World File and CAD Data

[GraceTortorici_]

Hi, trying to understand how to work with .wld world files and CAD data based off of limited Esri documentation. I believe I am working with a 2D world file and the file I was given has the same name as the universal world file. When I import the CAD data into ArcGIS Pro, it is being displayed in the ocean due to no coordinate system. Not even sure where to start, honestly.

https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/data/cad/world-files-for-cad-data.htm

[ThomasHoman]

Hi,

The second sentence of your help reference says a lot - "The transformation information is only valid with the projection file (PRJ) for which it was created." Whomever did the georeferencing work that created the world file likely had a different projection than your map.

There are a few routes that you can take to solve this

1. If you know the projection of the map that the world file was created for then change the projection of your map.
2. Redo the georeferencing that created the map so it is consistent for your projection - https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/data/cad/georeferencing-cad-data.htm 
3. If the CAD data was created under a known projection, then right click on the dwg in catalog, select validate position and assign the known coordinate system. This will create a .prj file with the same name as the CAD file that overrides .wld files. This will have the additional benefit of making the dwg useful in other map projections as well. https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/data/cad/geospatial-position-of-cad-and-bim-data.htm 

Regards,

Tom