Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
Learning Objectives:




Set plotter specifications and plot drawings.
Configure plotters and then edit the plotter configuration files.
Create, use, and modify plot styles and plot style tables.
Use the Batch Plot utility.
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
 PLOTTING DRAWINGS USING THE PLOT DIALOG BOX
The PLOT command is used to plot a
drawing. When you invoke this
command, the Plot dialog box is
displayed as shown in figure. You can
also right-click on the Model tab or any
of the layout tabs to display the shortcut
menu and choose Plot to invoke the
Plot dialog box. The plot options
available in Plot dialog box are
• Layout name Area
• Page setup name Area
• Plot Device tab
• Plot Settings tab
Learning
Objectives
• Plot Preview
Plot Device tab of the Plot dialog
box
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Layout name Area
This area (shown in Figure) displays the current
layout name or displays Selected layouts if
multiple tabs have been selected. For example, if
the Model tab is currently selected and you invoke
the PLOT command, the Layout name area
displays Model. This area also provides the Save
changes to layout check box. If this check box is
selected, any changes made to the layout such as
zooming and so on will be reflected even after the
Plot command is exited. If you select more than
one layout for plotting, this option is not available.
Learning
Objectives
Layout name area of the Plot
dialog box
Plot Dialog
Box
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Page setup name Area
The Page setup name drop-down list displays all
the saved and named page setups. A page setup
is the way a drawing is laid out on a sheet of
paper to create a layout. If you select Previous
Plot from the drop-down list, the settings used for
the last drawing plotted are applied to the current
drawing. You can choose the base for the current
page setup on a named page setup, or you can
add a new named page setup by choosing the
Add button that is located next to the drop-down
list. When you choose this button, AutoCAD
displays the User Defined Page Setups dialog
box, see figure.
User Defined Page Setups dialog
box
Learning
Objectives
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
The options under User Defined Page Setups dialog box are.
• New page setup name
• Delete
• Page Setups
• Import
• Rename
Learning
Objectives
Plot Dialog
Box
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• New page setup name
You can enter a name for the new user-defined page setup in this box. The current page
setup can then be based on this named page setup.
• Page Setups
This list box lists all the named and saved user-defined page setups. You can select a
named page setup from the list box and use it for the current layout.
• Rename
You can select any user-defined page setup from the list box and choose the Rename
button to rename the page setup.
• Delete
You can select a user-defined page setup from the list box and choose the Delete button to
delete it.
Learning
Objectives
User Defined Page
Setups (Options)
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Import
When you choose the Import button, AutoCAD displays
the standard Select Page Setup From File dialog box,
where you can browse through the files and select a file for
the page setup selection. After you have selected a file,
choose the Open button. The Import user defined page
setup(s) dialog box is displayed, see figure. The Page
setups list box in this dialog box displays all the page
setups saved in the selected drawing. You will notice that
the page setup you imported is listed in the current Page
setups list box. You can select it here and choose OK to
get back to the Plot dialog box. The imported page setup
is now listed in the Page setup name drop-down list and
can be selected and used for the current plot.
Learning
Objectives
Import user defined page
setup(s) dialog box
User Defined Page
Setups (Options)
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Plot Device tab (Plot dialog box)
In this tab, information about the current configured plotter, plot style table, the layout or
layouts to be plotted, and information about plotting to a file is displayed. All the options and
areas in this tab are:
• Plotter configuration Area
• Plot style table (pen assignments) Area
• Plot stamp Area
• What to plot Area
• Plot to file Area
Learning
Objectives
Plot Dialog
Box
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Plotter configuration Area
This area displays all the information about the configured printers and plotters currently
selected from the Name drop-down list. It displays the plotter driver being used and the printer
port being used. It also displays some description text about the selected plotter or printer. All
the plotters that are currently configured are displayed in the Name drop-down list.
• Properties
When you choose this button, the Plotter Configuration Editor is displayed. This dialog box
lists all the details of the selected plotter under three tabs; General, Ports, and Device and
Document Settings.
• Hints
When you choose the Hints button, AutoCAD displays a help topic that helps you decide
which plotter driver to use for the selected plotter.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Device
tab (Options)
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Plot style table (pen assignments) Area
This area in the Plot dialog box allows you to view and select a plot style table, edit the current
plot style table, or create a new plot style table. A plot style is a group of pen settings that are
assigned to an object or layer and that determine the color, thickness, line ending, and the fill
style of drawing objects when they are plotted.
• Name
If you have selected more than one layout tab, each with different plot style tables assigned
to them, the Name edit box displays Varies.
• Edit
When you choose the Edit button, AutoCAD displays the Plot Style Table Editor. This
dialog box has three tabs. They are: General, Table View, and Form View.
• New
When you choose the New button, AutoCAD displays the Add Named Plot Style Table
wizard, which is used to create a new plot style table.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Device
tab (Options)
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Plot stamp Area
The options under this area are used to set the plot stamp. Plot stamp is user-defined
information that will be displayed on the sheet after plotting. You can set the plot stamping
when you use the On check box. You can set the parameters for the plot stamp by using the
Plot Stamp dialog box that is displayed when you choose the Settings button.
• What to plot Area
This area in the Plot dialog box defines what you want to plot. You can decide to plot the
Model tab, a layout tab, or multiple layout tabs. In this area of the dialog box you can also
determine the number of copies of the drawing to be plotted. The options available are as
follows.
• Current tab
• Selected tabs
• All layout tabs
• Number of copies
Learning
Objectives
Plot Device
tab (Options)
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Current tab
If this radio button is selected,
AutoCAD plots the current Model or
Layout tab. If multiple tabs are
selected in the drawing, the tab that
displays the viewing area gets plotted.
• All layout tabs
This option in the Plot dialog box plots
all layout tabs, irrespective of the tabs
that have been selected.
Learning
Objectives
• Selected tabs
If this radio button is selected,
AutoCAD plots the current Model or
Layout tab. If multiple tabs have been
selected, hold down the CTRL key
and this option becomes available.
• Number of copies
You can enter the number of copies
that you want plotted in this edit box.
You can also use the spinners to
change the value in this edit box and
plot the desired number of plots.
What to plot
Area
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Plot to file Area
The options in this area are used for plotting a drawing to a file instead of the plotter. By
default, the options in this area are not available unless you select the Plot to file check box.
• Plot to file
If you select this check box, AutoCAD plots
the output to a file rather than to the plotter.
The file is plotted in the .PLT format.
• Location
This drop-down list displays the location of
the directory where the plot file will be
stored. The default location of the plot file is
the directory where the drawing file resides.
• Browse the Web
• File Name
You can specify the file name of the plot
in this field.
• […]
When you choose the [...] button, a standard
Browse for Folder dialog box is displayed.
You can choose a location of the directory
where you want to store the plot file using
this dialog box.
When you choose this button, the Browse the Web dialog box is displayed. Here, you can
browse the Web and find a Web location where you can save the plot file.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Device
tab (Options)
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Plot Settings Tab (Plot Dialog Box)
The Plot Settings tab in the Plot dialog box
(figure) controls the paper size, orientation, scale
of plotting, plot offset, and other plotting options.
The description of the options available in this tab
is as follows.
• Paper size and paper units Area
• Drawing orientation Area
• Plot Area
• Plot scale Area
• Plot offset Area
• Shaded viewport options Area
Plot Settings tab of the Plot dialog
box
• Plot options Area
Learning
Objectives
Plot Dialog
Box
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Paper size and paper units Area
This area provides options that help you determine the paper size on which plotting takes
place. The options available in this area are discussed next.
• Plot device
The device that was selected for plotting in the Plot Device tab is displayed here.
• Paper size
The Paper size drop-down list displays all the available standard paper sizes for the
selected plotting device.
• Printable area
This is the actual dimension of the area on the paper that is used for plotting.
• inches or mm
These radio buttons specify the units to be used for plotting.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Settings
tab (Options)
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Drawing orientation Area
This area provides options that help you specify the orientation of the drawing on the paper
for the plotters that support landscape or portrait orientation. You can change the drawing
orientation by selecting the Portrait or Landscape radio buttons, with or without selecting
the Plot Upside-Down check box. The paper icon displayed on the right side of this area
indicates the media orientation of the selected paper and the letter icon (A) on it indicates
the orientation of the drawing on the page. The Landscape radio button is selected by
default for AutoCAD drawings.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Settings
tab (Options)
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Plot Area
In this area you can specify the portion of the drawing to be plotted. You can also control the
way the plotting will be carried out. The five options available in this area are:
• Limits
• Extents
• Display
• View
• Window
Learning
Objectives
Plot Settings
tab (Options)
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Limits
When you select the Limits radio button, AutoCAD plots everything within the margins of the
specified paper size. In the case of layouts, the origin is calculated at 0,0. If you are plotting
from the Model tab, the complete area defined within the drawing limits is plotted.
• Extents
If you select this option, the section of drawing that currently contains the objects is plotted. In
this respect, this option resembles the Extents option of the ZOOM command.
• Display
If you select this radio button the portion of the drawing that is currently being displayed on the
screen is plotted.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Area
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• View
Selecting the View radio button in the Plot area of the dialog box
enables you to plot a view that was created with the VIEW
command. If no view has been created, the View radio button and
the drop-down list are not available. You can select a view for
plotting from the View drop-down list and then choose OK in the
Plot dialog box.
Selecting a named
view for plotting
• Window
With this option, you can specify the section of the drawing to be plotted by defining a window.
The section of the drawing contained within the window defined by selecting a lower left corner
and an upper right corner is plotted.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Area
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Plot scale Area
This area controls the drawing scale of the plot area. The Scale drop-down list has thirtyone architectural and decimal scales apart from Custom and Scaled to Fit options. The
default scale setting is 1:1 when you are plotting a layout. But if you are plotting in a Model
tab, the default setting is Scaled to Fit.
The Scale lineweights check box is available only if you are plotting in a layout tab. This
option is not available in the Model tab. If you select the Scale lineweights check box, you
can scale lineweights in proportion to the plot scale
Learning
Objectives
Plot Settings
tab (Options)
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Plot offset Area
This area of the Plot Settings tab allows you to specify an offset of the plotting area from the
lower left corner of the paper. The lower left corner of a specified plot area is positioned at the
lower left margin of the paper by default. If you select the Center the plot check box,
AutoCAD automatically centers the plot on the paper by calculating the X and Y offset values.
This check box is not available when you are working in one of the layout tabs and the layout
radio button is selected in the Plot area of the dialog box. You can specify an offset from the
origin by entering positive or negative values in the X and Y edit boxes.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Settings
tab (Options)
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Shaded viewport options Area
The options in this area are used to print a shaded or a rendered image. These options are
discussed next.
• Shade plot
This drop-down list is used to select the technique that will be used to plot the drawings. If
you select As Displayed from this drop-down list, the drawing will be plotted as it is
displayed on the screen.
• Quality
This drop-down list is used to select printing quality in terms of dots per inch (dpi) for the
printed drawing. The Draft option prints the drawing with 0 dpi, which results in the
wireframe printout. The Preview option prints the drawing at 150 dpi, the Normal option
prints the drawing at 300 dpi, the Presentation option prints the drawing at 600 dpi, the
Maximum option prints the drawing at the selected plotting device’s maximum dpi. The
custom value of dpi can be specified in the DPI drop-down list that is enabled below the
Quality drop-down list when you select the Custom option.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Settings
tab (Options)
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Plot options Area
This area displays four additional plotting options that can be selected as per the plot
requirements. They are described next.
• Plot object lineweights
This check box is not available if the Plot
with plot styles check box is selected. To
plot the drawing without the specified
lineweights clear this check box.
• Plot paperspace last
By selecting the Plot paperspace last check
box, you get an option of plotting model
space geometry before paper space objects.
Learning
Objectives
• Plot with plot styles
When you select the Plot with plot styles
check box, AutoCAD plots using the plot
styles applied to objects in the drawing and
defined in the plot style table.
• Hide paperspace objects
This check box is used to specify whether
or not the objects drawn in the layouts will
be hidden or not while plotting.
Plot Settings
tab (Options)
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Plot Preview
You can view the plot on the specified paper size before actually plotting it by selecting the
Full Preview or Partial Preview buttons in the Plot dialog box. Previews help you find
errors and correct them prior to plotting, thus saving stationery and time. AutoCAD provides
two types of plot previews. They are:
• Full Preview
• Partial Preview
Learning
Objectives
Plot Dialog
Box
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Full Preview
When you choose the Full Preview button
AutoCAD displays the drawing on the screen just
as it would be plotted on the paper. Full preview
takes more time than the partial preview because
regeneration of the drawing takes place. A
smaller file size results in a faster regeneration.
Once regeneration is performed, the dialog boxes
on the screen are removed temporarily, and an
outline of the paper size is shown. In the plot
preview (figure), the cursor is replaced with the
Zoom Realtime icon.
Full plot preview with the shortcut menu
Learning
Objectives
Plot Preview
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Partial Preview
To generate a partial preview of a plot, choose the
Partial Preview button. The Partial Plot Preview
dialog box is displayed. The paper size is graphically
represented by the white paper icon. The dashed
rectangle shows the printable area. The blue hatched
rectangle is the section in the paper that is used by the
image. This area is also known as the effective area.
The dimensions of the paper, printable area, and
effective area are also displayed numerically.
Full plot preview with the shortcut menu
Learning
Objectives
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
After you have finished with all the settings and other parameters, if you choose the OK button
in the Plot dialog box, AutoCAD starts plotting the drawing in the file or plotters as specified.
AutoCAD displays the Plot Progress dialog box, where you can view the actual progress in
plotting.
Plot Preview Progress dialog box
Learning
Objectives
Plot Preview
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
 ADDING PLOTTERS
In AutoCAD, the plotters can be added using the PLOTTERMANAGER command.
• PLOTTERMANAGER Command
When you invoke the PLOTTERMANAGER
command, AutoCAD will display the Plotters
window, see figure. The Plotters window is
basically a Windows Explorer window. It
displays all the configured plotters and the AddA-Plotter-Wizard icon. You can choose Delete
from the shortcut menu to remove a plotter from
the list of available plotters in the Name dropdown list in the Plot/Page Setup dialog box.
Learning
Objectives
Plotters window
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Add-A-Plotter-Wizard
If you double-click on the Add-A-Plotter-Wizard icon in the Plotters window, AutoCAD
guides you to configure a nonsystem plotter for plotting your drawing files. AutoCAD stores all
the information of a configured plotter in configured plot (PC3) files. The PC3 files are stored
in AutoCAD 2004\Plotters folder by default. The steps for configuring a new plotter using the
Add-A-Plotter-Wizard are as follows:
1.
Open the Plotters window by choosing Plotter Manager from the File menu.
2.
In the Plotters window, double-click on the Add-A-Plotter-Wizard icon.
3.
In the Add Plotter wizard, carefully read the Introduction page, and then choose the
Next button to advance to the Add Plotter - Begin page.
4.
On the Add Plotter - Begin page, the My Computer radio button is selected by default.
Choose the Next button. The Add Plotter - Plotter Model page is displayed.
Learning
Objectives
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
5.
On this page, select a manufacturer and model of your nonsystem plotter from the
Manufacturers and Models list boxes respectively. Now, choose the Next button. The
Add Plotter - Import Pcp or Pc2 page is displayed.
6.
If your plotter is not present in the list of available plotters, and you have a driver disk for
your plotter, choose the Have Disk button to locate the HIF file from the driver disk, and
install the driver supplied with your plotter.
7.
In the Add Plotter - Import Pcp or Pc2 page, if you want to import configuring
information from a PCP or a PC2 file created with a previous version of AutoCAD, you
can choose the Import File button and select the file.
8.
On the Add Plotter - Ports page, select the port from the list to use when plotting and
choose Next.
9.
On the Add Plotter - Plotter Name page, you can specify the name of the currently
configured plotter or the default name will be entered automatically. Choose Next.
10. When you reach the Add Plotter - Finish page, you can choose the Finish button to
exit the Add-A-Plotter-Wizard.
Learning
Objectives
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
 EDITING PLOTTER CONFIGURATION
You can modify the properties of a selected plot device by
using the Plotter Configuration Editor. This dialog can
be invoked in several ways. As discussed earlier, when
using the Plot/ Page Setup dialog boxes, you can choose
the Properties button in the Plotter configuration area
to display the Plotter Configuration Editor, see figure.
The three tabs available in the Plotter Configuration
Editor are:
• General tab
• Ports tab
• Device and Document Settings tab
Plotter Configuration Editor
Learning
Objectives
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• General tab
This tab contains basic information about the configured plotter or the PC3 file. You can make
changes only in the Description area. The rest of the information in the tab is read only.
• Ports tab
This tab contains information about the communication between the plotting device and your
computer. You can choose between a serial (local), parallel (local), or network port. The
default settings for parallel ports is LPT1 and COM1 for serial ports.
• Device and Document Settings Tab
This tab contains plotting options specific to the selected plotter, displayed as a tree view in a
window.
Learning
Objectives
Plotter
Configuration Editor
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
 IMPORTING PCP/PC2 CONFIGURATION FILES
If you want to import a PCP or PC2 configuration file or plot settings created by previous
releases of AutoCAD into the Model tab or current layout for the drawing, you can also use
the PCINWIZARD command to display the Import PCP or PC2 Plot Settings wizard. All
the information from a PCP or PC2 file regarding plot area, rotation, plot offset, plot
optimization, plot to file, paper size, plot scale, and pen mapping can be imported. Read
the Introduction page of the wizard that is displayed carefully and then choose the Next
button. The Browse File Name page is displayed. Here you can either enter the name of
the PCP or PC2 file directly in the PC2 or PCP file name edit box or then choose the
Browse button to display the Import dialog box, where you can select the file to import.
After you specify the file for importing, choose Import to return to the wizard. Choose the
Next button to display the Finish page. After importing the files you can modify the rest of
the plot settings for the current layout.
Learning
Objectives
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
 SETTING THE PLOT PARAMETERS
Before starting with the drawing, you can set various plotting parameters in the Model tab
or in the Layouts. The plot parameters that can be set include the plotter to be used, plot
style table, the paper size, units, and so on. All these parameters can be set using the
PAGESETUP command discussed next.
• PAGESETUP Command
The PAGESETUP command can also be
invoked from the shortcut menu by right-clicking
in the current Model or any of the Layout tabs
and choosing Page Setup. When you invoke
the PAGESETUP command, AutoCAD displays
the Page Setup dialog box, see figure. The
Page Setup dialog box has two tabs that are:
• Plot Device Tab
• Layout Settings Tab
Learning
Objectives
Page Setup dialog box when
displayed in the Model tab
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Plot Device Tab
This tab specifies the current plotting device
for plotting the layout. This tab is similar to the
Plot Device tab of the Plot dialog box,
excluding the What to Plot and Plot to file
areas. The additional feature in this tab is the
Options button. If you choose the Options
button, AutoCAD displays the Plotting tab of
the Options dialog box (figure). This tab has
three areas that are:
• Default plot settings for new drawings area
• General plot options area
Plotting tab of the Options dialog box
• Default plot style behavior for new drawings area
Learning
Objectives
PAGESETUP
command
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Default plot settings for new drawings area
This area provides options to set the default plot settings. You can either decide to use the
settings that were used successfully for the last plot created by selecting the Use last
successful plot settings radio button or you can select a device from the Use as default
output device drop-down list and use it as the default device.
• General plot options area
This area provides options that control the general plotting environment. The Keep the layout
paper size if possible radio button is selected by default and allows you to keep plotting on
the paper size selected from the Paper size drop-down list in the Layout Settings tab of the
Page Setup dialog box irrespective of the plotting device selected as long as possible.
• Default plot style behavior for new drawings area
This area provides options that allow you to set the default plot style mode and table for new
drawings. These options shall be discussed later in this chapter, in “Using Plot Styles”.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Device Tab
(Options)
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Layout Settings Tab
This tab specifies the layout settings of the drawing such as paper size, drawing orientation,
plot area, plot scale, plot offset, and other plotting options. This tab is similar to the Plot
Settings tab of the Plot dialog box (discussed earlier in the chapter). The settings specified in
the Page Setup dialog box are stored with the layout. You can plot the current layout from the
Page Setup dialog box by choosing the Plot button after specifying all the necessary
parameters in the dialog box. You can also control whether the plotting should include
lineweights and whether the lineweights are in proportion to the plot scale.
Learning
Objectives
PAGESETUP
command
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Importing a Page Setup
As discussed earlier, It is possible for you to import a userdefined page setup from an existing drawing. This option
is available through the Plot/Page Setup dialog box. You
can also directly import a page setup from an existing
drawing into a new drawing layout by using the
PSETUPIN command. This command facilitates importing
a saved and named page setup from a drawing into a new
drawing. When you invoke this command, a standard file
selection dialog box is displayed, where you can locate a
drawing (.dwg) file whose page setups have to be
imported. After you select a drawing file, AutoCAD
displays the Import User Defined Page Setups dialog
box (figure). You can also enter -PSETUPIN at the
Command prompt to display prompts at the command
line.
Learning
Objectives
Import user defined page
setup(s) dialog box
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
 USING PLOT STYLES
The plot styles can change the complete look of a plotted drawing. You can use this feature
to override a drawing object’s color, linetype, and lineweight.
The plot style characteristics are defined in the plot style tables attached to the Model tab,
layouts, and viewports within the layouts. You can attach and detach different plot style
tables to get different looks for your plots. Generally, there are two plot style modes. They
are Color-Dependent and Named. The Color-dependent plot styles are based on object
color and there are 255 color-dependent plot styles. It is possible to assign each color in
the plot style a value for the different plotting properties and these settings are then saved
in a color-dependent plot style table file that has a .ctb extension. Similarly, Named plot
styles are independent of object color and you can assign any plot style to any object
regardless of that object’s color. These settings are saved in a named plot style table that
has a .stb extension. Every drawing in AutoCAD 2004 is in either one of the plot style
modes.
Learning
Objectives
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Adding a Plot Style
All plot styles are saved in the AutoCAD
2004\Plot Styles folder. If you enter
STYLESMANAGER at the command prompt,
AutoCAD displays the Plot Styles Manager
window, see figure. This window displays
icons for all the available plot styles in addition
to the Add-A-Plot Style Table Wizard icon.
You can double-click on any of the plot style
icons to display the Plot Style Table Editor
dialog box and edit the selected plot style.
When you double-click on the Add-A-Plot
Style Table Wizard icon, the Add Plot Style
Table wizard is displayed and you can use it
to create a new plot style.
Plot Styles window
Learning
Objectives
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Add-A-Plot Style Table Wizard
If you want to add a new plot style table to your drawing, double-click on the Add-A-Plot
Style Table Wizard in the Plot Styles Manager window to display the Add Plot Style Table
wizard. You can also invoke the wizard by choosing Add Plot Style Table from the Tools >
Wizards menu. The following are the steps for creating a new plot style table using the
wizard:
1.
Read the introduction page carefully and choose the Next button.
2.
In the Begin page, select the Start from scratch radio button and choose Next. This
page has three more options. They are: Use an existing plot style table, Use My R14
Plotter Configuration (CFG), and Use a PCP or PC2 file. When you use the Use an
existing plot style table option, an existing plot style table is used as a base for the
new plot style table you are creating. With the Use My R14 Plotter Configuration
(CFG) option, the pen assignments from the acad2004.cfg file is used as a base for the
new table you are creating. If you are using the Use a PCP or PC2 option, pen
assignments saved earlier in a Release 14 PCP or PC2 file are thereby used.
Learning
Objectives
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
3.
In the Pick Plot Style Table page, select the Named Plot Style Table or the ColorDependent Plot Style Table according to your requirement. Select the Color-Dependent
Plot Style Table radio button and then choose the Next button.
4.
Since, you have selected the Start from scratch radio button in the Begin page, the
Browse File page is not available and the File name page is displayed. However, if you
had selected any of the other three options available on the Begin page, the Browse File
page is displayed. You can select an existing file from the drop-down list available in this
page or choose the Browse button to display the Select File dialog box. After you have
specified the file name, choose Next to display the File name page of the wizard. In the
File name page, enter a file name for the new plot style table and choose Next.
5.
The Finish page is displayed. This page gives you the option of choosing the Plot Style
Table Editor button to display the Plot Style Table Editor and then edit the plot style table
you have created. Choose Finish in the Finish page of the wizard to exit the wizard. A
new plot style table gets added to the Plot Styles window and can be used for plotting.
Learning
Objectives
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Plot Style Table Editor
When you double-click on any of the plot style table icons available in the Plot Styles
window, the Plot Style Table Editor is displayed where you can edit the particular plot style
table. You can also choose the Plot Style Table Editor button in the Finish page to display
the Plot Style Table Editor and choose the Edit button adjacent to the Name drop-down
list in the Plot style table (pen assignments) area in the Plot Device tab of the Plot or
Page Setup dialog box to display the Plot Style Table Editor. The Plot Style Table Editor
has three tabs:
• General Tab
• Table View Tab
• Form View Tab
Learning
Objectives
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• General Tab
This tab provides the information about the file name, location of the file, version, and scale
factor. All the information except the description are read only. You can enter a description
about the plot style table in the Description text box here. If you select the Apply global
scale factor to non-ISO linetypes check box, all the non-ISO linetypes in a drawing are
scaled by the scale factor specified in the Scale factor edit box placed below the check box.
If this check box is cleared (by default), the Scale factor edit box is not available.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Style Table
Editor Tabs
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Table View Tab
This tab displays all the plot styles, available with their
properties in tabular form, that can be edited
individually here, see figure. In the case of a named
plot style table, you can edit the existing styles or add
new styles by choosing the Add Styles button. You
can select a particular plot style and choose the Delete
Style button, the selected plot styles are removed from
the table. You can also edit the value of a lineweight by
selecting it in the Lineweights list box and choosing
the Edit Lineweight button. After you have edited
lineweights, choose the Sort Lineweights button to
rearrange the lineweight values in the list box. The
Table View tab displays all 255 plot styles. The only
difference is that you cannot add a new plot style or
delete an existing one.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Style Table Editor (Table
View tab)
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
The properties that can be defined in a plot style are as follows.
• Color
• Lineweight
• Enable Dithering
• Line End Style
• Convert to grayscale
• Line Join Style
• Use assigned pen #
• Fill Style
• Virtual pen #
• Screening
• Linetype
• Adaptive adjustment
Learning
Objectives
Plot Style Table
Editor Tabs
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Color
The color you assign to plot style overrides the color of the object in the drawing. The default
value is Use object color.
• Enable Dithering
Dithering is described as a mixing of various colored dots to produce a new color. You can
enable or disable this property by selecting or clearing the check box available in this field.
• Convert to grayscale
If you are using plotter that supports gray scaling, selecting this option applies grayscale to the
objects color.
• Use assigned pen #
This property is applied only to pen plotters. The pens range from 1 to 32. The default value is
0 or Automatic, which implies that the pen used will be based on the plotter configuration.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Style
Properties options
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Virtual pen #
Nonpen plotters can behave like pen plotters using virtual pens. The value of this property lies
between 1 and 255. The default value is 0 or Automatic. This implies that AutoCAD will
assign a virtual pen automatically from the AutoCAD Color Index (ACI).
• Screening
This property of a plot style indicates the amount of ink used while plotting. The value ranges
between 0 and 100. The default value is 100, which creates the plot in its full intensity.
Similarly, a value of 0 produces white color.
• Linetype
Like the property of color, the linetype assigned to a plotstyle overrides the object linetype on
plotting. The default value is Use object linetype.
• Adaptive adjustment
This property is applied by default and implies that the linetype scale of a linetype is
applied such that on plotting, the linetype pattern will be completed.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Style
Properties options
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Lineweight
The lineweight value assigned here overrides the value of the object lineweight on plotting.
The default value is Use object lineweight.
• Line End Style
This determines the manner in which a plotted line ends. The effect of this property is more
noticeable when the thickness of the line is substantial. The line can end in a Butt, Square,
Round, or Diamond shape. The default value is Use object end style.
• Line Join Style
You can select the manner in which two lines join in a plotted drawing. The available options
are: Miter, Bevel, Round, and Diamond. The default value is Use object join style.
• Fill Style
The fill style assigned to a plot style overrides the objects fill style, when plotted. The available
options are: Solid, Checkerboard, Crosshatch, Diamonds, Horizontal Bars, Slant Left,
Slant Right, Square Dots, and Vertical Bars.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Style
Properties options
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Form View Tab
This tab displays all the properties in
a form, see figure (a). All the
available plot styles are displayed in
the Plot Styles list box. You can
select any style in the list box and
then edit its properties in the
Properties area. While creating a
named plot styles table (.stb), if you
want to add a new plot style, choose
the Add Style button and AutoCAD
will display the Add Plot Style dialog
box with default plot style name
Style 1. You can change the name of
the plot style in the Plot Style edit
box, see figure (b).
Learning
Objectives
Figure (a) Plot Style Table
Editor (Form View tab)
Figure (b)
Plot Style Table
Editor Tabs
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Applying Plot Styles
The Model, or any of the layout tabs can be assigned a plot style table. These plot style
modes for a new drawing can be determined in the Default plot style behavior for new
drawings area of the Plotting tab of the Options dialog box. The PSTYLEPOLICY system
variable also controls the default plot style modes of the new drawings.
You can select a plot style table that you want to use as a default for the drawings from the
Default plot style table drop-down list. If you select None, the drawing is plotted with the
object properties as displayed on the screen.
To change the plot style table for a current layout, you have to invoke the Page Setup or
Plot dialog box and then select a plot style table from the Name drop-down list in the Plot
style table (pen assignments) area of the Plot Device tab of the dialog box.
Learning
Objectives
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
A color-dependent plot style cannot be applied to objects or layers
and therefore the Plot Style Control drop-down list in the Object
Properties toolbar is not available. The plot styles also appear
grayed out in the Layer Properties Manager dialog box and cannot
be selected and changed. But, named plot styles can be applied to
objects and layers. To apply a plot style to a layer, invoke the Layer
Properties Manager dialog box where all the layers in the selected
tab are displayed. Select a layer to which you want to apply a plot
style and select the default plot style (Normal) currently applied to
the layer. The Select Plot Style dialog box is displayed.
You can apply a named plot style to an object using the Plot Style
Control drop-down list in the Object Properties toolbar or the
Properties window.
Select Plot Style
dialog box
Learning
Objectives
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Setting the Current Plot Style
You can use the PLOTSTYLE command to set the
current plot style for new objects or of selected objects.
When you enter PLOTSTYLE at the Command prompt,
and if no object has been selected in the drawing,
AutoCAD displays the Current Plot Style dialog box,
see figure. But if any object selection is there in the
drawing, then AutoCAD displays the Select Plot Style
dialog box, which has been discussed earlier. You can
select a plot style from the list box and choose OK to
assign it to the selected objects in the drawing. You can
select any one of the plot styles and choose OK. Now,
when you create new objects, they will have the plot
style that you had set current in the Current Plot Style
dialog box. The parameters of this dialog box are
described next.
Learning
Objectives
Current Plot Style dialog box
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Current plot style
The name of the current plot style is displayed adjacent to this label.
• Plot style list box
This list box lists all the available plot styles that can be assigned to an object, including the
default plot style, Normal.
• Active plot style table
This drop-down list displays the names of all the available plot style tables. The current plot
style table attached to the current layout or viewport is displayed in the edit box.
• Editor
This button displays the Plot Style Table Editor to edit the selected plot style table.
• Attached to
The tab to which the selected plot style table is attached, Model or any one of the layout tabs,
is displayed next to this label.
Learning
Objectives
Current Plot
Style
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
 Exercise 1
Make the drawing shown in figure. Create a named
plot style table My Named Table.stb with three plot
styles: Style1, Style2, and Style3, in addition to the
Normal plot style. The Normal plot style is used for
plotting the object lines. These three styles have the
following specifications.
Style 1. This style has a value of Screening = 50.
The dimensions, dimension lines, and the text in the
drawing must be plotted with this style.
Style 2. This style has a value of Lineweight = 0.800.
The border and title block must be plotted with this
style.
Style 3. This style has a linetype of Medium Dash.
The centerlines must be plotted with this plot style.
Learning
Objectives
Drawing for Exercise 1
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
 BATCH PLOTTING
Batch plotting is used to plot several drawings with or
without their associated configuration files (PC3 files).
Batch plot is not an AutoCAD command and cannot
be run within AutoCAD. It is a Visual Basic batch
plotting utility that can be executed at the system
prompt. In Windows 95, 98, or NT operating systems,
you can choose Run, and then select Batchplt.exe
from AutoCAD 2004 directory, see figure.
Invoking the AutoCAD Batch Plot
Utility from the Run dialog box
You can save the list in a batch plot list (BP3) file.
Batch plot allows you to change the layout for
plotting, change plotting parameters, or change a
plotting device. When you choose Batch Plot Utility
by the above-mentioned methods, the AutoCAD
Batch Plot Utility window is displayed (figure).
Learning
Objectives
AutoCAD
Batch
Utility window
Plot
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
The following columns are displayed for a drawing file in this window.
• Drawing File
The file name of the drawing to be plotted is displayed here.
• Path
The full path for the drawing file is displayed.
• Layout
The name of the layout of the drawing file that you want to plot is displayed.
• Page Setup
The name of the page setup for plotting this drawing is displayed.
• Plot Device
The name of the PC3 file for plotting the drawing is displayed.
Learning
Objectives
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• File Menu (AutoCAD Batch Plot Utility window)
The following options are available in the File menu
of the AutoCAD Batch Plot Utility window. These
options are also available through the toolbar
buttons in the dialog box, see figure, or through the
shortcut menu that is displayed when you select a
drawing in the window and right-click.
• Add Drawing
• Save List
• Remove
• Plot
• New List
• Plot Test
• Open List
• Logging
• Append List
• Exit
Learning
Objectives
AutoCAD Batch
window toolbar
Plot
Utility
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Add Drawing
This option displays the Add Drawing File dialog box to select the drawing files you want to
add to the batch plot file list.
• Remove
You can use this option to remove a selected drawing from the batch plot list.
• New List
You can use this option to open a new batch plot list window.
• Open List
This option displays the Open Batch Plot List dialog box to select and load a saved Batch Plot
List (BP3) file. The new file replaces the current file listing.
• Append List
When you choose this option from the File menu in the batch plot utility window, the Append
Batch Plot List File dialog box is displayed. You can use this dialog box to select a BP3 file.
Learning
Objectives
Current Plot
Style
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Save List
This option saves the existing Batch Plot List and PC3 information in a BP3 file.
• Plot
This option plots the drawing files listed in the list box according to the settings as defined in
the corresponding PC3 file.
• Plot Test
AutoCAD will load but does not plot each drawing in the batch. You can check for missing
xrefs, fonts, or shapes. You can use the Plot Test option to correct any problems that will
affect the drawings during plotting. The results of the test are displayed in the Plot Test
Results window. You can choose OK to exit this dialog box. You can also save the plot results
as a text file that can be viewed later by choosing the Save As button. The Save Plot Test
Results dialog box is displayed where you can select a folder to save the text file in and then
choose Save to return to the Save Plot Test Results dialog box. If you choose the Append
to log button, the test results are added, especially if errors are encountered, to a log.
Learning
Objectives
Current Plot
Style
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Logging
When you choose the Logging button, the Logging dialog
box is displayed. You can create both plot journal logging and
error logging by default. The Enable journal logging and
Enable error logging check boxes are selected by default in
the Plot journal and Error log areas of the Logging dialog
box respectively. Plot journal logging creates a log about
when and who plotted each drawing while Error logging
shows whether any errors were encountered during plotting. If
you select the Append radio button, the current log file created
will be also saved be in addition to the previous log file.
• Exit
Exit closes the AutoCAD Batch Plot Utility dialog box. The
existing list of files and the corresponding plot configurations
will be lost if they have not been saved.
Learning
Objectives
Logging dialog box
Current Plot
Style
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Options Menu (AutoCAD Batch Plot Utility window)
The following options are available in the Options menu of the AutoCAD Batch Plot Utility
window.
• Layouts
• Page Setups
• Plot Devices
• Plot Settings
• Layers
Learning
Objectives
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Layouts
This options displays the Layouts dialog box, see figure (for
single or multiple drawings) depending upon the number of
drawings selected. You can use these dialog boxes to change
the layouts to plot. The default layout is Current Tab and it is
the tab in which the drawing was saved last. You can choose
the Show all layouts button to display all the layouts in the
selected drawing. You can either select the Plot all layouts
radio button to plot all the available layouts or select the Plot
selected layouts radio button and select any layouts from the
list box. Once you have selected the layouts in the list box,
choose OK to exit the dialog box. The selected layouts are
displayed in the AutoCAD Batch Plot Utility window under
the Layout column.
Learning
Objectives
Layouts dialog box
Options
Menu
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Page Setups
This option displays the Page Setups dialog box that lists all
the available setups. You can also import new setups from
other drawings. Choose the [...] button to display the Select
Drawing dialog box that is used to select a drawing whose
page setup you want to import and choose Open. The selected
drawing whose page setup is to be used is displayed in the
Load page setups from drawing or template area of the
dialog box. You can select a setup by selecting it in the list box
to highlight it and then choosing the OK button to exit the
dialog box. The selected page setup name is displayed in the
Page Setup column of the AutoCAD Batch Plot Utility
window.
Learning
Objectives
Page
box
Setups
dialog
Options
Menu
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Plot Devices
This option displays the Plot Devices dialog box that lists all
the available plotting devices. You can specify a plot device for
each drawing that will be used while plotting. The Show plot
device description check box is selected by default and
displays a description of the device selected from the Plot
devices list box in the Description area. You can choose the
Browse button to display the Open Plot Configuration File
dialog box. You can select another plot configuration file (apart
from the ones listed in the list box) using this dialog box and
then choose the Open button to return to the Plot Devices
dialog box. The selected plot configuration file gets added to the
Plot devices list box. The selected device is displayed in the
Plot Device column in the AutoCAD Batch Plot Utility
window.
Learning
Objectives
Plot
box
Devices
dialog
Options
Menu
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Plot Settings
This option displays the Plot Setting tab of
the Plot Settings dialog box where you can
specify the area to plot, refer to scaling, and
find other information. You can decide the
area that you want to plot by selecting one of
the radio buttons in the Plot area. The scale
at which the drawing is to be plotted is
displayed in the Plot Scale area. You can
modify the scale that was selected earlier in
the Page setup/Plot dialog box for plotting
by selecting another scale from the Scale
drop-down list in the Plot Scale area. You
can also select the scale lineweights check
box in the Plot scale area.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Settings dialog box
Options
Menu
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
• Layers
This option displays the Layers tab of the
Plot Settings dialog box where you can
specify the layers to plot. You can select a
layer or multiple layers in this list box and
change their status from on to off or from off
to on by choosing the Off or On buttons
respectively. You can use the SHIFT or CTRL
keys to select multiple layers in the list box.
For example, if you select a layer whose
status is on and you want to turn it off, select
the layer and choose the Off button. Once
you have determined whether you want to
turn off or turn on the plotting of layers in the
list box, choose the OK button to return to
the AutoCAD Batch Plot Utility dialog box.
Learning
Objectives
Plot Settings dialog box (Layers tab)
Options
Menu
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
 Exercise 2
Create the drawing shown in figure and plot it according to the following specifications.
Create and use a plot style table with the specified plot styles.
1.
The drawing is to be plotted on 10 x 8 inch paper.
2.
The object lines must be plotted with a plot style
Style 1 (value of lineweight = 0.800 mm).
3.
The dimension lines must be plotted with plot style
Style 2 (value of screening = 50).
4.
The centerlines must be plot with plot style Style
3. Style 3 must have a linetype of Medium Dash
and screening = 50.
5.
The border and title block must be plotted with
plot style Style 4. The value of lineweight =0.25
mm.
Learning
Objectives
Drawing for Exercise 2
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
 Exercise 3
Create the drawing shown in figure and plot
the drawing according to your specifications.
Drawing for Exercise 3
Learning
Objectives
Chapter 12 /Plotting Drawings
 Problem Solving Exercise 1
Make the drawing shown in the figure and plot it
according to your specifications.
Drawing
for
Exercise 1
Learning
Objectives
Problem
Solving