Print Dialog

Direct printing can be used with any printer and any sized paper. To print directly from any floor plan view or cross section/elevation view, select File> Print> Print . The Print dialog opens.

Render views can be printed using the File> Print Image command.

Specify Printer parameters.

Browse the Name list to choose a printer.

Click Properties to verify that the printer is configured correctly. Paper size, orientation, and other settings can be accessed here.

Select the Print to file check box to create a file for remote printing.

In the Print To File dialog, be sure to give the file name a .prn or .plt extension.

Do not check Print to file if you are creating a .pdf file. See "Printing to a PDF File".

Printing to a PDF file is often preferable to printing to file. For more information, see "Printing to a PDF File".

Specify the Print Range.

From a layout file, select Current Page or All. By default, the current page is selected.

Current Screen prints only the portion of the entire View showing on screen.

Entire Sheet prints the entire sheet even though you may be zoomed in on a portion of the view.

Fit to Paper prints the plan on one page. The program uses whatever scale is necessary to fit the plan on one page. If a percentage less than 100 is specified, only that portion of the printable area is used.

Select To Scale to print at the scale specified in the Page Setup dialog. See "Page Setup Dialog".

To print a check plot, select Check Plot at and choose a scale adjustment from the drop-down list. This temporarily modifies the scale but does not alter the scale specified in the Page Setup dialog. Line weights are also subject to the temporary scale adjustment. If a drawing sheet larger than the printer paper is specified, a check plot prints across multiple pages.

Check the accuracy of your printed scaled documents using Height/Width Correction. If your scaled documents are not correct, you can fine tune or calibrate the printer with these adjustments. These numbers are multiplied into the scaling units. Such corrections should only be necessary if you are using a dot matrix printer.

Check printer calibration by printing a four foot square at ¼" = 1'-0". Measure the print to see if it measures out exactly 1" square.

Copies - Define the number of copies.

Check Print in Color to print in color or clear the check box to print in black and white.

When Print in Color is not checked, solid fills, including the shaded areas of vector views, print as either black or white, depending on which is closer to the fill color.

Most black and white printers print a grey scale approximation of the colors if Print in Color is selected.

Printing to pen plotters is not supported.

Use Outline Printing - Select the check box to have True Type text and dimension numbers drawn as outlines.

If Use Outline Printing is selected when printing to a regular printer, only the outlines of text objects and dimension numbers print.

Double Buffered Printing uses computer memory to render the output at printer resolution. The resulting bitmap is then printed. This can greatly improve print speed when printing vector views, but a lot of memory is required. This method is not normally recommended for layouts, plans, or details; however, it may help you avoid issues with certain printer drivers for older printers. See "Printers and Plotters".

If there are a lot of pictures on your plan or layout, using double buffered printing may improve your print speed.

Line Weight - Available for vector views only. Specify the Line Weight for all lines defining the edges of 3D objects. This is a global setting for all edges. Individual lines, other than superimposed CAD lines, cannot be defined with different line weights. To modify individual lines, the 3D view must first be sent to layout. To edit a line once the 3D view has been sent to layout, select Edit> Edit Layout, and then select the line to be modified. See "Editing Layout Lines".