWT, DWF, DWL, DWS, DWX, MNU, MNC, MNL, MNS, CUI, CUIX, SHX, PAT, LIN, CTB, STB, PLT, PC3, etc.

[0049] "Collaborators": In this article, collaborators refer to users who participate in a drawing project and work together. The collaborators may have the same expertise (for example, multiple engineers from the architectural profession drawing together) or different expertise (for example, architectural engineers, water supply and drainage engineers, electrical engineers, and HVAC engineers drawing together). The collaborators refer to each other's drawings.

[0050] "Control point": In this article (especially for the C invention), a control point refers to an abstract description of a group of operating elements (including entities, objects, blocks, groups), which is similar to the concept of a handle. Through the control point, this set can be quickly located, and then a series of operations on the elements in the set can be performed. Of course, in some special cases, a group / set may contain only one operating element. In addition, in this article, "associated with" a control point means accepting the control of the control point, and the operating object associated with it can be operated through the control point.

[0051] Invention B: Method and device for referencing external files in a CAD system, computer-readable storage medium, and computer terminal

[0052] B invention relates to a method for referencing external files in a CAD system, a referencing device, a computer-readable storage medium and a computer terminal.

[0053] In the traditional CAD drawing process, each discipline needs to rely on drawings or other external files provided by other disciplines. Usually, they will introduce drawings provided by other disciplines into their own drawings in the form of external references, and draw with reference to the floors, rooms, walls and other elements in the drawings. A single discipline often focuses on certain elements, and the drawings of other disciplines may be too complicated for them because they include elements from other aspects. Therefore, when introducing drawings provided by other disciplines, filtering rules need to be set.

[0054] In the prior art, there are only two common types of filtering rules for external reference (XREF) files in CAD systems: (i) setting a clipping area and (ii) setting a hidden layer. The types of filtering rules are too simple to perform complex and flexible operations on imported CAD drawings. Even if the referenced (or imported) CAD drawings vary greatly, since there are only two common types of filtering rules (setting a clipping area or setting a hidden layer), CAD software users can only choose between these two types of rules.

[0055] In addition, in the existing CAD system, the external reference file and the filtering rules for the external reference file are a piece of binary data stored in the dwg file, so the filtering rules are closely combined with the CAD drawing data (that is, the filtering rules and the CAD drawing data are stored together in a strongly coupled manner), resulting in that this set of specific filtering rules cannot be conveniently used for other external reference files. In addition, each referenced external reference file may be referenced multiple times by different users. If specific filtering rules are set separately for each reference, the reference work will become very cumbersome and boring, and prone to errors. In other words, this strongly coupled storage method makes the reuse rate of filtering rules low, and the cost of modification and maintenance is also high.

[0056] In addition, since the filtering rules are stored in the dwg drawings, adding any new functions will lead to changes in the CAD drawing file format. However, widely circulated files such as dwg drawings are not easily modified. Therefore, it is difficult to expand these existing functions. In other words, the filtering means are solidified and have poor scalability.

[0057] The purpose of the invention B is to provide a new CAD system reference method, which can overcome or alleviate the above-mentioned defects of the external reference method in the existing CAD system to a certain extent.

[0058] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, invention B discloses a method for referencing external files in a CAD system, which includes the following steps: creating at least one first general reference rule file independent of the referenced file based on at least one reference condition, and storing it independently in an extensible file format; referencing at least one of the referenced files based on at least one selected first general reference rule file.

[0059] Furthermore, the first general reference rule file is obtained by expanding the second general reference rule file sent by the collaborating party, and the second general rule file is created according to at least one reference condition selected by the collaborating party.

[0060] Further, the reference rule file is stored in XML (Extensible Markup Language) format. Further, the reference condition includes layer filter operation instructions, clipping area filter operation instructions, and / or drawing filter operation instructions. Further, the drawing filter operation instructions are custom reference conditions added based on each object type and its characteristics in the referenced file.

[0061] Invention B also discloses a method for referencing external files in a CAD system, which includes the following steps: obtaining at least one third general reference rule file sent by a collaborating party; referencing at least one referenced file according to at least one selected third general reference rule file; wherein the third general reference rule file is created in advance according to at least one reference condition selected by the collaborating party, and is independently stored in an extensible file format.

[0062] Further, the reference rule file is stored in XML format. Further, the reference condition includes layer filter operation instructions, clipping area filter operation instructions, and / or drawing filter operation instructions. Further, the drawing filter operation instructions are custom reference conditions added based on each object type and its characteristics in the referenced file.

[0063] B invention also discloses an external file reference device applied to a CAD system, which includes: a reference rule file creation module, which is used to create at least one first universal reference rule file independent of the referenced file according to at least one reference condition, and store it independently in an extensible file format; a first storage module, which is used to store at least one first universal reference rule file created by the reference rule file creation module; a first reference module, which is used to reference at least one referenced file according to at least one selected first universal reference rule file. Further, the first universal reference rule file is obtained by the reference rule file creation module by expanding the second universal reference rule file sent by the collaborative party, and the second universal rule file is created according to at least one reference condition selected by the collaborative party. Further, the reference rule file is stored in XML format. Further, the reference condition includes a layer hiding operation instruction, a cropping area hiding operation instruction, and / or a drawing filtering operation instruction. Further, the drawing filtering operation instruction is a custom reference condition added based on each object type and its characteristics in the referenced file.

[0064] Invention B also discloses an external file reference device applied to a CAD system, which includes: an acquisition module for acquiring at least one second general rule file sent by a collaborating party; a second reference module for referencing at least one referenced file according to at least one selected second general reference rule file; wherein the second general reference rule file is pre-created according to at least one reference condition added by the collaborating party, and is independently stored in an extensible file format. Furthermore, the reference rule file is stored in XML format. Furthermore, the reference conditions include hidden layer operation instructions, cropping area operation instructions, and drawing filter operation instructions. Furthermore, the drawing filter operation instructions are custom reference conditions added based on the various element types and their characteristics in the referenced file.

[0065] Invention B also discloses a computer-readable storage medium, which includes a set of instructions. When the instructions are executed, at least one processor is caused to perform the following operations: create at least one first universal reference rule file independent of the referenced file according to at least one reference condition, and store it independently in an extensible format; reference at least one referenced file according to at least one selected first universal reference rule file; or, when the instructions are executed, at least one processor is caused to perform the following operations: obtain at least one third universal reference rule file sent by the collaborating party; reference at least one referenced file according to at least one selected third universal reference rule file; wherein the third universal reference rule file is created in advance according to at least one reference condition selected by the collaborating party, and is stored independently in an extensible file format. Furthermore, the first universal reference rule file is obtained by expanding the second universal reference rule file sent by the collaborating party, and the second universal rule file is created according to at least one reference condition selected by the collaborating party.

[0066] Invention B also discloses a computer terminal, which includes at least one processor and a computer-readable storage medium coupled to the processor, wherein the computer-readable storage medium includes a set of instructions, and when at least one processor executes the instructions, it causes at least one processor to perform operations including: creating at least one first universal reference rule file independent of the referenced file according to at least one reference condition, and independently storing it in an extensible format; referencing at least one of the referenced files according to at least one selected first universal reference rule file; or, when at least one processor executes the instructions, it causes at least one processor to perform operations including: obtaining at least one third universal reference rule file sent by the collaborating party; referencing at least one of the referenced files according to at least one selected third universal reference rule file; wherein the third universal reference rule file is created in advance according to at least one reference condition selected by the collaborating party, and is independently stored in an extensible file format. Furthermore, the first universal reference rule file is obtained by expanding the second universal reference rule file sent by the collaborating party, and the second universal rule file is created according to at least one reference condition selected by the collaborating party.

[0067] Beneficial technical effects of invention B: invention B generates at least one reference rule file independent of the referenced file according to the reference conditions, so that when the referenced file is introduced, any reference rule file that meets the actual needs can be specified (it can be created by the CAD drawing engineer himself or obtained from other collaborative parties) without repeatedly setting the reference conditions, which greatly improves work efficiency and better ensures the correctness of the reference (for example, it avoids mistakes when repeatedly setting the reference conditions); in addition, invention B uses an extensible file format to store the reference rule file, such as the XML format, so that it is independent of the referenced file and extensible, so that new reference conditions can be created according to actual needs.

[0068] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiment of invention B clearer, the technical solution in the embodiment of invention B will be described clearly and completely in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiment of invention B. Obviously, the described embodiment is a part of the embodiment of invention B, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiment of invention B, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of invention B.

[0069] B. Invention Embodiment 1: In some embodiments of B. Invention, a method for referencing an external file in a CAD system includes the following steps: Figure 1a): Step BS01, generating at least one reference rule file according to at least one reference condition added to the referenced file, wherein the at least one reference rule file is independent of the referenced file and is stored in an extensible file format. Step BS02, introducing the referenced file into the main file according to the selected at least one reference rule file.

[0070] In some embodiments of the invention B, a method for referencing an external file in a CAD system comprises the following steps: Figure 1b ): Step BS11, adding at least one reference condition for the referenced file; Step BS12, generating a reference rule file according to the at least one reference condition, wherein the reference rule file adopts XML format; Step BS13, specifying the reference rule file to filter the referenced file when referencing the referenced file. Step BS14, adding the filtered referenced file to the main file.

[0071] The reference method for external files disclosed in the above embodiments is of great significance for collaborative CAD drawing: more and more CAD drawing projects are completed by engineers from multiple disciplines in collaboration. Therefore, the process of mutual collaboration often involves mutual reference / mutual reference of CAD files between different disciplines (in this article, the referenced and referenced files are referred to as "referenced files"; the CAD drawings that receive and incorporate "referenced files" are referred to as "master files"). When the master file references / references the referenced file, the user can add reference conditions related to the referenced file (filtering the elements in the referenced file). The reference condition can be a reference condition that has been associated with the referenced file (for example, the current user or other users have previously set one or more reference conditions for the referenced file), or it can be a newly added reference condition, or it can be a modification of the previously set reference condition.

[0072] In some embodiments, the above-mentioned reference conditions are stored separately to form a reference rule file, which is independent of the referenced file and the master file. In some embodiments, "independent" means that the reference rule file can be created, saved, modified, updated, and transferred separately - for example, a water supply and drainage engineer can share the reference rule file he created with another water supply and drainage engineer without sharing the referenced CAD files.

[0073] The reference file can adopt an extensible file format, for example, the reference rule file can be stored in XML format. XML is a simple, platform-independent and widely adopted standard language, and is a "metalanguage" used to define other languages. Simply put, XML provides a method for describing structured data. XML is also a meta-markup language, i.e., it defines a syntactic language for defining other domain-specific, semantic, and structured markup languages. Users can define the tags they need, which is the extensibility of the language. In the XML file, content and expression are separated, so that different users can define different reference conditions according to their own needs.

[0074] In addition to XML, other extensible file formats and markup languages ​​are also applicable to the invention B to store reference rule files, such as GML (Generalized Markup Language), SGML (The Standard Generalized Markup Language), HTML (HyperText Markup Language), XHTML (Extensible HyperText Markup Language), XAML (Extensible Application Markup Language), JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), etc.

[0075] Therefore, compared with the traditional CAD software system, the external reference in the prior art only records an external dwg file path name. In addition to recording the dwg file, the B invention also records an additional reference rule file independent of the external dwg file. When referencing an external dwg file, the reference rule file will be opened, and according to the reference conditions recorded in the reference rule file, the entities (also called primitives, pixels), objects, blocks, groups and / or layers in the dwg file that meet the rules are loaded.

[0076] In some embodiments of the invention B, the reference rule file can adopt three reference rule modes: layer display, region clipping, and graphic filtering. Each mode records corresponding feature information according to its own characteristics. In other embodiments of the invention B, the reference rule modes include, but are not limited to, filtering, replacing, and adding.

[0077] Taking area clipping as an example, this reference rule stipulates that only entities within a certain area can be displayed. Therefore, this reference rule records a series of two-dimensional points and a coordinate transformation matrix. After reading this reference rule, the CAD drawing system software will determine whether the entity's outer area is within this area. Entities that are not in the area will not be displayed.

[0078] The following is an example of a reference rule file in XML format, showing three reference rule modes: layer display, region clipping, and graphic filtering:

[0079] First, the node Layers records the name of the filtered layer "Section Line". If the referenced drawing contains a layer named "Section Line", entities on this layer will not be introduced. Secondly, the node ReservedArea records the point location information of the reserved area. All entities outside the reserved area in the referenced drawing will not be introduced. Thirdly, the conditions used when filtering graphics are recorded under the node Filters, and each condition is a Filter node. There is a specific Filter here, which means that entities (circles) of type AcDbCircle will not be introduced when the value of the attribute (color) numbered 1302 is equal to (Operator is 0) -1073741824; (that is, BYLAYER).

[0080] In traditional CAD, data such as cropping areas and hidden layers set for external references are stored in dwg drawings. Any addition of new functions will lead to changes in the drawing file format. Files such as dwg drawings, which are widely circulated, will not be easily modified. Therefore, it is difficult to expand these inherent functions. In addition, the management and dissemination of traditional CAD drawings strongly rely on the personal qualities of personnel. Dividing a drawing into multiple files can easily lead to file loss or confusion. Therefore, traditional CAD stores external reference setting data in dwg drawings.

[0081] However, the invention B stores all dwg drawing files and XML reference rule files in the same CAD collaborative software system and archives them in the CAD collaborative software system. Since the CAD collaborative software system regulates the use of dwg drawing files and XML reference rule files by users, the management of files can be tracked by historical records, and the dissemination of files can be expanded by project management. Therefore, the technical solution of the independent reference rule files adopted by the invention B will not be affected by personnel management errors.

[0082] Embodiment 2 of invention B: The working method of invention B is explained by example. In this engineering project B200, the upstream profession is architecture, and the downstream profession is water supply and drainage. Engineers specializing in water supply and drainage need to make a water supply and drainage design for the bathroom and kitchen in the drawings provided by the architecture profession (for the convenience of demonstration, the pipeline design is not shown in the following example, and a washing machine, sink and stove are used instead). There is a drawing "Standard Floor.dwx" B202 in the building. This drawing only has architectural information, including room layout, room functions, etc. (for example, dining room, kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom, stairwell), such as Figure 2 shown.

[0083] When the water supply and drainage engineer draws the water supply and drainage diagram, he first creates a drawing B204 of "Bathroom.dwx" in the first-level directory (electrical, water supply and drainage, architecture, HVAC and reference rules are all in the first-level directory). Figure 3 "New drawing"), and import drawing "Standard layer.dwx" B202 (such as Figure 4 As shown in the figure – for easy distinction, the standard floor numbered B202a under the building and the standard floor numbered B202b under the bathroom drawing). Find the location of the bathroom B206 and draw entity B208 in it (as shown in the figure). Figure 5 ), and save and close.

[0084] In the water supply and drainage drawing directory, create a drawing named "Kitchen.dwx" B210 and import the drawing "Standard Layer.dwx" B202. Find the location of the kitchen B212 and draw entity B214 in it, such as Figure 6 as shown, and save and close.

[0085] The next step is to make the general drawing. Because the annotation information is already in "Standard Layer.dwx" B202, it is necessary to remove the annotation information from "Standard Layer.dwx" B202 in the water supply and drainage drawing.

[0086] First, create a general reference rule file B216 to filter the annotation information from the "Standard Layer.dwx" B202 in the water supply and drainage drawings, and only keep the useful entities (such as sinks, toilets, etc.) B208 and B214. For example, with "Bathroom.dwx" B204 as the base map, select the file, right-click, and select "New Reference Rule" B216 in the pop-up menu (such as Figure 7 Click "Filter Graphics", set reasonable parameters in the "Exclude Object Selection" dialog box, remove all annotations, and only leave the water supply and drainage entities (for example, sinks, toilets, etc.), and save the file "Water Supply and Drainage.drf" B218 (as shown in the figure below). Figure 8 shown).

[0087] Create "General Plan.dwx" B220, import "Standard Floor.dwx" B202, and then import "Bathroom.dwx" B204 and "Kitchen.dwx" B210. When referencing the latter two files, specify the reference rule file as "Water Supply and Drainage.drf" B218, such as Fig. 9 shown. Fig.10 It shows that according to the reference rule file "Water Supply and Drainage.drf" B218, "General Drawing.dwx" B220 only retains useful water supply and drainage entities (for example, sinks, toilets, etc.) when introducing "Bathroom.dwx" B204 and "Kitchen.dwx" B210, and removes other annotation information in the water supply and drainage drawings brought from "Standard Layer.dwx" B202.

[0088] In some embodiments of the method for referencing external files in the CAD graphics system of the invention B, the reference rule file is an XML file, which is extensible, easy to save and disseminate, and independent of the drawing file. When referencing a drawing, any reference rule file can be specified without repeatedly setting the reference rules, which greatly improves work efficiency and ensures correctness. It is no longer limited to the limitations of the external reference function of CAD and will not affect the original drawing file.

[0089] The XML format is used for the reference rule file mainly because of the inherent reliability and scalability of the XML format, and the technology for parsing and generating XML format files is very mature and has low maintenance costs. However, since the rule file in the B invention is independent, any other file format can be used, not limited to the XML format.

[0090] B Invention Example 3: Based on the method for referencing external files in the CAD system of the above-mentioned Example 1, B Invention also provides an external file referencing device B300 applied to the CAD system, which is described below in conjunction with specific drawings and embodiments. Fig.11 , is a functional module diagram of an embodiment of an external file reference device applied to a CAD system according to B's invention. Specifically, the external file reference device B300 of this embodiment includes:

[0091] The reference rule file generation module B301 is used to generate at least one reference rule file independent of the referenced file according to at least one reference condition added by the referenced file, and store it independently of the referenced file in an extensible format; the first storage module B302 is used to store the reference rule file generated by the above-mentioned reference rule file generation module B301; the first reference module B303 is used to reference the corresponding referenced file according to the selected reference rule file.

[0092] Since a CAD drawing project is usually completed by multiple disciplines in collaboration, and each discipline needs to view different objects in the referenced file, once the current user introduces a referenced file (specifically, introduces other CAD drawings as external references, or introduces external files such as blocks, Excel tables or pictures by insertion or other means), the current user may add at least one reference condition to the referenced file according to his or her actual needs (specifically, the reference condition includes a hide layer operation instruction, a crop area operation instruction, and / or a filter drawing operation instruction) to complete the reference to the referenced file, such as hiding certain objects in the referenced file (for example, hiding the annotation information related to the basic building), or changing the characteristics of certain objects (such as color changes or line width adjustments, etc.).

[0093] However, in order to avoid storing the at least one reference condition added by the current user together with the referenced file, in this embodiment, the at least one reference condition added to the referenced file is stored separately to make it independent of the referenced file, that is, the reference rule file generation module B301 obtains the at least one reference condition added by the current user for the referenced file, and generates at least one reference rule file based on the at least one reference condition, and stores it in the above-mentioned first storage module B302 in an extensible file format to make it independent of the referenced file.

[0094] In a specific embodiment, the drawing filtering operation instruction is a custom reference condition added based on each element type and its characteristics in the referenced file (see Fig.16 ), that is, the user can select the objects in the referenced file that need to be hidden (i.e., filtered) or the objects that need to be referenced in a changed manner according to actual needs, and then select the corresponding reference method, for example, select an entity, and then choose to change the color of the entity to red, etc.; or, select an entity, and then choose to hide the entity; or, select an entity, and then hide all elements except the entity and only display the entity. Specifically, the objects include various elements contained in the referenced file, and their types are varied, such as the walls, stoves, sinks, company logos, and tabulation instructions in a CAD drawing "Kitchen.dwx", as well as annotations such as size, model, or function; of course, other types can also be included.

[0095] In a specific embodiment, the storage module B302 is only used to store the reference rule file generated by the reference rule file generation module B301, and the reference rule file is stored in XML format.

[0096] In this embodiment, the referenced file may be pre-associated with at least one reference rule file, or may not be pre-associated with any reference rule file. Therefore, in another specific embodiment, the storage module B302 is not only used to store the reference rule file generated by the reference rule file generation module B301, but also used to store at least one reference rule file set by other users that is pre-associated with the referenced file when the referenced file is introduced; of course, further, the storage module B302 can also be used to store the referenced file at the same time, but the referenced file and the reference rule file are partitioned for storage, thereby ensuring independent storage between the two.

[0097] In a specific embodiment, once the current user selects a reference rule file, the reference module B303 references the corresponding referenced file according to the selected reference rule file. The selected reference rule file may be generated by the reference rule file generation module B301 according to the reference conditions added by the current user, or may be generated in advance by the reference rule file generation module of the corresponding device of other users according to the reference conditions added by other users, and then introduced by the current user together with the referenced file through the CAD system.

[0098] The reference device of this embodiment can also be integrated into a CAD system, that is, as a sub-function application of the CAD system.

[0099] B. Invention Example 4: B. Invention also provides another method for referencing external files in a CAD system, which is described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments and drawings.

[0100] See also Fig.12 , which is a flowchart of another embodiment of a method for referencing an external file in a CAD system invented by B. Specifically, the method for referencing in this embodiment includes the steps of:

[0101] BS41, obtain at least one reference rule file that has been pre-associated with the referenced file. Since a project is usually completed by multiple professionals in collaboration, in the actual process, the current user usually introduces a referenced file, and the referenced file has been pre-associated with at least one reference rule file. Therefore, when the current user introduces the referenced file, the reference rule file associated with the referenced file will also be introduced at the same time.

[0102] In a specific embodiment, at least one reference rule file pre-associated with the referenced file is generated in advance based on at least one reference condition added to the referenced file by other users, and is stored independently of the referenced file in an extensible file format. Specifically, the reference rule file is stored in XML format, and when the current user introduces the referenced file, the reference rule file associated with the referenced file will also be introduced at the same time.

[0103] In a specific embodiment, the referenced file may be other CAD drawings introduced in the form of external references, or may be external files such as blocks, Excel tables or pictures introduced in the form of insertion or other methods, and the reference condition includes a hiding layer operation instruction, a cropping area operation instruction, and a drawing filtering operation instruction, wherein the drawing filtering operation instruction is a custom reference condition added based on each element type and its characteristics in the referenced file ( Fig.16 ).

[0104] In a specific embodiment, the reference condition includes a hidden layer operation instruction, a crop region operation instruction, and / or a drawing filter operation instruction. The drawing filter operation instruction is a custom reference condition added based on each object type and its characteristics in the referenced file. Fig.16 ), that is, the user can select the objects in the referenced file that need to be hidden (i.e., filtered) or the objects that need to be referenced in a changed manner according to actual needs, and then select the corresponding reference method, for example, select an entity, and then choose to change the color of the entity to red, etc., or select an entity, and then choose to hide the entity; or select an entity, and then hide all elements except the entity and only display the entity. Specifically, the objects include various elements contained in the referenced file, and their types are varied, such as the walls, stoves, sinks, company logos, and tabulation instructions in a CAD drawing "Kitchen.dwx", as well as annotations such as size, model, or function; of course, other types can also be included.

[0105] BS42, references the corresponding referenced file according to the selected at least one reference rule file. Usually, if there is no special need, sometimes the current user can also directly apply the at least one reference rule file that the referenced file has been previously associated with, without adding new reference conditions to form a new reference rule file. Therefore, in this embodiment, once the current user selects at least one reference rule file that the referenced file has been previously associated with, the referenced file can be directly referenced according to the selected reference rule file.

[0106] B Invention Example 5: Based on the reference method of Example 4, B Invention also provides an external file reference device applied to a CAD system, which is described below in conjunction with specific drawings and embodiments. Fig.13 , the invention B is a functional module diagram of another embodiment of an external file referencing device applied to a CAD system. Specifically, the external file referencing device B500 in this embodiment includes: a reference rule file acquisition module B501, used to acquire at least one reference rule file associated with the referenced file; a second reference module B502, used to reference the referenced file according to at least one selected reference rule file.

[0107] Since a project is usually completed by collaboration among multiple disciplines, in the actual process, the current user usually introduces a referenced file through the CAD system, and the referenced file is pre-associated with at least one reference rule file, that is, when the current user introduces the referenced file, the reference rule file that has been pre-associated with the referenced file is also introduced and stored in the CAD system; therefore, when the current user introduces the referenced file, the reference rule file that has been pre-associated with the referenced file is obtained through the reference rule file acquisition module B501; and when the current user selects the corresponding reference rule file through the corresponding operation, the second reference module B502 references the referenced file according to the selected reference rule file.

[0108] In a specific embodiment, the reference rule file is generated in advance based on at least one reference condition added to the referenced file by other users, and is stored independently of the referenced file in an extensible file format. Specifically, the reference rule file is stored in XML format.

[0109] In a specific embodiment, the referenced file may be other CAD drawings introduced in the form of external references, or may be external files such as blocks, Excel tables or pictures introduced in the form of insertion or other methods, and the reference condition includes a hiding layer operation instruction, a cropping area operation instruction, and a drawing filtering operation instruction, wherein the drawing filtering operation instruction is a custom reference condition added based on each element type and its characteristics in the referenced file ( Fig.16 ).

[0110] In a specific embodiment, the reference condition includes a hidden layer operation instruction, a crop region operation instruction, and / or a drawing filter operation instruction. The drawing filter operation instruction is a custom reference condition added based on each object type and its characteristics in the referenced file. Fig.16), that is, the user can select the objects in the referenced file that need to be hidden (i.e., filtered) or the objects that need to be referenced in a changed manner according to actual needs, and then select the corresponding reference method, for example, select an entity, and then choose to change the color of the entity to red, etc.; or, select an entity, and then choose to hide the entity; or, select an entity, and then hide all elements except the entity and only display the entity. Specifically, the objects include various elements contained in the referenced file, and their types are varied, such as the walls, stoves, sinks, company logos, and tabulation instructions in a CAD drawing "Kitchen.dwx", as well as annotations such as size, model, or function; of course, other types can also be included.

[0111] In this embodiment, the storage module and the storage module in the above embodiment 3 may be the same storage medium or different storage media; accordingly, the reference module in this embodiment is the same as the reference module in the above embodiment 3. Of course, the reference device in this embodiment may also be integrated into the CAD system, that is, as a sub-function application of the CAD system.

[0112] B Invention Example 6: B Invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium. In this embodiment, the computer-readable storage medium can be a RAM memory, a flash memory, a ROM memory, an EPROM memory, an EEPROM memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art.

[0113] The computer-readable storage medium stores one or more programs, and the one or more programs can be executed by one or more processors to implement part or all of the steps in the above-mentioned embodiment 1 or the above-mentioned embodiment 3.

[0114] A computer-readable storage medium in this embodiment stores one or more external file reference programs to generate at least one reference rule file according to the reference rule file added to the referenced file, and store it in an extensible file format independently of the referenced file. Compared with the traditional method of storing the reference rules in the form of binary data in the dwg drawing file and closely integrating it with the drawing data, in this embodiment, when introducing the referenced file, any reference rule file can be specified according to actual needs, without repeatedly setting the reference conditions, which greatly improves work efficiency and ensures correctness; further, since the reference rule file is independent of the referenced file, in addition to the traditional layer filtering and clipping area filtering methods, a new reference method for graphic filtering can be added, so that the objects to be filtered and their filtering methods can be quickly selected according to the object types and characteristics in the drawing.

[0115] B Invention Embodiment 7: The implementation of the above-mentioned embodiments of B Invention is based on a computer terminal B600, which can be implemented in various forms. For example, mobile computer terminals such as mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, and PDAs, as well as fixed computer terminals such as digital TVs and desktop computers. In the description of this embodiment, a desktop computer will be used as an example. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the structure according to the implementation of B Invention can also be applied to mobile computer terminals.

[0116] See also Fig.14 , is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a computer terminal invented by B. The computer terminal B600 may include: a display unit B601, a user input unit B602, a memory B603, a processor B604, a computer-readable storage medium B605 and other components. Those skilled in the art can understand that Fig.14 The computer terminal structure shown in the figure does not constitute a limitation on the computer terminal. The computer terminal may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0117] Combine the following Fig.14 and Fig.15 The components of the computer terminal B700 are specifically introduced: the display unit B701 is used to display information input by the user or information provided to the user. The display unit B701 may include a display panel, which may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), etc.

[0118] The user input unit B702 may be used to receive input digital or character information, and to generate key signal input related to user settings and function control of the electronic device. Specifically, the user input unit B702 may include a keyboard, a mouse, and other input devices, such as a touch panel. The user input unit B702 may also include other input devices, such as one or more of function keys (such as volume control keys, switch keys, etc.), trackballs, joysticks, etc., which are not specifically limited here.

[0119] Furthermore, if a touch panel is used as an input unit, it can cover the display panel. When the touch panel detects a touch operation on or near it, it is transmitted to the processor B704 to determine the type of touch event. Then the processor B704 provides corresponding visual output on the display panel B701 according to the type of touch event. Fig.15In the figure, the touch panel and the display panel B701 are two independent components to realize the input and output functions of the mobile computer terminal B700, but in some embodiments, the touch panel and the display panel B701 can be integrated to realize the input and output functions of a desktop computer, which is not limited here.

[0120] The memory B703 is used to store software programs and various data. The memory B703 may mainly include a program storage area and a data storage area, wherein the program storage area may store an operating system, an application required for at least one function (e.g., a CAD application), etc.; the data storage area may store data created according to the use of the computer device (e.g., audio data, drawing data, reference rule files), etc. In addition, the memory B703 may include a high-speed random access memory, and may also include a non-volatile memory, such as at least one disk storage device, a flash memory device, or other volatile solid-state storage devices.

[0121] See also Fig.14 and Fig.15 In a specific embodiment, the computer-readable storage medium is a part of the memory, such as a program storage area. Of course, it can also be used as a storage unit alone, and the computer-readable storage medium includes a set of instructions. When at least one processor executes the set of instructions, it causes at least one processor to perform the following operations: generating at least one reference rule file independent of the referenced file according to at least one reference condition added by the referenced file, and storing it in an extensible format independently of the referenced file; and referencing the referenced file according to at least one selected reference rule file.

[0122] The processor B704 is the control center of the electronic device, which uses various interfaces and lines to connect various parts of the entire electronic device, and executes various functions of the computer and processes data by running or executing software programs and / or modules stored in the memory B704, and calling data stored in the memory B703, thereby monitoring the computer as a whole. The processor B704 may include one or more processing units; preferably, the processor B704 may integrate an application processor, which mainly processes the operating system, user interface, and application programs.

[0123] although Fig.14 and Fig.15 Not shown, the computer terminal B700 may also include a communication module, etc., which will not be described in detail here.

[0124] Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment method can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the invention B is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, disk, CD), including several instructions for a computer terminal (which can be a mobile phone, computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the invention B. The embodiments of the invention B are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the invention B is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation methods, which are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the enlightenment of the invention B, those skilled in the art can also make many forms without departing from the scope of protection of the invention B and the claims, all of which belong to the protection of the invention B.

[0125] C invention: hierarchical operating system, method, computer-readable storage medium and computer terminal referenced by a CAD system.

[0126] C invention relates to a hierarchical operation method referenced by a computer-aided design (CAD) system and its system, computer-readable storage medium, and terminal.

[0127] External Reference (XREF) means that in the CAD environment, users can use external references to see any other drawings in their current drawing file. For example, when designer A is drawing drawing a, he introduces a drawing b (or other formats, such as PDF or pictures, etc.) drawn by other designers into drawing a as a base map reference in the form of external reference. Among them, drawing b is the external file referenced by drawing a, that is, the external reference.

[0128] Collaborative design is a way of designing a project by collaborating on a shared server platform and using the external reference function of the CAD system. The files in the design process are split into several module files according to the design requirements of different disciplines and then assembled. In other words, multiple people in multiple locations work together to design a project. In the collaborative design process, designers of different disciplines will reference CAD drawings drawn by other designers, which results in various reference relationships. For example, when designer A draws drawing a, he uses drawing b drawn by designer B as a base map reference, and designer B's drawing b also references drawing c drawn by designer C, which forms a nested reference relationship.

[0129] However, designers of different professions often focus on different areas. Therefore, when there are complex reference relationships, the reference type can be specified as "overlay" or "attachment".

[0130] If the user selects "Overlay", then other external references nested in the external references referenced in the current drawing will not be displayed in the current drawing. For example, when designer A draws drawing a, he references drawing b and selects "Overlay reference", then the external reference c nested in drawing b will not be displayed in the current drawing a.

[0131] If the user selects "Additional Reference", then other external references nested in the external reference referenced in the current drawing will also be displayed in the current drawing. For example, when designer A draws drawing a, he references drawing b and selects "Additional Reference", then drawing a will display drawing b and the external reference drawing c nested in drawing b.

[0132] In actual engineering applications, once the type of external reference is specified, it is difficult to change the reference relationship between the external reference and other nested external references. For example, drawing b uses the "overlay" reference method to reference drawing c and the "additional" reference method to reference drawing d, and drawing a specifies the reference type of drawing b as "additional". At this time, drawing a displays both drawings b and drawing d, but drawing c is not displayed. If you want to display drawing c later, you can only start from the beginning, that is, first change the reference method of drawing b to reference drawing c (that is, change it to "additional"), and then reintroduce external reference b into drawing a.

[0133] Similarly, if you do not want to display drawing d later, you can only start from the beginning, that is, first change the reference method of drawing b to drawing d (that is, change it to "overlay type"), and then reintroduce external reference b into drawing a. Therefore, in traditional CAD systems, the operation of changing the reference type is very cumbersome and not flexible enough. In addition, the user of the current drawing may not have the necessary authority to change the reference method of the drawing he has selected for reference to other drawings - for example, when a HVAC engineer refers to a water supply and drainage drawing, he may not have the authority to change the reference method of the water supply and drainage drawing to the architectural drawing (the authority at this time belongs to the water supply and drainage engineer).

[0134] On the other hand, in a reference relationship with multiple levels of nested references, a file usually repeatedly references an external reference, such as drawing a repeatedly references two external reference drawings b, and drawing b references drawing c. Once drawing b is detached or uninstalled, the two drawings b repeatedly referenced in drawing a and drawing c in it will disappear, that is, each external reference cannot be operated independently, which has poor flexibility, is inconvenient for users to operate, and reduces work efficiency.

[0135] The purpose of the invention is to provide a new type of CAD system reference method, which can overcome or alleviate the above-mentioned defects of the external reference method in the existing CAD system to a certain extent.

[0136] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the invention discloses a hierarchical operation system referenced by a CAD system, which includes: a first file, including at least one first element; a second file, including at least one second element; the at least one first element is copied and superimposed in the second file; the at least one first element is associated with a first control point, and the first control point can be used to implement independent operations on the at least one first element. Further, the at least one second element is associated with a second control point, and the second control point can be used to implement independent operations on the at least one second element. Further, the at least one first element and the at least one second element are both copied and superimposed in a third file. Further, the first control point is set as a sub-control point of the second control point, and the second control point can be used to implement simultaneous operations on (i) the at least one second element and (ii) the at least one first element associated with the first control point. Further, the at least one first element and the at least one second element are both copied and superimposed in a third file.

[0137] Furthermore, a fourth file is also included, the fourth file includes at least one fourth element, the at least one fourth element is copied and superimposed on the second file, the at least one fourth element is associated with a fourth control point, and the at least one fourth element can be independently operated through the fourth control point. Furthermore, the first file and the fourth file are the same CAD drawing.

[0138] Further, the at least one first element is also directly associated with the second control point, and the at least one first element and the at least one second element can be operated simultaneously through the second control point. Further, the operation is display, hide, bind, detach, overload or unload. Further, the at least one first element and the at least one second element are entities, objects, blocks and / or groups on the CAD drawing.

[0139] In order to overcome and alleviate the defects of the external reference method in the existing CAD system, C invention also discloses a hierarchical operation method referenced by the CAD system, which includes the following steps: obtaining at least one first element from a first file; creating a first control point, associated with the at least one first element; copying and superimposing the at least one first element into a second file; and independently operating the at least one first element through the first control point.

[0140] Furthermore, the method also includes the following steps: obtaining at least one second element from a second file; creating a second control point and associating it with the at least one second element; copying and superimposing the at least one first element and the at least one second element into a third file; and independently operating the at least one second element through the second control point.

[0141] Furthermore, the method further includes the following steps: setting the first control point as a sub-control point of the second control point, and simultaneously operating (i) the at least one second element and (ii) the at least one first element associated with the first control point through the second control point.

[0142] Furthermore, the method also includes the following steps: obtaining at least one fourth element from a fourth file; creating a fourth control point associated with the at least one fourth element; copying and superimposing the at least one fourth element into the second file; and independently operating the at least one fourth element through the fourth control point.

[0143] Furthermore, the first file and the fourth file are the same CAD drawing.

[0144] Further, the method further comprises the following steps: directly associating the at least one first element with the second control point; and simultaneously operating the at least one first element and the at least one second element through the second control point. Further, the operation is display, hide, bind, detach, reload or unload. Further, the at least one first element is an entity, object, block and / or group on a CAD drawing.

[0145] In order to overcome and alleviate the defects of the external reference method in the existing CAD system, the invention C also discloses a hierarchical operating system referenced by the CAD system, see Fig.26 , which includes: a file storage module for storing a first file and a second file; an element acquisition module for acquiring at least one first element from the first file; a control point creation module for creating a first control point and associating it with the at least one first element; a copy and overlay module for copying and overlaying the at least one first element into the second file; and a control point operation module for independently operating the at least one first element associated with the first control point.

[0146] Furthermore, the element acquisition module acquires at least one second element from the second file; the control point creation module creates a second control point and associates it with the at least one second element; the copy and overlay module copies and overlays the at least one first element and the at least one second element into a third file, and the third file is stored in the file storage module; the control point operation module independently operates the at least one second element associated with the second control point.

[0147] Furthermore, the C invention also includes: a control point hierarchy construction module, used to set the first control point as a sub-control point of the second control point; the control point operation module realizes simultaneous operation of (i) the at least one second element and (ii) the at least one first element associated with the first control point by operating the second control point.

[0148] Furthermore, the element acquisition module acquires at least one fourth element from a fourth file, and the fourth file is stored in the file storage module; the control point creation module creates a fourth control point and associates it with the at least one fourth element; the copy and overlay module copies and overlays the at least one fourth element into the second file; and the control point operation module independently operates the at least one fourth element by operating the fourth control point.

[0149] Further, the first file and the fourth file are the same CAD drawing. Further, the C invention also includes: the control point creation module directly associates the at least one first element with the second control point; the control point operation module simultaneously operates the at least one first element and the at least one second element by operating the second control point. Further, the control point operation module can realize display, hiding, binding, detaching, overloading and / or unloading. Further, the at least one first element is an entity, object, block and / or group on the CAD drawing.

[0150] In order to overcome and alleviate the defects of the external reference method in the existing CAD system, C invention also discloses a computer-readable storage medium, which includes a set of instructions. When the instructions are executed, at least one processor is caused to perform the following operations: obtaining at least one first element from a first file; creating a first control point associated with the at least one first element; copying and superimposing the at least one first element into a second file; and independently operating the at least one first element through the first control point.

[0151] In order to overcome and alleviate the defects of the external reference method in the existing CAD system, C invention also discloses a computer-readable storage medium, which includes at least one processor and a computer-readable storage medium coupled to the processor, wherein the computer-readable storage medium includes a set of instructions, and when at least one processor executes the instructions, it causes at least one processor to perform the following operations: obtaining at least one first element from a first file; creating a first control point; associating with the at least one first element, copying and superimposing the at least one first element into a second file; and independently operating the at least one first element through the first control point.

[0152] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiment of the invention C clearer, the technical solution in the embodiment of the invention C will be described clearly and completely in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiment of the invention C. Obviously, the described embodiment is a part of the embodiment of the invention C, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiment of the invention C, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the invention C.

[0153] Example 1 of the invention of C; the steps of the invention of C are described by way of example. A, B, and C work together to draw the drawings of their respective divisions. When drawing, A needs to refer to the contents of B, and B needs to refer to the contents of C. A may not need to see the contents of C. The steps are as follows:

[0154] C draws the graphics (C106) and submits it to the server;

[0155] B downloads C's drawing (C106), and refers to C when drawing his own drawing (C104). The content of C (C106) will be copied and superimposed on B (C104).

[0156] A downloads B's drawing (C104), and when drawing his own drawing (C102), he refers to B (C104). The content of B (C104) will be copied and superimposed on A (C102).

[0157] At this point there is a nested relationship from A to B and then to C ( Fig.17a );

[0158] If A needs to see the content of C (C106), he can choose to expand the sub-references of B. C will copy the content of C (C106) and overlay it on A (C102). In this way, A (C102) can see the content of B (C104) and C (C106) at the same time.

[0159] If A does not need to see C (C106), he chooses to close the sub-reference of B, and C will delete the copy of C, so that A only sees the content of B (C104).

[0160] A(C108) can cite multiple copies of B( Fig.17b ), set to B1(C110) and B2(C114), closing the child C1(C112) of B1(C110) or closing B1(C110) itself will not affect the content display of B2(C114) and / or its child C2(C116), thus achieving a flexible display effect of multiple reference contents without interfering with each other.

[0161] C Invention Example 2: Simulate a usage scenario. The current working drawing is a.dwx (C400). We refer to two b.dwx (C300a and C300b) at different locations. The b.dwx file also refers to c.dwx (C200). The content of c is as follows Fig.18 The figure shown is a graph c (C202); the content of b is as follows Fig.19 The content of c plus the graphic b (C302) is shown; the content of a is as follows Fig. 20 The contents of two b are added to the figure a (C402), forming Fig.21 As shown in the tree relationship C500, when the CAD user temporarily does not want to see the content of one of the copies c (C202b), he can issue a command to the collaborative system to close the reference, and then the specified copy c (C202b) will disappear, and the content of a will become as follows Fig. 22 The content of b can also be closed. Each level can be controlled, and each reference can be controlled independently. The effect of closing b (C300a) after closing c (C202b) is as follows: Fig.23 shown.

[0162] In some embodiments, independent control is achieved through control points - for example, c(C202b) is associated with a control point, and this control point can achieve independent control of this set of elements by adding a unique tag to the elements in c.dwx(C200), or by extracting the common attributes of the elements in c.dwx(C200) (for example, all from the drawing c.dwx(C200)). In addition to the above two methods, other common control methods in CAD systems can also be applied in the C invention and fall within the scope covered by the C invention.

[0163] C Invention Example 3: In some embodiments, C Invention discloses a hierarchical display system referenced by a CAD graphics system, including: a first CAD drawing (e.g., HVAC drawing); a second CAD drawing (e.g., electrical drawing), the second CAD drawing is referenced by the first CAD drawing, the content of the second CAD drawing is copied and superimposed on the first CAD drawing, and can be displayed or hidden; a third CAD drawing (e.g., architectural drawing), the third CAD drawing is referenced by the second CAD drawing, the content of the third CAD drawing is copied and superimposed on the second CAD drawing, and can be displayed or hidden; the first CAD drawing references the second CAD drawing and indirectly references the third CAD drawing (i.e., forming a so-called nested relationship), the content of the third CAD drawing is also copied and superimposed on the first CAD drawing, and can also be displayed or hidden. In these embodiments, C Invention does not need to reinsert the reference, and can display and close the reference by simply clicking on the operation interface, without limiting the top-level reference to be operated, and the operation of each reference is independent, and the references to the same source reference can be controlled separately.

[0164] C Invention Example 4: In some embodiments, C Invention discloses a hierarchical operating system referenced by a CAD system, comprising: a first file, containing at least one first element; a second file, containing at least one second element; the at least one first element is copied and superimposed on the second file; the at least one first element is associated with a first control point, and independent operation of the at least one first element can be achieved through the first control point.

[0165] The difference between the C invention and the existing CAD drawing platform is that the content of the referenced CAD drawing (i.e., the "first file") (i.e., various CAD elements, such as entities, objects, blocks, and groups) is copied and superimposed on the current CAD drawing (i.e., the "second file"), and the copied and superimposed content is associated with the first control point, so it can be directly controlled by the user who edits the current CAD drawing - for example, one or more first elements extracted from the first file (for example, the drawing drawn by the construction engineer is the first file, and there are building walls on the drawing) can be displayed on the drawing drawn by the water supply and drainage engineer (the second file) through the first control point, or the building walls can be completely hidden.

[0166] Further, in some embodiments, one or more second elements (e.g., pipes, sinks) on the second file (e.g., water supply and drainage drawings) are associated with the second control point, and the water supply and drainage engineer can also control the one or more second elements through the second control point (display or hide water supply and drainage entities such as pipes and sinks). In this embodiment, because the first element (e.g., building entity) and the second element (e.g., water supply and drainage entity) on the second file are controlled by different control points, when the water supply and drainage engineer controls the display or hiding of the first element through the first control point, the second element on the second file is not affected. Similarly, when the water supply and drainage engineer controls the display or hiding of the second element through the second control point, the first element copied and superimposed on the second file is also unaffected. In other words, through the control point, the water supply and drainage engineer who draws the current CAD drawing can independently control and operate the water supply and drainage entities and / or objects drawn by himself, and can also independently control and operate the building entities and / or objects copied and superimposed from the building CAD drawing.

[0167] Further, in some embodiments, the first element (eg, architectural entity and / or object) and the second element (eg, water supply and drainage entity and / or object) are both copied and superimposed into a third file (eg, electrical CAD drawing).

[0168] As mentioned above, in the prior art, after CAD drawings are stacked and nested, it is very troublesome to switch between displaying the first element (i.e., selecting an additional reference between the first file and the second file) and hiding the first element (i.e., selecting an overlay reference between the first file and the second file). The reference type between the first file and the second file must be reset, and downstream engineers (e.g., electrical engineers in this embodiment) often do not have the authority to modify the reference type set by water supply and drainage engineers. This type of problem is particularly difficult in collaborative drawing engineering projects, because there may be many levels of CAD drawings, far more than the three-level stacking described in the embodiment here.

[0169] However, in the embodiment of the invention of C, because the first element is associated with the first control point, it can be independently displayed or hidden by operating the first control point. Therefore, when the electrical engineer wants to view the building wall, the first element can be displayed through the first control point, and when the electrical engineer only wants to see the water supply and drainage pipes, sinks and other elements, the first element can be completely hidden through the second control point. This avoids the trouble of resetting the reference relationship between the building drawings and the water supply and drainage drawings in the prior art, and improves the work efficiency during collaborative work.

[0170] In some embodiments, the first control point can be set as a sub-control point of the second control point, so that the second control point can be used to simultaneously operate (i) the at least one second element and (ii) the at least one first element associated with the first control point. In these embodiments, when the downstream electrical engineer copies and overlays the second element in the second file into the third file through the second control point, the first element is also copied and overlaid into the third file at the same time; and the downstream electrical engineer can simultaneously operate the first element (e.g., building entity) and the second element (e.g., water supply and drainage entity) through the second control point to display or hide the first element and the second element at the same time. Of course, if the downstream electrical engineer only wants to hide the building entity, it can also be achieved by operating the first control point alone without causing any impact on the display of the water supply and drainage entity.

[0171] In some embodiments, the hierarchical operating system referenced by the CAD system of the invention of C also includes a fourth file (e.g., HVAC CAD drawing), the fourth file contains at least one fourth element (e.g., HVAC entities and objects), the at least one fourth element is copied and superimposed into the second file, the at least one fourth element is associated with a fourth control point, and the at least one fourth element can be independently operated through the fourth control point. In these embodiments, the water supply and drainage engineer can control and operate the building elements and HVAC elements respectively through the first control point and the fourth control point. In other embodiments, the fourth file and the first file are a CAD drawing file, then the water supply and drainage engineer can also display or hide the building elements in different positions through the first control point and the fourth control point. In other words, the same CAD drawing can be repeatedly copied and superimposed into the upper-level CAD drawing, and their individual operation and control can also be achieved.

[0172] In some embodiments, unlike setting the first control point as a sub-control point of the second control point, the first element in the first file can be directly associated with the second control point, and the simultaneous operation of the first element and the second element can also be achieved. In other words, in these embodiments, the second control point is associated with the first element and the second element at the same time. When the downstream electrical engineer needs to display or hide the building element and the water supply and drainage element at the same time, it only needs to operate the second control point to complete it. Of course, if the downstream electrical engineer only needs to hide the building element, then it can be achieved by operating the first control point alone. At this time, only the building element is hidden, and the water supply and drainage element will not be affected.

[0173] In some embodiments, the operations may include, in addition to display and hide, binding, detaching, reloading or unloading.

[0174] In some embodiments, the at least one first element and the at least one second element are entities, objects, blocks and / or groups on a CAD drawing.

[0175] C Invention Example 5: In some embodiments, C Invention discloses a hierarchical operation method referenced by a CAD system, which includes the following steps: Fig.24 ):

[0176] CS101 obtains at least one first element from a first file,

[0177] CS102 creates a first control point associated with the at least one first element,

[0178] CS103 copies and superimposes the at least one first element into the second file,

[0179] CS104 independently operates the at least one first element through the first control point.

[0180] The difference between the C invention and the existing CAD drawing external reference method is that the content (i.e., various CAD elements, such as entities, objects, blocks, and groups) of the referenced CAD drawing (i.e., the "first file", such as the architectural CAD drawing) is copied and superimposed on the current CAD drawing (i.e., the "second file", such as the water supply and drainage CAD drawing). Moreover, the copied and superimposed content is associated with the first control point, so it can be directly controlled by the user who edits the current CAD drawing, that is, one or more first elements extracted from the first file (for example, the drawing drawn by the construction engineer is the first file, and there are building walls on the drawing) can be displayed on the drawing drawn by the water supply and drainage engineer (the second file) through the first control point, and the building walls can also be completely hidden.

[0181] In some embodiments, the operating method of the invention further comprises the following steps: Fig.25 ): CS105 obtains at least one second element from the second file; CS106 creates a second control point and associates it with the at least one second element; CS107 copies and overlays the at least one first element and the at least one second element into the third file; CS108 independently operates the at least one second element through the second control point.

[0182] In some embodiments, the operating method of the invention of C also includes the following steps: setting the first control point as a sub-control point of the second control point, and simultaneously operating (i) at least one second element and (ii) at least one first element associated with the first control point through the second control point.

[0183] In some embodiments, the operating method of the invention of C also includes the following steps: obtaining at least one fourth element from a fourth file; creating a fourth control point associated with the at least one fourth element; copying and superimposing the at least one fourth element into the second file; and independently operating the at least one fourth element through the fourth control point.

[0184] In some embodiments, the first file and the fourth file are the same CAD drawing. These embodiments actually reflect that a CAD file can be repeatedly referenced by another CAD file, but the CAD user can still achieve independent control over these multiple repeated references by setting different control points.

[0185] In some embodiments, the operating method of the invention of C also includes the following steps: directly associating the at least one first element with the second control point; and simultaneously operating the at least one first element and the at least one second element through the second control point. One of the applicable scenarios of these embodiments is that downstream HVAC engineers need to refer to both the building and electrical conditions when drawing, and do not need to look at the building or electrical layout separately. Therefore, the elements of the architectural drawings and electrical drawings are associated with the same control point, that is, multiple levels of elements can be switched on and off simultaneously through one control, which can improve the efficiency of CAD users drawing in this scenario. In some embodiments, the operation is display, hide, bind, detach, overload or unload. In some embodiments, the at least one first element is an entity, object, block and / or group on a CAD drawing.

[0186] C Invention Example 6: In some embodiments, C Invention discloses a hierarchical operating system C500 referenced by a CAD system, which includes: a file storage module C501, used to store a first file and a second file; an element acquisition module C502, used to acquire at least one first element from the first file; a control point creation module C503, used to create a first control point and associate it with the at least one first element; a copy and overlay module C504, used to copy and overlay the at least one first element into the second file; a control point operation module C505, used to independently operate the at least one first element associated with the first control point. In some embodiments, these modules can be placed independently or integrated together.

[0187] In some embodiments, the element acquisition module C502 acquires at least one second element from the second file; the control point creation module C503 creates a second control point and associates it with the at least one second element; the copy and overlay module C504 copies and overlays the at least one first element and the at least one second element into a third file, and the third file is stored in the file storage module C501; the control point operation module C505 independently operates the at least one second element associated with the second control point.

[0188] In some embodiments, the operating system of the invention of C also includes: a control point hierarchy construction module C506, used to set the first control point as a child control point of the second control point; the control point operation module C505 realizes simultaneous operation of (i) the at least one second element and (ii) the at least one first element associated with the first control point by operating the second control point.

[0189] In some embodiments, the element acquisition module C502 acquires at least one fourth element from a fourth file, and the fourth file is stored in the file storage module C501; the control point creation module C503 creates a fourth control point and associates it with the at least one fourth element; the copy and overlay module C504 copies and overlays the at least one fourth element into the second file; and the control point operation module C505 independently operates the at least one fourth element by operating the fourth control point.

[0190] In some embodiments, the first file and the fourth file are the same CAD drawing. In some embodiments, the control point creation module C503 directly associates the at least one first element with the second control point, and the control point operation module C505 simultaneously operates the at least one first element and the at least one second element by operating the second control point. In some embodiments, the control point operation module C505 can realize display, hiding, binding, detaching, overloading and / or unloading. In some embodiments, the at least one first element is an entity, object, block and / or group on the CAD drawing.

[0191] C invention embodiment six: In some embodiments, C invention discloses a computer-readable storage medium, which includes a set of instructions, which, when executed, cause at least one processor to perform operations including the following: obtaining at least one first element from a first file; creating a first control point associated with the at least one first element; copying and superimposing the at least one first element into a second file; and independently operating the at least one first element through the first control point.

[0192] C invention embodiment seven: In some embodiments, C invention discloses a computer terminal, comprising at least one processor, and a computer-readable storage medium coupled to the processor, wherein the computer-readable storage medium comprises a set of instructions, which, when the at least one processor executes the instructions, causes the at least one processor to perform operations comprising: obtaining at least one first element from a first file; creating a first control point associated with the at least one first element; copying and superimposing the at least one first element into a second file; and independently operating the at least one first element through the first control point.

[0193] Through the above embodiments, it can be seen that the C invention has at least the following technical advantages:

[0194] 1. Convenient and fast: When it is necessary to display or hide the CAD elements of the external reference due to actual needs, engineers do not need to reinsert the reference (for example, convert between overlay type and append type), but can simply click the corresponding control point in the CAD collaborative system operation interface to display and close the referenced content.

[0195] Existing CAD drawing platforms usually use external references, so the nested reference type (overlay reference or additional reference) cannot be easily modified after adding. Whether you want to hide the nested reference (i.e., change from additional type to overlay type) or show the nested reference (i.e., change from overlay type to additional type), you must open the referenced drawing to adjust the reference method of the nested reference.

[0196] The difference between the C invention and the existing CAD drawing platform is that the content of the referenced CAD drawing is copied and superimposed on the current CAD drawing, and the copying and superimposition can be directly controlled by the user editing the current CAD drawing. Therefore, when the CAD drawings are superimposed layer by layer to form a nested relationship, the user editing the current CAD drawing can control the display or hiding of the nested content by deciding whether to perform the copying and superimposition operation between the CAD drawings.

[0197] 2. Hierarchical operation: You can still operate on nested references at any level. You are not restricted to operating on the top-level references, nor do you need to operate on the end node of the path (i.e. Fig.25 C2 (C200, C200a, C200b), also called "leaf nodes"), starts to close layer by layer upwards.

[0198] 3. Each reference operation is independent, and references to the same source reference can be controlled individually, which solves the problem of external reference mode that all can be turned on and off at one time.

[0199] 4. The C invention allows collaborative design to avoid the problem of circular references to a certain extent - a graphic that contains nested references pointing to itself is called a circular reference. For example, graphic A is attached to graphic B, graphic B is attached to graphic C, and graphic C is attached to graphic A. The reference sequence A>B>C>A is a circular reference. The external reference method in the existing CAD system cannot handle the problem of circular references well - the "overlay type" directly avoids the circular situation (because C will not be displayed), and the cycle will be interrupted in the "attachment type". In the C invention, because the drawings of each level are independently controlled, for example, A referenced by C can be closed independently, so even if C circularly references A, there will be no problem - for example, when the HVAC drawing references the water supply and drainage drawing, and the water supply and drainage drawing references the architectural drawing, if the architectural drawing then circularly references the HVAC drawing, it is only necessary to set a sub-control point that controls the HVAC drawing under the control point of the architectural drawing. Therefore, the C invention can accept circular reference relationships.

[0200] The embodiments of the invention C are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the invention C is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation modes, which are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the inspiration of the invention C, ordinary technicians in this field can make many forms without departing from the purpose of the invention C and the scope of protection of the claims, all of which are within the protection of the invention C.

[0201] It should be noted that the four sub-inventions (901, 906, 907, 908) of the present invention are all part of the collaborative design system 900 of the present invention, are technically connected, and can be combined, combined, and integrated with each other according to actual needs, and can be adjusted and modified according to actual conditions during the combination, combination, and integration process ( Fig. 27 ).

[0202] For example, in some embodiments, the present invention provides a method for referencing external files in a CAD system, which includes the following steps: creating at least one first general reference rule file independent of a first referenced file based on at least one first reference condition, and independently storing it in an extensible file format; a first element of the first referenced file filtered and selected by the first general reference rule file is copied and superimposed on the current file, and the first element is associated with a first control point, and independent operations on the first element can be achieved through the first control point.

[0203] Now let's explain it in conjunction with an actual application scenario: an electrical engineer sets up a general reference rule file (referred to as "electrical reference rule.XML") for electrical drawings 914 on the terminal 911 of his CAD collaborative design system. When referencing the water supply and drainage reference drawing 913, the electrical engineer filters out the water supply and drainage CAD elements related to the electrical design, copies and overlays them into the electrical drawing 914 he is editing, and associates the water supply and drainage CAD elements with the water supply and drainage element control points, that is, the copied and overlaid water supply and drainage CAD elements can be independently operated through the water supply and drainage element control points (operation methods include, but are not limited to, display, hide, bind, detach, overload or unload). In these embodiments, electrical engineers can not only filter out CAD elements that are not related to electrical design when referencing (through electrical reference rule files), but can also flexibly control the display and hiding of the referenced content.

[0204] In some embodiments, the present invention also includes: using the first general reference rule file to filter the content of the second referenced file, copying and superimposing the second element selected by the filter into the current file, and associating the second element with a second control point, so that independent operation of the second element can be achieved through the second control point.

[0205] Similarly, combined with the scenario description: In addition to referencing the water supply and drainage drawing 913, electrical engineers may also need to refer to the HVAC drawing (i.e., the second referenced file). Because the electrical reference rule file is independently stored and expandable in the present invention, electrical engineers can apply the same electrical reference rule file (or modify it) to the HVAC drawing, filter out the HVAC CAD elements related to the electrical design, and copy and overlay them on the current electrical CAD drawing. The filtered HVAC CAD elements are set to be associated with the HVAC control point, that is, the copied and overlaid HVAC CAD elements can be independently operated through the HVAC element control point (operation methods include, but are not limited to, display, hide, bind, detach, overload or unload).

[0206] Because different control points are set, operations on water supply and drainage elements and HVAC elements can be performed independently.

[0207] In some embodiments, the first referenced file contains a third element copied and superimposed from a third referenced file; the third element is filtered and selected from the third referenced file through the first general reference rule file, copied and superimposed to the first referenced file; the third element is associated with a third control point, and independent operation of the third element can be achieved through the third control point.

[0208] Similarly, in combination with the scenario explanation: the electrical engineer references the water supply and drainage drawing 913 and actually also references the architectural drawing 912 (i.e., a nested relationship is created). The electrical reference rule file designed by the electrical engineer is actually shared with him by the water supply and drainage engineer. When the water supply and drainage engineer draws the water supply and drainage drawing 913 on his terminal 910 and references the architectural drawing 912, the reference rules used are actually the same. The filtered and selected architectural elements are set to be associated with the architectural element control points, that is, the architectural CAD elements copied and superimposed on the electrical drawings can be independently operated through the architectural element control points (operation methods include, but are not limited to, display, hide, bind, detach, overload or unload).

[0209] In some embodiments, the present invention also includes the following steps: obtaining a fourth referenced file, wherein the fourth referenced file is modified based on the first referenced file, and the changes between the fourth referenced file and the first referenced file are filtered and selected by the first general reference rule file to obtain relevant change elements, and the relevant change elements are copied and superimposed on the current file, and the relevant change elements and the first elements are respectively presented in the current file in different display modes.

[0210] Similarly, the scenario description is combined with the following: the water supply and drainage drawings cited by the electrical engineer were modified by the water supply and drainage engineer on his own computer terminal 910, and a new version of the water supply and drainage drawings was generated. The collaborative design system prompted the electrical engineer that the water supply and drainage drawings had changed, so the electrical engineer downloaded the new version of the water supply and drainage drawings (i.e., the fourth referenced file) from the server. The collaborative design system discovered the changed CAD elements by comparing the old and new versions of the water supply and drainage drawings. Some of these changed CAD elements are related to the electrical engineer's design, while some are not. Therefore, these changed elements can also be filtered through the electrical reference rule file (for example, filtering according to the information in its attributes), and then the relevant changed elements are copied and superimposed on the electrical drawings. These changed elements are displayed in an easily identifiable manner (for example, different colors and styles), so that the electrical engineer can clearly see the changes in the water supply and drainage drawings, and can continue to edit his own electrical drawings accordingly.

[0211] In some embodiments, the current file is edited while referring to the related change elements. Because the related change elements are copied and superimposed on the current electrical drawings, electrical engineers can continue to modify their own electrical drawings while referring to the changes in the water supply and drainage drawings on the same operation interface.

[0212] In some embodiments, a data summary file is generated based on the current file after editing, and detailed information of incremental data generated after editing of the current file is saved in an incremental database. The data summary file includes the saving path of the incremental data detailed information in the incremental database.

[0213] Similarly, in combination with the scenario description: after the electrical engineer has edited his own electrical drawing 914, he can submit his own electrical drawing 914 to the timeline storage device in the server. The timeline storage device compares the electrical drawings before and after the electrical engineer's modification, saves the changes therein in the form of incremental data into the incremental database, and forms a new data summary file and the associated restore point 904.

[0214] The restore point 904 is located on the timeline 903, which is the global timeline of the collaborative design project in which the electrical engineer participates (i.e., each restore point contains all CAD files related to the project at that time point), and the base restore point is 905, which contains the electrical drawings drawn by the electrical engineer at the earliest time. If the electrical engineer needs to view the drawings drawn at the earliest time, he only needs to obtain the data summary file from the restore point, and the detailed information of the CAD elements recorded in the data summary file can be obtained from the incremental database, so as to quickly and accurately restore and generate the electrical CAD drawings drawn by him at the earliest time.

[0215] Of course, in different embodiments, the specific implementation may vary - for example, the computer terminal where an electrical engineer works can identify the differences between the old and new versions of electrical drawings, and upload detailed information on the incremental data corresponding to the differences to the incremental database in the server, reducing the pressure of data transmission.

[0216] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprises a ..." does not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the element.

[0217] Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, a magnetic disk, or an optical disk), and includes a number of instructions for a computer terminal (which can be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present invention.

[0218] The embodiments of the present invention are described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned specific implementation modes, which are merely illustrative rather than restrictive. Under the guidance of the present invention, ordinary technicians in this field can also make many forms without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention and the claims, all of which are within the protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for referencing external files in a CAD system, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: At least one first universal reference rule file independent of the referenced file is created according to at least one reference condition and stored independently in an extensible file format; at least one referenced file is referenced according to at least one selected first universal reference rule file.

2. The citation method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first general reference rule file is obtained by expanding the second general reference rule file sent by the collaborating party, and the second general rule file is created according to at least one reference condition selected by the collaborating party; And / or, the reference rule file is stored in XML (Extensible Markup Language) format; And / or, the reference condition includes a layer filtering operation instruction, a clipping area filtering operation instruction, and / or a drawing filtering operation instruction.

3. The citation method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The drawing filtering operation instruction is a custom reference condition added based on each object type and its characteristics in the referenced file.

4. A method for referencing external files in a CAD system, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Acquire at least one third general reference rule file sent by the collaborating party; Referencing at least one referenced file according to the selected at least one third universal reference rule file; The third general reference rule file is created in advance according to at least one reference condition selected by the collaborating party and is independently stored in an extensible file format.

5. The quoting method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The reference rule file is stored in XML (Extensible Markup Language) format; and / or the reference condition includes layer filtering operation instructions, clipping area filtering operation instructions, and / or drawing filtering operation instructions.

6. The citation method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The drawing filtering operation instruction is a custom reference condition added based on each object type and its characteristics in the referenced file.

7. An external file reference device applied to a CAD system, characterized in that: include: A reference rule file creation module, used to create at least one first universal reference rule file independent of the referenced file according to at least one reference condition, and store the file independently in an extensible file format; A first storage module, used for storing at least one of the first universal reference rule files created by the reference rule file creation module; The first quoting module is used to quote at least one of the cited files according to the selected at least one of the first general quoting rule files.

8. The external file referencing device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The first general reference rule file is obtained by the reference rule file creation module by expanding the second general reference rule file sent by the collaborative party, and the second general rule file is created according to at least one reference condition selected by the collaborative party; And / or, the reference rule file is stored in XML (Extensible Markup Language) format.

9. The external file referencing device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The reference conditions include layer hiding operation instructions, clipping area hiding operation instructions, and / or drawing filtering operation instructions.

10. The external file referencing device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The drawing filtering operation instruction is a custom reference condition added based on each object type and its characteristics in the referenced file.

11. An external file reference device applied to a CAD system, characterized in that: include: An acquisition module, used for acquiring at least one second general rule file sent by a collaborative party; A second quoting module, used for quoting at least one cited file according to at least one selected second general quoting rule file; The second general reference rule file is created in advance according to at least one reference condition added by the collaborating party, and is independently stored in an extensible file format.

12. The external file referencing device according to claim 11, characterized in that: The reference rule file is stored in XML (Extensible Markup Language) format; and / or the reference condition includes a hiding layer operation instruction, a cropping area operation instruction, and a filtering drawing operation instruction.

13. The external file referencing device according to claim 12, characterized in that: The drawing filtering operation instruction is a custom reference condition added based on each element type and its characteristics in the referenced file.

14. A method for referencing external files in a CAD system, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Creating at least one first universal citation rule file independent of the first cited file according to at least one first citation condition, and storing the file independently in an extensible file format; The first element filtered and selected by the first general reference rule file in the first referenced file is copied and superimposed into the current file, and the first element is associated with the first control point, and the first element can be independently operated through the first control point.

15. The method for referencing external files in a CAD system according to claim 14, characterized in that: Also includes: Using the first general reference rule file to filter the content of the second referenced file, copying and superimposing the second element selected by the filtering into the current file, and associating the second element with a second control point, so that the second element can be independently operated through the second control point; Alternatively, the first referenced file contains a third element copied and superimposed from a third referenced file; the third element is filtered and selected from the third referenced file through the first general reference rule file and copied and superimposed to the first referenced file; the third element is associated with a third control point, and the third element can be independently operated through the third control point; Alternatively, a fourth referenced file is obtained, wherein the fourth referenced file is modified based on the first referenced file, and the changes between the fourth referenced file and the first referenced file are filtered and selected by the first general reference rule file to obtain relevant change elements, which are copied and superimposed on the current file, and the relevant change elements and the first elements are presented in the current file in different display modes.

16. The method for referencing external files in a CAD system according to claim 15, characterized in that: The current file is edited while referring to the related changed elements.

17. The method for referencing external files in a CAD system as claimed in claim 16, characterized in that: A data summary file is generated based on the current file after editing, and detailed information of incremental data generated after editing the current file is saved in an incremental database. The data summary file includes a saving path of the incremental data detailed information in the incremental database.

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