UNDERSTANDING PLOT STYLES count......1

Assigning Named Plot Styles Directly to Layers and Objects
So far, you’ve learned that you can control how AutoCAD translates drawing colors into plotter output.
You’ve been using a color plot style table, which assigns a plot style to each color in AutoCAD. You can
also assign plot styles directly to objects or layers. To do this, you need to employ a named plot style
table. As we said earlier, named plot style tables enable you to create plot styles that have names rather
than being assigned directly to colors in AutoCAD. You can then assign a plot style by name to objects
or layers in your drawing. In this section, you’ll learn how to set up AutoCAD with a named plot style
table to assign plot styles to objects; then, you’ll create a new plot style table.

Using Named Plot Style Tables
Out of the box, AutoCAD uses the color-dependent plot style table for all new drawings. You can
create a new drawing that uses named plot style tables in two ways. The simpler way is to use any of
the named plot style template files when you create a new drawing. You’ll see these templates under the
Use A Template option in the Create New Drawing dialog box or in the Select Template dialog box.


By offering both color and named plot style drawing templates, AutoCAD makes it easy to create
and select the type of plot style for your drawing regardless of the current default style.
If you prefer, you can set up AutoCAD to use a named plot style by default when you create a
drawing by using the Start From Scratch option in the Create New Drawing dialog box. To set up
the default plot style table for new drawings, follow these steps:
1. Choose Tools  Options to open the Options dialog box, and click the Plot And Publish tab.
This tab offers a variety of settings geared toward your plotter or printer.
2. In the lower-right corner of the dialog box, click the Plot Style Table Settings button.
3. In the Plot Style Table Settings dialog box, click the Use Named Plot Styles radio button.
Notice that the Default Plot Style For Layer 0 and Default Plot Style For Objects options
become available. Click OK.



4. Click OK to close the Options dialog box.
To create and try out a new named plot style, you can open an existing file from an earlier version
of AutoCAD. In the next few exercises, you’ll use the Plan-named.dwg file. This is a Release 14 file
that you’ll assign the type of plot style table that is currently the default as determined by the Use
Named Plot Styles option you set in the previous exercise. Follow these steps:
1. Open the Plan-named.dwg file.
2. Choose File  Plot Style Manager to open a window to the Plot Styles folder.
3. Double-click the Add-A-Plot Style Table Wizard icon to start the Plot Style Table Wizard.
4. Click Next to open the Begin screen, choose Start From Scratch, and then click Next to open
the Pick Plot Style Table screen.
5. Click the Named Plot Style Table radio button, and then click Next to open the File
Name screen.
6. Enter Mynamedstyle1 in the File Name input box, and click Next to open the Finish screen.
Here you can exit, or you can edit the new plot style table. This time, you’ll edit the table
from the wizard.
7. Click the Plot Style Table Editor button to open the Plot Style Table Editor dialog box.



Notice that you have only one style named. Unlike the color plot style tables, you aren’t assigning
a style to each AutoCAD color; you don’t need a style for each of the 255 colors. Instead, you
can create a limited set of styles, giving each style the characteristics you want to apply to objects
or layers. Continue by adding some plot styles:
1. Click the Add Style button to display a new Style 1 column. If you choose, you can give the
style a different name at this point by clicking in the Name box and typing a new name.



2. Click the Form View tab, and then select Style 1 from the Plot Styles list.
3. Click the Lineweight drop-down list, and select 0.5000 mm.
4. Click the Add Style button, and then click OK in the Add Plot Style dialog box.
5. Select Style 2 from the Plot Styles list; then, click the Lineweight drop-down list, and select
0.7000 mm.
6. Click Save & Close to return to the Add Plot Style Table dialog box.
7. Click Finish to exit the wizard, and then close the Plot Styles window.
You may have noticed that the Add-A-Plot Style Table Wizard works in a slightly different way
when you start it from the Plot Styles window. It adds an extra option (in step 5 of the exercise
before the preceding one) that lets you choose between a color plot style table and a named plot
style table.
You’ve just created a named plot style. Next, make Mynamedstyle1.stb the default plot style:
1. Open the Options dialog box, and click the Plot And Publish tab.
2. Click the Plot Style Table Settings button. Then, in the Default Plot Style Table drop-down
list, select Mynamedstyle1.stb, the table you just created.
3. Click OK to exit the Plot Style Table Settings dialog box, and then click OK again to exit the
Options dialog box.
Now, you’re ready to start assigning plot styles to the objects in your drawing.