Adobe Acrobat 9 PRO Extended - Manual (Page 378)

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Last updated 9/30/2011
Chapter 13: 3D models and geospatial
PDFs
Create Adobe® PDFs from supported 3D and CAD file formats and from geospatially enabled PDFs. You can interact
with 3D and geospatial PDFs in several ways: rotate, move, and measure parts and distances.
Converting 3D models
Supported 3D file formats
Adobe® Acrobat® Pro Extended can use a variety of file formats, including many types of 3D models. A list of the
supported file formats appears in the Preferences dialog box (select Convert To PDF under Categories). You can bring
supported file formats directly into PDFs using the following methods:
Converting Uses 3D files to create PDFs that have one or more pages.
Inserting Brings a 3D file into an existing PDF as a new page.
Adding with the 3D Tool Places a 3D model on an existing page of a PDF (Tools > Multimedia > 3D Tool).
All three of these methods provide options for representing the 3D model and preserving the original structure of the
model. For example, you can choose the level of detail, format, and compression.
If a 3D model is in a format that Acrobat doesn’t support, open the model in the application that it was created in and
capture it. Capturing does not preserve the file structure of 3D models, but it does list all parts in a hierarchy under a
single assembly.
More Help topics
“ Acrobat 3D conversion settings ” on page 375
Convert 3D files into PDFs
You can convert 3D and CAD files in supported formats to PDFs that have one or more pages. The default preset works
best for most types of conversion; however, you can change these settings or select a different preset during conversion.
(To view 3D conversion settings before you convert a file, open the Preferences dialog box. In Categories, select
Convert To PDF, select a file format, and click Edit Settings.)
3D files are converted as either PRC or U3D data streams and then stored in the resulting PDF file. The file format of
the 3D file determines which entities you can import to the PDF.
If your Windows computer uses an integrated video adapter, upgrade your video adapter driver to help ensure that the
3D content renders correctly. You can get the latest driver from the website of the video adapter or computer
manufacturer.
For more information about converting 3D files, see these resources:
• Communicate in 3D bog: www.acrobatusers.com/blogs/acrobat3d/
• General 3D information: blogs.adobe.com/bowman/acrobat_3d/