AutoCAD® 2009 & AutoCAD LT® 2009 Bible

Chapter 27. Working with Other Applications

Your drawing is not a world unto itself. Many times, you need to work with files or data from other applications. Here are some possibilities:

• Working for a client who uses another CAD program

• Placing a logo into your titleblock

• Inserting a drawing into a report

• Inserting a spreadsheet into your drawing

• Using a satellite photo as a basis to create a map

You have several ways of working with other applications:

• You can import another file format so that the entire file is brought into your drawing.

• You can export to another file format so that the entire drawing can be imported into another application.

• You can export to an image format that others can view.

• You can import a raster image (bitmap) without changing any file format. A raster image is made up of dots, called pixels, as opposed to vectors. AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT are vector programs.

• You can import, or export to, a DXF file, which is a way of interchanging drawings between AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT and other CAD programs.

As you can imagine, the possibilities are endless. This chapter explains how to work with other applications.

Importing and Exporting Other File Formats

You can export to several other file formats, thereby enabling you to save the file in another format. You can also import several formats. This section explains how to do both.

Exporting drawings

You usually export objects to an image format and then use that format in another application. You may also export a drawing to import ...