Drawing Printer is overriding my "default" printer!

[tluxon]

The guy who does most of our CAD drawings uses a local printer that no one else has access to. The rest of us print to a networked HP5000 and have that printer setup as our "default" printer in AutoCAD|Tools|Options|Plotting|Default plot settings for new drawings.

Since the guy with the local printer is the last one to save the file when it is released, when we open up the released file to print it, the "printer" selected is his local printer which we can't print to.

How do we get the default printer to really be the default printer?

Thanks,

Tim

 

[borgunit]

If the drawing is saved that way, then you are stuck. AutoCAD uses templates or final page setups to store the info into the drawing. You can write short macros to set it how you want it, but unless you save it last, you are hosed.

BU

 

[rKeyTek]

Another option to look at is ....
The "PAGE SETUP NAME" in the upper right hand corner of the PLOT DIALOG BOX.

Right click on the layout tab and choose PAGE SETUP.

Set up your normal settings for plotting ....
When your done .....
Go to the ADD button near the "PAGE SETUP NAME" and
give your setup a name.

Save the drawing!

Now you can just pull down your setup and plot.

One more tip ....
Tell the guy to click OFF!
"Save changes to layout" in the plot dialog box.
This way his settings to his PERSONAL printer won't appear for everyone else (when he saves the drawing)!

Hope that helps!
Rich

 

[tluxon]

If "Save change to layout" is unchecked for all saves of the drawing, the plotter used on the initial save will stay with the drawing. This is not so good, because he starts most drawings as well.

I have to convince him to have the "Default plot settings for new drawings" set to the network printer, if there's no other option. The he can always select "previous plot" from the "Page setup name".

Since the last saved plotter name is kept in the drawing file, I expected to find it in a variable, but I didn't. Maybe it's stored as one of the USER variables in drawing? Does anybody know?

Thanks,

Tim

 

[borgunit]

The easiest may be to run a quick macro after the drawing is loaded like:

(command "-PLOT" "Y" "Layout1" "PRINTER.PC3" PAPSZ "Millimeters" "Landscape"
"N" "Window" PT1 PT2 "1=1" "0,0" "Y" "PLOTSTYLE.ctb" "Y" "N" "N" "N"
"N" "Y" "N&quot

(an example only)

 

[rKeyTek]

Tim,
"BorgUnit" has a good idea with the macro.

But another path .... would the "ACAD.DWT" that sits on that guys machine.

I would make a seed/ template file that has the "Page Setup" ***PRE-SET*** within the layout as I described earlier.
And click OFF the "save changes to layout". And any other changes you want as the default.

This way when he starts a new drawing the CHANGES will be already THERE!

Then it's just a matter of him not changing the drawing.

But that's a thought.
Later guy.

 

[tluxon]

rKeyTek,

Our guy has agree to set his &quot;Default plot settings for new drawings&quot; to our network printer. He will also have the &quot;Save changes to layout&quot; box unchecked, so his changes won't affect the file. Now when he plots, he is selecting &quot;<previous plot>&quot; from the &quot;Page setup name&quot; list.

Too bad AutoCAD didn't just leave it the way it was or give us an option to - where the last plot settings were kept with the user's machine, not the drawing.

Thanks,

Tim