AutoCAD Plotting to PDF of VW Background

[RickS - Lab 8]

We are working with an engineer who is running Auto CAD 2010. We typically export a DWG or DXF file to send to them for their plan backgrounds.

Whenever they try to make a PDF plot or PDF Export of the AutoCAD file with out plan referenced, the resultant PDF file is massive (2MB) and takes 5 minutes+ to regenerate.

When we create a PDF file from VW of the same floor plan, the PDF file is only 200K.

Just wanted to see if anyone else was dealing with this issue. The engineer said that he has had a similar issue with another firm who uses VW.

We have tried to create different versions of the DWG file (ranging from AutoCAD v12 up through 2010) but it has not made a difference.

[VincentCuclair]

If you want small simple dwg output use dxf instead together with an old version setting ie AC2000 this gets rid of much unecessary geometry etc ( this might even influence the size of his pdf output)

These days pdfs can be quite complex and include much info for ex. They have the ability to store classes and/or font info etc etc, it is important that said engineer creates the simplest type of pdf possible (if these options at all exists in AC).

[Ozzie]

I wonder when exporting from AutoCAD to Pdf - however they do it if they can choose a lower Dpi like we can in VW??

[RickS - Lab 8]

They have the ability to reduce the DPI of the output file.

When they changed it, the file size stayed the same, but it regenerated quicker.

It does not appear that they have the ability to make a raster PDF just a Vector PDF? Not sure if that has something to do with the print driver they are using?

[RickS - Lab 8]

We have tried a bunch of different export file types, DWG, DXF, V12 through V2010. But it always makes a large PDF file.

The actual DWG file that is created is only 200K or so and they dont have an issue working in it, just when they make a PDF file.

[VincentCuclair]

The actual DWG file that is created is only 200K or so and they dont have an issue working in it, just when they make a PDF file.

In that case it's not your problem (as usual the issue is with the AutoCAD users, tell them to learn their program properly or change to software that actually does what it should!)

Edited November 19, 2010 by Vincent C

[Art V]

AutoCAD does not always create nice PDF files I have noticed and some things make it even less nice depending on the drawing's contents.

Polygons may increase the size of the PDF, the more points a polygon has the larger the size of the PDF. So you may want to check whether the exported file has polygons with lots of points (i.e. curved lines that get converted to splines with lots of points)

If they zoom in quite a bit, does everything stay smooth or do jagged edges appear?

The reason I ask is because relatively small (approx. 250 kilobytes) and simple AutoCAD files that contain simple 3D lines only with some text printed to A3 size gave me 500-900 kilobyte PDF files because they got rendered as images by AutoCAD.

If there is some object in the DWG file that gets interpreted as 3D, it may cause AutoCAD to render the entire PDF as an image instead of a vector drawing.

The more information there is in the plan and the larger the exported page size in the PDF the faster the file size may increase in that case.

Just a few thoughts.

[RickS - Lab 8]

From what we can tell the plot created is a Vector based PDF. When we open the PDF you can actually watch the PDF generate the lines.

I was thinking it would actually be better to have it create a Raster PDF?

I have made a couple DWG & DXF test files again with everything stripped out but the plan, we'll see what happens with the Autocad PDF plotting???!!!???

[Art V]

Do they use the PDF export in AutoCAD or do they print to Adobe PDF (the Acrobat printer) to create the PDF?

If they have the full Adobe Acrobat, try using Document>Reduce file size (first) or Advanced>PDF Optimizer... (if the other doesn't work) to see if this reduces the file size.

AutoCAD might be adding alot of redundant information into the file that makes it bloated and slow. The above might then get rid of that.

If they get a message saying something about images that could not be (re)compressed and have been left unchaged in that case something is generated as an image and then you need to do some further searching.