GUIDE7 min read · 20 October 2026
How to prepare floor plans for indoor mapping
A practical checklist for getting drawings ready, whether you map in-house or hand them to a vendor.
Most indoor mapping projects slow down at the same point: the drawings. Good source material turns a weeks-long digitising job into an afternoon of review. This checklist works whether you use AI import or a mapping service.
1. Find the best source you have
In rough order of usefulness: CAD files (DWG or DXF) with clean layers; BIM models exported as IFC; vector PDFs exported from CAD; raster scans; and finally photos of evacuation plans. Use the best one per floor, even if that means mixing formats across a building.
2. Check that it’s current
Drawings are often a refit or two behind reality. Walk each floor with a printout and mark changes: moved walls, merged rooms, new doors, closed corridors. If a floor has changed a lot, a phone scan may be faster than correcting the drawing.
3. Tidy CAD layers
- Keep walls, doors, windows, stairs, lifts and room labels on separate layers.
- Bind or remove external references so the file is self-contained.
- Furniture, hatching and dimensions can stay, ideally on their own layers so they can be ignored.
- Use one file per floor, or clearly named layouts if several floors share a file.
4. Line the floors up
Every floor should share the same origin and orientation, so lift and stair cores sit directly above each other. If they don’t, note two or three reference points that appear on every floor, such as structural columns or a lift shaft corner.
5. Agree on room names
Pick one source of truth for room numbers and names: the timetable system, the lease register or the CAFM tool. Mismatches between the drawing and that system are the most common cause of “the map is wrong” complaints after launch.
6. Mark what drawings don’t show
- Public entrances and their opening hours.
- Step-free routes, ramps, lifts and accessible toilets.
- Staff-only areas and one-way doors.
- Where kiosks or signs will be installed.
7. Georeference
Pick two or three points you can see on satellite imagery, usually building corners, so the floors land in the right place on the map. This is what makes routing from car parks and transit stops possible later.