Expert Training

BMP (BitMaP) is the standard Windows raster format. AutoCAD can create BMP files from drawing objects (via the EXPORT command) and place BMP files in drawings (via the IMage command). When you export AutoCAD drawing objects to a BMP file, all the objects get converted to dots. Turning a line into a bunch of dots isn’t a swell idea if you want to change the line again. But it is useful if you need to copy a drawing into a company brochure.
Warning
One problem with BMP files is their big file size. Unlike some other raster formats, BMP doesn’t offer compression. Because CAD drawings usually are fairly large in area, they can turn into monstrously large BMP files.
Creating a BMP file showing some or all of the objects in a drawing is just like creating a WMF file: Use the EXPORT command (FileðExport) but choose Bitmap (*.bmp) in the Files of Type drop-down list. After you create a BMP file in AutoCAD, you use the other program’s FileðOpen to open it or the graphics file insertion command to place it in an existing document.
If you want to go the other direction, a BMP file into an AutoCAD drawing, use the IMage command, as described in Chapter 13.