Beyond the Paper

Humor: Autodesk Labs (part 1)

Do you ever wonder what those Autodesk Labs guys do?

Josh Natarajan

John Schmier

Well according to John Schmier, they first need to look the part and then draw pretty pictures on the walls. And to think that children used to get scolded for such behavior.

Autodesk Design Review 2008 is our new free viewer

Autodesk Design Review 2008 is now available as a download from the Autodesk web site.

Release Coordinator, Debbie Bambao, reports that Autodesk Design Review 2008 can be installed side by side with Autodesk DWF Viewer 7.0 but not earlier versions. So the relationship of Autodesk Design Review 2008 to other DWF viewing applications is:

application	relationship to Design Review 2008
Autodesk Design Review 2007	2008 replaces as a new version
Autodesk DWF Composer R2	2008 replaces as a new version
Autodesk DWF Composer R1	2008 replaces as a new version
Autodesk DWF Viewer 7.0	2008 can peacefully co-exist with 7.0
Autodesk DWF Viewer 6.5 and earlier	2008 uninstalls 6.5

This was necessary because Autodesk Design Review and Autodesk DWF Viewer share some libraries in common and the updating of the libraries by Autodesk Design Review 2008 breaks the older versions of the Autodesk DWF Viewer. For example, Autodesk DWF Viewer 6.5 and earlier versions did not have support for Customer Error Reporting. With the release of Autodesk Design Review 2008, we have dropped the DWF Viewer product and are delivering the full design review functionality in the free Autodesk Design Review. Thanks Debbie.

Version Compare: A simple polyline example

As mentioned in an earlier blog posting, Version Compare of Autodesk Design Review 2008 is very precise when it comes to comparing lines in a DWF file. It detects all of the changes except for line color. I decided to conduct a simple test.

1. 
   I created a DWF file with 9 polylines. I inserted text next to each line to describe what change I was going to make to each polyline. I used AutoCAD 2007 to create the original version of this file.
   Download dwf_compare_lines_original.dwf (3.8K)

2. 
   I made a copy of the original DWF file. I converted the DWF file to ASCII using the unpack utility, so I could make simple changes using a text editor. I modified the file:

   1. No difference - This is a control point or baseline. No changes were made.
   2. Point added - The 5 point polyline became a 6 point polyline with the addition of another point at the end.
   3. Point deleted - The 5 point polyline became a 4 point polyline with the removal of the point at the end.
   4. Point changed - The 5 point polyline remained a 5 point polyline but had the coordinates of its last point moved up and to the right.
   5. Color (not detected) - No changes were made to the points. Only the line color has changed from black to purple.
   6. Pattern - No changes were made to the points. Only the line pattern was changed from solid to dashed.
   7. End Cap - No changes were made to the points. Only the line end cap was changed from rounded to butt .
   8. Join - No changes were made to the points. Only the line join style was changed from rounded to miter .
   9. Weight - No changes were made to the points. Only the line weight was changed from 2488 DWF units to 3488 DWF units.
   
   Download dwf_compare_lines_modified.dwf (3.8K)
   Like the original, this too is an ASCII DWF file that can be examined using a text editor such as Notepad.
    

3. 
   While viewing the original DWF file, I invoked Version Compare from the Tools menu.

4. 
   The Version Compare dialog allowed me to pick the modified DWF file as my second DWF file. Once the file was selected, it showed me the list of sheets in this file. In this case, there was only one sheet. I selected that sheet. Note that the dialog does alert users that Warning: Not all drawing changes are included in Compare. For details, please search for "Compare" in the help file. We want users to be aware of the 3D, image, fill pattern, and color limitations.
   
   The compare dialog has an Options button where you can select colors.
   
   
   
   By default, just like what Autodesk Architecture does for DWG comparisons, Additions are green and deletions are red. For this example, I wanted to highlight the additions, so I selected red for my Additions color. In deference to those who are red/green color blind, I selected blue for my Deletions color.

5. 
   After clicking OK from the Version Compare dialog, Autodesk Design Review created two markup items for me. The Additions markup item shows what needs to the original DWF to make it match the modified DWF. The Deletions markup item shows what needs to be removed from the original DWF to make it match the modified DWF. As mentioned in the previous posting, the Version Compare feature cannot detect differences as changes. In this example, 8 of the 9 polylines changed. Version Compare detects 7 of these changes - all except color. So the 7 polylines show up once as added and again as deleted. You can see that the No changes and Color polylines are the only two that Version Compare identifies as unchanged.

6. 
   When an object changes by moving, the change is easy to see. It shows up once in red as added and again in blue as deleted. Due to the movement, these items can be seen side by side. In our case, we have the original black polyline, the added red polyline, and the deleted blue polyline all on top of each other. You can bring the added (red) polyline to the forefront by selecting the Additions markup item. For the line pattern change case, you can see the parts of the solid blue Deletions polyline in the spaces left by the dashed red Additions polyline. Autodesk Design Review also shows a lasso around the region that bounds the extent of the differences included in that markup.

7. 
   The same is true for deletions. You can bring the deleted (blue) polyline to the forefront by selecting the Deletions markup item. Autodesk Design Review shows a lasso around the region that bounds the extent of the differences included in that markup.

By applying pen styles in AutoCAD, most architectural drawings have a variety of line styles based on pattern and weight. These styles are applied as part of publishing a DWF file and appear in the DWF file. The Version Compare feature detects these differences to alert users as to what these changes represent such as what was once a gas line is now a sewer line. This type of electronic processing is another reason DWF goes beyond the paper.

Is your computer ready for Autodesk Design Review 2008?

The system requirements for Autodesk Design Review 2008 are basically the same as they were for Autodesk Design Review 2007 but with the addition of support for Microsoft Vista.

	Autodesk Design Review 2008	Autodesk Design Review 2007
CPU:	800 MHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor (faster processor recommended)	800 MHz Intel Pentium III processor (faster processor recommended)
Operating System:	Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Home Edition Windows 2000 SP4	Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Home Edition Windows 2000 SP4
Browser:	Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or 7	Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or 7 (with ADR service pack)
RAM:	512 MB RAM minimum (1 GB RAM or more recommended for Microsoft Vista users)	96 MB RAM minimum (128 MB or more recommended)
Disk Space:	55 MB free disk space for installation	55 MB free disk space for installation
Screen resolution	1024 x 768 or higher recommended (32-bit color for users of the View Cube feature)	800 x 600 VGA (1024 x 768 or higher recommended)
Devices	Mouse, trackball, or compatible pointing device CD-ROM drive (DVD-ROM for 64-bit systems)	Mouse, trackball, or compatible pointing device CD-ROM drive
Optional Hardware	3Dconnexion SpaceTraveler support for 2D and 3D navigation GPS device set to communicate using NMEA 0183 standards, the standard 4800 baud rate, and a COM Port (COM1 to COM10). This includes: GPS device bundled with Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 Panasonic Toughbook with integrated GPS device USB connected GPS device Bluetooth connected GPS device set to use a COM port	3Dconnexion SpaceTraveler support for 2D and 3D navigation (with ADR service pack)

During the beta program, the combinations that were used most heavily by the customer base included:

• Windows XP Professional with Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7
• Windows XP Home with Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7
• Windows 2000 SP4 with Internet Explorer 6
• Windows Vista Ultimate Edition with Internet Explorer 7

So to be ready to upgrade to Autodesk Design Review 2008 from Autodesk Design Review 2007, you merely need to:

• Ensure you have enough RAM in your computer.
• Ensure you have a graphics card that supports at least 1024 by 768 resolution with 32-bit color.

Now that's not so hard, now is it?

Autodesk Design Review 2008: DWF Version Compare Feature Overview

DWF Version Compare is one of the new features of Autodesk Design Review 2008. It is available from the Tools->Compare menu item. When invoked, the user is allowed to select a second DWF file and then a sheet from that file. The Compare capability then compares the current sheet to the selected sheet. Two markups are produced by this process:

1. Additions shows what geometry items would need to be added to the original sheet to make them appear the second sheet.
2. Deletions shows what geometry items would need to be removed from the original sheet because they do not appear on the second sheet

Differences are identified as additions and deletions. So if a piece of geometry changes, it shows up once as added and again as deleted. This may change in the future. Right now we don't have the data to determine that a piece of geometry in one DWF corresponds to the same piece of geometry in another DWF. Recall that DWF is a published format. It would be like trying to map graphics primitives to PEN UP/PEN DOWN commands in an HPGL file. We will fix that in the future. Doing so requires coordination with our design applications that publish DWF files.

The Additions and Deletions items are added to the currently open DWF file as regular markup items. Anything you can do with markup items (e.g., delete), you can do with these items. Think of the comparison tool as something that compares two sheets and creates the markups for you. It's as if you did this yourself but don't have to do so manually. As markups, you can save the resulting DWF file, print it, email it, etc. and they can see the results of the comparison. I can see the emails now: What do you mean nothing changed - look at this!

The Version Compare feature is based on an algorithm that interrogates the geometry that appears in the DWF file. Have the points that make up the geometry changed? For example: Is this line now longer or shorter?, Does the line have a different pattern?, or Has the shape of this polygon changed?.

As this is an initial implementation of Version Compare, it is important that users understand what Compare what it will and will not do.

Known Limitations

• Version Compare is limited to 2D sheets. It does not evaluate 3D models. We already have a prototype of 3D comparison working. This will be coming in a future release.

• Version Compare does not compare image data. Version Compare is currently based on geometry, not pixels. So it does not detect the color changes of the tiny dots that comprise photographs and other images that appear in DWF files. This too will be coming in a future release.

• Version Compare detects changes in polyline attributes except color. In other words, detection includes changes for pattern, end style, join style, and weight. For example, if a solid line changes to a dashed line, Version Compare detects this difference. Similarly, Version Compare detects a thin line that changes to a wide line. Version Compare does not detect when nothing changes about a line except its color. In practice, patterns are used more frequently than color. For example, if a line changes from representing a gas line to a sewer line, even if the only thing that changes is the line pattern, and Version Compare detects this change.

• Version Compare does not detect changes in polygon attributes for fill color and in some cases fill pattern. For example, if a filled area changes color from green to red, Version Compare will not detect it. This can happen in facilities management applications where color changes are associated with changes in office themeing. This limitation does not apply to hatch or gradient patterns. For example, Version Compare detects an area of a backyard that changes from GRASS to GRAVEL where the only change is the hatch pattern. This is because the hatch pattern for GRASS results in geometry in the DWF file that is different from the hatch pattern for GRAVEL.

• Version Compare identifies everything on sheets as being different for comparisons of sheets that are published at different scales. In other words, if you compare two sheets published at different scales, you'll get lots of differences. In most instances, everything will show up as added and deleted. This happens because the numbers that represent the geometry in the DWF are all different when a different scale is used.

• Version Compare identifies everything on the sheets as being different for comparisons of sheets that are published at DPI values. This is the same situation as with different scales.

• Version Compare compares underlying geometry in a DWF file. If an original DWF file has a line from (0,0) to (2,2) and a subsequent DWF file has two lines from (0,0) to (1,1) and (1,1) to (2,2), Version Compare will detect this difference although the display appears identical in the Autodesk Design Review. This is an artifact of the DWF publishing process and will be investigated in conjunction with future development of DWF publishing applications.

This information can be summarized in the following table.

DWF GEOMETRY ITEM	CHANGE	MEANINGFULLY HIGHLIGHTS DIFFERENCES	ASSOCIATED AutoCAD COMMAND
3D MODEL	anything		PUBLISH (3D)
2D SHEET	scale		PUBLISH (2D)
	DPI
POLYLINE	POINTS ADDED		LINE, CONSTRUCTION LINE, POLYLINE, ARC, REVISION CLOUD, ELLIPTICAL ARC, POINT
	POINTS DELETED
	POINTS CHANGED
	LINE COLOR
	LINE PATTERN
	LINE END CAP
	LINE JOIN
	LINE WEIGHT
POLYGON	VERTEXES ADDED		CIRCLE, ELLIPSE, POLYGON, RECTANGLE
	VERTEXES DELETED
	VERTEXES CHANGED
	EDGE COLOR
	EDGE PATTERN
	EDGE WEIGHT
	FACE COLOR
	FACE PATTERN		HATCH, GRADIENT, REGION
IMAGE	PIXEL COLORS		INSERT -> Raster Image Reference
TEXT	INSERTION POINT		MULTILINE TEXT, TABLE
	TEXT STRING
	FONT NAME
	FONT SIZE

The ability to identify what has changed from one version of a design to another is critical. Doing this electronically with a process that identifies additions and deletions goes beyond what can be done by aligning and eyeballing sheets of paper. This process will improve over time with future releases of Autodesk Design Review.

Beyond the Paper 1 Year Anniversary

Thanks to my faithful readers and article contributions from various members of the DWF team (Abel Murietta, Archana Naik, Basu Chaudhuri, Ben Cochran, Brian Enright, Brian Mathews, Brian Pene, Chris Blocher, Chris Hession, Dawn Wolfe, Debbie Bambao, Diane Li, Eric Haines, Eric Wright, Ernie Jackson, Gabrielle Friedly, Garin Gardiner, Garrick Evans, Gary Lang, Greg Remmert, Gyorgy Ordody, Hilde Sevens, Jason Bull, Jason Pratt, Jean-Luc Corenthin, Jennifer Toton, Jim Flanigan, Joan Allen, John Schmier, Jonathan Knowles, Kevin Wandryk, Larry Horner, Manjiri Nanivadekar, Marie Domingo, Mark Gunn, Mary Hope McQuiston, Matt Wheelis, Mike Robertson, Neil Wan, Pam Polizzi, Scott Lillibridge, Shaan Hurley, Sriram Gopalakrishnan, Steven Velez, Subu Gupta, Suresh Alapati, Todd Hunter, Todd Nicol, Volker Joseph, and Walt Welton-Lair) , this blog is one year old today. There have been 473 articles in the first year. I was fortunate enough to be able to post something on each business day and sometimes on weekends. These articles are aggregated into the various DWF categories:

• DWF Format Info - describes DWF as a format
• DWF Markup and Measurement - using Autodesk Design Review as part of an electronic review process
• DWF Printing - printing using the Autodesk DWF Viewer or Autodesk Design Review or via a commercial reprographer using tools such as PlotWorks or Repro Desk
• DWF Programming - using DWF files with C++, JavaScript, or Visual Basic
• DWF Publishing - generating DWF files from design applications such as AutoCAD, DWG TrueView, or Inventor
• DWF Takeoff / Facilities Management - using the metadata inside a DWF as part of workflows
• DWF Text Search - searching for strings using Windows Explorer, Windows servers, or search engines like Google
• DWF Viewing - using the Autodesk DWF Viewer or Autodesk Design Review; also the DWF Underlay capability of AutoCAD
• Project Freewheel - viewing a DWF file without installing any additional software
• Weblogs - tid bits of information; this is where the frivolous, but hopefully humorous, posts lay to rest

Our Autodesk blogging guidelines request that bloggers post at least 3 times a week. Looking at this on a monthly basis, we have been able to exceed that:

Although Between the Lines and Lynn Allen's Blog are more popular, Beyond the Paper has been the most prolific! In terms of the number of DWF related articles published, other than being a little less frequent on text search and facilities management, which are relatively new, it's been pretty evenly distributed:

Gosh, it seems like only 6 months ago this blog was celebrating its 6 month anniversary. :-) Where does the time go? Once again, thanks to all the regular readers who make the continued existence of this blog possible. For my money, reading via the RSS feed is the way to go.

Autodesk Vault 2008 a.k.a. DWF On-Demand Publisher

I guess if I refer to AutoCAD 2008 as "DWF Creator," to be fair, I guess I should call Autodesk Vault "DWF On-Demand Publisher." Yes Autodesk Vault is more than that, but this is the DWF blog.

Autodesk Vault is a data management tool that manages and stores design data. As a software developer, I have used many source code control systems: RCS, CVS, ClearCase, Visual SourceSafe, and Perforce. Regardless of which one we've used, I know we couldn't have lived with out one. Software projects consist of thousands of source code files that are constantly changing. A source code control system helps with that. To me, Autodesk Vault is like a source code control system, but specific for design data.

From our web site: Autodesk Vault allows users to organize all engineering data in a centralized location and reduces the time needed to find, reference, and re-use design data. As product designs evolve, version management in Autodesk Vault provides protection from unintentional overwriting of good designs. In addition, users can save hours of valuable design time with the powerful copy and re-use capabilities that reduce the time required to start a new design.

One of the features of Vault is that it automatically publishes a DWF file as a user updates his original design data. The DWF file is then used by people who don't have the design authoring software. As a DWF guy, I like that. I recently attended an Autodesk Vault 2008 presentation by Director of Software Development, Mike Robertson, and Product Designer, Todd Nicol. One of their slides contained:

For Autodesk Vault 2008, one of the enhancements is that Autodesk Vault can be configured to automatically publish DWF files using design data from model space, layouts, or both. This is welcome news to the DWF world. Thanks guys!

A question I sometimes get asked is "How do I check my marked up DWF file into Vault?" The answer is that you shouldn't.

1. Autodesk Vault recognizes and manages the relationships among source files such as DWG files and their XREFs.
2. Autodesk Vault publishes DWF files from a set of source files, such as DWG files, and keeps track of which source files have DWF files currently published and which do not.
3. Once a DWF file has been published and leaves Vault, it is atypical to bring it back into Autodesk Vault. Tracking which markup comments are associated with what source files is more suited to Productstream, Streamline, or Buzzsaw.

Autodesk Vault is available to Autodesk customers who purchase one or more of a list of Autodesk applications. For more information, see the Autodesk web site.

What's New in Autodesk Design Review 2008

Well the big news for Autodesk Design Review is that it is the first new version that is free right from the get-go. In addition, the user interface has been made less cluttered. Don't worry, we've kept the frequently used items (like the various ways to zoom) easily accessible. At one point during development, the zoom icons were in a menu pull down.

Feedback indicated that we should put them back where they were, so we did. And people say we don't listen. Humbug I say!

Four features that I have been intimately involved with include:

1. DWFx - Users will be able to View and SaveAs DWFx files. This is handy if you are collaborating with someone who has Microsoft Vista since DWFx files can be viewed on that operating system without the need to download and install Autodesk Design Review 2008. This also applies to users of other operating systems where the user has downloaded and installed Microsoft's XPS Viewer. The XPS experience will not be as rich as using Autodesk Design Review, but for people who only need to view and print without having to install any additional software, it fits the bill.
2. Version Compare - Version Compare allows two sheets in a DWF or DWFs to be compared. It does so by interrogating the geometry on the sheet. The additions and deletions are depicted as markups in selectable colors such as red and blue.
   
   I will have follow up posts on this topic later in the month.
3. DGN Import - Autodesk Design Review allows you to import your version 8 DGN files. It converts them to 2D DWF. I will also have a follow up post on this topic this month.
4. JT Import - Autodesk Design Review allows you to import your JT files. It converts them to 3D DWF. This too will have a follow up post with an example.

Those four were the features that I acted as Project Manager for. My more experienced counterpart, Jim Flanigan, managed the bulk of the project including (but not limited to) other features:

1. Georeferenced Maps - When Autodesk Design Review is run on machines with integrated GPS, users such as field workers receive instant feedback on their location and the locations of specific predefined points.
   
   This is for our mapping customers.
2. Markup Enhancement: Persistent 3D Markups - You can now mark up and annotate directly on the 3D design, rather than a snapshot of the design.
   
   Mechanical users have been asking for this.
3. Measure Enhancement: Persistent 3D Measure - You can accurately measure detailed information in complex CAD models to check for accuracy or determine if changes are needed. All measurements now persist as you continue to interact with the 3D model.
   
   This goes hand in hand with 3D markup.
4. Measure Enhancement: User Coordinate System Support - The started with the DWF Toolkit and permeated its way up through to Autodesk Design Review. There is now a versatile 3D user coordinate systems provide greater flexibility and more accurate measurement of model surfaces.
   
   This is useful for customers who employ coordinate measuring machine quality assurance processes as part of moving to paperless manufacturing.
5. Steering Wheel Navigation - Increase productivity with an intuitive new interface tool to view and interact with 3D designs.
   
   It took me some getting used to, but once I did, I likes it.
6. View Cube Navigation - Like Steering Wheel, increase productivity with an intuitive new interface tool to view and interact with 3D designs.
   
   Now if we could just get the whole world to agree on what is the front and what is the top. :-)
7. Visualization Tools - Extensive shadow and lighting options provide realistic views of image files.
   
   I find that having the shadows   (on) instead of   (off) enhances the appearance that the model is really 3D.
8. Online Content Search - One-click access to online parts catalogs drives productivity and extends the reach of your design information.
   
   This will be useful for customers who want to locate physical parts from a supplier based on the design they are viewing.

Autodesk used to deliver a free DWF Viewer product in addition to the “for-pay” Autodesk Design Review. Autodesk DWF Viewer 7 was a free version of Autodesk Design Review without measuring and markup capabilities. With the release of Autodesk Design Review 2008, we have dropped the DWF Viewer product and are delivering the full design review functionality in the free Autodesk Design Review.

This change was made at the request of our customers. Now, instead of requiring team members to purchase software to review and comment on designs, all stakeholders have access to fully functional, free software to view, measure, mark up, annotate, print, and round-trip designs. Now more than ever, DWF can go beyond the paper.

AutoCAD 2008 a.k.a. DWF Creator

I sometimes refer to AutoCAD as "DWF Creator." Yes, it is more than that, but this is the DWF blog.

Beginning in AutoCAD 2007, you could attach a DWF file as an underlay in your drawing enabling you to view, measure, and snap to the vector-based data without being able to edit it. The DWF underlay functionality is enhanced in AutoCAD 2008 giving you the ability to control the visibility of layers in the DWF file. Many of you asked for this. You can control layer visibility by selecting the DWF Layers option from the right-click menu with a DWF file selected, or by using the DWFLAYER command. Woo hoo.

When using the Publish using Page Setup Override option to create a DWF file, AutoCAD 2008 honors the Sheet Set Publish Options enabling you to publish to a multi-sheet DWF file. I believe I used the words "But nooooo!" to describe how this worked in AutoCAD 2007. Also, a new system variable, PUBLISHCOLLATE, allows you to disable homogeneous plotting when you publish using Page Setup Override option. AutoCAD 2008 also allows you to set options for automatically publishing a DWF file when you save your DWG.

AutoCAD 2008 includes a link to obtain a preview of Autodesk® Impression software. With Autodesk Impression you can create presentation-ready graphics from your AutoCAD drawings. This is DWF-related in that after opening a DWG or DWF file in Autodesk Impression, you can add everything from distinctive line types to textured color fills, using pre-built or custom appearance styles. Autodesk Impression gives you the option to work with DWG or DWF. So as a DWF guy, I am happy to see Autodesk Impression get even wider publicity.

In terms of the AutoCAD 2008 Read Me, there are only five items related to DWF:

DWF Underlay

1. It is recommended that you insert DWF underlay files on locked layers to avoid editing them by mistake. When zooming in on DWF underlay files and then using a window selection method, the DWF underlay may be selected even though the geometry in the underlay does not appear to be selected.
2. When using REFEDIT in a drawing, if you use PASTECLIP to paste a DWF underlay, you may be unable to save back your changes. An error message may also be displayed when you have a DWF underlay attached in the host drawing and then try to use DWFATTACH on the same DWF underlay file in the xref during REFEDIT. It is recommended that you do not DWFATTACH/PASTECLIP DWF underlays while using REFEDIT. The workaround to save back your other REFEDIT changes is to delete the DWF underlay that you attached or pasted during the REFEDIT session.
3. When you attach a DWF as an underlay, the search path for the DWF underlay is not the same as attached drawing references (xrefs) or image files. For example, if there is a DWF underlay of the same name in the \My Documents folder, it is used instead of the DWF underlay in the same folder as the current drawing file. For data management purposes, the \My Documents folder is not a recommended storage location.

Plot and Publish DWF

4. Raster images in DWF underlays are not plotted when plotting to DWF.
5. Plotting DWF underlay files that contain raster images can produce unexpected results.

We are looking forward to AutoCAD 2008.

Autodesk Preview 2008

The Autodesk Preview 2008 site is now live:

http:// www.autodesk.com/preview2008

Check it out. Or better yet, subscribe to the RSS feed or use email and let the information come to you.