Using BetterWMF through the ARX

Loading the BetterWMF ARX in full AutoCAD versions adds three new commands and eight new lisp functions to AutoCAD.

The new commands are:

Command nameDescription
BCOPYCLIP Use this command instead of AutoCAD's COPYCLIP command.
BCOPYCLIP works like COPYCLIP with a few differences:
  • The WMF-picture will be improved using BetterWMF.
  • When in TILEMODE 0 it will offer to merge paperspace AND the viewports
  • When you paste the picture into another application it will always be in 'Picture' format, no need to Paste Special.
BWMFOPT Change the options in the options dialog. Use this command to customize the picture to your needs.
BWMFOUT Use this command instead of AutoCAD's native WMFOUT command.
It works nearly identical, but produces an improved WMF-file.

When you use BetterWMF by loading an ARX into AutoCAD you may also use BetterWMF through Lisp functions.

Special Notes

  • Many Autodesk products are actually normal AutoCAD plus some extra modules. This includes Autodesk Map, Mechanical Desktop, AutoCAD Mechanical etc. For these programs you can use BetterWMF as if you were running plain AutoCAD.
  • AutoCAD 2000 and later versions have a special setting WMFBKGND to remove the background color of pictures created with WMFOUT or COPYCLIP. Unfortunately this command makes white lines disappear. This does not happen if you remove the background with BetterWMF.
  • When using the lineweight display in AutoCAD, cutting and pasting can produce thicker lines without BetterWMF. But even in paperspace it is almost impossible to create a picture that accurately prints the correct linewidths.
    Best results are obtained by using BetterWMF to associate linewidths with colors, like you did with AutoCAD R14. To use this turn off the lineweight display in AutoCAD (command LWDISPLAY) before creating a picture.
  • Pasting back into AutoCAD is possible but does not make very much sense: The result will be an embedded picture instead of AutoCAD entities.