You can set Contrast and Fade with slider.

Choose to set display to monochrome.

Create and remove clipping boundaries.

Show or not show the Underlay with a toggle

Enable Snapping

Adjust XREF info

and Edit the Layer displayed.

Note:  If you turn off the display of an Underlay you need to zoom all the way out and select the Underlay Frame and then turn the display back on.

FRAME
Turns the display of frames on and off for all external references, images, and DWF, DWFx, PDF, and DGN underlays.

PDFFRAME
Determines whether the PDF underlay frame is visible.

1. Left click on the PDF graphic anywhere and you will see the dialog box below.  Is shows you that you have selected the PDF Underlay and allows you to change a few properties.

2. You can change the dialog box options by clicking onthe icon in the upper right corner

3.  You will get another dialog box that allows you to select what is displayed in the fist dialog.  Add some – like I do here for Underlay Adjust.

4. Once you save the options they will show up the next time.

If the underlay file contains layers, you can control how the layers display after attaching the file. If the file does not contain layer information, the Underlay Layers dialog box does not display any layer information.  Access this by right clicking after you have selected the Underlay.

Once you have selected the PDF Layers command you will get another dialog box allowing you to set layer visability

You can underlay the following file types:

DWF – A DWF (Design Web Format) file is a highly compressed file format that is created from a DWG file.
DWFx – DWFx, the future of DWF, is based on the XML Paper Specification (XPS) format from Microsoft.
PDF – Adobe System’s document exchange format.
DGN – Bentley System’s Microstation format. DGN support is limited to V7/V8 DGN files and 2D objects. The 2D objects are imported or attached with full (X, Y, Z) coordinate information, as was present in the original file. If the file contains 3D solids, surfaces, or other 3D objects, a warning is displayed. This content is not supported in this file.

So if you do use Underlay – what options are there?

Snap to it.

First off – OSNAPS work.  You can snap to graphic elements in an Underlay.  You cannot however use the  Measure command.  You can dimension from point to point though

Attaching an Underlay Multiple Times

You can reattach an underlay multiple times, treating them as a block. Each underlay has its own clip boundary and settings for contrast, fade, and monochrome.

Warning: You cannot bind an underlay to a drawing and you cannot edit or modify the underlay’s content.

Underlay Files in Xrefs

DWG file references (xrefs), in a drawing can include an underlay. In this situation, objects in the underlay are visible in the parent DWG file.

For example, drawing A includes a DWF underlay showing some mechanical details. You need the content of drawing A attached to your current drawing, drawing B. If you attach drawing A as an external reference to drawing B, the DWF underlay that was already attached to drawing A is also be present.

All of the property settings made to the underlay in the external reference, such as clipping boundaries, appear as they do in the parent drawing.

Password Protected Underlay Files

If a file you want to attach as an underlay is password protected, you are prompted to enter the password after you have selected the file. You cannot attach the file until you have correctly entered the password.

After an underlay is attached to a DWG file, you are prompted for the underlay file’s password each time you open the DWG file. If the DWG file is also password protected, or has several other protected drawing references attached, you may be prompted for multiple passwords.

This can get annoying…

If you change the path of an underlay to a file that requires a password, you are prompted for a password as well.

more annoying…

Note:  DWF, DWFx, and PDF file passwords are case sensitive but DWG file passwords are not. To make synchronization between DWG and DWF file passwords easier, make sure the DWF, DWFx, and PDF file passwords match the DWG file password and are entirely uppercase.

Or better yet – don’t use passwords.

You reference and place underlay files in drawing files the same as you do raster image files so they are not actually part of the drawing file. Like raster files, the underlay is linked to the drawing file through a path name. The path to the file can be changed or removed at any time. By attaching underlays this way, you can use files in your drawing without greatly increasing the drawing file size. You can only view DWF and PDF underlays in the 2D Wireframe visual style.  DGN underlays can be viewed in any visual style.

Note:  Although underlay files are reproductions of their source drawing, they are not as precise as drawing files. Underlays may show slight discrepancies in precision.

You can use OSnaps with Underlay files.

If you have created or received a PDF file to use in CAD, you can attach it to your DWG file – here is how…

1.  Open the Attach dialog box by going to the Insert Tab

2.  Select the file you want to attach by first changing the file type

Then select the file you want and hit Open.

3. It will then open the standard attach file dialog box.  You can select options as you choose.

It comes in as a PDF Underlay.

Here is the process that is included with AutoCAD 2010.

1.  Select Export to PDF under the Big Red “A”

or you can select it fro the Output Tab onthe ribbon

2.A dialog box opens and you can hit Save or select Options button

3. Several Options are presented.  First by showing you the standards.  You can add a password, overwrite precision,etc.

4. If you want to change an Option, just click on the option and a drop down will appear.  No dropdown?  then it cannot be changed.

5. You can add a plot stamp if you like also.  Some of the presets available are shown below.  Check the ones you want to add.  This is the exact same dialog box as plot stamping in the Plot command.

6. When you are happy that the PDF is all set to go – hit the Save button. When the file is created you will get a notification balloon in the lower right corner.

7. When you are done and you open the PDF you should see your completed PDF file with any data that you included.

Notes fromthe Help file:

Although transparent objects and wipeouts are displayed correctly in the PDF viewer, they may not print with the same visual fidelity when default print settings are used. If your drawing contains transparent objects, you may need to adjust some settings in Adobe Acrobat. Set Transparency Flattening to “Print as Image” or reduce the Raster/Vector Balance in Adobe Acrobat.

I have seen this happen – so be aware…

This is an area that is constantly a battle. Getting the output to look consistent is the goal of all CAD Managers and firms. Get it right and no one will complain (or compliment) – but get it wrong and the all of your efforts will be for nothing. Everyone will complain.

I think that everyone complains about plotting anyway. It is the most frequent area of concern. Every firm has problems. It never seems to work consistently. It is always a pain.

Plotting must be standardized in order to achieve a consistent look and feel. This process incorporates the pen table, standard Symbology and presentation of the plotting area in a Paper Space Layout. Some of the uses of the Layouts in Paper Space allow us to achieve differing looks for presentations, marketing and illustrations. Some firms use these and others do not.

While this is allowable in the early stages of a project, when construction docs are created we must confine ourselves to an agreed upon procedure and presentation for plotting. This will allow for streamlined tools and batch plotting.

When creating Construction Documents plots:

Each sheet file should have only one border located in paper space at 0,0. One file will be used to create one plot.

All plots should be created from paper space using one layout tab.

All plotting config files, pen tables and plot styles should be stored in one common location on the server and should be set to read only.

Plotting scale shall set to 1:1 in Paper Space.

Reminder – One Sheet file represents one Plot file.

The first Layout Tab should be used for full size plotting. It should keep the default name “LAYOUT1”. Why bother changing it. Some people use sizes or other methods of naming this tab. I don’t bother.

You can see a PDF version here.

See the full website http://www.buildingsmartalliance.org/

A very good little tutorial on how this is done by Tim Huff. I know Tim and he is very sharp guy. He has many tricks up his sleeve. Tim has helped my firm (HMC Architects) get up to speed on the Acrobat line of products.

Go to “Creating PDF’s from DWG’s without AutoCAD!”

Thanks Tim!