The information in this dialog box, and in the others that you can access from here, relates to the plotter selected at the top.
To work with an alternative plotter you should choose it from the list of plotter configurations. Each entry in that list features a serial number. The driver assigns a serial number to each HP model/description combination that you have configured using the CONFIG command. These serial numbers #1, #2, etc. uniquely identify each plotter.
Scroll through the list of plotter configurations and click on its entry in the list. That plotter and its current configuration file are entered in the dialog box.
To add a plotter configuration to the list you must start at the AutoCAD main window and use the 'config' command. Once you have added a configuration you can use 'hpconfig' to create a configuration file (.HPC) to be used with this new plotter.
To work with an alternative configuration file: scroll through the list of filenames and click on its entry in the list. Its name will appear in the dialog box.
To change the settings stored in a configuration file simply select the new settings and click on OK.
To add a configuration file to the list click on Save As, and enter a new name in the 'File' box. This will create a new file (.HPC) which contains the current settings. The new filename will be entered in the dialog box.
This dialog box lets you define pen attributes for the pen numbers you specify. Most pen plotters have eight pens, numbered 1 through 8, which will be activated as the following pen numbers defined here: 1 through 8, 9 through 16, etc. Inkjet plotters have no physical pens, but attributes you define here will be assigned to "logical pens".
To change the number of the pen you are defining, click on the arrow and scroll/select the pen number, or enter the number in the box.
To have your specification apply to all pens, click "Apply to all pens".
* Select "Lines Overwrite" to make intersecting areas show only the last entity plotted.
* Select "Lines Merge" to make intersecting areas show all lines and fills. This setting will apply only if Merge is OFF on the plotter.
If Merge is ON on the plotter, it overrides this setting.
Area Fill Generation\
(for pen plotters)
* "Plotter - (Best Lockout Time)"\
Area fills are generated in the plotter, this selection results in the shortest period of time your computer is busy and unavailable.
* "AutoCAD - (Best Plotting Time)"\
Area fills are generated by AutoCAD, this selection results in the shortest period of time your plotter takes to draw your plot.\
The "Fills" menu is unavailable with this selection.
Halftoning...\
(HP DesignJet 250C, 650C, 750C & 755CM)
Click here to access the Halftoning dialog box. For an explanation of halftoning, click on Help in that dialog box.
Line End
Select the shape for line ends. Round ends are recommended for most AutoCAD plots.
Line Join
Select the shape for line joins. Round joins are recommended for most AutoCAD plots.
Fill
Select a fill pattern. It will apply to TRACEs, SOLIDS,PLINEs, DONUTs and ELLIPSEs.
Raster Pattern means the pattern whose filename is currently selected on the right. This setting will apply only if Pen Settings/Palette is set to "from software" on the plotter.
Spacing, Angle, Shade
These specifications apply to the fill option currently selected above.
Raster Patterns (not for pen plotters)
The files named on the right contain some predefined patterns which you can choose as your fill selection.
To apply a raster pattern, first select Raster Pattern from the Fill options. The highlighted filename is the current one. To change it:
* either click on another in the list displayed\
* or click on Change to select from files not in the list.
This dialog box enables you to define text or crop marks to be plotted:
. in addition to the drawing\
. by pen number 7 (default black 2.54 mm)\
. on all plots using this configuration file.
Text annotation is plotted at the bottom of portrait loaded media and at the left of landscape-loaded media. Crop marks are plotted at the corners of the plotting area.
IMPORTANT: Annotations shift your plot by 12.5 mm (0.5 in), which is not included in the width and height specification in the PLOT command.
1) Identify whether AutoCAD's "Scaled to fit" option (in the Plot Configuration window) is ON or OFF.
2) If it is OFF, decide whether you want to be warned on-screen that your plot will be clipped. Click on the appropriate box.
If it is ON, AutoCAD's standard estimate of the plotting area may not be correct for your plotter. To scale to fit the real plotting area, choose "Don't clip. Adjust to media" (not operational with all plotters). If you don't choose this, you can decide whether you want to be warned on-screen that your plot will be clipped. Click on one of the three boxes.
For plotters with an expanded margin feature, click on either OFF or ON, to match the current setting on the plotter. This setting is used by the driver to calculate the real plotting area.
This dialog box lets you set the render attributes for the render configuration. The render attributes that you select here will be entered into your currently selected configuration file (.HPC) as displayed under "Current configuration". If you need to select an other current configuration use HPCONFIG.
* Smooth = smooth ON (slower, but smoother surfaces)\
* Facet = smooth OFF (faster, but less smooth surfaces)
Media Size
Click on either inches or millimeters and then specify the width and height of the media to be used in the plotter for rendered output.
The size you specify here is also used as the default in HPMPLOT.
Position of Rendered Plot on Media
Specify the bottom left and top right corners (1st and 2nd respectively) of the image to be rendered.
The units are as under Page Size, and the X and Y coordinates are with reference to the bottom left corner of the page.
Render to File
To send the rendered output to a file rather than to the plotter, select Render to File and specify the filename in the window that appears. If Render to File is already selected, then to change the filename, click on Filename.
CAUTION: The file could be as large as 20 MB,especially with a large page size.
This dialog box lets you prepare a plot where the image in one viewport in the paper space is to be rendered, while the rest are to be plotted normally. (MPLOT stands for mixed plot).
1) Identify the plotter for which you are setting up this mixed plot. The plotter under Device and Default Information is the current one. To change it, click on Device and Default Selection. The list of plotters is as specified in the CONFIG command.
Click on either inches or millimeters and then specify the width and height of the media to be used in the plotter. The default is as specified in HPRENDER.
What to Plot
Choose whether the area to be plotted is:
* Display: as displayed on screen.\
* Extents: as defined by the extents of the drawing.\
* Limits: as defined by the LIMITS variable.
Hide Lines
Select this if you don't want hidden lines to be plotted.
Render Type
* Smooth = smooth ON (slower, but smoother surfaces)\
* Facet = smooth OFF (faster, but less smooth surfaces)
To File
To send the output to a file rather than to the plotter, select To File and specify the filename in the window that appears. If To File is already selected, then to change the filename, click on Filename.
CAUTION: The file could be as large as 20 MB, especially with a large media size.
Scale
If you want the drawing to be plotted to the same scale as specified in the drawing, leave this as 1 to 1.
To plot to an enlarged scale, make the Plotter Units greater than the Drawing Units; vice versa for a reduced scale.
If you want the drawing to be scaled to fit the media size specified above, choose "Scale to Fit."
Viewport to Render
Click on Select and then select the relevant viewport in AutoCAD.
Click on the plotter which you are setting up to print a merged plot. The list is as specified in the CONFIG command. You must choose an HP-GL/2 plotter.
Halftoning refers to the appearance of vectors drawn by the plotter in all colors EXCEPT the seven primary plotter colors: red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, yellow and black.
THE MODEL A VERSION OF THE HP DESIGNJET 650C\
(product numbers C2858A and C2859A) implements only one halftoning option ("pattern") and therefore users of those models have no use for this dialog box.
THE HP DESIGNJET 250C, 750C, 755CM & MODEL B VERSIONS OF THE HP DESIGNJET 650C\
implement as a default "scatter" halftoning, and offer "pattern" halftoning as an option. You can experiment between the two, but scatter is likely to give better results in most circumstances. To see the current plotter default setting, use the plotter's front panel to find Pen Settings / Halftone. The factory default is scatter.
o Check that the plotter displayed at the top of the HPMPLOT dialog box is the same as the one whose .HPC file is current in RCONFIG. Note that HPMPLOT refers to the list of plotters specified in the CONFIG command, while RCONFIG refers to a .HPC file. The two are matched in CONFIG.
o Does the selected plotter support rendering? Pen plotters cannot render.
