As a newbee to Stardraw AV I wanted to ask a architect for the Plans on a project so I could draw in the plan for Conduit and all the other location stuff.  Not knowing the architect speak? What format should I be asking for to open the drawing in Stardraw?    (I did receive a Auto Cad file already but it comes up all jumbled and looks nothing like the real drawing!)

You've done the right thing, in that you should ask for files in .DWG 2005 or earlier.

What you're looking at is probably Model Space (AutoCAD has the concept of Model Space and Paper Space, but Stardraw AV only imports Model Space).  Model Space contains all the components of a drawing, but not necessarily laid out as they would appear in the real world.  Paper Space arranges these components in a way that makes sense when you print.  An AutoCAD DWG contains one Model Space but can contain many Paper Spaces.

You could therefore ask the architect for a version of the DWG file where Model Space = Paper Space.

I hope this is helpful.

Kind regards,
Rob Robinson
Stardraw.com