Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
To make matters even
more
confusing, if you make any changes in the
Plotter Configuration Editor dialog box, AutoCAD prompts you to save the
changes to a separate PC3 file. You should choose Save Changes to the Following
File (that is, create a new AutoCAD-specific configuration that includes the revised
settings) and type a configuration name that you'll recognize later. When you want
to plot with custom settings, remember to choose the AutoCAD-specific PC3 con-
figuration near the end of the Printer/Plotter Name drop-down list, and not the ori-
ginal Windows system printer configuration near the beginning of the list.
Plot to File:
If you need to plot to a file, rather than directly to your plotter or net-
work printer queue, select the Plot to File option. When you click OK to plot,
AutoCAD asks you for a plot filename and location. You may need to use this op-
tion to create files to send to a plotting service bureau.
AutoCAD 2009 added DWFx to its ePlot options. DWFx is a flavored version of DWF
that conforms to Microsoft's XPS page description language. For most people, the
handiest thing about this format is that if you plot to DWFx, the resulting file can
be displayed in Windows Explorer (as long as you're running in Windows Vista or
later).
Plotting to the
DWG to PDF.pc3
file creates versions of your drawing files that
can be opened and viewed in the free and widely available Adobe Reader software.
Plot Stamp On:
Use this option to turn on and off and configure the contents of a
text string that AutoCAD adds automatically to the corner of each plot. The plot
stamp can include useful information, such as the drawing's filename and plot
date and time.
Plot Area:
Specify the area of the drawing to plot. Your choices include Display, Ex-
tents, and Window, regardless of whether you're plotting a paper space layout or
model space. If you defined named views in the drawing, AutoCAD adds a View op-
tion. The additional choice is Layout for a paper space layout or Limits for model
space.
•
Display:
The drawing as it's currently displayed in the drawing window (in-
cluding any empty space around the drawing objects).
•
Extents:
The rectangular area containing all the objects in the drawing.
•
Limits (full-screen model space only):
The model space area that you may or
may not have specified when you set up the drawing. If you did not specific-
ally set your drawing's limits (as I demonstrate in Chapter 3), then plotting
limits will give unpredictable results. Use one of the other options instead.
