Wow this is a big big question! I do know a lot about PDF and DWF. I have
written PDF writers and DWF writers. Some things are obvious, for example
different applications are used to read the different formats. PDF is read
by Acrobat, Photoshop, GhostView, and other applications. DWF is read by
Autodesk Design Review (ADR), AutoCAD, Freewheel and other applications. DWF
can be used to publish a drawing set from AutoCAD, make annotations using
ADR and then read the markups back into AutoCAD. Windows Vista comes with a
viewer that can view and print 2d sections from the new DWFx.
Maybe you are looking for details about the actual file format? Both formats
are vector formats that can also contain image data. They both allow users
to control the published resolution. They are both open formats. Autodesk
provides the DWF specification and an open SDK to read and write DWF for no
charge, http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?id=823771&siteID=123112.
Adobe provides the PDF specification at
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/pdf/pdf_reference.html, but charges for an SDK
used to read and write it. One advantage that PDF has over DWF it its
superior font and text handling. PDF is better for text based documents
produced in Word. Conversely, DWF is far superior for CAD data. The DWF
format compresses CAD data far better than PDF providing optimal file sizes.
DWF has better 3d support. The 3d support in PDF is the tacked on
questionable U3D file format. The DWF format also provides better support
for metadata and object properties making it better for lifecycle management
and data tracking use cases.
Additionally, DWF files published from Autodesk applications batter
represent the Model data while still protecting intellectual property. This
is because the Autodesk DWF publishing products are better integrated tools
into Autodesk applications.
As you can see this is a big question, I hope that I have provided some
insight.
Ben
"acdeleon" wrote in message news:5871497@discussion.autodesk.com...
What are the differences between DWF and PDFfiles as compared to the
original AutoCAD drawing?
