WYSIWYG Plotting Using Layout Tabs

WYSIWYG Plotting Using Layout Tabs
You’ve probably noticed the tabs at the bottom of the drawing area labeled Model, Layout1, and
Layout2. So far, you’ve done all your work in the Model tab, also known as Model Space. The other
two tabs open views to your drawing that are specifically geared toward printing and plotting. The
Layout views enable you to control drawing scale, add title blocks, and set up different layer settings
from those in the Model tab. You can think of the Layout tabs as page-layout spaces that act
like a desktop-publishing program.
You can have as many Layout tabs as you like, each set up for a different type of output. You can,
for example, have two or three Layout tabs, each set up for a different scale drawing or with different
layer configurations for reflected ceiling plans, floor plans, or equipment plans. You can even
set up multiple views of your drawing at different scales in a single Layout tab. In addition, you can
draw and add text and dimensions in Layout tabs just as you would in Model Space.
TIP When you create a new file, you see two Layout tabs. If you open a pre–AutoCAD 2000 file,
you see only one Layout tab.
To get familiar with the Layout tabs, try the following exercise:
1. With the Plan file open, click the Layout1 tab at the bottom of the AutoCAD window. A
view of your drawing appears on a gray background, as shown in Figure 8.2. This is a view
of your drawing as it will appear when plotted on your current default printer or plotter.
The white area represents the printer or plotter paper.



2. Try zooming in and out using the Zoom Realtime tool. Notice that the entire image zooms
in and out, including the area representing the paper.
Layout tabs give you full control over the appearance of your drawing printouts. You can print
a Layout tab just as you did the view in the Model tab, by using the Plot option on the Layout1 tab’s
shortcut menu.
Let’s take a moment to look at the elements in the Layout1 tab. As mentioned previously, the
white background represents the paper on which your drawing will be printed. The dashed line
immediately inside the edge of the white area represents the limits of your printer’s margins.
Finally, the solid rectangle that surrounds your drawing is the outline of the Layout viewport. A
viewport is an AutoCAD object that works like a window into your drawing from the Layout tab.
Also notice the triangular symbol in the lower-left corner of the view: This is the UCS icon for the
Layout tab. It tells you that you’re currently in the Layout tab space. You’ll see the significance of
this icon in the following exercise:
1. Try selecting part of your drawing by clicking in the lobby area. Nothing is selected.
2. Click the viewport border, which is the solid rectangle surrounding the drawing, as shown
in Figure 8.2. This is the viewport into the Model tab. Notice that you can select it.
3. Right-click, and choose Properties from the shortcut menu. You can see from the Properties
palette that the viewport is just like any other AutoCAD object with layer, linetype, and
color assignments. You can even hide the viewport outline by turning off its layer.
4. Close the Properties palette.
5. With the viewport still selected, click the Erase tool in the Modify toolbar. The view of your
drawing disappears with the erasure of the viewport. Remember that the viewport is like a
window into the drawing you created in the Model tab. After the viewport is erased, the
drawing view goes with it.
6. Type U↵ or click the Undo button in the Standard toolbar to restore the viewport.
NOTE You can create new viewports using the Vports command (View  Viewports  New
Viewports). See “Creating New Paper Space Viewports” in Chapter 16 for more information.
7. Double-click anywhere within the viewport’s boundary. Notice that the UCS icon you’re used
to seeing appears in the lower-left corner of the viewport. The Layout UCS icon disappears.
8. Click the lobby of your drawing. You can now select parts of your drawing.
9. Try zooming and panning your view. Changes in your view take place only within the
boundary of the viewport.
10. Choose View  Zoom  All, or type Z↵A↵ to display the entire drawing in the viewport.
11. To return to Paper Space, double-click an area outside the viewport.
TIP You can also type PS↵ to return to Paper Space or MS↵ to access the space within the viewport.
Or, click the Paper/Model button in the status bar at the bottom of the AutoCAD window.
This exercise shows you the unique characteristics of the Layout tab. The objects in the viewport
are inaccessible until you double-click the interior of the viewport. You can then move about and
edit your drawing in the viewport, just as you would while in the Model tab.
The Layout tabs can contain as many viewports as you like, and each viewport can hold a different
view of your drawing. You can size and arrange each viewport any way you like, or you can
create multiple viewports, giving you the freedom to lay out your drawing as you would a page in
a desktop-publishing program. You can also draw in the Layout tab or import Xrefs and blocks for
title blocks and borders.