Tuesday, April 03, 2007

AutoCAD DWFx Driver

This tool provides a way to plot DWFx files. Autodesk has teamed with Microsoft to seamlessly integrate DWF technology with Windows Vista using the XML Paper Specification (XPS). Once installed, select File > Plot or File > Publish and publish your AutoCAD files to a new version of DWF, called DWFx. Team members can view and print your 2D drawings without requiring additional downloads of plug-ins or special viewing software.

DWFx files can be opened directly within Microsoft’s XPS Viewer, which is automatically installed with Microsoft Vista, bundled with .NET 3.0, and is available as an optional download for Windows XP users. You can also view DWFx files with the latest version of Autodesk Design Review, which allows viewing a DWFx file’s metadata, for example, block properties. Review the Readme for more information.

As shipped, the AutoCAD 2008 line of products do not publish DWFx files. A separate driver is available for download from the Autodesk web site. It is applicable to the following products.

  • AutoCAD 2008
  • AutoCAD LT 2008
  • DWG TrueView
  • AutoCAD Electrical 2008
  • AutoCAD Mechanical 2008
  • AutoCAD Map 3D 2008
  • AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008
  • AutoCAD Land Desktop 2008
  • AutoCAD Raster Design 2008
  • AutoCAD Architecture 2008
  • AutoCAD MEP 2008
  • AutoCAD P&ID 2008

The installer can be downloaded for 32-bit or 64-bit applications. For example, the English versions are named:

AutoCADDWFxDriver32bit_enu.exe
AutoCADDWFxDriver64bit_enu.exe

When adding the driver to an AutoCAD-based application, the driver manufacturer is listed as 'Autodesk ePlot (DWFx)'. The driver model is listed as 'DWFx ePlot (XPS Compatible)'. These names are visible in the 'Add Plotter' dialog on the Plotter Model dialog of the Add-a-Plotter Wizard and the Plotter Configuration Editor.