Can Different Page Setups Be Setup to Include/Exclude Layers?

[Anonymous]

Is it possible to create different page setups that will print certain layers? When we submit our drawings we send them without item numbers for our products and without specific manufacturing instructions that only our shop needs to see. Once we receive the drawings back and can start production we print our drawings out with those layers now turned on for the shop. A current as-built copy of the shop drawings are sent back to the client with those layers turned back off.

I would like to try to take out the human error of "forgetting to turn the layers on/off" and have different page setups created ("11x17-Client" & "11x17-Shop") that would handle it by simply selecting the appropriate page setup.

Any way this can be accomplished without setting up multiple layouts with vpfreeze controls?

If it's not possible is there a way to create a warning message at the plot/publish stage to notify the user if those layers need to be on/off?

Just trying to eliminate mental reminders... We've got too many "mental" users here, including myself.

[Ranjit_Singh]

Something like this for example. It's just a reminder as soon as someone issues a plot command.

(command "_.undefine" "PLOT")
(defun c:plot  (/ wsobj)
 (if (= 7 (vlax-invoke (setq wsobj (vlax-get-or-create-object "wscript.shell"))
                     'popup "If sending to shop bla bla bla and if sending to client bla bla bla.\nDid you do this?" 5 "Plot warning" 292))
  (progn (vlax-invoke wsobj 'popup "Make the changes and then plot" 5 "Plot Warning" 64)
         (vlax-release-object wsobj))
  (progn (initdia) (command "._plot")))
(princ))
(vl-load-com)

[Anonymous]

Ranjit,

Thanks for the reply. You helped me out with some routines in the past and I am grateful for you help. So, as I am thinking more about this, is there a way that I can use a lisp routine to turn specific layers on/off for all the open drawings, and then open the publish interface?

I would like to be able to print an entire job (with multiple drawings) as a complete set without having to open each drawing and run the layer commands.

[Ranjit_Singh]

AFAIK the document has to be active where you wish to call the function. You can call the function to apply layer settings to the active document and then switch to other open document(s) and call the function again. That said you can use object DBX to access documents that are not open and make layer changes but you again need to open them to run publish. Accoreconsole offers options to publish drawings without opening them. But now you are looking at a massive undertaking. Plus, there may be many more aspects one would need to consider, for instance, are we changing xref layer properties?.

I would recommend using the routine I provided above to setup reminders. In addition you can have a routine to setup layers and they can work together. For instance, have a routine to set layer standards based on client drawings and another routine for shop drawings. Alert the user to run routine A for client and B for shop.