Printing

Page Setup Name

Recalls plot settings used previously:

• <None> - uses options saved in the current layout or model space
• <Previous Plot> - uses options that were saved from the last time this dialog box was used
• Names of other page setups stored in the drawing

Save current settings to page setup

Create new page setups; see the PageSetup command.

Printer/Plotter Configuration

Selects the printer or plotter.

The program works with any output device installed on the system, including networked printers, print to file, faxes, and PostScript devices -- as well as predefined printer parameters stored in PC3 files.

Edit plotter configuration

Opens the printer's Properties dialog box for customizing the printer's parameters and creating PC3 files; see the PlotterManager command.

Paper Size

Specifies the size of paper. You can select standard sizes listed by the droplist; these are sizes supported by the printer.

While printer may appear to support many different sizes, you should select only the size of paper that is actually in the printer. If User Defined appears in the list, the paper's dimensions are specified by the printer's Properties dialog box.

The image indicates the size, position and orientation of the current plot area on the selected paper size.

• Inches - uses imperial units for measurements involving printing
• Millimeters - uses metric units for measurements involving printing

Manage Custom Sizes - (PDF output only.) Manages custom paper sizes when Print as PDF.pc3 is selected in the Printer/Plotter Configuration list; displays a dialog box:

Plot Area

Specifies which area of the drawing to print:

• View - prints the current view or a named view. Choose a view from the droplist; use the View command to create named views.

• Extents - prints the extents of the drawing, which ensures every visible entity is printed. Entities on frozen layers are not taken into account when calculating the extents.

• Limits - prints the limits of the drawing, as specified by the Limits command.

• Window - prints a rectangular area of the drawing. You define the rectangular area by entering x,y coordinates or by clicking the Select Area to be Printed button:

1. Click the button; you are prompted:

2. Select first corner of window - (specify one corner of the rectangle by picking points or entering x,y coordinates.)

3. Select second corner of window - (specify the other corner.)

The Print dialog box returns, with the pair of x,y coordinates added to the Windows Plot Area boxes; you can edit the values:

Plot Scale

Scales the drawing to fit it to the paper:

Fit print area to the size of paper - scale is calculated automatically by the program, taking into account the print area of the drawing. When this option is turned on, you cannot specify the scale factor.:

• Printable area is the size of the paper, minus the margins.
• Margins are the strips along the four edges that the printer uses for handling the paper.

Scale - allows you to specify the scale factor to use for plotting; choose a scale factor from the droplist, or choose Custom. The scale factor shown can be edited with the ScaleListEdit command.

• For scale factors like 1:5, the drawing is printed smaller.
• For scale factors like 5:1, the drawing is printed larger.

Custom - lets you enter in your own scale factors:

Scale lineweights - when on, lineweights are scaled with respect to the plot scale.

Plot Style Table (Pen Assignment)

Specifies the plot style table to use for the printed output, which assigns properties to "pens," colors, and entities.

• When the drawing does not use plot styles, then only CTB (color-based table) files are listed.

• When the drawing uses plot styles, then only STB (style-based table) files are listed.

When you switch from None to a named plot style, BricsCAD prompts you:

Assign plot style table to all layouts? - (enter an option):

• Yes - assigns the CTB or STB plot style file to all layouts.
• No - assigns the plot style file to the current layout only.

Edit Plot Style

Opens the Plot Style Table editor dialog box; see the PlotStyle command. This button is available only when the drawing uses STB plot styles.

Create New Plot Style

Creates new plot styles; runs the Add Plot Style Table wizard; see the StylesManager command.

• When the drawing does not use named plot styles, then the wizard creates new color-dependent tables (CTB files).

• If the drawing uses named plot styles, then the wizard creates new named plot style tables (STB files).

Drawing Orientation

Specifies the orientation of the drawing on rectangular paper:

• Portrait - The drawing or layout x-axis is aligned with the shortest edge of the selected paper size.

• Landscape - The drawing or layout x-axis is aligned with the longest edge of the selected paper size.

• Print upside down - Prints the drawing upside-down. This is useful when paper with a drawing border is loaded backwards in the printer.

Plot Offset

Specifies the offset distance for the print.

Center On Page - centers the print on the page, taking into account margins. Together with Fit Print Area to Size of Page, this option is excellent for prints where scale is unimportant.

X and Y - enter positive or negative distances to move the drawing in the x and/or y distances:

• Positive values - moves the drawing up and to the right.

• Negative values - moves the drawing down and to the left.

The lower left corner of the drawing is moved by the specified distance. This is useful when the paper has a title block area that might interfere with the drawing.

Plot Options

Plot entity lineweights - toggles the use the lineweights; this option is unavailable when Plot with Plot Styles is turned on\:

• On - mimics lineweights assigned to the drawing in the print.
• Off - ignores lineweights.

Plot with Plot Styles - toggles the use of plot styles

• On - uses plot styles to determine the look of the printed drawing, and overrides lineweight settings.
• Off - does not use plot styles.

Plot Transparencies - plots entities who have been assigned the the Transparency property, either by-entity or by layer.

Plot Paperspace Last - specifies the printing order; this option is available only when printing layouts, and so is unavailable in model tab:

• On - prints model space entities, followed by paper space entities.
• Off - prints paper space entities first, followed by entities in model space.

Hide Paperspace Entities - when on, removes hidden lines from 3D entities in paper space. This option is disabled when printing model space.

Plot Stamp - toggles use of the plot stamp; click the Edit Plot Stamp button to change plot stamp data. See the PlotStamp command

• On - applies plot stamp data to the print.
• Off - does not apply plot stamps.

Save Changes to Layout - determines if the options you changed in this dialog box are saved; the next time you use this dialog box, you can select "Layout" from the Use Plot Settings From droplist.

• On - saves changes made to this dialog box with the layout.
• Off - does not save changes.

Shaded Viewport Options

Override the visual style of the current view when printing model space:

Shade Plot - choose a shade style plot the drawing with.

This option is disabled when printing a paper space layout. The Shade Plot mode of a paper space viewport is defined in the Shade Plot property of the viewport. The quality of the Rendered option is defined through the current render preset; see the RenderPresets command.

Print to File

When checked, redirects the print output to a *.plt file, which can be processed by certain types of software.

Number of Copies

Specifies the number of copies to print. Enter a number or click the buttons to change the value.

Preview

Displays a preview of the print. In the preview window, click Print Settings button to return to this dialog box. See the Preview command.

Apply

Applies the changes you made to this dialog box. The changes are remembered the next time you use this command. This is like using the PageSetup command.

Print

Prints the drawing, and then returns to the drawing editor

Cancel

Returns to the drawing editor without printing the drawing.