.DWG to .WMF in 2017

[john.p.addy]

I'm working on AutoCAD 2017 and when I export to .WMF I am having issues when I check the .WMF file the lines are disappearing but my text is completely fine.  I haven't been able to figure out why.  I'm far from new to AutoCAD been working on it since 1992 but I am new to exporting to .WMF file. 

I have a lot of questions that would make my job easier that has to do with the .WMF and setting up layout tabs at the bottom of my screen,  any help would be great. 

Thank you,

John Addy

[john.vellek]

Hi @john.p.addy,

I see that you are visiting as a new member to the AutoCAD forum. Welcome to the Autodesk Community!

Is it possible to share your drawing file and walk me through the process you are using to create the WMF file?  What are you using the WMF file for? Perhaps there is a better option.

Also, you mentioned that you need help with layout tabs. Do you have specific questions with which I can help?

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[john.p.addy]

Yes I just signed up today here and thank you.

I'm actually new at my job position but I'm going to the upper right hand corner of the screen where the "A" is located at.  Then I'm going to " export " than from there going to " other formats " 

[john.p.addy]

I'm pretty much the only one here that has any type of AutoCAD back ground but it's all been in Architecture.  Now I'm working for the Department of Defense and I'm now working on Electronics,  I.E. like Microchips and that kind of stuff without getting into it to much. 

With the Layout Tabs right now I'm doing all my drawings in one drawing.   I am learning about it as I go,  like the different dimension's standards, but nothing is done at any type of scale.  What I'm wanting to do is have everything set into the tabs instead of saving them into 6-10 different drawings and then erasing the other part of the drawings I don't need.  What is stopping me is the whole exporting to the .WMF file and how the lines disappear on me.

I hope that I didn't confuse you to much and I'm sorry if I did

[john.vellek]

Hi @john.p.addy,

Congrats on the new position!

A WMFOUT really has few options so I am not sure what might not be working properly. Is it possible to give me a sample drawing and the resulting WMF? I would like to see if the lines disappear on my side too and if so is it drawing specific or something else.

For the layouts, you set the scale inside of a viewport via the Scale List. Then you can make  a 1:1 dimension style current and put your dimensions directly in paperspace so you don't have to adjust any scaling. Here is an article that describes how to set the scale for a viewport.

While I wait to see your file I would also like to point out that while you can have multiple layouts in a drawing, be aware that if any corruption occurs to your drawing, you have placed everything in the one file.

I prefer to create a master base file and xref it into the modelspace of a drawing that only has one layout.  This also allows for improved speed.  Of course, the drawing setup is personal and you might prefer the other method.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[john.p.addy]

Correct with the xref's that is how I have always done it also until I came here.  Very confusing how things are doing here but they are open to change and what I'm working on xref's wouldn't really work because they aren't really that big of drawings.  I guess they would which I will try that. 

I asked my boss about uploading to the file here he asked if it would be possible to email.

[john.vellek]

Hi @john.p.addy,

We took this offline for a bit but this is what I found with your file. After running some maintenance steps such as Audit, Purge, and -Purge>Regapps, I was able to WMFOUT without any issues.

You also inquired about other methods of getting AutoCAD content in Microsoft Word. I suggested using PDF, JPG, TIFF, or PNG methods. Each has advantages and disadvantages.

Here is a quick method of grabbing a PNG (note that if you want a white background when pasted into Word, set the AutoCAD background to white before doing this):

[john.p.addy]

Thank you I will run this by the boss and see what he has to say. 

[Anonymous]

If you really need WMF and you have a few bucks,you should take a look at BetterWMF.

(No, I'm not a member of this company 😉

http://furix.com/betterwmf

Edit:

And if you really need configured, modified raster-images (PNG, JPG, ..), take a look here: App "Screenshot" (free)

https://apps.autodesk.com/CIV3D/de/Detail/Index?id=2024453975166401172&appLang=en&os=Win32_64

[john.vellek]

Hi @john.p.addy,

I am checking back to see how this issue is progressing for you. Is there anything else that I can provide for you on this question?

[john.p.addy]

One other problem I seem to be running into.  I have my baseplan say the name of it for is 16623 which is the drawing I'm working on now.  I do a "save-as" 16623-1 erase everything in 16623-1 and then x-ref in 16623 into 16623-1 and then go into my tabs and use the view port that is set up.  When I try to change my .DWG file into a .WMF all that comes up in the .WMF is the viewport and nothing else.   What is inside the viewport doesn't show up. 

[john.p.addy]

I also found this but I try to do this here at my work and I can't seem to figure this out.

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/autocad-2000-2000i-2002-archive/how-do-i-create-a-hpgl-file/td-p/1390...

[john.vellek · Accepted solution]

Hi @john.p.addy,

Yes, if you grab the objects from modelspace when producing the WMF they will show up. When selecting the viewport they won't.

I suggest that you explore saving the drawings in a different format such as PDF or PNG. If you want only linework then consider EPS format.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[john.p.addy]

I have never heard of the EPS format and would that work with inserting into MS Word ?

I need a format that will be able to be inserted in to MS Word.

[john.vellek]

Hi @john.p.addy,

EPS  is an ancronym for Encapsulated PostScript. I use it to capture vector information and paste into a variety of different programs including Microsoft Word.

Give it a try with EPSOUT from AutoCAD. You can also configure Postscript Type 1 as a plot driver if you want more granularity over the output.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[john.p.addy]

I talked with the boss and he has tried using the EPS format or try getting it to work with exporting as EPS and couldn't figure it out or couldn't get it to work. 

I'm still trying to figure out how to get it to export as WMF with the viewports found this

where you go to the

PLOTTERMANAGER is the command to use, and then you proceed to set
up an HP 7475 plotter, set to plot to file.

Then I found this.

If you have the AutoCAD Express Tools installed, you can work around this limitation as follows:

1. Plot the layout to an HPGL file.
2. Use the Express Tools command PLT2DWG to convert the PLT file to a DWG file. Everything in the WMF file will be placed in model space of the resulting DWG.
3. You can now select everything in model space of the new DWG and export to a WMF file.

Note: An HPGL PLT file stores the pen number and the path the pen would take if you were plotting with a pen plotter. The resulting file may not look exactly like the file you were trying to print.

but still can't get it to work.  I don't know if it is something with AutoCAD 2017

[john.vellek]

Hi @john.p.addy,

Can you please another another sample file  to a post that exhibits what you are trying to get into Word? I will try to show you multiple options of getting the AutoCAD content into the file including EPS, PNG, PDF, Chspace (to get everything into modelspace and then create a WMF).

The old HPGL routine can work too but seems overly complicated and possibly won't generate the output you are looking to insert into Word.

Also, I am curious what the Word docs look like and what they are used for. Is the output something that would be better suited to a desktop publishing application?