Converting a DWG/DXF file to an image

Description

This tutorial explains how to take screenshots of component layout views to create component layouts for panel layouts.

Topics covered

Panel layout, layout view, component layout view, DWG to image, DXF to image,

Main content

If your goal is to create detailed panel layouts in SkyCAD, then you'll need to create layout views for the components used in the panel layout.
The best way to do this is to use an image of the component layout that you have downloaded from the manufacturer's website, as explained in the "Creating a component's layout view" tutorial.
However, some manufacturers do not have layout view images readily available to download or take screenshots of using Windows screen snip tools.

Some manufacturer's only have DWG/DXF downloads of their components, in which case the Importing DWG/DXF files tutorial will guide you.
However, in some cases, importing the DWG/DXF file won't go well if certain drawing objects are not supported by the DWG/DXF import process, so those objects are not imported.
There are a few different workarounds for this:

• Open the DXG/DXF file using a DWG/DXF editing software, then use the Explode function to explode all the graphical blocks until there is nothing left to explode.
  Then save the changes and import the result into SkyCAD.
• Use SkyCAD's drawing tools to manually draw what you want
• Follow the steps below to convert the DWG/DXF to an image, then use that image in SkyCAD

Here's how to use a DWG/DXF to create an image of the component layout, so you can use that image in SkyCAD:

1. Download the DWG/DXF from the manufacturer's website
2. Use one of the many free DWG/DXF viewers available on the internet, some of which are online DWG/DXF viewers that don't require installing software
3. These DWG/DXF viewers should allow you to export the DWG/DXF to an image (such as a PNG or JPG file). If the DWG/DXF shows as white lines on a dark background, exporting the DWG/DXF to an image should give you a layout view of dark lines on a white background.
   
   DWG/DXF                                    Exported Image
               
    
4. Now that you have an image of the component layout, you may need to crop it (and add color if desired) using any image editing software, such as Microsoft Paint or Paint.net.
   Note: Large images (over 250000 pixels²) can reduce performance when working with layouts in SkyCAD that include such images. Keep your images under 250000 pixels² (pixel width x pixel height) to achieve a good balance between quality and performance. If your image is over 250000 pixels², most image editing software allows you to scale the image down, thereby reducing the pixel count.
5. Once you've customized your image to your preferences, you can use it in SkyCAD to create your component layout view as described in the "Creating a component's layout view" tutorial.

Related tutorials

• Creating a component's layout view (10:31)
• Importing DWG/DXF files (5:00)