Printing layouts

Module(s): Layout

You can use the Print Layouts tool to print a layout. The elements you select for printing are also used for exporting the visible data and for exporting PDF data. When you export PDF data, the page format and the print settings of the Print profile tab are also taken into account.

All these settings are user-specific with the following exceptions:

• The settings for the output device and the name of the print profile are layout-specific settings.
• The contents of the print profile and the EDM settings are office-specific settings.

To print layouts

1. Click Print Layouts (How).
   

   Activate Print Layouts in one of the following ways

   • Menu bar: Create Layout

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

   Assembling layouts

   When the layout has been created with a Windows driver, the program checks

   

   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.

   • Whether the output device saved with the layout is available.
     

     Availability of output device saved with layout

     If you are using Windows drivers, Allplan checks whether the output device saved with the layout is available. If this is not so, the following options are available:

     A layout without an available output device is selected

     The output device and the format of the layout you selected last are used as new settings for the layout.

     If an output device is not available for the current layout, the Print Layouts tool opens.

     For small-format documents (DIN A4/DIN A3), the Windows default printer is used. If you have defined an Allplan default printer using the Options, Layouts page, this printer is automatically assigned to the layout. Otherwise, you can specify which output device you want to use in a dialog box.

     Click

     • Settings to specify the Allplan default printer in the Options. Then start printing again.
     • Yes to open the Print Setup dialog box. The default printer and its default paper format are proposed. Define new settings for the layout.
     • Cancel to cancel printing and to retain the settings.
   • Whether the format saved with the layout is available.
     

     Availability of format saved with layout

     If you are using Windows drivers, Allplan checks whether the paper format saved with the layout is available. If this is not so, the program attempts to find the paper format that is best suited to the page.
     If this attempt fails, the standard format of the selected output device is used.

     You may need to change the format for printing. The entire plan layout remains unchanged.

     Note: If a new paper format is not entered for the output device when you select the standard format, the original format is still saved in the layout and used for printing if it is available again.

     After this, the menus and toolbars disappear. The Print Layouts palette opens and you can see the Printer tab. The representation of the layout matches that in the printout.

2. To print more layouts, click the button to the right of Layout in the Selection area and select the required layouts in the Layout structure.

   You can visually check the selected layouts using the options in the viewport toolbar. Use the arrows to switch from one layout to the next: takes you to the previous layout and takes you to the next layout. You can use the list box to select a layout of your choice. If you have selected a Windows driver for the current layout and the As in layout setting for the printer, format and/or print profile, the corresponding definition is displayed in the palette.

3. To limit the output to certain types of design elements only, click the Set button to the right of Elements to print in the Selection area and select the elements in the Element filter. You can also place the surface elements of each document in the background.
   Click OK to confirm the settings or click Cancel or Back in the navigation field at the top to return to the Print layouts palette without saving the changes.
4. If you are using Windows drivers and you have selected several layouts, specify the output device, paper format and print profile in the Output multiple times area.
   In conjunction with Allplan vector drivers, you can only use the Output multiple times area to specify whether the current print profile is used for all layouts or whether the print profile saved with the respective layout is used.
5. In the Settings area, you can switch between a Windows driver and an Allplan vector driver and make device-specific settings.

   Note: When you have chosen to print several layouts with Windows drivers, the Settings area is not available.

6. Define the Special settings in the More settings area by clicking the Set button. If you want, you can now select further options.
7. Define the size and orientation in the Customize area.
   

   Resizing factor, Adjust to paper

   Allows the layout to be stretched in a centric manner: values > 1 enlarge the layout evenly along the x and y axes by the factor you enter.
   If you use Windows drivers, you can select the Adjust to paper option instead of entering the resizing factor directly in the data entry box. As a result, the resizing factor adapts automatically when you change the format and/or orientation of the page or the format and/or orientation of the paper used by the output device. In order to calculate the resizing factor, the program adjusts the page to the paper used by the output device. Allplan does not automatically rotate the layout by 90°.

   • A page without margins is resized in such a way that it is within the printable area of the output device.
   • A page with margins is resized in such a way that it is within the paper size of the output device. The margins of the output device are ignored. The margins of the page are taken into account but they are not resized. Only the printable area of the page is resized.

   Rotation by 90°

   The layout is printed rotated by 90 degrees. When you select Optimize location, the program automatically rotates the layout if this is required.

   Resize pen thickness

   You can specify whether the pen thickness is retained or resized correspondingly.

   Note: These settings are used only temporarily. If you want to print several layouts, you need to define the settings separately for each layout.

8. Make settings in the Output mode area. You cannot select both the Print option and the Print to file option.
   • Select Print to print the selected layouts using the output device set.
   • Select PDF export to save the selected layouts as PDF files.
     Specify the parameters for PDF export by clicking the Set button.
   • Select Archiving to archive the selected layouts.
     Specify the parameters for archiving by clicking the Set button.
   • Select Print to file to create print files of the selected layouts.
     Specify a name for the print file, select the file type, specify the path where to save the print file (Allplan proposes the folder set in the Options on the Desktop environment page, Save/load area, Folders for saving option; you can accept this folder). Then click Save to confirm.
9. Select the Print profile tab and define print settings.
10. Click
    • Start to start printing.
      When you have selected several layouts and the Print to file option, you can change the file names proposed in the Print file dialog box.
    • Cancel to quit the tool.
    • Close to save the settings without printing.