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Support reading PLT-files

Related products: FME Form

After the support in FME 2018 for CALS-files I think the next step is to support the old format PLT. The format was widely used in CAD systems when plotting to HP plotters using HPGL and/or HPGL/2 during the 1980ies and 1990ies but we still find them often when helping customers. As the format stores vector data the data is still usable and many blue prints for houses and other constructions are stored in PLT.

I just found out that most of the time PLT files will contain HPGL commands because most AutoCad users have HP plotters or HP-compatible plotters. The PLT file can have any type of print file inside it (HPGL/HPRTL/HPGL2/ECM/PostScript/etc.), it is a 'wrapper' around another file. The PLT extension keeps things simple for AutoCad users.

 

 

So PLT might be a too wide scope here.

 

 

 

But the need for reading HP-GL based PLT files still exists and I found this Reference Guide.

 

I'll give it a try this christmas holiday to do something clever in FME for reading these files.

 

 

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