Importing tiff

I would like to know how to do this as well. What I did as a workaround was to import the image into Autocad. Then create polylines by sketching the outlines of the image. I then imported the dwg file directly into Sketcher and extruded the shape. This will probably only be useful for fairly simple images.

The difference in our problems seems to be that I don't need part. Only the drawing is needed. (Yes, I need expensive 3-d program for 2-d :-) )

Could this be done in photorendering? I don't have much ProE experience with that, but did a fair amount in Solidworks. There you could apply a "decal" (tiff, jpeg, or bmp) to a rendered part. I know that ProE has similar capabilities in the menu where you apply different colors to parts. I did this for a membrane keypad on a control panel. You may need to convert your tiff to a bmp however.

"ms" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com... : "Kalle" wrote in message : news:407cd9fd$0$13730$ snipped-for-privacy@news.song.fi... : > > >

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: > > I would like to know how to do this as well. What I did as a workaround : > was : > > to import the image into Autocad. Then create polylines by sketching the : > > outlines of the image. I then imported the dwg file directly into : Sketcher : > > and extruded the shape. This will probably only be useful for fairly : > simple : > > images. : > >

: >

: > The difference in our problems seems to be that I don't need part. Only : the : > drawing is needed. (Yes, I need expensive 3-d program for 2-d :-) ) : >

: >

: >

: >

: Could this be done in photorendering? I don't have much ProE experience with : that, but did a fair amount in Solidworks. There you could apply a "decal" : (tiff, jpeg, or bmp) to a rendered part. I know that ProE has similar : capabilities in the menu where you apply different colors to parts. I did : this for a membrane keypad on a control panel. You may need to convert your : tiff to a bmp however. : This has been a pretty confusing conversation so far. ES is giving advice on models while Kalle says his/her needs are 2d; and mentions menus I've never heard of ~ 'File>Import>Import image'? This must go back to Rev 20. Since at least i-squared, it's been 'Insert>Shared data>Data from file' or something similar and before 20, there was some lame DBMS mode. And I'm on Wildfire, so someone is going to have to provide some background and details which have been missing. (Why do so many people act like it's a crime to provide information to the people from whom they require help!?! Or, act as if we're their teachers who've been looking over their shoulders, watching everything they've been doing for the last 3 months. Hey, people, help us help you and at least have the modesty, the humility, the honesty to share the dumb moves, the midunderstandings, the confusions or the simple, newbieite ignorance [no shame in ignorance, the cure is education; only a bullet cures stupidity] that got you into the box you're in now).

First point: Pro/e knows what it can do in any context and presents you with POSSIBLE options. If TIFF is greyed out, it can't use this file format in this context. Period. Convert the file to JPEG, CGM, BMP, or another of the many graphics file formats and try again. Or possibly, what you want is a DWG file from AutoCAD.

Second point: What you can do and how it works varies from module to module. In a

2D mode like drawing mode, you can use only 2D data. Anything, whether IGES or drawings or vector graphics (EPS, for example), will be applied to a planar surface. Drawing and assembly modes allow importing a larger range of data. As ES pointed out, you can even use 2D data or graphics as textures or render 'scenes'. So, you have in effect 3D objects with 2D surface textures (or their appearance). This is done, not as an import but, through 'View>Color and appearance>Advanced' as a decal or bump or texture. Each allows different types of files.

Third point: Many files that are candidates for 'import' can be opened directly. IGES files be opened directly or through 'Insert>Shared data>From file'. If you are in part mode, the file will be turned into an appropriate solid or surface model. It behooves you to know what it can do in each mode and not waste your time expecting it to do things of which it is not capable.

David Janes

Thank you for understanding. Let us start over.

My REAL problem is that I have old paperdrawings. We have scanned them and now they are TIFF-files (or something else, no problem). We have to get them working under Pro/E . Designengineers want to open (and do some small modifications to) drawings from one system.

The Pro/E version we have now is 2000 i2. Menus that I earlier mentioned are in "drawing-mode".

Converting files to JPEG, CGM, BMP doesn't help because the whole Import Image is grey. I can import dwg,dxf cgm etc.. I was wondering maybe this is some licence or module problem?

Today morning I found out that the problem was that graphics mode (in config.pro) must be set to win32_gdi not open_gl. I changed it, and then I could import tiff to drawings. It wasn't good looking system. Graphics mode change slows very much handling models. So I am back in the start again.

Maybe it would better to start learning Photoshop or something similar.

Does anybody have a good idea to handle old paper drawings with new designprograms?

// Kalle

If they are archive only (no need to change electronically) I would suggest scanning them as PDF files. Simply because the file size is relatively small and PDF is a defacto standard due to the proliferation of Adobe Acrobat Reader. If your drawings will need changes--i don't know what the best option would be?

You've got your work cut out for you. I've been fighting this for six months now.

Your problem isn't the simple one of "how to import drawings." It's educating people to the real difference between 3D solid modelling and making pictures on a piece of paper. Those imported drawings are of no use whatsoever in Pro/E. You may as well go grab TurboCad or something. They have no brains. They aren't connected to the model in any way. You don't even HAVE a model. What you are trying to do is a useless waste of time.

If you want to USE Pro/E for what it's good for, you need to remake those "drawings" as models. In Proe/E, the drawing comes FROM the model, not the other way around. There is a huge conceptual and procedural difference there. If you do not use it in the manner it was intended, you're going to be very unhappy with the large $$ for small return. You are buying a 275 GTB to take the kids to school. All you'll get out of Pro/E that way is a little status ... if you want to use those "old drawings" then you'll have to remake them as proper Pro/E designs. Even bringing them in as iges or dxf files isn't going to give them brains. If all you want to do is "modify some old drawings" then use another program. Pro/E isn't suitable.

Right on the money.

Managing legacy 2D drawings via Pro/E, especially by importing them as image files, is extremely counterproductive to put it mildly. Components that will be used in future 3D designs done in Pro/E need to be remade in Pro/E, and their drawings recreated from their models. There are ways to speed this up, like the free add-on to Pro/E named AutoBuildZ which can semi-automate creation of 3D models from the imported 2D CAD files, but it needs to be done nonetheless. The rest of the legacy data should be maintained with the same program it had been created, or converted to PDF files. This reminds me of the early days of 2D CAD, when the same question arose concerning the legacy paper drawings. There used to be numerous ways of scanning them, converting resulting useless bitmap images into vector files and importing these files into the 2D CAD programs. In my opinion, people who went this route wasted orders of magnitude more time than those who simply remade their legacy drawings from scratch on as-needed basis. The same is true for transition from 2D to 3D, much more so than for transition from drafting board to 2D CAD. Sadly, there are still a lot of people who have this illusion of 'importing' their 2D legacy drawings into Pro/E (or SolidWorks, or any other modern CAD program), illusion to which the CAD sales reps are all too happy to contribute.