I just wanted to write a short article on using DWF and a workflow with markup. The DWF format is very small compared to PDF and other formats for transmitting to others. You can also use the free Autodesk DWF Writer 2 to publish from other applications such as Bentley MicroStation, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel or most any other application that can use a Windows System printer driver. You can publish in one click the entire Sheet Set in AutoCAD 2005 to DWF or a plotter. You can view DWF using the free Autodesk DWF Viewer or the $99 Autodesk DWF Composer as I show in this tutorial. The DWF is a open format and anyone can use the available DWF 6 Toolkit to write or view them.
In AutoCAD 2005 you can use the Sheet Set Manager to publish your entire Sheet Set in one click to a multi-sheet DWF.
You can use the free Autodesk DWF Writer 2 to publish a drawing sheet from Bentley MicroStation just as I did in the above image.
I simply dragged and dropped the DWF produced from the free Autodesk DWF Writer 2 into my multi-sheet DWF. I was also able to mark up (redline) the DWF in Autodesk DWF Composer which is only $99 or $49 to upgrade from the Volo View 2. You could also just view the resulting DWF files with the free Autodesk DWF Viewer but this does not have measure, mark-up and DWG viewing like Autodesk DWF Composer.
In this image you can see I can even mark-up the Bentley MicroStation produced DWF and even snap to the geometry for measurements or comments in the Autodesk DWF Composer.
Here you can see my mark up comments in a sheet in the multi-sheet DWF file on the sheet created from Bentley MicroStation. I can even indicate the markup status.
You can see the mark-up on an AutoCAD 2005 sheet in the DWF I can call out the question for another person. I can change the mark-up with snaps. After I make the mark up I can then send it back to the person with AutoCAD 2005 who created or who has the Sheet Set in AutoCAD 2005.
Using the Markup Set Manager in AutoCAD 2005, I can import the mark up and automatically navigate in the sheet set to the areas with the mark-up. I can also indicate the comments have been resolved and republish with the revisions.
I can even use the free Autodesk DWF Writer to publish Microsoft Word or Excel files to supplement the sheets or as a reference. I can even drag and drop raster images into the DWF such as a rendering or site photo. Best thing is that the documents when in the DWF format are not as easy to copy the data out to another document like a PDF and many do not want reviewers to get the data out. I can even have the reviewers indicate their mark-ups on the other documents in the DWF such as marking up the spreadsheet or the Bentley MicroStation sheet with my comment for the MicroStation user to “buy AutoCAD 2005” 😉 .
Helpful Links Relevant to this Tutorial
http://www.autodesk.com/dwf
http://www.autodesk.com/dwfcomposer
http://www.autodesk.com/dwfviewer
http://www.autodesk.com/autocad
http://www.autodesk.com/gofurther
Cheers,
-Shaan
I just spent a few weeks evaluating mid-size copiers for our firm. I believe Autodesk is missing an opportunity in this market. One of the “selling” features the salespeople were touting was the ability to scan jobs into pdf files (or email pdfs, or [fill in the blank] with pdfs). Every single one of the vendors blinked and then glazed over when I mentioned dwf. Every salesperson mentioned licensing issues with pdfs, but the copier industry is oblivious to the dwf format. Time to rock their world, isn’t it?!
Concerning the .dwf format files being smaller than .pdf… not by my experience. I plotted .dwg files to both formats, and found the .pdf files were smaller. Had it been the other way around, I’d have had more ammunition to standardize on .dwf.
Robert,
Just like PDF taking some time to grow in usage, DWF will have the same time for adoption. Many print houses have already realized the benefit of a more accurate and smaller file as have the plotter manufacturers such as Oce and HP. Thanks for the comments. Nobody wants a fatter file format with less visual fidelity not designed for the design drawings. Threre is no one size fits all format but you use what works best and for design drawings it is hands down DWF.
-Shaan
Paul,
Concerning your smaller PDF files than DWF. I would need more details but my best guess is you did not plot them at the same settings thus the resulting smaller PDF which is definitly not the average result.
Cheers,
-Shaan
Thanks a lot for this kind of document design guide posted here. I have really found it very informative and helpful for my work today. Hope to find some more useful guides in here.