I have been using V8i since the first beta release (Athens). Now that it's an official release I want to get everything set up for my users. I've already done some configuration stuff and now I am working on the Print Orginizer. I have dabbled with it during the beta trials but not too in depth as I seemed to be always running into some sort of issue with it. Has anybody else been having problems with it, particularly with Print Styles? When I am defining a Print Style and I've set the printer and/or pltcfg file, the sheet sizes do not show up in the drop down for the main tab. I save that step for last but it still doesn't work. Any ideas?
John K.
I also make use of pltcfg files which completely define plotter, pentable, form size (as we do not use sheet models at this time), and color. I have organized these in a simple directory structure which allows a user to quickly set all settings with one choice.
I have alway wanted a parent-child type of relationship for batchplt.spc, plt and now pltcfg and print styles. I would be great to be able to manage common settings from one configuration and "include" them instead of having to edit many different configurations to make simple changes as adding a form type or providing aternate pen weight maps to many different printers. The easiest way I have found is to build partial configs and edit (copy-paste) the config files directly (without using the applicable editer). This sometmes can be come cumbersome (and may result in incorrect/corrupted config), but it is much faster than using the suppied editor repeatedly making the required changes multiple times. Another solution would be to allow the editors performs edits on multiple files.
(another a bit different orientated question concerning print styles):
As I get it they are linked to a specific design file. (or dgnlib)
It there a way to import or export print styles somehow? Might be quite convenient if you want to organize them somehow..
Andrew, sorry I wasn't very clear with my explanation of what I wanted but Tim was right. I don't want to set a default print style I want the user to be able to select one file (print style or whatever) from several predefined choices that would set every aspect of a plot dialog. I have to use about a dozen different plotters/printers, plus mono or color, plus just about every size both metric and imperial so it gets a little cumbersome having to set most of the options in the plot dialog over and over again. Yes the pltcfg and plot style combination seems to be almost what I'm looking for and this is the path that I am heading down.
> he wants his users to be able to open the Print dialog and then select a single resource file from a group of resource files that applies all of the settings for that type of print.
From the "one-shot plotting" comment, my take is that default print styles are what John is looking for. Many sites have only a single printer to which they always print using a single paper size and a single print scale. A default print style is a good way to automate this procedure.
The Print dialog does support manual application of a print style as well, through both a menu command and a print key-in.
> We're doing this now in XM through our PLT files, but I haven't begun configuring the printing in V8i yet.
The printer driver configuration file has a lot of automation built into it, duplicating things that would have been defined in a settings file for InterPlot and PDF Composer. The pen table record in the .pltcfg file is a good example of this.
An example of where a print style is useful is to always disable printing of construction elements, or always prevent printing of broken association symbology. There are no automation facilities in a .pltcfg file for those print properties. Prior to MicroStation V8i, it was common to customize the File / Print menu item to use print key-ins to initialize those values before opening the Print dialog. Now, the best way to do that would be to use a default print style.
> A very cool feature was that you could edit the INI file and remove the settings that you didn't want it to overwrite
That "feature" was never intentional, and generated a lot of support calls. Removing portions of a print definition was a lot like playing Russian roulette. Writing a macro using print key-ins was always a better solution. When you extracted portions of an .ini file, or wrote a macro containing print key-ins, you were basically creating a manually-applied print style. Now that feature is available in an official, safe form.
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Andrew:
I don't think that John is writing that he wants these defaults set only when the print dialog opens, he wants his users to be able to open the Print dialog and then select a single resource file from a group of resource files that applies all of the settings for that type of print.
We're doing this now in XM through our PLT files, but I haven't begun configuring the printing in V8i yet.
On a side note, I remember when the print INI files were first introduced in MicroStation SE. A very cool feature was that you could edit the INI file and remove the settings that you didn't want it to overwrite, instead MicroStation would use the active settings in these instances. To my knowledge this was an undocumeted feature, I even wrote a MicroStation Manager article about it back in the day. The use of the INI file in this manner sounds a lot like the "seed IPARM" concept.
-Tim