User Guide
Translating Interactively from within CATIA V5
Launching CATIA V5 with Theorem plug-ins
The CATIA V5 to 3D PDF translator allows an active CATIA V5 Part or Assembly to be published directly into PDF from the CATIA V5 application.
In order to translate from within CATIA V5, the application must be started using a Theorem environment, so that the appropriate Theorem partner plug-ins are available.
CATIA V5 can be started from a desktop shortcut, if requested during installation.
Alternatively, it can be started via the script provided in the translator installation located in:
<installation_directory>\bin
The script name is:
catia5r<version>_start.cmd
Where <version> should be substituted for the version of CATIA V5 that you have installed – e.g. 32 for V5-6R2022, 33 for V5-6R2023, 34 for V5-6R2024 etc.
Default Translation from CATIA V5
Once CATIA V5 has been started, open the part or assembly that is going to be exported to PDF.
Select File, then Save As.
Select the required location for the file and in the Save As Type window select pdf (*.pdf)
Click save to initiate the translation and create the PDF file in the location specified.
Accessing the Configuration Manager in CATIA V5
Users have the option to create Theorem configurations, selecting a predefined Theorem configuration, applying a document password, specifying the log file directory and specifying whether the PDF document is opened once created. These options are accessible from the Publish 3D PDF tab via Tools>Options>Infrastructure>Theorem.
To create a new configuration, select the ‘Launch Configuration Manager’ command.
In the configuration manager window, select New, apply the relevant options, (see Configuration Manager), then rename the configuration as required. Click Exit to close the window.
Any new configurations created will be displayed in the Active Configurations list once it has been refreshed. To do this select ‘Refresh Configuration List’. Any predefined configurations will also be displayed in the Active Configuration list.
Select the required configuration to make it the active configuration. This will be highlighted in blue when selected.
Translating in the Unified Interface
Default Translation in the Unified Interface
The Unified Interface can be started via a shortcut, if requested during installation.
Alternatively, it can be started via the script provided in the UI installation located in:
<UI_installation_directory>\bin
The script name is:
Unified_Interface.cmd
The following interface will be launched:
The default layout is split into 4 primary areas, which can be altered as per the user’s preference:
The simplest way to translate a CATIA V5 file to a 3D PDF is to drag the file from the file Browser tab on to the 3D PDF Active Configuration. This will create a PDF file based upon the default template.
On completion, the Unified Interface will display the activity information and details from the log file created during the translation, in the Translation Activity and Translator Logs tabs respectively.
The generated output data can be located by selecting the translation from the Translator Activity tab and opening the output folder.
Accessing the Configuration Manager in the Unified Interface
To access the configuration manager in the UI, ensure that the Configuration Manager option has been toggled on in the ribbon at the top. The configuration manager option is visible under the Home tab.
Once toggled on a Configuration Manager tab should be displayed as per the image below.
New Theorem configurations can then be created based upon all available options within the CATIA V5 to 3D PDF translator. To create a new configuration, select the Add a New Configuration icon in the configuration manager tab.
Apply the relevant options, (see Configuration Manager), then rename the configuration as required.
To make the new configuration created, the active configuration, select it and click on the ‘Make the selected configuration the active configuration’ icon. The configuration name will then be highlighted in blue.
Configuration Manager
CADPublish allows the information that is read from the source system and written to the target system to be tailored via a set of user specified options. Commonly used options are supported via the Configuration Manager, with Advanced Arguments being described within this document for use in the Configuration Manager or via the Command Line invocation.
Within the Configuration Manager, the options that are available to use are grouped into the following 4 areas when translating data from CATIA V5 to 3DPDF.
CATIA V5 Read – Those options that affect how data is read from CATIA V5
Write 3D PDF – Those options that affect how the data is written to 3D PDF
Entity Masking – Those arguments that allow specific read entities to be masked
General – Those options that are common to ALL Publishing activities regardless of source data. Advanced arguments are added in this tab.
CATIA V5 Read
Each of the options displayed in the image above are described below:
Option |
Description |
|---|---|
Read PMI |
Enables PMI data read (Default is ON.) Command Line Syntax:
Note – When ‘read_pmi’ is enabled it also enables the ‘fill_pmi_arrows’, ‘fill_pmi_text’ and ‘pmi_filled_text’ options. These can be overridden by setting the Advanced arguments ‘dont_fill_pmi_arrows’ and/or ‘dont_fill_pmi_text’ |
PMI Level |
A secondary argument to ‘Read PMI’ and allows control of the level of PMI to be read. Default is ALL when ‘Read PMI’ is marked as ON. Options Available (command line syntax in brackets):
|
Read Captures |
A secondary argument to ‘Read PMI’ and allows control over whether captures are read as part of the process. Default is ON when ‘Read PMI’ is marked as ON. Captures can ONLY be read when ‘Read PMI’ is ON. Command Line Syntax:
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Read FTA Reference Geometry |
Enables reading of FTA Reference Geometry. (Default is Off). FTA Reference Geometry can ONLY be read when ‘Read PMI’ is ON. Command Line Syntax:
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Maintain CATIA V5 Instance Names |
Honours CATIA V5 Tools->Options->Infrastructure->Product Structure>Nodes Customization panel settings. (Default is Off.) Command Line Syntax:
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Read Face Colours |
Read the face colours. (Default is on.) Command Line Syntax:
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Read Face Opacity |
Read the opacity of the face. (Default is off.) Command Line Syntax:
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Write 3D PDF
Each of the options displayed in the image above are described below:
Option |
Description |
|---|---|
Write Mode |
Contains two options:
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Template Selection |
Select which templates Publish 3D will use to create the output 3D PDF, if Write Mode is set to Use a Template (Default = defaultManifest.xml.) Command Line Syntax:
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Create HTML5 |
Create HTML5 output. |
File Attachment Selection |
This option allows files to be attached to the output PDF file together with a brief description of the selected files. (Default is for no files to be attached.) Command Line Syntax:
Where <Attachment_List> is a text file, with a list of full path names followed by an optional description line, for example: C:\TEMP\my_image.jpg
This is a jpg Image
C:\TEMP\report.txt
Report Document
C:\TEMP\related.pdf
C:\TEMP\another.pdf
This PDF has a description
Note in this example the ‘Related.pdf’ attached file doesn’t have the optional comment. The file path may contain environment variables which will be resolved. e.g. %TEMP%/myFile.pdf |
Attach All Files in Directory |
Attach ALL files found in a specified directory. Command Line Syntax:
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Document Access Password |
Contains two options selectable via a checkbox:
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Document Edit Password |
Contains two options selectable via a checkbox:
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3D View Activation |
Controls when the 3D view is activated in the PDF document. Has 3 options:
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Add Standard Views |
Add isometric views to the data being written to PDF (Default is off.) Command Line Syntax:
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Disable Views |
Switch off any Captures/Views from being written into the PDF. (Default is off.) Command Line Syntax:
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Part Level PMI |
Enable the processing of PMI on parts within an assembly. (Default is off.) Command Line Syntax:
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Part Level Views |
Enable the processing of part level views within an assembly. (Default is off.) Command Line Syntax:
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Disable View Sections |
Switch off any sections within the Captures/Views from being written into the PDF. (Default is off.) Command Line Syntax:
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Show Cutting Plane |
Enable cut plane visualisation. (Default is off.) Command Line Syntax:
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Render Mode |
Controls which Rendering Mode to use for the model. Options are:
Command Line Syntax:
Where <mode> is set to one of the above values. |
Light Mode |
Controls which Light Mode to use. Options are:
Command Line Syntax:
Where <mode> is set to one of the above values. Note – no command is required for the default value. |
Hide Toolbar |
Hide the 3D Toolbar in the resultant document. This can be re-enabled in Adobe if required. (Default is off.) Command Line Syntax:
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Hide Model Tree |
Hide the Model Tree in the resultant document. This can be re-enabled in Adobe if required. (Default is off.) Command Line Syntax:
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Fill PMI Text |
Fill PMI Text option. |
Disable Wireframe |
Disable Wireframe Processing (Default is to Enable Wireframe processing.) Command Line Syntax:
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Detail Level |
The Detail Level option can be used to set the render quality of the resultant 3D PDF output. A number of discrete values are made available via the configuration manager. They correspond to a relative chordal deviation (% of the diagonal length across the model bounding box) or absolute chordal deviation, whichever is the smaller. The following options are available:
For very large (detailed) parts the use of the options Low or Very Low can significantly reduce the size of the output PDF file and the time taken to produce it, at the cost of quality. A setting of Medium is seen as a good compromise, between quality and size. This value is the default value. Command Line Syntax:
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Document Title |
Set the Document Properties ‘title’ field. Command Line Syntax:
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Document Author |
Set the Document Properties ‘author’ field. Command Line Syntax:
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Document Subject |
Set the Document Properties ‘subject’ field. Command Line Syntax:
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Property Mapping file |
Map CAD properties using a mapping file. Command Line Syntax:
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Entity Mask
Each of the options displayed in the image above are described below:
Option |
Description |
|---|---|
Mask File |
Specifies the Mask File to be written to, that can be referenced by future translations. A Mask file MUST be specified if masking is required. The first line in this file is OFF ALL ENT. Command Line Syntax:
|
Entity Types Translated |
Specifies a selection list from which to select the entity types that are to be processed. The following types are available “SOL” - Masks any 3D entity “SKIN” - Masks any 2D entity “CUR” - Masks and 1D entity “POI” - Masks any 0D entity “AXIS” - Masks Axis Systems “ISOL” - Masks Isolated facetted solids “CCRV” - If on creates a CCRV curve for wire frame edges that have more than one supporting curve “TEXT” - Masks PMI Text Command Line Syntax:
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Layers Translated |
Specifies a selection list from which to select the layers that are to be processed. Command Line Syntax:
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Convert NO SHOW Geometry |
Enables Hidden geometry to be processed. (Default is Off.) Command Line Syntax:
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Convert NO SHOW Structure |
Enables Hidden Assembly Structure to be processed. (Default is Off.) Command Line Syntax:
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Convert NO SHOW PMI |
Enables Hidden PMI to be processed. (Default is Off.) Command Line Syntax:
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Convert NO SHOW AXIS |
Enables Hidden Axis Systems to be processed. (Default is Off.) Command Line Syntax:
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General
Each of the options displayed in the image above are described below:
Option |
Description |
|---|---|
Mass Properties |
Allows mass property information to be read. Command Line Syntax:
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Retain Assembly Structure |
Enables Assembly Structure to be retained. (Default is On.) Disabling this option will remove all assembly structure and collapse ALL geometry into a single selectable object. Command Line Syntax:
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Advanced |
Allows any of the advanced arguments documented to be added to the configuration manager and applied during translation. |
Advanced Arguments
CATIA V5 Advanced Arguments
Argument |
Description |
|---|---|
|
The |
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Converts curves to NURBS form. |
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Converts surfaces to NURBS form. |
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Disables the read of filled arrow information. (Default for ‘read_pmi’.) |
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Disables the read of filled text information. (Default for ‘read_pmi’.) |
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Reads hidden geometry / structure / PMI. |
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Allows sub-part specification tree information to be read and presented to 3D PDF as product structure information. This option also enables the ‘part_level_views’ and ‘part_level_pmi’ 3D PDF options. |
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Allows an extra level of the specification tree structure to be read. This option also enables the ‘part_level_views’ and ‘part_level_pmi’ 3D PDF options. |
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CATIA V5 has a display mode that allows the display of shaded surfaces and edges. This option allows the translator to mimic this for FTA construction geometry by promoting the edge curves to standalone wireframe. |
3DPDF Advanced Arguments
Argument |
Description |
|---|---|
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When ‘on’ the 3DGeom node names are replaced by the TAG name from the detail (part name). Default is off. |
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Specify the log file for this process. |
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Add ‘info’ messages to the log file. |
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Switch off the writing of instance colours. |
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Switch off the writing of any colours. |
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Switch off the writing of attributes into the PDF. |
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Disables edge highlighting. |
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By default, a 2D poster is generated from the 3D model which can be very time consuming for a complex model. This option disables that process and uses a default JPG called |
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Where r g b are values 1 to 255, this controls the background colour of the 3D display, which now defaults to pale grey (204,204,204). |
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Where r g b are values 1 to 255, this controls the override PMI colour. By default, PMI is displayed in the same colour as the source CAD system. When a colour is not read the default will be black. This option allows the PMI colour to be fixed to any colour, clearly this is a single override colour for all PMI. |
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Where r g b are values 1 to 255, this controls the override wireframe colour. By default, wireframe is displayed in the same colour(s) as the source CAD system. This option allows the wireframe colour to be fixed to any colour. |
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This option enables the processing of flat to screen PMI data, the default is off. Please note fonts are not currently supported. ‘on’ allows for FLAT TO TEXT types to be processed. ‘all’ allows all FLAT TO SCREEN types to be processed, however only the text and NOT the frames are processed. |
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Where value = tess_low, tess_med, tess_high, nurb or off. When this option is selected the wireframe entities are written as lines/conic/nurbs. This results in a wire node for each entity contained under the Wireframe node in the model tree, there could be many wire nodes in a complex model. If any of the settings prefixed tess are used, these options convert wireframe into a number of sampled points on the curve and writes wireframe as a Poly Line, this allows many wires to be combined however a Poly Line can only be a single colour, so wireframe of the same colour will be grouped into a Poly Wire, which will be a wire node contained under the Wireframe node in the model tree. There will be a wire node for each colour, when multi colours exist. If however, all wireframe is the same colour, then all wireframe is contained in the Wireframe node. |
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This is a method to define which attributes are masked or included during translation. By default, there is an attribute filter file installed at: The file format (in blue) is best explained by means of examples:
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This is a utility which can be used to generate a text file with the Key/Value pairs from the GCO DESIGN, DITTO and DETAIL entities, this can be used in the ‘design’ of templates. |
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When assembly nodes contain no geometry, (could be due to missing part files) this option results in the model tree with ‘un-ticked’ nodes where no geometry was read. Where the 3DGeom node would be, there will be a NoGeom node instead. Please note in order to activate this behaviour it was necessary to add a point at 0,0,0 which is contained by the NoGeom node. |
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Where value = v_low, low, med, high, v_high, off. These options can be used to control the tessellation setting, using the values 10, 25, 50, 75, 90. These compression settings apply ONLY to PRC/U3D output files. |
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Force views to be first angle projection regardless of source data. |
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Force views to be third angle projection regardless of source data. |
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This option allows a sub-set of views to be included in the output based upon the <val> which describes a part or all of the views name(s). For example: views_filter MBD_* = Includes all views with names beginning ‘MBD_’ views_filter *SECTION = Includes all views with names ending in ‘SECTION’ views_filter BLUE = Includes all views with names containing ‘BLUE’ Multiple filters can also be applied by adding any number of views_filter arguments. For example: views_filter A* views_filter *B views_filter FRED – Includes views that start with an ‘A’ or end in a ‘B’. Views named ‘FRED’ will also be included. |
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This option allows a sub-set of views to be excluded from the output based upon the <val> which describes a part or all of the views name(s). For example: views_filter_exclude MBD_* = Excludes all views with names beginning ‘MBD_’ views_filter_exclude *SECTION = Excludes all views with names ending in ‘SECTION’ views_filter_exclude BLUE = Excludes all views with names containing ‘BLUE’ Multiple filters can also be applied by adding any number of views_filter_exclude arguments. For example: views_filter_exclude A* views_filter_exclude *B views_filter_exclude FRED - Excludes views that start with an ‘A’ and end in a ‘B’. Views named ‘FRED’ will also be excluded. Note - It is possible to use both include and exclude filters in the same translation. For Example views_filter A* views_filter_exclude AXEL - Includes views that start with an ‘A’ but excludes views named ‘AXEL’ |
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Option to append the attributes in PDF with useful data, like part count, which can be consumed by the templates. <default> - just add part count <file> - add the part count and process the file, such that 3 lines are processed.
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Move the sub assy PMI to top level. “all” will reposition all PMI into global space which can be used for true assemblies. |
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Attributes on parts can be copied on to instance nodes with this option (default is off). (The user can enable dump_attr_file <file> option to confirm what attributes are available on part/instances, to check the effect of this option.) |
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Disable section capping (Default is on.) |
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When section cutting planes are enabled, the cutting plane colour can be controlled by r g b values in the range of 1 to 255. |
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When section cutting planes are enabled, the cutting plane opacity can be specified by setting ‘val’ between 0.0 and 1.0. |
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Section cutting intersections can be enabled via this option. (Default is off.) |
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When section cutting plane intersections are enabled, the cutting plane intersection colour can be controlled by r g b values in the range of 1 to 255. |
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By default, BREP data is omitted when the PDF file is generated so this option allows for such data to be retained. Do not use this option when the generation of BREP data in PDF is forbidden for legal or commercial reasons. |
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There are occasions when the source data presented for publishing to the 3D PDF is invalid. In these circumstances, a validation of the data is carried out by the translator and the user is advised, via a message on the screen to re-run the translator, specifying the ‘fixup’ command line option. Specifying this option will allow the translation to complete, omitting any faces that are not topologically correct. |
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By default, this option is on. It will detect instances with no names and apply the part name to those instances. This accommodates cases where instance names are not available in the source data. |
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This option will automatically display the resulting PDF file in an Adobe Reader. The environment variable |
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This can be useful when data is created with many open solids (1 per face). This can result in many 100’s or even 1000’s of solids which causes the 3D PDF file to have a massive entity tree, to be slower and larger than necessary, and with a Bounding Box for each face. Setting this option groups the solids into logical entities. |
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Some systems will group solids by default, so this option allows that setting to be disabled. |
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Wireframe entities that are marked as invisible are by default NOT processed. This option allows them to be processed. |
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This option is used to limit the number of PMI to Geometry associations that exist for any single PMI node. The default value being 500. It has been found that in rare cases many 1000’s of associations exist and this has a significant effect on the translation time. If the limit is exceeded the log file reports the PMI entities names and reports an error, allowing the user to modify the limit, or review the PMI’s validity. |
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Set the permissions for the PDF file, the options being “PRINT” or “LOCK”, if no options are set then the created PDF file is fully open. The “PRINT” setting allows the file ONLY to be printed. The “LOCK” setting ensures the document cannot be modified. (Be aware that with Adobe Writer it is possible to override any permission setting). |
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This allows the full control of all the permission settings when creating a PDF file, the in values need to be logically ORed together so 0x2 and 0x1 become 3. values are 0xHex (decimal) 0x01 (1) - DocumentPermOpen The user can open and decrypt the document. 0x02 (2) - DocumentPermSecure The user can change the document’s security settings. 0x04 (4) - DocumentPermPrint The user can print the document. Page Setup access is unaffected by this permission, since that affects Acrobat’s preferences - not the document’s. In the Document Security dialog, this corresponds to the Printing entry. 0x08 (8) - DocumentPermEdit The user can edit the document more than adding or modifying text notes (see also DocumentPermEditNotes). In the Document Security dialog, this corresponds to the Changing the Document entry. 0x10 (16) - DocumentPermCopy The user can copy information from the document to the clipboard. In the document restrictions, this corresponds to the Content Copying or Extraction entry. 0x20 (32) - DocumentPermEditNotes The user can add, modify, and delete text notes (see also DocumentPermEdit). In the document restrictions, this corresponds to the Authoring Comments and Form Fields entry. 0x40 (64) - DocumentPermSaveAs The user can perform a Save As…. If both DocumentPermEdit and DocumentPermEditNotes are disallowed, Save will be disabled but ‘Save As…’ will be enabled. The ‘Save As…’ menu item is not necessarily disabled even if the user is not permitted to perform a Save As… 0x100 (256) - DocumentPermFillandSign Overrides other DocumentPerm bits. It allows the user to fill in or sign existing form or signature fields. 0x200 (512) - DocumentPermAccessible Overrides DocumentPermCopy to enable the Accessibility API. If a document is saved in Rev2 format (Acrobat 4.0 compatible), only the DocumentPermCopy bit is checked to determine the Accessibility API state. 0x400 (1024) - DocumentPermDocAssembly Overrides various DocumentPermEdit bits and allows the following operations: page insert/delete/rotate and create bookmark and thumbnail. 0x800 (2048) - DocumentPermHighPrint This bit is a supplement to DocumentPermPrint. If it is clear (disabled) only low quality printing (Print As Image) is allowed. On UNIX platforms where Print As Image doesn’t exist, printing is disabled. 0x8000 (32768) - DocumentPermOwner The user is permitted to perform all operations, regardless of the permissions specified by the document. Unless this permission is set, the document’s permissions will be reset to those in the document after a full save. 0x10000 (65536) - DocumentPermFormSubmit This should be set if the user can submit forms outside of the browser. This bit is a supplement to DocumentPermFillandSign. 0x20000 (131072) - DocumentPermFormSpawnTempl This should be set if the user can spawn template pages. This bit will allow page template spawning even if DocumentPermEdit and DocumentPermEditNotes are clear. 0xFFFFFFFF - All permissions. |
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This option creates a pseudo assembly structure below a part, such that each solid is modelled by a separate node. The default is to combine all solids that belong to the same part. Using this option can be useful when control over part with multiple solids is required, e.g. view/hide separate solids, however it should be noted that this option may compromise other functionality, such a PMI association. |
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This option will magnify the view by the value provided, this is defaulted to 2.0 for all CAD systems. Values < 1.0 zoom out. Values > 1.0 zoom in. The purpose of this option is to expose an adjustment factor that a given CAD system might need to best fit the VIEWS in the PDF, this may be affected by the aspect ratio of the page size/template used in PDF write. Every effort has been made to set a good value by default. |
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By default, the PDF will be automatically optimized to make the file smaller. This disables the optimization feature. |
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Import images into a template from a directory. |
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Enables the output of axis systems to the PDF. Default is on. The Default value when on is 25mm. When enabled wireframe x(RED),y(GREEN),z(BLUE) are created to represent the axis system location. Using auto will enable the size of the axis system to be generated based upon the bbox within a 5-25mm range. The length of the axis system can also be given in mm, e.g. axis_systems 100 which specifies a length of 100mm for example. |
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This option allows command line arguments to be placed in a text file, with one command or option line per line, for example: read_pmi
dont_fill_pmi_text
disable_points
pmi_RGB
255
1
1
wireframe_RGB
255
1
1
Note – the progress_file <file> option cannot be added into the text file because the progress file is opened before the command file is read. |
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It is possible to automatically generate JPG images for each view and attach them to the output PDF file. This is off by default. If it is enabled, then the options are:
The view name is prefixed with the input PDF file name to name the image files. |
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It is possible to automatically generate JPG images for each view and attach them to the output PDF file. This is off by default. If it is enabled, then the options are:
ONLY the view name is used when creating the image files. |
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This is an option that can be added to resolve section capping issues, where x_val, y_val, z_val are the values that can be added to move the cutplane along the desired axis. For example Negative values can also be added, for example Only slight adjustments will typically be required, usually between -0.5 and 0.5. Please note that higher values may be required from time to time. |
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Will add the associated part number to the end of the view name, to help make the view names unique. Only required for views at a part level. Only need this argument when ‘part_level_views’ is also enabled. |
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Allows PMI on multiple part instances in an assembly to be displayed. |
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Names the root node after the TAG attribute in the DESIGN entity. Allows the name of the root node to match the CAD system. |
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Alters the output part name as per the format defined. The format can be defined using the following string values: Product:
Link to Reference:
Component:
Shape:
For example Note – |
Translating on the Command Line
Default Translation on the Command Line
Running a translation via the command line can be carried out via the cad_run.cmd file located in the
<installation_directory>\bin directory. The format of the command is as follows (Note! Replace the [XX] seen
in the example with the version of CATIA V5 you are using. E.g. for V5 R32, change to CATIA532):
<Translator_installation_directory>\bin\cad_run.cmd CATIA5[XX]_3DPDF -i <input_file> -o <output_file>
The example above will translate the file to the output location specified. In this case:
C:\temp\samples output\nist_ctc_02_asme1_ct5210_rc.pdf
The following screen output should be expected when successfully translated:
Translating with Options on the Command Line
Options can also be added to a command in the command prompt window using the correct syntax. These are explained in more detail in the Configuration Manager and Advanced Arguments section.
The format of the command with options included is as follows (Note! Replace the [XX] seen in the example with the version of CATIA V5 you are using. E.g. for V5 R32, change to CATIA532):
<Translator_installation_directory>\bin\cad_run.cmd CATIA5[XX]_3DPDF -i <input_file> -o <output_file> <options>
The example above will translate the file with the option(s) specified to the given output location. In this case:
C:\temp\samples output\nist_ctc_02_asme1_ct5210_rc.pdf
Templates
Publishing to specified Templates – via the Configuration Manager
It is possible to publish to an individual template or multiple templates via one translation run using the Configuration Manager, both interactively and in the Unified Interface. To do this create a new configuration as described earlier or use an existing configuration if one has been created previously. Having a user generated configuration will enable the user to change any of the available options displayed including the template selection. By default, the template selected is defaultManifest.
To change the template, select the ‘Write 3D PDF’ tab to display the Write Mode and Template Selection options. Ensure that ‘Use a Template’ is selected, then select the Icon next to the Template Selection field.
In the Template selection manager window select the icon. Go to the Required directory and select the template XML file to add it to the list. Click apply to confirm the selection.(Note - This will mean that the data will be translated to this single template)
Repeat the process to add more templates if required. Click apply to update the Template Selection.(Note - This will mean that the data will be translated to multiple templates)
The configuration can then be selected as shown previously and the data translated to PDF. (See Translating Interactively from within CATIA V5 and Translating in the Unified Interface.) This process will create PDF files based upon the template(s) specified.
Publishing to specified Templates – via the Command Line
Publishing to an individual template can be achieved via the command line interface. In order to publish to an individual template a manifest XML file will need to be added to the command in the command prompt window.
The format of the command is as follows (Note! Replace the [XX] seen in the example with the version of CATIA V5 you are using. E.g. for V5 R32, change to CATIA532):
<Translator_installation_directory>\bin\cad_run.cmd CATIA5[XX]_3DPDF -i <input_file> -o <output_file> publish <manifest XML file>
The example above will translate the file using the specified template to the given output location, In this case:
C:\temp\samples output\nist_ctc_02_asme1_ct5210_rc.pdf
Publishing to multiple templates can also be achieved via the command line interface. First a text file containing a list of manifest files must be created.
The manifest files should be listed in the following format in the text file:
<Translator_installation_directory>\data\publish_3dpdf\templates\Technical_Data_Package.xml
<Translator_installation_directory>\data\publish_3dpdf\templates\PMI_analysis.xml
<Translator_installation_directory>\data\publish_3dpdf\templates\BOM.xml
Note
Each line points to an individual XML manifest file, examples of which are provided in the translator installation directory.
Once the text file has been created the format for running a command to publish to multiple templates is as follows (Note! Replace the [XX] seen in the example with the version of CATIA V5 you are using. E.g. for V5 R32, change to CATIA532):
<Translator_installation_directory>\bin\cad_run.cmd CATIA5[XX]_3DPDF -i <input_file> -o <output_file> publish <manifest list>
The example above will translate the file to each template specified in the referenced manifest list to the given output location, in this case:
C:\temp\samples output\nist_ctc_02_asme1_ct5210_rc.pdf
Note
These PDF files will be created within a single PDF and will be accessible from within attachments
Publishing without a Template – via the Configuration Manager
It is also possible to publish to no template using the Configuration Manager, both interactively and in the Unified Interface. Running the translation without a template will create a 3DPDF output file with no containing document. To do this, click open the configuration manager then select the ‘Write 3D PDF’ tab. From the ‘Write Mode’ dropdown, select ‘No Template’.
Publishing without a Template – via the Command Line
Publishing without a template can also be achieved via the command line interface.
The format for running a command to publish without a template is as follows (Note! Replace the [XX] seen in the example with the version of CATIA V5 you are using. E.g. for V5 R32, change to CATIA532):
<Translator_installation_directory>\bin\cad_run.cmd CATIA5[XX]_3DPDF -i <input_file> -o <output_file> publish off
The example above will translate the file without using a template to the given output location, In this case:
C:\temp\samples output\nist_ctc_02_asme1_ct5210_rc.pdf
Security Changes to Adobe Reader PDF Documents
Adobe have implemented new security options to disable the auto-play of 3D content in PDF files. The following banner will be displayed upon opening a PDF file that contains 3D content:
To enable 3D content in the current document:
Click the Options button and then select an appropriate option:
Trust this document one time only.
Trust this document always.
To enable 3D content permanently in ALL documents:
Go to Edit > Preferences > 3D & Multimedia and then select the Enable playing 3D content checkbox.
