DWF Files from AutoCAD Map 3D

When you publish to DWF, you create an electronic version of the map that can be displayed using Autodesk Design Review. All layers and styles are published, with no loss of information. If you have joined data to  layers in your map, the joined data is also published. You can include graphical elements, including any draped raster files, as well as attribute data.

If your map has a coordinate system assigned to it, AutoCAD Map 3D includes that coordinate system for each sheet in the published DWF file.
Users who wish to create a multi-page DWF have to create a map book; the steps for publishing a map to DWF and publishing a map book to DWF are slightly different, but you set DWF publishing options the same way for both.

In any case, DWF files from AutoCAD Map 3D are useful for the following:

• Publishing complex maps that use a variety of feature sources to a compact file that can be used in the field. All information from the original map, including stylization, is represented.
• Sharing maps with people who don’t have a copy of AutoCAD Map 3D. These people can download the free viewer to see the maps.

As long as you have assigned a coordinate system to all the maps in your DWF file, the publishing operation will automatically convert the coordinate information to latitude/longitude coordinates, when it comes to Georeferenced DWF. Please note that users must use the Publish command to create a georeferenced DWF file, plotting to DWF will not work.

Autodesk Design Review 2008 can automatically navigate to a specific location when you enter coordinates, and displays coordinates of any location in the map when you move your mouse over that location.

Field workers can center the map to the coordinates provided by the integrated GPS device on their system and display the “my coordinates” icon within the map. Mind you, that requires that your system has GPS capability or is connected to a GPS device. Please note that GPS devices must use the NMEA 0183 protocol.

Note that earlier versions of the DWF Viewer do not support georeferenced DWF.

Comments

[Steve]

I am able to create DWF files from Pro/Engineer Wildfire 3 with the DWF Writer Pro/Toolkit .dll

The author of the .dll set the menu priority incorrectly and I am not able to create a MapKey that will help me automate the creation of DWF's from Pro/Engineer.

We have Autodesk subscription service but so far the Tech Support people have not been able to find the person who created the Pro/E Toolkit .dll

Do you have any suggestions on how to get the help I need?