Page Setup

Name

Displays the name of the current page setup.

Icon

Indicates that the Page Setup dialog box was opened from a layout.

Printer/Plotter

Specifies a configured plotting device to use when plotting or publishing layouts.

Name

Lists the available PC3 files or system printers from which you can select to plot or publish the current layout. An icon in front of the device name identifies it as a PC3 file or a system printer.

Properties

Displays the Plotter Configuration Editor (PC3 editor), in which you can view or modify the current plotter configuration, ports, device, and media settings.

If you make changes to the PC3 file using the Plotter Configuration Editor, the Changes to a Printer Configuration File dialog box is displayed.

Plotter

Displays the plot device specified in the currently selected page setup.

Where

Displays the physical location of the output device specified in the currently selected page setup.

Description

Displays descriptive text about the output device specified in the currently selected page setup. You can edit this text in the Plotter Configuration Editor.

Partial Preview

Shows an accurate representation of the effective plot area relative to the paper size and printable area. The tooltip displays the paper size and printable area.

Paper Size

Displays standard paper sizes that are available for the selected plotting device.

If the selected plotter doesn't support the layout's selected paper size, a warning is displayed, and you can select the plotter's default paper size or a custom paper size.

A default paper size is set for the plotting device when you create a PC3 file with the Add-a-Plotter wizard. For information about this wizard, see Set Up Plotters and Printers in the Driver and Peripheral Guide. The paper size that you select in the Page Setup dialog box is saved with the layout and overrides the PC3 file settings.

The actual printable area of the page, which is determined by the selected plotting device and paper size, is indicated in the layout by a dashed line.

If you are plotting a raster image, such as a BMP or TIFF file, the size of the plot is specified in pixels, not in inches or millimeters.

Plot Area

Specifies the area of the drawing to be plotted. Under What to Plot, you can select an area of the drawing to be plotted.

Layout/Limits

When plotting a layout, plots everything within the printable area of the specified paper size, with the origin calculated from 0,0 in the layout.

When plotting from the Model tab, plots the entire drawing area that is defined by the grid limits. If the current viewport does not display a plan view, this option has the same effect as the Extents option.

Extents

Plots the portion of the current space of the drawing that contains objects. All geometry in the current space is plotted. The drawing may be regenerated to recalculate the extents before plotting.

Display

Plots the view in the current viewport in the Model tab or in the current paper space view in a layout tab.

View

Plots a view that was previously saved with the VIEW command.

Window

Plots any portion of the drawing that you specify. When you specify the two corners of the area to plot, the Window button becomes available.

Click the Window button to use the pointing device to specify the two corners of the area to be plotted, or enter coordinate values.

Plot Offset

Specifies an offset of the plot area relative to the lower-left corner of the printable area or to the edge of the paper, depending on the setting made in the Specify Plot Offset Relative To option (Options dialog box, Plot and Publish tab). The Plot Offset area of the Page Setup dialog box displays the specified plot offset option in parentheses.

The printable area of a drawing sheet is defined by the selected output device and is represented by a dashed line in a layout. When you change to another output device, the printable area may change.

You can offset the geometry on the paper by entering a positive or negative value in the X and Y offset boxes. The plotter unit values are in inches or millimeters on the paper.

Center the Plot

Automatically calculates the X and Y offset values to center the plot on the paper.

X

Specifies the plot origin in the X direction relative to the setting of the Plot Offset Definition option.

Y

Specifies the plot origin in the Y direction relative to the setting of the Plot Offset Definition option.

Plot Scale

Controls the relative size of drawing units to plotted units.

Fit to Paper

Scales the plot to fit within the selected paper size and displays the custom scale factor in the Scale, Inch =, and Units boxes.

Scale

Defines the exact scale for the plot. Custom defines a user-defined scale. You can create a custom scale by entering the number of inches (or millimeters) equal to the number of drawing units.

Inch(es) =/mm =/Pixel(s) =

Specifies the number of inches, millimeters, or pixels equal to the specified number of units.

Inch/mm/pixel

Specifies inches or mm for display of units in the Plot dialog box. The default is based on the paper size and changes each time a new paper size is selected. Pixel is available only when a raster output is selected.

Units

Specifies the number of units equal to the specified number of inches, millimeters, or pixels.

Scale Lineweights

Scales lineweights in proportion to the plot scale. Lineweights normally specify the linewidth of plotted objects and are plotted with the linewidth size regardless of the plot scale.

Plot Style Table (Pen Assignments)

Sets the plot style table, edits the plot style table, or creates a new plot style table.

Name (Unlabeled)

Displays the plot style table that is assigned to the current Model tab or layout tab and provides a list of the currently available plot style tables.

If you select New, the Add Plot Style Table wizard is displayed, which you can use to create a new plot style table. The wizard that is displayed is determined by whether the current drawing is in color-dependent or named mode.

Edit

Displays the Plot Style Table Editor, in which you can view or modify plot styles for the currently assigned plot style table.

Display Plot Styles

Controls whether the properties of plot styles assigned to objects are displayed on the screen.

Shaded Viewport Options

Specifies how shaded viewports are plotted and determines their resolution levels and dots per inch (dpi).

Shade Plot

Specifies how views are plotted. To specify this setting for a viewport on a layout tab, select the viewport and then, on the Tools menu, click Properties.

From the Model tab, you can select from the following options:

• As Displayed: Plots objects the way they are displayed on the screen.
• Wireframe: Plots objects in wireframe regardless of the way they are displayed on the screen.
• Hidden: Plots objects with hidden lines removed regardless of the way they are displayed on the screen.

Quality

Specifies the resolution at which shaded viewports are plotted.

You can select from the following options:

• Draft: Sets shaded model space views to be plotted as wireframe.
• Preview: Sets shaded model space views to be plotted at one quarter of the current device resolution, to a maximum of 150 dpi.
• Normal: Sets shaded model space views to be plotted at one half of the current device resolution, to a maximum of 300 dpi.
• Presentation: Sets shaded model space views to be plotted at the current device resolution, to a maximum of 600 dpi.
• Maximum: Sets shaded model space views to be plotted at the current device resolution with no maximum.
• Custom: Sets shaded model space views to be plotted at the resolution setting that you specify in the DPI box, up to the current device resolution.

DPI

Specifies the dots per inch for shaded views, up to the maximum resolution of the current plotting device.

Plot Options

Specifies options for lineweights, transparency, plot styles, shaded plots, and the order in which objects are plotted.

Plot Object Lineweights

Specifies whether lineweights assigned to objects and layers are plotted.

Plot Transparency

Specifies whether object transparency is plotted. This option should only be used when plotting drawings with transparent objects.

Important For perfomance reasons, plotting transparency is disabled by default. To plot transparent objects, check the Plot Transparency option. This setting can be overridden by the PLOTTRANSPARENCYOVERRIDE system variable. By default, the system variable honors the setting in the Page Setup and the Plot dialog boxes.

Plot with Plot Styles

Specifies whether plot styles applied to objects and layers are plotted.

Plot Paper Space Last

Plots model space geometry first. Paper space geometry is usually plotted before model space geometry.

Hide Paper Space Objects

Specifies whether the HIDE operation applies to objects in the paper space viewport. This option is available only from a layout tab. The effect of this setting is reflected in the plot preview, but not in the layout.

Drawing Orientation

Specifies the orientation of the drawing on the paper for plotters that support landscape or portrait orientation.

Portrait

Orients and plots the drawing so that the short edge of the paper represents the top of the page.

Landscape

Orients and plots the drawing so that the long edge of the paper represents the top of the page.

Plot Upside-Down

Orients and plots the drawing upside-down.

Icon

Indicates the media orientation of the selected paper and represents the orientation of the drawing on the page as a letter on the paper.

Preview

Displays the drawing as it will appear when plotted on paper by executing the PREVIEW command.