How to print a layout with annotations

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I'm a new user to AutoCAD and I'm having a hard time printing to PDF in paper space. I've been looking at YouTube videos all morning and I'm getting a little fed up. Please set me on the right track.

The grid of my model is 5' per square. My layout is approximately 300' X 300' (a factory)

What I've managed to do:

-Delete one of the two views that appear by default so that I only have one 2D view.

What I need to do:

-Adjust the gridlines so that they appear properly. Currently, X and Y spacing is set to 250' X 250' and one square nearly encapsulates my whole drawing. When I change it to 5' by 5', the gridlines seem to disappear completely (perhaps they become even larger)

-Adjust the scale of my drawing. Because my gridlines are so huge and there are approximately 15 X 20 gridlines, my factory is tiny in the corner. I've been trying to use the zoom function but it's been a nightmare. I think 1/4" : 5' would be an appropriate scale for my drawing. 

-Get my annotations to print. I've found out that you are not supposed to annotate on your model but rather in "paper space". Even when I've annotated in paper space, it doesn't print. I just get my walls with no annotations.

Thanks for any help getting on track.

[David_W_Koch · Accepted solution]

On your layout:

1. Make Paper Space active in your Viewport.  (Double-click inside the Viewport boundaries.)
2. At the command line, type ZOOM and then press the ENTER key.
3. At the command line, type E and then press the ENTER key.  Your layout should fill the drawing screen.
4. On the Status Bar, at the bottom of the AutoCAD Window, you should see an Annotation Scale Control.  Right now, this probably shows an number, rather than a known scale.  Select it, and choose an appropriate standard scale, that will allow your entire layout to fit within the viewport.  This will zoom the view in the Viewport, maintaining the center point, and also set that annotation scale current for the Viewport.

[David_W_Koch]

Some additional notes:

1. The display of the Grid will adjust when zoomed very far out, to avoid being too dense.  Once you zoom in, you should see the spacing you specified.
2. Perhaps conventions differ where you are, but 1/4" = 5'-0" is not a standard scale here.  1/16" = 1'-0" (1:192) would be slightly larger and 1/32" = 1'-0" (1:384) is smaller than 1/4" = 5'-0" (1:240).
3. Annotation can be in Model Space or Paper Space.  I generally prefer to annotate in Model Space.  Unless you turn on the display of all annotative objects, you need to have the annotation scale you set in the Viewport assigned to the annotative objects you want to see in the Viewport for annotative objects in Model Space.

[Anonymous]

Thanks David, you just saved me a whole lot of time. I still can't get annotations to print though. My annotation layer seems to be enabled. Any idea on how can I get my annotations to print? 

[David_W_Koch]

Things to check:

1.  Annotation layer(s) is(are) On (global), Thawed (global) and Viewport Thawed.

2.  Annotation has the correct annotation scale assigned to it (the same one selected for the Viewport).  If a different annotation scale was set current when the annotation was created, you can add the scale of the viewport.  Select the object(s), right click and choose Annotative Object Scale > Add/Delete Scales.  Then use the Add button to call up a list of the current scales and select the appropriate one.

[Anonymous]

This is where I'm at now. I have a huge viewport and a tiny drawing area. How can I get out of this predicament. When i try and print, I now get a blank sheet (perhaps because my drawing is many times larger than the sheet format)?

I'm a mechanical engineer so all this architectural scaling is new to me. The scale is used is not important in the context in which I am working in. I really just want my drawing to appear on an 11 X 8.5 page with my annotations.

Thanks for all your help. I will try and find a means of turning on the visibility my model space annotations.

[Anonymous]

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@David_W_Kochwrote:

Things to check:

1.  Annotation layer(s) is(are) On (global), Thawed (global) and Viewport Thawed.

How do I "viewport thaw" my layers. If I can do this operation, perhaps my annotations will print?

2.  Annotation has the correct annotation scale assigned to it (the same one selected for the Viewport).  If a different annotation scale was set current when the annotation was created, you can add the scale of the viewport.  Select the object(s), right click and choose Annotative Object Scale > Add/Delete Scales.  Then use the Add button to call up a list of the current scales and select the appropriate one.

I don't understand this step. After I double click inside the viewport such that my one line text annotations are selectable, I don't get the "annotative object scale" in my menu. I've included a snapshot of the menu.

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[David_W_Koch · Accepted solution]

Viewport Freeze/Thaw:

Old-school way would be to use the VPLAYER command, but that will involve an undesirable amount of typing.  You can check the status and change the setting using the Layer Properties Manager, while Model Space is active inside your Layout Viewport.  (Click on the image to see it full-size.)The order of the columns may vary in other releases; the above is from 2016.

Adding Annotation Scales

Your image shows Annotative Object Scale grayed out, indicating that the item you selected is not annotative.  If you are doing this through the Viewport on the Layout, then you can already see the annotation.  Is the layer on which you placed the annotation set to be non-plotting?  Check that in the Layer Properties Manager as well, see image above, Plot column.

[Anonymous]

That's it! This menu was hard to find but I found it by hovering over the icons in the layer tab one by one. Is there a means of searching for menu items or commands in AutoCAD? When I search for something in the search bar in the top right, it simply opens an Autodesk help article. I have a hard time locating certain menus and options which appear to be buried pretty deep in some option menus. I still get an error message about my text not being the right scale but it is printing just fine. Thanks again for all your help, I never would have found this "no plot" setting!

[David_W_Koch · Accepted solution]

If you are using AutoCAD Architecture or AutoCAD MEP, you can use the command search at the top of the Application Menu.  You open the Application Menu by selecting the "big A" in the upper left corner.  There is a search edit box right at the top.  Type in a command name, and the usual items shown in the Application Menu will be replaced with search results.  Any command available on the ribbon will show how to find the command (ribbon tab name > ribbon panel name > [flyout name if applicable >] tool name.

[Anonymous]

Thanks again! That's exactly what I was looking for. No more clicking around to find the functions I require!