Beyond the Paper

Autodesk Revit 2008 a.k.a. DWF BIM Capturer

If AutoCAD is lovingly referred to as DWF Creator and Vault is referred to as DWF On-Demand Publisher, then I guess Revit must be DWF BIM Capturer. Yes this is the DWF blog.

In previous articles I have recommended that DWF files be created from Revit. AutoCAD has 25 years of printer driver honing when it comes to producing plot files. Revit is not as seasoned in this regard. Hence I have recommended that Autodesk customers create DWF files to send to commercial reprographic shops.

Revit 2008 has some things to offer in terms of DWF.

• Revit 2008 is using the 7.3 version of the DWF Toolkit. This features several defect corrections with regard to what's in your DWF files.
• For Revit 2008, the File/Export DWF menu option has been changed to File/Publish DWF.
• Revit 2008 processes markup comments from multisheet DWF files in a more optimal fashion.
• Revit 2008 produces files that can be measured using the area tool of Autodesk Design Review.
• Revit 2008 produces smaller DWF files in that non-relevant model data is not included.
• Revit 2008 automatically defaults to the paper size exported if exporting a sheet to a 2D DWF. The default zoom setting (on the Print Setup dialog) is now Fit To Page. This setting avoids the (usually) undesired result of getting a cropped portion of the 2D view in the DWF file. In addition, you can now define custom page sizes for DWF publishing.
• Revit 2008 allows linked Revit files to be exported to 3D DWF properly.
• Revit 2008 can publish DWF files to Buzzsaw.

Do you know what it's like?
All revved up with no place to go.
Jim Steinman from the Meat Loaf song "All Revved Up With No Place To Go"

Actually I don't. With Revit, I'm all rev'd up with someplace to go! Revit captures more than just the graphics from a design. The metadata from the building information model (BIM) is captured in the DWF and helps DWF go beyond the paper. That's why I refer to it as DWF BIM Capturer. It's a term of endearment. Revit 2008 is another step in DWF's evolution to go beyond the paper.

Autodesk DWF Writer 2008: System Requirements

As part of our work on the Nile project, we are releasing an update to the free DWF writer - DWF Writer 2008. The release of Autodesk DWF Writer 2008 is commensurate with Autodesk Design Review 2008.

The Autodesk® DWF™ Writer 2008 includes the following components:

• Autodesk® DWF™ Writer for 2D (works with Microsoft® Office)
• Autodesk® DWF™ Writer for 3D
• Autodesk® DWF™ Writer for SolidWorks® (2006 and 2007)
• Autodesk® DWF™ Writer for Pro/ENGINEER® (Wildfire™ 2.0 and Wildfire™ 3.0)
• Autodesk® DWF™ Writer for CATIA (V5 R15 and R16)

The system requirements found in the Read Me include:

• Microsoft® Windows® Vista™ Ultimate edition (32-bit version), Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional (32-bit version), Microsoft® Windows® 2000 SP4
• Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6 or later
• 800 MHz Intel® Pentium® III processor (faster processor recommended)
• 256 MB RAM (512 MB RAM recommended)
• 160 MB free disk space for installation
• 800 x 600 VGA minimum (1024 x 768 or higher recommended)
• Mouse, trackball, or compatible pointing device

Note: DWF Writer for 3D does not work with Microsoft® Windows® Vista™. You can use DWF Writer for 2D with Microsoft® Windows® Vista™. DWF Writer for 3D makes use of OpenGL to capture 3D commands and store data in the DWF file. Microsoft Windows Vista uses DirectX instead of OpenGL. Autodesk is providing alternative methods, e.g. JT import for Autodesk Design Review 2008, to allow other forms of 3D data to be included in DWF files. Getting as much data as possible into one file that can be electronically shared with everyone for the entire life of a project allows DWF to go beyond what is done traditionally with paper.

Comparison: of AutoCAD files published to DWFx and XPS

Senior Product Manager, Allister Lundberg, reports that there are several reasons why users should create .dwfx files from AutoCAD instead of creating .xps using a generic XPS document writer.

• DWFx files created by AutoCAD Sheet Set Manager, AutoCAD Publish, or by SaveAs DWFx in Autodesk Design Review 2008 include additional metadata that XPS files do not have. As such, DWFx can include richer design data, including 3D models, sheet, and object properties like block data.
• DWFx files created by the AutoCAD Sheet Set Manager or AutoCAD Publish, or by SaveAs DWFx in Autodesk Design Review 2008 can be multisheet.
• Working in DWFx instead of generic XPS provides opportunities to reuse that data in other Autodesk solutions such as Autodesk Design Review, Autodesk Buzzsaw, Autodesk Streamline, Autodesk Productstream, and Autodesk Vault.
• XPS files created by the XPS Driver cannot be viewed in Autodesk Design Review.

A tailored for CAD DWFx file is not the same as a generic XPS file. On way to depict this is with a Venn diagram (my grade school teacher will be so proud):

If we compare the five methods for creating XPS-compliant design data, we find:

As mentioned in AutoCAD 2008: DWF versus DWFx differences, some AutoCAD users will want to create DWF files. Some will want to create DWFx files. For those who create DWFx files, the AutoCAD DWFx Driver is the way the go. The latest version of DWF, a.k.a. DWFx, allows design data to go way beyond paper and reach users who have yet to download a DWF-specific application such as Autodesk Design Review.

Update: Batch Publishing DWF files with AutoCAD 2007/2008

Freewheel Software Developer, John Schmier, has released an update to his batch DWF publish capability for AutoCAD. He corrected two defects:

1. In some cases, Model Space layouts were published when they were not intended to be published.
2. Canceling BatchDWF resulted in a tangled set of messages from the application and could cause AutoCAD to hang.

If you follow the instructions and simply substitute 2008 for 2007, Batch DWF works for AutoCAD 2008. John will need to do a future to make Batch DWF handle uninitialized layouts for AutoCAD 2008 like it does for AutoCAD 2007, but other than that, it basically works. Check it out. Thanks John!

Beth's CAD Blog: Automatic DWF Publish in AutoCAD 2008

Beth Powell has a great article on her blog:

Automatic DWF Publish in AutoCAD 2008

Robin Capper references Beth's article and adds some information:

AutoCAD 2008 - Automatic DWF Publish?

The AutoCADder blog is also getting in on the action:

Instant DWF in AutoCAD 2008

Check it out.

AutoCAD 2008: DWF versus DWFx differences

XPS is Microsoft's XML Paper Specification. It is built-in to the Microsoft Vista operating system. An XPS Viewer will also be available on a variety of other Microsoft operating systems such as Windows XP. It is possible to download and install XPS viewing components so that XPS files are viewable in Internet Explorer 7.

DWF has been around since 1995. The format has evolved over time. Originally it was a single image that could be zoomed - much like a JPEG on steroids. Then an underlying page was added with a designated page size. This facilitated printing to scale. Although originally single page, the format was also enhanced to allow multiple pages.

This evolution is continuing. DWF is now being enhanced to be compliant with Microsoft XPS. This allows Microsoft to support the viewing of DWF files on Microsoft Vista without requiring users to install additional software. It also allows users who have installed XPS viewing components to view the files. Of course, anyone with Autodesk Design Review 2008 can also view, print, markup, and measure these files. So users can tell which DWF files are in this newest format, versus the millions of files that are in the old format, the extension for the new format DWF files is .dwfx. Hence this latest DWF format (version 7.0) is often called DWFx. (One technical publications writer once joking asked if we would also have DWFr, DWFpg-13, and DWFnc-17. No we will not. We will not have DWFxxx either.) Opening and saving DWFx files does take a little longer in Autodesk Design Review 2008 than corresponding DWF files.

As shipped, AutoCAD 2008 comes with the ability to publish DWF files. DWF publishing has been a part of AutoCAD since R13. As shipped, AutoCAD 2008 uses the DWF6 ePlot pc3 driver to create DWF files in the time honored (version 6.x) format. If you want to publish DWF files in the XPS compatible format, you will need to download and install a separate DWFx driver. Like Autodesk Design Review 2008, the project schedule for the DWFx Driver completed later than the ship date for AutoCAD 2008. That's why both of these applications are available separately.

When AutoCAD users decide to publish a DWF or a DWFx, AutoCAD Software Development Manager, Eileen Sinnott, and AutoCAD Senior Product Designer, Jon Page, note that there are some differences:

AutoCAD 2008	DWF	DWFx
install	DWF6 ePlot pc3 included	separate download and install of DWFx Driver
Sheet Set Manager Publish	available in 2008	available in 2008
Model or Paper Space (Layout) Publish	available in 2008	available in 2008 using page setup overrides (See Note)
Model or Paper Space (Layout) Plot	available in 2008	available in 2008
Markup Set Manager Load	available in 2008	planned for a future release
DWF Attach	available in 2008	planned for a future release
Auto Publish	available in 2008	planned for a future release
File Size	typically 1/20th the size of the DWG	typically 1/10th the size of the DWG (See Comments section)

Note: Publishing a DWFx with the Publish command is possible. Similar to the Sheet Set Manager Publish capability, it will require the same page setup override to be applied to all sheets. Page setups are different for the Model tab and Layout tabs. Since the page setup needs to be the same for all sheets for DWFx, you can not mix them in a multi-sheet DWFx. The Sheet Set Manager ensures this for AutoCAD by only containing Layouts as sheets and applies the same page setup override to all sheets.

General Note: Multi-sheet creation will require the new PUBLISHCOLLATE sysvar to be set to 1.

This is the first release of DWFx publishing. As the format evolves, so too will the associated capabilities from AutoCAD. For AutoCAD users who have a desire to share design data with users who only need to view and print - who also do not have the free Autodesk Design Review 2008, DWFx is a viable alternative to traditional DWF files. For users who wish to take advantage of the round trip electronic review process, for now, DWF is still the answer.

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.

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.

Yet another partner application supports 3D DWF

Informative Graphics CEO, Gary Heath, emailed me that MYRIAD v8 will support publishing 2D and 3D files to DWF. He even provided two samples.

• Download 3dproe_assembly_2mm_bem.asm_1.dwf (47.3K)
• Download dispenser_sldasm.dwf (188.9K)

These files were converted to DWF from design data that was created in some "other" design applications. Whether design data starts in an Autodesk application or not, it can still end up in DWF. Customers with mixed Autodesk and non-Autodesk environments can use tools from our DWF Partners, like Informative Graphics, or solutions like the Autodesk DWF Writer. Regardless of their origin, once in DWF, these files can be viewed, printed, marked up, measured, and aggregated using Autodesk Design Review.

Thanks Gary.

David Cohn: Understanding What Gets Written to a DWF File

David Cohn of Cyan Research Corporation presented a class entitled "Designing a Website to Host AutoCAD® Content." His handout had some great information on publishing DWF files. It is reproduced below. I added a few notes indicated by text in [brackets].

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A DWF file is truly an electronic version of a plot file. When you plot the DWF file, you specify settings such as paper size, rotation, scale, and pen assignments, just as you do when plotting to any other device. Only those layers that are visible, actually contain data, and set to plot are written to the DWF file. In addition, the DWF file contains all the linetype, lineweight, and color settings in effect when you plot the drawing to create the DWF file. Once the DWF file is created, you can use the tools contained in any of Autodesk’s DWF viewers to display a particular sheet, turn selected layers on and off, and pan and zoom to limit what is displayed, just as with an AutoCAD drawing. You can also snap to geometry in the DWF file just as you can in AutoCAD and take accurate measurements. Any hyperlinks contained in the original drawing are retained and active in the resulting DWF file. External references are also preserved.

Including Raster Images in DWF Files
Raster images are stored in the DWF file [as JPEG images].

Including Named Views in DWF Files
Any named views that are saved in the DWG file when the DWF file is created are saved to the resulting DWF file and can be restored using any of Autodesk’s DWF viewers. For convenience, a view named INITIAL, if not already defined in the drawing file, is also saved as part of the DWF file. The INITIAL view corresponds to the current view of the drawing at the time the DWF file was created.

Including Layers and Blocks in DWF Files
Any layers that are visible in the DWG file when the DWF file is created, except those marked as not to be plotted, can be saved to the resulting DWF file. The DWF file also contains the colors, linetypes, and lineweights as determined by the plot settings when you create the DWF file. You can then use any of Autodesk’s DWF viewers to turn these layers on and off individually. Any layers that are not visible in the DWG file when the DWF file is created, however, are not included. Beginning with AutoCAD 2006, individual blocks can also be saved to the resulting DWF file. But even if blocks are not included, all the visible geometry associated with a particular block is saved in the DWF file with the layer on which the block was inserted in the original drawing file. You can, therefore, turn blocks on and off in the DWF file by turning their layer on and off.

Including Fonts in DWF Files
When a drawing file contains text created by using AutoCAD SHX fonts, the font geometry is converted into simple vectors that mimic the appearance of the text in the resulting DWF file. In this way, the user who is viewing the DWF file does not need to have the SHX fonts loaded on their system. When a drawing contains text that is created by using a Windows TrueType font, however, the text and the actual font are recorded to the resulting DWF file. You can then configure the DWF6 ePlot driver to control whether these fonts are included in the resulting DWF file. [If included the DWF file is larger since a subset of the font is included. The subset is limited to the characters that are used in the DWF file.] If not included in the DWF file, then the TrueType font must be available on the system of the user who is viewing the DWF file or else the text may not appear properly. [If the font data was not included, and the font is not available on the system, a substitute font is used.]

Controlling DWF Properties
You can control many of the properties of DWF files - such as the resolution, format, background color, and inclusion of layer information - by changing the DWF plotter configuration.

Note: If you make changes while the PLOT command is active, you can apply those changes to the current plot only or save the changes to the DWF plotter configuration file. The PUBLISH command uses a specific plotter configuration - DWG6 ePlot.pc3. Although you can save DWF6 plotter configuration files under other names for use with the PLOT command, no other name will work with the PUBLISH command. Any changes you make to DWF6 ePlot.pc3 will be used whenever you use the PUBLISH command until you change the configuration again.

All changes to DWF properties are made from the DWF6 ePlot Properties dialog box, which in turn is accessed from the Plotter Configuration Editor. You can display the Plotter Configuration editor for the DWF6 ePlot.pc3 file by either selecting the DWF plotter configuration in the Page Setup or Plot dialog box and then clicking the Properties button, or by opening the plotter configuration using the Plotter Manager.

Controlling the Resolution
You can specify the resolution for vector and raster graphics in the DWF file. Higher resolutions produce more precise DWF files, but at the expense of larger file sizes. The default value for vectors is 1200dpi. You can set separate settings for color and black and white raster images. If you’re creating DWF files intended for plotting, select a resolution to match the output of your plotter or printer. High resolutions (over 2400dpi) are for viewing. If you’re creating a DWF file of a drawing with a lot of detail, such as a large topographic map, using a higher resolution will enable you to zoom in to view finer detail. Resolutions over 40,000 dpi may produce very large files. As you increase the resolution setting, the speed of printing decreases and memory requirements increase.

Controlling Font Handling
You can control the inclusion and handling of TrueType fonts in DWF files:

• Capture None - No fonts are included in the DWF file. In order for fonts to be visible in the resulting DWF file, the fonts must be present on the system on which the DWF file is being viewed. If a particular font used in the DWF file isn’t present, another font will be substituted (which can sometimes produce undesired results).
• Capture Some - The fonts used in the source drawing for the DWF file that are specified in the Available True Type Fonts dialog box (displayed by clicking the Edit List button) will be included in the DWF and therefore don’t need to be available on the DWF viewer’s system in order for them to appear in the DWF file.
• Capture All - Specifies that all fonts used in the drawing will be included in the DWF file. (Note that if you select this option and also select All as Geometry, the fonts used in the drawing will be included as vector geometry rather than as text.)

Controlling Additional Output Settings
The controls in the lower portion of the DWF Properties dialog box enable you to control the following other DWF properties:

• DWF Format
  DWF files can be saved in one of two possible formats: Compressed Binary Produces a compressed binary DWF file, resulting in the smallest DWF file size. This is the default format. Zipped ASCII encoded 2D stream (advanced) Produces DWF files in zipped ASCII Encoded 2D Stream (plain text) format. You can use WinZip to unzip the files.
• Background Color Shown in Viewer
  Determines the background color that is applied to the DWF files when they are viewed in the DWF viewer. (Note that DWF files intended for plotting should be configured with a white background color.)
• Include Layer Information
  Determines whether layer information is included in the DWF file. DWF files include all objects on layers that are visible and plotted. If layer information is included, when viewing the resulting DWF file users will be able to turn layers on and off. By default, the DWF6 ePlot.pc3 configuration does not include layer information, so that anyone viewing the DWF file will not be able to turn layers on and off.
• Show Paper Boundaries
  Determines whether the paper boundary is visible in DWF files plotted from a layout tab. (Note that for DWF6, this option is always selected.)
• Save Preview in DWF
  Specifies that a preview of the DWF file is saved in the DWF file. (Note that a small thumbnail is always saved and you should only select this option if the recipient of the DWF file will use Buzzsaw.com to access the preview.)

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Thanks David!