Quick AutoCAD Question
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Since I've already wasted many hours trying to figure this out using the online "Help" function, I thought I'd ask here. I just got a set of RUS drawings in AutoCAD format on CD. These are standard structures used by the power industry for construction of poles, transformer pads, transmission lines, etc, and are extremely valuable to our people for estimating and constructing facilities. The problem is that the drawings are all in a 1/4 page size and completely unreadable when printed. I have AutoCAD LT 2006, but the procedure for enlarging the printed document is a well hidden secret. Can anyone here explain the process in terms that I can understand? The terminology used in the instructions is completely foreign to me, and many hours of searching the online Help has got me absolutely nowhere. One would think that the makers of the world's most expensive drawing program might include some usable instructions, but that's apparently too much to ask these days... "...a photo album is like Life, but flat and stuck to pages." - Shog9
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Since I've already wasted many hours trying to figure this out using the online "Help" function, I thought I'd ask here. I just got a set of RUS drawings in AutoCAD format on CD. These are standard structures used by the power industry for construction of poles, transformer pads, transmission lines, etc, and are extremely valuable to our people for estimating and constructing facilities. The problem is that the drawings are all in a 1/4 page size and completely unreadable when printed. I have AutoCAD LT 2006, but the procedure for enlarging the printed document is a well hidden secret. Can anyone here explain the process in terms that I can understand? The terminology used in the instructions is completely foreign to me, and many hours of searching the online Help has got me absolutely nowhere. One would think that the makers of the world's most expensive drawing program might include some usable instructions, but that's apparently too much to ask these days... "...a photo album is like Life, but flat and stuck to pages." - Shog9
Roger Wright wrote:
Can anyone here explain the process in terms that I can understand?
I helped choose one of the engineer/designers new computer system, so he owes me a favor... If I don't understand the answer, though, I may not be of much help. I know we do multi-size prints from page size to poster size. But I haven't used CAD for ages. If no one gets back with you, remind me to go talk to our designers or draftsmen (2 full time draftsmen and 1 full time engineering designers in nearby offices). I dislike playing middle man, but if that's the only way to get your answer, I'll give it a shot. _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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Since I've already wasted many hours trying to figure this out using the online "Help" function, I thought I'd ask here. I just got a set of RUS drawings in AutoCAD format on CD. These are standard structures used by the power industry for construction of poles, transformer pads, transmission lines, etc, and are extremely valuable to our people for estimating and constructing facilities. The problem is that the drawings are all in a 1/4 page size and completely unreadable when printed. I have AutoCAD LT 2006, but the procedure for enlarging the printed document is a well hidden secret. Can anyone here explain the process in terms that I can understand? The terminology used in the instructions is completely foreign to me, and many hours of searching the online Help has got me absolutely nowhere. One would think that the makers of the world's most expensive drawing program might include some usable instructions, but that's apparently too much to ask these days... "...a photo album is like Life, but flat and stuck to pages." - Shog9
I assume you want to print them to a plotter? Most plotter drivers nowadays have a 'fit-to' function or a 'scale-to' function built into the driver. So you could choose a 'scale-to' 200% for instance. That's by far the easiest way to do it for those that don't know AutoCAD. The trick with AutoCAD is understanding layouts and how they work. Layouts have viewports that are, in effect, windows to the drawing beneath (in 'Model Space'). Layouts exist in 'Paper Space'. So the trick is to set the page size in Paper Space and then scale the viewport accordingly so that the drawing appears at the size and scale you want. It works very well once you get the hang of it. There are other ways to setup the drawing that were used in the old days of AutoCAD - and they still work. The layout-model way is preferred now though. If the drawings aren't too big (and there aren't too many of them!), you could email or FTP them to me and I'll send you back a version with a layout for the sheet size you want. Cheers, Drew.
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Since I've already wasted many hours trying to figure this out using the online "Help" function, I thought I'd ask here. I just got a set of RUS drawings in AutoCAD format on CD. These are standard structures used by the power industry for construction of poles, transformer pads, transmission lines, etc, and are extremely valuable to our people for estimating and constructing facilities. The problem is that the drawings are all in a 1/4 page size and completely unreadable when printed. I have AutoCAD LT 2006, but the procedure for enlarging the printed document is a well hidden secret. Can anyone here explain the process in terms that I can understand? The terminology used in the instructions is completely foreign to me, and many hours of searching the online Help has got me absolutely nowhere. One would think that the makers of the world's most expensive drawing program might include some usable instructions, but that's apparently too much to ask these days... "...a photo album is like Life, but flat and stuck to pages." - Shog9
I'm using AutCAD 2002 at work and expect that LT 2006 is similar. On the Plot Settings tab of the Plot dialogue box, there are two elements that can be used to effect the size of the print... (a) In the Plot Area group box, you can select which parts of the drawing to plot. Extents selects the whole drawing and is what we use at my work (mostly electrical schematics, single lines, etc.). If there is only part of th drawing that you want to plot, choose Window and then select desired window. (b) In the Plot Scale group box, we select scale to fit in the scale combo box. HTH.