AutoCAD Platform Customization. Ambrosius Lee
the layout or page setup you want to change, and then click Modify on Windows or click the Action menu (gear icon) ➢ Edit on Mac OS to display the Page Setup dialog box. In the Page Setup dialog box, in the Plot Style Table area, choose a plot style from the drop-down list. If prompted to apply the plot style to all layouts, click Yes. On Mac OS only, you might need to click the More Options button in the lower-right corner of the dialog box to see the Plot Style Table area. Click OK. Click Close to exit the Page Setup Manager.
• On Windows, for plotting with the plot command, click the Application button ➢ Print. In the Plot dialog box, click the More Options button in the lower-right corner of the dialog box. In the Plot Style Table area, choose a plot style from the drop-down list. Click OK to output the drawing.
• On Mac OS, for printing with the plot command, click File ➢ Print. In the Print dialog box, in the Page Setup area, click Edit Page Setup. In the Page Setup dialog box, in the Plot Style Table area, choose a plot style from the drop-down list. You might need to click the More Options button in the lower-right corner of the dialog box to see the Plot Style Table area. Click Print to output the drawing.
Managing Plotter Configuration and Plot Style Files
After you have added your output devices and created your plot styles, you will want to make sure that all users in your company have access to them. By default, AutoCAD looks in local folders on each workstation for the PC3, CTB, and STB files that it might need to output your drawing files. These local folders are specified in the Options dialog box (Windows) or Application Preferences dialog box (Mac OS). As with other custom files, such as DWT files, you should place all your common plotter configuration and plot style files on a network location.
Follow these steps to specify different folders for AutoCAD on Windows to look in for PC3 and CTB/STB files:
1. Click the Application button ➢ Options.
2. In the Options dialog box, click the Files tab.
3. Expand the Printer Support File Path node, and then expand the Print Configuration Search Path node to change the location for PC3 files or expand the Plot Style Table Search Path node to change the location for CTB/STB files.
4. Double-click the folder path listed under the expanded node.
5. In the Browse For Folder dialog box, browse to and select the folder that contains your PC3 or CTB/STB files. Click OK.
You can also select the Print Configuration Search Path or Plot Style Table Search Path node and click the Add button to add an additional location so you have access to your custom files and those that come with AutoCAD.
6. Click OK to return to your drawing.
If you are using AutoCAD on Mac OS, use the following steps:
1. Click AutoCAD <release> menu ➢ Preferences.
2. In the Application Preferences dialog box, click the Application tab.
3. Expand the Printer Support File Path node, and then expand the Print Configuration Search Path node to change the location for PC3 files or expand the Plot Style Table Search Path node to change the location for CTB/STB files.
4. Double-click the folder path listed under the expanded node.
5. In the Open dialog box, browse to and select the folder that contains your PC3 or CTB/STB files. Click Open.
You can also select the Print Configuration Search Path or Plot Style Table Search Path node and click the + (plus) button to add an additional location so you have access to your custom files and those that come with AutoCAD.
6. Click OK to return to your drawing.
Enforcing CAD Standards
CAD standards enforcement is a gradual process if you are not doing it today. The best strategy you have is positive reinforcement and coaching. At the end of the day, your drafters and professionals need to want to follow all the established standards. It can be tempting to take the quick and easy route to get a job done, but shortcutting a process can have unexpected consequences, such as a custom tool not working in a drawing and resulting in manual steps or a drawing not plotting correctly. After all, a process works each and every time only when each step is completed properly.
There are steps you can take to help make following CAD standards easier for the drafters and professionals you support. You can use these methods to apply and enforce your company's standards:
User-Interface Customization AutoCAD offers an interface that can be customized to the way your company works. You can create ribbon buttons or menu items that use a custom macro to set a layer or style as current before starting a command. Customizing the user interface is covered in Chapter 5, “Customizing the AutoCAD User Interface for Windows,” and Chapter 6, “Customizing the AutoCAD User Interface for Mac.”
Scripts Script files are a great way to execute multiple commands and options in a specific order using predefined values without needing to understand a programming language. You can create layers and styles, insert a title block on a specific layer, or even change your current drafting settings. Creating script files is discussed in Chapter 8.
Action Macros Created using the Action Recorder, action macros are a modern take on script files. They allow you to execute multiple commands and options in a specific order, but they are created interactively while you use AutoCAD. After an action macro is created, it can be executed in other drawing files. Recording action macros is covered in Chapter 8. (Action macros are not available on AutoCAD for Mac OS.)
Custom Programs
The programming languages that AutoCAD supports give you the most flexibility in enforcing CAD standards. Custom programs can be created to make sure a specific layer is current before a command is started, whether the user starts the command from the user interface or from the command prompt.
You can also use custom programs to step through the objects in a drawing and make sure they conform to your standards, and much more.
Tool Palettes An arrangement of tools in the Tool Palettes window allows you to create objects using specific property settings. You can create a Note tool that uses a specific combination of text style and layer for general notes and define another tool for disclaimers; access and insert commonly used blocks at a set scale; or fill an enclosed area with a hatch pattern, using a specific lineweight and color. I discuss tool palettes in Chapter 7, “Creating Tools and Tool Palettes.” (The Tool Palettes window is not available on AutoCAD for Mac OS.)
DesignCenter™ DesignCenter allows you to access the named objects defined in a drawing and add them to your current drawing. It also allows you to insert blocks as well as attach external drawings and raster images. I do not cover using DesignCenter in this book; use the AutoCAD Help to learn more about this feature. (DesignCenter is not available on AutoCAD for Mac OS.)
Content Explorer™ Content Explorer is a modernized version of DesignCenter that allows you to locate named objects from other drawing files on a network and add them to your current drawing. I do not cover configuring and using Content Explorer in this book; use the AutoCAD Help to learn more about this feature. (Content Explorer is not available on AutoCAD for Mac OS.)
AutoCAD on Windows offers multiple tools that are designed to help you validate named objects and their properties in a drawing against those defined in a drawing standards (DWS) file. These tools are as follows:
Standards Manager Used to configure and validate a drawing file for standards violations. Violations found can be fixed to conform to the standards you are validating against.
Batch Standards Checker Validates the standards in a set of drawing files and generates a report of all the violations found and which drawing files they were found in. You must open each drawing