SCPUBLISHPDF

SCPUBLISHPDF publishes layouts to PDF and is an alternative to PUBLISH that creates smaller PDF files. You choose which layouts take part, publish them to one PDF with bookmarks (or to separate PDFs), and can let the publishing run in the background while you keep drawing.

Starting

Type SCPUBLISHPDF on the command line. The command has no ribbon button.

How it works

1. Type SCPUBLISHPDF. The SCAD Publish PDF window opens with all layouts of the drawing (without Model), in tab order.
2. Remove the layouts you do not want to publish: click the cross behind a layout, or select one or more rows and press Delete.
   • Inverse inverts the selection of the rows.
   • Last keeps only the layouts you successfully published from this drawing last time. The button is disabled if there was no earlier run.
3. Under Publish output, choose the output, see below.
4. Click Publish. If the target files already exist, the window asks Replace the existing file? (or for several files Replace N existing PDF files in this folder?).
5. A progress window shows which layout is being processed. When it finishes, the command reports SCPUBLISHPDF complete: N layout(s) published to <file> (for separate PDFs N single-sheet PDF(s) published to <folder>). If Open when ready is on in the PDF options, the PDF opens straight away (with separate PDFs, the first one).

Your layouts and their plot settings are not changed.

Publish output

Field	Choices
Output file	Single-sheet files (one PDF per layout) or One Multi-sheet file (all layouts in one PDF; the default).
Output location	Drawing folder (next to the drawing), 'PDF' Drawing sub-folder (a PDF subfolder next to the drawing) or a folder of your choice via Browse….
Naming for one PDF	Prompt for name (you pick the name when publishing), Specify name (type the name in File name), Generate name (the drawing name; the default).
Naming for separate PDFs	Use sheet name (drawing name and layout name, drawing_layout.pdf; the default), Use layout name or Use drawing name. Duplicate names get _2, _3 and so on.
Publish in background	Publishing in the background, see below.

Under Result you see which file will be created. Your choices are remembered for next time.

PDF options

On the right of the window is PDF options from Publish. This is an overview, you cannot change anything here: Vector DPI, Image DPI, Image anti-aliasing, Layer information, TrueType text, Embed TrueType fonts, Merge control, Export hyperlinks, Create bookmarks, Include plot stamp and Open when ready. The values come from the PUBLISH settings, so change them in PUBLISH. JPEG compression is always on and cannot be changed.

With One Multi-sheet file, the PDF gets a bookmark per layout with the layout name, as long as Create bookmarks is on.

Publishing in the background

With Publish in background BricsCAD stays usable while the PDF is being made. You get a notification that publishing has started, and a blue icon appears in the status bar at the lower right. Hover over it to see the progress; right-click the icon to stop publishing. At the end the command reports SCPUBLISHPDF background complete: ....