Beyond the Paper

Comparison of DWF and PDF

In a previous blog posting, I mentioned that what separates DWF from PDF is that DWF is specifically designed for CAD data whereas PDF is a generic solution. This is evident when the formats are compared based on items of interest to the design community.

Feature	DWF	PDF
History:	Design Web Format, an open, secure format designed specifically for sharing rich engineering design data.	Portable Document Format, a generic format designed for textual-based document exchange.
Basic Functionality:	Enables team members who do not use CAD applications to participate in the digital processes by viewing building, GIS, or product designs.	Preserves document integrity, and enables businesses to simplify document processes.
Publishable from AutoCAD?	Yes. DWF creation is a built-in feature of Autodesk design applications such as AutoCAD, AutoCAD-based products, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk MapGuide, and Autodesk Revit software. Users can "publish" rich design data with a single click.	Yes. AutoCAD 2007 has the ability to plot to PDF.
Scalability for Design Data?	Yes. Extensible and highly compressed print-ready format supports multiple pages and design intelligence.	No. Limited compression not architected for large data sets or design intelligence.
High Precision for Design Data?	Yes. A DWF can go as high as 2,147,483,648 DPI. As such DWF can measure the continental USA with a precision of +/- 2.4 millimeters when using the maximum DPI and paper size settings.	No. A PDF for the Adobe Reader is limited to 2,400 DPI.
Multisheet Drawing Sets?	Yes. The user can publish multisheet drawing sets from multiple DWG source files to a single DWF file automatically. DWF also preserves design coordinates and sheet properties.	Yes, but with significantly longer publishing times and resource consumption than DWF.
3D Models?	Yes. 3D can be published from Autodesk design applications or captured from non-Autodesk OpenGL applications.	Yes.
Contains Design Intelligence?	Yes. DWF files are more than an electronic plot and can contain sheet, object, component, and mass properties, as well as markup data. A DWF knows a door is a door.	No. Extra data is limited to markup data only. To a PDF, a door is a collection of polylines.
Optimum File Compression for Designs?	Yes.	No. PDF files are often three-times larger, straining bandwidth and system resources, and slowing publishing and viewing times.
Open Access, Extensible to Other Applications?	Yes. The DWF Toolkit enables users to develop applications that read or write multisheet DWF drawings for free. In addition, the free Autodesk DWF Viewer API makes it possible for end users to embed DWF drawings in HTML and Office applications, or for developers to customize the viewer for use in third-party applications.	Yes, but the developer will have to purchase a license to the libraries to create a PDF.
Preserve CAD Layers?	Yes, automatically publishes only those layers the author intended as defined by the AutoCAD layout. For security purposes layer information is not published unless selected by the author.	Yes, but only with the additional purchase of Acrobat Professional. Uses a layer selection tool separate from the AutoCAD layout, which can lead to standards violations. Layer information is published by default, creating a security issue where end-users may print a document with critical layers inadvertently turned off.
Print to Scale?	Yes. Supports printing of both 2D and 3D drawings, maps, and models.	Yes, with some caveats on large format devices.
Supports Different Scales per Viewport?	Yes.	No.
Supports Merge Control?	Directly.	Indirectly through 3rd party software. This can introduce printing issues.
AutoCAD-Based Views?	Yes.	No. Supported by the raw file format, but not exported by Acrobat Professional.
Hyperlinks?	Yes, automatically published from the AutoCAD family of products and Autodesk Revit.	No. Supported by the raw file format but not exported by Acrobat Professional.
Redlines/Comments?	Yes, with the free Autodesk Design Review.	Yes, with the additional purchase of Acrobat Professional.
Copy Protection?	Available via the free AutoShred-DWF application from Pinion Software.	Yes.
Password Protection?	Yes.	Yes.
Raster Graphics?	Yes.	Yes.
Vector Graphics?	Yes.	Yes.
Free Viewer Available?	Autodesk DWF Viewer (17MB download). Autodesk Design Review (27MB download).	Yes (20MB download).
Viewer Already Installed?	Possibly. Over 12 million users have downloaded and installed the free Autodesk DWF Viewer.	Likely.
Platforms:	Windows; Other platforms supported via Project Freewheel and other third party solutions.	Windows, Pocket PC, Symbian, Palm, Macintosh, Unix, Linux, Sun Solaris.
Languages:	DWF Viewer: 14 [Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Spanish]	Acrobat Reader: 30

PDF works great for text-based documents. Designs, however, require more.

Updated Revit Structure and Revit Building Now Available

Periodically Autodesk releases updates for our products. A recent Revit update includes corrections for DWF publishing, e.g. font positioning.

Autodesk Revit Structure 3
This latest build (20060609_2300) fixes some performance and phasing issues currently found within Autodesk Revit Structure 3-based software products. It resolves the lag time problem when creating structural framings. It also fixes an incorrect phasing display problem.

Autodesk Revit Building 9
This build (20060518_2300) addresses a reported area tolerance issue in Revit-based release 9 project files. It also addresses measurement-related issues discovered in DWF™ files produced from Revit-based release 9 project files. Note: This update incorporates issues previously addressed in the last build (20060426_2300). Specifically with Autodesk Revit Building 9-based projects utilizing linked files, and issues relating to cascading network licensing for the Autodesk AutoCAD Revit Series—Building 9 products.

All Revit'd Up with Someplace to Go!

Autodesk Labs

One of our Beta Program Managers, Volker Joseph, would like to introduce you to Autodesk Labs.

http://myfeedback.autodesk.com/labs/

The site is an extension of the MyFeedback site and was first brought to life by the AutoCAD group, after they were asked set up a customer-facing lab environment for future Autodesk code. The site will be used by the various Autodesk groups to host a series of alpha/beta plug-ins for their product lines. For example, the “DGN V8 Translator” is the first plug-in that went live as of yesterday. The Inventor group has also expressed a strong level of interest. Labs isn’t necessarily based around just plug-ins for the product lines. It can be any technology we wish to test with our installed base of customers.

Autodesk Labs - Man's Best Friend.

An Unfortunate Event in Kansas

One of our Worldwide Autodesk Users Network members shared the following report:

A backhoe weighing 8 tons is on top of a flatbed trailer and heading east on Interstate 70 near Hays, Kansas. The extended shovel arm is made of hardened refined steel and the approaching overpass is made of commercial-grade concrete, reinforced with 1½ inch steel rebar spaced at 6 inch intervals in a criss-cross pattern layered at 1 foot Vertical spacing.

Unfortunately the flatbed driver did not realize the backhoe was taller than the underpass.

We are all thankful no one was hurt.

DWF Toolkit Versions included in recent AutoCAD, Inventor, and DWF products

The DWF Toolkit allows programmers to work with DWF files without understanding the gory details associated with the file format. Since the toolkit provides capabilities to read and write DWF files, the DWF Toolkit is included with many Autodesk products. For example, AutoCAD uses the DWF Toolkit to publish a DWF file, manage markups, and view a DWF file as an underlay.

As mentioned in previous blog articles, new versions of the toolkit are released as new capabilities are supported. New toolkits are backward compatible in that they support DWF files created by any previous version of the toolkit.

Autodesk Inventor R11 DWF Extension Is Available

Autodesk Inventor subscription customers can download a special mid-year release that allows Inventor users to extend the functionality of Autodesk Inventor 11 products and better capture key Inventor information in DWF format. These DWF publishing enhancements are complementary with the latest release of Autodesk Design Review 2007 (formerly DWF Composer) and Autodesk DWF Viewer 7.0. The DWF Extension can be downloaded from the Autodesk Subscription Center. This extension performs a full uninstall of R11 and then performs a complete install. As such, some individual user settings are not preserved. This extension includes the corrections formerly released as R11 SP1.

Autodesk DWF Writer 3.1 Is Available

Download DWF Writer 3.1

In addition to releasing Autodesk DWF Viewer 7.0 and Autodesk Design Review 2007, the free Autodesk DWF Writer was also released yesterday. The version was updated to 3.1. The Autodesk DWF Writer allows 2D and 3D DWF files to be published from non-Autodesk applications. (Autodesk applications have the ability to create DWF files already built-in.)

Publishing 3D DWF from SketchUp

The DWF Writer allows DWF files to be created from non-Autodesk applications. It can publish both 2D or 3D DWF files:

• For 2D, the DWF Writer acts like a system printer. An application prints to the DWF Writer for 2D and the data is written to a 2D DWF file.
• For 3D, the DWF Writer intercepts OpenGL commands from a running application. The captured 3D commands are written to a 3D DWF file.

One of our customers reported difficulty in creating 3D DWF files from SketchUp. Principal architect and software engineer, Brian Enright, noted that:

SketchUp was not initially one of our target applications for capturing graphics. Most OpenGL applications have different ways of optimizing their graphics, so trying to handle all cases of optimizations is very difficult. SketchUp appears to optimize such that any object not in the current view area will not be rendered, so the DWF Writer will not be able to capture them. SketchUp also optimizes how textures are rendered, and therefore does not re-render the textures once the file is opened. Hence, DWF Writer will not be able to capture those as well. Unfortunately SketchUp does not offer a state where no document is open. In other words, there is always a 3D document open. As a result, DWF Writer cannot use its method of: opening the application without a document, have DWF Writer initiate and connect to the application, and then in the application, open a 3D document. In addition, SketchUp generates its OpenGL data into display lists at file open time instead of at rendering time when it just dumps its display list. So to get all geometries for SketchUp, DWF Writer needs to capture SketchUp at file open time.

Despite these difficulties, there is a way to capture OpenGL from SketchUp and publish a 3D DWF file using DWF Writer:

1. In SketchUp, New a document.

2. From the View menu, turn off all auxiliary geometry.

3. If you still see geometry of any kind, select it, right mouse click, then select Hide.

4. To make sure the background image is not in the camera view, use the Orbit or Camera Look to move the camera, so all you can see is gray.

5. Start DWF Writer for 3D and select the SketchUp application as the application to be captured.

6. Select your output file name and hit OK. Nothing should happen except a "Processing..." message.

7. Go back to SketchUp and Open the file you want to capture. Once opened, a DWF file should be generated.

Whether coming from an Autodesk application or non-Autodesk application, the ability to go beyond 2D to 3D is another way DWF goes beyond the paper.

Autodesk DWF Viewer 7.0 and Autodesk Design Review 2007 Now Available

Years ago the Campbell's Soup Company had a television commercial where children, anxious to eat dinner, would ask their Mothers "Is it soup yet?" The inference was that the soup tasted so good, the children could hardly wait for it to be cooked. Well I am happy to announce: "It's soup." Autodesk DWF Viewer 7.0 and Autodesk Design Review 2007 have been released.

Download the free Autodesk DWF Viewer 7.0

For Autodesk Design Review 2007, the marketing team has produced a PDF file that highlights what's new:

Download DesignReview2007.pdf (3031.6K)

There are big advances in 2D and 3D review, including capabilities for importing DWG and DXF files, 3D pull-apart and cross-sectioning; new batch publishing capabilities and printing and viewing in black and white, making the review process even easier. Enhanced measure and markup capabilities, the ability to combine 2D and 3D project data into a single file, automatic tracking of all changes, and tighter integration with all Autodesk design products mean more powerful, compact reviewing technology for users of Autodesk software.

Thanks to everyone who made this possible - especially the beta testers who really put these products through the ringer.

The Autodesk DWF Composer R2 30 day trial version is still available. A trial version of Autodesk Design Review 2007 will be available at a later date.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum...

Many Beyond the Paper blog readers also participate in the Autodesk discussion group forums. Users who navigate to:

Autodesk DWF Composer
http://discussion.autodesk.com/forum.jspa?forumID=140
news://discussion.autodesk.com/autodesk.dwf.composer

will find that the newsreader discussion group name has been changed to:

Autodesk Design Review
http://discussion.autodesk.com/forum.jspa?forumID=140 [stays the same]
news://discussion.autodesk.com/autodesk.design.review [name changed]

Please accommodate this change. If you encounter a funny error message about a discussion group not being found, it is probably the result of this name change.