Method, system for viewing reference changes in editable environment of cad drawings

Abstract

The application relates to a method for viewing reference changes of CAD drawings in an editable environment, which is characterized by the following steps: S101, acquiring a first file and a second file; S102, the first file referencing the second file, and superimposing a first element on the second file into the first file; S103, acquiring a third file; S104, acquiring a first change element of the third file compared with the second file; and S105, superimposing the first change element into the first file. The application enables CAD drawing users to view the update of the referenced drawings while continuing to edit the current CAD drawings, thereby solving the technical problem that in the prior CAD system, the changes of the referenced drawings need to be displayed and viewed outside the current CAD drawings, and then the current CAD drawings are returned to continue editing, and improving the convenience and efficiency of CAD collaborative design.

Description

[0001] Priority application

[0002] This application claims priority to four Chinese invention patent applications filed on July 16, 2018: (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 CAD graphics in an editable drawing environment”, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0003] This invention relates to a method and system for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings within an editable environment in a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) collaborative design system. Background Technology

[0004] CAD collaborative design projects have three main characteristics: First, they involve multiple disciplines, numerous graphic files, and complex reference relationships between these files; second, the drawing files have complex formats, are mostly binary data, and exhibit significant randomness; and third, the file sizes are large, ranging from a few MB to hundreds of MB, and with advancements in computer hardware technology, file sizes may increase further in the future. Especially during the collaborative design process, engineers from different disciplines need to constantly refer to each other's CAD drawings to create their own (for example, a plumbing engineer referring to an architectural engineer's ongoing, unfinished architectural drawings when creating plumbing CAD drawings). References between collaborating parties can be multi-layered (for example, HVAC drawings refer to electrical drawings, electrical drawings refer to plumbing drawings, and plumbing drawings refer to architectural drawings). Furthermore, the drawing process often requires repeated revisions and careful selection between different versions.

[0005] Traditional CAD systems suffer from numerous drawbacks in file management, transmission, and storage, as well as in file referencing functions (e.g., external references). For example, CAD file storage and transmission involve large volumes of data and are inefficient, making it inconvenient for CAD users to view versions of CAD files created and edited at different times. Furthermore, limitations imposed by the characteristics of external reference methods lead to a series of problems: (i) the filtering methods for referencing external files in the current CAD drawing are limited, making it difficult to accurately focus on the elements most relevant to the current user; (ii) nesting relationships are difficult to handle conveniently, with cumbersome switching between "overlay" and "attached" nesting modes; and (iii) changes to the content of referenced drawings cannot be viewed while editing the current CAD drawing, requiring cumbersome switching between the editing interface and the change viewing interface. All of these negatively impact the efficiency of collaborative CAD design and even pose a risk of causing chaos in collaborative design projects. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this invention provides a novel CAD collaborative design system, comprising 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.

[0007] This invention first discloses a timeline management system (and method, computer storage medium, and computer terminal) for CAD files, comprising: a first data digest file and an incremental database; the first data digest file includes a first data item index table and first data summary information; the incremental database stores first detailed data information corresponding to the first data summary information; the first data item index table is used to search for the first detailed data information corresponding to the first data summary information in the incremental database; and the data digest file is associated with a first restoration point. This invention uses a data digest file and an incremental database for CAD file management, which can reduce the amount of data transmitted 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 digest file.

[0008] In another aspect, this invention also discloses a method, device, computer-readable storage medium, and computer terminal for referencing external files in a CAD system. The referencing method 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. This invention uses reference rule files independent of the referenced file, which not only allows users to reuse them and avoids repeatedly setting reference conditions, but also improves the efficiency and accuracy of collaborative drawing operations.

[0009] On the other hand, this invention also discloses a hierarchical operating system (and method, computer storage medium, computer terminal) 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 being copied and superimposed onto the second file; the at least one first element being associated with a first control point, through which independent operation of the at least one first element can be realized. This invention solves the problem in existing CAD systems where external reference methods are difficult to convert nested content display modes (i.e., in overlay and appendage types), allowing CAD users to conveniently and quickly select to show or hide nested content, making multi-level drawing references / references more convenient and faster, and improving work efficiency during collaborative CAD drawing design.

[0010] On the other hand, the present invention also discloses a method (and system, computer storage medium, computer terminal) for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment, comprising the following steps: DS101 acquiring a first file and a second file; DS102 the first file referencing the second file, and overlaying a first element from the second file onto the first file; DS103 acquiring a third file; DS104 acquiring the third file and comparing it with the first changed element of the second file; and DS105 overlaying the first changed element onto the first file as well. This invention allows CAD drawing users to view the updates of referenced drawings while continuing to edit the current CAD drawing, thereby solving the technical problem in existing CAD systems that requires displaying and viewing changes to referenced drawings outside the current CAD drawing before returning to the current CAD drawing for further editing, thus improving the convenience and efficiency of collaborative CAD design.

[0011] Compared with traditional CAD systems, the CAD collaborative design system provided by this invention allows CAD files to be stored chronologically, and versions created, modified, and updated at different times can be easily and quickly restored and viewed. By using summary files and incremental databases, the amount of data transmission is reduced, while ensuring the accuracy of file restoration, thus improving the efficiency of the entire CAD system in file management.

[0012] The new referencing method not only allows CAD engineers to easily filter the content of referenced files, but also enables them to share their own referencing rules with other collaborators. The multi-level display method avoids many problems caused by nested external references, increasing the flexibility when referencing external files. Finally, by copying and overlaying the referenced content (which can be filtered and selectively displayed) onto the currently edited CAD file, this invention achieves simultaneous editing of the current file and viewing changes of the referenced content within the same interface, making collaborative work more convenient and efficient. Attached Figure Description

[0013] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. In all the drawings, similar elements or parts are generally identified by similar reference numerals. The elements or parts in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of sub-inventions A, B, C, and D of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative effort.

[0014] Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the method for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings within an editable drawing environment according to the present invention.

[0015] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a CAD drawing drawn in embodiment B of the present invention;

[0016] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a CAD drawing drawn by A with reference to B in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the modified CAD drawing in embodiment B of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 5 This is an interface diagram of A viewing, editing, and B modifying graphics in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a drawing of A based on the modified CAD drawing of B in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 7a This is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the method for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings within an editable drawing environment according to the present invention.

[0021] Figure 7b This is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of the method for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings within an editable drawing environment according to the present invention.

[0022] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a system embodiment for viewing reference changes in CAD graphics within an editable drawing environment, as per the present invention.

[0023] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the CAD collaborative design system of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0024] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0025] In this document, suffixes such as "module," "part," or "unit" used to denote elements are used only for the purpose of illustrative purposes and have no specific meaning in themselves. Therefore, "module," "part," or "unit" may be used interchangeably.

[0026] It should be noted that the various sub-inventions (Invention A, Invention B, Invention C, and Invention D) in this invention can be combined to derive other technical solutions, solve more technical problems, and produce more technical effects. Therefore, the descriptions of the various sub-inventions in this document can mutually corroborate, explain, illustrate, combine, and integrate. For example, some embodiments of Invention B, Invention C, and Invention D can be combined to form a more efficient and convenient technical solution for referencing external documents. The combination of Invention A and other sub-inventions allows for more efficient storage and sharing of edited CAD files with collaborating parties.

[0027] However, the descriptions of the various sub-inventions in this document may involve some identical or similar terms. If these identical or similar terms conflict or contradict each other in understanding and meaning, then the understanding and meaning of these terms in the description of their respective sub-inventions shall prevail. For example, terms such as "first document," "second document," and "referenced document" may appear in different sub-inventions. In this case, the "first document" in Invention B shall be interpreted according to its meaning in Invention B, and the "first document" in Invention C shall be interpreted according to its meaning in Invention C.

[0028] Definition of noun:

[0029] “Entity”: In this document, an entity refers to graphic data in 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 the entity or element (such as visibility, color, and line style). In different implementations, an entity may also be referred to as a “graphic element” or “graphic primitive.”

[0030] "Object": In this article, an object refers to information in a CAD file that is not displayed on the CAD drawing interface, such as layers, text styles, and dimension styles. In this article, "style" refers to a set of named attributes used to categorize and define specific geometric and text elements (such as line styles or text styles).

[0031] “Element”: In this article, an element refers to all possible information on a CAD file, including “entities” and “objects”, and can also be block, group, and cell definitions based on “entities” and / or “objects”.

[0032] "File": In this article, "file" refers to any type of file that can run in a CAD system and is used for drawing, editing, modifying, saving, and viewing 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.

[0033] "Collaborators": In this article, collaborators refer to users who participate in a drawing project together and work collaboratively. Collaborators may have the same profession (e.g., multiple architectural engineers drawing together) or different professions (e.g., architectural engineers, plumbing engineers, electrical engineers, and HVAC engineers drawing together). Collaborators refer to each other's drawings.

[0034] "Control point": In this paper (especially for the C invention), a control point refers to an abstract description of a set of operation elements (including entities, objects, blocks, and groups), similar to the concept of a handle. A control point allows for quick location of this set, enabling the execution of a series of operations on the elements within that set. Of course, in some special cases, a group / set may contain only one operation element. Furthermore, in this paper, being "associated" with a control point means being controlled by that control point; through the control point, one can manipulate the operation objects associated with it.

[0035] Invention D: A method, system, computer-readable storage medium, and computer terminal for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment.

[0036] Invention D relates to a method, system, computer-readable storage medium, and computer terminal for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment.

[0037] When multiple people collaborate on a project, they are not completely independent; there are always references between them. They build upon the work of others while simultaneously providing references for others. Furthermore, a meaningful design outcome is rarely achieved in one go; it involves numerous revisions and gradual refinement. This leads to an important step in collaborative work: updating the modified CAD drawings of others (i.e., referenced files) to synchronize with the latest results and ensure subsequent design work remains accurate. However, updates often reveal significant changes. If these changes affect one's own work, it's crucial to pinpoint the specific modifications and adapt one's work accordingly, which consumes considerable time and effort.

[0038] While traditional CAD drawing platforms typically include drawing comparison tools, these tools require users to save both old and new versions of the CAD drawing. The comparison tool then loads both versions, and the differences are displayed in the drawing area. This approach presents several technical problems. In collaborative drawing on existing CAD platforms, referencing other users' CAD drawings typically uses external references (XREF). For example, if A references B, and B is modified and saved as a new version B', A will directly see the latest version of B (B') after updating the reference. The old version B will no longer be displayed. Therefore, if A wants to see the changes from B to B', it must manually save an old version of B for comparison each time it is prompted to update. The comparison process involves using a tool to compare the old version B with the new version B' (e.g., AutoCAD's "DWG Comparison" tool), but this comparison occurs outside of A's own CAD drawing. For instance, AutoCAD creates a new drawing containing the comparison results, with the comparison image name being a combination of the comparison drawing filenames, such as Compare_filename1 and filename2.dwg. Therefore, A's own CAD drawings are no longer visible at this point. Even if A discovers that B's modifications have affected its own design, A can only write down the changes and then open its own CAD drawings to make the corresponding modifications.

[0039] This traditional method of comparing referenced files to view modifications to referenced files is difficult to quickly locate when updating the content of referenced files. Each version of the referenced file needs to be maintained by the user, and when viewing changes to external referenced files, the content of one's own CAD drawing cannot be seen, which is not conducive to efficient collaborative work.

[0040] The purpose of this invention is to provide a new way to edit and view changes in a CAD system, attempting to overcome or alleviate, to some extent, the technical problem that editing and viewing changes cannot be performed simultaneously in existing CAD systems.

[0041] To achieve the above objective, D invention discloses a method for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment, which includes the following steps: DS101 acquiring a first file and a second file; DS102 the first file referencing the second file, and overlaying a first element from the second file onto the first file; DS103 acquiring a third file; DS104 acquiring the third file and comparing it with the first changed element of the second file; and DS105 overlaying the first changed element onto the first file as well.

[0042] Furthermore, on the first document, the first element superimposed is displayed in a first display mode; and the first changed element superimposed is displayed in a second display mode.

[0043] Furthermore, in the first document, 1) elements common to both the second and third documents are displayed in a first style; 2) elements existing only in the second document are displayed in a second style; and 3) elements existing only in the third document are displayed in a third style.

[0044] Furthermore, the invention also includes: editing the first document and drawing a second element on the first document.

[0045] Furthermore, the invention also includes: DS106 acquiring a fourth document; DS107 acquiring a second variation element of the fourth document compared with the third document; and DS108 superimposing the second variation element onto the first document.

[0046] Furthermore, the superimposed second changed element is displayed on the first document in a third display mode.

[0047] Furthermore, the first changing element includes one or more of adding, deleting, and modifying elements.

[0048] Furthermore, the first change element is based on incremental data from the third file compared to the second file.

[0049] Furthermore, the second document and the third document are different versions of the same CAD drawing.

[0050] Furthermore, the invention also includes storing the first file, the second file, and the third file.

[0051] To overcome or alleviate the technical problem that editing and viewing changes cannot be performed simultaneously in existing CAD systems, the invention also discloses a system D500 for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment. This system includes: a file acquisition module D501, an element acquisition module D502, a copy overlay module D504, and an update monitoring module D507. The file acquisition module D501 is configured to acquire a first file and a second file. The element acquisition module D502 is connected to the file acquisition module D501 and is configured to acquire a first element from the second file. The copy overlay module D504 is connected to the element acquisition module D502 and is configured to overlay the first element onto the first file. The update monitoring module D507 is connected to the file acquisition module D501 and is configured to prompt the file acquisition module D501 to acquire a third file, and compare the second file and the third file to identify the first changed element. The element acquisition module D501 is connected to the update monitoring module D507, acquires the first changed element, and overlays the first changed element onto the first file via the copy overlay module D504.

[0052] Furthermore, the invention also includes a display control module D508, which displays the superimposed first element in a first display mode and displays the superimposed first changed element in a second display mode.

[0053] Furthermore, the invention also includes a display control module D508, which, on the first file, 1) displays elements common to both the second file and the third file in a first style; 2) displays elements existing only in the second file in a second style; and 3) displays elements existing only in the third file in a third style.

[0054] Furthermore, the invention also includes a document editing module D509 for editing the first document and drawing a second element on the first document.

[0055] Furthermore, the file acquisition module D501 is configured to acquire a fourth file; the update monitoring module D507 is configured to compare the third file and the fourth file, discover a second changed element, and overlay the second changed element onto the first file through the copy overlay module D504.

[0056] Furthermore, on the first document, the display control module D508 displays the superimposed second changing element in a third display mode.

[0057] Furthermore, the first changing element includes one or more of adding, deleting, and modifying elements.

[0058] Furthermore, the first change element is based on incremental data from the third file compared to the second file.

[0059] Furthermore, the second document and the third document are different versions of the same CAD drawing.

[0060] Furthermore, the invention also includes a file storage module configured to store the first file, the second file, and the third file.

[0061] To overcome or alleviate the technical problem that editing and viewing changes cannot be performed simultaneously in existing CAD systems, the invention also discloses a computer-readable storage medium for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment. The computer-readable storage medium includes a set of instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to perform the following operations: DS101 acquires a first file and a second file; DS102 the first file references the second file, and a first element from the second file is superimposed onto the first file; DS103 acquires a third file; DS104 acquires the third file and compares it with the first changed element of the second file; and DS105 also superimposes the first changed element onto the first file.

[0062] To overcome or alleviate the technical problem that editing and viewing changes cannot be performed simultaneously in existing CAD systems, the invention also discloses a computer terminal for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment. This terminal includes at least one processor and a computer-readable storage medium coupled to the processor. The computer-readable storage medium includes a set of instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the processor to perform the following operations: DS101 acquires a first file and a second file; DS102 the first file references the second file, and a first element from the second file is superimposed onto the first file; DS103 acquires a third file; DS104 acquires the third file and compares it with a first changed element from the second file; and DS105 also superimposes the first changed element onto the first file.

[0063] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of Invention D clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of Invention D will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of Invention D. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of Invention D without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of Invention D.

[0064] Embodiment 1 of Invention D

[0065] like Figure 1 As shown, the method for viewing reference changes in a CAD drawing within an editable drawing environment includes the following steps:

[0066] For ease of description, the current drafter is designated as A, and the referenced party as B;

[0067] B draws its own drawing (DS01), submits the drawing to the server (DS02), and the server records a version B1 (DS03);

[0068] When A draws his own drawings and references B's work, the reference process will copy and overlay B's content onto A's drawings. A can refer to B's content when drawing his own drawings (DS04).

[0069] B modifies his / her drawings and resubmits them to the server (DS05). The server records the second version B2 (DS06).

[0070] When A updates the referenced drawing, A will see the latest status of drawing B (DS07).

[0071] When A views the changes, the system compares the first and second versions (i.e., B1 versus B2), analyzes and obtains the incremental data of the two versions, and these added, deleted and modified objects are overlaid in different colors in the drawing interface of A's graph (DS08); A can see and modify its own content while viewing these differences (DS09).

[0072] Embodiment 2 of Invention D

[0073] Simulate an application scenario of invention D, where two CAD users, A and B, collaborate. A draws file a.dwx, and B draws file b.dwx. A references / references B's work by drawing an outer frame to enclose B's content, such as... Figure 3 As shown, the current status of b.dwx is as follows: Figure 2As shown, circle D202 and square frame D204 are both contents of b.dwx. A draws a bounding frame D302 around them. It's important to note that A cannot modify the contents of the referenced b.dwx file at this point; that is, circle D202 and square frame D204 within frame D302 cannot be modified, as they are referenced content. For example, downstream water supply and drainage engineers can only refer to the architectural CAD drawings created by upstream building engineers to create their own water supply and drainage drawings, and typically do not have permission to modify or adjust the building engineers' drawings.

[0074] At this point, B modified the b.dwx file in his CAD terminal, drew a new line D406, and moved the position of circle D202 (the circle in the new position is marked as D202a). B then submitted the changes and saved them on the server. The b.dwx file now looks like this: Figure 4 As shown. At this point, A is prompted by the system to update (for example, A receives a notification message on their CAD terminal). After updating, A wants to see what changes were made to B in this update and whether it will affect the drawing A is currently creating. In the embodiment of invention D, A does not need to search for the previous version of b.dwx. When A uses the graphical interface to view the changes, the system compares the incremental data between the old and new versions, and then overlays the added, deleted, and modified content in different colors (or other different forms, such as dashed lines or bold lines) onto the current drawing area. While viewing the changes in b.dwx, A can continue to edit and modify their own drawing content.

[0075] The system displays examples, for instance. Figure 5 As shown, in the actual operating system, different colors can be used to mark newly added content (e.g., newly added line D406) and modified content (e.g., circle D202a that has been moved). A specific interface provides a list of all modifications (e.g., the list on the left). Clicking on an item in the list allows precise location of that graphic, making it convenient to view changes when there are many. While viewing these changes, the wireframe D302 drawn by A is clearly displayed on A's current CAD drawing and can be directly modified. This provides an editable environment for the current drawing while allowing viewing of changes in referenced drawings. In this simulation scenario, A enlarges the wireframe D302 to frame the newly added line D406 and the moved circle D202a, resulting in the modification effect shown below. Figure 6 As shown.

[0076] Embodiment 3 of the Invention

[0077] Invention D discloses a method for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment, which includes the following steps ( Figure 7aDS101: Obtain a first file and a second file; DS102: The first file references the second file, and the first element of the second file is superimposed on the first file; DS103: Obtain a third file; DS104: Obtain the third file and compare it with the first changed element of the second file; and DS105: Superimpose the first changed element on the first file as well.

[0078] In some embodiments, the first element superimposed on the first file is displayed in a first display mode; and the first variable element superimposed on the first file is displayed in a second display mode. Depending on the application scenario, the first display and the second display mode may use different colors, different line styles (e.g., solid / dark, thick / thin), and different highlighting methods (e.g., the variable element can be made semi-transparent or in watermark mode).

[0079] In some embodiments, on the first file, elements common to the second file and the third file are displayed in a first style; elements that exist only in the second file are displayed in a second style; and elements that exist only in the third file are displayed in a third style.

[0080] Please note that different terms are used here to refer to display methods, such as "Display Method X" and "Style X Display". This is mainly to facilitate the distinction between different display systems in different embodiments. In the embodiments of Invention D, the selection of display method is mainly to facilitate users to clearly view the changes in the content of the referenced document. Any display method that can achieve this purpose in a CAD system can be applied to Invention D and should be within the protection scope of Invention D.

[0081] In some embodiments, the invention further includes: editing the first document and drawing a second element on the first document.

[0082] In some embodiments, the invention further includes the following steps ( Figure 7b DS106 obtains the fourth file; DS107 obtains the second changed element of the fourth file compared with the third file; DS108 superimposes the second changed element onto the first file.

[0083] In some embodiments, the D invention displays the superimposed second variation element on the first document in a third display mode.

[0084] In some embodiments, the first changing element includes an adding element (e.g., adding a CAD entity line on the referenced drawing), a deleting element (e.g., deleting a CAD entity line on the referenced drawing), and one or more modifying elements (e.g., moving, lengthening, shortening, rotating, or curving a CAD entity line on the referenced CAD drawing).

[0085] In some embodiments, the first variation element is based on incremental data of the third file compared to the second file. In some embodiments, the second file and the third file are different versions of the same CAD drawing. In some embodiments, the invention further includes storing the first file, the second file, and the third file.

[0086] Embodiment 4 of the Invention

[0087] Invention D also discloses a system D500 for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment. See [link to system]. Figure 8 It includes a file acquisition module D501, an element acquisition module D502, a copy and overlay module D504, and an update monitoring module D507. The file acquisition module D501 is configured to acquire a first file and a second file. The element acquisition module D502 is connected to the file acquisition module D501 and is configured to acquire a first element from the second file. The copy and overlay module D504 is connected to the element acquisition module D502 and is configured to overlay the first element onto the first file. The update monitoring module D507 is connected to the file acquisition module D501 and is configured to prompt the file acquisition module D501 to acquire a third file, and compare the second file and the third file to find a first changed element. The element acquisition module D502 is connected to the update monitoring module D507, acquires the first changed element, and overlays the first changed element onto the first file via the copy and overlay module D504.

[0088] In some embodiments, the various modules described above may be implemented by computer hardware and software within the user's local computer terminal; some modules may be located on the local computer and some on a remote server; or all modules may be located on a remote server and their results may be displayed on a local monitor via a network.

[0089] Compared to traditional CAD systems, D invention clearly overlays changed elements and updated content onto the currently being edited CAD drawing, allowing the current CAD user to see the changes without closing or moving the current CAD drawing. This enables the user to continue editing the current CAD drawing, making collaborative design more convenient and work more efficient.

[0090] In some embodiments, the file acquisition module D501 can acquire files from a local computer terminal (i.e., files that the drafting engineer already stores on their local computer and that can be used in the CAD system), or newly created CAD files in local CAD drawing software, or CAD files acquired via network transmission from a remote server or the cloud. When acquiring CAD files from a remote server, it can be that all relevant files for a large CAD drawing project are transmitted together as a file package, or it can be based on existing local CAD drawings, with incremental data added to create the required CAD file.

[0091] In some embodiments, the element acquisition module D502 operates by analyzing and parsing the attributes of elements (e.g., entities, objects, blocks, groups, etc.) to obtain elements that meet the requirements, or by identifying and searching for elements with certain markers / identifiers / tags in some implementation systems to obtain the required CAD elements.

[0092] In some embodiments, the copying and overlaying involves copying the required elements and adding them to the currently being drawn CAD drawing. However, these overlaid elements serve only as references for the current CAD drawing and cannot be modified by the current CAD user. For example, when electrical engineers and HVAC engineers reference architectural CAD drawings, even if they have suggestions regarding the wall arrangement in the drawings provided by the architectural engineer, these suggestions must be provided to the architectural engineer through methods such as adding comments via a collaborative system, rather than being modified themselves, otherwise confusion may occur in the collaborative design project. In different application scenarios, the invention can be implemented in different ways. For example, in some embodiments, the referenced content is simply displayed on different layers and cannot be modified. When downstream electrical engineers and HVAC engineers save CAD drawings, only the electrical and HVAC content is saved separately, not the architectural content (i.e., the electrical and HVAC CAD drawings only contain electrical and HVAC CAD elements, respectively). Of course, it is also possible to save the referenced content, such as architectural content, together. In other embodiments, modification permissions can be locked by setting an identifier / flag / tag for the referenced content, preventing it from being modified. Of course, in some application scenarios and implementations, there may be a "chief designer" or "chief design team" who can be granted the authority to modify the referenced content – ​​for example, the chief designer can adjust the architectural, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC elements at the end of the project.

[0093] In some embodiments, the invention further includes a display control module D508, which displays the superimposed first element in a first display mode and displays the superimposed first changed element in a second display mode.

[0094] In some embodiments, the invention further includes a display control module D508, which displays elements common to the second and third files in a first style on the first file; displays elements that exist only in the second file in a second style; and displays elements that exist only in the third file in a third style.

[0095] In some embodiments, the invention further includes: a file editing module D509 for editing the first file and drawing a second element on the first file.

[0096] In some embodiments, the file acquisition module D501 is configured to acquire a fourth file; the update monitoring module D507 is configured to compare the third file and the fourth file, discover a second changed element, and overlay the second changed element onto the first file through the copy overlay module D504.

[0097] In some embodiments, the display control module D508 displays the superimposed second changed element on the first file in a third display mode. In some embodiments, the first changed element includes one or more of the following: added elements, deleted elements, and modified elements. In some embodiments, the first changed element is incremental data based on the third file compared to the second file. In some embodiments, the second file and the third file are different versions of the same CAD drawing. In some embodiments, the invention further includes a file storage module configured to store the first file, the second file, and the third file. The file storage module can be located on a local computer terminal or on a cloud server.

[0098] Embodiment 5 of Invention D

[0099] The invention also discloses a computer-readable storage medium for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment. The computer-readable storage medium includes a set of instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to perform the following operations: DS101 acquires a first file and a second file; DS102 the first file references the second file, and a first element from the second file is superimposed onto the first file; DS103 acquires a third file; DS104 acquires the third file and compares it with a first changed element from the second file; and DS105 also superimposes the first changed element onto the first file.

[0100] Embodiment Six of the Invention

[0101] The invention also discloses a computer terminal for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment, comprising 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 that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the following operations: DS101 acquires a first file and a second file; DS102 the first file references the second file, and a first element from the second file is superimposed onto the first file; DS103 acquires a third file; DS104 acquires the third file and compares it with a first changed element from the second file; and DS105 superimposes the first changed element onto the first file as well.

[0102] Please note that the purpose of Invention D is to view changes to referenced or referenced content, not to view changes to the currently edited CAD drawing. In other words, if A references B, A can see B's content for reference only while drawing, but cannot modify B; A can only draw and modify its own content. If B is modified, A can use the system and methods provided by Invention D to see what changes have been made to the current B compared to the old B, and thus modify its own drawing accordingly.

[0103] Through the above embodiments, it can be seen that the technical problem solved by invention D and the technical effects achieved are as follows: Invention D provides a method for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings within an editable drawing environment, allowing CAD users to easily view and confirm the modified content of references. Moreover, the modified content is graphically displayed in the editing interface, intuitively showing various modifications such as additions, deletions, and changes, which are clear at a glance. Users can easily edit the content of their own drawings based on the modifications to the reference content, greatly saving communication costs between CAD collaborative users, improving work efficiency, and allowing CAD users to edit the content they are drawing while viewing the modifications to the reference content, which is convenient and fast.

[0104] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of Invention D, and are not intended to limit it. Although Invention D has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features. These modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of Invention D, and they should all be covered within the scope of the claims and specification of Invention D. For example, the application scenario of Invention D can be carried out on a local computer (i.e., in local software, PC version), or it can be carried out entirely in the cloud, with the local computer merely serving as a monitor (i.e., applying Invention D to network software). In addition, in some embodiments and application scenarios, the display methods of certain content can be the same. For example, the first display method in Embodiment 3 of Invention D can be set to be the same as the second display method, but different from the third display method (i.e., in this scenario, the first change does not need to be considered).

[0105] It should be noted that the four sub-inventions (901, 906, 907, 908) of this invention are all part of the collaborative design system 900 of this invention, and are technically interconnected. They can be combined, integrated, and fused together according to actual needs, and can be adjusted and modified according to actual circumstances during the process of combination, integration, and fusion. Figure 9 ).

[0106] 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 the first referenced file according to at least one first reference condition, and storing it independently in an extensible file format; copying and overlaying the first element of the first referenced file, which is filtered and selected by the first general reference rule file, onto the current file, and associating the first element with a first control point, through which independent operation on the first element can be realized.

[0107] Now, let's illustrate this with a practical application scenario: An electrical engineer sets up a general reference rule file (hereinafter referred to as "Electrical Reference Rule.XML") for electrical drawing 914 on the terminal 911 of their CAD collaborative design system. When referencing water supply and drainage reference drawing 913, the electrical engineer filters out water supply and drainage CAD elements related to the electrical design, copies and overlays them onto the electrical drawing 914 they are editing, and associates the water supply and drainage CAD elements with water supply and drainage element control points. That is, the copied and overlaid water supply and drainage CAD elements can be independently manipulated through the water supply and drainage element control points (operation methods include, but are not limited to, showing, hiding, binding, detaching, reloading, or unloading). In these embodiments, the electrical engineer can not only filter out CAD elements unrelated to electrical design when referencing (through the electrical reference rule file), but also flexibly control the display and hiding of the referenced content.

[0108] In some embodiments, the present invention further includes: filtering the content of the second referenced file using the first general reference rule file, copying and overlaying the filtered second element onto the current file, and associating the second element with a second control point, through which independent operation on the second element can be achieved.

[0109] Similarly, considering the scenario: In addition to referencing the plumbing drawing 913, electrical engineers may also need to reference HVAC drawings (i.e., the second referenced file). Because the electrical reference rule file is stored independently and is expandable in this invention, electrical engineers can apply the same electrical reference rule file (or modify it) to the HVAC drawings, filtering out HVAC CAD elements related to electrical design and copying and overlaying them onto the current electrical CAD drawings. The filtered HVAC CAD elements are set to be associated with HVAC control points, meaning that the copied and overlaid HVAC CAD elements can be independently manipulated through these control points (operations include, but are not limited to, showing, hiding, binding, detaching, reloading, or unloading).

[0110] Because different control points are set, the operation of water supply and drainage elements and heating and ventilation elements can be carried out independently.

[0111] 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 and copied and superimposed onto the first referenced file through the first general reference rule file; the third element is associated with a third control point, through which independent operations on the third element can be realized.

[0112] To illustrate further: the electrical engineer references plumbing drawing 913, which in turn references architectural drawing 912 (creating a nested relationship). The electrical reference rule file designed by the electrical engineer was actually shared with him by the plumbing engineer. When the plumbing engineer draws plumbing drawing 913 on their terminal 910 and references architectural drawing 912, they are using the same reference rules. The filtered architectural elements are associated with architectural element control points, meaning that architectural CAD elements copied and overlaid on the electrical drawings can be independently manipulated through these control points (manipulation methods include, but are not limited to, showing, hiding, binding, detaching, reloading, or unloading).

[0113] In some embodiments, the present invention further 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 removed by the first general reference rule file to obtain relevant change elements, the relevant change elements are copied and superimposed on the current file, and the relevant change elements and the first element are presented in the current file in different display ways respectively.

[0114] To illustrate with a similar scenario: The plumbing drawings referenced by the electrical engineer were modified by the plumbing engineer on their own computer terminal 910, resulting in a new version of the plumbing drawings. The collaborative design system notified the electrical engineer of the changes, and the electrical engineer downloaded the new version of the plumbing drawings from the server (i.e., the fourth referenced file). By comparing the old and new versions of the plumbing drawings, the collaborative design system identified the changed CAD elements. Some of these changed CAD elements were related to the electrical engineer's design, while others were not. Therefore, these changed elements could be filtered using electrical reference rules (e.g., based on information in their attributes), and then the relevant changed elements were copied and overlaid onto the electrical drawings. These changed elements were displayed in an easily identifiable way (e.g., different colors, styles), allowing the electrical engineer to clearly see the changes in the plumbing drawings and continue editing their own electrical drawings accordingly.

[0115] In some embodiments, the current file can be edited while referring to the relevant changed elements. Because the relevant changed elements are copied and overlaid on the current electrical drawing, electrical engineers can refer to the changes in the water supply and drainage drawings while continuing to modify their own electrical drawings on the same interface.

[0116] In some embodiments, a data summary file is generated based on the current file after editing, and the detailed information of the incremental data generated after editing the current file is saved in the incremental database. The data summary file includes the storage path of the detailed information of the incremental data in the incremental database.

[0117] Similarly, in the context of the scenario: after an electrical engineer finishes editing their electrical drawing 914, they can submit their electrical drawing 914 to the timeline storage device on the server. The timeline storage device compares the electrical drawing before and after the electrical engineer's modification, saves the changes as incremental data in the incremental database, and forms a new data summary file and its associated restore point 904.

[0118] The restoration point 904 is located on timeline 903, which is the global timeline of the collaborative design project in which the electrical engineer participated (i.e., each restoration point contains all CAD files related to the project at that point in time). The baseline restoration point is 905, which contains the earliest electrical drawings created by the electrical engineer. If the electrical engineer needs to view the earliest drawings, they only need to obtain the data summary file from the restoration point. The detailed information of the CAD elements recorded in the data summary file can be obtained from the incremental database, thereby quickly and accurately restoring and generating their earliest electrical CAD drawings.

[0119] Of course, the specific implementation may differ in different embodiments – for example, the computer terminal used by electrical engineers can identify the differences between the old and new versions of electrical drawings and upload the detailed information of the incremental data corresponding to the differences to the incremental database in the server, reducing the pressure of data transmission.

[0120] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Unless otherwise specified, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element.

[0121] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms. Of course, they can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) and includes several instructions to cause a computer terminal (which may be a mobile phone, computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of the present invention.

[0122] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other forms under the guidance of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. All of these forms are within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: DS101 acquires a first file and a second file; wherein the first file is in an editable environment; DS102: The first file references the second file, and the first element from the second file is copied and superimposed onto the first file. DS103 acquires third-party files; DS104 retrieves the first changed element from the incremental database, comparing the third file with the second file. The second and third files are different versions of the same CAD drawing, and the first changed element is the incremental data of the third file compared to the second file. Detailed information about this incremental data is stored in the incremental database. The first changed element includes one or more of the following: added elements, deleted elements, and modified elements. In the editable environment of the first file, DS105 also copies and overlays the first variable element onto the drawing interface of the first file, so that the first element, the first variable element and each element in the first file can be viewed simultaneously in the drawing interface of the first file, and the first variable element serves as a reference for the first file and cannot be modified by the user of the first file. If the first changing element is an added element, it is displayed in the third style in the drawing interface of the first file; If the first changed element is a deleted element, it is displayed in the second style in the drawing interface of the first file; If the first changed element is a modified element, it is displayed in the first style in the drawing interface of the first file.

2. The method for viewing reference changes in a CAD drawing in an editable environment as described in claim 1, characterized in that, In the first document, 1) Display the copied and overlaid first element in a first display mode; and 2) Display the copied and overlaid first changed element in a second display mode; Alternatively, on the first file, 1) Display the elements common to the second file and the third file in the first style; 2) Elements that exist only in the second file will be displayed in the second style; and 3) Elements that exist only in the third file will be displayed in the third style; Alternatively, the method may further include the steps of: DS106 retrieves the fourth file; DS107 obtains the second changed element of the fourth file compared with the third file; DS108 copies and overlays the second variation element onto the first file.

3. The method for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment as described in claim 2, characterized in that, Also includes: Edit the first file and draw the second element on the first file; Alternatively, the copied and superimposed second changed element may be displayed on the first file in a third display mode, which is different from the first and second display modes, while the first and second display modes are the same.

4. The method for viewing reference changes in a CAD drawing in an editable environment as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: Store the first file, the second file, and the third file; Alternatively, a list of all modifications can be displayed on the left side of the drawing interface.

5. A system for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment, characterized in that, include, File acquisition module, element acquisition module, copy overlay module, update monitoring module; The file acquisition module is configured to acquire a first file and a second file; wherein the first file is in an editable environment; The element acquisition module is connected to the file acquisition module and is configured to acquire the first element on the second file. Specifically, the first element is filtered and selected according to the created first general reference rule, and the first element is associated with a first control point. Independent operations on the first element can be realized through the first control point. The first general reference rule is created by creating at least one first general reference rule file independent of the first referenced file according to at least one first reference condition, and stored independently in an extensible file format. The copy overlay module is connected to the element acquisition module and is configured to copy and overlay the first element onto the first file. The update monitoring module is connected to the file acquisition module and is configured to prompt the file acquisition module to acquire a third file, and compare the second file and the third file to find a first changed element; the second file and the third file are different versions of the same CAD drawing, and the first changed element is the incremental data of the third file compared to the second file; the first changed element includes one or more of the following: added elements, deleted elements, and modified elements; The element acquisition module is connected to the update monitoring module, acquires the first changed element, and copies and overlays the first changed element onto the drawing interface of the first file through the copy and overlay module; specifically, if the first changed element is an added element, it is displayed in the drawing interface of the first file in a third style; if the first changed element is a deleted element, it is displayed in the drawing interface of the first file in a second style; if the first changed element is a modified element, it is displayed in the drawing interface of the first file in a first style.

6. The system for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment as described in claim 5, characterized in that, It also includes a display control module, which displays the copied and superimposed first element in a first display mode; and displays the copied and superimposed first changed element in a second display mode; or, on the first file, 1) displays elements common to the second file and the third file in a first style; 2) displays elements that exist only in the second file in a second style; and 3) displays elements that exist only in the third file in a third style; Alternatively, the file acquisition module is configured to acquire a fourth file; the update monitoring module is configured to compare the third file and the fourth file, discover a second changed element, and copy and overlay the second changed element into the first file through the copy and overlay module.

7. The system for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment as described in claim 5, characterized in that, Also includes: The file editing module is used to edit the first file and draw the second element on the first file.

8. The system for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment as described in claim 6, characterized in that, Also includes: The file editing module is used to edit the first file and draw the second element on the first file.

9. The system for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment as described in claim 8, characterized in that, On the first file, the display control module displays the copied and superimposed second changed element in a third display mode, and / or provides a list of all modifications on the left side of the drawing interface.

10. The system for viewing reference changes in CAD drawings in an editable environment as described in claim 5, characterized in that, It also includes a file storage module, configured to store the first file, the second file, and the third file.

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