How to create a personalized signature in CAD?

Scan your signature as an image and insert it into CAD

Draw it using SPL lines based on the handwriting

Reply to 3# zc_413: How to do it?

That’s a good idea; I’ll look into it

Write it on paper, take a photo of it, and insert it as an image (it may not be clear when printed due to color issues). It is best to draw it using CAD on a picture, save it as a block, and insert the block when needed.

This post was last edited by nxpsir on 2010-10-20 at 19:44. Hehe, I happened to have a batch of drawings to print not long ago; since the design work was done on-site, the reviewers couldn’t come to the site to sign them. Although they allow someone else to sign on their behalf after reviewing the document, it always seems that a signature obtained by someone else is not as authentic as a signature in person. So the idea of scanning (the same goes for taking photos) and inserting them came to mind, but implementing it wasn’t as simple as imagined. I tried JPG, PDF, scanning conversion software, etc., and eventually found a relatively quick and effective method, which is described as follows: 1. Process the scanned image or photo taken with a digital camera in PS, set the background to pure white, adjust the color levels to deepen the blacks, and try to reduce the size of the image file as much as possible, especially by trimming away any empty borders. Save as a grayscale image (bitmap is also acceptable). 2. Adobe Acrobat is installed in the system to convert saved image files into PDF files. 3. Use a PDF to DWG converter software to convert the PDF file into a DWG file. It is still actually a picture file, but it can store the image as a DWG file and insert the DWG file as a block. The purpose of performing this step is to find a way to handle multiple layouts within a single graphic file; however, if you only render in model space within a graphic file or have very few layouts, this step may not be necessary. 4. In the document where the signature will be inserted, edit the tab block and insert the signature block file converted in the previous step into it, adjusting its size to an appropriate dimension. And adjust the drawing order to the bottom layer (if certain signatures extend beyond the table lines in the tab, place the inserted blocks at the bottom layer so that the table lines can be visible; otherwise they will be obscured). Save the changes to the block and exit block editing; this way, all tab blocks in the layout will have the signatures for setup, verification, and review added. Print or preview. Ugh! There’s a problem: there’s a border around each signature! What’s going on? This is because the inserted block is still an image, and its borders are visible; obviously, this is not yet the result we want. Is there really no way? There is a solution, and it involves using a system variable that is rarely used: IMAGEFRAME. Change it to 0 (no border displayed, border not printed) or 2 (border displayed, border not printed) ； Or the system variable: FRAME. Also change 0 or 2. As for the differences between the two system variables, those interested can check the help files themselves. If the tab does not use blocks, or if there are very few layouts, it is not necessary to go through the third step; instead, you can directly insert a PDF file as a reference background (a new feature in AutoCAD 2010) or a JPG image. Just copy each one where it’s needed. To complete all the layout adjustments and add signatures in one go using the block feature, after some experimentation on my part, it was found that converting the image files to DWG format is the only effective method. Various image files and PDF reference base maps cannot serve as elements of blocks. In the set of drawings I need to print, each graphic contains more than 10 layouts, with these layouts being composed of 4 A3 sheets combined to form an A1 sheet, or 8 A4 sheets combined to form an A1 sheet. Handling them one by one is too troublesome, so I looked for a way to treat them as block elements. Additionally, it might be useful to discuss the method of adding signatures when a large number of Excel or Word documents are pasted into AutoCAD. The basic approach is the same as above, but for table files in chemical engineering design, when pasting Office files as links into AutoCAD, it is generally not necessary to use blocks for the signing area; instead, the signing space can be left as a table directly in Office. Relatively speaking, it’s even a bit simpler than in AutoCAD. Simply add the PDF signature image to the signing area of the Office document, adjust its size, and set the image format to a solid color without borders. Then just update the link in AutoCAD. The printed result is quite satisfactory; it almost looks real. It has a much higher sense of realism compared to scanning images using polylines or spline curves. It’s drawn the best, but it lacks realism because there are only rigid lines. In real handwritten signatures, there is a process of penetration in the ink on the paper; the transition occurs gradually from the center of the letter strokes to the edges, and then to the blank areas. With the method I use, the level of realism can be entirely determined by the degree of detail with which the scanned images are processed in PS. But it also has flaws; after all, it’s not the case that each drawing is signed individually – the signatures on all the drawings are exactly the same, and it’s obvious to anyone who looks at them that they are not genuine signatures.