Saving DGN Elements to DWG Files

The Save As DWG/DXF Options dialog box is available from both the Batch Converter and the File > Save As commands. When saving a DGN file to a DWG file, you should always review these options to make sure that each element is saved to the appropriate DWG output type. The option settings can be stored in a DWG settings file (*.dws).

The table summarizes what happens to elements in DGN files when they are saved to DWG files. For more information, see Sharing DGN and DWG Data.

DGN Element	DWG Objects after DGN to DWG Conversion
Cells	Blocks
Classes	Elements in construction, pattern, or linear patterned class elements can be saved to a layer or can be invisible entities.
Colors	Automatically converted to use AutoCAD's fixed color table. To explicitly control how each color in the DGN file will appear in the DWG file, use the Remap capability.
Design Models	The default design model is saved to model space. Non-default design models can be saved to additional DWG files or drawing layouts (paper space).
Enter Data Fields	Enter Data Fields that are not attached to cells are converted to text. Enter Data Fields in cells are converted to attribute labels. The labels are assigned default names that cannot be modified.
Fonts	TrueType and *.SHX fonts are supported by both programs. MicroStation fonts can be converted to AutoCAD fonts when the file is saved to DWG. To explicitly control how each font will appear in the DWG file, use the Remap capability.
Levels	Layers. Symbology (color, line style, line weight) ByLevel settings are converted to BYLAYER settings. To define how levels are converted to layers, use either the Save As DWG/DXF dialog box or the Remap capability.
Line Styles	Line styles are saved to linetypes. For line styles that are not compatible with AutoCAD, use the Drop UnSupported LineStyles to Components option on the Save As DWG/DXF Options dialog box. To explicitly control how each line style in the DGN file will appear in the DWG file, use the Remap capability.
Line Weights	Automatically converted to AutoCAD lineweights. To explicitly control how line weights in the DGN file are converted to lineweights in the DWG file, use the Remap capability.
References: Attachments to Non-Default Models	If non-default models are saved to separate DWG files, then references to these non-default models are saved to XREF inserts that reference the DWG files. If non-default models are saved to paper space or ignored, then the references must be merged to the output file to be included in the DWG output.
References: Masked Attachment	To be included in the DWG file, clipping masks applied to references must be merged to the DWG output file.
References: Self-Attached	To be included in DWG file, self-attached references must be merged to the DWG output file.
References: Standard External Attachments	To be included in the DWG file, standard external attachments can be merged into the DWG output file or become XREFs.
Sheet Models	Drawing Layouts (paper space)
Tags	Attributes