Request for Improvement – Batch Printing Multiple Templates in Model Space

[renny_guillen]

Dear Autodesk Team,

I hope this message finds you well. I am encountering the following issue when printing in AutoCAD.

I work with several files that contain a template, which is repeated N times within the Model space. This template is used to record information for the Tilt-Up wall shop tickets. Each template instance contains the specific information of one wall from the project.

The problem arises when I need to print all of these templates. Currently, I must print each one individually, which takes several hours when there are many walls (sometimes more than 400). On average, it takes about 20 seconds to print one wall to PDF.

I would like to suggest that AutoCAD include a function that can automatically detect all instances of a given template within the Model space and print each instance on a separate sheet. This would significantly reduce printing time and allow me to perform other tasks while the batch printing is running.

Thank you very much for your attention and consideration of this improvement request.

Kind regards,

Renny Guillén

[CGBenner]

@renny_guillen 

Welcome to the Community.  Thank you for sharing your idea here.  If you would like to get your ideas even closer to the team who needs to hear them, you might consider signing up for the AutoCAD Beta / Customer Council.  These forums are primarily AutoCAD users asking and answering questions, with occasional visits from the Autodesk team.

[pendean]

@renny_guillen Your use of the word "template" does not match AutoCAD usage: it appears your CAD file (thanks for sharing BTW) does not take advantage of layouts, a built-in tool do to exactly what you want as long as you take the time to create a true AutoCAD-defined "TEMPLATE" to start all of your drawings in.

May I ask if you all avoid using layouts to meet your exact batch publishing needs? Or do you need an introduction and some tutorials on the topic?

OR... you can create VIEWs for each (VIEW command), then Automate with LISP or a SCRIPT to print each view.

Or use those create VIEWs to set up Layouts to then PUBLISH as well.

You just need a small workflow change to achieve what you need in AutoCAD. Nothing more.

Let us know how you'd like to proceed.

[paullimapa]

your sample is missing the template:

[Sea-Haven]

Like the others there is no way to work out the area of each page. If you put either a title block or a border around the area of interest at a size that matches a scale for your plotted sheet then you would have had an answer straight away. Look at the green boxes they are a A4 sheet at a true scale to suit your dwg. So update your dwg then the correct answer can be provided many of us have an answer already done. Layouts or Model ?

Using layouts is a much better way you make a layout with the correct title block, at true 1:1 size say a A4, just copy the layout and move along in the viewport, you can set the screen midpoint and the scale of the dwg, "zoom 0.1XP" 

Image is a layout at 1:100 A4 border matches the green boxes in model space.

[Moshe-A]

@renny_guillen  hi,

Generally i am totally in support using layouts if you have a few dozens of sheets. in cases you have hundreds

(and i hope you are not exaggerating) i would put them in model space organized in a rectangle array and

the reason for this it is too heavy to have hundreds of layouts (plus viewports), the file will heavily load and it would be hard to move inside. in case of 400, i would even divide it to 3 or 4 plot files.

than you will need a nice lisp program to fetch each a4 and send it to plot.

Moshe

[Sea-Haven]

Like @Moshe-A and many others if you have some form of border. Then you would have had an answer.

See message 5 "So update your dwg "

[renny_guillen]

Thank you.

The template is included in the file, but I don’t know why it isn’t being loaded. This template is originally loaded through a software called PanelsPluss. After that, all panel data are exported to AutoCAD. If the file is opened on a computer without PanelsPluss installed, the template does not appear in AutoCAD. But that’s not the problem. The issue is that I would like to print all the shop tickets with a single command.

Thank you

[renny_guillen · Accepted solution]

Thank you for your prompt response.
I will try these methods.

1) OR... you can create VIEWs for each (VIEW command), then Automate with LISP or a SCRIPT to print each view.

2)Or use those create VIEWs to set up Layouts to then PUBLISH as well.

Sincerely,

Renny Guillén

[renny_guillen]

Here is another example. I hope this shows you the template. I had to modify my CAD file in order to show you the template. However, in this case, the template is not loaded as a template. But either way, it works for what I want to do — to print all the shop tickets to PDF with a single command, instead of one by one.

Thank you.

[renny_guillen]

Thank you.
I will give it a try. Here you can find a smaller file with 85 panels — sometimes there are 200 or more.

[renny_guillen]

Thank you.

The file with borders is attached here.

[paullimapa]

FYI: Since the template dwg is an xref (not a block insert) you would have to manually include this with the Axis 4a.dwg when you share this here. Or typically use AutoCADs built in etransmit command which would create a zip file that could include all xrefs

You can read more on how to use this command here

https://resources.imaginit.com/support-blog/how-to-etransmit-autocad-files-to-include-xrefs-and-plac...

[paullimapa · Accepted solution]

So when you manually plot each of these what is your PLOT window settings: Sheet Size, Scale, Pen Assignment (ctb)?

When I attempt to use Full Bleed A4 Page size at 1:100 the border is cut off

When I attempt to use Full Bleed A3 Page size at 1:100 there's now a large margin around the border

Are you Plotting to Fit?

[paullimapa · Accepted solution]

The attached lisp function pltpln.lsp uses the following assumptions to automate the plotting of all 85 sheets in sample "Tilt-Up7Prueba.dwg"

1) The border for each sheet is made up of a rectangular pline with area = 673420293.7

2) PDF sheet size = A4 

3) Scale = Fit

4) Pen Assignment = Monochrome.ctb

5) Plot file name = Tilt-Up7Prueba-M##.pdf

Note: Another similar post on this topic could be found here: 

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/visual-lisp-autolisp-and-general/batch-plot-to-pdf-in-model-space/td-...

[Sea-Haven · Accepted solution]

Ok a big problem you have set your title block up as a A4 sheet, but every printer has what is knowm as "hard clip limits", for a A1 Plotter the clip is quite big like 20mm on an edge, for a laser printer most use say 6mm so that means your title block should be 285x198 or factor up by 1000 etc. so if you make this subtle change to your title block then as @paullimapa has commented your sheets should then plot correct. 

Can the title block be just that, a block rather than lots of text and lines. Also if using the outer box it is currently on layer "0" it would be way better to have it on a separate layer so that layer can be found and the correct window plotted. If the title is a block you can find all of them by name. 

Can you maybe have another go if the Tilt Panel software will let you do what has been suggested. A really good answer is so close.

[Sea-Haven]

Oh yeah just read again part 2 you can do multiple pdf plots as single pdf's then using "Ghostscript" you can join all those pdf's back into one single pdf. All just done as part of the plot lisp. The call to Ghostscript is handled by the lisp.

[renny_guillen]

Thank you very much. I really appreciate your time and the solution you provided. It is working very well. You have saved me a lot of time.

Best Regards.

Renny Guillén

[paullimapa]

You are welcome… cheers!!’