Beyond the Paper

DWF to DWFx Batch Converter

To date, we had a number of inquiries from customers around this issue. Some are asking for a DWF to DWFx converter, others for a DWFx to DWF converter.

Well, we listened and came up with this little utility that covers the above stated. Please note that the enclosed is a DWF Toolkit sample application. The quality of the output is not guaranteed but it should be similar to what is produced by Autodesk Design Review 2009.

Here are some additional details:

"DWFxConverter application is a tool to convert a source DWF file to a DWFx file. This application needs to be run from the command prompt.

Usage: DWFxConverter.exe infile outfile

infile: File path to the source file

outfile:Specifies the directory and/or filename for the file being generated. If no path and only a file name is provided, the file is generated in the folder from which the command is executed.

Example: DWFxConverter.exe C:\DWF\ArborPress.dwf C:\DWFx\ArborPress.dwfx

In the command prompt, from the folder containing the application, type DWFxConverter.exe without parameters to display the usage for this application."

Download the DWFxConverter & enjoy!

-Volker

Access the Hidden Property "_name"

Some of our developer partners and customers used to access the '_name' property through the Autodesk Design Review 2008 API.

I have learned that changes in the Autodesk Design Review 2009 API have affected the process adversely.

Please find enclosed a sample application and a sample DWF file together with a Read Me - all of which should enable you once more to achieve the desired results with the Autodesk Design Review 2009 API.

Download

Thank you.

-Volker

Spotlight on .Net instead of ActiveX ?

Historically, AutoCAD has been using .NET for a couple releases now but Autodesk Design Review was never allowed to use .NET until today.

In terms of education, any ActiveX control can be used in .NET.

To do this with our control, apply the following steps:

1. Open up a .NET Form application.
2. Make sure the Toolbox is visible. If not, use the “View” menu and select “Toolbox”.
3. Right click in the “Components” bar in the Toolbox and select “Choose Items…”.
4. Select the “COM Components” tab.
5. Check the “Autodesk DWF Viewer Control” item.
6. Push the “Ok” button.

Once completed, our framework ADV (Autodesk DWF Viewer) control will show up as a new tool (.NET Form control) in the Components section of the Toolbox and as such, you can drop one right into your application just as you can with any other item in the Toolbox.

Also note that this .NET Form control will expose .NET versions of all the same properties, methods and events as its ActiveX counterpart.

Note:  This *trick* works for any ActiveX control … we’re not special. When doing this, .NET automatically creates what is called an “interop” module (also called a managed wrapper) that does the translation between the COM world and .Net world. However this interop is another module that must be included with any application built using this technique (it will show up in your solutions binary directory and will be prefixed by “AxInterop.”).

-Volker

Autodesk DWF Toolkit 7.5 Released

The newest version of the DWF™ Toolkit 7.5 provides APIs for reading and writing DWF files, the new Microsoft XML Paper Specification (XPS) compatible DWFx files. This is the first toolkit to support DWFx which many of you application developers have asked for.

The toolkit includes cross-platform support (Windows, Linux) and 32-bit and 64-bit environment support. In addition to the prebuilt binaries, also provided is the C++ source code. This allows you to compile the toolkit for any platform of your choice.

This version of the toolkit handles DWF files generated by AutoCAD 2009 and other Autodesk design software applications. This is the exact same code we use in our own applications.

Download it here.

--Volker

Autodesk Design Review 2009 API Documentation

Please find enclosed the API documentation for Autodesk Design Review 2009 which is not included in the product install itself.

I have enclosed the documentation as CHM as well as PDF file. Please ensure to save the CHM file to your local disk, else you might experience viewing difficulties - this is a known Microsoft issue, whereas network based CHM files cannot be viewed correctly.

ADR 2009 API Help Reference CHM Version

The PDF file is really a shortcut for those who prefer to view it outside of the "Microsoft Help UI". Please note that we managed to convert all the content correctly, yet you might find some incorrect numbering of the chapters. The actual API content is correct.

ADR 2009 API Help Reference PDF Version

--Volker

API Overhaul

I am pleased to say that we are finally making some progress on the API front and our development team has agreed to look at our current API and kick off an overhaul of sort.

Needless to say that this is long overdue and I am very excited that this is finally taking shape. Well, "good things take time"!

This change will be reflected in next years release and will not affect Autodesk Design Review 2009. The numerous new features and improvements did not leave any room for the much needed API work in the 2009 release time frame.

It is planned that the makeover will include not only the addition of missing functionality and correction of problems, but also the removal of API that are not being used or are no longer relevant, due to being linked only to legacy products.

This is were YOU come in!

Enclosed is a list of API that are currently slated for the "grinder" and it is crucial that you let us know if you are using any of the stated API. The selection was made based on earlier customer feedback and an internal evaluation.

• IRasterToDWF
• IMarkupEvents
• IAdTempFileHolder
• IAdSectionTypePrivate
• IAdPrintDialog
• IAdPageNavigatorCtrl
• IAdContent
• IAdContent2
• ISheetListCtrl2
• ISheetListCtrl3
• IMarkupPropertiesCtrl2
• IMarkupCtrl
• IMarkupCtrls
• IPropertiesCtrl
• ISectionPropertiesCtrl
• IThumbnailCtrl
• IThumbnailCtrl2
• IThumbnailCtrl3
• IAdECompositeViewerPrivate2
• IEModelEditorToolPrivate
• IText3DToolGather
• IAdPagePaper
• IAdEPlotBookmark
• IAdEPlotDocument
• IAdEPlotPage
• IAdEPlotPagePrivate
• IAdDocument
• IEPlotDrawList
• ISelectionInserter
• IAdEPlotViewer
• IAdEPlotViewer2

Please reply to this post or send your feedback directly to volker.joseph@autodesk.com. Feedback can consist of anything API - even API you would like to see or is not working for you at this point. Please ensure to include an explanation or supporting documentation with your feedback, thank you.

Now is the time to speak up!

--Volker

DWF + WPF = 3D Collaborator

The DWF Toolkit makes application development possible for Autodesk partners.

Autodesk is a Microsoft technology partner. The Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation provides a foundation for building applications and high fidelity experiences in Microsoft Windows Vista, blending together application UI, documents, and media content, while exploiting the full power of your computer.

InterKnowlogy is also a Microsoft technology partner. Leveraging the technology of the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), InterKnowlogy built a 3D Collaborator for AutoCAD© Drawings. It allows you to annotate on the 2D or 3D surface of AutoCAD Drawings that have been published as DWF. 3D Collaborator is another example of an independent use of the free Autodesk DWF Toolkit. Although the download includes some prewired sample DWF files, InterKnowlogy updated 3D Collaborator this month to make opening your own DWF files easier.

InterKnowlogy 3D Collaborator

Please take 3D Collaborator for a spin with your own DWF files and tell us what you think. In this age of ever expanding bandwidth, does size matter? How is the speed? How would you like to see the metadata presented? You can email scott.sheppard@autodesk.com with your thoughts or simply post a comment on this blog page. Your comments are welcome.

Can I distribute Autodesk Design Review 2008 to others?

Yes. You can redistribute Autodesk Design Review 2008 to anyone without prior approval from Autodesk, subject to the terms of the license agreement.

If you examine your license agreement (license.rtf file gets installed) for Autodesk Design Review 2008, you will find:

"The Software is licensed to You as a single product, and its components may not be separated for distribution or use.  You may copy and distribute the Software and User Documentation only in its entirety, and you will not redistribute: (i) Software (whether it is integrated with other technology as a component or as a standalone product) that does not provide end users access to the complete Software Install process, including this Agreement; or (ii) incomplete, modified, reverse engineered, or otherwise altered copies of the Software or User Documentation."

Based on the license agreement, a common strategy is for application developers to include SetupDesignReview.exe with their applications and have their users run it as a prerequisite to installing their applications. The MSI file is also available. The ability to include the free Autodesk Design Review 2008 with applications will add value to the DWF experience and helps DWF go Beyond the Paper.

Please feel free to contact us should you have any additional questions. Thank you.

--Volker

API in Focus III

This is the 2nd follow up to the "API in Focus" blog article, an idea we introduced on April 27th 2007.

The enclosed link allows you to download the second half of a document, covering the overall subject of "HTML and URL Parameters Supported in Design Review 2008".

HTML and URL Parameters Supported in Design Review 2008 Part 2 of 2

The enclosed content covers the following subjects and provides sample code for:

• PageSheetIndex
• NamedView
• View
• HighlightHyperlinks
• HyperlinksEnabled
• HyperlinkTooltipVisible
• SingleClickHyperlink
• PaperVisible
• ToolbarVisible
• UserInterfaceEnabled
• MarkupsVisible
• NotifyMissingFonts

The use of the HTML/URL parameters in your APIs lets you control the look and feel of the UI, as well as control the user's initial view of the DWF.

By using the parameters, you can accomplish these tasks without having to do additional coding in JavaScript.

--Volker

API Questions and Answers

A customer from Munich approached us with the following interesting questions:

"I've embedded Design Review 2008 in some webpage, accessing the API through Javascript. It works fairly well, but there's one thing I can't figure out:

• How can I select (and deselect) objects from Javascript?
• In the samples (eg. Object Highlighting) they use AdView.DocumentHandler.ObjectNodes, but this does not work (IE gives an undefined error - sample doesn't work). It's a bit strange, since the samples try to use it, but it isn't even stated in the API documentation.
• So, is there any way to select objects from Javascript?"

Anil Narra, one of our developers, replied: "First off, our object APIs went through two distinct iterations. The original object API was 2D only so we wrote a new unified object API which works the same for both 2D and 3D. Both the IAdViewerEvents::OnSelectObject event and IAdECompositeViewer::ObjectsSelected property are of the former group and while not deprecated for 2D, have never really worked for 3D so you shouldn’t be using them (it doesn’t surprise me that ObjectsSelected blows up for 3D sections).

That said, we have attempted to come up with a unified object API which operates the same for both 2D and 3D. Here is the gist of what you need to do:

1. Trap for the newer OnSelectObjectEx event but don’t handle it so that the default event handling will still occur. Unfortunately the new selection set isn’t created until such time as the default handler does its thing so you can’t look at the selection set inside your event handler. So instead, set a global boolean called “OnSelectObjectExCalled” to true (the purpose of this will become clear in a minute).

2. Right after the selection set changes, there will be a repaint (to highlight the new selections) so trap out the ensuing OnBeginDraw event (or OnEndDraw if you rather) and see if OnSelectObjectExCalled is true. If so, the selection set is now valid and you can fetch it via the IAdContent::Objects(ObjectType::Selected) property (be sure and set the OnSelectObjectExCalled member back to false). It would have been nice had we created a post “OnSelectObjectHappened” type event in which the new selection set would already exist but we didn’t so you’ll have to resort to this repaint trapping scheme instead.

3. The IAdContent::Objects(ObjectType::Selected) property returns an IAdCollection of IAdObject’s. These are the object’s themselves so you don’t need to use the IAdContent2::Object property (returns the IAdObject for an object with the given id). For each item in the collection, you can invoke its “Properties” property to get an IAdCollection of all the IAdProperty items possessed by the object.

Ps: You can also control the selection set programmatically. First call IAdContent::CreateUserCollection to return an empty IAdUserCollection. You can then add to it the IAdObject interfaces of those objects you want selected. Once complete, you can “set” the IAdContent::Objects(ObjectType::Selected) property to your collection to effect the desired selection."

Thank you, Anil.

--Volker