Sheet Size Auto-Select if Plotter Sheet Size Found

When Sheet Models and Sheet Sized were first introduced, I seem to recall that the Print/Plot dialog box was Automatically selecting the matching sheet size if one existed. I also seemed to recall that it maximized the plot so that you were ready to plot with no extra efforts.

Am I mistaken? If not, since this is no longer occurring, what settings or variables must I use for this to work. Even in Print Organizer it seems I need to make sure not only is it using sheet models, but also have to make sure it picks the matching sheet size before it is ready.

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  • Hi Caddcop,

    Make sure the Honor Sheet Layout Preference is ON in the Print Menu and in Print Organizer.  Also make sure the printer you are using can accomodate the paper size you are selecting in your Sheet Model properties. The variable associated with this Preference is MS_PLT_SET_LAYOUT_FROM_SHEET.  In Print Organizer verify the Preference setting "Models used when creating print definitions" is set appropriately.  The default is "Prefer sheet models."  This appears to work in MicroStation SS3.

    Marion

       
    This is a test

  • This is not working for me.

    However, it appears many of my client supplied workspaces are using older variables that may be obsolete. And these same workspaces are lacking many of the newer variables.

    According to the configuration dialog box, the defaults should handle this but they are not.


    Charles (Chuck) Rheault
    CADD Manager

    MDOT State Highway Administration

    • MicroStation user since IGDS, InRoads user since TDP.
    • AutoCAD, Land Desktop and Civil 3D, off and on since 1996
  • Not sure what's going on there.  It should work.  Send me a private message and we can work on this further.

       
    This is a test

  • I defined the missing newer variables so it loads the clients pdf pltcfg as the  default and even added their default sysprinter as the default for the sysprinter when you select Windows instead of a Bentley driver.

    • MS_PLOTDLG_DEF_PLTFILE
    • MS_PLTCFG_PATH
    • MS_PLT_SYSPRT_PLTFILE

    However, to get the plot to automatically default to the sheet definition and scale, I had to define it as the default paper size. Before that, it always defaulted to the last sheet size defined in the PLTCFG. Since we sometimes use this workspace for other clients, this is not the ideal solution.

    Both sheet names in the PLTCFG and sheetsizes.def are ANSI D.

    I do know that their units, scales and sheet sizes.def files are a little different than the delivered versions. Their 1" = 50' is also seen as a 1:50 ratio scale, instead of 1:600. I don't know if that would effect it.

    This is based upon the MD SHA workspace. You can download it from their web page to try it out.

    Their standard border has a shifted global origin so it does not work as a border attachment in a model. I have created a modified version for our In-house use to get around that issue.


    Charles (Chuck) Rheault
    CADD Manager

    MDOT State Highway Administration

    • MicroStation user since IGDS, InRoads user since TDP.
    • AutoCAD, Land Desktop and Civil 3D, off and on since 1996
Reply
  • I defined the missing newer variables so it loads the clients pdf pltcfg as the  default and even added their default sysprinter as the default for the sysprinter when you select Windows instead of a Bentley driver.

    • MS_PLOTDLG_DEF_PLTFILE
    • MS_PLTCFG_PATH
    • MS_PLT_SYSPRT_PLTFILE

    However, to get the plot to automatically default to the sheet definition and scale, I had to define it as the default paper size. Before that, it always defaulted to the last sheet size defined in the PLTCFG. Since we sometimes use this workspace for other clients, this is not the ideal solution.

    Both sheet names in the PLTCFG and sheetsizes.def are ANSI D.

    I do know that their units, scales and sheet sizes.def files are a little different than the delivered versions. Their 1" = 50' is also seen as a 1:50 ratio scale, instead of 1:600. I don't know if that would effect it.

    This is based upon the MD SHA workspace. You can download it from their web page to try it out.

    Their standard border has a shifted global origin so it does not work as a border attachment in a model. I have created a modified version for our In-house use to get around that issue.


    Charles (Chuck) Rheault
    CADD Manager

    MDOT State Highway Administration

    • MicroStation user since IGDS, InRoads user since TDP.
    • AutoCAD, Land Desktop and Civil 3D, off and on since 1996
Children
  • We should probably bring this back on-line. We determined that the client workspace which uses feet as the units in its sheet sizes.def file where the rest of the world uses inches. Of course, their Scales.def file also needs to be different to go along with this.

    We determined that if the files were opened without those two files, the sheet "names" in the Model Properties dialog box defaulted to 22x 34' for ANSI D.

    Using this knowledge, I created duplicate sheet sizes named using 22x 34' and 24x 46' and found that with those definitions, a Sheet Model using ANSI D or ARCH D can find the matching sheet - just not the ones with the same standard names.


    Charles (Chuck) Rheault
    CADD Manager

    MDOT State Highway Administration

    • MicroStation user since IGDS, InRoads user since TDP.
    • AutoCAD, Land Desktop and Civil 3D, off and on since 1996

    Answer Verified By: caddcop 

  • Thanks for the update.  For what it's worth, the Print dialog in the next major release of MicroStation will properly recognize the model properties sheet size for DGNs created using that workspace.

          
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