Plot Scale in the Layout Tab Viewports

Plot Scale in the Layout Tab Viewports
In the first part of this chapter, you plotted your drawing from the Model tab. You learned that to
get the plot to fit on your paper, you had to either use the Fit To Paper option in the Plot dialog box
or indicate a specific drawing scale, plot area, and drawing orientation.
The Layout tab works in a different way: It’s designed to enable you to plot your drawing at
a 1-to-1 scale. Instead of specifying the drawing scale in the Plot dialog box, as you did when you
plotted from the Model tab, you let the size of your view in the Layout tab viewport determine the
drawing scale. You can set the viewport view to an exact scale by making changes to the properties
of the viewport.
To set the scale of a viewport in a Layout tab, try the following exercise:
1. Press the Esc key to clear any selections. Then, select the viewport border, right-click, and
choose Properties from the shortcut menu. The Properties palette for the viewport appears.
2. Scroll down the Properties palette by using the scroll bar on the left side, and locate the Standard
Scale option under the Misc category. Click this option. The item to its right turns into
a list box.



3. Open the list box, and select 1⁄16´ = 1˝ (metric users should select 1:20). The view in the drawing
window changes to reflect the new scale for the viewport. Now most of the drawing fits
into the viewport, and it’s to scale.
TIP The scale of 1⁄16´ = 1´ is similar to the metric 1:200 scale, but because you used centimeters
instead of millimeters as the base unit for the metric version of the Plan file, you drop the second
0 in 200. The metric scale becomes 1:20.
4. Close the Properties palette.
5. Use the viewport grips to enlarge the viewport enough to display all of the drawing, as
shown in Figure 8.3. You need to move only a single corner grip. As you move a corner grip,
notice that the viewport maintains a rectangular shape.



6. Choose File  Plot, and, in the Plot dialog box, make sure the Scale option is set to 1:1 and
your system printer is selected in the Printer/Plotter group; then, click OK. Your drawing is
plotted as it appears in the Layout tab, and it’s plotted to scale.
7. After reviewing your plot, close the drawing without saving it.
In step 2, you saw that you can select a scale for a viewport by selecting it from the Properties
palette. If you look just below the Standard Scale option, you see the Custom Scale option. Both
options work like their counterpart, the Plot Scale group, in the Plot dialog box.
TIP Veteran AutoCAD users can still choose View  Zoom  Scale to control the scale of the viewport
view.
Layout tabs and viewports work in conjunction with your plotter settings to give you a better
idea of how your plots will look. There are numerous plotter settings that can dramatically change
the appearance of your Layout tab view and your plots. In the next section, you’ll learn how some
of the plotter settings can enhance the appearance of your drawings. You’ll also learn how Layout
tabs can display those settings, letting you see on your computer screen exactly what will appear
on your paper output.