Publish to PDF

The Save As dialog box lets you publish the active document as a PDF document.

To display this dialog box, click File > Publish > PDF .

The option pages at the bottom of the dialog box let you set PDF publication options.

Note: The Composer PDF integration uses PDFNet SDK, copyright © PDFTron™ Systems Inc., 2001-2010, and distributed by Dassault Systèmes under license. All rights reserved.

Template

These options are available when you select Template in the Save As dialog box.

Option Description
Use custom template Specifies a custom PDF template in which the Composer document is embedded. Browse to select a .pdf file. Sample templates are available in: < Composer_ install_dir>\PdfYou can create templates using Adobe Acrobat®. For details, see About the Creation of PDF Templates .

To use a standard template, clear this option.
Embedded 3D file Specifies what file format to include in the PDF document:
  • U3D - Embeds the 3D content in the PDF file using the Universal 3D (U3D) format, which is an open standard format used for visualization and publication. Viewing U3D content uses the Acrobat U3D interface and viewing capabilities. Specify additional options on the U3D options page.

    Notes:

    • For information about controlling U3D Models with Acrobat JavaScript, see the Composer Programming Guide.
    • U3D is fully supported by Adobe Reader 7 and later, Adobe Acrobat 7 and later, and Adobe Acrobat 3D.
    • U3D is the only format which exports Composer animations. Therefore, it is based on the content available in Animation mode. Assembly nodes which are not selected in the Assembly pane will not be exported.

  • SMG (enhanced content) - Embeds the 3D content in the PDF file using the Composer SMG format. SMG format gives users the full Composer experience, similar to the Composer authoring environment. The free Composer plug-in for Adobe Acrobat is required to view the 3D content.

    Note: The Acrobat plug-in is included in Composer and Composer Player installations. You can download Composer Player from the Composer resource center at http://www.3ds.com. Before installing Composer or Composer Player, make sure you have run Adobe Reader at least once. If you omit to do so, the Adobe Reader plug-in will not be properly installed. Note that the version of Adobe Reader used to install the plug-in is the last one you launched on your computer. Installing Composer Player installs the plug-in files PlayerControl.dll and PlayerReader.api. The location of the files depends on what you have installed (Composer, Adobe Reader, or Adobe Acrobat). If the files are installed in <Composer_install_dir>\Plugins\Acrobat\Reader\Plug_Ins, then you must copy these files to <Reader_install_dir>\plug_ins or <Acrobat_install_dir>\plug_ins.

  • Preview image only - Embeds a snapshot of the current viewport as a 2D image in the PDF file.

U3D options

These options are available when you select U3D in the Save As dialog box.

Option Description
Generate Generates views or marker buttons:
  • Views (no animation, no collaborations) - Adds view buttons to the PDF page, allowing users to easily switch between model views.

    Note: Due to problems with the Acrobat © JavaScript engine, selecting this option removes animations.

  • Markers (no BOM) - Adds marker buttons to the PDF page, allowing users to easily play animation marker sequences. Note: This option is available when the document has at least one animation marker and Generate BOM table is not selected.
Labels (Available when Generate is selected.) Displays text labels for the view or marker buttons.

Note: You must select Labels or Icons, or both.

Icons (Available when Generate is selected.) Displays thumbnail images for the view or marker buttons.

Note: You must select Labels or Icons, or both.
Generate BOM table (no animation, no markers) Generates an interactive bill of materials (BOM) table using the groups created in Composer (BOM workshop). Selecting a part from the table highlights it in the 3D scene, and clicking a part in the scene selects it in the table.

Note: Due to problems with the Acrobat © JavaScript engine, selecting this option removes animations.
Show toolbar Displays the Adobe 3D toolbar when the model is activated. When this option is cleared, you can right-click the image to show the toolbar.
Activate on page open Activates the model when the PDF file is opened. When this option is cleared, users must click to activate the model.

Image

These options are available when you select Image in the Save As dialog box.

Option Description
High quality preview image Exports a high-quality preview image of the current viewport. This image is displayed in the PDF page when you select Preview image only for Embedded 3D file, and for U3D and SMG content prior to the model being activated. To generate a low-resolution image, clear this option.
Remove ground (Available when High quality preview image is selected.) Removes the grid from the preview image.
White background (Available when High quality preview image is selected.) Sets the preview image background color to white.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues when opening PDFs published from Composer, .

Important: Before opening a PDF containing SMG data in Adobe Reader X or later, you need to make sure that protected mode is disabled in Adobe Reader.

To disable protected mode:

  • In Adobe Reader XI, select Edit > Preferences > Security (Enhanced) > Sandbox Protection and clear Enable Protected Mode at startup.
  • In Adobe Reader X, select Edit > Preferences > General and clear Enable Protected Mode at startup.

Note: Acrobat Reader options are found under Edit > Preferences.

Issue Workaround
Model does not display.

Make sure you are using Acrobat Reader 7.07 or later. Acrobat Reader 7.0 can read the files but does not support JavaScript added by Composer.

Animations stutter or are unusually The camera cannot be moved. slow.

Make sure Preferred Renderer on the 3D tab is not set to DirectX 9.
The camera cannot be moved.

Select Enable camera animations on the 3D tab.
JavaScript-controlled actions do not work.

Select Enable Acrobat JavaScript on the JavaScript tab.
There are rendering errors.

Clear Enable double-sided rendering on the 3D tab.