So, apart from looking slick, it's much easier to use and more functional. There's a main display area where the document of model is displayed, a model tree which shows the feature tree, stored views and object properties and then another tabbed section which provides quick access to multi-pages, bookmarked sections and any digital signatures that have been added to the document. Navigation is now very clear.

Export

The other big addition to this version, is the ability to export imported models to a variety of standard industry formats. Simply right click on the model and launch the Export dialogue. There are a number of formats to choose. STEP, IGES, Parasolid and VRML. For each format there are options which can be set, e.g. faces/ analytics. You can set these depending on what you plan to do with the output. This feature is only enabled when there's no file protection included in the model, so there is a level of safety in passing around 3D PDFs.

ToolKit

The first version of Acrobat 3D came with a stand-alone application called Acrobat 3D Toolkit. Essentially this program, licensed from Right Hemisphere, provided tools to edit, enhance, render and animate 3D models, outside of PDF creator. It didn't feel like an Adobe product and the new version shares a similar problem, it doesn't even work with PRC files. If you want to make exploded BOM animations or get your jet engine to rotate you would do it in this application, for inclusion in a PDF. However it is complex to use requires some perseverance. It doesn't seem like much attention has been put here this release but it's there if you have the inclination.

Conclusion

It's clear all the engineering work has gone into Acrobat 3D and there's a lot that's been modified under the bonnet. PRC is a major improvement over U3D and PRC's tessellated models are an improvement over U3Ds! I like the new interface and the rendering and mark-up tools are really good.

It's a big release. The ToolKit could do with updating and there are disappointments in no support for Inventor and it needs STL out but all these can be fixed over time. I understand that updates will get added throughout the year but some, like the Toolkit, will have to wait for Version 9.

Having industrial file conversion is obviously a good thing but the accuracy that can now be contained within a PDF means that Acrobat stands to play a more significant role in the engineering collaboration market. Before this release, Adobe has played in the documentation market, sending flles for people to look at and examine. Acrobat 3D Version 8 takes five steps forward and now allows PDFs to be included in more complex engineering workflows. You can now send a PDF to a CAM shop, or a CFD analyst, or just simply to another CAD user, of a different system. The translation tools that are built in are easy to use and provide a saving on purchasing expensive IGES and STEP translators. If you haven't used Acrobat 3D before, this is certainly the release to evaluate, there's a lot on offer.

www.adobe.com