401 — Exporting a project (.cvp)

The .cvp is ConstructiVision’s own project file: panels, settings and the site plan in one archive.

Note

This lesson also exists in the browser. Work it in ConstructiVision on the web — same steps, same values, so you can follow either and end up with the same panel.

Where it is

File → Export Project (.cvp), or the Export menu. The dialog tells you what is going into the file before you commit — the project name and the panel count — so you can see you are exporting what you think you are.

What comes back

A .cvp you exported from cv-web restores through File → Import CV File. Panels, settings and the site plan all come back.

The distinction worth knowing

Not every .cvp is the same artifact, because not every .cvp was written by the same product.

where the file came from	what to expect
exported from cv-web	round-trips — export it, import it, you have your project back
exported from AutoCAD	a view of the drawing, and some detail does not survive the trip

The second row is not a criticism of your file, and it is not something you can fix by exporting again. Weld connections in particular are a known gap on the AutoCAD side: a panel can carry welds in the drawing and show none after export.

Warning

Do not treat an AutoCAD-exported .cvp as a backup of the drawing. The drawing is the record. The .cvp is a transfer format, and rebuilding a panel from one can produce different connections from the ones you drew.

When to use it

Use it to move a project between machines or to hand one to somebody else working in cv-web.

Use the drawing, not the export, as your archive if the project originated in AutoCAD.

What to take away

Exporting from cv-web gives you your project back. A .cvp that came out of AutoCAD is a transfer file, not a second copy of the drawing — worth knowing before you rely on one.