Export to BMP / JPG ?

I have an occasional need to save a .dwg to a .jpg file. The few times
I've done this, I first exported it to a .BMP file and then opened
that up in Microsoft PhotoDraw and re-saved it as a .JPG file.

When I tried to do this just now, the .BMP file exported by AutoCad
was enormous - over 2 MB ! - too big for PhotoDraw to handle (it
couldn't open it). The .BMP files that I've created before were about
250K in size.

When I'd done this before I was using AutoCad 14 - this time I'm using
AutoCad 2000. Is there some fundamental difference here that I need to
adjust for in some way?

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

ps: I realize there are numerous utilities out there that purpotr to
do all this but I really don't want to invest a bunch of money in
something that I need only once every year or so.

 

Use GIMP - You can download it here - http://www.gimp.org/

This tool rivals Photoshop for features yet is free. I use it all the
time for the same purpose. You can save teh file and convert as necessary.

HTH

 

Thanks - I'll check it out.

 

You could also try xnview @ www.xnview.com (free). There is also a plugin
which can be added to this program it view dwg and dxf files (not sure which
versions) which you can get from cadsoft tools
(http://www.cadsofttools.com/?PageName=Plugins) but I think this costs,
maybe a free evaluation version available though.