Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
use DWFs as well as PDFs as reference files in your own drawings. (Some people call
DWF files
dwiffs,
but I'm going to hold off on that one until I start hearing DWG files
called
dwiggs.
)
You create both DWFs and PDFs from within AutoCAD in one of two ways. Either choose
Plot and select a DWF or PDF option in the Printer/Plotter name list, or choose
Print⇒Batch Plot from the Application Menu and select DWF, DWFx, or PDF in the Pub-
lish To area of the Publish dialog box. Both file types are compact and secure: You can't
edit either PDFs or DWFs in AutoCAD. Both formats are ideal for two purposes: You can
post DWFs or PDFs on the Web, and you can send your drawings to consultants and cli-
ents in a form that they can't mess up. You can attach PDFs or DWFs to your drawing
files in pretty much the same way you attach drawings as external references. DWFs and
PDFs attached to drawing files are referred to as DWF underlays or PDF underlays.
As with DWF and DGN attachments, you can object-snap to entities in the PDF underlay
by enabling the Snap to Underlays function in the Reference panel slideout on the Insert
tab. Setting PDF parameters is virtually identical to setting DWF parameters, and you
can attach a PDF to your drawing using exactly the same steps as the ones that follow.
The previous sections show how to attach a DWG and a raster image. Follow these steps
to attach a DWF (or a PDF!) file as an underlay:
1. If the External References palette isn't already open, click its icon on the
Palettes panel of the View tab to open it.
The toolbar at the top of the palette lets you attach an external file as an xref, a ras-
ter image file, or a DGN or DWF underlay. I cover attaching xrefs and images earlier
in this chapter. See the online help for information on attaching DGN files.
2. Click Attach DWF or Attach PDF and locate the file you want to attach.
The Select Reference File dialog box appears.
3. Browse to find the file you want to attach, select it, and then click Open.
The Attach DWF Underlay or Attach PDF Underlay dialog box appears.
4. Specify the parameters for the DWF or the PDF in the dialog box.
Parameters include specifying a sheet, the insertion point, scaling factors, rotation
angle, and path type (see Figure 18-11). You can set these parameters in the dialog
box or specify them on-screen, just as you can do when inserting a block, attaching
an xref, or attaching an image, as described earlier in this chapter.
