Sending drawings via electronic mail
Sometimes it is needed to send drawings via electronic mail. This needs some preparations.
The file to be sent should be cleaned up to reduce the file size. Especially textures and symbols which aren't used in the drawing should be removed. VectorWorks provides a command for this purpose. First save the current file. In the �Edit� menu you'll find the command �Purge Unused Objects...�:
After that, save the file using a new name like PurgedDrawing.mcd and close the drawing.
Before the file gets sent it should be compressed using a tool like Stuffit, ZIP, RAR or similar. It depends on the recepient which compression format he can uncompress:
- Stuffit is a tool well known on Macintosh machines to compress files. The Stuffit expander is a free tool to uncompress sit archives. Stuffit itself is not freely available
- ZIP is a compressed file format which is well known to all operating systems. Mac OS X can create Zip-files per default since OS 10.3. On Windows there exist various application to create zip files. One of the best known is Winzip
- Rar is a compression format which achieves better compression ratios than Zip does. Rar archives can be created using Winrar. Stuffit Expander also is able to uncompress rar files
To create a zip-compressed file on Mac OS 10.3 (or later versions), Ctrl-Click on the file and choose �Create Archive�. The archive will appear besides the original file:
To compress a file on Windows you need to install an application which is able to create archives. Then rightclick on the file to be compressed and choose �Compress to archive�. After the compression finished, the compressed file will appear besides the original file:
To send the file via electronic mail, open a new e-mail in your mail application. Enter a subject and the text. Then attach the file. This varies from mail application to mail application. Most often you will find an icon with a paperclip on it. Click on it and choose the compressed file from your hard drive. A second possibility is to drag and drop the compressed file into the mail composition window. Your e-mail now is ready to be sent with the compressed file attached.
