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#72627 by dennisnorton
Mon Nov 06, 2017 8:38 am
When there are very large projects with many sheets and each sheet has numerous views, etc. is there a way to batch print? Any links to easy way of setting them up?
#72707 by ORWoody
Tue Nov 14, 2017 9:36 pm
I am assuming that you have a lot of Views that are not "sheets" and some that are and all are in the same file. That is what I typically have and it's really not difficult to batch plot. It takes a bit of planning, but that is about it.
What I do is cluster all of my sheet GoToViews at the end of my GoToView list. A simplified list might be:
LastView (I have this first with a hotkey that sets the current view as LastView in position one. That way Shift+1 takes me there.)
BasePlan (A clean plan with no text or anything other than linework)
Plan (The real plan with all of the linework, notes, dimensions, etc.)
ExtElevs
BldgSects
WallSects
IntElevs
MiscDets
Ltg-Pwr
Cover (This is the first one of my plot views. It has the cover information on the title block... no sheet number)
A1 Floor Plan (This would be the first of the "numbered sheets." See below for more information.)
A2 ExtElevs
A3 BldgSects
A4 WallSects
A5 IntElevs
A5 MiscDets
E1 Ltg-Pwr

When I am going to batch plot to a PDF, I confirm the layout on the cover sheet. After that I make certain that Cover, A1, A2...E1 are selected and then print.
The example list is far shorter than a normal project would be, but is the same principle as when I have civil, structural and MEP thrown into the mix. Or if I have a multi-story project. All that changes is really the number of GoToViews and sheets to be plotted.
My sheet numbers are all "stacked" so that when the title block is on all of the numbers (which are on their own individual layer) are centered and in position.That way, I can turn on the title block layer and any number layer and it is set correctly. At that point, I just insert the desired GoToView XRefs for the sheet. Those are inserted on to a layer that corresponds to the sheet number such as; A1XRefs, A2XRefs and so on. I keep my layer list where all of the numbers are on sequential layers, A1, A2... and are followed by A1Xrefs, A2XRefs....
The only reason that I don't use multi-scale plotting is that most all of my "help" are Autocad proficient and DataCAD users until they can find a real job using ACAD. My production manager came in with an open mind and says that DataCAD has destroyed him in the market place. He lives on the hot keys and is more productive than any number of others. He was probably pretty fair in ACAD, but seems to love DataCAD. When he encounters someone that won't quite accept how to efficiently use DCAD, he shuts them out of his life. If he sees them working with their chin resting on their left hand as they pick away on an icon filled screen, he'll mentally move them six feet closer to the door.
Use those GoToViews as your print list and it will sure make your plotting a breeze.
If you control all of your printing, multi-scale plotting is even nicer... or at least as nice.

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