AutoCAD 2005 for Dummies

space layout tab or Limits for the model space tab.

 • Display means the drawing as it’s currently displayed in the drawing window (including any white space — or black space — around the drawing objects).

 • Extents means the rectangular area containing all the objects in the drawing.

 • Limits means the model space area that you specified (or should have specified) when you set up the drawing, See Chapter 3 for details.

 • Window means a rectangular area that you specify.

 • View means a named view, which you select from the drop-down list (Chapter 7 describes named views and how to create them).

  Usually, you’ll choose to plot Layout in paper space. For model space, the choice depends on whether the drawing was set up properly and what you want to plot. If you set limits properly, as I suggest in Chapter 3, then plot Limits in order to get the whole drawing area. If you’re trying to plot a drawing in which the limits weren’t set properly, try Extents instead. Use Window or View if you want to plot just a portion of model space.

? Plot Offset: A plot offset of X=0 and Y=0 positions the plot at the lowerleft corner of the plottable area. If you want to move the plot from this default position on the paper, enter nonzero numbers or turn on the Center the Plot option. (The Center the Plot option is available only when you haven’t selected Layout from the What to Plot list.)

? Shaded Viewport Options: If your drawing includes viewports showing shaded or rendered 3D models (see Chapter 8), use this area to control the plotted appearance.

? Plot Options: The Plot Object Lineweights option and the Plot with Plot Styles option control whether AutoCAD uses the features described in the “Plotting with style” and “Plotting through thick and thin” sections earlier in this chapter.

  The Hide Paperspace Objects option controls whether AutoCAD hides objects that are behind other objects when a 3D model is displayed in a viewport. If your drawing is entirely 2D, then this option doesn’t matter. If your drawing includes 3D objects, them turning on this setting is like applying the 3DOrbit command’s Hidden option, described in Chapter 8, to the plot.

? Plot Upside-Down: Turn on this setting if you want to rotate the plot 180 degrees on the paper (a handy option for plotting in the southern hemisphere, or for avoiding having to cock your head at an uncomfortable angle as you watch plots come out of the plotter).

  AutoCAD normally generates plots in the foreground — that is, the plotting process takes over the program for the entire time that the program is creating the plot. AutoCAD 2005 includes a new background plotting feature that returns control of the program to you more quickly. If you have a reasonably fast computer with adequate memory, turn on this feature in the Options dialog box: Choose Tools>Options, click the Plot and Publish tab, and turn on Plotting in the Background Processing Options area.

  If you want to automate plotting for a batch of drawings, check out Chapter 15.

Troubles with Plotting

No matter how many times you read this chapter or how carefully you study the AutoCAD documentation, you’ll occasionally run into plotting problems. You’re especially likely to encounter problems when trying to plot other people’s drawings, because you don’t always know what plotting conventions they had in mind. (Plotting conventions aren’t where spies meet; they’re a standardized approach to plotting issues.) Table 12-1 describes some of the more common plotting problems and solutions.

 Table 12-1 Plotting Problems and Solutions

Problem	Possible Solution
Nothing comes out of the plotter (system printer driver).	Check whether you can print to the device from other Windows applications. If not, it’s not an AutoCAD problem. Try the Windows Print Troubleshooter (Start>Help>Contents>Troubleshooting and Maintenance).
Nothing comes out of the plotter (nonsystem printer driver).	Choose File>Plotter Manager, double-click the plotter configuration, and check the settings.
Objects don’t plot the way they appear on-screen.	Check for a plot style table with weird settings, or try plotting without a plot style table.
Objects appear “ghosted” or with washed-out colors.	In the plot style table, set Color to Black for all colors.
Scaled to Fit doesn’t work right in paper space.	Change the plot area from Layout to Extents.
The HP enhanced Windows system driver that came on the AutoCAD 2005 CD, and the available paper sizes aren’t right (for example, no architectural paper sizes).	On the Plot dialog box’s Plot Device tab, click the Properties button, and then the Custom Properties button (near the bottom), and then the More Sizes button to specify the standard and custom paper sizes.
Something else is wrong.	Check the plot log: Click the Plot/Publish Details Report Available icon near the right end of the status bar and look for error messages.

Part IV Share and Share Alike

In this part…