Overview
PVX.AI runs as a plugin inside Autodesk AutoCAD. This guide covers which AutoCAD versions it supports, how to change the PVX.AI interface language, and how units work in metric and feet drawings.
Prerequisites
PVX.AI installed. The language and units settings are in Settings on the Configurations panel.
Step-by-Step Guide
1. Check your AutoCAD version
PVX.AI runs in full AutoCAD and Civil 3D, versions 2021 to 2027, 64-bit. AutoCAD LT is not supported, because LT cannot load plugins. One installation covers every supported version on the computer: versions 2021 to 2024 run the .NET Framework 4.8 build, 2025 and 2026 the .NET 8 build, and 2027 the .NET 10 build. PVX.AI picks the right one by itself.
2. Set the interface language
Open Settings on the Configurations panel and expand Application. Under Language, choose English, Türkçe, Deutsch, Italiano or Español, then click Save. Restart AutoCAD for the change to take effect. Until you choose, PVX.AI follows the Windows language.
3. Choose the default units
In the same section, Units offers Metric (m, m², m³) and Imperial (ft, acres, cy). This is the default for new drawings. A drawing that already contains PVX.AI objects keeps its units; PVX.AI saves your choice for the next new project and tells you so.
4. Know how a drawing’s units are read
PVX.AI reads the units from the drawing itself (AutoCAD’s INSUNITS setting), so a project carries its units with it to any computer:
- Meters: a metric drawing.
- Feet: international feet.
- US Survey Feet: survey feet, for State Plane coordinates. The exact survey-foot factor is used, so coordinates do not drift.
Avoid drawings set to inches or millimetres. PVX.AI treats their coordinates as feet or metres, and Health Check warns about them.
5. Convert an existing drawing
To change the units of a drawing that already has content, use AutoCAD’s -DWGUNITS command and answer Yes when it asks whether to scale objects. The Units setting in PVX.AI does not rescale existing drawings.
Tips & Recommendations
- Every PVX.AI dialog, label, the Info Screen, the BoQ and the exports show values in the drawing’s units. Length boxes show (ft) instead of (m) in a feet drawing.
- Some values stay metric in every drawing: module dimensions (in millimetres, as on datasheets), cable cross-sections (mm²) and the PVsyst PVCollada exports (metres).
- For working in feet from start to finish (layout, grading, cabling, stations and piles), see Working in Feet and US Survey Feet.
- Some windows (the sign-in window, the update prompts and the bug report form) are in English in every language.