Champagne taste beer budget Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 I sometimes hate these damn contraptions. Anyway... I had our architect send me copies of the proposed basement design in emails, one is a .dfx file, the other is a .bmp. He noted rather offhandedly that ANY CAD program should be able to open the .dfx file, yeah, like I have a bunch of CAD programs on my shop computer!! That never worked at all. The .bmp one I can open, but it is a small image, unreadable really, and though it reads as only 2.4 kb, it takes forever to load or send back to myself, it may be the attachment is actually larger than the mailbox says it is? I have no idea. The question is, how do I get this into paint or something I can play with it, enlarge it, modify it, on or link to in order to upload to, say, the Klipsch forums? I tried right clicking the image and saving it to the desktop, but it doesn't show up. I tried saving it to my hard drive, unable to locate. I had a buddy that would help me out with this sort of thing, but unfortunatly he passed away a few months ago, God Bless his soul, so I'm coming to you guys for help. I know someone on here has the answers. I expect anyone that can help to have more questions than I have supplied information for, so please work with me. As always, any and all replies are appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 If he sent you the image as an email attachment, you should be able to right click on the attachment and do a "save as", placing it somewhere on your PC. A file size of 2.4 k is very small for a bitmap. As a .jpg you would bet a bit larger image out of it, since it would be compressed. I assume you are using Windows. What version? Microsoft Photo Editor would also open the file. If you want to forward it to me, I can post it for you. bbrown<[at>]alltel.net Replace the <[at>] with an @ Marvel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelShaffer Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 I can send you autocad if you want Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagne taste beer budget Posted March 23, 2004 Author Share Posted March 23, 2004 Thanks, Marvel. Does it matter if I open the image, then right click the image itself, or should I click the attachment before I open it? On this computer, I'm using Windows 98, on the one in the back of the shop, I'm using XP Pro. If it makes a differance, I also have Win NT in the front office as a server. Nonetheless, I will forward it to you to see what you can do with it. I appreciate the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagne taste beer budget Posted March 23, 2004 Author Share Posted March 23, 2004 Autocad would be wonderful, although it would probably be over my head until I played with it for a couple months. If you care to send it, my mail is in my profile. Thank You. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 To save it to your computer, you would right click on the attachment and not open it first. If you open it first, then you should be able to save from whatever application manages to open it. Michael S., If you send him ACAD, you are breaking the law. Marvel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagne taste beer budget Posted March 23, 2004 Author Share Posted March 23, 2004 Marvel, you have mail. Hopefully it goes through correctly. I agree he'd be breaking the law. See the post re car concerns in the Arch forum, initally labeled Owens Corning 700 panels, or something like that. Is there some sort of Share program that would do the same thing legally? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euell Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 http://www.modelpress.com/dxf.htm This may do the trick - there are plenty of viewer files out there - do a google on dxf viewer - as long as you don't need to edit - just view and print. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagne taste beer budget Posted March 23, 2004 Author Share Posted March 23, 2004 Great site, Euell. Any idea which of the options is best? I obviously prefer the freebie ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euell Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 I have used one before - but for the life of me I cannot remember where I got it - Any of the freebies should do the trick. The one I used before allowed you to publish it on a website. I can find out tomorrow at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschfoot Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 I think I have your answer. If he is using Chief Architect or some other professional program, he can export as a WMF (windows metafile), import into Corel Draw and save as a JPG or GIF that will open in your email program or web browser. It will not have the clean look of a native file, but it should suffice. OR just have him print it in B&W and fax it to your. (Nah, nevermind. That is too easy.) If he cannot give you a file format that is easily read, he should not be using a computer for his proposals. Sounds harsh, but that is a fact, not an opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted March 24, 2004 Share Posted March 24, 2004 ChampagneTBB, In trying not to put my actual email address, I posted the wrong address for me (I have more than one). It is bbrown@alltel.net I also had some dxf viewer/convertor, but I think I uninstalled it. Marvel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagne taste beer budget Posted March 24, 2004 Author Share Posted March 24, 2004 Klipschfoot: It's not that I can't open it, it's just that when it's scaled down from the full size drawing, it gets so small that the measurements can't be read. I have several full size paper copies of it, but I'd like to get it onto my puter so I can share it with other people over the net. I'm simply unable to reopen it in something like Paint where I can resize it or make any changes to it. Marvel: Am I thick, or do all the letters in your mail address look the same except for the @ and the <[at>] ? I sent it last night to the same addy you posted the second time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschfoot Posted March 24, 2004 Share Posted March 24, 2004 Sorry for the misundertanding. By "read" I thought you meant OPEN when you were actually writing about LEGIBILITY. Frankly, depending on the software your contractor is using, the DXF file may not import cleanly enough to be easily edited by a less expensive software. I have Chief Architect, Punch, and Corel Draw. None of them open an Autocad DXF cleanly. For him to say that "any CAD software" can open it is a bit of a stretch. However he CAN send you a JPG that you can open in MS Paint and rescale (resample). Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagne taste beer budget Posted March 24, 2004 Author Share Posted March 24, 2004 Thanks, Klipschfoot. That's what I've been trying to do, reopen it in Paint, but it's just not working for me. Will it make a difference if it's a JPG or a BMP? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluless Posted March 24, 2004 Share Posted March 24, 2004 I play with paintshop pro and it looks like it handles dfx files. I've never tried though. You can download a trial version of paint shop pro from here Jasc Software then you should be able to save the file in a format that your existing software can handle. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edster00 Posted March 24, 2004 Share Posted March 24, 2004 Champagne taste beer budget, I can open the file and save it to a .jpg and send it back to you if you like. It won't take 5 minutes (unless I am asleep when you send it ). If you would like to email it to me send the file to: moondog99@earthlink.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagne taste beer budget Posted March 24, 2004 Author Share Posted March 24, 2004 cluless, you aren't as cluless as your name implies!! I downloaded the free trial version, and it opens up and I can change things, expand, etc. However. When I expand it enough to read any of the numbers on it, (measurements) they get all distorted and unable to read anyway. But they certainly are a nice shade of a big blue blob! I'll have to get ahold of my architect and see what he can do for me. Thanks for the info to one and all. p.s. Silly me, I realized why I couldn't save it to a floppy; it wasn't 2.4 kb, it was 2405 kb! That may have been the Amber Bock doing some fuzzy math for me last night. I don't know why it has to be such a big file for just a bunch of lines and a few numbers, though I suppose if it's originally a full size blueprint there is a lot of "white" area in the original that has to go with the lines and numbers. Or not. I don't know, don't claim to know. Hopefully he'll have some ideas for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenratboy Posted March 24, 2004 Share Posted March 24, 2004 ---------------- On 3/23/2004 9:07:28 PM Marvel wrote: Michael S., If you send him ACAD, you are breaking the law. Marvel ---------------- But you understand it is for backup purposed only? Oh, with Autodesk products (at least AutoCAD), I got the impression that you could posses the disc, copy or not, and as long as you got a licence before install, you were OK. It makes sence, the only people that are PAYING for AutoCAD (and all the other related programs) are businesses that will be paying anyway. It's not like a copy of Vice City or Sim City 4 where warez is massive. With commerical software, they have the security knowing businesses will pay for it out of fear of fines. If this wasn't the case, why does 12345678 work for the S/N? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagne taste beer budget Posted March 24, 2004 Author Share Posted March 24, 2004 edster, you snuck that in there as I was typing!! See above; I can open it, just can't manipulate it the way I'd like to and keep things legible. Thanks for the offer though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.