Export LayOut document (Windows)

After you’ve worked hard to create and polish a LayOut document, you want to get your document out into the world and make its mark. You can present your work on screen, but that’s not always enough. Here are some other ways to share your document:

• Upload a document online or attach it to an email. You can export your document pages as JPEG or PNG image files that you can display on web pages. Or you can create a PDF that your audience can download from the web or as an email attachment.
• Open a document in a CAD program. You can also export your LayOut document to a DWG or DXF file, both of which are compatible with popular CAD programs.
• Print your document. Whether you need a high-quality printout or just want to print out your pages for your audience to take notes, LayOut includes print options to help you get exactly the printout you need.

Export your document as image files

When you export a document as a series of images, LayOut exports each document page as a separate image file, in either .jpg or .png format. The following steps, which reflect the selected operating system, guide you through the image export process:

1. From the menu bar, select File > Export > Images. An export dialog box will appear, as shown in the following image:
2. Navigate to the location where you want to save your images.
3. In the Save As box, type a name to name each image file you export. If you export multiple images, LayOut exports a number to each image in the series, such as Homes_1.png, Homes_2.png, and so on.
4. Select PNG or JPG from the 'Save as type' dropdown menu.
5. Click Save. The Image Export Options dialog box appears.
6. (Optional) In the Pages area, select whether you want to export all document pages (the default) or only a page range. To print a page range, select the From/To radio button and enter the page range you want to export.
7. (Optional) To change the size and resolution of your exported images, enter a new width or height value or type in the desired resolution. These three settings are limited, so changing the width, for example, will automatically adjust the height to maintain the image's aspect ratio.
8. (Optional) By default, your exported images will open in your default image viewer. Deselect the Show Export in Image checkbox if you do not want to open the images in this program.
9. Click the Export button. The images will be exported to the location you selected in step 2.

Export your document as PDF

When you export a PDF of a document, LayOut creates a single PDF file that contains your document pages. To export your document as a PDF, follow these steps, which correspond to the selected operating system:

1. From the menu bar, select File > Export > PDF. An export dialog box will appear.
2. Navigate to the location where you want to save your images.
3. In the File Name box, type a name for the PDF file.
4. Click Save. The Image Export Options dialog box appears, as shown in the following figure.
5. (Optional) In the Pages area, select whether you want to export all document pages (the default) or only a page range. To print a page range, select the From/To radio button and enter the page range you want to export.
6. (Optional) To change the rendering quality of models and images in your exported PDF, select an option from the Output Resolution menu.
7. (Optional) A great way to reduce the file size of the resulting PDF is to compress images in your LayOut document. Select the Use JPEG Compression for Images option and move the slider toward Smaller File to reduce the quality of the images and reduce the file size. However, for a higher quality image, you can move the quality slider toward Better Quality.
8. (Optional) By default, your exported images will open in your default image viewer. Clear the Show Export in PDF Viewer checkbox if you do not want to open the images in this program.
9. Click the Export button. The PDF will be exported to the location you selected in step 2.

Export your document as DWG or DXF

DWG and DXF are file formats that open in popular CAD programs. To export a document to one of these formats, follow these steps, which correspond to your selected operating system:

1. From the menu bar, select File > Export > DWG/DXF. The export dialog box appears.
2. Navigate to the location where you want to save the file.
3. Click Save. The Image Export Options dialog box appears, as shown in the following figure.
4. (Optional) In the Format area, select the DWG or DXF radio button to specify the file type you want to export. From the drop-down list, select the version of AutoCAD that will open the file.
5. (Optional) By default, LayOut includes all the pages in your document in the exported file. To specify a page range, select the From/To radio button and type the page numbers for the desired page range.
6. (Optional) By default, LayOut creates a DWG/DXF layer corresponding to each layer in your document. If you don't want LayOut to create these layers, deselect the Create DWG/DXF Layers from LayOut Layers checkbox.
7. (Optional) By default, LayOut exports invisible layers to your DWG or DXF file. If you don't want LayOut to export these layers, clear the Export Invisible Layers checkbox. Tip: If a layer is hidden on all pages, the layer is exported as hidden. If the layer is hidden on some but not all pages, only the visible entities are exported.
8. (Optional) Instead of the colors you specified in LayOut, you can export each layer's entities as a different color based on the layer. To do this, select the Export Entities as Color by Layer checkbox.
9. (Optional) By default, LayOut exports LayOut entities as native DWG/DXF entities. If you clear the Export as DWG/DXF Entities check box, LayOut entities in the exported file are exported to raw geometry. For example, in the DWG/DXF file, a LayOut dimension is exploded into lines and text and has none of the usual dimension behaviors. Tip: LayOut exports dimensions, labels, circles, arcs, ellipses, and tables as native DWG/DXF entities.
10. (Optional) LayOut will not include any fills that your document contains in the exported file. Clear the Ignore Fills check box if you want these fills to be included in your exported file.
11. When you are finished selecting your options, click Export. LayOut will create the exported file in the location you specified in Step 2.