2. IEDITOR'S WINDOW
A Cautlous Reliance
Is anything more frustrating
than when things you take for
granted disappear? I'm talk-
ing about our and your
growing reliance on electronic mail and the Internet to
conduct business, and what happens when we find our-
selves without them.
Here's some background: CADA.LySTuses, relies on,
and recommends electronic communication everv
chance we get. We correspond with readers, r"""irr"
manuscripts and artwork, send and receive proofs, and
hand over each month's CADALyST o the printer in
electronic form. We also scour the Internet for informa-
tion and links that we pass on ro vou.
This electronic footwork really helps us bring you an
up-to-date publication each month, And all thii works
very nicely-until it doesn't,
Enter the trouble: A couple of glitches at our parent
company's electronic nexus had us all pacing aiound for
a few intermittent davs this month. Oui fS dJpartment
was running around with its hair on fire while we
tapped our collective feet and. mumbled thines under
our breath.
Fortunately, after a few false starts our old electronic
friends returned to us with little wear and tear, We were
soor on our way again, once again seemingly oblivious
to the outage and how fragile the system cin be.
. Ithink we all agree that we wonder how we got along
in the pre-electronic communications world, yet, we
did. But the pre-email and pre-Internet days seem
exceedingly pass6 from our now electroniially height-
ened position,
We learned a valuable lesson from our anxious
moments this month, Here is a biq recommendation for
surviving an e-mail or Internet -Jltdo*r, at your compa-
ny. If it hasn't happened to you, it will, Trusi me.
.
Make
l_ure
yo_u have correct telephone, fax, and ship-
ping/mailing address information for all your businesi
connections printed out and accessible, When you've
been corresponding via e-mail for a couple of y'ears,
you'd be surprised at how out-of-date those ,,antiquated,,
communications methods become.
While we actively seek and embrace technoloeical
advancements in communications, CAD, and an*ywhere
else that fits, we also accept the risks bundled with
them, Take q few precautibns now while things are
going_ smoothly for the inevitable rough spots that lie
ahead, @
by Gene Smart€
Gf,ltflly$T
Published monthly by
A DVA N S TA n Co mmu ni c at io ns
Vol. 1s No. 2
Editorial
Ie-mail lua.sheridan@cadonline.com]
Associte Editor Itloelle creenl€y
Ie-mail noelle, greenley@cadonline.com)
Editoilol Inten Amy Splndl€l
Art Directot' palty luelson
(e-mail patty,nelson@cadonline,comJ
cadonline
Senior Editor sandy Lurtns
(e-mail smdy@cadonline.com)
Associote Editor
Advertising
Publisher Dana Woodsmall
(e-mail daua.woodsmall@cadonline.com
Western Regionol Sdes Manoger Ardrea Maifin
(e-mail mdrea.martin@cadouline.com)
Eastern Regionol Soles Monager Le Ramlrez
Ie-mail lea,rmirez@cadonline.com)
Cental A Iilemationol Repionol
Sales Monager Shannon Gregory-Rels
Ie-mail shannon.gregory@cadonline.com)
Project Manager Lynn K€lley
(e-mai1 lynn,kelley@cadonline.com)
Telephone: zt4lE73-B4oo, fu 774ls7B-8672
Business
Editot-in-Chief cene Smrte
(e-mail gene,smdte@cadonline.com
S e ni o r T e ch ni cal E d ito r Art Llddle
(e-mail ut.liddle@cadonline.com
Safa Ferfis
(e-mail sua,ferris@cadonline,com)
Laracella L. Sherldan
Dean Ylllegas
(e-mail dean@cadonline,coml
Senior Editor
Managing Editor
Space sta
Production Manager Maria Krisfina Adanek
GroLtp Generd Manoger
Group Contrcllet
Dircctor of Operctions
Prcduction Assistont
Pro motion s C o o t dinot or
Circulation Monager
John colicu
Col€tte O'Donnell
Mlchael Weldon
Cori MacKay
Erlka lackson
Peggie Kegel
Robert L, Krakoff
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Skip Farber
Ernma T, L€wls
Assistant Circulation Monager Lois Matsuura
Marketing Seruices Director L, Ghlo tmburglo
Printed in the USA
Cqno da Post Internationol publication
Moil Soles Agreenrcnt #54644s
zN.
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Vice-Chair
VP, Business Development
VP, Strqtegic Planning
VP, Finonce, CFO &
Secrctary David W, Montgom€ry
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lntilliam J. Cook€. Alex DeBarr,
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Trcosurer & Controller Adele D. Har.twick
3. WEB TECHNO OGY
Dean Villegas
utodesk continues its sup-
port for design on tlie
Internet with the third
major version of its free
WHIP! viewer. Introduced 18
months ago, WHIP! lets you use
your Web browser to view Auto-
CAD drawings. WHIP! 3.0 offers
powerfuI features such as drawins
layer control, paper rpu"" rupl
port, and some slick navigation
commands that AutoCAD users
wish they had access to, your
coworkers, consultants, vendors,
suppliers, and customers can use
WHIP! 3,0 to view, print, send,
and share design information. The
free WHIP! viewer uses the same
powerful display-Iist process
found in AutoCAD Release 14 and
3D Studio MAX. And, as in aII
previous versions, WHIP! 3.0 rec-
ognizes embedded hyperli/ks, so
you can Iink drawings t6 other
data and Web pages, WHIP! gives
you an endless array of opportu-
nities for creating drawing-
enabled project Web sites,
llew IIWF file format
WHIPI 3.0 does not directly read
DWG files. It reads files in a for-
mat derived from the orieinal
DWG files, Autodesk desi"gned
this format, DWF (Drawine Web
Format), to be an accurate iector-
based file for quick transmission
over intranets and the Internet. A
DWF drawing is noneditable-
you can use it as an "e.lectronic
plot" with extra Internet capabili-
ties, according to Autodesk,
"Autodesk created DWF and
WHIPI because our cusiomers
34
needed a way to exchange draw-
ings over the Internet with speed,
security, and fidelity," says Jason
Pratt, a senior product manager in
the AutoCAD market group at
Autodesk.
In its simplest usage, you attach
a DWF to an e-mail message, and
recipients read it with their
browsers, For wider distribution.
you could burn your DWF draw-
ings on a CD-ROM together with a
copy of the latest WHIP! viewer.
You can freely redistribute
WHIP!, but if you put it on physi
cal media such as a CD-ROM, you
must contact Autodesk to sign a
sirnple redistribution agreement
(BOOls64-6432).
You can embed DWF drawings
in WordgZ, Excelg7, and powe"r-
PointgT documents to give your
spreadsheets and presentations
accurate, high-speed viewing
capabilities, You can publish your
DWF drawings
to a directory on
your intranet or
the Internet for
others to view.
To maximize
the power of the
Internet or your
intranet, you
can link objects
or areas in your
drawings to
HTML files, e-
mail, Java pro-
grams, databas-
es, CGI scripts,
and many other
Wrcb -relate d Fig.rre l. WHlp! 3.0 menu selection appears overa DWF
URLs, drawing in Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Download information
WHIPI 3.0 is free and downloadable
from:
www, autodesk. con/whip/
AutoCAD Internet Utilities (AlU) 3.0 is
free and downloadable from:
nvw. autodesk , com,/autocad /
llavigate with powel
High-performance viewing is just
a right-click away using the
WHIP! viewer's popup menu (fig-
ure 1). WHIPI 3.0's real-time pan-
ning and zooming capability will
amaze first-time users, because
most images on Web pages are
stiil shots. If you've used past ver-
sions of WHIPI, you're in for a
nice surprise, When your cursor
passes the edge of the viewing
window,. panning or zooming
continues as long as your cursor
moves, This continuous pan and
eAn[IYCT r F^L-.----- {nno
4. coming soonr On-line building permits
SILICON VALTEY AttIANCE
Michael Dakan
I VSV (Joint Venture Silicon Valley)
J is a collaborative effort among
more than 20 municipalities and a
few hundred private companies in
the Silicon Valley area of Northern
California. JVSV was established sev-
eral years ago to address common
promotional and business concerns
among member organizations and to
search for solutions to some of the
problems unique to Silicon Valley.
Among the problems that plague
high-tech industries, which make up a
large proportion of businesses in the
Valley. is the brutal time-to-market
scheduling requirements and the
need to respond very quickly to
changing market conditions. One
result of this market condition is the
need to bring new and renovated
building facilities on-line in ever-
faster time-frames,
Smart Permit is a series of stream-
lined procedures, processes, and com-
puter applications that are aimed at
ADVANCES SMART PERMIT TECHNOTOGY
speeding the building permit ap-
proval and tracking process. Develop-
ers and contractors will file building
permit applieations over the Internet,
including necessary application forms
and construction document submit,
tals. Building officials can electroni-
cally review and redline plans, then
use video-conferencing and white-
board software to provide feedback
and resolve problems.
The software and integration tools
needed to pull all this together are
still being developed, but a lot of
progress has occurred in the past
year. The cities of Sunnyvale and San
Carlos are most likely to be the first
to implement Smart permit, perhaps
as early as the first half of 1998.
Among the key software products
is Autodesk View. Autodesk is a
prime software vendor in the Smart
Permit effort and has been involved
in the development process from tfre
beginning.
Autodesk is enhancing and extend-
ing View to provide the CAD viewing
and measurement tools that building
officials need to review and mark up
electronic drawings. View will sup_
port the DWF file format. and
Autodesk is working on viewer tech-
nology that will (finally) provide a
black-and-white image with line
weights.
The Smart permit process is an
excellent example of what results
from applying CAD and Internet tech-
nologies to real-world problems. Suc-
cessful results from this Silicon Valley
effort will likely propagate quickly to
other areas of the country and be
applied to a wide range of CAD
processes.
-Michael Dakan is an architect and
independent CAD and facilities con_
sultant in Pacifica, Colifornia, and a
c ontributing edifor o/ CADALyST.
1
r
t
q
t
r
l
zoom feature gets thumbs up fronr
users who wish AutoCAD oflered
this capability. Another notable
navigation command is Zoom to
Rectangle for quick and accur.ate
close-ups, Most commands have
ke1'boald shortcuts. In addition, if
_r,ou rvant the drawing to take up
the entire browser window, th-e
Full /iew command maximizes
-our screen real estate.
VHIP ! 3,0 supports the
-'.iicrosoft IntelliMouse, which
ses a r,vheel and wheel button to
-:. 'ou pan and zoom without
:-.?.ijng commands from a menu
- <etboard. You can pan in anv
- ::ction simply by changing thL
::rection of the IntelliMouse's
::r'igation indicator. If you have a'--:e-button
mouse, you can use
- . middle button to perform the
-::le function,
itD-like features take oyer
:--:i-rer space support was the
:-- -.:_: :t-one customet reouest for
- -: : 0." says Pratt, "and we're
--- UL-1tf
be able to provide this
ihis release," You can
.he neu', free AutoCAD
Utilities 3.0 to make
Reiease 14's Internet
g
T
I
.
Februar-v 1998 E OA0AIYST
5. WEB TECHNOLOGY
commands usable in paper space.
Two other familiar AutoCAD fea-
tures now serve DWF users. The
first is the Named Views dialog
box, which makes the views you
cteate in AutoCAD available for
WHIP! users. The Named Views
diaiog box stays on the desktop
while the user quickly navigates
, to specific areas.
The second feature is the Layer
control dialog box, which dis-
plays a drawing's layers and lets
you toggle them on or off using
the light-bulb icon. Make sure
your layer names are identifiable
and standardized, or your DWF
users wiII ask questions. You can
prevent confusion by including a
Iink to your layer-naming conven-
tion. If you don't want to provide
access to layer names, you can
disable the layer control when
you save a DWF in AutoCAD.
When you use the right mouse
button menu to print a DWF, the
drawing fills the available print-
ing area as defined by your sys-
tem printer settings. The print
dialog box also presents an option
to force the drawing's background
color to white. Another option
forces the geometry to black,
which is useful for creating check
plots. Recent versions of Netscape
Navigator (4,03 and 4.04) suffer
from printing limitations-as of
this writing, Autodesk is working
closely with Netscape to correct
these limitations. Printing from
WHIP! works weII in Microsoft
Internet Explorer.
Location is everything
If you right-click and select Loca-
tion, a nonmodal dialog appears,
It displays the DWG coordinates
where your mouse cursor is cur-
rentlv located in the DWF screen.
Web glossary
URL: Uniform Resource Locator, the
address of any object on the Web.
, Web pages, rlava applications, and
DWF drawings all have a unique
URL on the Web so that browsers
can locate them. http://www.
cadonline.com is an example of a
URL, in this case the one tor CAD-
ALYSTS home page. The http:// is
often omitted from references to
URLs because most browsers auto-
matically insert the http://,
Intranet: A private network that
uses Internet protocols and soft-
ware (such as Web browsers and
servers). An intranet is a network
that runs "inside the firewall," and
may consist of one or more Web
and e-mail servers.
Web browser: Software used to
view Web pages and other
resources on the World Wide Web.
The WHIP! viewer runs inside a
Web browser.
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6. WEB TECHNOLCGY
Although you can find the coordi-
nates, you won't find a command
to measure distance, which was
near the top of WHIPI users, wish-
list, Such a command appears in
Autodesk's DwgX product, DwgX
is a free downloadable viewer, but
it needs Autodesk View to oper-
ate, DwgX views DWG and DWF
drawings, and it offers redlinins
tools that you also won,t find ii
the WHIPI viewer.
Just as you can save most
images you find on the Web, you
can save a DWF file to vour desk-
top from the InLernet. If the source
DWG is in the same host directorv
as the DWF drawing, you can alsl
save the_DWG to your desktop,
Various drag-and-drop options l-et
you open or insert a DWG file
from the Internet into an Auto-
CAD session,
AutoCAI! Internet Utilities
AIU (AutoCAD Internet Utilities)
3,0 is an add-on package that
enhances Internet functionality
already built into AutoCAD
Release 14 software. Of the five
main AIU commands, Dwfout is
the only command required to
publish a DWF file. Dwfout
inciudes the option to save layer
information, You can also choose
TABI.E l.OWF conprussion ratim
Tips for AutoGA lnternet
UtEIities 3"tl
Avoid modifying blocks with URLs attached.
'Avoid overlapping URLs on objeets or arcas.
Avoid modifying objects on URLLAyER.
Attach URLs only in the World UGS.
URLs are visible in a bloek referenee.
Shaded objects may produee visual errors,
A URL on a wide polyline is only one pixel wide.
You eaRnot attach URLs to Xline or ray lines.
Using TrueType fonts deerease the DWF file size, yet may slow down the
WHIP! viewer,
Save your drawing session before issuing the Dwfout command,
DWF file formats such as binarv.
binary compression levels, or the
ASCII format for those interested
in DWF file manipulation or cus-
tom DWF program development
(see figure 2).
AutoCAD's Dwfout compres-
sion dramatically reduces the size
of DWF drawings (table 1). Even
more of a reduction occurs if the
drawing file contains repetitive
geometry such as same-siie polv-
lines, circles, arcs, and other^enii-
ties. On the other hand, if your
AutoCAD file contaitts -"nyimhges or a large image, sucL
images are converted to TpEG
images inside the DWF file when
you save to DWF, This mav make
the file size too large to tiansmit
over the Internet, Like all files
published on the Internet, the
smaller the file, the better, When-
ever possible, use the Low (16-bit)
setting for your DWF output. If
visual accuracy is critiCal for
viewing your files, trv the next
setting level. You can also save
your drawing to DWF ASCII for-
mat, which is an editabie file
already set for high precision. It is
not compressed, so it will be lare-
er than a binary compressed file,
The other main AIU command
is Attachurl, which asks you to
select one or more objects (or an
area) in a drawing file to associate
with a URL, You will quickiv
notice that the Attachurl dialoi
box prompts for the URL nam6
without offering the option to
browse to your indicated file or
URL, You must type in the entire
Web URL. fo avoid text errors
ing, make a
your popular
ing and past_
owser button
is my top wishlist item for the
next version of AIU,
AIU 3.0 lacks an Edit URL com-
mand. If you need to chanse an
attached URL, use the Deta-churl
command, then use Attachurl
with the new location, The
Detachurl lets you select one or
more objects in a drawing file and
remove URLs associated with
them. Listurl lists all the URLs
associated with one or more
objects in a drawing file. Selecturl
20-bir 5:1
Figure 2. DWFout
csrnmand options
dialog box and
tlre AutoCAD
Internet UtiNities
3.0 icon tool bar
docked to tlre
sGrccn,
7. WEB TECHNOLOGY
selects all of the objects in a, draw-
ing file that have URLs associated
with them.
Weh site ideas
If you've upgraded to AutoCAD
Release 14, you can Web-enable
your drawings right away by pub-
lishing DWF drawings to your
intranet or Internet Web sites,
Review the sample Web site index
(at right) for ideas to inspire you
to incorporate DWF and WHIP!
technology, Autodesk m'aintains a
WHIP! gallery of sample sites that
use DWF drawings-check out
www, auEodesk. com/prod.so1 /
ddraf t,/produeb s /whip/ ga1
lery.hhm, CADALYST's Web site
at www.cadonline"eom also lists
other interesting CAD sites,
CAD drawing standards
Custom training manuals
Teeh support information
Learning and training resources and tips
Software and hardware standards
Customization tips
Symbols libraries
Office floor and cubicle layouts
Customer assemblies
15 network routes and hubs
-;;;;;;;;.""*ui
access to the Internet via Netscape
Navigator or Microsoft Internet
Explorer can look at your Web-
published drawings without pay-
ing for a viewer or AutoCAD soft-
ware. Autodesk developed the
ItffapGuide
Ets Hts s€rE ffi
LATEST VERSION ENHANCES
QUERY CAPABILITIES
utodesk has also turned its
attention to the padieular prob-
lems of posting maps and related
information on the Web. Version 3.0
of its MapGuide product line for GIS
on the Internet should be shipping by
the time you read this. MapGuide has
three components: MapGuide Server
($19,995), MapGuide Author (5695),
and MapGuide Viewer, a free Web
browser plug-in. Prices are tor v2.5;
pricing for v3.0 was not available at
press time.
MapGuide Viewer 3.0 is compatible
with both Netscape Navigator and
Microsoft Internet Explorer. Previous
versions couldn't work with Java
applieations while running in Internet
Explorer. Autodesk's ultimate goal is
browser platform independence.
You use the Author component to
design Web pages using your existing
maps and GIS database information,
which MapGuide Server organizes on
your Internet server. Those who want
to view your Internet maps must use
the Viewer plug-in.
MapGuide Author lets you create
maps with multiple layers; displayed
layers change as users zoom in and
MapGuide helps you find all the fish in Victoria, British
Columbia. Access this site, prepared by the Canadian
Depaftment of Fisheries, at www.mapguide.com.
out on the map. lt comes with sample
applications and data to make it easi-
er to set up your own Web site. lt
also comes with a copy of Allaire's
Cold Fusion Studio Web page devel-
opmcnt software.
One notable new feature in the
Viewer is buffering capability. You
can define buffer zones with points,
lines, and polygons. then report
selected data within those zones. You
can also per{orm unions and intersec-
tions on buffer data,
The image engine that provides
AutoCAD Release 14's raster capabili-
ties also appears in MapGuide, letting
you display both raster and vector
data, Raster display performance
comes close to that of vector data,
even when files hold much more
raster than vector data.
File support handles TAB, ESRI
World. GeoTlFF, GeoSPOT, and Map-
lnfo formats, as well as GlF, CALS.
BMP, and JPEG.
Actual MapGuide projects appear
atwwvr.mapguide.com/cust1.htm. i
Web & Cirele 215 |
I
---.___---:J
ffi sE€e sa Ee sm #R
Design proeedures
Operational guides
, Projeet updates
' Progress report pages
EeN/EeO forms
Drafting requests
Design reviews
Design approval eyeles
i Marketing illustrations
r Maehine shop requirements
Erowser and operating system
requirements
So how do you sell management
on standardizing the DWF file for-
mat? TelI them that WHIP! 3.0
and AutoCAD Internet Utilities
3,0 are free and downloadable
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AtIERICAD 2979 Pacific Dr,, Suite B, Norcross, GA 300i1 o Visit our website at wrlltll,cadsates.com
(800) 835.0355 " VO|CE (770) 453-0344
" FAX (770) 441-1135
Web & Circle 21
WEB TECF{
Whip! plug-in for the 3z-bit
Microsoft operating systems Win-
dows 95/NT and Netscape 3,0+ or
Microsoft Internet Explore 3.0+
browsers.
In a perfect wor.ld, everyone
would use the same platform, but
the people viewing your DWF
drawings are not necessarily CAD
users. They could be Webmasters,
secretaries, upper management,
system engineers, office visitors,
buyers, assembly workers, prod-
uct testers, document control
administrators, and more, If your
company integrates several plat-
forms, you'll need to look for a
third-party resource to develop a
piatform port for WHIP! 3.0 to the
Macintosh or UNIX, Autodesk
takes its Microsoft/Intel direction
seriously, but will freely hand
over relevant WHIPI source code
to interested parties for their use,
Dtil{h:-=.ller*i stualeiarcl
More than ten thousand users
downloaded and tested the beta
version of WHIP! 3.0, and many
are already using it in production.
Design professionals and third-
party software developers are
adopting the DWF file format and
WHIP! technology because it's
simple to use and lets creative
ideas flourish for new types of
industry tools and Internet com-
munication capabilities,
Creating DWF drawings is not
iimited to AutoCAD Release 14
users, either. AutoCAD LT 97,
Mechanicai Desktop Release 2.0,
and AutoSketch Release 5.0 all
support DWF output. Other
graphic software programs sup-
port DWF file output as well-for
example, IMSI's TurboCAD;
Graphisoft's ArchiCAD, Archi-
CAD for Teamwor.k, and PlotMak-
er; and Visio Standard, Technicai,
and Professional.
Pratt notes, "The amount of
industry support for this format
demonstrates that Autodesk is
serious about making CAD work
on the Web."
DWF is not the only route to
the Web, The box on the next
page lists other options on the
market,
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The new digital age will see a
-:,r tvpe of AutoCAD user, now
--:- /e can publish drawings for
-=: over the Internet. Whether
.'- -: :e a designer, drafter, or CAD
.-,: rager, publishing DWFs will
_ : ihe norm because it's easy to
'r and has a quick return on
.:.-eSUnent.
l.sienins over the Internet can- - - _D_____b
j ---. . :en desisn cvr:1e tlmgg qnfl
.:'-- rtore communication with
.--=i members of your project
'.. .- AutoCAD users who adoot
=.ret design collaboration is
part of the way they work will not
only find profitable new ways of
doing business, but also will more
likely stay one step ahead of the
competition in an increasingly
competitive world. EEE
Dean Vilfegas is CADALyST,s
Web associate editor, editor of
CADALYST's WebWorks e-mail
newsletter, and president of the
Silicon Valley AutoCAD power
User Group. You can reach him
at dean@cadonline.com.
'S
,a
v
1,
I.
'e
d
b
'e
rf
1-
e*er$netsrgle€ m tEmms
F ^ February 1997, we reviewed sev-
F r,':l alternatives to Autodesk,s
irl", jPI viewer. Though WHIP! is free
:r: easy to use, it works only with
;= ease 13 and 14 drawings and it
:c<s redlining capabilities, which
"-,e espee ially important for intranet
:cc, ications, The following products
i:.i prove suitable for your needs.
Ano{*rer Web format
.-.-j , :ai t.source , com
:.: :Sinlple Veetor Format) is a
",
::"opiimized 2D vector file format
:;.::cped in 1994 by NCSA, devel-
--:..; of the Mosaic browser, and
: ::
j1;9rtaa, Release 1.5 of Soft-
; r -.(e's SVF plug-in works with
', rciorvs 95/NT, Netscape Navigator
. --- and Internet Explorer 3.0+. lt
r -, oorts hyperlinking, zooming,
;-:rning, and layers, A commercial
.::s:on, Vdraft Internet Tools (950),
-tiudes the SVF plug-in and a
)-',r€1DXF plug-in that lets you view
:r:i,;ings in those formats directly.
-*e! & Dircle 216
teqsire redlining?
.--r r-"'3_,J3ii
- ' j_ :;f =rs an array of Dr. DWG
I : : -,:-< :r:t let you view. redline,
: -: T:.1 ;o AutoCAD Releases
'i-:j Di*:G; and DXFs. Dr. DWG
iriiv.€r, .5.i9) is a browser plug-in
i.a:,,,cr'<s rvith both Internet
ircicier (3.0) anci Netscape (2.0 and
j. j b:cvrsers in Windows 3,1/95/NT.
i I,i;r version is also available.
Dr, DlaJG QuickView (579 single
user) is a stand-alone viewer that
lets you view and annotate draw-
ings saved in DWG, DXF, and Binary
DXF, HPGL, PLT, and SAT file for-
mats. lt, too, displays AutoCAD
Refeases 12-'14 2D and 3D drawingi
and AutoCAD LT drawings.
Web & Circle 217
www.kameleoft, com
Fast Look plug-in from Kamel Soft-
ware is free, but you must use it
with Kamel's FastLook plus v9.0
viewer software. lt provides pan,
zoom. and redlining capabilities and
supports more than '150 file formats,
including AutoCAD Releases 12-13
DWG and DXF, along with other
CAD formats such as MicroStation
and CADkey. Web & Circle 218
Release 12 to DWF
www. tailormade. com
Flat Out! ($400) from Tailor Made
Software translates AutoCAD Re-
lease 2.5-'14 DWG and DXF files to
more than a dozen formats, includ-
ing DWF and SVF. See p, 24 in
What's New for more details.
Release 12 to DWF
www. spatial. com
lf you want others to view 3D mo/-
els over the Web, Siiatial Technolo-
gy offers its free ACIS 3D Viewer
v3.0, which works with files saved
in SAT format, The viewer works as
a stand-alone program and can also
be embedded in applications such as
Microsoft Word. Version 3.0 works
with Windows 95/NT 4.0 and sup-
pofts ACtS 3.0.
: :5ruilv lgg8 U 0ADAIYST
=
EI
-
]JJ
&
C/talk*-the Internet
tool that lets multiple
parties in multiple
locations view, discuss,
and redline drawings.
Down Load
The free C./talk'' Design
Review software from
www.c-talk.com. It's
ready to use when you
aye.
Dial
With the built-in
contact manager
interface, ciick
on their names and
phone numbers-the
software dials everyone
in the conference. Each
person logs on with the
conference name and
password provided by
the Host. C/talk'' Design
Review conference is
now
Iunnrng.
Do
The Host sends the
drawings to each
participant and
evelyone can vlew.
discuss and redline
in real time.
For information on
C/talk Design Review
888-533-2835
www.c-talk.com