CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
5 October 2005
Product News
SolidWorks Extends DWGgateway Publishing Capability to Support Adobe PDF
The DWGgatewayT data translation tool, which early this year solved compatibility issues between older and newer versions of AutoCAD® software, now offers the ability to publish AutoCAD designs in the popular Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF).
This new capability, available free today at http://www.dwggateway.com , makes it easy for design engineers to share designs with anyone, regardless of whether the recipient has AutoCAD software. The recipient needs only free Adobe® Reader ® software, nearly as common on desktops as a Web browser.
Adobe PDF publishing capability for the DWGgateway tool, the result of PDF Library technology licensed from Adobe Systems Incorporated, makes AutoCAD files more portable than ever, significantly enhancing communication and collaboration. PDF publishing capability also protects proprietary information in AutoCAD designs by formatting them as read-only documents versus interactive files.
"By adding Adobe PDF support to DWGgateway, SolidWorks is ensuring users will be able to more effectively share designs with virtually anyone, inside or outside the firewall," said Eugene Lee, vice president of marketing, Intelligent Documents Business Unit, Adobe. "After creating an Adobe PDF file, DWGgateway users can then further extend the life of the document by harnessing Acrobat software for tasks such as adding security and completing the collaborative review and markup process."
Adobe PDF is the de facto standard for electronic document exchange. More than one half-billion copies of its companion software, Adobe Reader, have been distributed worldwide, and the world's top 10 PC makers ship their systems with the application.
About the DWGgateway data translation tool
The DWGgateway tool, available for download at http://www.dwggateway.com , enables any AutoCAD software user to open and edit any DWG file. This capability eliminates the need to upgrade the AutoCAD software to new versions simply to work on files created by users of newer AutoCAD products. In this way, the DWGgateway software tool fosters open collaboration and saves users the time and money of unnecessarily implementing new products. As a result, AutoCAD software users can work efficiently with colleagues, customers, partners, and suppliers instead of receiving "incompatible version" messages. More than 150,000 AutoCAD software users have downloaded the free software component from SolidWorks Corporation.
"Since day one, our mission has been to bring powerful product development capabilities to the design community and foster the expansion of that community along the way," said Rainer Gawlick, vice president of worldwide marketing for SolidWorks Corporation. "Adobe PDF publishing functionality is just another step in that mission, and provides the communication and collaboration capability necessary for the community to thrive. SolidWorks has always been committed to making engineering design data open and available to all to better serve the needs of the engineering community, even when other CAD vendors put up obstacles in their code."
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