an ACAD question

[mmd]

I'm wondering if there is an ACAD guru down here who can help me out of a nagging dilemma. I have occasions - such as posting compass rose pictures on the WBF - when I need to need to convert AutoCAD .dwg images to .jpg format. I can export the drawing file as a bitmap, call it up in Adobe Photoshop for manipulation and save it as a .jpg, but the resolution is much too coarse. I can use a free-download program called "Easy DWG-DXF" to gain a bit of resolution, but it is clunky and not much of an improvement.

Does anybody know a method that I can use to make hi-res .jpg's from ACAD .dwg files without having to buy new software? Chad?

[John Bell]

I don't know if this will give you what you're looking for, but you could try printing to Acrobat, viewing full screen, and doing a screen capture to clipboard. From there you can paste into a .jpg format. You are limited to your screen resolution, but that may be enough.

To scale it down to something people would want to download, the best program I've found is a freeware resizer called STG-Thumb.

[cs]

When I do this I always use the "saveimg" command and usually select either the tiff format or the tga format. I get a much better image this way. I can than open it up in Lview Pro and change the format. The tiff image saves as 1197 x 757 on my machine.

Chad

[mmd]

Thanks, guys; I'll try these methods.

[Bruce Hooke]

FWIW - I get good resolution JPEG's from AutoCAD Light by exporting as a DXF, opening the file in Illustrator (or another vector based app that can save in JPEG format) and then saving the file from there as a JPEG using the "Save for the web" function. If you do not have Illustrator then you obviously will not be able to use this exact method but the prinicple is to try to do the conversion from vector to JPEG once, rather than in stages. The graphs on this web page (http://www.woonasquatucket.org/waterqualitydata2004.htm) were done this way. An added advantage of this method is that I can manipulate the drawing as a vector drawing in Illustrator, changing line weights and doing other things AutoCAD Light 98 will not let me do, before I convert it to a JPEG.

NOTE: I just realized that when I am looking to put a drawing up on the web I usually save it as a GIF not a JPEG. The method I am using should work just as well for a JPEG but you might want to try saving the file as a GIF -- it might work better for you. For my graphs I find that GIF's look better and are less than half the size of a JPEG.

[Matt J.]

As Chad said. saveimg works here. Haven't tried the dxf method.

[Gary E]

mmd,

Not sure exactly what you want, but Snagit is a screen capture program that is very easy to use. It is used same as a camera to snap a pic of what you can see on your screen, now this will not be the intire ACAD file but only what is in the box you will draw arround the image on your screen.

http://www.techsmith.com/products/snagit/default.asp

[Matt Middleton]

Definitely a low tech solution, but all of the screenshot captures I do for presentations & such are cropped versions of the result of a "print screen command." It doesn't create a jpeg, but I think you could easily convert it.

Matt

[mmd]

The "saveimg" command coupled with a Photoshop conversion to JPEG seems to work well for my present purposes with no muss, no fuss, and most importantly, no new software expense.

Thanks, Chad.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid140/paa6082e6b75faeecdd6b44e63ae385e7/f6e3f26b.jpg

[Venchka]

Geeeeeeeeeeezeeeeeeeee, I've been doing it the hard way. And not very often or I might know what I'm doing. You'd think after 60+ hour weeks since forever I would know these things. mmd, try changing the screen to white. It makes a better presentation in WORD or EXCEL. I've used the windows metafile from the EXPORT menu. Then converted to a JPEG in ACDSee.

Anybody use AccuRender? That package is AWESOME! for making 24x36 photo real output from a 3-D model.

PS: What's up with those antique dimensions? Y'all are supposed to be metric. :eek:

Wayne
AutoCAD to JPEG challenged in the Swamp. :D

[ 09-26-2004, 01:56 AM: Message edited by: Venchka ]

[Venchka]

I thought I was wrong, but I was mistaken. This is a JPEG from a 2-D isometric from a 3-D model. I'll look at the file sequence on Monday and report back. I might know something afterall. Or maybe not. :D

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid109/p1d93e2f3e154a00354e34461adae50b6/f92a96e5.jpg

The original is #19 in this album:

ISO JPEG (http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4289296343)

Wayne
In the Swamp. :D

[ 09-26-2004, 02:20 AM: Message edited by: Venchka ]