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Plot to PDF issue

14 REPLIES 14
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Message 1 of 15
Garry_Lelliott
636 Views, 14 Replies

Plot to PDF issue

I tend to use Adobe Acrobat as my default printer as PDFs are the defacto standard for sending information to customers/contractors. The problem is, regardless of whether I choose Adobe Acrobat or DWG To PDF.pc3 from the printer/plotter drop-down, the first attempt of the day ALWAYS throws up errors.

 

The second attemps often results in LT 'hanging' i.e. plot routine never finishes, requiring a complete shut-down of LT for me to continue as attempting to delete the spooling plot via Devices & Printers from the PC control panel doesn't work.

 

The only method I have found that works consistently is to do a batch plot, but this is inconvenient when several, multi-sheet, drawings are open at the same time.

 

I am running Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional Ver.8.10

 

This is not a show-stopper, but it is bloody irritating!!

 

Any suggestions from the LT gurus out there?

14 REPLIES 14
Message 2 of 15
pendean
in reply to: Garry_Lelliott

LT version?

Windows version?

About the only reasons for errors or hanging are ill-defined plot settings (wrong driver, dead PC3 file, unavailable server based driver and more): your statement about PUBLISH working all the time seems to validate these observations.

So help us help you by trying to find out more about what is triggering the error inside a file, how you go about starting the PLOT method and more. Your method and active choices may be a clue.

 

Message 3 of 15
Garry_Lelliott
in reply to: pendean

Point taken Dean, more details to follow.

Message 4 of 15
Garry_Lelliott
in reply to: pendean

LT version: 2012

Windows version: 7, 64-bit

 

Attached Word doc has screen shot of my typical plot menu, which is envoked by selecting Print, then Plot from the application menu. The page setup name option used is always <Previous Plot>

 

What is most irritating is that the output results are always so random. In almost all cases, the first plot of the day fails, with subsequent attemps either succeeding after at least one go or simply 'hanging' the plot process altogether.

 

Also, the printer 'Adobe PDF' is listed as 'Adobe PDF Converter - Windows System Driver - by Autodesk', so my ealier referenced to the version of Adope Professional may well be a red herring.

 

Is that enough, or do you need more info.?

Message 5 of 15
pendean
in reply to: Garry_Lelliott

>>>...The page setup name option used is always <Previous Plot>...<<<
That may be the culprit: it's a random selection based on an assumption and not an active user selection. Test my theory by avoiding this for the rest of the day and manually selecting the driver and toher plot parameters.

 

if all you are trying to do is automate the pre-selection of a device or plot settings, explore customzing using the -PLOT command (there is a dash in the name): used in a macro it can act as a quick 'pagesetup' button then launch the dialog PLOT command pop-up for you to complete a task. This was a recent discussion here in this forum with examples, explore it (if I can find it quickly I will come back and post a link).

Message 6 of 15
Garry_Lelliott
in reply to: pendean

I will certainly give your theory a whirl when I next need to plot to PDF.

 

I have to confess to being a little disappointed that <Previous Plot> is an assumption of previous settings rather than a straightforward repeat. Maybe it should be renamed "Chance", like in Monopoly, or "Lucky Dip"!!

 

I will also look at the -PLOT command as there are only a handful of plot options we tend to use (colour or B&W to hard copy or PDF).

Message 7 of 15
Garry_Lelliott
in reply to: pendean

Further to earlier comments and advice, I have just selected the plotter, options etc. from scratch, making a point of NOT using the 'Previous Plot' option from the drop-down menu, and the plot 'hung', resulting in me having to shut down and restart AutoCAD.

Message 8 of 15
Garry_Lelliott
in reply to: pendean

Plot run for 2nd time, plot process 'hung' again. AutoCAD shut down and restarted.

Message 9 of 15
Garry_Lelliott
in reply to: pendean

Plot run for 3rd time, plot process 'hung' again. AutoCAD shut down and restarted.

Message 10 of 15
pendean
in reply to: Garry_Lelliott

Something is hanging your first attempt: did you 'migrate' from an older version when you installed LT? If all other sugestions from others around here also fail, try the Autodesk recommended uninstall/reinstall procedures as follows
Uninstall: http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS45252
Reinstall (for XP/Vista users): http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS75218

Ensure the user installing/uninstalling and using the product have enough rights to do so (install and reinstall as local administrator):
Unable to run AutoCAD® as a restricted user http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS1055299

Message 11 of 15
Garry_Lelliott
in reply to: pendean

Not sure if LT is an upgrade or a fresh install, but I find it incredible that the only solution on offer is so radical.

 

Given that a full install would wipe out all of my customisation, I am extremely reluctant to go down this path, especially as LT doesn't support user profiles. The time-consuming process of re-establishing all of the paths for the QNEW template, tool palettes etc. is one I would avoid at all costs.

 

I appreciate your help, but I simply cannot accept that a complete re-install is the only way of resolving this issue, or that I am unique in suffering from this problem.

Message 12 of 15
pendean
in reply to: Garry_Lelliott

"edited for hurt feelings: by me"

 

Not what I wrote exactly, is it: read it again, I asked you to wait for others to jump in with ideas first.

You need to find out if your LT seat was 'migrated', since undoing the migration will also reset your LT seat and remove customzations, but it's a lot easier that a removal and reinstall.

 

If you need help backing the customizations up, let me know what these are and we can help you track the items down. I'm assuming it's more than just screen menu items, but it doesn't have to be. Share a lot of details please.

Message 13 of 15

Don't know if you have resolved this or not, so please feel free to hit the ignore button if this suggestion does not apply;

 

Have you determined if it is certainly an autodesk problem?   I have had plenty of problems using Adobe programs (standalone or integrated).  I have not successfully used the Adobe PDF printer.  I use a printer called PDF Creator from the sourceforge website.  It is a quick install if you want to give it a try.  It "should" at least allow you to isolate the problem whether printer or program.

Message 14 of 15

No, no resolution to date, but your suggestion is worth a go! I have loaded Cute PDF previously, but the PDF output was of such poor quality, I only used it a handful of times.

 

To be honest, I was going to park this problem until I received my new laptop from IT (exactly how long a timescale is "imminent"??) and see what happened after a completely new install of LT. I was then going to print to PDF before installing any other PDF creation software/printers, relying entirely on what comes with LT.

 

If the problem still occured, it couldn't be with anything other than LT, could it??? (Question asked more in hope than expectation!!!)

Message 15 of 15

Its been too long since I've used cute PDF so I don't remember if I liked it or not.  Creator provides a fairlyquick,  high-quality output at the cost of not-as-compact (larger) file sizes.  I just tested a D sheet on Adobe Printer and PDFCreator (v1.2.3); Adobe = 618k, Creator = 1.18M.  No visual differentiation between files but quite a difference (technically) on larger projects.

 

If you do decide to try PDF Creator before you get your new laptop, get version 1.2.3 if possible (PM me if not available online anymore).  The new version is much more intrusive(?)

 

Imminent to IT probably means about as much as it does to an ent.

 

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