Adobe embeds 3D models in PDFs

Could pave the way for 3D modelling in all enterprises

Adobe has updated its Acrobat product line to enable 3D models to be embedded within PDF documents and viewed via the standard Adobe Reader - a move that could lead to much more widespread use of 3D within organisations, according to the firm.

Acrobat 3D, available immediately, is a new application in Adobe's Acrobat 7.0 family, and is a superset of the features in Acrobat 7.0 Professional Edition. It can import 3D models from almost any source application and embed them in a PDF document, allowing anyone with Adobe Reader to view and manipulate them.

"Acrobat 3D adds three key capabilities: it can capture a 3D image from any OpenGL application just by pressing Print Screen; you can drag any computer-aided design (CAD) file onto a PDF, so you don't need to be running the source application; and it can also embed 3D information into Microsoft Office documents," said Mark Wheeler, group manager for knowledge worker solutions at Adobe.

Wheeler added that typically, companies' 3D information is currently "locked away" in costly high-end applications such as CAD systems that are available to very few staff, but there are potentially "masses of other people" who could exploit it.

Marketing executives might use such 3D information to show customers a product model, for example, or it might be used to make printer manuals more informative. "So you can pull a product apart [in 3D graphics], and actually see how the toner unit comes out," Wheeler said, adding that this new capability is "democratising 3D information".

Although Adobe Reader 7.0 can already open and view PDFs containing 3D models, an update in February will be needed to support "model tree" metadata relating to the way components in a model are grouped together to make a larger sub-assembly. This release - version 7.07 - will be available as an update through the internet.

Adobe also plans to extend its LiveCycle Policy Server product later this year to control access rights to Office documents and CAD files as well as PDFs. Acrobat 3D is priced at £825. The upgrade prices for existing licensees are £449 to move from Acrobat 7.0 Professional or £575 from Acrobat 6.0 Professional.