Printing and Plotting

Drawing > Save/Print > Print

Use the Print function to print or plot the current drawing or area. You activate the function

• by clicking the ISD Button and selecting the Print command or
• by selecting the Drawing tab and then selecting the Print option or
• by using the k CTRL+P.

Once you have called the function, proceed as follows:

1. Define the area to be printed by dragging a corresponding rectangle or
   press the right mouse button if you want to print the entire drawing.
2. In the print window, choose the desired output device and define the printer settings.
3. Choose Print to start the print process.

You exit the print window by pressing to close the window or choosing the Close window(ESC) function. If the Automatically close dialogue box after printing checkbox is active, the window automatically closes once you start the print process.

Overview of the Print options:

• Printer selection and Settings
• Orientation, Paper size and Paper tray, Copies
• Page margins
• Colour
• Scaling
• Print preview

Please note:

• You can also create PDF (Portable Document Format) files. For this you require a PDF creator, which is not shipped with HiCAD.
• You can temporarily hide double or overlapping lines/edges during plotting. To do this, specify the corresponding setting in PLOPAR.DAT (in the HiCAD SYS directory):

Überlappende Linien beim Plotten ausblenden (-1/0/1/2 abfragen/nein/ja/ja-figurübergreifend)/ Hide overlapping lines during plotting (-1/0/1/2 query/no/yes/yes-figure-comprehensive)
0

Default setting is 0.

• For True Type text fonts, you can specify the resolution of the Windows font style (96/120 dpi) for printing and plotting in the Configuration Editor at System settings > Visualisation > TrueType font resolution (dpi). The default setting is 96.

• Select Drawing > Save/Print > Print Send print job function to send plot files from HiCAD directly to the Plot Manager. This function is optionally available.
• Print all view areas
  Use this function to print all or several model and sheet views of a drawing in one step. In addition, you can export the views as postscript files and auto-convert them (with the help of an appropriate interpreter, e.g. Ghostscript) into PDF files or other formats, or combine them within one document.

Device Selection and Settings

The name of the current output device is displayed in the Printerfield.

To choose another output device,

1. Click .
2. Choose the desired device in the selection list.

Click Settings to define the specific properties for the selected device.

Orientation, Paper Format and Feed, Copies

Orientation
Defines the print orientation (portrait or landscape).

Copies
Defines the number of copies to be output.

Paper tray
Specifies where the paper to be used is located in the printer. Printers frequently support various paper feed options, e.g. top tray and manual feed. If your output device supports several options, you can activate the selection list by clicking and choosing another feed, if required.

Paper size
Displays the current paper format. To choose another format, click  and choose the format in the selection list. If the Auto setting is active, HiCAD automatically calculates the paper format depending on the selected print area.

Page margins

Define the page margins in cm here by 

• entering the values in the corresponding fields or
• using one of the toolbar functions.

Colour

By activating the corresponding radio button, define whether you want the output to be in colour or black and white. Click the Assign Line Thicknesses/Colours symbol to assign a line thickness and/or colour to the stylus numbers of your output device.

Scaling

If you want the drawing to be scaled when it is output, specify the desired scaling factor here. The line thicknesses can also be scaled at the same time. For this to happen, you need to activate the Scale line width checkbox. The lines are then printed more thickly (more thinly) if the output is enlarged (reduced).

Print preview

The Preview area displays the Print preview, if required, based on the current settings.