File Formats
Project files — .cdsn
A Caident Design project is a single .cdsn file — a compressed snapshot of the whole model. The installer registers the extension, so .cdsn files open with a double-click.
What's inside: every space with its imported background, all entities (sprinklers, risers, source, meters/backflows, pipes, vertical pipes, barriers, boundaries, compartments, annotations, drawings), layers and groups, pipe materials and diameters, the water-supply data, project info, per-project price overrides, and the routed network itself.
What's not: sheets (regenerated from the model — chapter 13), your machine-level preferences (theme, snapping, the global price book), and your sign-in.
- Files are compressed — even large multi-floor projects with imported plans stay compact.
- Backward compatibility is guaranteed: projects saved by older versions of Caident Design always open in newer ones.
- The file is written atomically on save; a failed save never corrupts the previous version on disk.
Import formats
| Format | Notes |
|---|---|
| PDF (vector) | Best input — walls, doors, scale, and room names extract reliably. Any CAD-exported plan qualifies. |
| PDF (scanned) | OCR + image analysis; quality varies with the scan. Worst case it imports as a picture and you draw rooms by hand. |
| DXF | Direct vector import with the drawing's own layers. Units honored via $INSUNITS; unitless files need a scale calibration. |
Export formats
| Format | Produced by | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DXF (R12-compatible) | File → Export DXF… / ribbon | 1 unit = 1 ft; named layers per entity class; sprinkler symbols at the project symbol scale; pipe with diameter labels. Becomes a ZIP (DXF + PNGs) when raster backgrounds exist. |
| PDF — sheets | Sheet view → Export PDF | True paper-size pages, one per sheet. |
| PDF — BOM | BOM drawer → Save Bill of Materials | Dated letter-portrait takeoff. |
| XLSX | View → Material costs… → Export Excel | The global price book, round-trippable via Import Excel. |
Default file names
Exports name themselves after the project file (Smith Residence_sheets.pdf, Smith Residence_bom.pdf); unsaved projects fall back to the date. DXF exports are stamped sprinkler-layout-YYYYMMDD-HHMM.dxf.