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AutoXChange 2019 User
Manual
Copyright © 2018 by Tailor Made Software, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
AutoXChange 2019 User Manual
Table of contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 5
Introducing AX2019 ....................................................................................... 5
Overview ...................................................................................................... 5
What is the Best Format? ................................................................................ 6
Layers .......................................................................................................... 7
Installation ........................................................................................................ 8
Installation .................................................................................................... 8
Linux Installation ........................................................................................... 8
Linux Fonts ................................................................................................... 8
Windows Installation ...................................................................................... 8
Concepts ......................................................................................................... 10
Database Linkages ....................................................................................... 10
Automated Area Linkage .......................................................................... 10
Handle-based Automation ......................................................................... 10
Raster File Search Order ............................................................................... 11
Definitions .................................................................................................. 12
Operation ....................................................................................................... 13
Overview .................................................................................................... 13
Versions of AutoCAD ................................................................................... 13
DWG Versions ......................................................................................... 13
Processing .................................................................................................. 14
Operation ............................................................................................... 14
Command Line Usage .............................................................................. 15
Examples ................................................................................................ 16
Parameters .................................................................................................. 17
Input/Output Parameters .......................................................................... 18
Input File ............................................................................................ 18
Output File .......................................................................................... 19
Font Path ............................................................................................ 19
Output Format ..................................................................................... 19
Log File Name ..................................................................................... 20
License Path ........................................................................................ 20
Layer Table ......................................................................................... 21
Layers Off ........................................................................................... 21
Layers On ........................................................................................... 22
Part Off .............................................................................................. 22
Part On ............................................................................................... 22
Repository .......................................................................................... 22
Treat As ............................................................................................. 23
XPath ................................................................................................. 23
Output Formatting ................................................................................... 24
Create CSV File .................................................................................... 24
High Precision ..................................................................................... 24
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Line Weight Minimum ...........................................................................
Line Weight Scale .................................................................................
Margin ................................................................................................
NoExtents ...........................................................................................
No Text Scale ......................................................................................
Orientation ..........................................................................................
Landscape .......................................................................................
Portrait ...........................................................................................
Rotation ..............................................................................................
Save DWG ...........................................................................................
Units ..................................................................................................
Color Parameters .....................................................................................
Background .........................................................................................
Black and White ...................................................................................
Greyscale ............................................................................................
Database Linkages ...................................................................................
Handle Based ......................................................................................
Room Layer ........................................................................................
Text Layer ...........................................................................................
Blank Attributes ...................................................................................
Font Parameters ......................................................................................
Codepage ...........................................................................................
Default Font ........................................................................................
Default Font Italic ................................................................................
View and Size Processing ..........................................................................
Block Name .........................................................................................
Drawing Size .......................................................................................
Extents ...............................................................................................
Height ................................................................................................
Layout Name .......................................................................................
Size ....................................................................................................
Space Mode .........................................................................................
View ...................................................................................................
Multiple View Conversion ..................................................................
All ..............................................................................................
Basic ..........................................................................................
NoLast ........................................................................................
AllPaper ......................................................................................
AllModel .....................................................................................
LayoutsOnly ................................................................................
ViewsOnly ...................................................................................
FirstLayout ..................................................................................
Width .................................................................................................
PDF Only Parameters ...............................................................................
PDF Document Info ..............................................................................
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AutoXChange 2019 User Manual
PDF Passwords ....................................................................................
Raster Parameters ....................................................................................
Autotrim .............................................................................................
Raster Height ......................................................................................
Raster Size ..........................................................................................
Raster Width .......................................................................................
SVG Only Parameters ...............................................................................
Blocks .................................................................................................
Break By Layer .....................................................................................
Building ..............................................................................................
Floor ..................................................................................................
Thumbnail Line Weight Minimum ..........................................................
ThumbSize ..........................................................................................
Miscellaneous ..........................................................................................
History ...............................................................................................
Output List ..........................................................................................
Quiet ..................................................................................................
Parameter List .....................................................................................
Technical Support ............................................................................................
Contact .......................................................................................................
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AutoXChange 2019 User Manual
Introduction
Introducing AX2019
Tailor Made Software's® AutoXChange 2019™ (also known as AX2019) is a commandline interface application designed to convert AutoCAD DWG, DXF and DWF and
MicroStation DGN format files into a wide variety of formats including Scalable Vector
Graphics (SVG), Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), AutoDesk's Drawing Web
Format (DWF), JPEG, GIF, PNG and about 50 other formats. It supports any version of
AutoCAD up through AutoCAD 2019 and any recent version of MicroStation.
DXF is employed as the most-commonly used file format for transfer between CAD
systems. As such, almost all CAD systems can produce or read it. This support by a wide
range of CAD systems provides a mechanism for plot image-based file transfer from
almost all CAD systems to the supported output formats.
AutoXchange can be installed and utilized on any server that utilizes one of the following
operating systems:
·
Microsoft Windows 10
·
Microsoft Window 8 and 8.1
·
Microsoft Windows 7
·
Microsoft Windows Vista
·
Microsoft Windows XP
·
Microsoft Windows Server 2000, 2003 or 2008
·
Microsoft Windows NT (4.0) or 2000
·
Windows 95 or 98
·
Red Hat Linux (v6.1 or later) or corresponding CentOS version
·
Debian
AutoXChange 2019 should work on most Linux installations but has only been tested on
the systems mentioned
If need arises, AutoXChange can also be utilized via a scripting application to manually
convert single files or batches of files.
Overview
This User Guide provides information about the features and functions of AutoXChange
2019, an CAD format conversion application that assists in the rapid transformation of
AutoCAD-format drawing files into a large number of other formats.
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We have organized the contents of this help window into the topics you see in the
"Contents" column to the left. Click any of those links to learn more about AutoXChange
2019 and its uses.
What is the Best Format?
We are often asked what the best format is to use. Assuming there are no pre-determined
requirements, then the answer to this question can be one of the most important decisions
made in a project.
Obviously, if there are predetermined requirements, then the best format to use is the one
called for in those requirements, unless you can get them changed.
Raster vs. Vector
AutoXChange 2019 will convert to both raster and vector formats. In a raster (or bitmap)
format the image is comprised of a large grid of colored dots (called pixels, short for
"picture elements"). Since everything has been devolved into individual dots, all semblance
of intelligence is lost when converting to a bitmap. Another drawback of bitmaps is that they
either have to be very large or they lose detail very quickly. When you zoom in on a portion
of a bitmap image the dots get bigger, but the detail is not there. So instead of a nice
smooth circle, you will see a very jagged representation of a circle. As you continue to
zoom in more and more detail is lost.
In a vector format the image is comprised of geometrical elements like lines, circles, text
and line strings (called polylines). While, depending on the format, some intelligence may
be lost, the majority of intelligence is still present in the resulting image. A line is still a line,
not a series of dots. Tailor Made Software has always tried to maintain as much
intelligence as possible in the resulting drawing, so, unlike some of our competitors, text
remains text when we can, circles remain circles and don't become polylines, etc.
The main advantages of vector formats are size and resolution. As mentioned above, when
you zoom in on a raster you see grainier and grainier set of dots. When you zoom in on a
vector image you continue to see a smooth circle or line or whatever. You no longer have to
produce a huge drawing size just to maintain a reasonable degree of resolution like you do
in a bitmap.
Types of Vector Formats
The various vector formats have far fewer inherent advantages or disadvantages than the
various raster formats do. For raster formats most viewers will display a wide variety of
raster formats. For vector formats most systems will only display a few formats and may
really prefer one. Therefore the choice of which vector format to use is really determined by
the system that will use the resulting image, and not by any inherent advantage of one
format over another.
Are there differences? Sure, but they are not usually overwhelming. Uncompressed PDFs
or AI files are huge compared to other formats, but compressed PDFs are very reasonable
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in size. The same can be said for DWFs, although binary DWFs will be smaller than the
equivalent uncompressed PDF.
PDFs, and its PostScript-based cousins like Adobe Illustrator, do have one unusual quirk:
they do not have a circular arc or circle element. Instead all curves are made from Bezier
curves. Mathematically this makes things simple, but it does mean larger files with
elements that can be less precise than normal circular arcs (Beziers can approximate
circular arcs, but can also "wobble" a little in tracing the circular arc path).
Types of Bitmap Formats
Most AutoCAD drawings only have 256 colors defined in them. Therefore, using any format
that defines more than 256 colors is just wasting space. As a result JPEG, which uses
either 24 or 32-bits and allows the definition of millions of colors, is a very inefficient format
for rendering CAD drawings. GIF or PNG, both of which are 8 bit formats allowing 256
colors are great for color images of CAD drawings. Now that the UNISYS patent has
expired there is no real reason to use PNG instead of the more popular GIF.
However, if you do not need to retain colors, then the best raster format to use (if you can)
is TIFF Group IV . This format is a highly compressed format, but is only black and white.
Not all viewers will display TIFF files so you may be forced to use GIF instead.
A second reason not to use JPEG is due to how JPEG files are compressed. JPEG uses
what is known as "lossy compression". Basically it gets large file size reductions by tossing
out some colors and blurring areas together. This works great in multi-million color pictures
where the human eye can't really distinguish that many colors in such a small space. It
works very poorly for line drawings where black lines are "smudged" with large white areas
resulting in fuzzy grey lines. The only way to get around producing fuzzy JPEG drawings is
to create non-compressed JPEGs. However, the resulting file sizes are huge. There is no
good reason to use JPEG for CAD drawings (unless the customer requires them and you
can't change their mind) so stick to GIF or TIFF Group IV if you must use rasters.
Layers
For those formats such as DWF that support layers, AutoXChange 2019 will create a layer
for each layer in the DWG or DXF file that has visible items on it. If the layer does not have
anything visible on it, then no layer will be created. So, it is possible for the resulting file
to have fewer layers on it than in the original file.
AutoXChange will maintain the layer status defined in the original CAD file. So if a layer is
off in the original file then it will not appear in the converted file. Likewise if it is on in the
original file then it will appear in the converted fiile. The layer visibility state can be altered
via parameters (see Layer Table, Layer On and Layer Off).
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Installation
Installation
AutoXChange 2019 can be installed and used on a variety of systems including:
·
·
Windows
Red Hat Linux
AutoCAD fonts may need to be installed on the system. See "Fonts" for more information.
Linux Installation
AutoXChange 2019 for Linux is shipped as a tar.gz file. The executable is called
"ax2017_LBB_NN_MM_PP" (where BB is the type of Linux (32-bit or 64-bit), NN is the
major version number, MM is the medium version number and PP is the minor version
number - so AX2017 Linux 64-bit V1.00.06 would be ax2017_L64_01_00_06) but you can
rename it to whatever you want.
1. After downloading the executable file, transfer it to the directory of your choice.
2. Rename it if you want
3. You may desire to create a system wide link to this executable from
the /usr/system/bin or /usr/bin directories.
4. Uncompress the files using "tar -xvf ax2017_LBB_NN_MM_PP". This will unpack the
executable and the needed .so (dynamic system object, like a Windows DLL) files
AutoCAD fonts may need to be installed on the system. See " Fonts" for more information.
Linux Fonts
In order to use something other than the built-in stick font in AutoXChange 2019, you have
to have the TTF or SHX file on the system. TTF files on Windows are installed as part of the
operating system and should be loaded that way.
SHX fonts are imported from the directory pointed to by the ACAD environment variable. If
you have AutoCAD on the system then it should already be set up. Otherwise the SHX fonts
need to be put in a directory and the ACAD environment variable should be defined. Under
Windows it is defined under the control panel.
On Linux and UNIX it is defined using the “export” command. For instance: export
ACAD=”/usr/shxfonts/”. You can see if the environment variable is already set using the
“echo $ACAD” command.
Windows Installation
AutoXChange 2019 is usually shipped in a ZIP archive. This is because many companies
have virus scanning software that will not allow .exe file attachments. You will need to
extract the installation program from the Zip archive.
You will then locate and double-click the installer icon ("ax2017.exe").
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When the first Installer wizard appears, proceed through the wizard panes and do the
following:
1. Pick the destination directory for the AutoXChange 2019 software installation, if you
want to install the software in a directory other than the default.
2. Agree to the terms of the end-user license agreement.
3. Click Finish to conclude the installation.
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Concepts
The following describe some of the major concepts used in the development and/or operation of
AutoXChange 2019.
Database Linkages
One of the major abilities of AutoXChange 2019 is to allow the easy linkage between drawings and data.
Especially when using our CadVIewerJS viewer, AutoXchange can automate the creation of linkages based
on data in the drawing or use existing hyperlinks that have already been defined in the drawings.
Automated Area Linkage
Automated Area Linkage is based on the spatial relationship between area polygons (polygons that are
defined in the drawing to outline rooms or other types of areas on the drawing) and some sort of identifying
text or attribute that can act as the key to the database. By "spatial relationship" we mean that the text
(Room Name, Part Number, etc) is preferably physically inside, but at least the closest text to the center of
the room outline, on a given layer(s). Many Computer AIded Facilities Management (CAFM) drawings for use
with the major CAFM systems have been "polygonized" - polygons have been added on a given layer to
define the outline of the rooms.
Automated Area Linkage will automatically match the identifier (henceforth called "Room Name") with the
corresponding area outline (henceporth called "Room Polygon") and create a hyperlink that typically passes
the Room Name to a javascript function whenever the Room Polygon is clicked or hovered over. The exact
mechanism used has a default but usually is customized for each client.
The layer(s) for the Room Name is defined by the Text Layer (TL) parameter while the layer for the Room
Polygon is defined by the Room Layer (RL) parameter. As a result you may hear us use the term "RL/TL
Processing".
Handle-based Automation
Sometimes the key for the database file is either not present in the drawing or is actually the AutoCAD
Handle (the unique identifier that all AutoCAD entities have that remains the same throughout the life of the
drawing). For these drawings we do a variation on Automated Area Linkage where the Database Key is the
AutoCAD Handle and that is what is passed to the javascript (or other) function.
The layer for the area outline ("Room Polygon") is defined by the Room Layer (RL) parameter. In addition the
"HB" (Handle Based) parameter is used to denote Handle-based processing is being used. If the HB
parameter is not used and the Text Layer (TL) parameter is not defined (which would cause Automated Area
Linkage to be used instead) then nothing occurs.
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Raster File Search Order
Raster files (PNG, GIF, BMP, JPG, etc) will often have a path defined when they are referenced into the
AutoCAD drawing (here we are talking about external files that are referenced in the drawing, not raster
images that are placed into the AutoCAD file like OLE Objects). This path will often point to a place on the
user's file system that is not accessible if the AutoCAD drawing is moved to another system. Therefore most
times when AutoXChange 2019 is used any such reference file locations are not valid. Normally the
reference file location is the first place searched for the referenced files, however, the Repository parameter
controls whether or not the reference file location is searched. If the Repository parameter is used then the
reference file location will NOT be searched.
The search order for referenced raster files is:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Path listed in reference file name (unless the -REPOSITORY parameter is used)
Directory where program was executed
File with extension of .png in the Directory where Input File is located (overrides the actual file name)
Directory where Input File is located (without the PNG override above)
If the raster reference file name was a relative path, then using that relative path under the location of the
input file
A couple of those are not intuitvely obvious, so let's explain.
#3: Sometimes the referenced raster file (usually only occurs when the file is a strange TIFF variant) cannot
be loaded. In that case the raster file can be converted manually into a PNG file and placed in the same
directory as the input drawing (AutoCAD DWG/DXF file). AutoXChange 2019 will use this manually
converted PNG instead of trying to convert the source file (TIFF, etc).
#5: If the raster reference file path is a relative file, for instance, "./somedir/somefile.tif", then AutoXChange
will try to find the file relative to where the input AutoCAD file is located. For instance, if the input file is "c:
\mysamples\one.dwg" and the raster file is the above referenced "./somedir/somefile.tif", then #5 will try to
find "c:\mysamples\somedir\somefile.tif"
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Definitions
AutoCAD Handle
The unique identifier that all AutoCAD entities have that remains the same
throughout the life of the drawing. Even if other entities are added or deleted and
the drawing is saved, the Handle persists through the life of drawing. The handle is
a 16 character Alphanumeric identifier.
Database Key
The identifier that uniquely identifies data in a Database Table
Room Layer
A layer (or layers) that define where area outlines can be found.
Text Layer
A layer (or layers) that define where area identifiers (Room Name, etc) can be
found.
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Operation
Overview
AutoXChange 2019 is controlled via the use of an extensive set of command parameters.
The parameters are entered from the command line. The use of the command line is
detailed under " Operation".
Versions of AutoCAD
DWG Versions
AutoDesk does nto change the AutoCAD Drawing File Format nearly as frequently as it
releases new versions, at least recently. In the early days the DWG file format was
changing with pretty much every release, but while the format change for AutoCAD 2013, it
did not change again until AutoCAD 2018, despite yearly releases of the program. So the
same file format was used for AutoCAD 2013, AutoCAD 2014, AutoCAD 2015, AutoCAD
2016 and AutoCAD 2017. Similarly the format is identical for AutoCAD 2018 and
AutoCAD 2019.
It is easy to decipher what version of AutoCAD created a given drawing file. Open the file in
a text editor and look at the first six bytes (five in very early files) and match them to the
folowing list. For DXF files this tag is given by the $ACADVER variable in the header. For
instance, if the first five bytes are AC1.2 then it was created by the ancient (April 1983, so
more than 35 years ago) AutoCAD Version 1.2 (or maybe AutoCAD Version 1.3, things
get a little spotty back that far). If the first six bytes are AC1009 then it was created by either
AutoCAD Release 11 or AutoCAD Release 12 as they shared the same format version.
If the DWG Tag value is bold in the table that means the file format changed for that version.
Otherwise the file format stayed the same as in the previous version.
BTW: AutoXChange 2019 can support any version of DWG and DXF back to AutoCAD
2.5. The format changed greatly at that point and we know of no programs that support
older formats. However, that was June of 1986, so the likelihood of seeing a 33+ year old
AutoCAD Version 2.22 or before file is remote at best.
Name
DWG tag
AutoCAD Version 1.0
MC0.0
AutoCAD Version 1.2
AC1.2
AutoCAD Version 1.3
AutoCAD Version 1.4
AC1.40
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AutoCAD Version 2.0
AutoCAD Version 2.05
AC1.50
AutoCAD Version 2.1
AC2.10
AutoCAD Version 2.21
AC2.21
AutoCAD Version 2.22
AC2.22
AutoCAD Version 2.5
AC1001
AC1002
AutoCAD Version 2.6
AutoCAD Release 9
AC1002
AC1004
AutoCAD Release 10
AC1006
AutoCAD Release 11
AC1009
AutoCAD Release 12
AutoCAD Release 13
AC1009
AC1012
AutoCAD Release 14
AC1014
AutoCAD 2000
AC1015
AutoCAD 2000i
AutoCAD 2002
AutoCAD 2004
AC1015
AC1015
AC1018
AutoCAD 2005
AutoCAD 2006
AutoCAD 2007
AC1018
AC1018
AC1021
AutoCAD 2008
AutoCAD 2009
AutoCAD 2010
AC1021
AC1021
AC1024
AutoCAD 2011
AutoCAD 2012
AutoCAD 2013
AC1024
AC1024
AC1027
AutoCAD
AutoCAD
AutoCAD
AutoCAD
AutoCAD
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
AC1027
AC1027
AC1027
AC1027
AC1032
AutoCAD 2019
AC1032
Processing
Operation
You can configure a process on your server that makes use of AutoXChange 2019 in two
ways:
1.
process single files or collections of files in a single session
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2.
use a kron-type application to run AutoXChange 2019 at set times to scan a
particular folder/directory and automatically convert all files loaded into this folder—
storing the converted images in a designated destination directory.
You should note down a list of files you want to convert, record the exact directory pathways
for source and destination directories, and have some idea of which custom parameters
you'd like to apply to the conversion process. (Complete information on the parameters can
be reviewed in "Command Parameters ").
The basic operation is:
1.
Enter the command and all relevant parameters
2.
Press Return/Enter to start the conversion process.
3.
When the conversion is complete, the terminal window will display a status message.
4.
Repeat this process to convert other files at this time.
Command Line Usage
The following is the basic AutoXChange 2019 command syntax:
AX2018 -i -o Source Exif Data:
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