Читать книгу AutoCAD For Dummies - Ralph Grabowski - Страница 38

The following steps should produce a satisfactory plot in almost all circumstances, though specific brands and models of plotter or printer might sometimes vary the result. Writers call this introduction the CYA, or Cover Your Backside, statement.

Follow these steps to plot a drawing:

1  Click the Plot button on the Quick Access toolbar or press Ctrl+P.The Quick Access toolbar is at the left end of the program’s title bar, just to the right of the Application button. The Plot icon looks like an ordinary desktop printer.AutoCAD opens the Plot – Model dialog box, with the title bar showing what you’re plotting (Model, in this case). See Figure 3-10.If you don’t see all the option windows shown down the right side of the dialog box in Figure 3-10, click the arrow in the lower-right corner.

2 In the Printer/Plotter section, select a printer from the Name drop-down list.When in doubt, the Default Windows System Printer usually works.

3 In the Paper Size section, use the drop-down list to select a paper size that’s loaded in the printer or plotter.Anything Letter size (8½ x 11 inches) [A4 (210 x 297mm)] or larger works for this example.

4 In the Plot Area section, select Limits from the What to Plot drop-down list.This is the entire drawing area, which you specified when you set up the drawing in the section “A Simple Setup,” earlier in this chapter.

5 In the Plot Offset section, select the Center the Plot check box.Alternatively, you can specify offsets of 0 or other amounts to position the plot at a specific location on the paper.

6 In the Plot Scale section, deselect the Fit to Paper check box and choose 1:10 from the Scale drop-down list.You receive no prize for guessing the metric equivalent of 1:10.

7 In the Plot Style Table (Pen Assignments) section, click the drop-down list and choose monochrome.ctb.The monochrome.ctb plot style table ensures that all lines appear in solid black rather than as different colors or weird shades of gray. See Chapter 16 for information about plot style tables and monochrome and color plotting.

8 Click Yes when the question dialog box appears, asking Assign This Plot Style Table to All Layouts?You can leave the remaining settings at their default values as shown in Figure 3-10.

9 Click the Preview button.If the plot scale you entered in the Plot dialog box is out of sync with the drawing’s annotation scale, the Plot Scale Confirm dialog box appears, advising you that the annotation scale isn’t equal to the plot scale. This drawing doesn’t contain text or dimensions, and you didn’t make the hatch annotative, so you can click Continue to generate the plot.FIGURE 3-10: The Plot dialog box, with the More Options area visible. Annotative scaling controls the printed size of text, dimensions, hatching, and other types of annotation objects at plot time — as long as the drawing’s annotation scale matches the plot scale. I explain annotative objects in Chapters 13 and 14.The Plot dialog box disappears temporarily, and AutoCAD shows how the plot will look on paper.

10 Right-click in the preview area and choose Exit.

11 If the preview doesn’t look the way you want, adjust the settings in the Plot dialog box and click the Preview button again. Continue to adjust the settings until the plot looks right.

12 Click OK.The Plot Scale Confirm dialog box pops up again. You may be tempted to click Always Continue Under These Conditions, but I recommend against it until you’re more familiar with annotative objects.The Plot dialog box closes. AutoCAD generates the plot and sends it to the printer. AutoCAD then displays a Plot and Publish Job Complete balloon notification from the right end of the status bar. A link labeled Click to View Plot and Publish Details displays more information about the plot job.

13 Click the Close (X) button in the Plot and Publish Job Complete balloon notification.The balloon notification disappears. If you’re not happy with the lineweights of the lines on your plot at this point, fear not: You can use the lineweights feature (see Chapter 9) or plot styles (see Chapter 16) to control plotted lineweights.

14 Press Ctrl+S to save the drawing.You successfully executed your first plot in AutoCAD. Chapter 16 tells you much more about AutoCAD’s highly flexible but occasionally perplexing plotting system.