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David Scott
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 210
Location: Orkney Islands, Scotland
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 Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 4:55 am Post subject: PDF Files from PowerCAD drawings- Can I preserve layers? |
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Does anyone know a method of creating PDF files from PowerCADD drawings that will preserve the layers? Preview doesn't seem to support viewing layers but Adobe Reader does. The latest version of Acrobat might achieve this but does anyone have any experience?
The attached file is an example of a PDF with layers preserved (from an AutoCAD file)
Thanks
David
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Matt
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 525
Location: Sterling, Virginia
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| Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 12:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Gosh, that would be nice to be able to do.
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jasonlocher
Joined: 14 Apr 2004
Posts: 649
Location: Austin, Texas
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| Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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sigh...
If you choose to create a PDF file that retains some AutoCAD layers, you can specify which layers are preserved in the PDF.
The Layers In Drawing list shows all the layers in the AutoCAD file. You transfer layers that you want to be present in the PDF from the Layers In Drawing list to the Layers In PDF list. Only layers and objects of layers present in the Layers In PDF list are present in the PDF.
1. In AutoCAD, start to convert an AutoCAD file and select the Retain All Or Some Layers option.
2. To show AutoCAD layers in the Acrobat PDFMaker dialog box, do any of the following:
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Choose an option from the Named Layer Filters menu to list all layers that fit that criterion.
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Select the Invert option to list all layers except those that are described by the selected choice in the Named Layer Filters menu.
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To change the sort order of the layers, click the headings.
Note: To change a layer’s On, Frozen, or Plot properties, click Cancel Conversion, change the properties in the AutoCAD drawing, and restart the procedure.
3. Do any of the following to select the AutoCAD layers from the Layers In Drawing list that you want to convert and include in the PDF:
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To select a set of layers you’ve already saved, choose a layer setting from the PDF Layer Settings menu.
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To select a single layer, click the name of the layer.
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To select more than one layer, Ctrl-click the desired layers.
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To select all layers, right-click and choose Select All.
Note: To navigate through the AutoCAD layers, use the Up and Down Arrow keys. Use the scroll bar at the bottom of the column to scroll horizontally through the table.
4. To add the selected AutoCAD layers to the list of layers to convert to PDF, do one of the following:
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To convert the selected AutoCAD layers to individual PDF layers within a PDF layer set, click Create Layer Set, and optionally, type a layer name. (A PDF layer set is a folder for organizing layers in the Layers panel in Acrobat.)
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To convert the selected AutoCAD layers to individual layers, click the Add Layer(s) button.
The name of a layer in the Layers In Drawing list is unavailable if that layer is included in the Layers In PDF list. When you select that layer in the Layers In PDF list, a bullet appears next to the layer’s name in the Layers In Drawing list.
5. Optionally, do any of the following:
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To reorder the layers in the Layers In PDF list, drag an item up or down in the list.
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To include a visibility property that can be switched on or off in Acrobat, deselect Locked On adjacent to the PDF layer; to lock the resulting PDF layer’s visibility on, select Locked On.
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To save the current settings of AutoCAD layers selected, click Add PDF Settings, name the layer setting, and click OK. The Add PDF Settings button is unavailable unless you’ve added at least one AutoCAD layer from the Layers In Drawing list to the Layers In PDF list. These settings are used the next time you convert an AutoCAD file to PDF and can be renamed or edited at any time.
6. Click the Convert To PDF button, specify a folder in the Save In box in which to save the PDF file, type a filename, and then click Save.
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Matt
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 525
Location: Sterling, Virginia
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| Posted: Thu Jun 04, 2009 11:04 pm Post subject: |
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| be cool if we could do that in PowerCAD
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pbacot
Joined: 15 Apr 2004
Posts: 959
Location: Northern California
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| Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 12:04 am Post subject: |
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Jason,
Sounds like they got it all figured out in AutoCAD for pdfs. How come so many AutoCAD users give me absolute crap for pdf files? Doing a job where the ID pdf files are huge and everything is in hairline. (the whole project is being handled in pdf distribution).
Peter
_________________
Peter B |
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David Scott
Joined: 16 Apr 2004
Posts: 210
Location: Orkney Islands, Scotland
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| Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 1:21 am Post subject: |
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| jasonlocher wrote: | sigh...
…and then click Save. |
All very informative Jason, but you misunderstood my request. I don't have AutoCAD. I was sent the file and was impressed with the preserved layers in the PDF file. I just wondered if we could do the same thing using PowerCADD. Maybe one for EngSW to look into?
David
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Alfred Scott
Joined: 15 Apr 2004
Posts: 749
Location: Richmond, VA
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| Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 10:49 am Post subject: |
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Adobe worked direct with AutoDesk to provide the ability to create a PDF with layers. Nobody else has the software tools to do this. It's a good feature and I'm sure in time Apple will provide the tools to do this.
Alfred
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