Autodesk DWF Viewer

[#1]

In the old Whip! viewer plug-in for Internet Explorer we had the ability to drag and drop DWF files from a web page onto an AutoCAD drawing. If the DWF file existed in the same folder as the DWF then the DWG would be inserted as a block. Since the Autodesk Express Viewer is being billed as the replacement for Whip!, why has this functionality been removed. We have a an Intranet with hundreds of AutoCAD drawings available for users to drag and drop via Whip! into AutoCAD. If I load this viewer onto my users systems they will lose then ability to use this function. It really is a shame, in my opinion, that Autodesk has seen fit to remove a "key" feature of the Whip! viewer.

[#2]

I think the issue is what is seen as a "key" feature. For us this drag and
drop ability isn't even an issue but I seen you point and it would be good
to have a flow of features from one product to the next.

"davidr505" wrote in message
news:f12ae41.-1@WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> In the old Whip! viewer plug-in for Internet Explorer we had the ability
to drag and drop DWF files from a web page onto an AutoCAD drawing. If the
DWF file existed in the same folder as the DWF then the DWG would be
inserted as a block. Since the Autodesk Express Viewer is being billed as
the replacement for Whip!, why has this functionality been removed. We have
a an Intranet with hundreds of AutoCAD drawings available for users to drag
and drop via Whip! into AutoCAD. If I load this viewer onto my users systems
they will lose then ability to use this function. It really is a shame, in
my opinion, that Autodesk has seen fit to remove a "key" feature of the
Whip! viewer.

[#3]

When the Whip! viewer first came out I was working for an Autodesk dealer. One of the "Unique" features of Whip! we were all told to show in our demos was the drag and drop capability so I would definitely say that Autodesk considered it a "key" feature. The old Whip! viewer is no longer available on Autodesk's web site. It has been replaced with a link to the Express Viewer. Autodesk says this is a replacement for Whip! so I would expect the same functionality to be available. This was a great feature and was built-in to the capability of the ActiveX control. It seems now that my only recourse is to re-program my whole intranet to use the I-Drop feature. Which is very convoluted, requiring XML files additional to the web page, whereas before I could just use the Whip! control to handle it all.
The drag and drop capability of Whip! may not be a key feature for everyone, but for us it is, and I am just annoyed that it has been removed.

[#4]

They also said VVE was a WHIP replacement which it was not.
As for the reason for the difference it may have been more to move away from
ActiveX and more to the .NET style of doing things which is more open and
platform independent. If the same functionality is still available even if
it is via a different means then I am happy. To move forward sometimes
compatibility must be lost.

"davidr505" wrote in message
news:f12ae41.1@WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> When the Whip! viewer first came out I was working for an Autodesk dealer.
One of the "Unique" features of Whip! we were all told to show in our demos
was the drag and drop capability so I would definitely say that Autodesk
considered it a "key" feature. The old Whip! viewer is no longer available
on Autodesk's web site. It has been replaced with a link to the Express
Viewer. Autodesk says this is a replacement for Whip! so I would expect the
same functionality to be available. This was a great feature and was
built-in to the capability of the ActiveX control. It seems now that my only
recourse is to re-program my whole intranet to use the I-Drop feature. Which
is very convoluted, requiring XML files additional to the web page, whereas
before I could just use the Whip! control to handle it all.
> The drag and drop capability of Whip! may not be a key feature for
everyone, but for us it is, and I am just annoyed that it has been removed.

[#5]

The Whip viewer is right where it always was at
http://www.autodesk.com/prods/whip/english.htm

You are right about one thing, though; some users, myself included,
can't get there from the old "whipreg" page.


davidr505 wrote:

>When the Whip! viewer first came out I was working for an Autodesk dealer. One of the "Unique" features of Whip! we were all told to show in our demos was the drag and drop capability so I would definitely say that Autodesk considered it a "key" feature. The old Whip! viewer is no longer available on Autodesk's web site. It has been replaced with a link to the Express Viewer. Autodesk says this is a replacement for Whip! so I would expect the same functionality to be available. This was a great feature and was built-in to the capability of the ActiveX control. It seems now that my only recourse is to re-program my whole intranet to use the I-Drop feature. Which is very convoluted, requiring XML files additional to the web page, whereas before I could just use the Whip! control to handle it all.

>The drag and drop capability of Whip! may not be a key feature for everyone, but for us it is, and I am just annoyed that it has been removed.

Michael Porter Naval Architect / Boatbuilder
mporter at mp-marine.com
www.mp-marine.com
Cartography: www.cba-inst.org

[#6]

Talking of which, I wonder if there is a foolproof way in which I can export
my drawings in a vector format, such that they can be viewed, zoomed, panned
and printed by my clients, with additional functionality of views etc if
possible, but they definitely cannot convert them back to an editable format
?!!

Sometimes "key feature" itself is annoying LOL

I have asked at seminars, and searched and searched, but havent got an
answer. There is a mention of locking utilities on the web in acad help, but
havent been able to locate any. Again, if they do not allow to modify the
drawing, but the content can be copied, it is equally useless, as what i
look forward is the security of my data.

Any help will be appreciated

[#7]

dwf is probably as close as you can come. _Anything_ you send out can
be copied, and there is now at least one utility on the market to make
dwgs out of dwfs (though I'd expect they lose some resolution). But
the same thing goes for paper plots. Better to have reasonable
license terms, then be vigilant about people that break them.




"Nilesh Suchdev" wrote:

>Talking of which, I wonder if there is a foolproof way in which I can export
>my drawings in a vector format, such that they can be viewed, zoomed, panned
>and printed by my clients, with additional functionality of views etc if
>possible, but they definitely cannot convert them back to an editable format
>?!!
>
>Sometimes "key feature" itself is annoying LOL
>
>I have asked at seminars, and searched and searched, but havent got an
>answer. There is a mention of locking utilities on the web in acad help, but
>havent been able to locate any. Again, if they do not allow to modify the
>drawing, but the content can be copied, it is equally useless, as what i
>look forward is the security of my data.
>
>Any help will be appreciated
>

Michael Porter Naval Architect / Boatbuilder
mporter at mp-marine.com
www.mp-marine.com
Cartography: www.cba-inst.org

[#8]

The fact is that anything that can be printed by a Windows System Printer
can directly be turned into a dxf through several different System Printer
Drivers available on the market. You will loose tons or resolutions and
everything will be lines, text, and arcs on the same layer but that's the
reality of it. Heck the new scanning and cleanup software is even able to
produce some lines and text from 30 year old hand drawings.

Basically it means you shouldn't be giving your drawings out to anyone who
you don't trust or who hasn't signed an agreement with you. Or we have to
go back to the old smelly blueprints which were hard to scan or copy.

I also bet a stone tablet would be hard to scan. Maybe the cavemen were
actually ahead of their time. They had a runflat tire long before us and
their writing will probably outlive all of our CAD drawings, CD's, and tape
backups.

--
Rodney McManamy
President
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"Nilesh Suchdev" wrote in message
news:71B09BD202E2A366874167E0C75C1233@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> Talking of which, I wonder if there is a foolproof way in which I can
export
> my drawings in a vector format, such that they can be viewed, zoomed,
panned
> and printed by my clients, with additional functionality of views etc if
> possible, but they definitely cannot convert them back to an editable
format
> ?!!
>
> Sometimes "key feature" itself is annoying LOL
>
> I have asked at seminars, and searched and searched, but havent got an
> answer. There is a mention of locking utilities on the web in acad help,
but
> havent been able to locate any. Again, if they do not allow to modify the
> drawing, but the content can be copied, it is equally useless, as what i
> look forward is the security of my data.
>
> Any help will be appreciated
>
>