Layout and plotting tips for AutoCAD

Almost everyone needs to plot or print drawings. Here are some tips for working with layouts and plotting. Please leave a comment with your own tips so we can have a great plotting resource all in one place!

(Thanks to Jozef2011 for the image, found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ColorPlotter.jpg.)

Working with layouts

1. To see what is on a layout tab without displaying it, hover your cursor over the tab to see a preview.
2. To quickly rename a layout tab, just double-click , type the new name and press Enter.
3. Re-order a layout tab by dragging it left or right.
4. To move through layouts using the keyboard, press Ctrl + Page Down (to move right) or Ctrl + Page Up (to move left).
5. To quickly create a configuration of floating viewports on a layout, use the VPORTS command. In the Viewports dialog box that opens, choose a configuration and click OK.
6. To go into model space within a viewport on a layout, double-click inside the viewport. You can then draw and edit. To return to paper space, double-click outside the viewport.
7. To cycle from viewport to viewport while in model space, press Ctrl + R.
8. To set the scale for a viewport, select its border and open the Properties palette. From the Standard Scale drop-down, choose one of the standard scales (or use the Custom Scale text box to specify a custom scale).
9. Once you have set the scale, you should lock the viewport. A quick way is to click the Lock/Unlock button on the status bar, next to the VP Scale pop-up list. (You can also use the Properties palette.)

Plotting a drawing

1. Create page setups for the various plotting scenarios, then plot using the page setups. To create a page setup, right-click a layout tab and choose Page Setup Manager, then click New. The Page Setup Manager is just like the Plot dialog box; it’s a way of assigning a name to a group of settings. To use them, at the top of the Plot dialog box, choose your named page setup from the Name drop-down list in the Page Setup section.
2. Press Ctrl+P as a shortcut to open the Plot dialog box
3. Click the right arrow at the lower-left corner of the Plot dialog box to display advanced settings. For example, plotting transparency is NOT the default. In the Plot Options section, you can check the Plot Transparency check box.
4. Use the What to Plot drop-down in the Plot dialog box to choose to plot a layout, the current display, extents or a window. If you choose Window, you’ll be prompted to select a window.
5. Be sure to click the Preview button in the Plot dialog box before you plot, to make sure the results will be what you want!
6. To filter the list of paper sizes, so you don’t choose a size that you don’t want or can’t plot, in the Plot dialog box, click the Properties button next to your plotter’s name. On the Device & Document Settings tab, in the User Defined Paper Sizes and Calibration item, choose Filter Paper Sizes. Lower down in the dialog box, you can then uncheck any size that you don’t want to appear as a paper size in the Plot dialog box.
7. When you set up a plot in the Plot dialog box, you can save your settings to the Model tab or any layout tab. In the Plot dialog box’s Plot Options section (click the right arrow to see it, if necessary), check the Save Changes to Layout check box. Then, the next time you plot from the same tab (Model or layout), the default settings will be the same and you can just plot.

Do you have any more tips for layouts or plotting? Please leave a comment so others can benefit!

• Author
• Recent Posts

Ellen Finkelstein

Ellen Finkelstein is the author of the best-selling AutoCAD & AutoCAD LT Bible, which started with R14. Ellen has written extensively on AutoCAD, including articles for Autodesk’s website and features for AutoCAD’s Help system. Ellen’s first book was AutoCAD For Dummies Quick Reference.

Latest posts by Ellen Finkelstein (see all)

• Combine or subtract 2D shapes to create custom shapes - February 17, 2022
• Working with linetype scales - January 18, 2022
• Rename named objects–blocks, dimension styles, layers, and more - December 21, 2021