Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
2. Click Model (not the MODEL/PAPER button) on the status bar to ensure
that you're plotting the model space contents. If you have the Model and Layout
tabs displayed, rather than the status-bar buttons, click the Model tab.
I explain model space and paper space in Chapters 4 and 5, and how to plot paper
space layouts in the section “Plotting the Layout of the Land,” later in this chapter.
3. Zoom to the drawing's current extents; click the Zoom Extents button on the Nav-
igation bar (if necessary, click the tiny down-arrow below the Zoom button and
choose Zoom Extents from the menu). Or type
Z
, press Enter, then type
E
and press
Enter again.
The extents of a drawing consist of a rectangular area just large enough to include
all the objects in the drawing.
4. To display the Plot dialog box, click the Plot button on the Quick Access
Toolbar.
The Plot dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 16-2.
AutoCAD automatically appends whatever you're about to plot in the
dialog box's title bar. For example, in Figure 16-2 the dialog box title is Plot - Model.
If you're plotting a layout and haven't changed the layout name, the title might be
Plot - Layout1. If you have changed the layout name, the dialog box title will be Plot
- First Floor Plan or whatever you've renamed it to. In this topic I call it, simply, the
Plot dialog box.
5. In the Printer/Plotter area, select a device from the Name drop-down list.
6. In the Paper Size area, select a paper size that's loaded in your printer or plotter.
Make sure that the paper size is large enough to fit the drawing at the scale at
which you want to plot it. For example, if you want to plot a D-size drawing, but you
have only a B-size printer, you're out of luck — unless you resort to multiple pieces
of paper and lots of tape.
