FAQ

This post covers BricsCAD Pro V26. We’ll update it when BricsCAD V27 comes out.

As of October 8, 2026, the current release is BricsCAD V26.2.08 (September 15, 2026).

Short answer: yes! BricsCAD can pull in imagery from public map servers, show online maps behind your linework, attach your own georeferenced aerials and bring GIS data in and out with its attributes.

But if you’re looking for Bing maps, here’s the scoop… Bing Maps have been retired and can no longer be used in BricsCAD. The good news is that OpenStreetMap is free and needs no key, Esri maps work with an Esri API key (Free*) and BricsCAD Pro can connect to a Web Map Service (WMS).

* The Esri API is free up to a point. See Getting an Esri map key for the monthly tile limit and what happens after that.

Jump to:

• Can BricsCAD link to open source or government map services?
• First things first: set your geographic location
• Online maps with GEOMAP
• Getting an Esri map key
• Capturing a map image
• Importing and exporting GIS data
• Attaching your own georeferenced images
• What’s in Lite and what needs Pro?

Does BricsCAD allow users to link to open source or government services such as feature services or map services?

Yes. BricsCAD supports connecting to Web Map Service (WMS) endpoints using the MAPCONNECT command (BricsCAD Pro and higher), which lets you add map imagery from public and government-hosted WMS servers into your drawing.

Before adding WMS data, you must set the drawing’s geographic location using GEOGRAPHICLOCATION (more on that below). Then:

• Create the connection – give it a name, the server URL and version, plus a login if the server needs one.
• Pick your layers – select one or more data layers, set the ground resolution and the maximum tile size and check the estimated download size before you click Add.

BricsCAD saves the downloaded map tiles as regular image files in the same folder as your drawing, so keep that in mind when you send the drawing to someone else.

For vector GIS features with attributes, the other half of that question, see Importing and exporting GIS data.

First things first: set your geographic location

Everything map-related starts with GEOGRAPHICLOCATION (you can also type GEO, NORTH or NORTHDIR). It opens the Geographic Location dialog box, where you pick a GIS coordinate system or add coordinates manually. Under Advanced / BIM Settings you can:

• Set the real-world location of the geographic marker in decimal latitude and longitude, in degrees, minutes and seconds or as a projected Easting and Northing, plus an elevation.
• Set the marker’s position in the drawing by typing X, Y and Z values or picking a point.
• Set the north direction, which is saved to the NORTHDIRECTION system variable.
• Remove the geographic location data if you need to start over.

The GIS Coordinate System button on the status bar opens the same dialog. And for the CAD managers writing scripts or LISP, there’s a command line version: -GEOGRAPHICLOCATION.

Online maps with GEOMAP

BricsCAD also supports displaying online maps inside a drawing using GEOMAP. Your choices are:

• open street Map – free to use and doesn’t require an API key.
• esri Imagery, esri Streets, esri Light, esri Dark and esri Hybrid – available only when an Esri API key is assigned. Hybrid combines the aerial imagery with labels.
• Off – hides the map.

What about drawings that were set up with Bing? By default, BricsCAD substitutes them automatically: Bing Aerial becomes esri Imagery, Bing Road becomes open street Map and Bing Hybrid becomes esri Hybrid. You’ll see a notification in the lower right corner when that happens.

So… what is OpenStreetMap? Think of it like Wikipedia, but for maps! OpenStreetMap is a free world map built and kept up to date by volunteers all over the world. They add the roads, buildings, trails, rivers and place names, and anyone can use it for free. That’s why BricsCAD can give it to you with no key. Just keep in mind that it’s a street-style map, not aerial photos. If you want imagery, you’ll need one of the Esri styles. (Techie tip: the GEOMAPOSMMODE system variable controls where the open street Map tiles come from. The default of 1 uses OpenStreetMap’s own maps and 0 switches to Esri’s version.)

The map’s copyright and watermark show in the lower right corner of the drawing area, and you’ll see a downloading message while the map tiles load.

Getting an Esri map key

Run GEOMAPKEY to open the Online Maps Support dialog box and paste your Esri key into the Esri Key field. You create the key yourself with a free account on Esri’s ArcGIS Location Platform, giving it the Basemaps privileges (both Basemap styles service and Static basemap tiles).

Here’s the kicker… according to the BricsCAD help as of October 8, 2026:

• Free tiles – the first 2 million map tiles per month are free.
• After that – it’s $0.15 per 1,000 tiles. If you go over the free limit, the maps stop working until you turn on pay-as-you-go in your Esri dashboard or buy a voucher.
• One key per person – BricsCAD recommends that each user create their own Esri account and key to stay under the limit.
• Keys expire – the default is 90 days and the maximum is one year. After that you’ll need to generate a new key.

Esri sets that pricing, so it can change. My advice? Put a reminder on your calendar for the day your key expires!

Capturing a map image

GEOMAPIMAGE captures a rectangle of the online map (or the whole current viewport) and embeds it in the drawing as an image. A frame shows where the capture is, and if you change the frame’s size or position, the image updates. Run GEOMAP again and choose Off if you want to see only your captured image. The copyright and watermark are added to the bottom right corner of the image.

Then fine-tune it with:

• GEOMAPIMAGETYPE – changes the map style of the captured image.
• GEOMAPIMAGERESOLUTION – sets the resolution to Coarse, Optimal, Fine or VeryFine.
• GEOMAPIMAGEUPDATE – optimizes or reloads the image.

Importing and exporting GIS data

For importing vector GIS data as CAD entities with attributes, BricsCAD Pro provides:

• GISIMPORT – imports vector GIS features with their original location, shape and attributes from SHP, GML, KML/KMZ and Esri Geodatabase files. Features come in as points, lines and polylines on the drawing layers you choose, only inside the import area you set and with coordinate system transformation.
• GISEXPORT – exports vector GIS features with their location, shape and attributes to SHP, GML or KML/KMZ files.
• GISCONVERT – converts Object Data and Mpolygons in a drawing you’ve received into BricsCAD GIS data. CONVERTGISTOOBJECTDATA goes the other way and turns BricsCAD GIS data into Object Data.
• MPOLYGON – creates multi-sided polygon entities, handy for GIS polygons with holes and islands.
• MOVEBLOCKSTOELEVATION – moves each block’s insertion point to the elevation in its block attribute or GIS data.
• GEOIMPORT – imports a DWG or DXF drawing and places it based on the geographic location of both the source and target drawings.

Civil labels can also display GIS attributes, and point clouds with geographic data can set your drawing’s location (see our point cloud FAQ below).

Attaching your own georeferenced images

Have an aerial from your county or a drone flight? Attach it with IMAGEATTACH (alias IAT). In the Attach Raster Image dialog box, turn on Use Geocoding Information and BricsCAD uses the image’s position file (world file) to set its size, location and rotation for you.

What’s in Lite and what needs Pro?

Good news for Lite users: the online map basics are included in every edition.

• Included in Lite and Pro: GEOGRAPHICLOCATION, GEOMAP, GEOMAPKEY, GEOMAPIMAGE, GEOMAPIMAGETYPE, GEOMAPIMAGERESOLUTION, GEOMAPIMAGEUPDATE and IMAGEATTACH.
• Requires Pro or higher: MAPCONNECT, GISIMPORT, GISEXPORT, GISCONVERT, MPOLYGON, MOVEBLOCKSTOELEVATION, GEOIMPORT and POINTCLOUDGEOGRAPHICLOCATION.

If you need the Pro tools, talk to an authorized BricsCAD dealer about moving up from Lite.