Most organizations are using a combination of GIS and CAD applications for their spatial data management. It’s important that we are able to move data smoothly between the two different environments. Although there’s a great deal of overlap in functionality between CAD & GIS applications, each has their strengths.
CAD users are focused on:
- Productive editing tools
- Visual clarity: labels & white space
- Symbology
- Dimensions
GIS users are more focused on:
- Data structure and model
- Data consistency
- Attribution and domains
- Location
- Connectivity
- Analysis
- Assets
A typical example is exporting GIS with as-built features to a CAD design tool. Designing a new layout and then importing the new design back into the GIS.