Using Project Draw and Project Freewheel together

A Mr. Richard Feder from Fort Lee, New Jersey wrote in:

I am using Project Draw, and I love it. One question: Is there an option somewhere to share or collaborate on my diagrams that I might be missing, or is it not part of the feature set?

Yes Richard there is a way to combine technologies from Autodesk Labs to collaborate around the diagrams you create in Project Draw.

1. Use Project Draw (http://draw.labs.autodesk.com) to create a diagram.
2. Save a copy of your diagram as a DWF file to your local hard drive.
3. Upload the DWF file to Project Freewheel (http://freewheel.labs.autodesk.com).
4. Start a collaboration session on Project Freewheel using the Share->Start menu item. You can pick a name like "my latest creation."
5. Email a link to your session to others or just telephone them and tell the name of the session you picked when you created it. For example, you can call them and ask them to go to the Project Freewheel site and join the session called "my latest creation."
6. Collaborate in real time (everyone sees the same thing simultaneously) or at separate times (posted comments accumulate like they do on a Wiki).

For the uninitiated:

• Project Draw is a vector-based drawing/diagramming service that is free for anyone to use over the web. It is targeted to non-CAD users. A user does not need to know drafting procedures or download any special software. Project Draw is like a digital back-of-the-napkin sketching tool. While you can't export to DWG, you can export to DWF. Think of it as CAD software for non-CAD users.

• Project Freewheel is a DWF-based service that is free for anyone to use over the web. Designs can be uploaded to Project Freewheel using the File->Open UI or directly from AutoCAD, Inventor, Revit, and Design Review using the 3D/2D ShareNow Add-in. Once a design is in Project Freewheel, a session can be started to collaborate in real time (where everyone sees the same pans, zooms, orbits, etc.). The results of the session (e.g. markups) are saved like a web page that can be visited at any time where additional comments can be made.The collaboration is targeted to non-CAD users and only requires an internet connection and a browser.

Showing how technologies work in tandem is alive in the lab.