Hello, I began experimenting with cairo to export PDFs of my GIMP images several weeks ago. Today I saw the GSoC idea in this direction, and I thought about mailing my thoughts. I managed to export text while keeping the same appearance that it had in GIMP using PangoCairo. Exporting images with cairo was also possible if I saved the images first as PNGs and then used cairo PNG surfaces to draw them. Exporting paths is also possible since cairo has full support for bezier curves. Cairo has the option to create pages in different sizes, using the api function cairopdfsurfacesetsize, which means we can also have different sizes for each page.

The question is, how to build the interface of the plugin. I have no expirience in GTK+ programming (except for cairo) which means I doubt I can build an appropriate user interface. In addition, there is also the question of how will the plugin work - will it export some sort of defenitions file (XML for example) and then it will call a process which handles this file, or whether there will be no sub-export and everything will be done directly. There are many more questions about this plugin, which I haven't raised here.

Before I continue, I must know whether my direction sounds OK. Do we want to use Cairo (PDF and PNG), Pango, gimp's png plugin and so on, or do we want to do it in some other way. We probably have the option of getting a pixbuf of GIMP's internal images (using GDK), but I don't like it - I prefer the PNG export.

I'll do some more advanced experimenting, as soon as I get some working build environment (and libgimp 2.6 for windows which I can't on Tor Lillqvist's (tml) page here ). LightningIsMyName Gimp-developer mailing list. Hi, On Fri, 2009-03-20 at 19:15 +0200, Lightning LIMN wrote: I managed to export text while keeping the same appearance that it had in GIMP using PangoCairo.

Exporting images with cairo was also possible if I saved the images first as PNGs and then used cairo PNG surfaces to draw them. Why so complex? You can have a look at the Print plug-in to see how to transfer the image projection to a Cairo surface without the need to save as PNG.

Sven Gimp-developer mailing list. Hello, On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 7:53 PM, Sven Neumann wrote: HiOn Fri, 2009-03-20 at 19:15 +0200, Lightning LIMN wrote: Why so complex? You can have a look at the Print plug-in to see how to transfer the image projection to a Cairo surface without the need to save as PNG. Thanks Sven, I haven't known that. I found what I needed in print-preview.c, and I'll try this code out soon.

I should be able to build a small demo that does default printing for layers and text as one image, however there are several questions we should consider: 1. How will the user create multi-paged PDFs? Should he choose different images, one for each page? (This sounds like the most reasonable way compared to other ways I thought of). PDFs don't have anything such as transperent backgrounds for the pages. Should we ask the user for a background color for each page, or should we get the background color from the current gimp context? (Or mayber we should simply make it white) 3.

We Need A Working Dds Import Export Plugin For Mac Mac

When drawing paths, how should we ask the user where to draw each path? Also, how will he tell us how to fill/stroke it? Abusing the layer names doesn't sound right, and it won't be user-friendly if he would need to manually relocate his paths inside the plugin's preview. The only solution I can see for handling this would be to wait for vector layers in GIMP, however I haven't heard of any recent progress in this direction. LightningIsMyName Gimp-developer mailing list. Hi, On Fri, 2009-03-20 at 22:04 +0200, LightningIsMyName wrote: 1. How will the user create multi-paged PDFs?

Should he choose different images, one for each page? (This sounds like the most reasonable way compared to other ways I thought of). Why would we want to allow the user to create multi-paged PDF files? Perhaps, before anything else, we need to clearly define what the purpose of PDF export is. We certainly don't want to provide a tool to create an illustrated book. That's what page layout applications are used for.

Sven Gimp-developer mailing list. HiOn Fri, 2009-03-20 at 22:04 +0200, LightningIsMyName wrote: 1.

How will the user create multi-paged PDFs? Should he choose different images, one for each page?

(This sounds like the most reasonable way compared to other ways I thought of). Why would we want to allow the user to create multi-paged PDF files? Perhaps, before anything else, we need to clearly define what the purpose of PDF export is. We certainly don't want to provide a tool to create an illustrated book. That's what page layout applications are used for.

We Need A Working Dds Import Export Plugin For Mac Windows 10

Sven Indeed, what is the advantage of pdf export of a single image? Despite the current obsession with this format it is pretty clunky and inflexible. I don't see much point for a single image. PDF would just be a simple wrapper and this would best be done by and pdf editor that fully supports all the pdf features. It's unlikely gimp would want to maintain full functionality just to do this export.

The other question is licensing of pdf. IRCC pdf viewing is allowed in a fairly liberal sense but creating pdf is what Abode make money on and retains the rights to. I could be wrong but that was my recollection. Gimp-developer mailing list.

Sven Neumann wrote: HiOn Fri, 2009-03-20 at 22:04 +0200, LightningIsMyName wrote: 1. How will the user create multi-paged PDFs? Should he choose different images, one for each page? (This sounds like the most reasonable way compared to other ways I thought of). Why would we want to allow the user to create multi-paged PDF files?

Perhaps, before anything else, we need to clearly define what the purpose of PDF export is. We certainly don't want to provide a tool to create an illustrated book. That's what page layout applications are used for.

Sven Indeed, what is the advantage of pdf export of a single image? Despite the current obsession with this format it is pretty clunky and inflexible. I don't see much point for a single image.

PDF would just be a simple wrapper and this would best be done by and pdf editor that fully supports all the pdf features. It's unlikely gimp would want to maintain full functionality just to do this export. The other question is licensing of pdf.

IRCC pdf viewing is allowed in a fairly liberal sense but creating pdf is what Abode make money on and retains the rights to. I could be wrong but that was my recollection. But my OpenOffice has 'export as PDF' options in Impress (PowerPoint-like), Calc (Excel-like) and Writer (Word-like). OpenOffice is free and available, as we all know, for Windoze, MAC, and.nix.

When I want a multipage PDF of a bunch of images, I write them to jpg, paste them into a Writer document, then export them to PDF. I know it's clunky, but it works. Burnie Gimp-developer mailing list. Hi, On Sat, 2009-03-21 at 12:41 +0100, gg wrote: Indeed, what is the advantage of pdf export of a single image? If it is just a simple PDF, then nothing. But if it includes color profiles, support for spot colors, resolution-independent text layers, crop markers etc., then it would be a versatile format for getting your image printed processionally. But we definitely need someone who has some experience with using PDF for this purpose to tell us what exactly is needed.

Sven Gimp-developer mailing list. HiOn Fri, 2009-03-20 at 22:04 +0200, LightningIsMyName wrote: 1. How will the user create multi-paged PDFs? Should he choose different images, one for each page? (This sounds like the most reasonable way compared to other ways I thought of).

Why would we want to allow the user to create multi-paged PDF files? Perhaps, before anything else, we need to clearly define what the purpose of PDF export is. We certainly don't want to provide a tool to create an illustrated book. That's what page layout applications are used for. I believe that we should have the option to export multi-paged PDFs, since we have the option to import them, and to me it makes sense that we should be able to export what we can import. Gimp may not be a page-layout program, yet doing multi-paged PDFs isn't too hard, and won't hurt anyone. And about what you said on page layout tools, there is some sense in what you said.

Therfore, I think it would be indeed simpler to ignore paths untill gimp has vector layers, since these aren't the main point of the PDF plugin. The only feature I believe that is necessary, is to draw single-colored rectangles as drawing and not as bitmap-images (Imagine a background layer for a large scale image - a bitmap image can be a big waist of memory). However, this can be solved easily by finding all the layers in the image which have only 1 color (same RGBA values everywhere). I still need to figure out how to do this (probably using gimphistogram in some way). LightningIsMyName Gimp-developer mailing list. On 3/21/09, gg wrote: Despite the current obsession with this format it is pretty clunky and inflexible. I don't see much point for a single image.

Ahem, and what is your expertize to make such a bold statement? The other question is licensing of pdf. IRCC pdf viewing is allowed in a fairly liberal sense but creating pdf is what Abode make money on and retains the rights to. I nearly choked when I read this. The next statement of that kind would be 'GIMP doesn't support CMYK because of patents'.

I don't really know what makes you think there is any legal issue regarding creating PDF files, but rest assured that there is no such issue. Alexandre Gimp-developer mailing list. Hi, On Sat, 2009-03-21 at 21:36 +0200, LightningIsMyName wrote: I believe that we should have the option to export multi-paged PDFssince we have the option to import them, and to me it makes sense that we should be able to export what we can import. The whole point of calling it 'Import' is to make clear that you can't save this again. Gimp may not be a page-layout program, yet doing multi-paged PDFs isn't too hard, and won't hurt anyone. Of course it would hurt.

It binds development resources for creating and maintaining it. If a feature does not fit with our product vision, then we are not going to include it. Doing multi-page PDF export simply because we can do it is not going to happen.

What we need here is a user story. Without that, it doesn't make sense to discuss PDF export at all. And about what you said on page layout tools, there is some sense in what you said. Therfore, I think it would be indeed simpler to ignore paths untill gimp has vector layers, since these aren't the main point of the PDF plugin. The only feature I believe that is necessary, is to draw single-colored rectangles as drawing and not as bitmap-images (Imagine a background layer for a large scale image - a bitmap image can be a big waist of memory). I don't understand why that is needed. What is our goal here?

To create PDF files as small as possible? IMO the goal for PDF export should be to improve support for professional printing.

File size is not important for that. Paths are also not important for that. If people need vector art, then they should use a vector editor. What matters is color profiles, CMYK color separation in the export process, support for spot colors, crop marks.

As I said already, we can't discuss the details unless we know what the goals are. So we need to have one or more user stories for PDF export first. And we need to check these against our product vision to see if they are worth supporting. Sven Gimp-developer mailing list.

I don't understand why that is needed. What is our goal here? To create PDF files as small as possible? IMO the goal for PDF export should be to improve support for professional printing. File size is not important for that.

Paths are also not important for that. If people need vector art, then they should use a vector editor. What matters is color profiles, CMYK color separation in the export process, support for spot colors, crop marks. As I said already, we can't discuss the details unless we know what the goals are. So we need to have one or more user stories for PDF export first. And we need to check these against our product vision to see if they are worth supporting. I see two possible use cases: 1.

Proofing artwork - you need to prepare a proof before going to press. You send that proof to a client and they print it out and get a reasonable hard proof.

Submission to a printing company - you need to submit hi-res artwork to a printing company. For either case to be useful, the PDF export needs to at least support: CMYK color mode, ICC profiles, spot colors, trim marks, crop area, and bleed area. Embedding or outlining (vector) fonts, registration marks, encryption, and downsampling of image/photo layers could possibly be useful. That being said, both use cases would only come about when setting up a full-color job (CMYK, etc.) - and it is very likely that the printing company would accept (and perhaps prefer) a hi-res raster format like TIFF, PNG, or JPEG. I submit PDFs all of the time for proofing and printing but 90% are pure vector, 9% are vector with embedded bitmap images, and only the remaining 1% are completely raster (I've used at least one printing company that accepts pdf.only.).

IMHO: Attempting to redraw solid colors as vector would not be a good idea. File size is not really a concern - creating PDFs that print in a reliable manner and are as accurate as possible would be the main challenge. If GIMP comes to support vector layers at some point, then an option to rasterize those layers or keep them as vector should be presented at the time of PDF export.

Multi-page is not something that GIMP should worry about at all - there are plenty of tools to join PDFs already, and multi-page documents are more the domain of page layout software. PDF export might be a nice feature, but as a designer I would not use it very often. If I did use it, I would expect it to be.extremely. reliable, and quite verbose about any errors before or during export. Chris Gimp-developer mailing list. On Sun, 22 Mar 2009 09:47:00 -0500, Chris Mohler wrote: I see two possible use cases: 1. Proofing artwork - you need to prepare a proof before going to press.

Submission to a printing company - you need to submit hi-res artwork to a printing company. What would be the advantage of handling a.pdf generation at application level instead of at operating system level? Via print command) Cristi Gimp-developer mailing list. I see two possible use cases: 1. Proofing artwork - you need to prepare a proof before going to press.

You send that proof to a client and they print it out and get a reasonable hard proof. Submission to a printing company - you need to submit hi-res artwork to a printing company. For either case to be useful, the PDF export needs to at least support: CMYK color mode, ICC profiles, spot colors, trim marks, crop area, and bleed area.

Embedding or outlining (vector) fontsregistration marks, encryption, and downsampling of image/photo layers could possibly be useful. That being said, both use cases would only come about when setting up a full-color job (CMYK, etc.) - and it is very likely that the printing company would accept (and perhaps prefer) a hi-res raster format like TIFF, PNG, or JPEG. Thanks a lot for your input. That was very useful. So would you say that it makes more sense to spend time improving the TIFF save plug-in or would it be a better idea to invest that development into a powerful PDF export? My experience with TIFF is that it is an extremely difficult format as most of the important features are implemented as some sort of extension that is not part of the TIFF 6.0 specification. I would hope PDF to be better specified.

Sven Gimp-developer mailing list. Sven wrote: So would you say that it makes more sense to spend time improving the TIFF save plug-in or would it be a better idea to invest that development into a powerful PDF export? My experience with TIFF is that it is an extremely difficult format as most of the important features are implemented as some sort of extension that is not part of the TIFF 6.0 specification. I would hope PDF to be better specified. Bummer about the non-standard, but would industrial-strength TIFF in and export not be significantly more in line with our product vision than industrial-strength pdf in and export? -ps founder + principal interaction architect man + machine interface works: on interaction architecture Gimp-developer mailing list. On Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:23:24 +0300, Alexandre Prokoudine wrote: Far more features supported.

Install Scribus, go to File - Export - Save as PDF, then visit FontsSecurity, Color. I assume it all depends on the application used for.pdf generation. Adobe Distiller (& Acrobat) has a comprehensive set of options. Not 100% sure, but perhaps Ghostscript based applications too, except that the user has to know the Ghostscript parameters (i.e. Hard to use for more than basic.pdf generation, but possible). Cristi Gimp-developer mailing list.

Hi, On Sun, 2009-03-22 at 19:33 +0100, peter sikking wrote: bummer about the non-standard, but would industrial-strength TIFF in and export not be significantly more in line with our product vision than industrial-strength pdf in and export? Depends on what gets used nowadays. If professionals are turning away from TIFF and start to adopt PDF instead, then PDF support would be more in line with our product vision. Sven Gimp-developer mailing list.

Sven wrote: bummer about the non-standard, but would industrial-strength TIFF in and export not be significantly more in line with our product vision than industrial-strength pdf in and export? Depends on what gets used nowadays. If professionals are turning away from TIFF and start to adopt PDF instead, then PDF support would be more in line with our product vision. When I wrote the previous message I already knew that this is the only counter-argument that I was going to accept. So now we really need some trend spotting from those in our community who deal with serious printing jobs. And when then moving forward with pdf, we should keep in mind what a GIMP document actually is: a single canvas/image (please do not mention the animation hacks we have.) -ps founder + principal interaction architect man + machine interface works: on interaction architecture Gimp-developer mailing list. Just my two cents; TIFF is more important to GIMP because TIFF is widely used on printing and CG works.

Its a common practice to use TIFF images in professional page layout programs like Scribus and Adode InDesign for example. And some 3d programs (like zbrush) use TIFF for export texture maps (in high bit dephs).

A better TIFF support would be more in sync with GIMP, me thinks. PS: sorry for any English mistakes. =/ - Filipe Soares Dilly Gimp-developer mailing list 1.

PRO If you’re a SketchUp Pro user, you can import or export CAD files, which use the.dwg or.dxf file formats. Before you import a file, it’s helpful to know what CAD elements SketchUp Pro does and doesn’t support and how to prepare your CAD file for best results.

Then, you can walk through the basic importing steps outlined in this article. After you’re done importing, check out, which offers several tips and tricks for handling imported CAD geometry. If you’re exporting a SketchUp Pro file to a CAD format, how you import a CAD file depends on whether it’s a 2D file, such as a floor plan, or a 3D model. In this article, you also discover how SketchUp data is exported into CAD format. Table of Contents.

Understanding what CAD elements SketchUp can import Before you import a CAD file into SketchUp, it’s helpful to know what CAD elements SketchUp can and can’t import. Then, you can prepare your CAD file so that you’re able to work with the elements that you need in SketchUp.

The following table outlines what CAD elements SketchUp does and doesn’t support. If an element isn’t supported, SketchUp simply ignores it when you import the CAD file. Supported CAD Elements Unsupported CAD Elements Arcs Proprietary ADT or ARX objects Circles Dimensions Entities with thickness Hatching Faces Text 3D faces XREFs Layers Lines Polylines Nested blocks AutoCAD regions Point Ellipse Spline RasterImage Preparing a CAD file for import into SketchUp When you take a few steps to check and prepare your CAD file before import, you can make sure all the data you need imports into SketchUp and streamline the import process. The following sections outline what you need to look for and how to resolve any potential conflicts between CAD elements and SketchUp. Tip: You don’t want to lose details in your original CAD file. Remember to create a copy of the CAD file and prepare that copy for importing into SketchUp. Change unsupported elements If you need to import unsupported CAD elements into SketchUp, try exploding those elements in CAD so they become primitive CAD drawing elements that SketchUp does support.

Here are some examples:. In Autodesk Architectural Desktop, you can explode ADT walls and extrusions so that they import into SketchUp as faces. In AutoCAD, you can explode objects such as doors, windows, stairs, and contour lines.

When you explode CAD objects into block entities, they import into SketchUp as components. If you explode the CAD block entities into polylines, the polylines import into SketchUp as lines or polylines.

Tip: Alternatively, if you use Autodesk Architectural Desktop or Autodesk Land Desktop, switch to Plan view to export 2D lines or chose 3D view to export 3D faces. Then select File Export to AutoCAD in either of these applications. The resulting CAD file contains lines or faces that you can import into SketchUp. Delete unnecessary layers In an imported CAD file, SketchUp automatically discards any entities that have no 3D relevance, such as text, dimensions, hatching, logos, and so on. However, SketchUp won’t discard the layers holding these entities. To avoid a bunch of empty layers in SketchUp, you may want to delete those layers from the CAD file before you import it into SketchUp. Move geometry close to the origin In SketchUp, geometry that’s many miles or kilometers away from the origin (0,0) can cause performance problems.

To avoid these problems, check the placement of geometry in your CAD file before you import the CAD file into SketchUp. For example, say you’re importing Autodesk AutoCAD DWG files, such as civil site plans, in order to work with the contour lines.

If the graphic or geometry is far away from the origin, move it close to the origin before importing the CAD file into SketchUp. Alternatively, deselect the Preserve Drawing Origin option in SketchUp’s DWG/DXF import options, as explained in, later in this article.

Reduce the file size if needed Generally, CAD files import into SketchUp successfully when the file size is 15MB or less. When you import larger CAD files, the import can take a long time or may fail. Conversely, the smaller your CAD file size, the quicker and easier the import. Also, after a complex CAD file is imported into SketchUp, you may notice that SketchUp’s performance slows down. That’s because lines and faces in SketchUp contain more data than their CAD equivalents. Tip: For best results with imported CAD files, keep the size of imported files to a minimum. Here are a few tips for minimizing a CAD file before you import it into SketchUp:.

Import only the necessary geometry. SketchUp models can be designed to be as accurate as models in CAD. However, SketchUp is not designed for the same type of line-intensive drawings done in CAD software. In your CAD file, clean up or remove any content that you don’t need to use after you import the CAD file into SketchUp.

You might simplify the CAD file to just walls — and maybe doors and windows if you want to model those in your SketchUp file, too. Separate levels of detail among different CAD files. If your CAD file holds lots of necessary geometry, consider whether you break one file into a few smaller files. For example, one imported CAD file can contain site plan information, another can have a floor plan, and a final file can have a specific detail. Check the unit of measure If possible, find out the unit of measure used to create the CAD file. When you import the CAD file into SketchUp, you need to know whether your file uses inches, feet, or a metric unit of measurement.

That way, you can match the SketchUp model’s units to the CAD file’s units and thus maintain the scale and dimensions of your imported CAD geometry. In SketchUp 2018 you also have the option to import the model using the units specified in the CAD file. In the Units dropdown, select “Model Units” from the list. This will attempt to match the units saved in the CAD file. If SketchUp is unable to determine what unit of measurement was used to create the CAD file, it will default to 1 CAD unit equals 1 inch in SketchUp.

Save in a SketchUp-compatible CAD file format When SketchUp imports a CAD file, SketchUp strips the information to its basic geometric components. So no matter what AutoCAD file format you use (such as 2010 or 2007), the end result is essentially the same.

To maximize compatibility between a CAD file and SketchUp, however, saving your CAD file in the Release 13 or Release 14 format works best. Importing a CAD file into SketchUp After you've checked and prepared your CAD file, you're ready to import it into SketchUp. The following steps walk you through the import process, based on your current operating system. In SketchUp, open the SketchUp model into which you want to import your.dwg or.dxf file. Select File Import. An Open dialog box appears.

Navigate the the place your hard drive where your CAD file is saved. From the Files of Type drop-down list, select AutoCAD Files (.dwg,.dxf). Select the file you want to import. Click the Options button. The Import AutoCAD DWG/DXF Options dialog box appears, as shown in the following figure. (Optional) In the Geometry area, select Merge Coplanar Faces to tell SketchUp to automatically remove triangulated lines from planes. Selecting the Orient Faces Consistently box tells SketchUp to analyze the direction of imported faces and orient the faces so that their direction is uniform.

(Optional) To import geometry at the correct scale, select the unit used in your CAD file from the Units drop-down list. Your options are Model Units, Inches, Feet, Yards, Miles, Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters and Kilometers. Warning: If you select a small unit, such as millimeters, but the model was originally intended to display in feet, you can unintentionally create itty-bitty faces that will be lost on import. For SketchUp to recognize a face, the face must be.001 square inches or larger.

(Optional) Select the Preserve Drawing Origin checkbox to place the imported geometry at the origin defined in the.dwg or.dxf file. Leave the checkbox deselected if you want to place the imported geometry near the SketchUp origin. Click OK in the Import AutoCAD DWG/DXF Options dialog box. Back in the Open dialog box, click Open, and SketchUp Pro begins importing your CAD file.

In SketchUp Pro, open the.skp file into which you want to import your.dwg or.dxf file. Select File Import. An import dialog box appears. Navigate the the place your hard drive where your CAD file is saved. From the Format drop-down list, select AutoCAD Files (.dwg,.dxf).

Select the file you want to import. Click the Options button. The DWG Import Options dialog box appears, as shown in the following figure.

(Optional) To import geometry at the correct scale, select the unit used in your CAD file from the Units drop-down list. Your options are Inches, Feet, Millimeters, Centimeters, and Meters. Warning: If you select a small unit, such as millimeters, but the model was originally intended to display in feet, you can unintentionally create itty-bitty faces that will be lost on import. For SketchUp to recognize a face, the face must be.001 square inches or larger.

(Optional) Select the Preserve Drawing Origin checkbox to place the imported geometry at the origin defined in the.dwg or.dxf file. Leave the checkbox deselected if you want to place the imported geometry near the SketchUp origin. (Optional) In the Geometry area, select Merge Coplanar Faces to tell SketchUp to automatically remove triangulated lines from planes. Selecting the Orient Faces Consistently box tells SketchUp to analyze the direction of imported faces and orient the faces so that their direction is uniform. Click OK in the DWG Import Options dialog box. Back in the import dialog box, click Import, and SketchUp Pro begins importing your CAD file. After you’ve checked and prepared your CAD file, you’re ready to import it into SketchUp Shop.

The following steps walk you through the import process:. In SketchUp Shop, open the SketchUp model into which you want to import your.dwg or.dxf file. Select the File icon ( ).

An File menu appears, select Insert. You can select the Trimble Connect icon or the Computer icon for a local file. (Optional) You can also drag & drop a file from an Explorer or Finder window directly into SketchUp Shop. If you choose to open the file locally, navigate to the place your hard drive where your CAD file is saved. Select 'All Files' as the desired format.

Select the file you want to import. The Import AutoCAD DWG/DXF Options dialog box appears, as shown in the following figure. (Optional) Select the Preserve Drawing Origin (#1 Above) checkbox to place the imported geometry at the origin defined in the.dwg or.dxf file. Leave the checkbox deselected if you want to place the imported geometry near the SketchUp origin. (Optional) In the Geometry area, select Merge Coplanar Faces (#2 Above) to tell SketchUp to automatically remove triangulated lines from planes.

Selecting the Orient Faces Consistently (#3 Above) box tells SketchUp to analyze the direction of imported faces and orient the faces so that their direction is uniform. (Optional) To import geometry at the correct scale, select the unit used in your CAD file from the Units drop-down list (#4 Above).

Your options are Model Units, Inches, Feet, Yards, Miles, Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters and Kilometers. Tip: If you have a floor plan or other vector graphics in an Adobe Illustrator (.eps) file, you can export the.eps file to.dwg or.dxf format in Illustrator. Then import the vector graphics following the preceding steps.

If, in Adobe Illustrator, you first reduce the number of anchor points that define curves, you can improve the file’s performance in SketchUp. In particular, when you extrude faces from curves that contain lots of line segments, the SketchUp file size can increase dramatically. Understanding how SketchUp data is exported to CAD format Before you export a SketchUp model to a CAD file format (.dwg or.dxf), you may find it helpful to understand how SketchUp data is translated into the CAD format that you choose. Here’s what you need to know:.

SketchUp faces are exported as a triangulated polyface mesh with interior splframe hidden lines (if applicable). This conversion helps to simulate the appearance of your SketchUp file, even when all exported faces are triangular. SketchUp uses the current units set in the Units pane of the Model Info dialog box as a reference for translation to a.dwg or.dxf file.

For example, if the current Model Info unit setting is Decimal and Meters, then AutoCAD must be set to decimal for the units to translate correctly as meters when you open the exported file in AutoCAD. Duplicate line entities aren’t created on top of a p-line entity. Exporting a SketchUp Model as a 2D CAD file When export your model view as a 2D CAD file, you can choose the scale and a number of line options.

The result is a 2D vector file in.dwg or.dxf format that you can open in your CAD program. Follow these steps to export a 2D CAD file:. To maintain your model’s scale in the exported file, in SketchUp, select Camera Parallel Projection. Then set your view to one of SketchUp’s standard views by selecting Camera Standard Views and selecting an option from the submenu that appears. (See for details about the model view options.). Select File Export 2D Graphic. Navigate to the place where you want to save your exported file.

(Optional) Change the file name if you’d like to name the exported file something other than the SketchUp file’s current name. Select either the.dwg or.dxf file type. In Microsoft Windows, select this option from the Export Type drop-down list. On a Mac, use the Format drop-down list. Click the Options button to set the scale and line options, which are explained in detail in the upcoming list. When you’re done, click OK in the DWG/DXF Hidden Line Options dialog box (Microsoft Windows) or the Export Options dialog box (Mac OS X).

Click Export and your CAD file is saved in your selected location. In the following figure, you see the line options dialog box for your current operating system. The following list introduces your options so that the lines in your exported file meet your needs. AutoCAD Version: Select what version of AutoCAD you’d like to use to open the exported file. Drawing Scale & Size: The Full Scale checkbox is selected by default. However, if you deselect that checkbox, you can set a custom scale. In the In Drawing box, type the actual measurement you want to use to set your scale.

In the In Model box, type the value for scaling your exported model. For example, for a scale of 1:4, type 1’ in the In Model box and 4’ in the In Drawing box. To customize the page size, enter values in the Width and Height boxes.

Profile Lines: Here, you can customize how profile lines appear in your exported file. You can set the line width as follows:. Select None to export profile lines at the standard width.

Select Polylines with Width to export profile lines as AutoCAD polylines. When you select this option, you can leave Automatic selected so that the exported lines match the profile line width. If you deselect Automatic, you can enter a custom width in the Width box. Select Wide Line Entities to export profile lines as AutoCAD wide line entities.

The Separate on a Layer checkbox, which is selected by default, creates a layer for profile edges. If you’ve used SketchUp layers to control visibility, note that SketchUp layer assignments don’t translate directly when you export a SketchUp file to a 2D CAD file.

Section Lines: If you export section lines or a section slice, these export options become available. See for details about sections and how to export them. Edge Extensions: Some CAD applications might have problems recognizing line endpoints and intersections when your model uses SketchUp line extensions. Deselect the Show Extensions checkbox to toggle extensions off in your exported file. If you leave Show Extensions selected and deselect the Automatic checkbox, you can enter an exact length for line extensions in the Length box.

In Microsoft Windows, you can select the Always Prompt for Hidden Line Options if you’d like to set options in this dialog box anytime you export a 2D CAD file. You can also restore the default settings by clicking the Defaults button.

Exporting a SketchUp Model as a 3D CAD file When you export a SketchUp model as a 3D CAD file, you can select what entities are exported. To export your model, follow these steps:. In SketchUp, select File Export 3D Model. The Export Model dialog box appears.

Navigate to the location where you want to save your exported file. (Optional) Change the file name if you like. By default, the exported file uses the same name as your SketchUp file name. Select either.dwg or.dxf as the file format for your exported file. In Microsoft Windows, select your file type from the Export Type drop-down list. In Mac OS X, use the Format drop-down list. Click the Options button to open the Export Options dialog box, shown in the following figure.

From the AutoCAD Version drop-down list, select the version of AutoCAD you’d like to use to open the exported file. In the Export area, select the checkbox for each type of entity that you want to include in the exported file.

Click OK when you’re done. Back in the Export Model dialog box, click Export, and your file appears in the location where you chose to save it.