CAD Auto-Mapping

A CAD drawing already says a great deal about what is on it. A hatch called GRAVEL, a linetype called PHANTOM, a block called SSMH: those names are drafting conventions, and Studio reads them. Auto-mapping is why an imported sheet is already partly styled before you touch anything.

What It Recognizes

From the drawing	Becomes
Hatch pattern names, the standard `acad.pat` patterns, plus office variations on them	A material on the hatched area where the pattern stands for a site material, or a fill texture directly where it does not (section hatches, for example)
Linetype names, both `acad.lin` and `acadiso.lin` names, and common office conventions	A stroke style: layer linetypes set the layer's stroke, entity linetypes become object overrides
Block names	A library plan symbol in place of the block

Recognition is not literal-only. Names carrying a size, a discipline prefix or a suffix (CONC-LT, RIPRAP-6IN, TREE-OAK-24, CENTER2) are handled the way a drafter would read them.

The Import Prompt

On a fresh CAD import, Studio lists what it recognized and asks before changing anything:

The Recognized CAD styling conventions dialog, listing the matched hatches and linetypes — The import prompt, listing what Studio recognized.

Accepting applies everything as a single undo step. Declining leaves the drawing exactly as exported. Nothing is lost either way, and you can re-run it later from FILE ▸ CAD Mappings.

The same drawing with auto-mapping declined and with it accepted — The same import, declined and accepted.

Why Materials and Not Textures

Where a hatch stands for a real site material, auto-mapping tags the surface with the material rather than pinning a texture to it. That keeps CAD Line rendering the way the sheet always did, while leaving every other look free to draw that surface its own way. Pattern names that are not a site material get a texture directly, because there is no material for them to stand for. See Materials.

How It Interacts with Remembered Styles

Remembered layer styles from the Layer Style Database are applied first, and auto-mapping does not overwrite a stroke style they set, so what you taught Studio about your own layers wins over a generic linetype match. An entity linetype that would only restate what its layer already got is dropped rather than becoming a redundant override.

Getting More Out of It

Auto-mapping rewards ordinary CAD discipline. Nothing here requires changing how you draft, but the closer a drawing is to convention, the more arrives already styled:

Use real linetypes on layers rather than drawing dashes by hand.
Use real hatches with their standard pattern names rather than filled polylines.
Export symbols as symbols. A block set to Keep as Symbol can become library artwork; one that is exploded can only ever be linework.
Keep block names descriptive. The name is the only thing Studio has to go on.

When a Name Is Not Recognized

Offices name things their own way, so the built-in tables will not cover everything. Teach it yours once, in FILE ▸ CAD Mappings: the dialog lists the CAD names present in the open drawing next to what each currently resolves to, so the unmapped ones are easy to find and turn into rules. Save, and Studio re-offers the mapping prompt on the drawing you already have open.