Figure 28.1. The Create Transmittal dialog box enables you to create a transmittal file that you can attach to an e-mail message. The transmittal file contains a drawing, along with its associated files.

You can write a note to the recipient in the Notes section. The content of the Notes section becomes part of the transmittal report, a separate file that is included in the EXE or ZIP file. If you send an e-mail message, the note becomes the body of the message.

If you have a saved transmittal setting, choose it from the Select a Transmittal Setup box and click OK. Otherwise, click Transmittal Setups to open the Transmittal Setups dialog box. To create a new setup, click New, name the setup, and click Continue. To modify an existing setup, select the setup and click Modify. In both cases, you end up in the Modify Transmittal Setup dialog box, as shown in Figure 28.2.

Figure 28.2. Use the Modify Transmittal Setup dialog box to specify how to structure your transmittal.

From the Transmittal Package Type drop-down list, choose one of the following types of transmittals:

From the File Format drop-down list, you can choose to save files in earlier release formats if you want. From the Transmittal File Folder drop-down list, choose a location to save the transmittal files, or click Browse to specify another location. You can leave this item blank to save the files in the same folder as the first drawing on the list in the Create Transmittal dialog box. If you're transmitting a sheet set (AutoCAD only), the transmittal file goes in the same folder as the drawing set data (DST) file.

For drawings with annotative objects, you can check or uncheck the Maintain Visual Fidelity for Annotative Objects check box. This sets the SAVEFIDELITY system variable, which determines what happens when someone views the drawing in earlier releases. By default, this system variable is on (the check box is checked), which saves each scale representation as a separate block on a separate layer. This allows users in previous versions to choose which version they want by turning off layers or deleting blocks. If you work in model space and don't need layouts to look the same as in 2010, you should uncheck this check box to avoid creating all the additional layers and blocks when saving to the AutoCAD 2007 or earlier file format.

If you create an EXE or ZIP file, you can use the Transmittal File Name drop-down list to choose how you want to name the file. You can choose to be prompted for a filename, have eTransmit assign a name and overwrite any existing file with that name, or have eTransmit assign a name and increment the filename (add a number) to avoid overwriting an existing file.

Choose one of the following Path options:

Use the following Actions options to define which actions to use when creating the transmittal package:

Use the following Include options to define which types of files to include when creating the transmittal package:

You're now back in the Create Transmittal dialog box. Click the Files Table tab to see the files that will be included in your transmittal. The normal files are acad.fmp or acadlt.fmp (the font map that specifies font substitutions), SHX files (usually compiled fonts), TTF files (TrueType fonts), and any xrefs, raster images, or standards files that are attached to the drawing.

To add files, click Add File, navigate to the desired file, select it, and click Open. To see the Transmittal Report, click the View Report button. The report includes your notes and instructions to the recipient for using the associated files. For example, there are instructions for where to place SHX files and xrefs. Choose Save As to create an additional copy of the report for your own records.

When you're done, click OK. If you checked Send E-mail with Transmittal, your e-mail program opens, and you can send an e-mail message and the files. Either way, eTransmit creates the type of transmittal files that you requested.

Figure 28.3. Dragging an object from an i-drop-enabled Web site.

If you drag with the right mouse button, a prompt asks you whether you want to save associated blocks or data when you drag with the right mouse button. Also, inserted blocks automatically include a hyperlink to the source of the content.

Before you create your hyperlink, consider the environment in which it will be used. The file or Web page that you're linking to must be available for the hyperlink to work. For example, if you send a drawing with hyperlinks to a colleague, be sure to include the files to which the hyperlinks refer. If you're posting the drawing on a Web site as a DWF or DWFx file, you need to upload the files that the hyperlinks refer to, along with the DWF or DWFx file.

Here's how you create a hyperlink:

Check the hyperlink by passing the cursor over the object to which you attached the hyperlink. You see the Web cursor, as shown in Figure 28.5.

Figure 28.5. The Web cursor appears when you pass the cursor over a hyperlinked object.

After you create a hyperlink, you can use it at any time to open the associated file or to move to the associated location within the drawing. To open a file associated with a hyperlink, Ctrl+click any hyperlinked object. Remember that you can't just click a hyperlink as you do on a Web site, because that just selects the object in your drawing. Make sure that the hyperlink icon appears before you click, because pressing Ctrl and clicking is also a way to select edges and faces of 3D solids.

To edit any feature of a hyperlink, select the hyperlinked object and choose Insert tab

STEPS: Creating Hyperlinks

Note

The Express Tools contain three commands to help you find and change URLs that you create with hyperlinks. SHOWURLS (choose Express Tools tab

DWF and DWFx files are image formats for drawings. The DWF and DWFx formats allow for multiple pages. You can include as many drawings as you want, including the layouts you've created for each drawing; however, very large numbers of layouts may create a file that is too large to open and view.

The DWF and DWFx formats have several advantages:

To create a 2D DWF or DWFx file from a set of drawings, you use the PUBLISH command to do the following:

The PUBLISH command creates the multipage DWF or DWFx format. The PUBLISHTOWEB command, which creates DWF and DWFx files (but can also create JPEG or PNG files), is different — it uses a wizard and a template to format a Web page containing images of your drawings. The PUBLISHTOWEB command is covered later in this chapter. Before using the PUBLISH command, save your drawing.

Starting the PUBLISH command

Figure 28.7. The PUBLISH command opens the Publish dialog box, listing the model and layout tabs of the current or all open drawings.

Adding drawings to the drawing list

The next step is to add any other drawings and layouts that you want to include in the drawing list. The PUBLISH command streamlines the process of defining scale and plot area for each drawing by using the page setup information defined with the layouts. Because layouts include this information, you can quickly create drawing sets for many drawings without individually deciding how to plot each drawing. You can specify a saved page setup for individual drawings for more control. (For more information on page setups and layouts, see Chapter 17.)

Note

By default, the Publish dialog box initially lists all sheets, models, and layouts for all open drawings. To list only the sheets of the current drawing, uncheck the Automatically Load All Open Drawings check box in the Publish dialog box or change the value of the PUBLISHALLSHEETS system variable to 0.

You can add new drawings and layouts to the drawing list, using any of the following methods:

• Drag drawings directly from Windows Explorer. You can add large numbers of drawings this way — in any folder, click the first drawing, press Shift, and click the last drawing.

• 

• Click Load Sheet List and choose a saved drawing list from the Load List of Sheets dialog box.

Tip

You can use the +PUBLISH command, a variant of the PUBLISH command that lets you start with a saved DSD file instead of with the current, or all open, drawings. The Select List of Sheets dialog box opens. Choose a DSD file and click Select. You can use the –PUBLISH command with a saved DSD file to publish DWF files from a script file. You then get a prompt for the DSD file. The process automatically generates a log file (with the name of the drawing list and an extension of .csv) that you can look at in case there are errors.

Creating DWF files from other applications

You can create a DWF file from a Microsoft Word document, an Excel spreadsheet, or any other Windows application by using Autodesk DWF Writer. You can download the Autodesk DWF Writer for free from www.autodesk.com/dwfwriter. The Autodesk DWF Writer works as a printer driver. For example, in Microsoft Word, choose File

Auto-publishing

The AUTOPUBLISH command is a way to quickly publish to a DWF or DWFx file. To specify the settings that this command uses, choose Application Button

Note

The AUTOPUBLISH command now supports publishing to a PDF file in addition to DWF files, and the ability to use line merge.

The AUTODWFPUBLISH system variable turns the AutoPublish feature on and off. When you turn this system variable on (set its value to 1), AutoCAD executes the AUTOPUBLISH command every time you save or close the drawing. You can also turn this system variable on in the Auto Publish section of the Plot and Publish tab of the Options dialog box by checking the Automatic Publish check box. Turn on AUTODWFPUBLISH if you always need to keep DWF, DWFx, or PDF files synchronized with your drawings.

Customizing DWF and DWFx settings

You can modify the PC3 file that defines the DWF or DWFx file to specify certain settings that you might want, including compression, resolution, and whether to include layer information. The DWF file format follows the specification of the DWF6 ePlot.pc3 file. For safety, it's good to make a backup of the PC3 file before modifying it. To find the PC3 file, choose Application Button

To modify the PC3 file for creating a DWF file, follow these steps:

1. Choose Application Button

   

2. Double-click DWF6 ePlot.pc3 or DWFx ePlot (XPS Compatible).pc3.

3. Click the Device and Document Settings tab and choose Custom Properties.

4. In the middle of the dialog box, click the Custom Properties button to open the DWF6 ePlot Properties dialog box.

When you finish specifying the properties for the DWF file format, click OK. If you see a message asking whether you to apply the changes for the current plot only (which creates an override of the configuration file but doesn't change it) or to save the changes to the file (which changes the configuration file, although you can always change it back), respond as desired.

Note

The drawing used in the following exercise on creating a 2D DWF file, ab28-01.dwg, is in the Results folder on the DVD. If you did the previous exercise, you also have this file in your AutoCAD Bible folder.

STEPS: Creating a 2D DWF File

1. If you did the previous exercise, use ab28-01.dwg. If not, open it from the Results folder on the DVD and save it to your AutoCAD Bible folder. Although this drawing is a 3D drawing, you can make a 2D DWF file from it, especially if you want to preserve the hyperlinks.

2. Close any other drawings that you may have open. Choose Output tab

   

3. Choose ab28-01-Model and click Remove Sheets.

4. In the Publish To drop-down list, choose DWF. Click Publish to create the DWF file.

5. In the Specify DWF File dialog box, enter ab28-02.dwf and AutoCAD Bible for the file location. Click Select.

6. A Publish - Save Sheet List dialog box opens and asks whether you want to save the current list of sheets. Click No. If you see the Processing Background Job message telling you that your job is processing in the background, click Close.

You use the PUBLISH command to create 3D DWF or DWFx files in the same way that you create 2D DWF or DWFx files, as explained previously in this chapter. (AutoCAD LT doesn't contain this feature.) You don't need to specify that the file is a 3D drawing. You can also use the 3DDWF command to create a 3D DWF or DWFx file and immediately open it in the Autodesk Design Review. This method has fewer options but is quicker. You can also choose Application Button

Either way, a dialog box opens where you can specify the name and location of the file. To set a few options, choose Tools

Figure 28.8. The 3D DWF Publish dialog box sets options for 3D DWF and DWFx files.

Choose whether you want to publish all objects or just selected objects, and how you want to organize xrefs in the drawing — either along with other objects or by their xref hierarchy. You can also choose to publish materials that you've attached to objects or layers. Then click OK to return to the Export 3D DWF dialog box. Specify a location and name for the DWF or DWFx file and click Save. A message appears asking whether you want to view the file. Click Yes to open the file in Autodesk Design Review.

The 3D DWF and DWFx files (for AutoCAD only) are similar to 2D DWF and DWFx files, but the following items are not displayed:

The Publish to Web feature creates HTML pages that display your drawings in DWFx, DWF, JPEG, or PNG format. Through the use of templates, you can upload drawings without getting involved in Web-design issues.

To publish drawings to the Web, first prepare your drawings and decide how many you want to publish. Then follow these steps:

You can always upload the files by yourself, using your own FTP program or whatever other means you usually use to post to the Web site.

You don't need to use the Publish to Web Wizard to place DWF or DWFx files on a Web site. You can upload 2D and 3D DWF and DWFx files directly, and give people the URL or place a link to them on another page. You can also create JPG or PNG images on your own, as I explained in Chapter 27, and use them to display an image of the DWF or DWFx file.

You can edit your Web page — for example, you can delete existing drawings and add new ones. Start the Publish to Web command and choose Edit Existing Web Page on the first screen. Click Next and choose the Web page that you want to edit by choosing a PTW (Publish to Web) file. Click Next again. From this point on, you can change any existing information.

On the Select Drawings screen, click Update to update a drawing that has changed since the last time that you created the Web page. Click Remove to remove a drawing. To add a new drawing, follow the same procedures described in the previous section.

To change the order of the drawings, select a drawing from the list and click Move Up or Move Down until you have the results that you want. Continue through the wizard and re-post your drawings.

The final step is to view the drawings. If you use the Publish to Web Wizard to create JPEG or PNG drawings, you simply view them like any other image. However, DWF and DWFx drawings, whether viewed locally on a computer or from a Web site, can be panned and zoomed and offer other viewing options as well. To view a DWF drawing, you need Autodesk Design Review. You can view DWFx files in Autodesk Design Review or Microsoft XPS Viewer. Autodesk Design Review is free and is automatically installed when you install AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT. It is also available as a free download from the Autodesk Web site at www.autodesk.com/designreview. If you are using Windows Vista, the XPS Viewer comes installed, but if you are using Windows XP, you can download and install it for free. To learn more about the XPS viewer, you can visit the Microsoft Web site at www.microsoft.com/xps.

The XPS Viewer offers only basic viewing features, such as scrolling and changing the zoom percentage used. To view 3D DWFx files and the metadata saved with a DWFx file, you need Autodesk Design Review; you also get better viewing tools with Autodesk Design Review.

Autodesk Design Review can function in two ways:

If you send DWF or DWFx files to clients or colleagues, you can send them the link to the Install file for Autodesk Design Review as well.

If you've given a DWF or DWFx file a password, a dialog box opens, requesting the password before the DWF or DWFx file is displayed.

Printing and plotting

You can print/plot drawings from Autodesk Design Review. The print options are somewhat like those in Microsoft Word because they take into account the fact that a DWF or DWFx file can have many pages. Click the Print button on the Quick Access toolbar to open the Print dialog box, as shown in Figure 28.14.

Figure 28.13. Passing over a URL in a DWF file.

Figure 28.14. The Print dialog box helps you to print or plot drawings from Autodesk Design Review.

The Print dialog box offers the following features:

• Printer. In the Printer section, choose the printer or plotter that you want to use. Click Properties to specify how the printer/plotter functions. The features depend on the device that you choose. You can also select the Print to File check box to print to a file. Check Always Use This Printer if you typically use a printer other than the default Windows printer when using Autodesk Design Review.

• Paper. Choose the page size from the drop-down list. The available paper sizes vary, depending on your printer or plotter.

• Print Range. You can choose to print all pages, or you can specify the pages. You can also choose Full Page or Current View from the View drop-down list. (Remember that 3D DWF and 3D DWFx files can only have one page.)

• Page Handling. Choose the number of copies you want to print and whether you want to collate them.

• Scaling and Alignment. You can fit to the page or specify a scale. If you scale, you can tile or clip the pages. If you clip them, you can align to one corner of the paper or center the drawing.

• Orientation. Choose Portrait or Landscape.

• Color Setting. You can print in color, black and white (2D DWF and DWFx files only), or grayscale.

• Advanced. Click Advanced to convert the data that is selected for printing into a bitmap; this can help to speed up printing, but it may use more memory. This option only affects 2D DWF and DWFx files.

The Preview pane lets you visualize what the output will look like. If you choose All or multiple pages in the Print Range section, you can use the arrows to scroll through each page in a multipage DWF file.

Click OK to print. If you choose a size that doesn't fit on one sheet of paper, you see a message saying that the drawing may print across several pages.

Note

The file used in the following exercise on viewing a DWF drawing, ab28-02.dwf, is in the Results folder of the DVD.

STEPS: Viewing a DWF Drawing

1. If you didn't do the exercise on creating a 2D DWF file, copy ab28-02.dwf from the DVD to your AutoCAD Bible folder. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to ab28-02.dwf. Double-click the file to open it in Autodesk Design Review.

   Note

   If the DWF file were on a Web site, you would view it by typing the URL in your browser.

2. Autodesk Design Review opens automatically and displays the DWF file that was created in the previous exercise. From the Contents item on the left pane of the Autodesk Design Review, choose the second sheet, labeled [2]ab28-01-Iso (11.0 × 8.5 in), as shown in Figure 28.15.

   

   Figure 28.15. The DWF file as seen in Autodesk Design Review.

3. Right-click in the drawing to open the shortcut menu. Choose Zoom Rectangle. Drag a window to zoom in. Choose Pan from the shortcut menu, and pan to the left. Choose Fit in Window from the shortcut menu to return to the previous view.

4. To print the drawing to the system printer, click Print on the Quick Access toolbar. In the Print dialog box, click the All option in the Print Range section. Click OK.

5. Close Autodesk Design Review.