CAD to Freehand

[fresh]

Hiya, would anyone know the best and most efficient way to put a CAD drawing into freehand??

im using 2008 if that helps

[dbroada]

err, could you explain more. Tracing it I would have thought.

[fresh]

basically i've got some nice OS base and the other guys here use freehand to do their transport diagrams.
all i want is to transfer my nice OS into freehand so they can draw over it... thats it, i know it sounds simple but im having grief with it ??£$"%£$

[ReMark]

Import the AutoCAD drawing into Sketchup and use the freehand style to emulate a drawing done without the aid of CAD or triangles and straightedge. If you do a search of this site using on the term "freehand" you'll pull up several threads on the topic, one of which will outline the procedure. I think f700es actually provided the answer. Hope I got that correct.

[dbroada]

sorry, I am still missing the point. You have a electronic file and you want it on paper so that lines can be added? If so you need to print it. If you don't have a printer then other than tracing it from your sceen I am stuck - or I have misunderstood.

[SEANT]

Or are you referring to Adobe/Macromedia Freehand? In which case EXPORT-
ENCAPSULATED PS may prove to be a viable option.

[fresh]

cheers guys....

dbroada, by freehand i meant the macromedia programme, cheers tho mate....

anyway i tried exporting as an eps, still wouldnt work, tried importing 2 freehand as a pdf took a million years to load but i'll try that sketchup idea, although i actually want the lines exact and neat not all squiggely!!

nice

[James]

the trial version of impression does this very well, which allows you to plot as if drawn with pen, pencil.

[fresh]

yea impression is really good actually, im trying to get the guys here to getthe full verison but theyre all happy with freehand.... i think maybe if i import a dwg into impression i can export as an eps that actually opens in freehand unlike the export eps on cad.... i'll tell y'all how it goes...

[hendie]

sorry, I am still missing the point. ...... or I have misunderstood.

I'm with you Dave. It's always nice to have ALL the relevant information when you are trying to help.
It's just a shame it took 6 posts before we could find out that freehand actually meant a kind of software :?

oh it could have been soooo easy

[fresh]

sorry... i assumed u understood what i meant.... my bad!!!

[rustysilo]

Can you import a .dxf into Freehand? Perhaps an export/import to .dxf (r2000 or earlier) would work.

[Cad Sponge]

have you tried the command NAPKIN?

[nscherneck]

Ive used AutoCAD files as watermarks for my submittal booklet covers, which i put together in Adobe Illustrator. If i remember correctly though, Illustrator will import a .DWG, you just need to shrink the file as much as possible. May have copy and pasted it, i dont remember. But if its do-able in Illustrator i would think its do-able in Freehand.

[iain9876]

I'm with you Dave. It's always nice to have ALL the relevant information when you are trying to help.
It's just a shame it took 6 posts before we could find out that freehand actually meant a kind of software :?

oh it could have been soooo easy

you haven't heard of freehand???...you guys been living in a cave?

[Cad Sponge]

I wub my cave

[iain9876]

have you tried the command NAPKIN?

or serviette?

[hendie]

you haven't heard of freehand???...you guys been living in a cave?

in the context of the post, I read it as freehand. Had it been in uppercase or even used the word software then no doubt we would all have understood the meaning. Even after several posts of users offering valid suggestions for freehand style, the original poster still did not correct any misunderstanding.
The thread was posted in the AutoCAD general forum.. no mention of web/graphics design whatsoever.
So, no we don't live in a cave but we're not psychic either.

[f700es]

I have an older version setting around that I can try. I believe that files like .eps or .wmf might work. Unless Freehand can open .dxf or .dwg now.

[SLW210]

What are you trying to do with the file in Freehand? Did you try plotting to EPS? You could always save it as an image and import.

[f700es]

Not sure what he wants but when I was trying back when was trying to help get a CAD file into Flash.

[f700es]

.WMF will work. I just tried this with the 30 day demo of FreeHand MX and I exported some 2D data from AutoCAD 2007 and it worked just fine. It wasn't much and only a few rectangles and circles so not sure how complex items will act.