Autodesk University

How many times have you taken a redline hard copy, placed it next to your CAD station, and then transposed the changes between the hard copy to the drawing file?

• Ever miss that small markup?
• Ever need to know who made a change, because you need additional information?
• Ever spend too much time ( or participate in an office pool) trying to "name that markup" when the penmanship is too bad to read?
• Ever had to wade through a large rack set to glean which prints have redlines?
• Ever had to FedEx® a rack set halfway around the world or across the country?
• Ever printed a hard copy of an electronic markup so that you can make the changes to the CAD file?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then read on…

Autodesk DWF versus Adobe PDF

When Autodesk came out with the DWF format, which was basically a competitor to the industry-standard PDF format, they had a daunting task. Both formats have their own strengths and weaknesses, but when working with Autodesk products, DWF is by far the easiest to work with because it provides the user with the greatest amount of flexibility.

Similarities

DWF and PDF formats share a number of similarities:

• Both provide the ability to create a file, which can be easily viewed by other users through the use of a free viewer.
• Both preserve a document's appearance, yet allow users who do not have the native software to view the file without the ability to change it.
• Both offer similar markup functionality.

Differences

DWF and PDF formats have three major differences:

• The software to create or markup a PDF is not free.
• DWF files retain detailed design information and scale.
• PDF files cannot go full circle as a DWF file can.

The Review Loop (in Theory)

Receive

Reviewers get the DWF file from the publisher and open it in Design Review to verify the content (a 2D drawing, 3D model, or image).

Review

Reviewers add digital comments and markups to the DWF file using callouts, text, shapes, dimensions, stamps, and custom symbols, and save changes to the DWF file.

Return

Reviewers send the marked-up DWF file back to the original publisher.

Revise

The designer uses the publishing software to import the marked-up DWF file, referring to comments in context to revise the original design quickly.

Republish

After revising the original content in the publishing software, the designer republishes an updated DWF file, a new sheet set or model, to begin the digital design workflow again.

"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." Yogi Berra

The Review Loop (in Practice)

Create a DWF

Create a DWF, either standalone or multipage. You can either use the plot command (standalone) or use the publish command (standalone or multi-page). For this article I will be using AutoCAD 2010.

Send for Review

Send the DWF to be reviewed and marked up using Design Review. This method is similar sending someone a hard copy or a rack set, except it is done electronically-emailed instead of shipped via FedEx. Have them send the DWF back when they are done.

Note: The process fails right here if they print the DWF out, scribble on it with a red pen and then scan it and send it back to you. They need to stay in the loop.

Revise

1. Launch AutoCAD or your AutoCAD based vertical product.
2. Launch the Markup Set Manager. It will display as a floating tool palette or in the last place you docked it. Use one of these access methods:
   
   • Ribbon: View tab > Palettes panel > Markup Set Manager
   • Toolbar: Standard
   • Menu: File > Load Markup Set
   • Command entry: markup
   • Keyboard macro: Ctrl+7
3. 
4. Select Open from the drop-down list at the top of the dialog box in the Markup Set Manager. A standard file select dialog box appears, allowing you to browse and select to a DWF file that contains the markups.
5. Select the DWF sent back from being reviewed and marked up.
   Note: Should you select a DWF that does not contain markups, it warns you that it is a non-markup DWF and asks you if you would like to open the file in a DWF viewer. If you answer yes, it will launch Design Review with that DWF.
   
6. Now double-click the top level of the markup, it will expand to show the individual sheet or sheets in the set.
   
7. Double-click on the first one and it will open the drawing file that the DWF was created from and superimpose the markups onto the drawing, at the correct scale and the correct location.
   

   How does it do that? IAM (It's Autodesk Magic). Actually the full file path information of the DWG used to create the DWF remains with the DWF, along with the scale factor and where to overlay the DWF. This is one of the reasons that DWF beats PDF hands down.

   Note: This means that if you move the file or rename the file, you will have to "chase" it with the markup set manager file section dialog box. It's not as productive, but it will work. A bit of planning in the initial stages of your project should allow you to avoid this pitfall.

8. The Markup Set Manager also lists ALL of the markups done to that file in the tree view.
   • If you click on an item, then the Details window will show you the status and history of the markup. Also contained in the details is data such as the creator of the markup, the date and time that it was created, and any comments associated with the markup. No more having to guess who made the markup should you need additional information.
     
   • If you double-click on a markup item, AutoCAD will zoom to the appropriate region of the drawing and will display the markup. The markup's objects cannot be selected, edited or plotted. They act as a temporary overlay to indicate the markup so that you can see and make the proper changes to the drawing. This eliminates having to pan and zoom to find the markup.

   You can now review the markup or markups, making whatever needs to be done on the drawing or making notes/comments.

9. In the Markup Set Manager, right-click on the item you just addressed. When the context menu appears, click on Markup Status. This displays yet another context menu with four choices:

   

10. Notice that each markup item has different revision cloud icon:

    		Cancels the action
    Question		Changes to a question mark
    For Review		Changes to a return arrow
    Done		Changes to a check mark

    In addition, you always can add an explanatory or comment in the Notes section of the Details at the bottom of the window. Every time the DWF is saved, the Notes comments get appended to the Markup History area.

    
11. When you're finished, right-click on the DWF name in the Markup Set Manager window and select Save Markup History Changes. As its name implies, it only saves changes to the DWF in the markup history. It does not make any changes to the graphics in the DWF.
    

     

Republish

Once all markups have been completed, the DWG files are saved, and comments have been made in the Markup Manager, the DWF file can be republished—either all sheets or only sheets that have markups. This is done in order to incorporate the updated DWG files into a DWF. The markups still remain, making it easier for a reviewer to check the changes made. The republish process can be initiated through the Markup Manager, just like publishing a sheet set to a DWF file in the Sheet Set Manager.

Note: Using the Publish method outlined in Creating DWF files with the Publish function of AutoCAD removes any Markup History.

Of Interest and Note

Saving the DWF

Once you have changed the status of your markups and saved, the Markup History changes (saves the DWF). Now open the DWF file. You will notice that the markup graphics are highlighted: green indicates a question, yellow indicates done, blue indicates a review. This is very helpful if someone needs to check your status.

Model Space and Paper Space Markups

When you double-click a model space markup in the Markup Set Manager, the original drawing file opens in model space and reverts to the view rotation that was current when the drawing was published. If you then change the view rotation, the markups will not be shown in the drawing until you double-click a model space markup and revert to the published view.

Multi-Sheet DWFs

If a DWF file contains multiple sheets, the Markup Set Manager only displays those sheets that have markups. Double-clicking a markup entry will take you to that drawing sheet, even if it needs to open the drawing to do so.

Icons

Republish Markup DWF (Alt+1)

Choices are Republish All Sheets or Republish Markup Sheets.

View Redline Geometry (Alt+2)

To show or hide redline geometry (markups) in the drawing area:

• Click the View Redline Geometry button to hide the redline geometry. You can click the same button again to show the redline geometry.

View DWG Geometry (Alt+3)

To show or hide DWG geometry for drawing sheets with associated markups:

• Click the View DWG Geometry button to hide the DWG geometry. You can click the same button again to show the DWG geometry.

View DWF Geometry (Alt+4)

To show or hide DWF file geometry in the drawing area:

• In the Markup Set Manager, click the View DWF Geometry button to show the DWF or DWFx geometry. You can click the same button again to hide the DWF or DWFx geometry.

Show All Sheets

Displays all sheets in the DWF, both markup sheets and non-markup sheets.

Hide Non-Markup Sheets

Hides any sheets in the DWF that do not have markups.

Details Button

Displays the details about the DWF file.

Preview Button

Displays a preview of the DWF file.