AutoCAD Tips Blog » PNG

Creating JPEG and PNG files from AutoCAD drawings

Ellen — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:12:54 +0000

Many people need to export image files from AutoCAD to put into reports or other documents.

Did you know that you can save a drawing in JPEG and PNG format for display on the Web? Use the JPGOUT or PNGOUT command. You can also create JPEGs using the Publish to Web feature.

For older releases, use the following method. (Thanks to Shaan Hurley of Autodesk for bringing this technique to my attention.) In short, you use one of the raster devices provided with AutoCAD and create a PC3 file for it in the Add-A-Plotter Wizard. Then you plot to a file. Here are the steps in detail to create the PC3 file:

Open the drawing you want to save.
Choose File > Plotter Manager to open the Plotters folder.
Double-click the Add-A-Plotter Wizard icon.
Introduction page: click Next.
Begin page: choose the option you use for your regular AutoCAD plotting (My Computer or Network Plotter Server). Click Next.
Plotter Model page: under Manufacturers, scroll down and choose Raster File Formats. Under Models choose the format you want to save to: JPEG or PNG are suitable for the Web. Click Next.
Import PCP or PC2 page: click Next.
Ports page: AutoCAD automatically sets you to plot to a file, which is what you want.
Plotter Name page: shorten the name, for goodness’ sake to JPEG or PNG. Click Next.
Finish page: Click Edit Plotter Configuration if you want to change the default resolution (click Media) or background color (click Custom). (You can change the resolution when you plot.) Unfortunately, you can’t create a transparent background. Click OK to close the Plotter Configuration Editor.
Click Finish to close the Wizard.

Now you’re all set up. Here are the steps to create the file:

With the drawing open, click Plot on the Standard toolbar.
On the Plot Device tab, choose your new PC3 file from the Plotter Configuration drop-down list. (You might get a warning about the paper size, which you can ignore, because you’re plotting to a file.) In the Plot to File section, make any desired changes to the file name and location.
On the Plot Settings tab, you can play around with the settings. I had the best luck with Scaled to Fit. Try a Full Preview to be sure. You can change the resolution (in pixels) and the Plot Area.
Click OK and you’re done!

In my experience, it wasn’t easy to get good results when importing to my website. Remember that, unlike the DWF format, the JPG format cannot be zoomed and is not a vector format. I usually take a screen capture, which I describe below.

Chris Panas, Transportation Engineering Technician in Spokane County, responded with the following tip. He writes,

“I use a similar method, that is, I plot to a file, but in fact I create an Encapsulated PostScript print in my Add a Plotter wizard. After plotting to an .eps file, I then distill the PostScript file using Acrobat Distiller; it is then a PDF file. This is the method my agency uses to make drawings available for the public to view. It has several benefits in that Acrobat Reader is available for free and the text and linework is much higher quality that when exporting to a bitmap, jpeg, or wmf. I have also experienced a greater degree of control by plotting to a window tight around the objects. If you can try this method, I think you will be pleased. The only needed after the distillation takes place is to open the PDF file using Acrobat Writer. Rotate it to the desired view, and save again.”

Thanks for the tip, Chris.

Paul Burgener mentioned that you can also use screen capture software to create JPEG files from AutoCAD drawings. He uses Capture Express ($15 shareware) from www.captureexpress.com. When I write my books, I use SnagIt from www.techsmith.com to create the screenshots. Joe Mapes uses a simpler method: he presses the print screen button on the keyboard, opens his graphics program (he uses LView Pro), and presses Ctrl+V to paste the screen shot. Then he crops the image and saves in JPEG format. Windows Vista and 7 include a free screen-capture program, Snipping Tool.

Remember that you can output to PDF format using the EXPORTPDF or PUBLISH command.

A subscriber just brought to my attention another way to create JPEG files. After reading that tip, he said:

“One of the best methods that I have found so far is printing the AutoCAD file to a PDF file using the FREE Primo PDF virtual printer software (http://www.primopdf.com/index.aspx). Once the AutoCAD file is in PDF format you can then open and edit it in the FREE Gimp photo editing software (http://www.gimp.org/), which allows for the importation and editing of PDF files without having to have a full version of Adobe. Once you have the PDF in Gimp, and have made any changes you might desire to make, do a “Save As” to one of several image file types. In my testing I used the .jpg format. Gimp will tell you that you need to export the file to that file type, and gives you an option to change the resolution of the export. I used 100% and my .jpg looks much better than any of the results from the methods I have tried thus far.”

How do you create good-looking images from AutoCAD drawings? Click the comment link to let others know.

Convert slide libraries/image tile menus and tablet menus to tool palettes

Ellen — Wed, 09 Aug 2000 14:14:58 +0000

(For Releases 2004 and 2005)

If you have custom menus that you have been using for inserting blocks, you know that creating and maintaining these menus is a major project.

If you have a digitizing tablet, you may be using the Tablet 1 section of the tablet menu. If you change a block, you need to edit the menu, create a new image, edit tablet.dwg, and finally replot tablet.dwg to place the new version on your digitizing tablet.

Or you may have created a slide library with slides of your blocks and your customized commands. You may have put the slide library images in an image-tile menu that you display from a pull-down menu item that you have created. Making changes involves editing the menu, recreating the slide, editing the slide list, and recompiling the slide library from the command line.

In both scenarios, you needed to reload the new menu.

A simpler method is to use tool palettes. A reader, Ronald E. Walker, asked me several questions about the new tool palettes and together we worked out the following procedure. He has used slide libraries in the past and is converting them to tool palettes. First I explain the steps for AutoCAD 2005. Afterwards, I explain what you need to do in 2004.

Steps for 2005

In the drawing containing the block, type PNGOUT. (This command creates a PNG file, one of the file types that the tool palettes uses to create the icons. It creates small, accurate files.)
In the Create Raster File dialog box, name the file and choose a location in your support file search path. Click Save.
At the Select objects: prompt, select the block.
Right click in an open area of a tool palette and choose New Tool Palette to create a new tab.
Right-click an open area of the new tab and choose Customize. In the Customize dialog box, click the Commands tab.
Click and drag any command from the Commands area on the right side of the dialog box to the Tool Palette. (The exact command is not important, because you will edit it.)
In the Tool Palette, right click the command tool and choose Properties. The Tool Properties dialog box opens, shown here.

In the Command String item, enter your command string. You can copy and paste from your menu.
Change the name and description in the appropriate text boxes.
Right click the image in the upper left corner of the dialog box, as shown here, and choose Specify Image. (You may just see a square.)
Navigate to the PNG file you saved earlier and click OK.
Click OK to close the Customize dialog box.

Note, if you don’t see the image clearly, you may need to crop it in an image editor.

Editing the tool palette is easy. Just edit the Command String to change the macro. However, if you change the block, you need to update the image. This process is not automatic. The easiest method is to right-click the tool, choose Properties, and right-click the image. Choose Select Image, choose a different image, and click OK. Then repeat the process with the correct image to update the image.

Steps for 2004

In 2004, you need to work directly with the .atc files that create the tools. To find their location, choose Tools>Options and click the Files tab, and double-click Tool Palettes File Locations. In that folder you’ll find a Palettes folder containing the .atc files plus an Images folder that contains the images used by the icons.

The .atc file is a text file that you can modify. It has many codes that I certainly can’t figure out, but for a command tool palette, the important parts are the tool name, image file, and the macro that executes the command. Here is an example of a command tool palette that simply executes the line command.

You can download this .atc file.

Note that the image is in PNG format. To create the PNG file, see the steps above for Release 2005.

To create the tool palette, follow these steps:

Edit the .atc file to change the tool name, the image name, and the command macro itself to suit your needs.
Create a new tool palette. (Right-click and choose New Tool Palette. Name the palette and press Enter.)
Open Windows Explorer and find your .atc file.
Drag the .atc file to the palette. (You probably need to adjust your Windows Explorer window so you can see both the file and the palette.)