Comparison: of AutoCAD files published to DWFx and XPS

Senior Product Manager, Allister Lundberg, reports that there are several reasons why users should create .dwfx files from AutoCAD instead of creating .xps using a generic XPS document writer.

• DWFx files created by AutoCAD Sheet Set Manager, AutoCAD Publish, or by SaveAs DWFx in Autodesk Design Review 2008 include additional metadata that XPS files do not have. As such, DWFx can include richer design data, including 3D models, sheet, and object properties like block data.
• DWFx files created by the AutoCAD Sheet Set Manager or AutoCAD Publish, or by SaveAs DWFx in Autodesk Design Review 2008 can be multisheet.
• Working in DWFx instead of generic XPS provides opportunities to reuse that data in other Autodesk solutions such as Autodesk Design Review, Autodesk Buzzsaw, Autodesk Streamline, Autodesk Productstream, and Autodesk Vault.
• XPS files created by the XPS Driver cannot be viewed in Autodesk Design Review.

A tailored for CAD DWFx file is not the same as a generic XPS file. On way to depict this is with a Venn diagram (my grade school teacher will be so proud):

If we compare the five methods for creating XPS-compliant design data, we find:

As mentioned in AutoCAD 2008: DWF versus DWFx differences, some AutoCAD users will want to create DWF files. Some will want to create DWFx files. For those who create DWFx files, the AutoCAD DWFx Driver is the way the go. The latest version of DWF, a.k.a. DWFx, allows design data to go way beyond paper and reach users who have yet to download a DWF-specific application such as Autodesk Design Review.