Sheet Set Manager - Publish to PDF - Print slightly off

[duccioa]

Hello,

I'm using Autocad LT2012 and I have a problem with the "print to PDF" from the Sheet Set Manager.

The layouts are all set to "publish to a plotter" with the Layout option (not Window, Extent, etc.).

When I send the print to the plotter from the SSM, they print fine. If I send them to PDF, they are printed slightly off and one side is cut out.

 

I have tried on one of the layouts to change the plotting device from our plotter to "DWG to PDF" and indeed the drawing results to be slightly off, because the plotting area shifts. So, I guess this is the problem.

 

I have checked many forums and different solutions. One solution is to use Window or Extent as plotting area with Centred option on, so to avoid any cut due to shifts of the layout.

 

I have two questions:

 

1. Is there any way to work around this problem keeping the Layout plotting area option?

2. If there is not, how can I now change more than fifty layouts, that are now set on Layout, to Extent or Window, without having to go through them all one by one? (I tried the override option, but it really doesn't work as layouts are printed with different ctb and it keeps printing off, anyway)

 

Thank you,

Duccio

[Dana W]

I have a feeling that you're dealing with one or more of the following; A new plotter driver download, Using a titleblock/border that is almost exactly the same size as your printable area (dashed line) on the layout page, Using a layout that was originally set up for printing straight to a hardcopy plotter rather than to a pdf, You are working for, or after someone who insists that extents or window are both more correct than Layout, and they insist that they will be plotted to scale even though they never are quite exactly to scale.

 

Use Layout. It plots to scale.

 

Go to your dwg file, not the SSM.

 

1. Check your offset fields at the lower left of your plot or page setup manager dialog window. Change the x and y to 0 (zero) if it is not already. If you change the offset in your plot dialog, don't forget to click the "Apply to Layout" button. Now test with a plot preview. If you are now cutting off the other side, change the offset back by half in that direction. Rinse and Repeat, until it works.

 

Once you get the first page working, you can go to the plot dialog for subsequent layout and select the first (or previous) page, ie *layout1* from the layout Name dropdown, then click Apply To Layout without having to do anything else to it.

 

2. This procedure may or may not work well unless your layout is already pretty much centered on your paper(offset 0,0), or unless you take the time to figure out how much you have to change one margin. - To try and fix all your pdf's at once for a particular sheet size, on your plot or page set up manager dialog, click the properties button next to your Printer/Plotter Name window, now click User Defined Paper Sizes & Calibration, then Modify Standard Paper Sizes(Printable area). Now you move to the bottom of the dialog box and select the particular sheet size you want to change in the scrolling window. Select it and click on the Modify button. You will be able to adjust the non-printable "Margin" for that particular sheet size. Since you just modified the dwg to pdf.pc3 file, it will work the same for ALL sheets that size. For other sheet sizes, do the same thing.

 

Whatever changes you make while on the plot dialog, be sure to "Apply to Layout" if the button is not grayed out.

 

Once you are happy with your results, your sheet set will have to be refreshed, or opened and saved or something. I don't know SSM any more. The last time I got to use it was in full version 2007, and I had to re-open and save each sheet set to pick up the new layout changes.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Dana W

[BIGAL]

Similar post had some answers and ideas yesterday one thing was a difference between two different PDF plot drivers, the simplest way is take all of DANA's details but save in your master DWT and make sure you save the plot settings for the pdf once it works like "myofficepdf" then you can recall it any time even in another dwg using "Import".

[Dana W]

Similar post had some answers and ideas yesterday one thing was a difference between two different PDF plot drivers, the simplest way is take all of DANA's details but save in your master DWT and make sure you save the plot settings for the pdf once it works like "myofficepdf" then you can recall it any time even in another dwg using "Import".

That's right. It is a very good idea to save modified custom *.pc3 files under new names in a folder that is easy to relocate, and use your files tab on the options dialog to map it into your support/search file tree so you can easily use them in your AutoCad program. This also makes it easy to copy them to another computer, and they don't overwrite the default *.pc3 files.

 

A good way to do this would start with copying the existing default *.pc3 files to the new location, renaming each one, then mapping that folder to AutoCad, then you can access them in AutoCad to modify the files custom properties.

[duccioa]

Thank you for your answers.

I decided to go for the "Window" plotting area, with the plotting scale set to the proper value as it would be plotting "Layout". This will save me the hassle of dealing with different plot settings on different computers (here in the office pc3s and autocad support files are not on the server)