AutoCAD Tips to Work Smarter - January 2003
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Creating a Web Library with Publish to Web
The Publish to Web feature was introduced in AutoCAD 2000i allowing users to easily create web pages that included images of AutoCAD drawings. AutoCAD 2002 expanded this tool by adding more Web Page templates, support for iDrop and including the ability to use different sizes for the three files types (DWF, JPG and PNG) and support for iDrop.
With Publish to Web you can post your drawings to a Web Site, sharing work in progress with your clients and customers. Using iDrop, you can create a web library of blocks that you and others can to insert into drawings. The great part of all this is the easy to use Publish to Web Wizard.
First, what type of file should you use in your Web page?
JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group file format. Compressed image file. JPEG's need no special viewers and are universally supported. However, you can not zoom, pan or control the display of layers.
PNG - Portable Network Graphics bitmap. Compressed image file. PNG's don't support zooming, panning or layer control and are only supported by newer browsers.
DWF - Design Web FormatTM file format, Compressed vector file. DWF removes the nonvisual components of a drawing, such as attributes, properties, and complex object behavior, but allows zooming, panning and layer control. Volvo View ExpressTM, is required to view DWF files.
iDrop - An XML-based technology invented by Autodesk for programmers and developers that allows you to drag and drop content from the Web to your drawing.
Using the Publish to Web Wizard
- Start by preparing your drawings. Use the Zoom Extents command to view as much of the drawing as possible. Open all the drawings you wish to include in your Web Page.
- Click on the Publish to Web button in the Standard toolbar or select Publish to Web from the File menu.
- Choose to Create New Web Page from the Begin page of the wizard. Click Next.
- On the Create New Web Page screen, enter a name for your Web Page. AutoCAD uses this as the name of the folder for the files used in your Web Page. Click on the ellipsis button to select the drive and parent folder to locate the files. You can also add a description that will be displayed on your web page. Click Next.
- The Select Image Type screen lists the file formats you can create, DWF, JPEG and PNG. If you select JPEG or PNG you can also specify a size. Select one and click next.
- On the Select Template screen you will choose a template the organizes your Web Page. The options are Array of Thumbnails, Array plus Summary, List of Drawings and List plus Summary. Select one and click Next..
- In the Apply screen, select one of the predefined color/font schemes for your Web Page.
- Click the check box on the Enable iDrop screen to allow users to drag your Web Page drawings into their current drawing. Click Next.12. Click Finish to exit the wizard.
- The Select Drawings screen lets you choose the drawings to be included on your Web Page. If the drawings are open, you can select the drawings from the drop down list. Otherwise, you have to select the ellipsis (…) button to select the file(s). For each drawing, you will select a layout and type a label and description that will appear on the Web Page. Once you've done this, select the Add button to add the drawing to the list. Click Next when finished.
- On the Generate Images screen, click on Next. Since this is a new Web Page, all the images will be regenerated.
- Once all the images have been generated, the Preview and Post screen will appear. Click Preview to examine your Web Page. Click Post to upload your Web Page to the Internet or your companies Intranet.
- Click Finish to exit the wizard.
- Your new Web Page file name is acwebpublish.htm. If you posted the Web Page in step 10, look in the drive and folder you specified here. If not, look in the drive and folder you selected in step 4. Click HERE to check out this Web Page.
Just use your imagination and you can come up with many possible uses for AutoCAD images in Web Pages. Sharing work in progress with colleagues, displaying samples of your designs or creating libraries of symbols and details are just a few of the ideas that come to mind.
Try the links below to view some of CCAD's Web Libraries.