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Plotter
configuration settings in both AutoCAD and IntelliCAD control how the
drawing will look when it is output to paper or film. It is possible to
control pen assignments, plot area, scale, paper size and rotation of the
drawing on paper. Although AutoCAD 'remembers' the previous settings when
you go to plot, specifying configurations each time that you want to plot
can be time consuming. Autodesk therefore introduced a facility for
automating the setup of the drawing just prior to plotting - PCP files.
These Plotter Configuration Files (PCP) can be used to simplify the
plotting process.
As
far as plotting goes, there are two cases to consider:
1.
Where you have a single plotter, but you want to make that plotter perform
differently for different jobs (plots)
2.
Where you may have several plotters available and you want to send plots
to different plotters which will have different requirements.
Re
case 1. above, a single PCP file can contain information for a given
plotter. Loading a PCP file changes the configuration but does not change
the current device. It follows that it is a good idea to use a naming
convention something like HPDesignJet.PCP or CAlComp.PCP.
Re
case 2. above. Use a PC2 file when you want to change devices. A PC2 file
contains both device independent and device dependent settings. Loading a
PC2 file changes the current device as well as its configuration.
With
multiple paper space layouts, you can now set up and save several plot
configurations for each drawing. Each layout is associated with an output
device and page setup. The tasks
performed by plot configuration files (PCP and PC2 files) have been split
between plot configuration files (PC3 files) and plot style tables (CTB
and STB files). Plot style tables control pen assignments, line weight,
and other plotted properties of an object. Color-dependent
plot style tables maintain the relationship between color and an object's
plotted appearance. If you used pen assignments to control line weight in
previous versions of AutoCAD LT, you can import those settings to create a
color-dependent plot style table.
Named
plot style tables remove the relationship between color and plotted line
weight. You now can assign a plot style to an object to control the
object's plotted line weight and color. Using named plot style tables, you
can plot color-for-color.
With
the new modularized plotting components, you can customize each part of
the plotting process, import configurations used in previous versions, and
share layouts and configurations with others to ensure consistent results
when plotting.
AutoCAD
LT stores information about the media and plotting device in a plotter
configuration (PC3) file in the AutoCAD LT 2000\Plotters folder.
Plot configurations are portable and can be shared in an office or on a
project.
You
can configure AutoCAD LT for many devices, and store multiple
configurations for a single device. Each plotter configuration contains
information such as the device driver and model, the output port to which
the device is connected, and various device-specific settings. You can
create several PC3 files with different output options for the same
plotter. After you create a PC3 file, it's available in the list of
plotter configurations on the Plot Device tab.
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