Choose Open (or Ctrl+O keyboard shortcut) from the File menu and browse for the drawing file you wish to view.

Drag & drop from Windows Explorer.

Choose a file from the Recent Files menu. These are drawing files that you most recently viewed.

Double click on a file with the extension .ddd in Windows Explorer.

The File filter menu on the open dialog.

ExpertView LE can open:

• ExpertCAD drawings (*.ddd)
• AutoCAD drawings in binary DWG format (*.dwg)
• AutoCAD drawings in ASCII DXF format (*.dxf)
• ExpertCAM history files (*.cam)
• IGES 2D and 3D data files (*.igs)
• ExpertCAD 3D data files (*.3d)
• Prospector and ExpertCAD design database files (*.pdb)
• ExpertCAM and Prospector CL data files (*.clf)

Note: File extensions are not required to open drawings. ExpertView LE automatically determines the format of a file and if it is possible to open the file, it will.

This dialog will be posted once a file is opened if there are invisible entities in the drawing. Click Yes if you wish to unhide all the entities.

Insert...

Into the current design you are viewing, you can insert (add) another design to it. This can be useful in cases where you wish to overlay one design on top of another to visually inspect the differences in the drawings.

Save...

If you have added markups (text notes, leader notes) to the drawing, then you will have the option to save the drawing to a disk file. The standard Windows Save dialog will be presented for you to choose or enter the name of the file to save your changes.

Print Drawing... from the to print the current drawing you are viewing to the printer of your choice.

Batch Print Drawings... allows you to choose any number of drawing files you wish to print.

Page Setup... posts the standard Windows page setup dialog for your printer to establish setup parameters for the page to be printed.

Preferences... posts the dialog shown below to establish settings you prefer to use when printing. These settings are remembered in the Windows registry and restored each time you run ExpertView LE.

Force black and white output - when enabled, the output is always monochrome regardless of the drawing or color capability of the printer.

Auto rotate to best fit paper - the drawing is output such that the long edge of the draw is aligned with the long edge of the paper.

Fit drawing to paper - if enabled, the output is scaled such that it best fits the size of the printable area of the paper size chosen. If this option is disabled, you can choose the scale at which to print the drawing.

Line width - a line width scaling factor to change the width of lines when printed. Larger values produces thicker lines; smaller values produce thinner lines.

Ignore model views and construction lines - when enabled, these entities are ignored when printing. You typically would not want these printed so this is the default.

Line cap - how the end of a line should be drawn:

Line join - how to a line is to be drawn when there is a sharp change in direction:

Publish this drawing as a PDF document write the current drawing you are viewing as a PDF document You will be prompted for the name of the PDF document file. The extension .pdf will be added to the file name you specify if it does not already have a .pdf extension.

Convert multiple files to Adobe PDF a batch conversion feature to allow you to choose multiple drawing files to be converted to Adobe PDF. The PDF files generated are given the same name as the drawing file with the extension .pdf

Adobe PDF Output settings... a batch conversion feature to allow you to choose multiple drawing files to be converted to Adobe PDF. The PDF files generated are given the same name as the drawing file with the extension .pdf

Paper Size - choose the size of the paper for the PDF document.

Fit to paper size - if this switch is enabled, the drawing is output such that it will fit the size of the paper chosen. The long edge of the drawing is always aligned with the long edge of the paper. If the switch is disabled, you can choose the scale at which to publish the drawing to the document. The drawing is always centered on the paper regardless of the setting of the switch.

Output as a bitmap - if the switch is disabled, the output to PDF is a vector format. If the switch is enabled, the output to PDF is a bitmap of the drawing. If a bitmap is chosen, the resolution may be specified as well. A vector output is typically preferred however it may draw slower in Adobe Acrobat than a bitmap.

Margins (inches)- specifies the margins to leave when generating the document. Margins are always specified in inch units.

Color Output - if enabled, the document is generated with the same color scheme as the drawing. If a monochrome document is needed, disable this switch.

View Result in Acrobat - after the document is generated, Acrobat (or your default PDF viewer) is invoked to view the document that was generated.

Line Cap - specifies how the end of a line should be drawn. See Printing for more details.

Line Join - specifies how line is to be drawn when there is a sharp change in direction. Printing for more details.

Line Width Factor - increase or decrease the width of lines in the document generated. Larger values produce thicker lines; smaller values produce thinner lines.

Dash Length Factor - increase or decrease the length of the on/off pattern of lines that are dashed. Larger values produce longer dashing; smaller values produce shorter dashes.

Document Security - allows for password protection of documents produced. When opened in Acrobat or other viewer, the user will be prompted for a password to view the document. Choose the options you wish to secure the document you are going to produce. If you are using the batch convert function, all documents produced will receive the same password and options that you will specify for the first document converted.

The Export menu lets you export the drawing is a number of different formats:

• Web as HTML - write the drawing as an HTML document suitable for viewing in a web browser.

• HSF - write the drawing in HSF format which is suitable for viewing in viewers such as SolidWorks eDrawings.

• BMP Bitmap - write the drawing in Microsoft bitmap format (.bmp)

• JPEG Bitmap - write the drawing as a bitmap in JPEG (.jpg) format.

• GIF Bitmap - write the drawing in GIF (.gif) bitmap format.

• TIFF Bitmap - write the drawing in TIFF (.tif) bitmap format.

• PNG Bitmap - write the drawing in Portable Network Graphics (.png) bitmap format.

• Export Preferences... - establish preferences for one or more of the export formats.

Resolution DPI - specify the DPI you wish to use to produce a bitmap image.

JPEG Compression - specifies the degree of compression to use when exporting a JPEG bitmap. Higher compression will result in a smaller file size however image quality may suffer.

TIFF Compression - specifies the compression method to used when exporting a TIFF bitmap.

Color bitmap - if enabled, the bitmap will use the color scheme of the drawing. If disabled, the bitmap will be monochrome.

E-Mail the current drawing you are viewing to a mail recipient as an attachment. this feature is only available if your default mail program is Microsoft Outlook.

Undo - roll back the last change you made to the drawing. Ctrl+Z is the keystroke command for this.

Redo - roll forward the last change that happened as a result of an undo. Ctrl+Y is the keystroke command for this.

Delete Markups - deletes all markups on the drawing. The Del is the keystroke command for this.

Zoom to Fit - change the scale and position of the drawing so that it fits to the available screen size.

Previous View - change the zoom scale and position of the drawing to the previous view parameters.

Hide by Layer... - hide one or more layers in the drawing. The layer selection dialog will be posted to allow you to choose one or more layers to hide:

The layer selection dialog lets you select one or more layers. The Windows-standard techniques for using Shift-Click and Ctrl-Click to select contiguous or non-contiguous selections may be used to choose which layer(s) to hide.

Show Layer... - blinks entities that are on the layer(s) chosen in the layer selection dialog that is posted.

Unhide All - makes all entities in the drawing visible. This is useful if you had previously hidden one or more layers or if you are aware that there are hidden entities in the drawing.

Find Text - finds a text note on the drawing. The Find Text dialog is posted:

The Windows-standard Find control is posted. Enter the text you wish to find and click Find Next. If the text exists on the drawing, the view will change so that text note is centered in the view and the zoom factor adjusted so it is clearly legible. Click Find Next again to find another instance of a note that may have the same text string you entered.

About indicating points - when you are asked to indicate a point by clicking the mouse or tapping on the screen, the actual point will 'snap' to a location if there is geometry sufficiently close. The point location is based on a bias according to this hierarchy:

• Intersection of 2 or more lines.

• Point on a line nearest the cursor.

• Point on a vertex of a line nearest the cursor.

• Point in "free space".

The location of the cursor is reported in the status bar:

If you hold down the Shift key, the coordinates of the cursor reported in the status bar will 'snap' to the geometry nearby:

If you hold down the Ctrl key, the coordinates of the cursor are reported in the status bar and on-screen:

Holding down the Shift and Ctrl key causes the coordinates to 'snap' to nearby geometry, report the coordinates in the status bar and on-screen:

Point to Point - measure the distance between 2 points on the drawing that you will indicate with mouse clicks or taps on the screen:

Indicate the 1st point to measure from...

Indicate the 2nd point to measure to...

The Measurement information dialog is posted:

Note that the 'y' keyboard short cut performs this same measurement function.

Line Segment - measures the length of a line segment you will indicate by clicking or tapping on the screen:

Indicate line segment you wish to measure by clicking on it. The line segment measurement dialog is posted:

Arc or Circle - measures the arc or circle you will indicate:

Indicate arc or circle you wish to measure by clicking on it. The arc/circle measurement dialog is posted:

Angle 3 Points - measure the included angle formed by 3 points you will indicate on the screen. You'll be prompted to indicate 3 points:

• The point that is on the 1st leg of the angle to measure.

• The point that is the vertex of the angle to measure.

• The point that is on the 2nd leg of the angle to measure.

Measurement dialog is posted:

Angle 4 Points - measure the included angle formed by 4 points you will indicate on the screen. You'll be prompted to indicate 4 points:

• The point that is on the 1st leg of the angle to measure.

• A 2nd point on the 1st leg of the angle to measure.

• The point that is on the 2nd leg of the angle to measure.

• A 2nd point that is on the 2nd leg of the angle to measure.

Measurement dialog is posted:

Between Arc/Circle Centers - measure the distance between 2 arc/circle pairs:

• Indicate the 1st circle or arc to participate.

• Indicate the 2nd circle or arc to participate.

Measurement dialog is posted:

About Markups....markups are notes that you can add to the drawing you are viewing. When you open a drawing, a layer is chosen to be the markup layer. This is shown in the status bar:

This layer is assigned the name 'Markup' as well. When the drawing with markups is returned to a designer who uses ExpertCAD, they can isolate all the markups for the drawing by looking at the designated 'Markup' layer:

Markup Menu

Add Text Note - add a text note to the drawing:

• Indicate where you would like to place the text note by tapping on the screen or clicking the left mouse button.

• Choose the text characteristics and enter the text for your note:

Results:

Tip: The 't' keyboard command is a shortcut for adding a a text note.

Add Leader Note - add a leader note to the drawing:

• Indicate what you want to point to with the 1st click.

• Indicate where you want the text for the leader note with the 2nd click.

Choose the text characteristics and enter the text for your note:

Results:

Delete Markup - delete a markup entity:

All markups on the drawing are highlighted.

Click on the highlighted markup you wish to delete.

Tip: To quickly delete additional markups, hit the space key to repeat the delete operation or hit the 'd' key (same function as choosing delete from the menu).

Edit Text Note - edit the text of a markup on the drawing.

All markups on the drawing are highlighted.

Click on the highlighted markup you wish to edit.

Make your edits in the text edit dialog and click OK when you are finsihed:

Tip: The edit function is useful for changing any of the characteristics of the text markup. That's handy for cases where you made the text too big or too small.

Drag Text Note - dynamically reposition a text note.

All markups on the drawing are highlighted. Click on the highlighted markup you wish to move, hold the mouse button down and drag it to a new position:

Contents - display this help document in your internet browser.

Contact Us - opens your web browser and takes you to the contact page for AMT Software.

Check for Updates - see if there is a newer version of the software available. If there is, you will be prompted if you wish to terminate your session, download the software and have it installed. If you are running the latest version, that will be reported in the message area.

About - posts a dialog to report the version and contact information.

Tap - a single repositions the drawing so that the location of the tap is centered. The zoom scale remains unchanged.

Zoom In, Zoom Out – using 2 fingers, moving towards each other will zoom into the model; moving away from each other will zoom out.

Drag - pan the drawing in the direction your finger moves.

2-finger tap - center the view at approximately the midway point of the gesture.

Zoom to fit. The drawing is scaled and center so that it exactly fits to the screen.

Go back to the previous view of the drawing.

Zoom into the area that is circled. Either a forward or backward 'O' will work.

Vertical stroke pans up or down by 1/2 of the height of the screen.

Horizontal stroke pans left or right by 1/2 of the width of the screen.

Center the drawing. Drawing is repositioned so that the point coordinates indicated are centered on the screen.

Keystroke

Action

d

Delete a markup on the drawing.

l

Clear the screen and redraw all entities.

m

Measure the distance between arcs/circles.

t

Add a text note as a markup to the drawing.

Z

Increase the zoom level.

z

Decrease the zoom level.

c

Center the drawing. Drawing is repositioned so that the location of the cursor is centered on the screen.

Tab

Refresh the view.

Arrow keys

Pan the drawing in the direction of the arrow key pressed.

Ctrl+F

Find a text note on the drawing.

Ctrl+O

Open a drawing by browsing for the file.

Ctrl+P

Print the drawing.

Ctrl+S

Save the drawing and all markups to a file.

Ctrl+Y

Roll forward (redo) the last change that as a result of an undo.

Ctrl+Z

Roll back (undo) a change to the drawing.

F1

Opens this help document in your browser.

AMT Software LLC
21 E. Long Lake, Suite 225
Bloomfield Hills, MI. 48304

Sales
Tel: 800-280-0240 / 248-458-0359
E-Mail: sales@amt-software.com

Service & Support
Tel: 800-280-0240 / 248-458-0359
E-Mail: support@amt-software.com