This command allows you to plot a drawing to a plotting device or file.
Carlson TakeOff displays the Plot dialog box. Choose OK to begin plotting with the current settings and display the Plot Progress dialog box.
1 The Plot dialog box includes the tabs, Plot Device and Plot Settings, and several options to customize the plot.
● Layout Name: This option displays the current layout name or displays "Selected layouts" if multiple tabs are selected. If the Model tab is current when you choose Plot, the Layout Name shows "Model."
● Save Changes to Layout: This option saves the changes you make in the Plot dialog box in the layout. This option is unavailable if multiple layouts are selected.
● Page Setup Name: This option displays a list of any named and saved page setups. You can choose to base the current page setup on a named page setup, or you can add a new named page setup by choosing Add.
● Add: This option displays the User Defined Page Setups dialog box. You can create, delete, or rename named page setups.
2 Under the Plot Device Tab you can specify the plotter to use, a plot style table, the layout or layouts to plot, and information about plotting to a file.
● Plotter Configuration: This field displays the currently configured plotting device, the port to which it's connected or its network location, and any additional user-defined comments about the plotter. A list of the available system printers and PC3 file names is displayed in the Name list. An icon is displayed in front of the plotting device name to identify it as a PC3 file name or a system printer.
● Properties: The option displays the Plotter Configuration Editor (PC3 Editor), where you can modify or view the current plotter configuration, ports, device, and media settings.
● Hints: This option displays information about the specific plotting device.
● Plot Style Table (Pen Assignments): This option sets the plot style table, edits the plot style table, or creates a new plot style table.
● Name: This option displays the plot style table assigned to the current Model tab or layout tab and a list of the currently available plot style tables. If more than one layout tab is selected and the selected layout tabs have different plot style tables assigned, the list displays "Varies."
● Edit: This option displays the Plot Style Table Editor, where you can edit the selected plot style table.
● New: This option displays the Add-a-Plot-Style-Table wizard, which you can use to create a new plot style table.
● Plot Stamp: This option places a plot stamp on a specified corner of each drawing and/or logs it to a file.
● On: This options turns on plot stamping.
● Settings: This option displays the Plot Stamp dialog box, where you can specify the information you want applied to the plot stamp, such as drawing name, date and time, and plot scale.
● What to Plot: This field defines the tabs to be plotted.
● Current Tab: This option plots the current Model or layout tab. If multiple tabs are selected, the tab that shows its viewing area is plotted.
● Selected Tabs: This option plots multiple preselected Model or layout tabs. To select multiple tabs, hold down CTRL while selecting the tabs. If only one tab is selected, this option is unavailable.
● All Layout Tabs: This option plots all layout tabs, regardless of which tab is selected.
● Number of Copies: This option denotes the number of copies that are plotted. If multiple layouts and copies are selected, any layouts that are set to plot to a file or AutoSpool produce a single plot.
● Plot to File: This option plots output to a file rather than to the plotter.
● File Name: This option specifies the plot file name. The default plot file name is the drawing name and the tab name, separated by a hyphen, with a .plt file extension.
● Location: This option displays the directory location where the plot file is stored. The default location is the directory where the drawing file resides.
● [...]: This option displays a standard Browse for Folder dialog box, where you can choose the directory location to store a plot file.
3 Under the Plot Settings Tab you specify paper size, orientation, plot area and scale, offset, and other options.
● Paper Size and Paper Units: This field displays standard paper sizes available for the selected plotting device. Actual paper sizes are indicated by the width (X axis direction) and height (Y axis direction). If no plotter is selected, the full standard paper size list is displayed and available for selection. A default paper size is set for the plotting device when you create a PC3 file with the Add-a-Plotter wizard. The paper size you select is saved with a layout and overrides the PC3 file settings. 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 Device: This field displays the name of the currently selected plot device.
● Paper Size: This field displays a list of the available paper sizes.
● Printable Area: This field displays the actual area on the paper that is used for the plot based on the current paper size.
● Inches: This option allows you to specify inches for the plotting units.
● MM: This option allows you to specify millimeters for the plotting units.
● Drawing Orientation: This option specifies the orientation of the drawing on the paper for plotters that support landscape or portrait orientation. You can change the drawing orientation to achieve a 0-, 90-, 180-, or 270-degree plot rotation by selecting Portrait, Landscape, or Plot Upside-Down. The paper icon represents the media orientation of the selected paper. The letter icon represents the orientation of the drawing on the page.
● Portrait: This option orients and plots the drawing so that the short edge of the paper represents the top of the page.
● Landscape: This option orients and plots the drawing so that the long edge of the paper represents the top of the page.
● Plot Upside-Down: This option orients and plots the drawing upside down.
● Plot Area: This option specifies the portion of the drawing to be plotted.
● Layout: This option plots everything within the margins of the specified paper size, with the origin calculated from 0,0 in the layout. Available only when a layout is selected. If you choose to turn off the paper image and layout background on the Display tab of the Options dialog box, the Layouts selection becomes Limits.
● Limits: This option plots the entire drawing area defined by the drawing limits. If the current viewport does not display a plan view, this option has the same effect as the Extents option. Available only when the Model tab is selected.
● Extents: This option plots the portion of the current space of the drawing that contains objects. All geometry in the current space is plotted. TakeOff may regenerate the drawing to recalculate the extents before plotting.
● Display: This option plots the view in the current viewport in the selected Model tab or the current paper space view in the layout.
● View: This option plots a previously saved view. You can select a named view from the list provided. If there are no saved views in the drawing, this option is unavailable.
● Window: This option plots any portion of the drawing you specify. If you select Window, the Window button becomes available. Choose the Window button to use the pointing device to specify the two corners of the area to be plotted or enter coordinate values.
● Plot Scale: This option controls the plot area. The default scale setting is 1:1 when plotting a layout. The default setting is Scaled to Fit when plotting a Model tab. When you select a standard scale, the scale is displayed in Custom.
● Scale: This option defines the exact scale for the plot. The four most recently used standard scales are displayed at the top of the list.
● Custom: This option creates a custom scale. You can create a custom scale by entering the number of inches or millimeters equal to the number of drawing units.
● Scale Lineweights: This option scales lineweights in proportion to the plot scale. Lineweights normally specify the linewidth of printed objects and are plotted with the linewidth size regardless of the plot scale.
● Plot Offset: This field specifies an offset of the plotting area from the lower-left corner of the paper. In a layout, the lower-left corner of a specified plot area is positioned at the lower-left margin of the paper. You can offset the origin by entering a positive or negative value. The plotter unit values are in inches or millimeters on the paper.
● Center the Plot: This option automatically calculates the X and Y offset values to center the plot on the paper.
● X: This field specifies the plot origin in the X direction.
● Y: This field specifies the plot origin in the Y direction.
● Plot Options: This field specifies options for lineweights, plot styles, and the current plot style table. You can select whether lineweights are plotted. By selecting Plot with Plot Styles, you plot using the object plot styles that are assigned to the geometry, as defined by the plot style table.
● Plot object lineweights: This option plots lineweights.
● Plot with Plot Styles: This option plots using the plot styles applied to objects and defined in the plot style table. All style definitions with different property characteristics are stored in the plot style tables and can be easily attached to the geometry. This setting can replace pen mapping in earlier versions of AutoCAD.
● Plot Paperspace Last: This option plots model space geometry first. Paper space geometry is usually plotted before model space geometry.
● Hide Objects: This option plots layouts with hidden lines removed for objects in the layout environment (paper space). Hidden line removal for model space objects in viewports is controlled by the Viewports Hide property in the Object Property Manager. This is displayed in the plot preview, but not in the layout.
● Full Preview: This option displays the drawing as it will appear when plotted on paper. To exit the print preview, right-click and choose Exit.
● Partial Preview: This option quickly shows an accurate representation of the effective plot area relative to the paper size and printable area. Partial preview also gives advance notice of any warnings that you might encounter when plotting. The final location of the plot depends on the plotter. Changes that modify the effective plot area include those made to the plot origin, which you define under Plot Offset on the Plot Settings tab. If you offset the origin so much that the effective area extends outside the preview area, the program displays a warning.