Beyond the Paper

Design Review/DWG TrueView: .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 Required

When installing Autodesk Design Review 2011 and/or DWG TrueView 2011, customers report seeing this .NET Framework warning message which blocks installation.

 
That’s because the 2011 versions of both products, Design Review and DWG TrueView, do require Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 be installed on the computer before they can be installed. Even if a more recent version of the Framework is installed, such as .NET Framework 4.0, the warning message will be displayed until the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 is installed first.

The solution is to download and install the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 from Microsoft website (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=AB99342F-5D1A-413D-8319-81DA479AB0D7&displaylang=en). Once that’s installed, you can install Autodesk Design Review 2011 and DWG TrueView 2011. (Note that .NET Framework 4 can be installed side by side with older Framework versions.)

Thank you.

Thick Lines in DWF Files?

I have seen a number of discussion group posts talking about this issue now. Users open a DWG using Autodesk Design Review 2010 and some, if not all, lines are showing up with a thick line width.

AutoCAD or AutoCAD based applications provide users with an option to create layouts in the DWG. Within the layouts decisions can be made as to "how thick" the lines should be or what line width they would like to apply. It also provides an option for the paper size settings. These DWG layouts are turning into sheets within DWF files. As a result of this - DWF files can have one sheet for DWG model space and none, one, or more sheets for the DWG layouts.

It should also be noted that Autodesk Design Review makes use of DWG True View, when loading a DWG and effectively converting the DWG to DWF. As a general rule - the default settings for model space or the layouts are such that the lines come out really thick.

The issue can be resolved by choosing the same size lines on a bigger piece of paper or thinner lines on the same size piece of paper. Changes have to be applied to the DWG. User who do not have access to AutoCAD or the AutoCAD based application can use DWG True View.

Note: DWG True View is a viewer and does not apply changes to DWG files permanently. As such, it should only be considered a temporary workaround.

Steps Needed Are:

1. Load the DWG into DWG True View.
2. Make the changes as outlined in http://dwf.blogs.com/beyond_the_paper/2006/12/common_dwf_publ_1.html.
3. Publish the DWF.
4, Load the DWF in Design Review.

Thank you.

DWG files fail to open in Design Review 2010 on 64bit

Customers who installed DWG TrueView 2010 and Autodesk Design Review 2010 on a 64-bit operating system will experience the following issue, when attempting to view DWG file using Autodesk Design Review 2010.

Attempts to open a DWG file in Autodesk Design Review 2010 fail and customers will see a message informing them that Autodesk DWG TrueView 2010 is not installed.

This is es designed and has been outlined in the ReadMe documention as well: "Opening DWG files in Autodesk Design Review 2010 on 64-bit operating systems is not supported".

Customers can choose to open the DWG file in Autodesk DWG TrueView 2010 (and will not be able to use Design Review functionality), or create a DWF/x file from the DWG file and then open the resulting DWF/x file in Autodesk Design Review 2010.

Thank you.

DWG TrueView 2010 - Capabilities

This article will help you to better understand the capabilities of DWG TrueView 2010.

DWG TrueView supports several file formats for output and conversion. Users have direct access to drawing files created by AutoCAD-based applications for the following purposes:

• Open and view DWG and DXF files
• Obtain geometric information from drawings such as distance, mass, and volume
• Plot DWG files to a plotter
• Create DWF, DWFx, PDF, JPG, and PNG files from DWG files
• Publish sets of drawings or sheets to a plotter, or DWF, DWFx, and PDF files
• Convert DWG files forward and backward with versions as early as AutoCAD Release 14

You do not need to know AutoCAD to use DWG TrueView, but it is helpful to understand how AutoCAD Layers work, and how to use the page setup, plotting, and publishing dialog boxes.

Supported File Formats

Drawing information created in AutoCAD-based products can be saved or exported to the following three file formats.

• DWG drawing file format is the native file format for AutoCAD-based products. With DWG TrueView, you can open all drawing files regardless of version, and you can save to DWG file formats as early as AutoCAD Release 14.
• DXF (Drawing Interchange Format) is a published file format used for interoperability between Autodesk products, third-party applications, and non-Autodesk products.
• DWF (Design Web Format) and DWFx (DWF for Windows Vista) are ideal for sharing drawing file information with team members, vendors, clients, subcontractors, and customers that do not have access to an AutoCAD-based application.
• PDF (Adobe’s Portable Document Format) is one of the most commonly-used formats for sharing drawings with team member and clients.

Pleas Note: Saving DWG files to earlier file formats can result in the loss of features and functionality introduced in later versions of AutoCAD-based products. There are also factors to consider when working with custom objects.

Product Limitations

DWG TrueViewis limited to viewing, publishing, and converting DWGs. You cannot use it to change or save drawing files. Other free products available from Autodesk that may be of interest to you include the following:

• Autodesk Design Review. Using the DWF, DWFx, and PDF formats, you can review, mark up, save, and print drawing files created with AutoCAD-based products.
• Autodesk DWF Writer. You can Publish DWF files from other Microsoft applications. Includes Plug-ins for SolidWorks®, Pro/ENGINEER®, and CATIA® software.

Please let us know whether you have any comments, concerns or suggestions.

Thank you.
 

DWG TrueView 2010 - Download Page

The following topic has been of concern to many of our users. Though one should point out that it is not really a technical issue but more so a matter of confusion regarding the website's layout.

One notices three "Download Now" buttons upon accessing www.autodesk.com/dwgtrueview.

Naturally, most of us select the first of the three, expecting to download DWG TrueView. It is not surprising that many are puzzled by the actual result - once being taken to the Autodesk Design Review download page instead.

 

Select Image to Enlarge

1.Autodesk Design Review Download     2. & 3.DWG TrueView Download

So, the first link takes you to the Autodesk Design Review download page, the second and third link take you to the desired DWG TrueView download section of the website.

Questions, comments or concerns? Please let us know.

Thank you.