COMMAND OF THE MONTH

Command of the Month: eTransmit
by Ralph Grabowski

In the previous tutorial, I talked about AutoCAD 2000i's Publish to Web feature, a wizard that helps you through the steps to outputting drawings as Web pages.

Another way to distribute drawings is by email. In some ways, this is easier since you don't need a Web site -- just a pair of email addresses, and a connection to the Internet. One email address is yours; the other you send drawings to.

Emailing a drawing, however, is not quite as easy as emailing, say, a Word document. That's because an AutoCAD drawing is not an island; it is (usually) interconnected with a number of other files. The other files might include fonts, plot styles, font mapping, raster images, and externally referenced drawings. For this reason, the command that emails drawings -- eTransmit -- includes a checker that looks for the additional files that need to tag along.

The eTransmit command is an expanded version of the Pack'n Go command, a "bonus" command first included with AutoCAD Release 14. In summary, the eTransmit command performs the following tasks:

* Finds all the files associated with the drawing.
* Collects the files into a single compressed file, a self-extracting file, or a folder of files; allows you to lock the collection with a password.
* Optionally strips paths from xrefs and image files.
* Provides an area for you to enter notes for the recipient.
* Saves the drawing in 2000 or R14 format.
* Generates a Web page with a link to the files, instead of sending the package as email.
* Produces a report, which includes instructions to the recipient.

Including TrueType fonts (TTF) is a touchy issue, because that can infringe on copyrights. The online help included with AutoCAD 2000i states that TTF fonts are not included in the transmittal, but in practice they are.
In another error, the online help indicates that TXT is a form of font file; this is incorrect. The TXT extension refers to a text file.

Caution: While drawings can be emailed, they can be very large, which means they can take a long time to send or receive over a slow Internet connection, such as provided by a modem.

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Command: eTransmit
Purpose: Bundles the drawing and related files into a package for emailing.
Notes: Requires the drawing be first saved.

Aliases: none
Shortcut: Alt+FT
Menu bar: File | eTransmit
Tablet menu: none
Status bar: none
Toolbar: Standard

Related commands:
DwfOut Exports the drawing as a DWF file for viewing on Web sites.
SaveAs Saves the drawing in a number of other file formats, which do not require the additional files.

Related system variables:
none

Example command usage:
Command: etransmit
(Displays the Create Transmittal dialog box.)

View Past Commands of the Month