Working with AutoCAD in Mixed Mac and PC Environment Pavan Jella Autodesk AC6907 With the introduction of AutoCAD for Mac, some professionals now work in hybrid environments one engineer may draft designs on a Microsoft Windows PC while another develops them on a Mac. Such professionals may need to share, print, collaborate, and edit drawings and models across platforms. With the option available, some may choose to work in a Mac environment in part or all of the time. Others who have customized their AutoCAD interface in Windows may wonder whether they can transfer the customizations to AutoCAD for Mac. While AutoCAD for Windows and AutoCAD for Mac offer much of the same functionality and familiar user experience, there are differences between the two. In addition, the two versions of the software have several analogous, but not identical, features. This class will outline best practices for CAD managers and AutoCAD users who are integrating AutoCAD for Mac into a Windows environment, highlighting areas where the two platforms diverge. Learning Objectives At the end of this class, you will be able to: Connect to a single network server from AutoCAD on Mac and from AutoCAD on Windows to share drawings Work with external references and plot Use Customize User Interface (CUI) in AutoCAD for Mac Setup application preferences for multi-platform environment Setup Blocks using Content Palette About the Speaker Pavan Jella is Senior Principal QA Engineer at Autodesk. He is an AutoCAD user since Release 10 and for last 13 years with Autodesk he has been working with AutoCAD Test Development team on AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD OEM, ObjectARX and RealDWG products. His current focus is on AutoCAD for Mac and ObjectARX for Mac. He holds a Master s degree in Industrial Engineering from Kansas State University. You can contact Pavan via email at: pavan.jella@autodesk.com
Connecting to Servers Professionals using AutoCAD for Windows access file servers with a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path (\\ComputerName\SharedFolder\Resource) or drive letters (C:\Folder) both path formats unique to Windows. With AutoCAD for Mac, use the Mac OS X Finder to connect to a server, by browsing for the server name in the Finder window or entering the server s network address. Figure 1: From the drop-down menu, select Go. To connect by browsing, choose Go > Connect to Server, click Browse, and search for the server name. To connect by entering the server s network address, choose Go > Connect to Server and type in the address in the Server Address field. Use the server message block (SMB) protocol for the network address (smb://serveraddress/share/). SMB file sharing must be enabled via the Sharing applet in the Mac OS X System Preferences dialog. Consult a local network administrator for network-specific Windows/Mac sharing configuration details. 2
Figure 2: Use the SMB and AFP protocols for the server address. The Finder remembers the server location and stores it in the Finder window. In the future, you can open drawings from that remembered location much as you would with a map drive. Connecting between Mac machines To connect to a Apple Mac machine from another Apple Mac use AFP protocol. Choosing Absolute versus Relative Paths Relative (rather than absolute) paths work in both Windows and Mac, and are therefore recommended in mixed Mac/Windows environments. An absolute or fully qualified, path is a fully specified hierarchy of folders that locates the file reference (for example, smb://hostname/directorypath/resource). In contrast, a relative path specifies the location of a directory relative to another directory. While absolute paths eliminate ambiguity, they are far less flexible and can cause problems in a mixed environment because Windows and the Mac OS use different syntax to refer to the path of a drive. In contrast, more flexible relative paths make it possible to move a set of drawings from one folder to another with the same folder structure. Preferences Setting Preferences Using the Application Preferences Dialog Box Like AutoCAD for Windows, AutoCAD for Mac is customizable but in different ways. With Windows, you set and change preferences and settings via the Options command; for Mac, use the Application Preferences dialog box. Simply click AutoCAD -> Preferences or type Preferences command in AutoCAD; to launch Application Preferences dialog box. 3
Figure 3: Type items you want to customize in the search box. To use the Application Preferences dialog box to change preferences, simply enter a search topic; the program will search for support, drive, menu, and other files. For example, to customize the grip, type grip into the search window. The results will highlight all grip-related tasks that can be customized. Finding Files and Features While AutoCAD offers many analogous features and files in the Mac and Windows environments, there are some differences. For example, in Windows, to organize blocks moved in from another drawing, use the Design Center. On a Mac, use the Content Palette. Some files and features may be challenging to find, particularly if they re embedded in the application bundle. All directories may not be visible at all times; to find files, look to the Application Preferences dialog box (see Figure 4) for folders of files and features, such as these: Templates AutoSave files Plot styles Fonts Referenced file locations 4
Figure 4: Use the Application Preferences dialog box to find files. Customizing with CUI If you ve customized files with CUI on Windows, you may wonder whether you can do so on a Mac, and whether Windows CUI files transfer to the Mac platform. It s possible to use CUI commands to customize the AutoCAD user interface in both Mac and Windows environments, though it s done differently in each. For example, in Windows, you might customize the Ribbon versus the Tool Sets palette on the Mac. To customize files for the Mac platform, use the Customize dialogue box to: Create new custom commands or modify existing commands Assign commands to various user interface elements Add or change menus displayed on the Mac OS menu bar Add or change tool sets displayed on the Tool Sets palette While the Mac and Windows CUI files share a similar format, they re not compatible you can t use CUI files from AutoCAD for Windows to customize AutoCAD for Mac, or vice versa. Automating Design Tasks with AutoLISP Based on the LISP programming language, AutoLISP lets users automate design tasks in AutoCAD for Mac. AutoLISP applications or routines can interact with AutoCAD for Mac in many ways prompting user input, accessing built-in AutoCAD for Mac 5
commands directly, and modifying or creating objects in the drawing database. With AutoLISP routines, you can add discipline-specific commands to AutoCAD for Mac. In fact, some of the standard AutoCAD for Mac commands are AutoLISP applications. Although many Windows LISP routines will perform on AutoCAD for Mac, LISP routines with that use VBA extensions (VLAX-*() LISP functions), or DCO (dialog control language) APIs will not. Attached Files You can insert any drawing file as an external reference (xref) into a second drawing, linking the two. Any changes you make to the referenced drawing are displayed in the parent drawing when you next open or update it. There are several ways to attach an xref when using AutoCAD for Mac and the saved path used to locate the xref can be absolute path, relative path, or no path. Because it s the most flexible option and works best in a mixed Mac/Windows environment, Autodesk recommends using a relative path when attaching any file, whether DWG, PDF underlay, or image. Use these conventions for specifying a relative folder path: / Look in the root folder of the host drawing s drive. path From the folder of the host drawing, follow the specified path. /path From the root folder, follow the specified path.. /path From the folder of the host drawing, follow the specified path.../path From the folder of the host drawing, move up one folder level and follow the specified path.../../path From the folder of the host drawing, move up two folder levels and follow the specified path. If a drawing containing referenced files is moved or saved to a different path, or to a different network server, you must edit any relative paths to accommodate the host 6
drawing s new location, or else relocate the referenced files. If an open drawing contains an xref that has been moved to a different folder, a message will appear at the site of the xref when you load the drawing, indicating that the xref cannot be loaded using the old path. Specify the new path to reload the drawing. Opening Files There are several ways to open drawings in AutoCAD for Mac. The easiest (though not the quickest) is to go to the File menu and select Open, displaying the Select File dialog box. Alternately, double-click on a drawing s icon, or drag it onto the AutoCAD for Mac icon in the Dock. If a referenced file has been moved to a different folder or renamed since it was first attached, you can locate the reference (xref), then view and edit the file name and path. Note that while a Mac user has a parent file open, Windows users cannot open files referenced by that drawing. Printing and Printers While AutoCAD for Windows includes a configurable printer driver, AutoCAD for Mac takes advantage of preconfigured system printers. To save printer settings, store them in a PCM file. PC3 files from Windows are not transferrable to the Mac platform. 7
Writing to PDF Both AutoCAD for Windows and AutoCAD for Mac support PDF export. Where Windows users write to PDF by selecting PDF from the printer drop-down menu, Mac users choose the PDF option in the lower left corner of the Mac system dialogue (see Figure 5). AutoCAD for Mac takes advantage of native PDF export capabilities and will write to PDF based on the currently selected printer and page setup. Figure 5: To write to PDF, choose PDF from the system dialogue. 8