Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Autodesk hopes to establish ePlot and the DWF/DWFx format as a standard
for CAD documents similar to what Adobe's PDF has become for word processing
documents. It remains to be seen whether ePlotting will become a popular way to
generate hard-copy output (although DWFx will certainly push it that way). In par-
ticular, many people outside CAD-using companies don't have access to large-
format plotters. They're limited to 8-1/2 x 11-inch — or, at best, 11 x 17-inch —
reduced-size check plots. Consequently, many people won't be able to plot your
DWF files to scale and may not even be able to plot them large enough to read
everything.
Don't be afraid to try ePlotting with colleagues inside or outside your company, but
don't become too dependent on it until you see whether the rest of the CAD world
shares your enthusiasm. Otherwise you risk becoming the only one who's willing to use
your DWF files for plotting — in which case, the next version of the feature will be called
mePlot.
Making DWFs with ePlot
As I describe in the preceding section, AutoCAD treats DWF files like electronic plots, or
ePlots.
You create a DWF file from the current drawing just as if you were plotting it to a
piece of paper, as I describe in Chapter 16. The only difference is that, in the Plot dialog
box's Printer/Plotter area, you choose one of two plotter configurations:
DWF6
ePlot.pc3
or
DWFx ePlot (XPS Compatible).pc3
, as shown in Figure 20-3. When
you do so, AutoCAD automatically turns on the Plot to File setting. Then, when you click
OK to generate the ePlot, AutoCAD displays a dialog box in which you specify a filename
and location for the DWF file that gets created. The location can be a folder on a hard
drive or a Web server.
