Troubles with Plotting

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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 (StartðHelpðContentsðTroubleshooting and Maintenance).

Nothing comes out of the plotter (nonsystem printer driver).

Choose FileðPlotter 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 2004 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. See the “Plotter Configuration” section under “Getting up close and personal with the Plot dialog box” earlier in this chapter for more information.


Part IV: Share and Share Alike

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In This Part:

Chapter 13: Playing Blocks and Rasteroids
Chapter 14: CAD Standards Rule
Chapter 15: Drawing on the Internet

Part Overview

In this part . . .

After you get the lines and text right, you may be justified in thinking that your work in AutoCAD is done. But AutoCAD enables you to do so much more! Blocks and external references help you manage data within drawings, between drawings, and across a network. If you plan to share drawings — whether among your own projects, with people in your office, or with folks in other companies, you need to think about consistency in presentation and drawing organization — in other words, CAD standards. The Internet is the biggest ongoing swap meet in human history, and AutoCAD offers some unique trading possibilities — and potential pitfalls — via e-mail and the Web. With the information in this part, you’ll be teaching AutoCAD how to give and receive in no time.

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