New to MS.... can someone tell me how to set a default printer so that i don't have to pick the one i use every time? It would be great if i could also set the paper size and color scheme as well.
thanks
Hi there, and welcome to our corner of the Internet.
In MicroStation Help, there's a section that reads as follows:
How the Default Printer Is SelectedWhen the Print dialog is invoked, the procedure described below is used to select the default printer driver configuration file and the Windows printer, paper size, and tray names.
If the Print dialog has never been opened before, two printer driver configuration files are selected for future defaults. One, printer.pltcfg, is selected as the default for the Windows printer driver. The second, pdf.pltcfg, is selected as the default for the Bentley printer driver. The search path defined by the MS_PLTCFG_PATH configuration variable is used to locate printer driver configuration files.
The Windows printer driver configuration file is used the first time the dialog opens, assuming that this setting has not already been overridden using configuration variables.
The Print dialog stores the active printer driver type and configuration file in the user preference file. When the Print dialog is subsequently invoked, the most recently used printer driver type and configuration file are selected by default. This behavior may, however, be overridden using configuration variables.
If MS_DEFAULT_PLTCFG_FILE is set to a fully qualified printer driver configuration file, that file is loaded instead of the most recently used file when the Print dialog is opened.
If MS_PLT_SYSPRT_PLTFILE is set to a fully qualified printer driver configuration file, that file will be used instead of "printer.pltcfg" when Windows driver is selected in the Print dialog.
In the event the selected printer driver configuration file cannot be loaded, you are prompted for a file name to use. If you abort the file selection box without selecting a file that can be loaded, the Print dialog attempts to load one of the following files.
"pdf.pltcfg"
"pscript.pltcfg"
"hpglrtl.pltcfg"
any .pltcfg in the MS_PLTCFG_PATH search path
If none of these can be loaded, the Print dialog cannot be opened.
If a Windows printer driver is loaded, the Print dialog must select a default Windows printer name, paper size name, and tray name. Normally, this information is obtained from the Windows default printer, but may be overridden using either the printer driver configuration file or configuration variables.
MS_PLT_SYSPRT_DEFAULT_PRINTER specifies the printer name that is selected when a system printer is opened.
MS_PLT_SYSPRT_DEFAULT_FORM specifies the paper size name that is selected when a system printer is opened.
MS_PLT_SYSPRT_DEFAULT_TRAY specifies the tray name that is selected when a system printer is opened.
If the above configuration variables are not defined, you can specify the default printer, paper size, and tray names using the properties in the Windows printer driver configuration file.
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To define variables, go to Workspace > Configuration. Then navigate to the Printing category on the left side. On the right side, choose Default Windows Printer Name. Clcik Edit. Enter the name of the printer in the New Value field. Click OK. You could also sort the variables alpabetically and then look for and edit MS_PLT_SYSPRT_DEFAULT_PRINTER .
thanks for the reply...i'm beginning to understand how this works. i'm still not sure what i should name the printer. what i'd like to use is the bently PDF driver. all my drawings will be printed to PDF. do i need to type in a specific path here?
In that case, I would recommend that you leave the variable defined "as is" and simply overwrite it in your UCF file. To do that, locate and open your workspace UCF and add the following line at the end:
MS_PLTFILE_EDITOR =
NOTE: Be sure to add a carriage return at the end of the line.
To determine what and where your UCF file is, open any file in MicroStation, then choose Workspace > About Workspace
ok...not sure how i did it...but it worked. i followed your steps and i was a little confused but it worked. thanks so much.
next problem...would you be able to show me how to set the default paper size to 17x11/ANSI B and the color to monochrome?
editing the UCF file did not make the missing file menu option show up, though. I still need to find a way to make EDIT PRINTER DRIVER CONFIGURATION show up in the file menu of the print dialog
cadman33619 said: next problem...would you be able to show me how to set the default paper size to 17x11/ANSI B and the color to monochrome?
Please re-read this discussion and you'll see that this has already been answered.
http://communities.bentley.com/products/microstation/microstation_v8i/f/19568/p/77197/210294.aspx#210294
i do see that it has been answered..i've gone over the entire discussion several times. the problem is that my plot dialog file menu does not have the Edit Printer Driver Configuration option. i cannot access the Printer Driver Configuration window that has the different tabs. thats whats confusing me so much. i've also gone thru your first post way at the top several times but that is really confusing me. i just dont understad it. I appreciate your patience.
Please attach your UCF file so that I can see what you've done, or not done. You can learn about attaching files via this link: communities.bentley.com/.../be-communities-forums-help.aspx Thank you.
Update: It appears that the variable may be locked by the Administrator which would explain why your edit to the UCF is not having an effect.
The only workaround is to copy the plot configuration file and create a custom version for yourself. You can then make revisions to it via an XML or Text editor as suggested above.
here you go. UCF attached
I noticed an error which is the result of a mis-type on my part.
Remove the last two lines.
And edit MS_DEFAULT_PLTCFG_FILE to point to your custom version.
Apologies for adding to your confusion.
Update: It appears that the command print editpltfile will allow you to edit a pltcfg file - even if the menu item is hidden!
With thanks to Phil for pointing out this gem!
before i make that change...i'd like to save my own UCF file. right now i have the UCF file saved on my desktop. it was in a shared folder and i'd like to have my own. where should i save that and how can i make MS see it?
After i save my own UCF file, i'll go in and change MS_DEFAULT_PLTCFG_FILE to point to my custom version.
i used the command suggested by Phil (thanks Phil) and made the change to the default paper size but it had no effect. Could that be because the UCF is incorrect?