Q. Does the Fire Zone contain symbols and features for creating Arson Diagrams?

A. Yes, The Fire Zone contains several patterns for showing smoke, char, and flame vector patterns. These patterns can even be placed on walls and other vertical surfaces using the Wall Evidence feature. Wall evidence can then be viewed in 3D with the smoke, char and flame vector patterns actually appearing in true 3D space!

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Q. Can I create run book maps with The Fire Zone?

A. Yes! The Fire Zone was created specifically for creating Fire Maps as well as pre-plan diagrams. There are several custom tools and features for creating maps in just minutes!

A. Yes, the new Fire Zone Version 8.0 now has a 3D Roof Builder that allows you to create several different types of 3D roofs to any shape or size!

Just open the Easy Roof toolbox and choose the type of roof to be created.
Choose the peak height and the elevation of the roof from the ground.
Use the Snaps commands to place the roof on the desired building and simply draw it to the correct size.

When viewed in 3D, the roof appears correctly in 3D space!

A. When it comes to scanned images, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. As far as the scanner goes, any scanner is going to work. The real issue lies in the file formats that scanners save to.

A scanned image is usually created in a format referred to as a Raster file format. This includes Bitmap (BMP) TIFF, PCX, and other similar formats. Raster files consist of little pixels or squares that are grouped together to make up the larger picture. Raster files are large and not very flexible in their use. You can think of them in the same way that you would a photograph.

Files that are created in CAD programs use an entirely different file format all together. CAD files are referred to as VECTOR file formats. They are mathematically generated entities that are made up as true lines rather than pixels. They can be altered and changed because they are created in a mathematical machine language. In other words, the computer can read a Vector file (like a book) but can only look at a RASTER file (like a photograph).

So what you end up with are three different options.

1. Scan in the drawings as Raster files and load them into the Diagram Program. (It reads and imports BMPS and WMF files directly!) Then use the drawing tools in the Diagram program to trace over the top of the Raster image.

2. Purchase some "Raster to Vector" conversion software. These packages run anywhere from $50 to thousands. They will take the Raster image and turn it into a Vector file that can be read by the Diagram Program. Conversion programs, even the best ones, are never one hundred percent accurate. The best you can get is usually 98 percent. There is always going to be some cleanup work that needs to take place.

3. Hire a CAD services company to do all of the conversion for you. This can be quite expensive. We do have a CAD Services available at The CAD Zone. If you are interested in having CAD Zone do some of the work for you, please call Bryan Butzer at (800) 641-9077.

A. CAD files such as AutoCAD .DWG, .DXF, Generic CADD .GCD, .RAW and ASCII files will load into the new Version 8.0 without any conversion process. To import drawing files from other CAD programs:

Select the Open command from the File pull-down menu.
On the Open Dialog box click the down arrow on the "files of type" field, and choose the file type from the list displayed on the drop-down menu.
Navigate to where the file to be imported is located, select the desired file, and click the open button.
Once the drawing loads, select "Save As" from the File Pull-down menu and re-save the drawing as a Version 8 .CZD file.

A. You may be trying to import AutoCAD R14 or 2000 files into an earlier version of The Diagram Program. Earlier releases of the Diagram Program only read AutoCAD R13 (or lower) in .DXF file format.

Use the following steps to make the AutoCAD Files compatible with the

Diagram Program:

1) Load up the file in AutoCAD and make sure to turn off TILEMODE (the
Two-letter code is TM)
2) Next run the PURGE command and select PURGE ALL
3) Next, save the drawing as a release 12, 13, or 14, DXF or DWG.

You should upgrade to the new Version 8.0 of the Diagram Program. Version 8.0 supports all AutoCAD .DXF and .DWG file formats up to AutoCAD Release 2000. Call (800) 641-9077 to upgrade to the new version 8.0 of the Diagram Program to fix this problem. Upgrade copies are available at a reduced price for existing CAD Zone customers.

A. The first thing that you should do is load up the diagram that you are working on and then reset the programs default settings. Do this by locating the "Happy Face" icon (also found as Reset on the Utilities pull-down menu at the top of the screen) When prompted to "restore the default settings" click the yes button. Nothing spectacular will happen, but it should reset your line types and symbols files paths. You may need to do this every time you import a drawing from AutoCAD - it sounds like the AutoCAD drawing environment is coming in with the diagram and causing these problems.

A. Yes! Use the Import Images command found on the File pull-down menu. It will allow you to import digital images in .BMP, .JPG, or .WMF formats.

To import an image:

Choose the Import Images command from the File pull-down menu.

Click (or snap) to place two diagonal points in the diagram where you want to place the image.

A dialog box appears that allows you to select the desired image file. Using standard Windows methods, select the proper drive and folder, and then select the desired image file.

The image is inserted into the diagram at the location specified earlier.

Once the image is loaded it can be printed out along with the rest of the diagram or you can trace over the top of it using the various drawing commands in the program.

Refer to the "Experts Corner" documents located in your Learning Center (found on the Help menu) for additional documents dealing with digital and scanned images.

A. We have an OCX tool that helps to facilitate this type of integration. The CAD Zone OCX was created to allow developers to view CAD Zone files in applications developed in VB, Delphi, Access, or any Microsoft OCX supported language. In addition, once a diagram is loaded into the OCX, it can then be transferred and edited in the CAD Zone diagram program (Crash Zone.Exe, Crime Zone.Exe, Fire Zone.Exe or Izone.Exe). If the diagram program is exited or saved, the OCX is alerted via events and the application programmer can use that information to track the diagram in their application. You can find a document explaining the OCX in detail in the "Experts Corner" documents located in your Learning Center (found on the Help menu).

A. The drawings can be exported in several different ways. In a CAD based environment they can be exported to both AutoCAD DWG, and DXF format (as well as many other CAD formats). In a "picture" or "Word Document" environment they can be exported as JPEG, Bitmap (BMP), and Windows Metafile (WMF). If you have the complete Adobe Acrobat suite (not just the reader) you can save the diagrams out as PDF documents.

A. Pocket Zone is ideal for creating a pre-fire diagram at the scene using the Pace Mode feature. The Pace Mode method of drawing is fast and easy, using the length of your own stepping pace to map out the site. Next, open the Pocket Zone file in The Fire Zone for additional details and to view it in 3D.