topic Re: Batch Plot to PDF in AutoCAD Forum

Batch Plot to PDF

cs2kplus — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 17:55:33 GMT

Hi,

I have not been on here in a bit. I am not a strong user of Autocad. I would like to batch plot multiple sheets to a PDF with GOOD quality EASILY (I am hoping it's not a lot of settings - I have 400 pdfs to create) . I'm getting a pretty low quality print. I am running it as:

Publish to: PDF

PDF Preset: DWG to PDF (does not seem to matter what I pick and its poor quality)

Publish options: None (I tried to max out vector and raster - no change- still low quality)

Please Help.

Wayne

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

paullimapa — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 18:57:31 GMT

Questions:

what happens when you manually plot the drawing...how's the quality then?

do you have pagesetups for each of the drawings you want to plot to pdf?

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

daniel.welchLFHPQ — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 19:05:49 GMT

Are you viewing your PDFs with Adobe? If so try viewing them with another PDF view, such as your browser, and see if they look better.

If you want your PDFs to look good with Adobe you can do one of these two things:

1. Use the Adobe PDF Plotter

To use the Adobe PDF Plotter you will have setup page setups for each of your drawings and choose "plotter named in page setup" under "Publish To:"

Fortunately, there is a quick way to add page setups to all of your drawings.

First setup a page setup on one drawing.

Use Command "Page Setup"

Mine usually look something like this for the model space:

And this for paper space (layout):

Save the file.

Now redo your batch plot but select "plotter named in page setup" under "Publish To:"

Then make sure the drawing you added the page setups to is at the top then all your drawings and change the page setup to the one you created. All of the other files should also change to that page setup.

Press "Publish"

Done

2. Adjust the rendering settings in Adobe

If you go to Preferences ► Page Display ► Rendering and uncheck "Smooth Line Art" then your PDFs will look better

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

pendean — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 20:00:41 GMT

@cs2kplus wrote:

Hi,

I have not been on here in a bit. I am not a strong user of Autocad. I would like to batch plot multiple sheets to a PDF with GOOD quality EASILY (I am hoping it's not a lot of settings - I have 400 pdfs to create) . I'm getting a pretty low quality print. I am running it as:

Publish to: PDF

PDF Preset: DWG to PDF (does not seem to matter what I pick and its poor quality)

Publish options: None (I tried to max out vector and raster - no change- still low quality)

Please Help.

Wayne

Show us a screenshot from your PLOT command pop-up where the PDFs come out as you like them.

Then show us screenshot from your PUBLISH command pop-up where the results are not to your liking.

And if I can trouble you to do so, a screenshot of your ABOUT command pop-up from inside AutoCAD would be good too.

TIA

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

cs2kplus — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 20:22:36 GMT

Hi,

Actually the print comes out nice when I manually print. It also rotates 90 degrees.

I am not aware of page setups. We got these drawings from a vendor. I assume they may have something in place?

Wayne

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

paullimapa — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 21:13:57 GMT

Since you’re not familiar with page setups but you want to use publish to PDF multiple dwgs then try the methods @daniel.welchLFHPQ posted to setup at least one page setup on the first dwg and then apply this to the rest in the publish window

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

cs2kplus — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 13:04:58 GMT

Thank You. I will see if that works out. Now I am noticing that some of these files show a layout small in the left corner. I feel like this is not going to work with batch plot. Please see attached.

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

paullimapa — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 14:11:35 GMT

If the dwgs are not all the same sheet size then trying to apply the same plot parameters with batch plotting will not work. I’m surprised you got all these dwg files without also given pdfs. Then that costs you time to generate the digital hard copy which also may not look the same as what the original intent was. Hopefully the line weights are built in to the dwg. If not you’ve got another graphics problem with getting the correct output

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

cs2kplus — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 14:31:16 GMT

Thanks Paul,

We did get PDF's, but we are taking over the files and signing them and printing. And there are over 400 files. Real fun.

Wayne

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

pendean — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 14:31:36 GMT

@cs2kplus wrote:

Thank You. I will see if that works out. Now I am noticing that some of these files show a layout small in the left corner. I feel like this is not going to work with batch plot. Please see attached.

This is a PAGESETUP issue you'll need to fix, or ask the file creator to fix: based on this image, you have some manual work to do fixing these files first

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

paullimapa — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 14:37:20 GMT

Very strange that there are different sheet sizes too.
What do you mean by signing them?

if it’s a simple signature stamp that you can create a raster image of then for those PDFs with same sheet sizes there’s a way to batch apply the signature stamp using Photoshop in a specific location

Then you don’t need to deal with the original dwgs

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

cs2kplus — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 14:41:26 GMT

Yeah, what I wonder is why the layout is a little block in the corner of the format. Apparently, lots of fingers on these files.

We have to enter a date and initials on the Autocad. After they will be actually signed with Adobe.

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

paullimapa — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 14:58:58 GMT

Maybe these PDFs are all printed and dwgs were exported from Revit which could explain no page setups

Dates and same initials can be added as part of photoshop batch processing too unless they absolutely need to be in the dwg then you have no choice but to open each dwg add what you need and then manually print pdf

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

daniel.welchLFHPQ — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 15:08:57 GMT

Does each dwg contain only one sheet or are there multiple sheets per dwg?

If it is only one sheet per dwg then you can just plot extents of the model space instead of using layouts.

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

paullimapa — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 15:18:34 GMT

Again only works if all the sheets sizes are the same or you plot to fit (which would not be used for construction) to a set sheet size for all

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

cadffm — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 15:50:43 GMT

Hi,

@cs2kplus schrieb:

We have to enter a date and initials on the Autocad. After they will be actually signed with Adobe.

there is no set up layout, OR?

It looks like all objects incl. titelblock and frame is in Modelspace!?

If so:

On AutoCAD? So you are entering each file, manuell or by automation?,

manuell, you can set up your pagesetup very quick.. if you are lucky

Open a file, set up your needs..

In Model tab

PLOT, optional: set use plotstyles and select the right one

select printer and the probably the most common papersize

IF possible, use Plotarea EXTENTS CENTERed and (I guess) 1:1 or whatever.

and PLOT 1x

The next 400 or 399 times, open PLOT dialog an select the pagesetup "previous plot"

and get the last used settings. If you need to change the papersize - do it.

[APPLY]

Safe, and go to the next on.

Publish to PDF

if you don't want to set up, create a named setup what is common, with the same setting I described above

or use a papersize what is 1-2 size bigger.

Publish all and later, in Adobe, you can kick the whitespace in batch!

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

cs2kplus — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 18:57:44 GMT

Yeah, they want it in the drawing.

Re: Batch Plot to PDF

paullimapa — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 19:05:12 GMT

now you've got your work cut out for you...hopefully you're getting compensated enough for this tedious work