-PLOT (Command)

Plots a drawing to a plotter, printer, or file in the command line.

If you enter -plot at the Command prompt, the following prompts are displayed.

List of Prompts

The following prompts are displayed.

Detailed plot configuration [Yes/No] <No>: Enter y or n or press Enter

No

Indicates that you do not want a detailed plot configuration for this plot.

Enter a layout name or [?] <current>:

Enter a page setup name < >:

Enter an output device name or [?] <current>:

Write the plot to a file [Yes/No] <current>:

Enter file name: <dwgname-layoutname.plt>:

Save changes to layout [Yes/No] <No>:

Proceed with Plot [Yes/No] <Y>:

For information about these prompts, see the description for Yes.

Yes

Specifies detailed page settings for the Model layout or layout you are plotting.

Enter a layout name or [?] <current>: Specify the name of the layout tab you want to plot

Enter an output device name or [?] <current>: Specify the name of the output device to which you want to plot the Model tab or layout tab you selected

If you enter a new device name without an extension, the program assumes that the device is a PC3 file (Autodesk ® HDI plotter configuration file). If no PC3 file is found, the program searches for a Windows system printer with that device name.

Enter paper size or [?] <current>: Specify the paper size to use for the plot or enter ? to view the actual list of paper sizes defined for the plotter driver

You must specify a paper size exactly as it is defined by the plotter driver.

Enter paper units [Inches/Millimeters] <current>:

The Enter Paper Units prompt is not displayed if you are plotting a raster image, such as a BMP or TIFF file, because the size of the plot is assumed to be in pixels.

Enter drawing orientation [Portrait/Landscape] <current>:

Portrait

Orients and plots the drawing so that the short edge of the paper represents the top of the page.

Landscape

Orients and plots the drawing so that the long edge of the paper represents the top of the page.

Plot upside down [Yes/No] <No>:

Orients and plots the drawing upside down.

Enter plot area [Display/Extents/Limits/Layout/View/Window] <current>:

Display

Plots the view in the current viewport on the Model layout or the current view in the layout, depending on which tab you select to plot.

Extents

Plots all of the objects in the current viewport, except objects on frozen layers. From a layout, plots all the geometry in paper space. The drawing may be regenerated to recalculate the extents before plotting.

Limits

Plots the drawing area defined by the grid limits. Available only when the Model tab is selected.

Layout

Plots everything within the printable area of the specified paper size, with the origin calculated from 0,0 in the layout. Available only when a layout tab is selected.

View

Plots a view saved previously with the VIEW command. You can select a named view from the list provided. If there are no saved views in the drawing, this option is unavailable.

Window

Plots any portion of the drawing you specify. This option prompts you to specify the corners of the window.

Enter lower left corner of window: Specify a point

Enter upper right corner of window: Specify a point

Enter plot scale (Plotted Inches = Drawing Units) or [Fit] <current>: Specify the scale of the plot

Plotted Inches = Drawing Units

Calculates the plot scale based on the inches or millimeters to drawing units that you specify. You can also enter a real number as a fraction (for example, you can enter 1=2 or .5).

Fit

Calculates the scale to fit the area on the sheet of paper.

The default scale setting is 1:1 when you are plotting a layout, unless you modified and saved the setting. The default setting is Fit when plotting a Model tab.

Enter plot offset (x, y) or [Center] <current>: Specify the plot offset in either the X or Y direction, or enter c to center the plot on the paper

Plot with plot styles [Yes/No] <current>: Specify whether to plot using the plot styles applied to objects and defined in the plot style table

If you specify Yes to plot with plot styles, the following prompt is displayed:

Enter plot style table name or [?] (enter . for none) <current>: Enter a plot style table name, ? to view plot style tables, or . (period) for none

All style definitions with different property characteristics are stored in the current plot style table and can be attached to the geometry. This setting replaces pen mapping in earlier releases of the program.

Plot with lineweights [Yes/No] <current>:

Scale lineweights with plot scale [Yes/No] <current>:

Note: The Scale Lineweights with Plot Scale prompt is displayed only when you plot from a layout tab. Settings for the shaded plotting type are available only when you plot from the Model layout. To control shaded plotting settings of viewports in a layout, use the Shadeplot option of the -vports command when you create a viewport.

Enter shade plot setting [As displayed/Wireframe/Hidden] <As displayed>: Enter a shade plot option

Specifies how model space views are plotted.

As Displayed

Specifies that a model space view is plotted the same way it is displayed.

Wireframe

Specifies that a model space view is plotted in wireframe regardless of display.

Hidden

Specifies that a model space view is plotted with hidden lines removed regardless of display.

Write the plot to a file [Yes/No] <current>: Enter y if you want to write the plotted drawing to a file, or press Enter to plot to an output device

If you specify Yes, the following prompt is displayed:

Enter file name: <dwgname-layoutname.plt>: Enter a file name

Save changes to page setup? Or set shade plot quality? [Yes/No/Quality] <No>:

If you enter y, the current settings in the Page Setup dialog box are saved. If you enter q, you are prompted for the shaded plotting quality and are given the option of providing a custom dpi. Then you are prompted to save the page setup with the added quality settings.

Enter shade plot quality [Draft/Preview/Normal/pResentation/Maximum/Custom] <Normal>: Enter c if you want to specify a dpi, or to use a preset dpi, specify a different quality option

Enter custom dpi <150>:

Save changes to page setup [Yes/No]? <No>:

Plot paper space first [Yes/No] <current>:

Paper space geometry is usually plotted before model space geometry. If you enter n, the model space geometry is plotted first, and paper space geometry is plotted last. This option is available only if you are plotting from a layout tab.

Hide paperspace objects? [Yes/No] <No>:

Specifies whether the Hide operation applies to objects in the paper space viewport. This option is available only from a layout tab.

Proceed with plot [Yes/No] <Y>: