Batch Plot to PDF

[jhjirak]

See attached.  Not sure if I am supposed to specifiy the PDF printer in the Page Setup or the upper left of the batch plot dialog box.

Also, why is it that every time I open batch plot it loads all the current layout tabs in the drawing (which I dont care about).    How do i open batch plot and specify my sheet list and not have to "replace all sheets"/

Thanks.

-Joe

[pendean]

Q1- you can do whatever you desire: test and determine what works best for your needs.

Q2- get into using SSM and avoid always starting PUBLISH as a first-time launch as you describe.

[jggerth]

nothing was attached, but are you using the Publish command?  or some other batch plot method?

Second - you mention a sheet list -- are you using SheetSet Manager?

If the latter, start the publish command by Right clicking in the SheetSet name in the SSM palette (or highlight a subset of sheets and right click)

Choose the Publish dialog box, and set the parameters there.

My 'best practice' is to define a pagesetup in my template for the dwg to pdf pce printer and the appropos sheet size, set that current inthe dialog, and then select the PDF override option at the upper left of the publish dialog.

it's ben a pretty robust and reliable process.

If not using SheetSet manager -- start!

[dmfrazier]

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@jhjirak wrote:

...why is it that every time I open batch plot it loads all the current layout tabs in the drawing (which I dont care about).

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You may want to uncheck the "Automatically load..." setting in the upper left area of the Publish dialog.

Also, if you "don't care about" the layout tabs, then I assume you are only interested in plotting the model tab of each drawing.  If that's the case, then Publish may work better for you if you run the command with only one of the drawings you wish to plot open.  (Or it could just be an empty, new drawing.)

Then you can use the "Add sheets" button to select the dwgs you want to batch plot, being sure to set the "Include" setting above the filename field near the bottom of the Select Drawings window to "Model" so that only the Model tabs are loaded.

Publish will open the unopened dwgs to plot them, then close them.

[jhjirak]

wont let me attach i think its my version of browser sorry.  Isnt publish and batch plot the same command?  All I want to do it open batch plot and load my .dsd file.  Every time I open the batch plot it automatically loads other layouts and model space (which I dont want it to do).    I uncheck "automatically load all open drawings" and that didnt do anything? 

[dmfrazier]

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@jhjirak wrote:

I uncheck "automatically load all open drawings" and that didnt do anything? 

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Does the setting stay unchecked from one Publish run to the next?  (If you launch AutoCAD right now, start a new dwg, and run PUBLISH, is the setting on or off?)

Does the setting change when you load your DSD file?

[pendean]

you can ZIP the file(s) first then try to post, that usually works.

[jhjirak]

I should be using sheet set manager yes.  Do you use it to just print or more then that?  What are the benefits of using sheet set manager?

[pendean · Accepted solution]

After you print a set of drawings, do you leave the pages all loose and sort and reorder every time you unroll them? Or do you bind the set, and always pick up the set when referencing them?
SSM is just that, a bound electronic set of a project's many sheets, it's just that these sheets are DWG files.

[dmfrazier]

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@pendean wrote:
... a bound electronic set of a project's many sheets, it's just that these sheets are DWG files.

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Or, to be more precise, the sheets are layouts within DWG files.