How do I plot to a specific page size and scale?

[hyrumbradshaw]

Ok I have been using autocad for a while now for various assignments and I can NEVER figure out how to print (or save) in the right page size and scale. I know how to pick the paper size but my drawing never fits it right when i preview and it is never in the right scale. I may have messed up the scale of my drawing in trying to figure it out. So at this point there is no telling what scale it is currently at. I am trying to print on an 11.17 sheet at 1"=40'. If anyone can help me please do.

 

Thanks

 

New Guy

[New2CADmike]

When I first started here ,the first thing I learned was never scale the drawing when you are drawing in model space..the main reason is when you dimension your drawing,the numbers will be correct..if a wall is 40 feet long, draw it that long..if it is scaled to 50 percent, the dimension will say 20 feet..which is wrong..The scaling to fit the paper is done in paperspace..Now as you can see,I am using 2000 version..maybe the paper set up is different in 2010..I am sure that some one will set you straight on that..Mike

[hyrumbradshaw]

yeah hopefully someone can help me. please someone help.

[Tiger]

1. Go to Page Setup Manager (right-click on the Layout-tab)

2. Select a printer, select paper size, Set Plot Scale to 1:1 and Plot Area to Extents.

3. Hit Ok.

4. Create a Viewport (command MVIEW for example)

5. Double-click inside the viewport to make it active, do a Zoom > Extents to get everything visible or Zoom/Pan to the area you want to plot.

6. At the bottom right corner there is a box where you can select the scale, select a suitable scale.

7. Click the Lock-button next to the Scale-box so that you don't mess up the scale by accident.

 

This is my way to do this, there are other methods but the all boil down to the same as what Mike said - draw everything in 1:1 in Model Space and set the scaling on a Viewport.

[Pablo Ferral]

Here's a link to my favorite tutorial site:

http://www.we-r-here.com/cad/tutorials/level_2/2-8.htm

[hyrumbradshaw]

ok tiger when I create a viewport it wants me to select the area. when i drag a box to select an area it changes my drawing, looks like it places another one on top. so I undo that and hit extents and then choose my scale. when i choose the scale the image no longer fits on the page. another issue i am having is that my drawing is taller than it is wide and when i select the 11x17 it is setup with the 17 on the horizontal axis so my drawing doesnt fit good on the page.

[todouble22]

ok tiger when I create a viewport it wants me to select the area. when i drag a box to select an area it changes my drawing, looks like it places another one on top. so I undo that and hit extents and then choose my scale. when i choose the scale the image no longer fits on the page. another issue i am having is that my drawing is taller than it is wide and when i select the 11x17 it is setup with the 17 on the horizontal axis so my drawing doesnt fit good on the page.

did you try the fit option of the mview command? does it need to be at a certain scale at all or do you just want it to fit to the plot area your using like 11x17

[hyrumbradshaw]

it does need to be a certain scale. 1" is equal to 40'. my drawing should pretty much fill an 11x17 at that scale.

[hyrumbradshaw]

maybe i should start by changing my view of the paper. my drawing in paperspace is 8.5x11 landscape. if i could get it 11x17 portrait or 11 horizontal and 17 vertical i think i could zoom it to make it work... that still wont solve my problem with not knowing how to scale and print (plot) a drawing correctly.

[hyrumbradshaw]

ok im figuring it out here. I have the right page size and the right orientation but there is still a window the 8.5x11 within my 11x17 and when i zoom or try and get the drawing to fit the 11x17 nothing shows up and is cut off outside the 8.5x11. i tried attaching the file but its about 315k so its too big to attach on this forum... how do i expand the 8.5x11 filter/window to allow my drawing to fit in the 11x17?

[New2CADmike]

This is what I do in 2000..now that you have the paper size and orientation..click on the viewport window..all 4 corners should be lit up with a square to grab..just hit delete and the viewport will disapear..All you have now is a sheet of paper on the screen..on the command line type in..mview..

 

The response will say Specify corner of viewport or...bla bla ..fit..Fit is what I am after..type in fit and then hit the enter key..this will give you a viewport as large as the paper and printer can handle..also your drawing should be showing in the viewport..now you create the scale from there

[hyrumbradshaw]

ok maybe i dont know what the viewport window is or something cause i click it and nothing is selected... I can select the lines in my drawing but i dont think i want to delete those... the line around my drawing (within the 11x 17) is not selectable.

[todouble22]

ok maybe i dont know what the viewport window is or something cause i click it and nothing is selected... I can select the lines in my drawing but i dont think i want to delete those... the line around my drawing (within the 11x 17) is not selectable.

THE VIEWPORT IS IN PAPER SPACE. sorry for caps.. work mode. your drawing comes in from model space. when you create your vport in paper space follow the prompt like i said before to FIT. the viewport will be a rectangle in paper space that surrounds the page setup area. you can set it to layer say "vp" and set it to no plot in your layer dialog box.

[hyrumbradshaw]

Todd it worked! once i got the page size and orientation the right way the mview worked to fill the page. thanks!