Preparing Geometry

Preparing AutoCAD Geometry

Simplest option: upload only your project outline

If appropriate, and to avoid preparing and uploading a sophisticated, highly detailed project geometry, you can simply draw or upload only the outline border of your project area.

You can then upload the detailed project KML, shapefile, or drawing at Step 3 – Upload Documents as a supporting document.

This is usually the fastest route to a successful submission:

The outline is all the platform needs to work out which service areas your project affects.
It avoids nearly all of the CAD cleanup described below.
Reviewers still receive your full detail, because the complete file travels with the application as a supporting document.

If you do need to upload the detailed geometry itself, follow the steps below.

Preparing AutoCAD Geometry for Upload

To ensure your geometry is processed correctly by the platform, please follow these steps before exporting from AutoCAD:

Use zero-width polylines only.
- Ensure all polylines have a Start Width and End Width of 0.
- Do not use wide polylines or variable-width polylines.
Remove polyline width.
- Select the polyline.
- Open the Properties panel (CTRL + 1).
- Set Global Width to 0, or set both Start Width and End Width to 0 where applicable.
Export only what is meant to be the project geometry.
- The platform expects clean project geometry: the route line (alignment), the project border polygon, or both.
- Do not upload presentation drawings, full site packs, or multi-layer CAD sheets.
Do not rely on hidden, off, or frozen layers.
- Turning a layer Off, Frozen, or hiding it in a viewport only affects the display in AutoCAD.
- Those objects usually remain in the drawing file and are often still included when exporting to KML/KMZ (or via DXF/GIS conversion).
- Hatch patterns, annotations, and symbols on “hidden” layers are a frequent cause of rejected uploads.
- Before export, either:
  - Delete unwanted layers/objects, or
  - Isolate only the route/border geometry and copy it into a new blank drawing, then export from that clean file.
- Prefer Export selected objects (if your exporter supports it) over exporting the entire drawing.
Remove hatches completely (do not only hide them).
- Delete all HATCH objects (fills, cross-hatching, solid fills used for presentation).
- Do not explode hatches and leave the resulting line fragments in the file.
- If you need a project area, draw a single closed polyline / polygon border instead of a hatch fill.
Simplify complex CAD objects.
- If your drawing contains blocks, library objects, or symbolic infrastructure elements (such as bridges, culverts, powerline symbols, road crossings, or other imported CAD objects), these should be removed or replaced with simple linework.
- The exported geometry should represent only the actual route or alignment using standard 2D lines or zero-width polylines.
Avoid using drafting elements as geometry.
- Do not include line thickness, hatches, annotations, dimensions, text, leaders, tables, title blocks, or other drafting objects.
- These elements are intended for drawing presentations and are not processed as valid GIS geometry.
- Text and labels exported from CAD often become many small line segments in KML and will be rejected.
Make sure the drawing is correctly georeferenced.
- KML always stores real-world WGS84 latitude/longitude. AutoCAD drawings are usually in a local or projected coordinate system (in South Africa, commonly a Hartebeesthoek94 Lo system), or in arbitrary model-space coordinates.
- Assign the correct source coordinate system before exporting, so the exporter can convert it properly.
- Warning signs that the coordinate system is wrong: your geometry appears in the ocean, in another country, near 0°/0°, or mirrored / flipped. South African Lo systems use a southing/westing axis order, which is a common cause of mirrored results.
- Always confirm the position visually before uploading (see step 11).
Clean and verify the geometry in AutoCAD.
- Ensure the geometry consists only of standard 2D lines or zero-width polylines (or one closed border polyline for a polygon).
- Remove duplicate, overlapping, or unnecessary segments where possible.
- Optional but recommended: run PURGE and OVERKILL on the clean drawing before export.
Optional but recommended: validate and simplify in QGIS.
- Open the exported file in QGIS and run Vector → Geometry Tools → Check Validity to catch self-intersections, unclosed rings, and other invalid shapes.
- If the file is large or very dense, run Vector → Geometry Tools → Simplify to reduce the number of vertices. Keep the tolerance small so the route or border still follows its true position.
- Large, highly detailed files take longer to process and are more likely to fail. If your file is still large after simplifying, consider uploading only the outline border instead (see the top of this page).
Verify the export before upload.
- Open the exported KML/KMZ in Google Earth (or similar) and confirm you see only the intended route or border, in the correct real-world location.
- If you see dense fill patterns, labels, grids, or many tiny segments, the file still contains drafting/hatch content — clean and re-export.
- A healthy route file usually has a modest number of line parts, not thousands of short fragments in a small area.
Export the cleaned geometry in the required format (KML preferred, or KMZ then convert to KML if needed).

What the platform checks on upload

If your file is rejected, the on-screen message will tell you which of these it failed:

Supported geometry only. Points, lines, and polygons are accepted. Text and label objects are not.
No dense CAD linework or hatching. Many very short segments packed into a small area are detected as hatching or drafting noise.
Size limits. There is a maximum total length (route lines plus polygon borders) and a maximum project area. The exact limits depend on your account and project type, and the message shows both the limit and your file's actual value.

If your project genuinely exceeds the size limits, contact us through the assistance option shown on the upload screen.

Quick checklist before upload

[ ] Considered uploading just the outline border, with full detail added at Step 3 – Upload Documents
[ ] Only the route line and/or border polygon, with no drafting clutter
[ ] No hatches (deleted, not merely hidden)
[ ] No text, dimensions, symbols, or title blocks
[ ] Unwanted layers removed or geometry copied to a blank DWG
[ ] Zero-width polylines only
[ ] Correct coordinate system assigned before export
[ ] Geometry checked (and simplified if needed) in QGIS
[ ] KML checked visually in Google Earth, in the correct real-world location, before upload