Setting up the page

Module(s): Layout

You can use the Set Up Page tool to specify the format, orientation and the margins of the page. In addition, you can define the layout border, title block and background as properties of the page. The parameters are defined in the palette; any changes are automatically displayed.

The page represents the area of the layout. It is displayed as a white area with a shaded border. The margins are displayed in light gray.

• When you Print Layouts, the output device set affects how the layout prints: The documents and elements that are within the printable area of the page and output device are included in the printout.
• When you Export PDF Data, the output device set does not affect how the layout prints: when you have selected the Entire layout content option, the entire contents of the layout are exported, regardless of the page size and the printable area of the output device. When this option is not selected, the size and orientation of the current page are used. The elements that are within the printable area of the page are created.

To set up the page

1. Click Set Up Page (How).
   

   Activate Set Up Page in one of the following ways

   • Menu bar: Create Layout

   • Toolbar: Basic Tools Layout flyout
   • Palette: Tools Create area in the following module(s):

   Layout

2. Specify the format and orientation of the page in the Page area.

   When you select an entry in the Format list box, the associated Width and Height values are automatically entered in the boxes below. If the Width and/or Height you enter does not match any entry in the list box, [User-defined format] is entered for the name of the Format.

   Note: The formats that are actually available to you depend on the entries in the country-specific LayoutSheetSizes file. If you have logged in as the administrator or as a user with administrator privileges, you can replace [User-defined format] with a name of your choice and thus define additional page formats.
   The selected format is included in the element info of the page.

3. Define the margins in the Margins area:
   • Select the Without (roll, PDF) option to print the layout to roll paper or as PDF files. All margins are automatically set to 0.00 mm and cannot be changed.
     With this setting, the page is always placed so that its bottom left corner coincides with the bottom left corner of the printable area of the printer you have specified in the Print Layouts tool. This ensures that the entire page including the outer border is printed.
   • Select the With (single sheet) option to print the layout to a single sheet of paper. Define the individual margins. If you are using Windows drivers for the current layout, you can click the button to match the device margins of the printer you have specified in the Print Layouts tool.
     With this setting, the page is always placed so that its bottom left corner coincides with the bottom left corner of the single sheet. If a layout border is defined along with the page, the device margins may prevent the outer border from being printed.
     Note: The values you enter for the margins appear red if they are smaller than the associated values of the output device. When you close the tool, the program automatically corrects the margins.
     

     Windows drivers are printer drivers delivered with the Windows operating system or by the device manufacturer. In Allplan, either Windows drivers or Allplan vector drivers can be used for printing.

     

     A printer driver is a program that translates graphical commands into control characters (e.g., HPGL, PostScript) for a particular printer. You can use Windows drivers or Allplan vector drivers (in connection with output channels) as printer drivers in Allplan.

4. If you want, you can define the layout border, title block and background of the page in the Properties area:
   • Click the button beside Layout border, specify the parameters in the Border type and Border pen and line type areas as you would do this in the Layout Border tool and confirm the settings by clicking Close or Back in the navigation field at the top.
     The layout border matches the size of the page. When you change the page, the size of the layout border updates automatically. Please note that the Label tool does not recognize this layout border as an element.
   • Click the button beside Title block, select Layout legend or Label (only available if you have already created a layout border) in the list box and choose the required legend or label style as you would do this in the Legend, Title Block or Label tool.
     Taking the offsets specified into account, Allplan automatically places the title block in the bottom right corner. When you change the page, the position of the title block adapts automatically.
     Use Offset to the right and Offset to the bottom to specify the offset to the inner corner of the layout border and to the printable area of the page, respectively.
   • Click the button beside Background, select Fill, gradient or Texture in the list box, specify the parameters of the fill or bitmap area as you would do this in the Fill or Bitmap Area tool and click OK to confirm.
5. Click Close to quit the tool.
   

Notes:

• To separately remove the layout border, title block or background defined as a property of the page, click for the relevant element. Delete removes all the properties.
• Switching off the layout border may also switch off the label style.
• You can save all the settings of the page using Save as a favorite and retrieve them again using Load favorite.