If you have not already heard by now, Autodesk has released "Bonus Pack 2" for AutoCAD 2009. This update includes two PDF enhancements. The first gives you the ability to attach PDF files as underlays. The second includes enhancements to PDF output.

The download is only available for AutoCAD 2009, AutoCAD Revit Architecture Suite 2009, and AutoCAD Revit Structure Suite 2009. Of course it is also only available to subscription customers.

To get this "Bonus Pack", log in to the subscription center and a link should be listed on the front page.

PDF Attach

The new command for attaching a PDF is named PDFATTACH. You can also use the right-click menu in the External References palette. If you attach a vector PDF, you can use object snaps to snap to geometry in the PDF file. This is controlled by the PDFOSNAP system variable. If the PDF contains layer information, use the PDFLAYERS command for on/off control.

You can use the PDFCLIP command to perform clipping operations on the PDF. The frame outline on an attached PDF is controlled by the PDFFRAME system variable. You can adjust the visible properties of the PDF including fade and contrast by using the PDFADJUST command.

PDF Output

A new PC3 file named DWG to PDF Bonus Pack.PC3 is created that includes the enhancements. These enhancements include increased resolution. The readme file recommends a setting of at least 600dpi. TrueType fonts are now embedded instead of converted to graphics. This should reduce file sizes of the PDF files.

Merge control settings are also available in this new driver. This is the "Lines Merge" vs. "Lines Overwrite" setting. You can include layer information in the output PDF now, and automatically display the finished PDF in your PDF viewer when the plot command is finished.

Summary

These are two welcome additions. A quick run through of each feature produced positive results.

It's a shame that this "Bonus Pack" is only for subscription customers. The enhancements to the PDF plot driver should have been included in the initial release in AutoCAD 2007 since these are basic requirements. The PDF attachment feature has been at or near the top of the AUGI wish list for a long time now. Unfortunately, non-subscription users will have to keep wishing for now.

Labels: AutoCAD 2009, Bonus Pack, New Features, pdf, Tips, Utilities, Wishlist

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PermaLink       Posted 11/16/2008 06:53:00 AM      Comments (2)

In a recent, highly unscientific poll with only 81 respondents, 60% of readers said they use PDF when they send drawings outside the office. 7% said they use DWF.

The reason I bring this back up is a statement made by Mike Hudspeth in an article titled MCAD Modeling, in the September 2007 Cadalyst. The statement was...

Everything is 3D today. It's hard to avoid it. Even Adobe Acrobat, the industry de facto standard document-transfer format, is offering 3D capability...

I know Autodesk has been making strides in 3D capabilities with DWF, but this article flat out calls PDF the "de facto" standard for document transfer. So is DWF gaining or losing ground?

We primarily work with what I consider 2D drawings in Land Desktop and AutoCAD (no 3D solids), so we have little to no experience with portable 3D files in DWF or PDF format.

If you work with 3D files and share them using either method, please leave a comment with any thoughts you have on this matter. Thanks!

Labels: Cadalyst, Document sharing, DWF, pdf

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PermaLink       Posted 9/20/2007 06:36:00 PM      Comments (1)

Have you ever needed to Xref (or reference) a PDF file? One way would be to save the PDF as a TIFF and reference the image. Of course there is the old way of inserting an OLE object referencing the PDF. Both have their drawbacks.

Here is another way. Download DWF Writer from Autodesk (it's free), then open your PDF in Acrobat (reader is fine) and plot the PDF to a DWF using the DWF Writer print driver. Note that multi sheet PDFs are converted to a multi sheet DWF.

Then use the reference manager or the ._DWFATTACH command in AutoCAD to reference the DWF file. (The ability to reference DWF files was added in AutoCAD 2007).

Now if there was just some way to create a reference to each sheet in the DWF all at once rather than having to repeat the ._DWFATTACH command for each one.

Labels: AutoCAD 2008, DWF, pdf

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PermaLink       Posted 4/25/2007 01:46:00 PM      Comments (0)

You are probably reading this because you have a PDF file that you want to convert to editable geometry in a DXF or DWG file.

First off, if someone gave you a PDF instead of a DWG, it was probably for a reason. Ask the DWG author for the DWG file. This is the easiest method, and you don't have to worry about data loss during the conversion.

If you cannot obtain the source DWG file, try these steps.

Tool	Notes
Adobe Illustrator	Open the PDF using this software, then save as a DWG or DXF file.
Ghostscript & GSView	Open the PDF using this software, then export to a DXF file.
Adobe Acrobat	Open the PDF using this software, then use the copy graphics tool to copy the graphics to the clipboard. Then paste into AutoCAD.
PDFImport	This program will import a vector PDF file directly into AutoCAD. No DXF conversion needed. Raster PDF's are imported as raster images. Requires AutoCAD 2000 or later.
PDFConvert	This standalone windows program will convert a vector PDF file to a DXF or SCR file for use in AutoCAD or other CAD application. Does not support raster PDF's
PDF2CAD	This standalone windows program will convert a vector PDF file to a DXF file.

Note that if the PDF author added security methods to the PDF, some or all of these methods may not work.

Updated 01 FEB 2007

Labels: pdf

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PermaLink       Posted 3/28/2006 08:47:00 PM      Comments (2)

If you need the ability to launch a PDF file from a menu macro, lisp file, or VBA routine, check out the code shown below. This will launch the PDF using the default registered application, just as if you had entered the file name in the Windows Start-Run dialog

This avoids any browser related issues which can arise if you use the AutoCAD "BROWSER" command.

It makes no assumptions regarding the application (or it's version) used to open a PDF document, or the presence of a properly configured PGP file.

;;;==============================
;;;       LISP EXAMPLE
;;;==============================
(defun C:LaunchPDF (/ shell)
  (vl-load-com)
  (setq filename "\\\\server\\share\\mydoc.pdf")
  (setq shell
  (vla-getinterfaceobject
    (vlax-get-acad-object)
    "Shell.Application"
  )
  )
  (vlax-invoke-method shell 'Open filename)
  (vlax-release-object shell)
)

'================================
'      VBA EXAMPLE
'================================
Private Sub LaunchPDF()
  Dim fn As String, objShell As Object
  fn = "\\server\share\mydoc.pdf"
  Set objShell = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
  objShell.Open (fn)
  Set objShell = Nothing
End Sub

Labels: pdf, Programming, Tips

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PermaLink       Posted 11/22/2005 02:00:00 PM      Comments (3)

This post has been updated. The new page is here http://rkmcswain.blogspot.com/2006/03/convert-pdf-to-dwg.html

Labels: pdf

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PermaLink       Posted 4/21/2005 07:10:00 AM      Comments (7)