Embedding Autodesk's DWF Viewer in your PowerPoint can greatly enhance your PowerPoint presentations. You can rotate and markup your DWF files within each slide while you give your presentations, which in turn promotes interactive discussion with your audience.

This short exercise will show you how to create DWF files from your Inventor files and embed the DWF viewer into a PowerPoint presentation.

Save a DWF File.
You can create a DWF file from any of Inventor's file types. Simply open a file with Inventor and then go to the File pull-down menu and select Save Copy As.



In the Save Copy As dialog box, click the down arrow on the Save As Type combo box and select DWF Files (*.dwf). Click the Save button to save the file.

Embed the DWF Viewer into a PowerPoint Slide.
Open a new PowerPoint presentation, and set the slide to a blank slide. Once you've done that, click the Insert pull-down menu and select Object.



Select Autodesk DWF Viewer Control, and then click OK. If the viewer control is not listed in the window, see Limitations on the DWF Viewer within PowerPoint near the end of this article.



Autodesk's DWF Viewer will appear on the slide.



The next step is to link the viewer to a DWF file. Right click on the viewer and select Autodesk DWF Viewer Control Object - Properties.



Click the Browse button and then select the DWF file you created. Once you've done that, click OK.



Test Your Slide.
The last step is to test your slide. Type the F5 key to start the slide show.



You should have full access to all the commands in the DWF viewer. Try clicking the Rotate command (The green planet like icon) and then drag your pointer around on the screen to rotate the object.

Limitations on the DWF Viewer within PowerPoint
The DWF Viewer may not be available when you try to insert the Object into the slide. This usually happens when the Autodesk Viewer is not installed on your computer. See my Tips and Tricks on Sharing Your Files to learn how to have the viewer automatically install onto your system.

Why is this Important?
Communication is very important. After all, the true purpose of Inventor is to communicate ideas and designs to others. By extending this ability to your PowerPoint presentations you can significantly enhance your message to your audience.