Saving Documents In Other Formats

This task shows you how to save a document in a format different from the original one.

  1. Select File > Save As.

  2. In the Save As dialog box, select the location of the document to be saved.

  3. Click the Save as type: list.

  4. Select the document type from the list displayed. The list of available formats varies according to your working context. For detailed information on all possible formats, refer to the list in Opening Existing Documents.

    The Save As dialog box also lets you rename or delete the selected file or folder via the Rename or Delete contextual command but note that:
    • After clicking Delete, a confirmation dialog box appears: click OK to delete the selected item.
    • When renaming a file or a folder, if the new name you entered is already used, the item is not renamed and a warning message is displayed.

  5. Click Save to save the document in the chosen format.
 

More about other formats
 

3D XML

General information

The Save as type: list displays the 3dxml type for saving .CATProduct, .CATPart, .CATProcess and .CATDrawing documents in 3D XML format.
As opening a 3D XML file is seen as an importation to a CATIA file (See Opening Existing Document), saving a document to 3D XML format is seen as an exportation from a CATIA file to a 3D XML format.
 

Starting from R17 SP5, a new format (known as "V4") of 3D XML is saved but opening older versions of 3D XML is still supported.

If a non-leaf node contains a geometrical representation, then the sub-assembly is not saved into the resulting 3D XML. Only the leaf-node with the geometrical representation will be saved.

A 3D XML file containing a dynamic tessellation in Version 5 cannot be resaved to dynamic tessellation format. Static tessellation is used instead and a warning message is displayed.

CATProducts

When saving a CATProduct as a 3D XML document, three formats are available for the geometry:

  • Static tessellation: compressed triangular mesh with static accuracy.
  • Dynamic tessellation: compressed representation containing a rough triangular mesh that can be refined when zooming in to discover details of the geometry.
  • XML tessellation: lets you export geometry as 3D XML Mesh. This format is intended to provide a light visualization format for 3DForAll and some simplifications are made when saving a file (e.g. faces of bodies are grouped by color in a single face).
    Some functionality such as DMU measure, section, etc. may not be supported. Therefore, it is not recommended to use this format when working with advanced DMU scenarios (involving the use of measure or interference functionality, for instance).

For a description of these formats, refer to the information provided in the 3D XML tab.

Saving a CATProduct in 3D XML format generates a zip file named productname.3dxml (for instance "MyProduct.3dxml"). This zip file contains three compressed files (invisible for the end user): a root file describing the whole assembly, a file named "Manifest.3dxml" indicating the root file name and several files describing the various references instantiated in the assembly.
However, when saving an assembly made of several inserted CATProducts, a single file (with the extension .3dxml) is generated. This file contains both the product structure and the geometry.
When opening or inserting a 3D XML file into a CATProduct, it is recommended to save the file in 3D XML format only. Saving it as a .CATProduct document may create unresolved links.
 
CATParts

CATParts can be saved directly in 3D XML format, you do not have to insert the part into a product anymore (but you can still do so if needed). However, note that depending on the objects you save, the number of generated files is not the same:

  • If you save a CATPart inserted into a CATProduct, two files are created: partname.3dxml and productname.3dxml.
  • If you save a CATPart with no CATProduct, only one file is created: partname.3dxml. This file can then be open in Version 5 in the Assembly or Product Structure workbench. It can also be inserted as a component in the Product Structure workbench.
 
Applicative data

The following elements are not yet supported for save into 3D XML:

  • Layers and visualization filters. Therefore, elements assigned to layers or onto which visualization filters have been applied cannot be seen in the 3D XML file
  • Rendering styles
  • Stickers
  • Environments
  • Turntables
  • Mechanisms
  • Kinematics
    • .

The applicative data and graphic properties you can save in 3D XML format are detailed below:

  • Current viewpoint: viewpoint cannot be read again in V5, it can be read in EV6 only.
  • Show/Hide.
  • Graphic properties
    • : smoothness information of edges is stored neither in 3D XML Mesh (i.e. Tessellation), nor in Exact format. Therefore, the No smooth edges rendering style applied through the Customize View Mode dialog box has no effect on 3D XML representations saved in these formats.
  • If several representations are defined on an instance, only the default one is saved in 3D XML format. Regarding the activation state, the default representation is always saved, whatever the activation status.
  • Industry-specific extensions (to select the extensions to be exported to 3D XML format, you need to access the 3D XML tab):
    • Design review
    • Animation
    • 3D annotation
    • Work Instructions.

    Refer to the documentations of interest for more information about the above-mentioned extensions.
 

CATDrawing

You can save a CATDrawing in many formats and the list below only gives a few examples. For an exhaustive list, refer to "File Export and Import" in the Version 5 - Interactive Drafting User's Guide.
However, note that in Small Scale mode (i.e. when Small Scale is selected in Tools > Options > General > Parameters and Measures > Scale), it is not possible to save a CATDrawing in external 2D formats (.cgm, .svg, .gl2, .ps, .pdf, .jpg and .tif).
 

  • HPGL2 format. Note that when saving to this format, a gridding process is applied. By default, the HPGL2 format is defined to encode decimal values with a precision up to 1/40th mm. This implies, for instance, that line extremities might be slightly shifted depending on their approximation on a 1/40th mm spaced grid.
  • 3D XML format.
    Note that     when exporting a CATDrawing to 3D XML format, only design sheets are saved and not detail sheets. The .3dxml file contains the view (with its name, position, angle and scale) and the elements (2D geometry, annotations, etc.). The elements are saved in a graphics format.
  • SVG (.svg)
    Before using File > Save As, you need to access the Graphics Formats tab to define the parameters to be applied when saving your document in .svg format.
  • JPEG (*.jpg).
  • PDF (*.pdf).
    By default, saving a CATDrawing in PDF format generates as many .pdf files as sheets. Each file name is suffixed with "_Sheet_sheetnumber.pdf", e.g. "MyDrawing_Sheet_1.pdf", "MyDrawing_Sheet_2.pdf", etc.
    If you want the Save As command to generate a single .pdf file containing all the sheets of your CATDrawing, select the Save multisheet document in a single vectorial file check box in the Graphics Formats tab. There is no need to export the SAVE_AS_ONE_PDF variable anymore.
    You can also save a CATDrawing containing OpenType fonts (OTF). OTF contained in CATDrawings are embedded as a true type font definition in the generated .pdf file.
    For more information on the OpenType font format, refer to About Fonts.
    However, OTF cannot be embedded if you are running V5 on a Japanese computer. In that case, the text in OTF will be tessellated and therefore, the characters of the resulting .pdf file will not be editable.
    Note that when .pdf documents generated with Adobe Acrobat 7.0 are inserted in a CATDrawing, the horizontal/vertical ratio is not kept when dragging the mouse to perform a selection.
  • TIFF format.
    Before using File > Save As, we strongly recommend you to define the parameters in the Graphics Formats tabs (accessible in Tools > Options > General > Compatibility > Graphics formats) to be applied when saving your document in TIFF format.
    If you need to export your document in a Raster format that are not defined in this options panel, or with a specific mechanism, you need either to define them by setting or exporting environment variables, or by editing the configuration file. An external configuration file has priority over the use of environment variables.

    The environment variables you need to set or export are detailed here after:
NAME DESCRIPTION VALUE
PRINT_CAPTURE_RASTERFORMAT Raster format TIFF True color uncompressed
TIFFTCPB True color PackBits compressed
TIFFINDEX Indexed (256 colors) uncompressed
TIFFPB Indexed (256 colors) PackBits compressed
TIFFGREY Greyscale PackBits compressed
TIFFBWPB Bilevel (black and white) PackBits compressed
TIFFG4 Bilevel G4 Fax compression
PRINT_SETTING_PATH External path name for print/capture settings

Set PRINT_SETTING_PATH="e:\temp".

The file e:\\temp\\CATPrint.ini will be used as configuration file.
PRINT_CAPTURE_MODE Save mechanism PRINT The file is saved using a print mechanism. For instance, when saving a Drafting document in TIFF format, only the sheet will be saved and not the grid and the elements outside the sheet.
TILED The file is saved using a capture mechanism. For instance, when saving a CATDrawing in TIFF format, the grid and the sheet border will be saved.

To export a variable, run the following command:

set variable_name=variable_value  (e.g. set PRINT_CAPTURE_DPI=200)  (on Windows)

or

export variable_name=variable_value  (e.g. export PRINT_CAPTURE_DPI=200)  (on UNIX)

To set a variable, refer to Customizing Your Environment on Windows or Customizing Your Environment on UNIX, according to your operating system.

The configuration file is named CATPrint.ini and is located by default in a temporary directory. To modify the default location, use the PRINT_SETTING_PATH environment variable as explained above.

Below is a syntax example of the configuration file to save a TIFF CCITT Grp4/T6 compression file from a .CATDrawing document:

//
// Print configuration file
// ------------------------
//
<CAPTURE_SECTION>
// For RASTERFORMAT (ALL TIFF: Other for internal use)
// "TIFF" * True color uncompressed TIFF file.</dd>
// "TIFFTCPB" * True color PackBits compressed TIFF file.</dd>
// "TIFFINDEX" * Indexed (256 colors) uncompressed TIFF file.</dd>
// "TIFFPB" * Indexed (256 colors) PackBits compressed TIFF file.</dd>
// "TIFFGREY" * Grey scale PackBits compressed TIFF file.</dd>
// "TIFFBWPB" * Bilevel (black and white) PackBits compressed TIFF file.</dd>
// "TIFFG4" * Bilevel G4 Fax compression
<PRINT_CAPTURE_RASTERFORMAT>TIFFG4</PRINT_CAPTURE_RASTERFORMAT>
<PRINT_CAPTURE_MODE_>PRINT</PRINT_CAPTURE_MODE>
</CAPTURE_SECTION>
  • When printing a large .CATDrawing document with a high resolution (i.e. > 250.0 DPI) image, memory and CPU consumption increase very quickly. As a consequence, printing such an image may be impossible on low system environments unless you work with an optimized configuration (CPU + memory). On 64-bit operating systems, more correct results could be obtained.
  • When saving a .CATDrawing document in a vector (.cgm, .svg, .pdf, etc.) or raster format (.tif, .jpg, etc.) through File > Save As..., elements in a white color are always saved in a black color.
    The only way to save white elements with the same color is to print the .CATDrawing document to a file with the Print white vectors in black option cleared in the Options dialog box: the generated file will show white elements in a white color.
    See also Raster format for more information on line ends.
  • No customization can be applied when saving a .CATDrawing document in a vector format. The following default properties are used:
 
OPTION DEFAULT VALUE
Banner No banner visible
Clip to sheet format Yes
Color type for the image True color
Detail sheet Printed
Gamma factor 1.0
Image Orientation 0 degree
Line end Flat
Line width specification Absolute
Linetype overlapping Not processed
Linetype specification Absolute
Logo No logo visible
Page Setup Use sheet format (no margins)
Print Area Whole document
Rendering mode Default
Text blanking No blanking applied
Text scaling Yes
White vectors in black Yes
 

STL

When working in Wireframe mode, STL format files cannot be saved using the Save As. The reason is that the STL files are generated from the visualization tessellation and tessellation triangles are not available when switching to Wireframe mode. Before using the Save As command, access the Performance tab for defining the settings.

Note: In batch mode, STL file conversion or export is not supported.

CGM Format

Standard CGM supports 5 linetypes (solid, dot, dash, dash dot and phantom). When these linetypes are saved, graphic primitives are not tessellated.

For other linetypes (e.g. small dot), graphic primitives are tessellated and the display depends on the viewer.