Beyond the Paper

Configuring Repro Desk Server to support DWF

Back in April, I posted an article about State of the Practice for DWF with Commercial Reprographers. Yesterday, Senior Architect and DWF Technical Evangelist, Brian Mathews covered Managing Complex AEC Designs with Autodesk DWF at an International Reprographics Association (IRgA) webinar (web-based seminar). After the presentation, several reprographers were curious as to how to configure their Océ Repro Desk Servers to natively support DWF files.

To start the process, a reprographers needs to download the free Océ Client Tools from the Océ Plan Center web site: http://www.oceplancenter.com/download.asp. The reprographer installs the Océ Client Tools on the same computer that is running Océ Repro Desk Server. The Océ Client Tools include a makeldf.exe utility that is essential to this process. The makeldf.exe utility is then configured into Océ Repro Desk Server as a file preprocessor:

1. In Windows Explorer, create a directory where the MakeLDF utility will write files to (for example, create c:\ocerd\MakeLDF).

2. In Océ Repro Desk Server 1.6.3, click Configure->Advanced.

3. Expand the File Processing branch.

4. Expand the DWF branch.

5. Click the "Preprocess Target Directory" branch and enter the full path of the directory that you created in step 1, e.g. c:\ocerd\MakeLDF.

6. Click the Preprocess Command branch. Enter the following command line exactly as it is written here:
   
   makeldf "%f" /D=%d
   
   Make sure you have quotes around the file name since the paths to the DWF files you process may contain spaces.

7. Click OK in the Configuration Manager dialog.

Brian's presentation demonstrated industry trends toward keeping data digital as long as possible. As such reprographers will have more opportunities to work with more DWF files as more and more people become involved in Architectural, Electrical, and Construction projects.

DWF to Tiff Conversion

The commercial printing industry is often referred to as reprographics. As such, service providers are called reprographers. Reprographer, Steve Kuykendall, maintains a forum for discussion of reprographic issues. The forum is administered as a Yahoo group called Apprentice List. Apprentice was the name for the Repro Desk product when it was briefly sold under the Autodesk name. Repro Desk is now marketed, developed, sold, and supported by Océ. To subscribe to the forum, you can send an email to [email protected].

As a file format that is often supplied to reprographers, DWF comes up now and then. Recently some of the forum members asked about DWF to Tiff conversion. Autodesk DWF Partner, CADzation supplies a DWF to Tiff converter called AcroPlot Repro. AcroPlot Repro provides a solution for reprographers who are using older versions of Océ Repro Desk that do not support DWF natively.

Whether direct from DWF to the device or via an intermediate conversion to Tiff, DWF can be printed by commercial reprographers. What you do with your design data in addition to committing it to paper allows DWF to go beyond the paper.

Project Freewheel: Can I view a DWF file on my Blackberry?

Can I view a DWF file on my Blackberry?
We recently made changes to Project Freewheel to support this. The home page, http://freewheel.labs.autodesk.com does not work. This index page contains incompatible elements. With this in mind, you can try viewing the hotel sample by entering http://freewheel.labs.autodesk.com/dwf.aspx on your mobile device. Not all devices are the same. We have only tried a few. Your mileage may vary.

Is viewing your design data predetermined, or do you possess freewheel? [pun intended :-)]

For the latest information on Project Freewheel, see Scott Sheppard's blog: It's Alive in the Lab.

Project Freewheel: When can we test the software?

When can we test the software?
Right now. That is what the Project Freewheel technology preview is all about. There is no need to run it on your own server, just build your own solution and web sites using our system as a hidden back-end web service that integrates seamlessly into your own web site and solution. Look at the developer section at http://freewheel.labs.autodesk.com/webdevelopers.htm.

Project Freewheel: When is the software available?

When is the software available?
The Project Freewheel service is running now, but it is a technology preview, and thus, is not officially supported. For the latest information on Project Freewheel, see Scott Sheppard's It's Alive in the Lab blog. Project Freewheel is intended for users who wish to experiment with cutting edge technologies.

Autodesk Freewheel is the production version of the service. It is monitored for up time and stability by the same Autodesk IT Operations team that supports Buzzsaw and Constructware. So you can use Autodesk Freewheel in a production environment now.

Project Freewheel: How can we build up our own server?

How can we build up our own server?
You cannot build your own Project Freewheel server at this time; however there is no need to have your own server. If you follow the directions on the site found at http://freewheel.labs.autodesk.com/webdevelopers.htm, it describes how you can use our servers in your own web sites. Project Freewheel runs as a web service and thus there is no need to run your own servers to process the files in most cases.

One thing we'd like feedback on is if customers would be interested in a secured web service (using SSL) that would still be hosted by Autodesk as a service but made secure. We are also interested in hearing from customers who absolutely want to run their own servers for security reasons and would not consider the SSL solution. Feedback can be sent to: [email protected].

Through the Interface: Project Freewheel: Losing Control

Project Freewheel is all the rage. Kean Walmsley's blog, Through the Interface, has an article entitled Project Freewheel: Losing Control!. DWF Programmers, as well as the curious, should check it out.

Project Freewheel: How does it work?

Ever since we announced the Project Freewheel technology preview, our email boxes have been filled with messages from excited customers. Many have asked: How does it work? DWF Technical Evangelist and Software Engineer, Ben Cochran, has provided a high level overview:

1. Using just his browser, a user sends an URL (Uniform Resource Locator) to the Project Freewheel server. The URL identifies the location of a DWF file publicly available on the internet. Alternatively, the user can specify the path to a DWF file on a local or network hard drive.

2. The Project Freewheel server uses the internet to retrieve a copy of the DWF file onto the local hard drive of the server. Password protected DWF files or files in a location where a user name and password are required will not work (at this time).

3. To create Project Freewheel, we took the core rendering engine from the Autodesk DWF Viewer and AutoCAD, tuned it for a web server, and repackaged it. Project Freewheel uses this rendering engine to convert the DWF file to a PNG (Portable Network Graphics) or JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) image file.

4. The Project Freewheel server returns the image to the user's browser. Since image files can be viewed natively by browsers, no additional software is required. Nothing has to be installed on the user's machine. A low resolution image is returned for immediate viewing while a higher resolution image is generated and then returned.

5. As the user zooms, pans, or orbits, JavaScript on the user's computer makes requests to the Project Freewheel server for new image files. This is also possible without installing additional software since browsers support JavaScript. The Project Freewheel server applies the pan, zoom, or orbit to the DWF file, creates a new image file using the rendering engine, and returns the image file to the user's browser.

The ability to pan, zoom, and orbit DWF files free from installing software and independent of a particular platform help DWF go beyond what can be done with traditional paper.

Through the Interface: Linking 2D and 3D with the DWF Viewer 7 API

Kean Walmsley's blog, Through the Interface, has an article entitled Linking 2D and 3D with the DWF Viewer 7 API. DWF Programmers should check it out.

Project Freewheel: got DWF? Telecommunications OSP / Access Network sample

One of our customers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Maksim Sestic, was so excited about the Project Freewheel server-based DWF viewer that he sent us an email:

Dear Freewheelers,
This is just to say "great work!" for your Zero Client implementation. Although in Beta, it looks promising enough. Please find attached a public domain DWF sample of an OSP telecommunications access network overview and schematics. If you like it, feel free to place it in your gallery.
With kindest regards,
Maksim Sestic

Some details on the sample:

Name: Telecommunications OSP / Access Network design sample (Novo naselje - Derventski Lug, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Compiled by: Maksim Sestic
Designed by: Goran Medic, Natasa Simicevic, Dejan Raketic, Marko Djurovic, and others
OSP project generated using Autodesk-based add-on TeleCAD-GIS
File size: 3.58MB
Number of sheets: 6

got DWF?

1. If you have the free Autodesk DWF Viewer or Autodesk Design Review already installed, you can view the sample DWF file directly:
   
   Telecommunications.dwf (3671.2K)
   
   Autodesk DWF Viewer and Autodesk Design Review provide a rich experience that includes viewing 3D models and multiple sheets of 2D data, orbiting, cross sectioning, pulling apart, panning, zooming, URL navigation, property information, layers, named views, animations, printing, and more.

2. If you are on a platform such as the Macintosh or Linux where the Autodesk DWF Viewer and Autodesk Design Review are not available, you can view the sample DWF file using the Project Freewheel viewer:
   
   Freewheel sample HTML page
   
   This sample page allows you to load DWF files, zoom in, zoom out, zoom rectangle, zoom extents, pan, orbit, and select which sheet to view. Additional capabilities will be added to Project Freewheel as the technology preview progresses.

With technologies like ActiveX and server-based viewers, DWF provides users with a choice. With paper, you just have paper. This is another way DWF goes beyond the paper.