Moving to Paper Space

[DB007]

We have until now always used Model Space for drawings and really with LT and the type of drawings we create this was fine.

 

I have started to look at Paper space solely to utilize the sheet set manager in 2012 for printing and immediately felt like I was back on my 1st day I ever looked at AutoCad! I found several tutorials online and at AU, but still stuck on a few things that hopefully regular paper space users will have no trouble in answering:-

 

I thought the most simple start would be to take a dwg with everything in Model space and create a layout with 1 viewport. (for now even the title block can stay in model space and I will start adding fields later if I can work this out)

 

So I used page setup manager to prepare my layout for A1, which it gave me dims of 594 x 841 for the printable area. I created a viewport that was the same size and used properties box to centre it, but it doesnt centre it on the layout and when i print it doesn't show the right and top edges of the viewport? Is there an easy way to centre it exactly to the printable area?

 

Once created is there a way to use co-ordinates to get the right view in the viewport. Say if all our drawings started at 0,0 bottom left in model space can i tell the viewport to look at 0,0 and the top right co-ordinate of the drawing at the scale I want?

 

Are both of the above the right way to do this? Or is there a more straight forward method.

 

Thanks in advance.

[CyberAngel]

You can specify that a plot be centered instead of using XY offsets. Check the "Center the plot" box in the offset area of your plot window (lower left).

 

If you define a view in model space, you can create a viewport to show that view.

 

If those solutions are too simple, please provide more information.

[Tiger]

An A1 is 594x841 but that is with the margins. If your Viewport is that size as well, it won't show when you print because of the margins set on your printer.

 

If you create a template with a ready-made viewport, you can zoom that viewport to be at a certain location. That way, all future drawings using that template will have the same viewport-location. I have never found it too many steps to create a viewport, double-click inside it, double-click the scrollbutton and then set the zoom you require. But now that you mention it... but my drawings are never at the same location in space.

 

If I read your question correctly, you will in the end move the titleblocks to the Layout. If that is the case, I would move them now and not worry about centering the viewport. You can use CHSPACE to get the scaled from modelspace to paperspace right through your viewport (just set it to a correct scale first.

[DB007]

centre the plot is greyed out when 'what to plot' is set to layout instead of window.

 

Maybe I'm being a picky but it seems odd not to be able to centralise the viewport to the layout page. Making the viewport 20mm smaller in both directions, but keeping it central still shows it pushed towards the top right of the page?

 

I haven't tried defining a view in model space yet, I will give it a try Thanks.

[Tiger]

do you have different values for your margins of left and right? That is usually set in the Plotter-settings, not the AutoCAD settings.

[DB007]

An A1 is 594x841 but that is with the margins. If your Viewport is that size as well, it won't show when you print because of the margins set on your printer.

 

I guess this is the dashed line around the edge? Is there a way to find out what this dimension is?

 

double-click the scrollbutton and then set the zoom you require.

 

This would be perfect if the drawings were clean around the outside of the title block, but is still a great tip.. Thank you!

[ReMark]

Viewports should be created on their own layer and that layer should be set to "no print' in the Layer Properties Manager. Your viewport display should be "locked" when you have the view you want at the scale you want.

[Tiger]

I guess this is the dashed line around the edge? Is there a way to find out what this dimension is?

 

Those are the margins set in your printer settings yes, and where that is set differs between the printers. You can access the printer settings with the button to the right of the drop down list of printers in AutoCADs plot-window.

[DB007]

do you have different values for your margins of left and right? That is usually set in the Plotter-settings, not the AutoCAD settings.

 

I dont know, but I dont think so. The dashed line around the layout is even to the rest of the paper space layout. I cant find in the windows print settings for the margins.

 

Viewports should be created on their own layer and that layer should be set to "no print' in the Layer Properties Manager. Your viewport display should be "locked" when you have the view you want at the scale you want.

 

Have done thanks, all except setting that layer to not plot until i can work out how to centre the viewport to the layout

[ReMark]

"No print" does not mean "no see". The viewport still shows up on your screen.

 

Post a copy of your layout. I've seen users create a layout with one viewport that literally duplicates the border of the drawing. Personally, I like my viewports to sit just inside my border, by a fraction, so I can see them on my screen and not have them hiding behind the border.

Edited April 2, 2012 by ReMark

[DB007]

"No print" does not mean "no see". The viewport still shows up on your screen.

 

True. Im happy to see the viewport in the layout. My thinking is if I can centralise the viewport and centralise the view inside the viewport (knowing that my border is still on model space) my plot will always be central on the paper. Make sense? I want to be able to do this as quickly as possible.

 

I know if the border was on layout the importance of getting both the viewport and the view comes less important, but I know its just not going to happen (at least yet). Small steps.

[ReMark]

Then make your viewport the same size as your border.

[DB007]

Heres a screen shot that hopefully explains better...

 

I created a layout and set it up to A1 with our printer. Large Dashed line looks equal all the way round tight to the edge of the sheet. Great.

Created a viewport (selected white dashed line) used the properties palette to put it in the centre...but its not in the centre of the sheet? How can accurately position it?

 

Then used zoom extents (double click scroll) to central my border (yellow box) within the viewport. This would work well but.. can you accurately centralise a border without using zoom extents if there is serveral things around the outside of the border that you dont want?

 

Just spotted in this screenshot the A1 page setup wasnt assigned to the layout, but changing this made no difference, the viewport was still offset.

[ReMark]

And you have several things around the outside of your border that you don't want because......?

 

It is as though you are going out of your way to make this more difficult than it has to be.

 

How accurately centered does this viewport have to be? What's the tolerance here you are working with?

 

Set up some reference points in model space as an anchor for your viewport and put them on a layer that doesn't print.

 

Your sheet is rectangular and your viewport is rectangular. Draw your viewport then move it into a centered position using the M2P command modifier.

[DB007]

And you have several things around the outside of your border that you don't want because......?

 

They are working drawings, so often different views used just to get dims/angles etc. Only clean PDF's are sent to the client.

 

It is as though you are going out of your way to make this more difficult than it has to be.

 

How accurately centered does this viewport have to be? What's the tolerance here you are working with?

 

I feel the same way but its not on purpose. I guess im just surprised I cant position the viewport to the nearest mm on the layout when im so used to typing in co-ordinates.

 

Set up some reference points in model space as an anchor for your viewport and put them on a layer that doesn't print.

 

Can i use the border itself for this? If not i could create points, bottom left, top right for example but how do i get the viewport to use these points? Thanks

[ReMark]

Set up your reference ticks (use a cross) in model space. Go into paper space and use the grips on the corners of your viewport to resize it to fit the reference ticks in model space.

[DB007]

Set up your reference ticks (use a cross) in model space. Go into paper space and use the grips on the corners of your viewport to resize it to fit the reference ticks in model space.

 

Ahh ok thanks, that solves how to get my view within the viewport how I want...but this gets me back to having to manually reposition my viewport until it 'looks' central in the layout. Correct?

[ReMark]

Use the MOVE command with the MTP or M2P command modifier. Takes about 3 seconds to do.

[DB007]

Use the MOVE command with the MTP or M2P command modifier. Takes about 3 seconds to do.

 

Sorry to sound really stupid but how does that help? I start MOVE, use MTP to find centre of my viewport but I cant use it again to chose the centre of the layout as there are no snap points on the layout itself?

 

Thanks for your patience!

[ReMark]

Sure there are...your border. It is in your layout isn't it?