DWG imports huge blank space

[jspartz]

Does anyone know how to get rid of the huge blank space that comes in with some DWGs? I'm importing just the contours for a site - it's the only thing in the AutoCAD file, it's a new file, it doesn't have any blocks that would throw it off with an insertion point, no hidden layers or objects in the file, and 0,0,0 is right at the corner of the objects. But still when importing the file I get a blank space miles wide.

[aggockel50321]

Try this.

If you have autocad, open the file, and wblock out the contours to a new dwg file, and import that file.

Or, start a new drawing in acad, xref in your contour file, save the new dwg, and import that file.
(think I read this on Steve Stafford's blog.)

[jspartz]

I did the Wblock before with no success, but this is really odd. In the original file there are contours and labels and everything is in one location, when I xref the file into a new drawing the labels shift out of place by miles. When I'm importing into Revit it must be doing that too, but I specifically don't bring in that layer in Revit either. There are only the two layers.

Well, I'm just going to delete the labels then before bringing in the contours. Thanks, not sure if xrefing helps, but it did reveal the problem in this case.

[aggockel50321]

Sounds like your dwg file was exported out of another non-autodesk application, and the labels are on another view, similar to model and paperspace in acad.