Actionair: DWFs in action

Actionair of the United Kingdom makes fan coils and dampers. They show off their products using DWF and PDF.

Check out those file sizes! Their site supports DWF for users with the Autodesk DWF Viewer or Autodesk Design Review by providing links to DWF files. They support users without by using the Project Freewheel Viewer.

http://www.actionair.co.uk/

You can get to the Freewheel section by selecting Products and then Drawings. Action Air also makes the original drawings available via i-Drop.

This is definitely DWF in action.

Comments

[E A]

No question that PDF plots direct from DWG are superior to PDF plots from DWF-published DWG, and superior to direct plots from DWF. All web browsers read PDF's. So what's AutoDesk hoping to accomplish re DWF? File size hasn't been a selection criteria for CAD conversion software since Win 3.1, 26kbs dial-up and 60MB HDD's.

[Scott Sheppard]

Thank you for the question. Ignoring file size (which was just an observation on my part), what separates DWF from PDF is precision/accuracy, metadata, and how the data is modeled. A DWF is viewport aware so electronic measurements can be taken from different parts of a page, and the user will get correct results. In addition to the graphics to get the right picture on the screen or on the paper, a DWF can have meaningful metadata such as the fire rating on a door. A DWF is an information model - not a picture of a model. If the same door appears on multiple sheets in a PDF, it may get counted multiple times. In a DWF, the door is in the file once with each sheet having its own view of the door. We provide our users with a choice: PDF or DWF.